Tripel Karmeliet

(Bottle, Monk’s Café, Stockholm, 31 Oct 2007) Golden amber colour with huge, but brief, white head. Fruity nose with candy, dried papaya and mango, hints of black-currant. Fruity taste with notes of sweet candy, dried papaya and mango. Slightly chemical finish. Solid malt foundation gives it a quite chewy mouthfeel. On the sweet side, but the balanced candy character is rather charming. Nice beer.

0.33 l bottle. Poured murky golden body with big fluffy white head slowly going down. Very nice fruity aroma, vanilla, banana, some spices too. Flavor is quite alcoholic, bitter and sweet like it is expected. Pretty full bodied. Finish is sweetish, alcoholic. Great beer, but not the best tripel I had, although I was expecting it will be.

What’s up with all these high ratings?! I’ve had this stuff 3 or 4 times. Mostly in a small bottle. Tonite in a cork top. This is one of those Belgians that if too cold absolutely sucks! Nasty yeast semi skunk. Almost like a yeasty Heinies in aroma. Not much better in flavor. Let it warm to around 55F and it was better. Better yeast,thicker mouth feel, semi fruity. Took it from crap to mediocre. There are too many better Tripels out there to "blow your load" over this stuff.

Pour from bottle into duvel tulip. Massive head quickly subsided with crackling sound from the bubbles escaping. Strong aromas of sweet apples indulge my nostrils with hints of vanilla. Tastes of mild grapes with a tingling bitterness sustained at the back of my throat. A swirl of the glass and a small head forms. Now a hint of burnt malt enters the aroma. Theres a lingering scent of citrus that fills my mouth. A great bier that will send you back for more.

Au nez, il est difficile d’ignorer la puissance massive du citron, de l’orange, de la nectarine et de la pêche confits et même des céréales. Il n’y a pas à dire, ce parfum est enivrant et il m’est difficile d’y échapper… le collet de mousse est blanc, subtil et se dissipe relativement rapidement, jusqu’à ce qu’une gorgée vienne provoquer l’éparpillement des petites bulles qui remontent jusqu’à la surface, pour mieux maintenir en vie l’encolure.

Visuellement parlant, cette bière est splendide : elle est d’un jaune/orange qui convoite le rubis. Il m’est également difficile de ne pas être hypnotisé par l’apparence de cette œuvre brassicole qui me rappelle – ais-je la berlue ? – les plus belles tartes au citron de ma jeunesse (minus la meringue, et la pâte). Au goût, l’alcool vient réchauffer la langue et la gorge, appuyés aussi par la présence des différents fruits de la forêt tropicale, tout particulièrement ceux riches en vitamine C (orange, citron, pomelo et mandarine), du chewing-gum, de la coriandre.

En arrière-bouche, je dois admettre la présence d’une certaine sécheresse qui s’allie bien à la douceur qui, précédemment, fit régner la joie et le beau temps dans les différentes régions de ma paroi buccale. La Tripel Karmeliet est définitivement l’une des plus belles bières du monde (mais le monde est-il petit ou grand ???)

Bottle. Pours a somewhat-cloudy golden color with a small white head. Aroma of cloves, banana, yeast, and malt. Taste is the same, with banana and clove up front dissolving into vanilla, malt, and yeast. Very nice, spicy tripel.

Pours a golden blonde with a massive and thick white head due to it’s heavy carbonation. Extremely pleasant aroma and flavor. Consists mainly of citrus, lemon, cloves and yeasts. A hint of spice also. I haven’t tried too many, but this is by far my favourite Abbey Tripel. It deserves a spot in my top ten. Highly recommended.

75 cl bottle. Poured blonde but not as light as a wit. Nice large, white head. Aroma is bubble gum with a hint of yeast and hops. Flavor is a mixture of lemon, clove, and banana. Very nice balance of spice and malt. A little bitter but the finish is more or less smooth with lots of spice.