Stoudts Triple

Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Tripel
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

12 oz bottle-poured a cloudy golden color w/a moderate bubbly white head. Good, sweet, Belgian aroma. Classic Belgian flavors, bread dough, cane sugar, banana, & spice. Rich full mouthfeel. Good example of this style, particularly for an American Brewer, who often seem to have trouble w/this style. Alcohol was well hidden.

The beer pours a deep, cloudy amber with brown and orange touches and a thick, tan head that quickly fades to a thin layer of tight bubbles. The aroma is lovely - thick with grassy notes of herbal hops, lots of grain and sweet malts, as well as a touch of spicy, fruity yeast (cloves, pepper, pears, and pineapple). The taste tantalizes the tip of the tongue - lovely bite of big, fuzzy carbonation combined with a mellow, malt-heavy flavor that is accented with touches of spice, fruit, and honey. More spicy yeast notes enter around mid-flavor - along with more tingly carbonation tickling the middle of the tongue. The back of the tongue picks up some alcohol, a devlishly complex and delicious malt and hop interplay (chocolate and caramel combine with spicy fruit and a touch of peppery bitterness), and a dry finish that has a decent alcohol bite. All of this culminates into a long, spicy aftertaste. Burps taste like spice, yeast, and grainy but sweet malts. The mouthfeel is full of carbonation, but also full in creamy body and amazingly flavorful. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this beer.

Pours a slight clouded gold. Nose is extremely doughy. Flavor is heavy with dough. There is the sweet tone as well that is not really overly strong. It is bit boisterous and bright, but it is very even and never changes as it progresses. Feel is thick and doughy on the tongue. Overall a pretty good example of a tripel I say. Especially for an American producer.

My first from Stoudts. I met a guy who works for them, a friend of the Beer Maven, and he had good things to say about the organization. I am surprised it has taken me this long to give them a go, but it was worth the wait. Pleasantly sweet aroma with floral notes. Flat pour. There a cute, elfin monks on the label whooping it up. A very tasty, complex tripel: alcohol warmth, hoppy bite, and brown sugar sweetness, plus a dash of Belgian yeast and wheat malt. An excellent example of the style.

Bottle. Pours a hazy yellow with lots of foamy head. Not a lot of aroma, but picking up banana esters and yeasty spices. Taste is very clovish with an eatery finish. High carbonation levels give it a peppery feeling.

Smells like a triple, tastes like a triple, looks like a triple! This triple delivers on all levels. The nose is complex, the taste well balanced and the color a lovely cloudy golden yellow. Stoudts delivers again...as always!

This reminded me of a slightly maltier, bolder, sweeter version of the Belgian dubbel. I'd be interested to see the recipe differences in these two.

Bottle: Courtesy of Shadey via trade. Very nice aroma that contains yeast, banana, apple, caramel, honey, light clove, and the slightest hints of alcohol. Pours a very hazy reddish-orange with a small off white head that quickly diminishes to a ring. Flavor up front is fruity with apple, banana, melon, and raisin. Strong peppery yeast finish with some light orange peel, light bitterness, and the perfect amount of alcohol warmth.