St. Bernardus Tripel - Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV

Gump

Minnesota

4.9/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This green label caught my eye one day at Surdyk's. I have been on the lookout for this beer for about a year now after seeing it on a BA list of top Belgian Triples.

Light pale colored pour with plenty of white dense head. Starts very foamy and eventually calms to an inch of head with moderate wet lacing in the glass.

Amora is fruity, woodsy and dry with a chalky sweetness and natural earthiness.

Excellent mouthfeel. Leaves the tongue tingly and mouth feeling dry

A very crisp drink and excellent mouthfeel make this a beer that stands out from the rest.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2006 04:11:05 | More by Gump

dwren89

Virginia

4.9/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Appearance: hazy, golden amber, foamy persistent white head

Aroma: very aromatic,banana and clove with soft malt character, very yeasty with spicy hop additions

Taste: spicy with notes of banana and clove, malty depth

Mouthfeel: very smooth, rounded and balanced mouthfeel, little carbonation,

Overall Impression: A delicious and easy drinking Tripel, much easier to drink than Westmalle Tripel, and exhibits the spicey hops and yeast desired with strong malt background.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 21:47:52 | More by dwren89

daledeee

Iowa

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I always have trouble with these. I guess I haven't hung around with enough experts to identify what I taste. So here goes. All I know is that this is good stuff!!

This is the classuc Belgian taste. Very complex. I smell banana, butterscotch and bread or yeast. Lots of carbonation and bite. Hard to pour at first but head is soon under control. Clear unless you really stir up the bottom-a little cloudiness.

Tastes like the best wheat beer. Yeasty, fruity and rather tart. Very complex Not sure. I just know I like it.

This is top 5 beer for me. I could drink this all day- no I couldn't. Sorry moment of weakness 7.5% alchohol. Right behind the Apt 12. Just love it

Edit: Not quite a 5.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2003 19:19:07 | More by daledeee

ghurux86

Missouri

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

appearance: pours a dark cloudy orange with creamy head. there is some lacing but nothing too exceptionally great.
smell: hops, alcohol, maybe banana, apple, and some citrus. very complex. smells great.
taste: taste is very good compared to other brews of this style. goes down nice and smooth. there is a hint of hops in the flavor but it is not overly bitter. there is a hint of an alcohol taste but it's not overpowering. alcohol is more noticeble in the after taste. flavor is pretty complex. not the best i've tasted but the best in this style definitely.
mouthfeel: great, what else is there to say? lightly carbonated, not overdone, not completely flat, just about right. also has a nice smooth feel to it.
drinkibility: i'd definitely have another. the only thing that takes away from this getting 5 is the noticable alcohol, especially in the aftertaste. it is still very drinkable, though, just not the very best.
overall it's a very great brew, the best tripel i've had.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2004 02:09:47 | More by ghurux86

bceaglejoe

Massachusetts

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: Poured a translucent (cloudy) orange-amber color into a tulip glass. A rapidly rising head immediately sprang up, and retention was great throughout the drinking of this beer. It showed a rather high amount of carbonation right off the bat. The scent was one that blended grapes and red wine, with slight floral (rose) hints. There was a heavy malt presence in the scent, and it enveloped my nose. This could be one of the best beer aromas I've ever encountered.

Tasting: A slightly citric flavor came across on the front, followed by sweet malty characteristics, finally concluded by the warmth of alcohol. It was a sweet, sipping beer with a virtually nonexistent hop profile. There was a strong bread-y aftertaste as well that lingered in my mouth. The beer itself had a medium body. It was wonderfully complex in that every flavor that I had expected from the style came across. There are some beers that I've seen that use an overpowering hop presence to mask imperfections in the beer, but this beer blended all its elements extremely well. There was no harshness on the tongue, despite the high alcohol content. It rolled across very easily. This beer gets better as it gets a little warmer, too.

