Tripel Karmeliet - Brouwerij Bosteels

psuKinger

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

Bomber poured into my new gigantic Tripel Karmeliet tulip.

A: Pours a hazy straw hue with a giant 3-finger fluffy white head on top that stuck around.

S: Has a big, effervescent nose of banana and clove.

T: Big, bold, and spicy. Banana bread, clove, and ginger. Alcohol presence makes itself known on the back end. Banana is the most prominent, particularly on the finish, where things meld into an almost buttery richness.

M: Light and lively, great carbonation, dry semi-sweet finish, this beer is artfully rendered when it hits the tongue.

D/O: I genuinely enjoy this beer in small quantities. But this is not my preferred style, and the banana/butter finish wears on me over time. A 25.4 ounce bomber is

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 01:08:02 | More by psuKinger

jtd1969

North Carolina

4.6/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Golden in color, thick creamy head.

S - Yeasty and sweet smell. Honey, some clove

T - Sweet banana notes. Clove notes as well.

M - Full body with heavy carbonation. Easy to drink considering the abv.

O - Really really love this beer. One of my favorites for the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2012 16:10:00 | More by jtd1969

dbell23

Tennessee

4.8/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 750 ml bottle into a tulip glass. Freshness date on the neck of the bottle. It's past the "best buy" date. Color is a hazy gold with very active carbonation. Nice big head with good retention and lacing. Nice looking beer.

The smell is delightful. Honey, mild spice, phenols,and yeast. Great Belgian Tripel smell.

Taste is all Tripel. Slightly crisp, fruity, phenols, slight spiciness. Maybe a little warming alcohol. Great Tripel taste. From other reviews, I see that it might be a little over the top. I guess that's the way I like my Tripels because I really like this beer. It's certainly in the ball park with la fin du monde.

Mouthfeel is great. Starts out crisp with a smooth finish. Perfect.

Overall a great beer. The fact that it is out of date seems to not be an issue. I will definitely be drinking this one again. If you like Tripels this a must try.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 21:34:59 | More by dbell23

Csnowbrown

4.9/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

On tap, poured in a 12oz tulip
pours crisp golden with a bit of haze. 1 1/2" rich fluffy head. Aromas of clove spice and fruits, a bit of alcohol.
Taste is very smooth with a full yeast flavor and a long crisp finish. Carbonation is superb!
This is a fantastic beer!

Serving type: on-tap

08-28-2012 01:51:37 | More by Csnowbrown

pkalix

California

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

first pour from the 750 was clear bright yellow but the finishing pour was hazy and cloudy. huge, medium-sized-bubbled head dissipating to nothing.
smells citrus-y and light-fruity.
tastes citrus-y and light-fruity.
i like the carbonation.
overall, this is a different kind of brew for me. kind of hoppy-tasting, akmost, but without the piney flavor, i guess this is what an OAT< WHEAT< BARLEY from belgium tastes like. my apologies, i had a very time-consuming review erased into the nether regions of cyberspace and this is no reflection of the time or quality of that production. but what i would like to state here is that there is a very nice, relatively new, Belgium pub in Garden Grove, California called THE GLOBE which has this, and about 25 other beautiful Belgian brews, on tap. i have no interest in the business except for converting my hard-earned wages into beautiful belgian suds but i'd like to make more people in the area aware of this site.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 00:01:09 | More by pkalix

TheRealBigC

Nevada

3.98/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy yellow with fizzy head. Very herbal nose, a little yeasty as well. Taste-wise it's a pretty big brew considering how light it feels. Herbal/medicinal sort of flavor plays with yeast and fruity phenols. I think it's a good beer and a major stand-out flavor profile among tripels.

Serving type: on-tap

08-20-2012 22:43:48 | More by TheRealBigC

brureview

Massachusetts

4.7/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Julian's restaurant in Providence.

What a great beer! Light golden color with less than a finger head.

Great aroma- strong cloves.

Mouth feel- very smooth, complementing the style.

Taste- strong cloves, with warming-apricot-cloves.

