Southern Tier Tripel

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Lakewood, New York USA

12oz bottle. pours hazy yellow/brown. a sweet, sugary aroma. sweetness in the taste with a slightly bitter finish. haven’t had a lot of belgians, so I can’t really place it for the style, but I enjoyed it.

Clear and golden, no haze, surprisingly little head given the style. Smells a bit like grape juice, I was expecting horse blanket. Some of the wild yeast taste, but really overclouded by wheat and alcohol.

Bottle. Not sure I’ve ever had a triple that wasn’t bottle conditioned (in fact, this looks pasteurized). Clear amber, with almost no head. Bit of a fruit aroma, I’d peg it as melon, yeast and alcohol. Full mouth feel, with a slight sting of alcohol. A little thin on flavor.

This is too "pure", too sterile. All the pieces are there but there’s no soul.

Big two dollar 22 oz bomber from 3 sons & dogs, Wexford. Has lots of information for the beer geek on the label. Yes, has the aroma of potentially strong ale with sweet fruity candy hints in the smell. Big creamy whitish alabaster head and many streams of carbonation rising within. Beautiful lacing as I drink. Color is slightly hazy light brownish yellow. The flavor impact is that of strong malt liquor. Very strong, slightly syrupy alky impact, this brew lets you know it is strong beer. Although I see tons of bubbles constantly rising, there is very little carbonation on the back of my tongue. Swig after swig the offense will not diminish. Grimbergen Blonde is much more gentle and enjoyable than this. I’m not sure what makes flavors like this so different than that cheap stuff that comes in 32 oz bottles at the local bar. Strong oppressive alcohol and malty. Continuous flow of fusel notes. This brew keeps saying; big beer, big beer. On par with Victory Golden Monkey and Weyerbacher Merry Monks Ale. I am nervous about rating this so low. Any abbey tripel or imperial stout is automatically rated pretty high on this site. I am guessing this is average for its style but I was hoping for something that was a little more well behaved. This style of beer is not to easy for my girlie taste buds to enjoy. Finish lingers for a short period after the last sip. For a tripel, IMO high alcohol should be a little more refined, not just a big buzz blast.

First, my rating is VERY subjective (there’s no other way to rate beer and still have fun). It doesn’t seem to be like all the other tripel’s I’ve tasted, more like a christmas ale. It’s a lot sweeter than what one might expect for the style, but I love it just the same. Lots of spice, kind of tastes like bubble gum, which might put some people off, if they’re not expecting it, but it’s still definitely worth trying.

Pours a warm golden color with a small bubbly head. Nice amount of carbonation makes this tripel vey refreshing. High ABV is well hidden, but it definately has a kick. Very sweet with a hint of citrus and cinnamon.

22 oz bottle. Pours out a orange yellowish color with no head at all. Smell contains some orange and corriander smell. Perhaps a little lemon on the nose as well. Taste is sweet and fairly boozy with a nice little sweet flavor. Not really a good example of the style, but it actually does good for whatever it could be called. Perhaps this is a tad better than its 3.2 rating. Bottle from my dad.

22 ounce bottle from Beers of the World in Rochester, NY (October 2006) consumed a little below cellar temperature from a Duvel glass. Murky, dull amber orange that shows light yeast flocculation under light, with a moderate head that decays quickly to a lasting 1-finger mass of bubbling whiteness, leaving chunky lacing behind....strongly herbal, dry, lightly farmy aroma, dry grasses and a touch of manure, hints of rosemary and coriander and orangepeel; a bit dusty but fairly potent.....sweet, moderately alcoholic body offers a strange medicinal/iodine touch that is a bit offputting at first but eventually works its way decently into the lightly sweet, rather earthy-chalky body....orange zest apparent, the citric acidity and finishing chalkiness combine for a rather tough ending.....carbonation is strong and a bit gassy; body is a bit syrupy and thick....on the whole, I like this more than I though I would going in, it’s a fairly drinkable, moderately powerful and deep though not terribly complex essay at the style; a bit brutish and forceful and not terribly stylish, but for whatever reason that’s working for me tonight, even in a style that’s supposed to have a bit more elegance.