Green's Quest Tripel Blonde Ale - Green's Gluten Free Beers

Vancer

Illinois

1.23/5  rDev -57.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Have not had a decent organic brew to-date, and this one again doesn't cut it. AND this freakin' 500ml bottle was $7 - wow, did I get it stuck up my waazoo.

Pours a root beer / amber, with a fast dying tan head. But the aroma - wow, what a nasty mess of turpentine and boozy malt. Most foul smell imaginable. Quaff if not much better, funky overripe fruit and cider. Fizzy with a stinging finish of medicine booze.

I've never drain-poured this will be a challenge. And I've made it though, some how. I really feel for those that gluten free is the only option.

Holy crap, BA lists this as a triple - what a beer abomination.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2009 18:17:48 | More by Vancer

biggred1

Indiana

1.23/5  rDev -57.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

Hazy peach blonde with a foamy white cap that leaves very little lace behind. The smell is more hard cider and mustier that any Belgian triple I have encountered before. The flavor is very much like cheap Italian sparkling wine, fruit forward with an almost cloying sweetness. Sticky and filmy in the mouth with a lot of carbonation gassiness. I'm glad I don't have celiac disease because this "beer" is truly a wretched concoction.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2009 00:56:05 | More by biggred1

Onslow

Texas

1.45/5  rDev -50.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

smells of a high octane wheat sake with honey ...first sip..WTF!! .. very sickly sweet and alco driven.. fuckin crazy beer, not what i was expecting, like a ball getting caught in a zipper kind of shock! ... for having 8.5% and really having nothing in it, its OK but shit, it needs a lot of work.. "ladies and gentleman, Mr. Conway Twitty"

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2008 14:49:12 | More by Onslow

KTCamm

New Jersey

1.63/5  rDev -44.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Ok, so lets acknowledge that there is a place for gluten free beers - for those who can't digest it, I imagine a product like this is a treat.

Reviewing against a "gluten full" beer though, this is just awful.

Pours very cloudy like amber with virtually no foam. Ok so far. Smells of light citrus - not bad, surely not great. Hints of apples.

The taste is absolutely horrible. Like sour, rotten apples, blended with a lemon. Some kind of bad hop backbone.

Lingering sour bittr aftertaste. Truly bad. This went down the drain.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2010 02:07:13 | More by KTCamm

drpimento

Wisconsin

1.68/5  rDev -42.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Hahahahahahaha. The bottle description is a trip! No crustaceans indeed. Poured with almost no head and no lace. My friend Paul said just wait till you try it. Sweet/sour. Definitely not a tripel. Think it might have the beginning of an infection. Thankfully short, mild finish. There was a dark residue of some intergalactic sort under the bottle cap.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2008 01:38:47 | More by drpimento

BradLikesBrew

Missouri

1.68/5  rDev -42.5%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

A: Dark Golden body with a large fluffy white head and good retention.

S: Sour apple

T: Green apple, sour apple, apple cider vinegar. Slight tartness.

M: High Carb.

D: Tastes like a mix between hard cider and mead, not a tripel.
If this is the best gluten free can be, then I feel sorry for those suffering from Celiac Disease. Wouldn't want to finish a whole bottle.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2009 05:21:18 | More by BradLikesBrew

zeff80

Missouri

1.7/5  rDev -41.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

This beers starts good, but rapidly declines. It looked quite good, a nice copper/amber color with a good deal of carbonation. It had a small, fizzy, white head. It smelled of some light caramel malt and a berry-like fruit. The taste was very fruity and reminded me of champagne - but not good champagne. Mouthfeel was too fizzy. This really isn't worth a try unless you truly need gluten-free beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2008 01:43:51 | More by zeff80

budgood1

Minnesota

1.93/5  rDev -33.9%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

label says this is a tripel. let's hope it doesn't suck as much as the dubbel.