This beer is highly drinkable as a sipping beer, ideal for a wine and cheese hour or for dinner. The higher alcohol content may catch some by surprise, mainly because it is so well hidden by the flavors. At $3.99 per 11.2oz bottle (where I found it), this beer is meant for special occasions (or tastings at home, where I reviewed it). Definitely one of the best that I've ever tasted.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2005 01:45:23 | More by bceaglejoe

TheBungyo

Washington

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Let me get this out of the way: I don't normally like tripels all that much. With that bitter business out of the way, let's get to my review.

Poured a fiery golden color with a down pillow like head. An inch thick and nappy creamy curls. There's a little bit of lacing.

My god, the nose is like heaven. Easily the yeastiest nost I've ever encountered. I also smell what I can only describe as crushed rose petals. If you've ever gone to a brewery or brewpub where you could smell the yeast, you have a pretty good idea of the nose of this beer. That smell dominates. If this was an air freshener I'd buy it without hesitation. With that said, there just weren't enough dimensions to the nose to warrant a 5. It was truly amazing, but not complex enough for a 5.

Taste is a lovely mix of floral notes, extremely mild grapefruit and pine, white grapes, lemon sans tartness, hushed caramel sweetness, floral notes ... far more than a schlep like me can do justice. Suffice to say that this is easily the best Tripel I've come across even though I don't usually care for them.

Mouth is densely carbonated yet somehow delicate and thick. Drinkability is sky high ... sure it has a high ABV, but I measure drinkability by my likelihood of purchasing again, not by how many I want to down in one sitting. This is beer, not a buffet for the gluttonous.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2006 07:50:28 | More by TheBungyo

techdiver

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours a hazy golden yellow with a one finger foamy white head that dissipates slowly leaving a small cap and leaves modest lacing.

Sweet malt, spice, and hops to the nose.

Marvelous taste, echoes the smell. Very well balanced and totally enjoyable. One of the best, if not the best triple I've had.

Mouthfeel is excellent, nice carbonation, and just a joy to imbibe.

Drinkability is exceptional as well. ABV is well hidden, and at 8% not as devastating as the quadrupel.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2007 23:38:52 | More by techdiver

ndolover

Minnesota

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance: golden yellow color, with a few fingers of head that faded quickly leaving some good amount of lacing.

Aroma: The beer has a yeasty sourness with some malt, with alcohol in the background. Low hops present

Flavor: yeasty and sour with alcohol noticable but not overpowering. While I could taste hops, it was not the star. The delicate malt balance is what impressed me. How can so much alcohol be hidden behind the pale malt veil.

Mouthfeel: Full of tiny bubbles that di not overpower. medium mouthfeel.

Overall: This was an excellent example of a triple. I had a gusher with this one...as I have had in the past. That is really all that I can fault this beer. As it is a really great beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2007 02:04:24 | More by ndolover

Greggy

Minnesota

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A- 1 finger head that slowly recedes into a nice cap. Big sedimentation on the copper colored body.

S- Banana, yeast, fresh flour, alcohol, dates.

T- Nice malty sweetness of yeast, banana, clove, light date, dry finish with some spice. Initial pepper is large.

M- Light tingle of carb and pepper.

D- This is a great triple. Definitely a must have if you've never tried it.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2008 18:13:05 | More by Greggy

jstilwell

Massachusetts

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

One of my favorite of all the Belgians, thought I'd finally put my down my thoughts. Grabbed one out of my mix pack on Saturday night.

A: A cloudy golden pour into my duvel tulip. Bright white lasting, head with beautiful lacing.

S: Sugar Butter Cookies and Yeasty Banana Bread

T: Smooth but complex with the distinguishable belgian yeast overtones. Hints of vanilla and very creamy with a warm but mild alcohol finish.

M: Velvety and Frothy, a treat for the mouth, quite smooth.

D: Yeah I could do several of these even at 8 %. Too bad there's only one in this mixed sixer. Big thanks to the wife for the Christmas gift.

