Watou Tripel

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abbey Tripel
Watou, Belgium

Very cloudy and murky gold with a lot of sediment. The head is huge, even for a tripel. The aroma is alcohol, pears and some ginger spice. The taste is a little bit of banana and some nutmeg. The alcohol is fairly well hidden. A solid tripel, but a little light in the flavor department.

Original Rating (25-Jun-04, 7-4-8-4-15=3.8): Yeast, bitter orange and cheese in the aroma. Slightly hazy dark amber-brown with good visible carbonation and dense off-white head that lasts. Some yeast in suspension. Malt dominates with some mildly tart yeasty flavour and light spiciness. Sweet in the finish with something metallic in the aftertaste. Body a bit light with strong carbonation. Fairly simple. I originally rated this 7-4-6-2-13=3.2 at just above fridge temp. After allowing to warm, the maltiness takes on a sweet roundness that is missing at lower temperature, the metallic aftertaste disappears and the body seems less light and the carbonation much smoother. What a Jeckyll and Hyde beer. Definitely recommend serving at higher temperatures. Bottle.
Rerate (15-May-05, 8-5-8-5-16=4.2): Mild lemon-citrus aroma with sweet candy-sugar, some bubblegum phenolics and gentle, leafy, green hops. Opaque yellow-tan with huge, dense, white head that sheets down the sides of the glass. Plenty of yeast in suspension. Yeasty, lemon-citrus with a malty, simple, sweet flavour. Fair carbonation with medium body. Bottle enjoyed with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Olivier_MTL, Rastacouere and Yowie.

Corked bottle and served in my St Bernardus glass: Poured a hazy amber with a lasting frothy white head and very good Belgium lace. The aroma has notes of candi sugar, apricot, pear cider, cardamom, black pepper, old noble hops, plastic, and earthy yeast esters. The taste was rather old which I sort am digging with a oxidized cardboard finish after the initial hit of sweet malts, caramel, apricot, bubblegum, and other assorted sugary fun. What makes this very attractive is a nice dose of bitters around the midsection that strikes the back and sides of the palate with a cleansing effectiveness. Some lingering pungent spice on the aftertaste. The mouth feel is a tad weak and sort of fizzy but does keep it from feeling too heavy or cloy. This beer works and is aged just right, nice job Miguel. I am so proud of myself, no really.

Drunk alongside Ename Triple and Leffe Triple. Yellowish apricot honey colour. Church incense & pine in aroma. Caramel notes up front which fade. The Ename is a darker, more orange colour. Same aroma. Honey fruit flavour. Same as Leffe but with a firmer, richer mouthfeel and a feeling of a better quality drink. The Watou has more pineapple & fruit - less perfume - is cleaner and slightly more pleasant.

Bottle. Creamy and good looking white head. Golden unclear body Fruity aroma. Pleasant hops flavor without the expected alcoholic taste.

750mL bottle, glad to see it in the area! Poured a healthy shade of medium orange with a medium cap of white head. The aroma is just what I was looking for this evening... sweet lighter fruits with a hefty, well-balanced dose of the house yeast that I adore.. light peppery spices and fresh bread.. quite nice! The flavor had a soft bready base with light fruity esters, moderate peppery spices, and alcohol kick spiking around the tongue. Medium-bodied & well-balanced.. definitely a solid brew!

Fruity orange yeast with tropical notes. Orange colour and lace. Easy drink. Medium mouthfeel. Alcohol is present reminding you its booze, eh? So, it’s a winter drink.

Bottle (330ml). Very yeasty aroma when it popped - as it sat unpoured, it was out-foaming a bit as it sat. Poured slightly hazy gold with a big white lasting head. Aroma is yeasty-malty fruity (ripe navel orange) - a little over the top, but appealing. Taste is caramel and fruit sweet, very yeasty and moderately peppery and spicy. Mouthfeel is fairly lively - almost candyish, certainly sticky. Could be a little better blended, but maybe with age ... certainly no complaints here, I like malty Belgians!