pours out of the half litre bottle a hazy apple juice colour with a weak, thin, quickly dissapating head. very sparse lace. white grapes, pears and apples in the aroma. quite subdued. taste is a wince inducing conspiracy of champagne, apple juice and sour pears. yikes. it tastes like a bad bottle of champagne...with some dirt thrown in. a bit boozy, too. yikes. it does get a bit closer to style with a semi carbonated, crispy mouthfeel but the body is totally lacky any depth which proves to make is seem watery and lifeless. drinkability is terrible. ugh this is bad.

ok so this sucks worse than the dubbel. it has some wretched taste in the grain profile that totally ruins any slight positives in the brewing of this beer. again, my scores are on the nice side.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2010 22:00:01 | More by budgood1

froghop

Washington

2/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

pours a clear orange-yellow with a large egg-shell head, lively carbonation, good lacing.

smell is sour, berry, some malt, alcohol.

taste is sour and tart, alcohol, pear, malt, bubble gum, end is very sour and somewhat dry, aftertaste is strange and leaves a weird coating in the mouth.

overall looks are deceiving, stay away from this one unless you are just trying to increase your rating numbers.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2008 04:06:26 | More by froghop

mjryan

Minnesota

2.03/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I saw this beer and thought it would be fun to try, what with all the non tradintional ingredents in it. I was wrong. The apperance isn't all that bad. It has a nice big head and a hazy orange hue that may get your hopes up. The rest is down hill. This beer is more akin to sparkling wine or cider than anything else. Not even good cider or sparkling wine. I suppose if I had an intolerance to gluten I may have a different opinion. But if I did and this beer was my only choice I would rather drink cider or sparkling wine. Maybe my bottle was contaminated. Yuck!

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2007 21:14:24 | More by mjryan

vickersspitfire

Texas

2.13/5  rDev -27.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a goblet, it's a clear medium yellow color and gets darker towards the center and has lots of carbonation, the head was about one finger thick and quickly disappeared, not thinned out but disappeared, but there is a little bit of lacing. This one really smells like soy sauce and granny apples, it's just a weird sour, sweet and salty smell. Its crisp smooth and refreshing- its really bitter over all with just hints of sweetness in it-it has a really thin mouth feel to it... I guess Green's Ales aren't too bad if you don't like wheat, barley, eggs, fish, peanuts, celery, sulphur dioxide, lactose, crustaceans, and sulfites but if all this and more makes the beer taste better than this then please put it all back in.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2008 06:37:22 | More by vickersspitfire

cgmees

Texas

2.13/5  rDev -27.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Poured from 16.9 oz bottle dated best before 11/06/14

Appearance is yellowish with a touch of haze

Smelled a little like cider, slightly gone bad

Taste is not good, could be good for a gluten free beer, but this is the first example I have had and it does not impress me.

Mouth feel is semi fruity with a medium body.

Not a repeatable beer for me

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 19:22:01 | More by cgmees

DIM

Pennsylvania

2.15/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

My bottle says this was brewed and bottled in Belgium.

a: This was a pale golden yellow, somewhat hazy. It poured with a big frothy white head that quickly faded.

s: I liked the sour apple smell. Unfortunately there is a strong aroma of artificial sweetener here as well.

t: I've been curious about gluten free beers, so here we go. Big flavors of artificial sweetner and some mild floral hops. Tastes a bit like a wine cooler. You poor glutenless bastards.

m: Decent body and fizzy carbonation.

d: I have a new found respect for gluten. This was about as bad as I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2008 10:38:48 | More by DIM

geexploitation

Indiana

2.2/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours with a slightly dirty gold color, with a large-bubbled head that shows admirable staying power and some nice lacing. The nose is straightforward and sweet, showing little more than a vaguely fruity, aspartame-sweet smell mixed with some prune jucie. Not too inviting. On the palate, more sweetness, this time of a fruit-juice-with-corn-syrup variety, and a slight astringency toward the end. Mouthfeel is uninspiring -- thin, alcoholic, and harsh. Is this beer the reason you use barley to make beer? Maybe a bit harsh, but there's really not much to recommend here. Pass.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2008 03:30:39 | More by geexploitation

twiggamortis420

Texas

2.2/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

It's nice to know there are no crustaceans or fish parts in this beer, as the label indicates.

