Westmalle Tripel

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle
Style: Abbey Tripel
Malle, Belgium

Bottle. Pours a hazy golden color with a thick bubbly head that stays until you are done and leaves tons of lacing around the glass. Aroma is that of spices, yeast, and fruit. It almost smells like a loaf of fruit bread before you bake it. The taste isn’t what I was expecting, its dry and refreshing with more to the spice end than the fruit side of things and only a hint of alcohol. I wasn’t really into it upon first taste but as my glass went on I began to think this is one fine beer. Above all else it was the aftertaste that sold me on this beer, so clean and refreshing not that sludgy thickness that some tripels can leave you with.

Bottle. Hazy, golden color with a thick, nearly-white head that is slow to dissipate. Yeasty aromas with herbal and floral notes, specifically anise and grass. Pow! Being my first tripel, this is not what I expected at all! Great mouthfeel with wonderful carbonation. Citrusy and spicy, the anise I smelled really comes out on the finish with an unexpected bitterness. I’m sold.

330ml bottle from the LCBO. Pours the classic triple look with the huge white head. Aroma is a little different, a lot more fruity esters than usual, with loads of Belgian yeasty character to it, topped off with actual hops which I’m not used to in Tripel’s, and a sour touch. Flavours are pretty good, better than I was worried they were going to be. All of the above, with a great malty-ness in the finish and aftertaste. This is a really nice, classic Tripel, with everything you could possibly want in one (I guess since it’s the original). I can’t wait to try this again in a few years when it’s had time to mellow and evolve.

Yeast in bottom of bottle. Thick head, hazy cloudy dark yellow. Spicy nose, with bread dough. Creamy palate, assertive sharp taste. More spiciness in the palate, coriander I presume? Oranges, tang, really good for a tripel.

A good brew. Pours a murky golden yellow with a big white lightly sticky head. The aroma is a standard mix of spice, yeast, and citrus. The flavour is a touch sweet, lots of spice, a good but unusual black licorice back bone, finishes with a touch of orange zest. A foamy mouthfeel with a dry alcohol finish. Different, but on par with Chimays version of this brew. All and all a tasty beverage.

This is a very nice abbey tripel, tasty and complex but light and easy to drink. It is slightly cloudy gold with a very large off-white head thatis dense and lasts forever, staying quite large. It leaves beautiful rings of creamy lacing down the glass. Th aroma is alcoholic, fruity, zesty, flowery with hints of grape juice, grain, and banana. The taste is a smooth alcoholic fruitiness with a bite, becoming dryish with herbalm citrus qualities and a faintly bitter hoppy-grain finish. It is smooth and creamy but with a tingly quality as well.

Matched to a main course consisting of duck, mashed potatoe towers and fresh salad, along with La Chouffe. High amount of carbonation and a relativly clear yellow look, extremly creamy aroma along with some peach and pepper. The alchohol and sweet character stood well to the food, and overall just a great experience!

11.2 oz bottle, best by date of 18 May 2008. Pours golden in color with white head. Aroma sweet, yeasty, spicey and light fruit. Taste fruit and yeasty with very dry finish.