Tripel - Southern Tier Brewing Company

GreatPondBrewer

Oregon

3.88/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Good to see Southern Tier branching out. This brewery has a lot of potential and a tripel is an adventureous brew. It can only be found in variety packs so it is still probably going to go through some changes. It poured a gloden hinting at orange with a small white head on top. The smell was a bit indistinct with just some slight notes of pineapple fruit juice and and some yeasty belgian flavors. The taste was crisp and full flavored with some well rounded alcohol flavors and a rich fruity notes. The mouthfeel was smooth and crisp. All in all a decent beer and with a little tweaking will be a world class beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2005 23:39:39 | More by GreatPondBrewer

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -4.1%

05-25-2013 20:57:17 | More by Slatetank

RBorsato

Virginia

4/5  rDev +18%

11-13-2012 20:53:57 | More by RBorsato

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.93/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Review from 3/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a hazy orange amber, minimal head and slight lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, citrus, Belgian yeast. A pleasant caramel flavor with quite light Belgian middle. Less complex and subtle with a slight bite at the finish. Medium bodied. Worth a revisit if it was still around.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 23:14:46 | More by LiquidAmber

jfcaa193

Connecticut

2.5/5  rDev -26.3%

02-02-2012 03:20:14 | More by jfcaa193

rab53

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -11.5%

12-09-2011 04:04:45 | More by rab53

HopStoopid120

Connecticut

3/5  rDev -11.5%

12-05-2011 04:36:22 | More by HopStoopid120

woosterbill

Connecticut

3.08/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12oz bottle into an Old Engine Oil tulip. No bottle date, but estimated by its own to be from '07 or '08. Thanks for sharing, Dan!

A: Clear amber body full of floaties. 1/2" head of frothy off-white foam. Meh.

S: Sweet toffee, some cardboard, and a fair dose of overripe fruit. Not terrible, but far from good.

T: Follows the nose entirely. The malt is nice, the fruit ok, and the oxidation a little uninspiring. Boozy finish. Old and mediocre.

M: Soft, nicely carbonated, fairly substantial. Nice.

O: This one appears to have been mediocre at best when fresh, and age hasn't helped matters.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 22:25:18 | More by woosterbill

JAHMUR

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +18%

11-27-2011 22:02:09 | More by JAHMUR

tclapper

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +18%

11-17-2011 21:25:51 | More by tclapper

kenito799

New York

4.43/5  rDev +30.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bomber poured at Belgique tasting, Hugo, MN Thanksgiving 2010.

Very orange color with brown edges, clear, a Grand Marnier effect.

Tutti frutti Belgian yeast scents, and oranges. High carbonation in this three year old brew. A perfect balance on the palate of sweetness and quite forceful hoppy bitterness..actually a bit more like a Belgian IPA than a tripel. Very nice. Not really classic but a brew I like very much.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 02:56:23 | More by kenito799

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.23/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a two-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a nice amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, extremely bright, dark gold hue when held up to the light; this is definitely on the dark side for a Tripel. The aroma isn't quite what I was expecting, though it does have Tripel characteristics. I smell aromas of green apple up front, a floral honeysuckle like note as well as some herbal floral characteristics, other notes of honeydew melon, a hint of grassy malt, some touches of alcoholic heat, some medicinal or even acetone like character that is just barely perceptible in the finish as well as some phenolics that lean towards clove and some bubble gum like aromas. This has all the right aromatic notes to it, but somehow it just doesn't sum up to a great smelling Tripel and I am not sure why.

Somewhat sweet tasting as it first hits the tongue and there is quite a bit of body to this brew. It actually gets sweeter as it rolls across the tongue, which brings out notes of cotton candy and bubble gum; this last actually lingers on the palate long after each sip. Fruity flavors of sugary pears, honeydew melon and candied apple. The flavor has a floral quality to it that has a light herbal edge to it; both of which meld into a light hop bitterness towards the finish. The finish at times, when the palate has been gotten used to, has a spiciness to it as well as a touch of higher alcohols.