Looks good, good head retention and nice color, if a little light for a tripel. Nose is where this beer heads in the wrong direction. You can smell the rice and sorghum(?).

The taste is pretty much the same, not good but not horrible...at first. As this beer warms the flaws become more apparent and gets downright fruity.

I might have had to pour this one out if I didn't have someone to share this with.

I think I am cutting the beer some slack due to the whole "gluten" free thing...as I kinda feel sorry for people who can't drink regular beer. But if I am not mistaken, isn't Asahi gluten free? I would take an Asahi super dry over this beer any day.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2008 19:14:56 | More by twiggamortis420

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

2.2/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

"Life begins as a quest of the child for the man and ends as a journey by the man to rediscover the child."

--Laurens Van der Post

Honey amber with a small splash of orange juice. The head looks better than the beer. It's three full fingers of alabaster colored foam that has more than enough tackiness to plaster the glass with lace. This is the best looking of the Green's beer so far. Trouble is, I know from experience what comes next.

The aroma is kinda... sorta... reminiscent of a tripel. Like the other offerings from these guys, it has a solvent-like quality that is offputting. Think golden orchard fruit soaked in paint thinner, with a whiff of phenolic clove. In the end: barely acceptable.

Quest is probably my favorite (make that 'least unfavorite') Green's Gluten Free Beer to date. That doesn't mean that it's any damn good. Maybe the fact that tripels are one of my favorite styles has something to do with it, who knows?

There's quite a bit of apple fruitiness goin' on. Trouble is, the beer tastes like a mixture of bottom shelf green apple schnapps mixed with turpentine. On second thought, this one is no better than the others. Each sip still makes me grimace and wonder why the hell I spent good money on beer that I knew would be lousy.

Maybe it's my nearly empty stomach, but the acidity and the alcohol is giving me a serious case of gut ache and heart burn. Sorry, but this bottle will be emptied in the end, just not into my glass. On a badly needed positive note, Quest still looks good after multiple pours.

The mouthfeel, although not horrible, is a bit thin for the style. It's also oddly slick, which the others were as well. Truthfully, when beer tastes this bad, the mouthfeel gets lost in the shuffle.

It's hard to believe that gluten-free beer has to taste this foul. I'm sure that barley is far and away the best grain to brew with, but someone somewhere should be able to come up with something decent for those poor souls unfortunate enough to be unable to appreciate the wonders of craft beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2009 12:46:37 | More by BuckeyeNation

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.28/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

500ml bottle.

This beer pours a clear, medium golden copper, with two fingers of thin foamy off-white head, which leaves some table top cloud lace around the glass as it settles. It smells of sweet white grape juice concentrate, candy sugar, and a bit of green apple tartness. The taste is medicinal, gag-inducing, sweet, boozy non-malt graininess. There are existent Belgian Tripel characteristics, but they are forsaken by the lack of wheat and barley fortitude. The hops are there, hard to discern beyond their general drying nature, and pretty much obfuscated by the cough syrup broadside. Onto the carbonation - it's fairly average, unobtrusive in comparison. The body feels more akin to watered down apple juice, than beer, yet smoothness seems to throw this one a bone. It finishes off-dry, the musty apple character more prevalent, and begrudgingly welcome.

Urgh. I'm taken back to defending my position on tofu 'burgers': if it ain't the real thing, how can you truly expect it to taste like it?. Oh, right. You can't. My heart goes out once again to the celiac beer lovers out there. C'est la vie.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2011 02:23:41 | More by biboergosum

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

2.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

This gluten-free Belgian tripel pours out a transluscent apricot hue, a massive amount of carbonation action at first. Tall chunky off white head that settles to a merrengue-textured cap. A thick wall of spongy, coral-like lacing coats the inside of the glass.

