Tripel Threat - Cambridge Brewing Company

YouSkeete

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear orange/gold color with a short solid-white head. Semi-complex arrangement of orange peel, banana, pale malts and coriander in the aroma. Sour apple and fermented fruit kick on the first sip. Body consists of dry yeast, belgian spices, orange peel, roasted nuts, wheat grass and and light tones of bitter hops. Sour, syrupy mouthfeel with a dry, fruity finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 02:53:45 | More by YouSkeete

andrewinski1

Maine

3.44/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Thanks to Bendurgin for sharing this bottle! Poured into a tulip. The color is nice clear golden. There is a small head that doesn't last very long.

The aroma has some nice pepperyness. Some graham crackery malts blend with a touch of grassy hops. The yeast is the prevalent component to this aroma.

The taste is full of crisp honey-sweet malt. There is a slightly peppery yeast finish. Not much hop flavor in the taste, just enough to complement the sweet malt flavor.

This is medium to full bodied. There is some nice crisp carbonation here. Not bad, nothing here stands out; but maybe that's a good thing also.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 03:07:34 | More by andrewinski1

neophilus

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Dark golden pour, thin white lacing on top. Very clear beer in the glass.

Aroma is very earthy, catty scents on top of a somewhat dry cracker malt smell. The first sip introduces a dry, crisp ale flavor. More earthiness on the tongue that mellows out into a subtle mix of red berry yeast esters and softly sweet malt backbone. The earthiness of the yesat almost dominates but eventually calms down a bit to let the peppery, spicy and red berry flavors make an appearance. Finishes with a bitter orange peeel flavor, not quite citrusy but the rind of the fruit shines through.

Drinks like a Saison that lost it's way, more dry than sandpaper but will quench your thirst and you'll never detect the ABV in this one. Great precision in beer making even if the flavors aren't my bag.

Serving type: on-tap

05-08-2013 19:19:36 | More by neophilus

jaasen64

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

05-05-2013 15:39:33 | More by jaasen64

Tjvan2

Iowa

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-01-2013 03:12:45 | More by Tjvan2

mactrail

California

3.64/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

Pours a lovely golden amber in the Ommegang chalice. Really a nicer than average head and loads of lacing. Champagne bubbles in the not quite clear brew. Some candy sweetness along with pear fruitiness and apple brandy.

The drier style of Tripel. Flavors much like a Saison but hot with alcohol. The Belgian flavors emerge through a variety of flavors in each sip. Eventually, however, the dry yeasty taste dominates and powers into a bitter ending. The yeasty bitterness doesn't linger as much as a big load of hops, but it accomplishes the same balance against the sweet malt and booziness.

An intriguing, complex, and powerfully flavored strong brew for your sipping delight. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Bottleworks in San Diego.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 06:17:02 | More by mactrail

smcnulty1981

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

04-22-2013 14:13:31 | More by smcnulty1981

drgonzo2k2

California

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

04-19-2013 03:02:44 | More by drgonzo2k2

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Cambridge Brewing has demonstrated a breadth of success with an array of styles. Belgian are tricky. How did they do?...

Bright gold as it decants, the ale casts a light haze through straw highlights. Partly frothy and mid-statured, its stark-white head is pulled apart by more spritzy carbonation. Its appearance is of both sparkling wine and beer. Its short retention and lace is a little un-Belgian-like.

Big sweet aromas are floral- chocked full of honey, orange blossoms, marmalade, apricots, apples, berries, and perfume. With freshly grated cloves in the background, the ale takes on the aromas of honey suckle with a twinge of vinous white wine.

Candied-sweet early, late, and in between- the initial sweetness is straight up of honey and powdered sugar. Those confectioner's taste coat the ester character of apple peels, apricots, lemons. and white grapes. Again, with a cast of white wine that presides over the ale- a spicy finish of white pepper, earthy straw-like hops, and a medley of under ripened berries signal the beer's closure.

Medium bodied throughout, the light sticky malt character clings to the mouth and extends its turn to finish. Semi-dry, warm, and spicy- the beer lingers long with its sweet-spicy interplay.

