Tripel - Upstream Brewing Company - Old Market

Crosling

Colorado

2.73/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Soft opening, light orange color. Small white head. Simple, fruity, funky nose. Flavor is heavily sweet, fruity, funky, lightly sour, lightly wood influenced. Way too sweet. Not only is it not a tripel, it's hardly a Belgian style beer at all. I usually like Upstream, but this is disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2009 20:40:46 | More by Crosling

CRJMellor

Arkansas

4/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Extra special thanks to Brent for sharing a bottle of this limited edition.
Pours a cloudy, orange, copper and yellow color with a white head that fades away but leaves rings of lace on the glassware. Little dark for style but well-constructed as evidenced by the loads of carbonation bubbles.
Aroma is dominated by light citrus notes, lemon, orange even a hint of peach. Some bready/yeasty notes in the background. Seems to missing some grain and pale malt characteristics in the nose.
Flavors of citrus dominate just as in the nose. A little bit of dry liquor and some breadcrumb and biscuit malt breakthrough as it warms just a bit. Really pleasant, lacks a lot of complexity but makes up for with lively citrus taste.
Mouthfeel is on the light side but pleasant enough. Imagined it might be over sweet but based on aroma but the yeast breaks through some of the higher sweet malt notes and provides some balance. Not quite aggressive enough to be a really top-notch Triple but they got the lighter side of the style right.
Drinkability is very high. Really pleasant beer that was somewhat surprisingly refreshing. The bottle was about 7-8 months old so can't imagine it will get much better with age but this was a really nice surprise for a brewery unknown to me.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2005 02:31:51 | More by CRJMellor

bditty187

Nebraska

3.48/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Only found at the Upstream - Legacy.

750ml bottle, corked and caged. Hand written label: brewed in September 2004. Bottled in October 2004. This review is from bottle 116 of 350.

Clear, amber-gold in hue with a slight tawny influence as well. The color of the liquid is gorgeous. Steady streams of animation feed the white head that was very loud and active. At the zenith the foamy mass was almost two fingers in height before rapidly fading to nothing. I mean nothing. The head retention was awful for any beer but especially so for a Tripel. Oh well. There was no subsequent lacing. The liquid is pretty and the rest of the appearance is pretty disappointing. The nose has moderate potency. Wild honey notes is the strongest fragrance. From this aroma stems smells of fruit and wildflowers. This aspect is lovely. I’m also detected a stray note of grassy, almost vegetable-like smell that seems to be derived from the hops base. It is also lightly earthy, kind of spicy. Mildly grainy. Restrained caramel suggestions with some biscuity malt too. Cereal. At the back are whiffs of alcohol heat. Overall the bouquet is solid. Inviting, but far from spectacular however. Too clean. It doesn’t really say “triple” to me, more like “Belgian Strong Pale Ale.” The palate is better than the nose, mainly because the flavors are a bit more forceful. There is a strong sense of honey and like the nose this is the focal point. I am disappointed in the lack of yeast influences on the tongue. I am also a bit saddened by the lack of malt. Sure there are some pleasant toasty biscuit doused in caramel flavors. I wanted more, something richer and drier. Cereal. Hops are a little lacking too, where are the huge spicy flavors? I detect some and they maybe from the yeast too. There are wild flowers and some fruitiness with apricots, apples, and melon. Sweet. Hot. The alcohol is obvious. The finish is the best part of this beer; it kept making me want to go back for another sip. It is like playing a round of golf and duffing it around for 17 holes but on the 18th you have a killer drive, a perfect second shot, and then sink a ten foot putt for birdie and you think “damn I love this game!” In the finish everything fell together nicely. There was just the right amount of sweetness, spice, and heat. Even at its best this beer is too clean. I like my Belgians dirty. It falls on the slighter side of medium, the carbonation is weak but the lack of effervesces is not detrimental to the mouthfeel. This beer is good and thus drinkable. It is not a great Tripel; it doesn’t even approach New Belgium’s Tripel. I can buy NB’s for $7 a six-pack. This bad boy is $10 a 750ml. Kind of pricey, IMO. I liked this beer but I didn’t love it, it could be much improved honestly. I must give kudos to the “brew-crew” at Upstream for brewing a beer of this sort. I think it is a step in the right direction. Keep it up.

Maybe this one was too young. I'll try it again.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2004 21:51:35 | More by bditty187