OVerall perhaps THE best representation of the style!

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2009 01:17:34 | More by jstilwell

KAVSE

California

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Poured from bottle into Chimay chalice.

This beer poured an almost champagne color out of the bottle, settling into a murky orange in the glass. The nose contained hints of apricot and orange with a hearty, wheat smell.

The taste was very light and crisp - incredibly drinkable. There are hints of apple, apricot, citrus fruits with a slight alcohol aftertaste. What really struck me was that this beer wants to "wrap" around the tongue instead of simply sliding down the throat.

It immediately struck me as the perfect summer day beer but this is one to be enjoyed all year round.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2009 20:42:28 | More by KAVSE

jreitman

California

4.85/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A wonderfully drinkable tripel that is surprisingly light. Nice orange color with tangerine/orange flavors very abbundant. Slightly sweet flavor with wonderful head. Having drunk the St Bernadus Abt the night before the tripel, I tasted a few similarities in the finish (caused by the water?). Overall, one of the best tripels I have had the pleasure of drinking

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2002 21:33:30 | More by jreitman

budgood1

Minnesota

4.85/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

my first belgian...cloudy golden color, moderate head and some thin lace left after a few minutes. aromas of caramel apples and pears. taste is delicious beyond compare. complex and layered. fruits and spice hide an underlying malt body and dry alcohol finish. simply awesome. can't wait to dive into this style.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2002 18:44:37 | More by budgood1

kingjames1

South Carolina

4.85/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I've tried other Tripels and have enjoyed them all, but this is almost flawless. Pours beautifully - a hazy gold with an enormous, frothy, dense head. Smells sweet, fruity, yeasty, spicy, and a little doughy. Taste is amazing. Apricots, citrus, bananas, cloves, spice, pepper, and even some caramel and yellow-cake batter (wa?). The alcohol is also there, but it is nice and works well with it.

Mouthful is great, well carbonated, yet creamy. This IS liquid bread! Increadible (were all monks alcoholics?). Highly recommended, and the best of this style that I've had (superior to Westmalle in my opinion).

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2005 04:28:40 | More by kingjames1

PatrickJR

North Carolina

4.85/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle into red wine glass.

A - Dark golden and quite cloudy. About a finger of head rises with decent retention and falls to a persistent thick collar. Minimal lacing.

S - Lots of apples and pears upfront with splashes of white grape juice. Lemon zest, green tea, and sweet honeysuckle are all under the surface. Absolutely amazing.

T - This shit is blowing me away. Huge fruity taste of pears soaked in white grape juice and slathered with honey. Quite sweet early on. As the pear begins dying out the white grape persists and takes on a moderate vinous character. A phenolic flavor rises but combines with the sweetness and fruit in such a way that reminds me of some sort of vanilla flavored honey. Sweetness finally drops off and leaves a sort of pleasant medicinal flavor with tea-like and herbal overtones. Moderate bitterness follows with a slightly citric finish. Alcohol is COMPLETELY hidden.

M - I never thought I'd find a tripel with this lucious of a mouthfeel. Soft but tight carbonation with a velvety medium body. Liquid silk. This is probably the most amazing aspect of the beer overall; a quality that jumped out at me before I had any time to taste or smell.

D - I want to take in copious amounts of this brew with huge gulps. It's amazingly good, slides right down the throat, provides the perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness, and has absolutely no hint of alcohol. St. Bernardus Tripel has provided me with one of those few amazing moments along the great journey.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2009 08:56:38 | More by PatrickJR

merlin48

Kentucky

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

11.2 FL.OZ bottle..The FL stands for flavour, according to the smiling Friar on the label who told me so. It's difficult to review and describe this ale in light of all the previous reviews. Poured into a St Bernardus goblet a hazy honey yellow colour, with a magnificent head that billows and laces like a cumulus cloud.
Aroma poses one of the mysteries that only a monastery Belgian ale can provide. Banana nut bread with a spike of clove, bathed in orange rum. Taste mirrors the nose, with the addition of fried apples with a dash of cinnamon. Tastes like a heavenly nectar, not like a beer. Delightful..!