This was my first time tasting this tripel, and it is perfect for a summer day. Very distinctive. A world class tripel.

Serving type: on-tap

08-18-2012 00:00:00 | More by brureview

BelgianTripple

3.83/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I enjoy this beer very much.

I get notes of citrus and spice when I drink this beer in both flavor and smell. It is a highly carbonated beer that I find to be refreshing. This is a beer that can easily be enjoyed quickly or sipped over the course of half an hour.

I actually use a Tripel Karmeliet tulip glass which make it easy to drink and to enjoy the aroma. If you get a chance I would highly suggest it.

At home, I tend to drink this beer slightly colder than cellar temperature, but when I have it in a pub at cellar temperature I find the flavor of this beer stands up very well. There is a sweet spot between too cold and too warm that I've come to recognize and that it usually when I decide to finish the beer.

The only negative comment I might make involves that carbonation I mentioned earlier. This is a beer that can make you full. But at 8.4% that isn't really a bad thing.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 00:39:13 | More by BelgianTripple

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a crystal clear medium yellow in color with some moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a two finger tall fizzy (like ginger ale) white head that reduces to thick layer covering the entire surface of the beer evenly. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of light fruit (pear), Belgian yeast, banana, clove, lemon zest, and some floral notes.

T: Very similar to the smell, the taste of this beer starts out with the flavors of light fruits (pear and apple), Belgian yeast with some spiciness, banana, and clove.

M: Light bodied with moderate to heavy amounts of carbonation. Crisp and pretty dry, especially in the finish.

O: This beer is enjoyable and relatively refreshing even though there is a fairly high ABV in which the alcohol is detectable. This is much more of a sipping beer but is very good. Very good example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2012 23:31:21 | More by dbrauneis

MaximalC

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a murky golden color with a positively indominable, rocky, white head. Seriously, a mild pour yielded two inches of glorious foam that continues to expand as I write. My Duvel glass has never looked so content...

Aroma is of apple, pear, clove, coriander, and that signature Belgian yeast character. The smell is present but not overwhelming. The taste is spot on with the aroma, except with a massive dose of prickly carbonation. I'm also getting some citrus on the back end that wasn't as present in the aroma, as well as some mild hop bitterness. This is your textbook Belgian ale: spicy, prickly, and fruity. Not much to critique here, though one could argue that the extensive carbonation overwhelms some of the subtler elements in the taste. Regardless, this is one tasty and refreshing brew that goes down way too fast for its ABV.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 02:00:34 | More by MaximalC

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.2/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Review from 8/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a light orange amber. Nice large white head that lasts a long time with nice lacing. Aroma subdued wheat. Flavor is wheat developing into sweet malt and light fruit. Sweet malt and spicy middle and finish with a touch of hops. Very well integrated. An excellent tripel and worth a revisit.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 21:35:34 | More by LiquidAmber

n2185

North Carolina

4.38/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a slightly hazy yellow-gold with two fingers of white head that recedes into a thin layer with no lacing.

S: Belgian spices with tart, light fruit aromas similar to white grapes and pears. There are sweet candy sugar and bready aromas toward the finish.

T: Light spice notes up front followed by tart fruit flavors and some slight candy sugar notes. The finish is champagne-like with dry fruit and bread characters. Very tasty.

M: Light body with high carbonation, this beer is perfectly attenuated, leaving it light, crisp, and dry despite its high abv.

O: One of the best tripels out there, I think. It's very tasty and has the perfect body needed for a great Belgian.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 02:31:03 | More by n2185

weizenbob

Michigan

3/5  rDev -29.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

This 750 ml corked and caged green glass bottle was purchased in April at Pere Marquette Expeditions in Ludington, MI, supposedly on the same day that it came in. However, if I'm reading the "best before" date correctly as December 21, 2010 then this is quite an old bottle. Shame on you, local distributor. This bottle is being served at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and is being poured into a Duvel tulip glass.

