New Belgium Trippel

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

Crystal clear golden yellow with a light but persistent white head. Definite Belgian yeast aroma with earthy malt notes. Clean Belgian yeast flavor hits first followed by mild caramel/honey sweetness along with some banana and cloves. There is a light vegetal undertone with a mild taste of clover which I’m guessing is a combination of the coriander and the hops. A light sour/bitter/honey taste is left behind with some of the vegetal component which seems to get stronger as you drink it. Seems a bit light for a trippel, but a very good beer nonetheless.

Clear gold, with an aroma of sage and orange juice. Taste is pretty big on the citrus, but has an off-putting bit of clove in there. Bright fruity tones are refreshing, but something about this beer doesn’t do it for me.

Pours a vivid golden color with a decent-sized fluffy white head. Nose consisting of sweet spices, white grapes and other fruit. Flavors of light fruit (apple and white grape mostly), spices and bubblegum maybe? Carbonation was average for a Trippel but it had a weird metallic finish. A decent Trippel.

Clear yellow orange with a smallish creamy white head and modest lace. Modest malt aroma with a hint of orange citrus hops and other fruits. Floral hops taste with a subtle malt backbone with a touch of honey in the mouth. Light to medium body, minimal carbonation, thin texture, and a sweetish malt finish. Not terribly impressive.

12 oz Bottle pours golden in color with a thin, quickly dissipating white head. The aroma has notes of apple, caramel, spice, and lemongrass. Flavor has sweet malt, some sour fruit and faint hop. It finishes with a somewhat spicy note, displaying coriander and pepper with the alcohol well hidden. The mouthfeel is medium - this is a pretty solid American Trippel that I would definitely buy again.

Part of a six-pack - $8.99 from Uncle Jack’s Spirits in Holly Springs, Georgia. Appearance: Pours out a clear, golden-hued body with a tall, creamy, not particularly lasting white head. Smattering of lace as the head deflates. Smell: Nose scattered with well-ground spices atop notes of cracked pale grains brushed with sweet-scented honey, a little orange blossom, and a helping of smoothie featuring pears and bananas and apples and a spoonful of powdered, energizing, up-selling enhancer. Taste: Crackery pale lightly malted barley with a touch of clover honey. Medium sweetness. Fruitiness of bananas and tart pears. Floral, lightly spicy hop character with a sparse bitterness to accentuate the spicy Belgian yeast tweaked and further accentuated by an addition of coriander. A couple drops of acidic lemon juice. Drying, spicy finish with a thin sliver of alcohol heat. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation. Overall: As NBT stands currently at 7.8% alcohol, it’s ultimately lighter in body and alcohol and less cloying than many other tripels. I’m down with that. I will stand up for New Belgium Trippel.

UPDATED: MAY 10, 2011 Aroma is sweet and a bit spicy with hints of yeast and bread. Appearance is piss yellow. Taste is sweet malt candy fruit, a tiny bit of yeast, a tiny hint of hops, then a big malty back end with a thick malt/ coriander punch. Palate is way too thick for a trippel end is so sweet and heavy it almost becomes syrupy. Then next sip gets worse, and worse with every sip to come. I’m angry I bought a 6 pack of this. Overall this isn’t a very good trippel, is hard to drink and doesn’t seem true to style.

Bottle. Pours a straw color. Medium sized white head. Good lacing. Aroma of sweet spices. Flavor is similar, hints of bananas and coriander. Sweet heavier palate. Overall a nice beer. Didn’t knock my socks off, but very solid.