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2004 01:51:01 | More by merlin48

Shultzerdugen

Missouri

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

11.2 oz. bottle with with best before date of 9-7-07.

Poured a cloudy orangish-dark straw. I must have disturbed the yeast during transportation. Big chunky head.

Smelled very fruity. Apricot, buttery, spicy. Sweet and lots of bread qualities, vanilla later.

While in the mouth, malt and hops, in fact more hops than I'm accustomed to in a Belgian beer, but that is not a bad thing at all. On the contrary it added alot to the drinkability. The finish is where things got really interesting. Vanilla, cookie dough, lemon, apricot. Spicy with a great tartness. Again, hoppier than others, and I like it. Hell, I love it.

This beer went away too quickly.

As Pierre Rajotte notes in Belgian Ale, "Trying to classify Belgian styles is like attempting to impose guidelines on the Belgian brewmaster's creativity."

The king of tripels!

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2005 14:42:45 | More by Shultzerdugen

maddamish

Tennessee

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Short review here:

Spices abound in this beer. You have a bit of orange and lemon citrus mixed with spice and a bit of pepper notes. The head was thick and creamy but quickly disappeared and turned into minimal lacing. The spice notes dominate in the nose.

This was a great beer and was very happy I was able to score this at the Acme on Market street in Akron because it was off the shelves and gone the next week.

Notes: There was a price check at the register and the bag boy was sent to check it out. He came back and said $5.00. I almost asked him to go back and get me three more. I didn't know what the price was and was prepared to pay more. I suspect it was more expensive than that but I am not going to argue with him.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2006 14:39:55 | More by maddamish

mynie

Indiana

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a beautiful gold necklace gold with a big champagne sparkly white head.

Wonderful Rainbow! Smells like very crisp melon, pineapple, honey, and sugar.

Tastes even better than it smells. Zesty allspice and light ginger up front, moving into a subdued honey mixed with prominent cantalope, ending finally on a spicy mixture of fruit and yeast. Rarely is such complexity so pleasant, so easily drinkable.

This would be a great crossover beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2006 07:11:11 | More by mynie

orfeu

New Mexico

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle. Hazy spun gold with rocky, sticky snow white head. Driving carbonation from the bottom of an Ommegang cervoise. Cavalcade of fruit aromas: pineapple, mango, peach, canteloupe. Yeasty sugar cookie scent as well. Muskmelon flavor predominates, then pineapple. Overall, fruity esters yield a soft, round flavor. Clean, grassy hops and funky sour yeast flavor through the finish, which, all things considered, is surprisingly dry. Pineapple juice/peach nectar burps. Smooth and soft mouthfeel, bordering on syrupy, but all the fruit flavors tend toward juicy. Medium body. My god, what a fine tripel! One would be hard pressed to find a more excellent example of the style. Superb.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2006 23:31:39 | More by orfeu

bonbright7

Florida

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

After trying this is a bottle last night, I knew I had to make a valiant effort to find this on draft. I had heard that the nearest Belgian cafe in Garden City, about 20 miles to the southwest, had this in its rotation, so i made a trip to find this majestic tripel.

I found Waterzooi be a warm welcome home to the Europe I left last summer after my brother's wedding in Lyon, France. Among the neatly arranged taps was the smiling monk waiting for me..

The pretty bartender poured me a healthy goblet full of the butter colored ale, which led to the first taste without a thought....it was amazingly good. It was even greater than I had anticipated as I watched the rings of lacey foam decline into the glass.

The malty triple had more great tastes than Sybil had personalities.
I had the bizarre impression of bananas and milk shakes while I couldn't detect the alcohol at all.