The cork comes off easily and a lively stream of champagne-like bubbles rushes to the surface, aggravating the layer of sediment at the bottom of the bottle, effectively distributing it back into the beer. A moderate pour into the glass yields an explosive two-finger head. An effervescent stream of bubbles aggressively ascends from the nucleation point of the glass, the likes of which I have not seen in this particular vessel. As a result, head retention is very good. Patchy lacing sticks to the wall of the glass. The beer is light-golden in hue, and apart from the chunky sediment now reintroduced into the beer, it looks very clear. The sediment is an unfortunate detriment to an otherwise fine looking brew.

The aroma is giving off mostly lactic sour notes, though a tempered wheaty snap waits subversively in the wings. It is a little peppery and closer examination reveals faint remnant of the classic banana and clove combo. The scent of solvent-like alcohol eventually surfaces. Mostly however, it smells like lambic or perhaps saison. This is my first experience with Tripel Karmeliet, and I was not expecting a sour by any description on the label. Could it be a pleasant surprise, or perhaps an unfortunate infection?

Though the taste is not overtly sour, there seems to be something amiss with this bottle. Again, this is my first experience with this beer so I won't know for sure until the next one. On the front end, sweet tropical fruitiness dominates. There are hints of pineapple, but those hints are quickly overtaken by a banana flavor so intense and artificial, you'd swear that you were drinking Laffy Taffy. It blends into a solvent-like alcohol flavor that has obviously mellowed with age, but is still potent enough to be off-putting. As expected, there is no apparent hop bitterness; but this beer is in desperate need of something to balance, or at least challenge, the onslaught of banana. Now I'm kind of wishing that it was a sour.

As a bright point, I must say that this beer feels really good in the mouth. The velvety feel of alcohol gives this a nice weight that isn't too heavy. The violent carbonation had spent itself within minutes. Thus, the stinging carbonic bite I was expecting simply did not manifest. It warms the throat, perhaps a touch more than I would care for. However, it's not a deal-breaker.

This is one odd tripel. If you had given this to me blindly and told me that it was malt liquor, I would say "Bravo! This is fantastic." However as an authentic Belgian tripel it is an unbalanced mess and a disappointment to boot. On top of that, it had me all fooled into thinking I was going to be treated to a nice gueuze, which I am now craving. At $11 a bottle, there are much better triples to be had, but I am also inclined to give this one a second chance. After all, if I am reading the date correctly, this beer is a year and a half beyond peak freshness.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2012 01:00:55 | More by weizenbob

BigPlay1824

New York

3.78/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed in a chalice

A: pours a very very pale and light hay color that is just slightly hazy with a small amount of carbonation bubbles and a three finger head that is pure white, very light and fluffy and lingers very nicely, leaves a decent amount of lacing
S: very night slight peppery notes and a gentle lemon peel scent, a nice grainy note like honey nut cheerios
T: really nice taste, reminds me kind of like a really faint apple juice, slight spice and clove notes, finishes with a bit of a bitter note, there is a slight bubble gum note in the front of the sip as well
M: gentle carbonation tingle but definitely fizzy, smooth and airy across the palate, leaves the mouth feeling slightly dry
O: given its overall rating, i had expected more complexity, i do suppose that this is a spot on representation of the style, it hits right as it should, drinks nicely enough and the alcohol is not perceivable

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2012 01:35:52 | More by BigPlay1824

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

4.03/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Consumed 6/24/12

Appearance: Pale golden yellow, hazy, with a giant, bright white head - chunks of fluffy lacing stick to the glass

Smell: Belgian yeast and sweet malts, quite clearly a Belgian Tripel - bananas, clove, some bubblegum - some spices - sweet, pale malts, and some sweet grains - plenty of candi sugar - some hay, some light fruits

Taste: Sweet malts, candi sugar, and yeast - pale malts and some light grains, with a touch of hay - Belgian yeast, with banana candy, sugary bubblegum, and some clove - slightly spicy, with some light fruits - tasty, but too sweet - increasingly phenolic as it warms up

Mouthfeel: Bubbly carbonation, smooth and grainy, medium body

Overall: A very good example of the style, but not epic

This is a solid tripel. It's pretty balanced, and it's distinctly Belgian. It's a little sweeter than I like a tripel, but it's good. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 21:03:33 | More by angrybabboon

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to angrybabboon for sharing the bottle.