Tart, acidic grains on the nose, along with a mildly astringent herbal character. Some soft fruity floral notes, along with a slick soapy presence.

Honestly, it tastes like young homebrew out of the secondary carboy right before you're getting ready to bottle. The "malt" flavour is clean yet tart and acidic (from the rice I would imagine), some citrus notes like that of small young tangerines, with a rolling alcohol presence on the finish. Bitter leafy hops linger on in the aftertaste, as well as the malt tartness. Some spices show up as it warms to near room temperature. Yeah, it's taking me that long to finish...

The mouthfeel is thin and smooth, almost velvety. The carbonation is full yet rounded out.

Well then, I've had some challenging tripels, but this one has to top that list, and that includes palatability. Perhaps an alternative for the seriously gluten-intolerant, but I can't fathom much appeal for any mass-marketing beyond that demographic, except for maybe the hard-core vegan crowd as well (after reading the side of the bottle of what it *does not* contain).

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2008 00:43:44 | More by IronDjinn

dedrinker

Kansas

2.42/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

It looks like a weak ginger ale, and smelled remotely tripel-like. The flavor was more like a very clean, crisp cider made in somebody's basement. To be most objective, the beer wasn't bad, but it didn't taste like beer. If I was gluten intolerant, I would just switch to cider rather than pay the high price for this one if only to say I can still drink "beer."

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2007 08:07:56 | More by dedrinker

roblowther

Texas

2.48/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Color is right but the head is like soap suds. Golden color & no head retention. The smell has some of the right notes, a bit of apricots up front. But then, that sulphur-molases smell hits me. I'm afraid a little. Taste starts ok, again, some fruit. But then it finishes metallic, sour, bitter, and desert (not dessert) dry. Mouthfeel is about right, with more substance than it looks. Drinkability just isn't there. Again, like the other gluten-free offering I've tried from Green's. I applaud their effort & aspirations. Now I'm going to go have a beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2009 01:06:28 | More by roblowther

Blindpigbiz

California

2.54/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Smell: faint herbs, cloves, citrus, and pears

Taste: subtle clementines, herbs (I'm not a cook so I could only tell you this beer tastes like the 'green' ones), and hints of apple cider pervade throughout; heavy rice, bitter oats, and slightly sour gains prevail during each sip

I'm sorry if you have a gluten allergy; this beer doesn't do it for me and it probably won't for you either. Some people may like the taste of sour yeast, oats, and rice but as for yours truly, it's very overbearing and kills the potential it has with some of its other flavors. Maybe if you pair it with a veggie pizza that includes heavy Alfredo sauce it may work

Sorry greens

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 06:39:17 | More by Blindpigbiz

generallee

New York

2.55/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 500ml bottle into a tulip glass.

Appearance: It has an orange/golden color with a hazy body and a tall head from the pour. This head slowly fades out leaving no covering or lacing.

Smell: The aroma has a light wine like character with apple skins and just a touch of citrus and yeast spice.

Taste/Palate: Up front there is a light grain and an odd apple skin like fruity sweetness with a touch of bready/spicy yeast. The finish has a dry and tart white wine like character that smacks the palate. The body has a light medium feel with balanced carbonation.

Notes: As a Belgian Tripel it’s an epic fail!!! As a gluten free beer it has more character than most. Still I don’t think I would recommend this beer to anyone.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2011 20:28:45 | More by generallee

CWiggins

North Carolina

2.63/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I have no health reason to consume gluten-free beers. However, I work in a store that carries several varieties, and I've found my advice to be helpful to many customers. So, when a local vendor handed a bottle of Greene's Quest to me for sampling, I couldn't disappoint my customers and not try it myself!