Although this Tripel is sweet balanced, it portrays all the tastes of Belgian ales but does so in a more simplified taste than indigenous examples from Belgium. Where it is as deep in taste or as rustic or as hoppy- the ale is heavily inspired from those strong Abbey ales. It pairs well with fresh fruits of white grapes, blackberries, and fresh strawberries.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 16:58:56 | More by BEERchitect

jondeelee

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Tripel Threat opens to a full-bodied banana and clove nose, ripe with spices and fruits. Pear, apple, berry, orange, white grape, and apricot mix with pepper, and a spritzy pink grapefruit and grapefruit rind layer from the hops adds a nice touch to the mix, made more bitter by shades of pine resin. The beer is quite sugary and sweet, with loads of brown sugar, and even a touch of super-sweet confectioner’s sugar adding to the fruity base. The sweetness is held back a little by the aforementioned spicy notes, as well as a light toast crust and Grape Nuts cereal base. At the edges is even a slightly funky, sour note, adding depth and complexity. As a whole, the nose is very nice, being balanced and offering a wide variety of aromas. A bit more punch would have been nice, especially as the fruity notes tend to lose their potency somewhat quickly, but as a whole the first impressions are good.

On the tongue, the beer begins very sweet, with berry, blood orange, peach, maraschino cherry, and apple mixing with brown and confectioner’s sugar, the initial blast shockingly sugary. The bananas and cloves, as well as white pepper, do come in after a second, bringing relieving spices, but the sweetness is still near cloying at times. Not even the tart pink grapefruit, grapefruit rind, and pine resin fully take away from the sugary rush. This sensation does not appreciably abate in subsequent sips, the sweetness reaching aspartame or stevia extract levels, and while the spices, hops, and touches of toast crust and wet wheat from the grains try to keep up, they simply can’t. There’s also a fairly heavy vodka vapor that fills the nasal cavities and lingers into the aftertaste, which is otherwise a continuation of the super-sweet aspartame fruit esters. Mouthfeel is medium-light to medium, and carbonation is medium to medium-high, adding to the burning mouthfeel.

Overall, while the nose had decent promise, there’s simply too much unchecked sweetness in this beer, which swings wildly into cloying and chemically aspartame notes, made more bitter by heavy alcohol vapors, and the beer in many ways resembles an alcoholic martini made with fruity vodka, sipped while eating wheat crackers.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2013 00:47:10 | More by jondeelee

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

04-07-2013 21:46:12 | More by WanderingFool

Brad007

Vermont

4.24/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Pours a nice golden color with a huge white head into my glass. Love the presentation here. Very much like a tripel.

Funky in the nose with alcohol warmth peeking out. A good dose of clove and raisin as well.

Ditto on the flavor. Funky fresh with leather and grapeskin upfront. All that seems to follow is a boozy, raisin-like finish.

It warms up at the back of the throat. Be warned if you tend to take your beer in gulps. It looks like an easy drinker.

An interesting take on the style. Definitely more personality here than in a few other (bland) examples of the style.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2013 14:52:45 | More by Brad007

juicebox

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%

02-21-2013 16:16:42 | More by juicebox

rallyr32

New York

3/5  rDev -22.5%

02-12-2013 03:01:31 | More by rallyr32

dirtylou

Washington

4.21/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

22oz bomber, split, hill farmstead stemware

This one's been around a while - hazy orange body - heavy notes of yeast, citrus, clove, white pepper, belgian spice, banana, candi sugar. Hey - nothing really new here, but this is a solid american tripel. I've always been fond of the style, and this was a nice one to try.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 03:33:25 | More by dirtylou

u2carew

Massachusetts

4.21/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

22oz bomber.
A) Pours with a two finger head that settles slightly. Some chill haze in the golden body. Thin, sticky lacing on the drink down.
S) Fruity esters. Banana. Apple. Clove. Floral notes. Yeasty.
T) Grainy and fruity. Banana. Spicy. Peppery.
M) Smooth. Medium body. Tannic. Alcohol warmth.
O) A delicious tripel. I'd definitely have another one.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 01:19:17 | More by u2carew

kinopio

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

02-01-2013 20:09:16 | More by kinopio

aorloski

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%

01-18-2013 14:26:42 | More by aorloski

Twal

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

01-15-2013 03:20:23 | More by Twal

Kelp

New Hampshire

4.75/5  rDev +22.7%

12-29-2012 02:36:39 | More by Kelp

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch #2 from Jan 2012. Poured from bottle into tulip glasses. Nice clean orange yellow body with a somewhat thin white head. Aroma was bursting with fruity yeast. Flavor was very nice. On the sweet side, with notes of bubble gum and Belgian candy. Mouthfeel was slick. This is a great locally brewed tripel and for $4.99 on sale, it was a relatively good deal for a bomber at that abv.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 04:47:04 | More by morebeergood

teddyarrowhead

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

12-16-2012 04:12:08 | More by teddyarrowhead

Yallnumbskulls

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%

12-12-2012 02:56:23 | More by Yallnumbskulls

wizo

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev +3.4%

11-30-2012 18:38:04 | More by wizo

johnsilk

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

11-01-2012 19:36:34 | More by johnsilk