Appearance: Hazed gold/dark straw. Head is fluffy and bright-white. Crazy retention. Drops to a fluffy cap that sticks around. Lively carbonation.

Smell: Ripe banana and bubblegum. Yeast is spicy and throws some clove with a big pepper component. Lemon, hay, and grass. Some sweetness. Pale malts and bready yeast. Yeast is aggressive. Apples and some pears. Very fruity with a pronounced floral edge.

Taste: Banana with a floral wrapper. Heavy yeast. Clove and bubblegum are dealt with a heavy hand. Pepper and apple sweetness. Sweetness is intense. Some pale bready malts. Floral honey. Grass and a mild earthy funk. Super Belgian and yeasty. Lemon flesh without the tart edge.

Mouthfeel: Light and crisp. High carbonation dries everything out. Clean finish with some lingering spice.

Overall: Unrelenting and unapologetically Belgian. You want to taste Belgian yeast, drink this. Too aggressive in the long run.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 20:55:15 | More by Goblinmunkey7

RickS95

Indiana

4.48/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a creamy, milky gold. Slightly hazy. The head is huge and shows off the carbonation, but even without the head, the liquid is full of bubbles that never really stop. Head is huge and white, with all sized bubbles. Major sticky lacing.

Smells like a fruit farm. Lots of different kinds of fruits too...green apple, pear, grape, faint notes of citrus. Belgian yeast. Pepper and other spices.

I can taste why it's won awards. Fruit forward. Belgian yeast and Belgian sugars. Fruit cake. Spices and a touch of hops in the finish.

Complexity. Sweet mixed with tart mixed with spice. Plenty of cleansing carbonation. Acidic, but not overly so. Medium bodied. Just a note of bitterness in the finish. Slightest bit of heat in the swallow.

A tremendous beer all around. No weak spots. Easy to drink, smooth, alcohol is present, but plays nicely. Would love to have a few more of these.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 03:09:27 | More by RickS95

TheHoppiest

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 330 ml bottle into a chalice. Pours a pale straw yellow with a slight haze, and a 1/2" fizzy white head that reduces to a thin collar with a small island of foam.

Has a slightly funky, tart aroma, with hints of banana, bubblegum, and honey. Generally, this tripel has a mild, sweet smell.

Has a sweet honey taste, with orange blossom, hints of alcohol, sticky malt, apricot and green apple. Ends slightly bitter and dry.

Has a sticky-sweet medium bodied mouthfeel, ending dry and tacky. There's plenty of carbobation to give this an active feel as well.

A nice brew, but this is a bit too sweet for me. Gets a bit boozy as it warms. In some ways, it reminds me of a cordial or sherry more than a beer. I can appreciate that this is a nice ale; it just isn't the ale for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 02:03:25 | More by TheHoppiest

Greywulfken

New York

4.79/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

A: hazy gold with a fat cap of lacey foam - it's one of those beers that foam up and overflow if you don't measure your pour

S: light fruits and soft floral notes

T: clean malt grains give it a strong simple elegrance; nearby: graceful pale fruits and banana gracefully interwoven with honey and floral/herbal accents

M: clean, fresh, soft, creamy, fuzzy

O: wonderful pay-off on an impulse buy - one of the best tasting and feeling tripels - reminded me a lot of Gnomegang (which is considered a BSPA by BA); right up there with Westmalle's tripel in terms of tasting fresh and wonderful

Updating: the Karmeliet and Westmalle are (IMO) the two finest tripels in the world (yes, you read it correctly) - i'm going to say that the Karmeliet has a more champagne-like character - perhaps the use of three grains (oat, wheat, and barley) creates the difference

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 20:52:39 | More by Greywulfken

Louski

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On Tap in Nancy, France.