I thought this ale would be great with broiled duck or just by itself in the company of friends.

Serving type: on-tap

08-06-2006 02:45:00 | More by bonbright7

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Carbonated honey with lemonade borders. The crown of foam, as expected, was massive before the first few ounces left the bottle. It's an especially regal shade of alabaster and is smoothy creamy rather than firmly rocky. Shotgun-blasted sheets of Belgian lace stick with authority. I love the look after a second pour adds a smattering of yeast to the glass.

The nose is all kinds of wonderful. Having said that, I'm not tempted to go with the big number. It's chock full of golden orchard fruit and has an ideal amount of yeasty spiciness. Just as I suspected, even a few degrees of warming opens things up beautifully.

Simply put, St. Bernardus Tripel is world-class. It doesn't happen often, but there's nothing about the flavor profile that I would change. It's as if the monks tweaked the recipe over hundreds of years until it was a model of perfectly balanced perfection. Actually, that's probably exactly what happened.

This may be the fruitiest tripel in existence. Each sip delivers a controlled explosion of buttery pears and crisp apples, sun-ripened melon and juicy pineapple. Honeyed pale malt anchors the bottom end with authority. Wrapping it all up in a neat little bow is a perfect (there's that word again) amount of clove and white pepper spiciness. It looks like Tripel Karmeliet has some competition at the top of my 'most favored tripels' list.

How can so many flavors and so many flavor sensations be present at once and how can they work so well together? Tripel is sweet and tangy and bitter and fruit and spicy... all at once. A well-crafted tripel is almost as pleasing to my taste buds as a hugely hoppy DIPA. And this is *definitely* a well-crafted tripel.

The mouthfeel falls a fraction short of perfection. It's medium for the style, with an admirable amount of silky smoothness, but it doesn't quite reach that state of effortlessly creamy expansiveness that is otherwise known as mouthfeel bliss.

Brouwerij St. Bernardus has never let me down. I've enjoyed each and every one of their creations and am especially thrilled with Tripel. It's on my short list of the world's best beers, no matter the style. I plan to stock up whenever the opportunity presents itself. Only next time I'm going for the 750s.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2007 16:37:30 | More by BuckeyeNation

dstc

Florida

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a beautiful hazy golden color with nice off-white head that tends to stay around.

Nice soft fruity nose with hints of the alcohol coming through.

Taste heavenly. Little bit of everything there, sweet, fruity, smooth and refreshing.

Full, smooth mouthfeel. Buttery and nicely carbonated yet not heavy.

Love it. Another fantastic St. Bernardus brew!

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2008 18:35:07 | More by dstc

jlandis

Pennsylvania

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I bought a 4pack gift set with the 6,8,12,Tripel and a St. Bernardus chalice. This is the first of the set that I'm tasting.

The beer pours a hazy light orange/copper color with a thin white head that slowly fades to a small ring. The nose is full of spice, orange peel, lemon zest, and a sharp Belgian yeast. The flavor consists of sweet pale malt followed by spices then onto the orange and lemon zest. The flavor finishes with the classic tart and slightly funky Belgian yeast. The body is thick and creamy with slight carbonation.

This is what every Belgian Tripel should aspire to taste like. Fantastic, complex, and well balanced. Once again the monks show us how to brew a well crafted beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2010 16:25:15 | More by jlandis

jsh420

Illinois

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

best by 02 08 13

pour hazy golden orange with a 1 finger tight bubble white head that head in incredible retention and left spotted lacing

smells of powerful hops and malts - surprised me - big earthy fruity hops next to bready cereal malt

taste was just as good - hands down the best tripel i have had - just big flavors of both hops and malts - neither overpowers the other

mouthfeel - carbonation perfect - very dry - takes a small hit for leaving a little coat over the mouth

drinkability - loved every sip - its just a shame i can only find this beer sold in singles and for more then i want to spend on a regular basis

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2010 05:00:41 | More by jsh420