Val-Dieu Triple

33cl, from De Hopduvel Gent, complex brew, balanced, cloudy, good head, good brew

Fresh triple with a certain sourness. I was expecting something heavier, but it turned out to be in the light end of the spectrum whan talking abbey styled beers - nothing special really.

The Val-Dieu Tripel is one of those beers whose label is so classy it looks like a wine. We beer drinkers know there are many problems with confusing a beer with a wine, either in anatomy or luxury, both being luxurious, but I could still see an adventurous wine seeker picking a bottle of this Tripel as a brief dip into the beer world. The Val-Dieu Tripel’s color is like sparkling cider, with a thin, vaporous head and a light brass glow. Apple juice and lilac give a brief sensation of the Garden of Eden in the aroma, followed by heartier/less pure aromas of roasted chicken skin, a metal tinge and the soft and pleasing smell of fabric softener. Sugar invades in the flavor, with the Val-Dieu Tripel showing off the fully developed tastes of apple, brown sugar, roast pumpkin, crushed autumn leaves and a biting, heavy palate that gives the brew an overall character of cough medicine. This is a solid brew and very drinkable with a list of good qualities, but it pales in comparison to Val-Dieu’s Grand Cru. The break between the nose and palate, two totally different worlds of flavor, is unsettling, and the sweet flavors are all buit ruined by the medicinal density of the beer. Val-Dieu makes better beers, so save your money and enjoy a different glass from the same house.

No 246
Rated: 07.11.2007
Bottle brown, 330 ml
Appearance: Head is frothy to creamy, almost fully lasting, though not big, regular in structure, in snowy white colour, lacing is very thick, body is completely full, body is murky with a sediments that are the most dense from all the three types of Val - Dieu and carbonation is very intense and lively with bubbles building up the head and creating a nice walls.
Aroma: Rather no strong sa Brune, milk, cream, yeast, banana, grains, dough, wheat, vanilla, honey, white wine grapes, strawberries, malted barley, wheat, some hoppyness at the background, very well hidden alcohol content as for 9% vol, over a nice balanced and rounded blend and thich head, alcohol is only slightly felt. pinapple and hops are noticable.
Flavour: Grainy, wheaty, barley malts, dough, powder sugar, slight and gently alcoholic warmth, bready (white bread), grainy, a bit hoppy, creamy, banana, very well balanced, accidic sa an effect of great balance between lively carbonation and high alcohol content, flour, whole meal bread, impresive, pineapple, cogniac. Finish duration is long.
Palate: Texture is smooth, body is full, finish feel is slightly alcoholic, accidic and slightly chalky from hops content.

75cl bottle from Total Wine (Tampa, FL). Rated on 3/20/08. Pours a golden yellow with thick frothy white head that settles slowly and laces the glass. Aroma is orange peel, spice, faint sweet honey notes. Flavor is light sweetness, hints of honey, vanilla, nuttiness. Medium-bodied with a sharp finish.