Poured a golden blonde with about a finger and a half worth of head

Smell was timid though sweet with hints of banana

Taste was sharp with a smooth finish almost honey-like. No alcohol hints what so ever.

Mouthfeel was retained for several minutes before another sip was needed.

Overall a great Belgian style beer that showed its class.

Serving type: on-tap

06-05-2012 20:22:45 | More by Louski

Sloiceman

California

4.73/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Great tasting triple. Sharing the 750ml bottle was perfect. The bartender poured it poorly and had 2 inches of head. After I couldn't wait any longer to try it, I took a mouthful of foam and then got to the delicious beer.
Great taste rolling around in the mouth followed by a very enjoyable finish.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 03:29:32 | More by Sloiceman

steelerguy

New York

4.4/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Clear straw yellow, high carbonation, huge frothy head that doesn't want to go away.

S - Crisp and tart apple, some sweetness like a pear, with some light spice and a touch of yeast.

T - Very clean, tastes how it smells but even better. There is a bit of green apple, sweet pear, spice almost like a bit of white pepper. Ends with a touch of yeast and hint of alcohol.

M - Light body, finishes clean, the carbonation tingles and the alcohol warms.

O - What a great surprise. Doesn't have as many dimensions as many Belgian tripels but when you make something simple this good, don't mess around with a bunch of tricks. Great beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2012 00:41:04 | More by steelerguy

BedetheVenerable

Missouri

3.9/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 330ml brown bottle with really nice cap and label. Wish there was a best-by date. Glad to have this in the smaller (non-green) bottle.

Appearance: Bright, rich golden beer with an ivory cap with pretty good retention.

Smell: Vibrant and interesting. Various light/golden fruits, perhaps a hint of cardamom, the faintest whisper of alcohol. Both estery and spicy, but spice leads the nose here. Unique.

Taste: Nice balance of fruit and spice. Cardamom and light fruits, with a medium bitterness on the back-end. Perhaps the tiniest hint of pilsner malt in the back, but this is largely about the fruity/spicy yeast flavors. Doesn't taste like 8.4%...nice, balanced, and drinkable.

Mouthfeel: Not quite the rich, creamy mouthfeel I expected from both oats and wheat, but this is nice and rich nonetheless. Not over-carbonated as some are.

Overall: Very nice, unique tripel. The 750s (green bottles, ugh) go for between 11-13 around here. For that, it's not a bad deal, and provides a nice counterpoint to Chimay's version. I have yet to try the Westmalle and St. Bernardus. This is very good, balanced beer, with the yeast doing wonderful things but nto getting overly complicated or muddled. Still, for $15 a 4-pk, I don't think I can give this more than a solid B, even if it's edging higher.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 03:22:03 | More by BedetheVenerable

FondueVoodoo

British Columbia (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a mirky golden wheat colour with a giant 4 finger foamy head and leaves a lovely lacing on top. A little swirl brings back that head if you miss it. Tiny bubbles stream upwards leaning to some big expectations for carbonation.

S: Pale sweet malts that show up as ripe apples and bananas, hints of sue cloves and a round smooth scent of vanilla.

T: Sweet pale malts with yeasty bread and hints of ripe bananas and cloves and the creaminess of vanilla.

M: Stinging little bubble on the initial sip, leave the mouth coated with a thin syrup. Lovely creaminess that hold on and evaporates in a bit of a boozy waft.

O: If you're a fan of triples you will not disappointed. Dangerously delicious and coy at hiding that 8.4%. Enjoy, at home, sitting down.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 03:46:57 | More by FondueVoodoo

CuriousMonk

Virginia

4.33/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from bottle into chalice. Pours hazy golden color with big white pillowy head. Sweet floral and herbal odor. Amazing aroma with vanilla, alcohol and some aroma hop. Heavy sweet taste with some bitterness. Medium body with lively carbonation and creamy silky texture. Strong and long alcoholic finish with all the aromas which appears earlier. Fantastic beer!

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2012 17:21:44 | More by CuriousMonk