Tripel Karmeliet

Golden of color with a woth head. An aroma of sweet, spice and citrus. A complex flavor with sweets, fruits, citrus notes and spice.

Tripel Karmeliet is a straightforward, no-nonsense, tasty tripel. Soft mouthfeel and a well-rounded flavor profile. Three grains used make it all the more interesting.

On tap, Map Room, Chicago. Never rated this before, so I thought I’d give it a go as I usually like tripels. Head is very impressive, huge, fluffy, rocky and crystalline, leaving dollops of foamy lace on the side. Smells spicy with some dark bread and faint orange fruitiness in a thick cream. Seems like you can smell the fluffiness of the head (is that yeast character, or the smell of protein?). Flavor is supercharged, incredibly full malt character that expands in the mouth. The main character is like peaches in half and half; yeasty and denatured, aged hops prick on the sides in a somewhat salty counterpoint to the lactic sweetness in the middle. A yeasty blanket covers the soft and creamy malts, giving this a nice soft texture all the way through. The finish is delicately dry and long, with black and white pepper and dust from a 17th century attic. Wonderful juxtaposition of textures, a wonderfully soft sipping beer. 7/5/8/5/17

We all know the Karmeliet. But one thing reviews never touch upon: the glass. I love the Tripel Karmeliet glass, a large tulip styled glass. Even though I like this beer, the glass is perfect for other Belgian tripels and strong ales.

Pours golden with a big bubbly white head. Aroma is kinda sweet and vinous, with hints of hay, wheat, a little witbier spice, and alcohol. Taste is sweet and grassy with a white wine grape flavor, and a bit of tartness, some wheat and earth, and a bit of hay. Finishes a bit hot actually, which is surprising cause the ABV isn’t that high. Tastes dry on the throat and slightly chalky, with lingering caramel and pilsner malt flavors. A decent tripel, but I’d rather have Curieux, or Westmalle.

330 mL bottle. Translucent gold with excellent head. Mild aroma - fairly sweet, with hints of spice, herb and citrus. Flavour is dominated by malt, but is quite complex, otherwise. There are citrus, spice (coriander?), pear, candi sugar, and herb flavours present. Incredibly smooth, and the alcohol taste and burn are very mild for a tripel. An excellent beer.

11.2 ounce bottle on Westmalle glass. Pours bright golden with with head that lasts most of the way down. Aroma of honey and lemon. Very complex layers of flavor from honey, lemon, earthiness, oat, and some alcohol. Medium body, medium carbonation. Complex and delicious.

If you have "problems" with triples, then try thisone. It’s just great and complex with very nice notes in both flavor and aroma ~ a beginners triple and then it’s highrated. Strange and great.
Notes of alcohol, caramel, malt, softness, grapes, flowers, coriander and must much more that I cannot find words for.