The color is very much in the vein of tripels: it's a hazy (nearly opaque,) dark amber with light, golden highlights. The snow-white head didn't disappoint. It began a half-inch thick and slowly dissolved into a lean, foamy lacing around the perimeter of the liquid. It's with the aroma that things start getting weird. A lot of unusual scents emerge, including lemon and grape, and an odd essence I can only best describe as soap. It's not an offensive smell, but certainly not what one is used to with this style.

Much of the aroma is reflected in the flavor. The same sort of fruit characteristics are present, as well as a cola-like element that reminds me of ginger ale only not as sweet. As the beer begins to warm, a pleasing aftertaste can be noticed: a mild (and I do mean mild) bit of dark, ripe fruit can be extracted, as well as a bit of honey-style sweetness. Unfortunately, the carbonation hinders the overall taste experience–at least for me.

I don't find this beer particularly offensive; in fact, I found it somewhat pleasing, especially as it warmed. Don't get me wrong, it really cannot be compared to grain beers of this style. But, if I were gluten intolerant I wouldn't mind having this around.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2008 03:25:59 | More by CWiggins

Metalmonk

North Carolina

2.8/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Contract-brewed in Belgium (by the very capable De Proef) for a UK company. Interesting...especially interesting considering the approach: "Green's Ales DO NOT contain any of the following: Wheat and/or Barley, Crustaceans, Eggs, Fish, Peanuts, Soya beans, Milk, Lactose, Nuts, Celery, Mustard, Sesame Seeds, Sulphur Dioxide and Sulfites". Obviously they're going for beer lovers who suffer allergies. But boy, how could they possibly make a decent beer without eggs or fish?!? Let's see...

Pours a glowing orange-tinted yellow, with legions of bubbles feeding the soapy, sea-foam head. Lace stickage already occurs with the slightest drop of the head.

Smells just like champagne. Tons of green apple and white grape in the nose, plus a little alcohol. Not much else detected. Certainly a novel aroma for any beer. But again: smells just like champagne.

Tastes like champagne too. Crisp Granny Smith apples...lightly tart white grape...bubbly texture. A little spiciness comes into play, a kiss of honey, and some alcohol warming...these are its strongest comparisons to a tripel. There's an odd aftertaste, which is probably just the unusual grain bill (millet, rice, buckwheat, sorghum). It's quite a bit different and much less complex than most tripels I've had...even the bad tripels.

Pretty heavily carbonated, though soft, not at all soda-like. Here again it draws more comparisons to champagne.

There's something interesting here, but it just feels alien. It's a beer made with some unusual stuff, and maybe that's why it doesn't feel "right". Certainly not the kind of sweet, bold, malty, spicy, boozy tripel we know and love. It is absolutely admirable in intent. If I had some allergy that prevented me from drinking beer made of traditional ingredients, there are worse alternatives out there. But unless you're allergic to some or all the above stated ingredients that this is brewed without, you could live without it.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2008 21:52:43 | More by Metalmonk

Bitterbill

Wyoming

2.8/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Brewed and bottled by DeProef in Belgium. I have no clue as to why it's under a brewer from the UK.

It pours a slightly hazy pale orange with a good 1 finger head of foam with some lacing.

The smell is pretty sweet...candy sugar mostly, some green apple tartness, umm..that's about it. Nothing wrong with that aroma.

Green apple tartness in the taste, some sweet candy sugar in the flavour as well. and some definite spiciness though I'm hard pressed to define it. Be forewarned, my bottle's label says best before Jan 15, 2010 so I must be drinking it not as intended by the brewer. Very much a cider like brew at this stage but not a drain pour.

Very bubbly, thin bodied, again, very cider like.

Drinkabilty is not bad. Despite it being very unbeer like, it goes down easy and the alcohol is not noticeable. Would I buy it again? Not likely. The resemblance to beer has been lost...ymmv.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2011 18:44:53 | More by Bitterbill