Southern Tier Tripel

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

Bomber, at least a year old. Poured clear, somewhat pale golden with a short, splotchy cap of white head. The aroma picked up hearty orange peel and peppery esters over a fruity and pale malt base.. some warmth was evident, but it held together nicely. The flavor was a tad more assertive with sweet honey and pale malts (laced with alcohol) at the core.. orange zest showed with spicy esters on the edges, with the orange having a slightly candied appeal.. finished rather sweet and warm. Medium-plus bodied and spicy on the palate.. too sweet for my liking for a tripel, but I cannot deny that it had some tasty moments.

In short: An overly sugary sweet simplistic strong Belgian blonde ale
How: Bottle 22oz, consumed relatively fresh a few months after getting it through private importation.
The look: Clear light-golden body topped by a short-lived medium white head
In long: Shy nose of basic pale dried fruits. Taste is annoyingly sugary sweet, way way too much residual candy sugar in there. Fruity notes limited to a light pineapples juice, citrus and dried pineapples. A little dust and dry grass in the finish but overall the sugary sweetness crushes everything subtleties the beer may have had. An inferior beer from a brewery whose tradition in fine Belgian ales is only matched by its tradition of fine Thai cuisine.

Bouteille de 22 oz obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur d’agrumes avec une pointe de thé et d’alcool. Apparence: La couleur est blonde dorée avec une faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’agrumes avec pointe de céréales et d’alcool. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de zeste d’orange en arrière goût. (Rating #2104)

22 oz. bomber. Pours a slightly hazy orange-gold color with minimal foam production. Head faded quickly with only a thin wisp of spotty foam remaining after a minute or so. No lacing noted along the sides of the chalice. Pleasant Belgian Ale aromas greet the nose with notes of banana, orange zest, vanilla, lemon candy and honey. Mouthfeel seened to be a bit flat for the style considering most Belgians are highly carbonated. More CO2 here would have made this ale a bit more authentic. Flavor profile seemed to be a bit too dominated by the hops for this style. Some light apricot, apple, honey sweetness starts things out, but a hefty amount of citrus rind bitter hop flavors intrude a bit too much to make this similar to most Belgian Triplels. I usually love the hoppy beers but find this a bit distracting when you’re expecting a sweeter beer.

10/13/08 On draft at the Dog & Pony, Renton, Wa. Aroma is citrusy with a slight alcoholic note and no classic spice. Appearance is clear gold with a medium white head. Flavor is orangy and candy sweet. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a fairly low carb feel for a Belgian. Overall, a bit too sweet, but not truly malty, a bit tough to place.

22oz. pours golden with small white head. aroma is a little funky with some citrus. mouthful is is very one demential, just some bitterness and a fade to alcohol. this is missing all the spice and complex flavors expected from a tripel.

If I were rating an amber ale or even perhaps a porter I might give this decent marks but as a Belgian Triple it pretty bad, I don’t understand its classification. Lots of dark roasted barley taste. I even detect some noble hops. It’s drinkable but I certainly wont buy it again.

650ml. Pour is a cloudy gold with a small white head that recedes quickly. Nose is light with citrus fruit and yeast. Taste is spicy with malt backing and a decent alcohol warming. Way too sweet. Lots of sugar that made it very hard to drink the whole thing. Not a very good brew.