Hmm, not nearly as horribly sweet as it could have been, but still a bit too sweet, which drowns out some of the complexity. While having most of the characteristics needed for a great Triple, somehow this beer misses its mark a bit. Not a horrible beer by any means, especially since there are not really any off-flavors here, but there are a lot of other Tripels I would rather have.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2010 16:20:11 | More by Gueuzedude

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.93/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a two finger off-white head that faded quickly to a ring leaving some lace. Clear light amber color with floaties. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Light caramel nose. Flavor is caramel and hops nicely balanced, hints of the higher ABV. $6.49 for a 22oz bottle from Manchester Wine and Liquors Manchester, CT.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2010 23:17:28 | More by jdhilt

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: orange yellow in color, minimal head, cloudy, moderate carbonation

Smell: bread, caramel malt, small citrus hops

Taste: very boozy, bread, cardamom, coriader, orange, hops, and wheat

Mouthfeel: smooth, high carbonation, medium body, bitter hoppy, alcoholic first taste that gets sweeter

Drinkability: This strikes me as a spiked up and way more alcoholic version of a Blue Moon. This is a bit too hoppy for the style. It is not bad, and has the Southern Tier taste, but am not sure it is a tripel.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2010 15:34:27 | More by tigg924

bminor7

New York

3.88/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz from Westmere. Questionable freshness on this one. Never seen it in a 22oz.

Nice pour, amber color. Good head formation and retention. Some bits of foam remain on the sides of the glass. Smells great...strong caramel, belgian yeast. Taste is close...but seems past its prime. This reminds me of Tripel Crown from Middle Ages...too heavy a hand in approaching the style. Too much residual sugar and thickness. But not a bad beer nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2010 01:59:15 | More by bminor7

bbeane

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Poured from a 22oz bottle into a snifter... first pour produces a weak head that disappears quickly, leaving a tiny bit of lacing. Beer is a bright amber color, slightly hazy with light activity. Second pour produces a much nicer 1/2 finger thick head that leaves nicer lacing

S- After some swirls of the glass, belgian sweetness, yeast, hint of hops, straw

T- Tastes good, though not as sweet, or hoppier than what I expected. Starts with the that malty sweet belgian sugary taste, but is eventually accompanied by a pronounced hop flavor. Almost balanced, but I think it has a bit more hops than its supposed to IMO... still good though

M- Light bodied with light carbonation

D- No boozy taste despite the 9% abv makes this an easy beer to drink. Bit pricey... all in all a good tasting beer though not the best example of what a belgian tripel should taste like IMO

CHEERS!!

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2009 21:50:57 | More by bbeane

generallee

New York

3.98/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a chalice.

Appearance: It has a small one finger thick foamy head. It is bright white in color and quickly fades down to just a small ring of lace. The liquid is a light golden color and has a light hazy appearance.

Smell: The aroma has a sweet candy like malt and yeast character with some light notes of apple and pineapple. Hop aroma is also noticeable but very light.

Taste/Palate: The malt has solid Belgian candied sugar sweetness with notes of apple and pineapple. The 9%abv gives it some mellow warmth and some boozy/peppery notes. Hop flavor is way off in the distance but adds some light herbal notes, dryness and light bitterness to the finish. The body has medium to full feel and the texture seems a little thick at first from the sweetness but thins out with the bubbly carbonation.

Notes: This was a nice drinkable Tripel from Southern Tier.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2009 17:26:34 | More by generallee

flagmantho

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 22 oz bomber into a tulip.

Appearance: very slightly hazy orange hue with a thin white head. Lots of effervescence evident.

Smell: some sweet malt; notable spicy and floral hops. This is quite a bit hoppier in aroma than I am accustomed to in a tripel.

Taste: sweet malt with some nice orchard flavors present. Hops are still more forward then I normally experience in a tripel, but not as highly evident as in the aroma. Quite nice.

Mouthfeel: delicious creaminess; medium body. Quite enough for me!

Drinkability: like most tripels are for me, this beer is dangerously drinkable. Flavor is good and the overall experience is quite nice.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2009 17:39:14 | More by flagmantho

CHADMC3

Connecticut

3.53/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a rich but hazy golden body with just a thin pure white head that quickly disappears.

Aroma consists of candied sugar, yeast, faint hops, straw, and just a hint of orange zest.

Palate is fairly strong in candied sugar, yeast follows, hints of hops and coriander in the finish with a slight abv burn mixed with the noticeable carbonation, the peppery aspects of this brew appear as it warms.

Medium to high in carbonation with a medium body, and a dry finish with a nice abv kick to close.

This is an interesting brew. It certainly offers many of the characteristics of the style, but not the total package. Very tasty, and certainly worthy of purchase, very good flavor offerings, but ultimately barely misses the mark in terms of the coriander/fruit zest & pepper combo on the palate.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2009 00:18:39 | More by CHADMC3

ocelot2500

Arizona

2.98/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy gold with a thin white head. Plenty of lacing left on the glass.

Smell is weak. Have to search to find some apple and other light fruit ester notes. Maybe some spice, but not much else.

Taste is of mostly a pale malt flavor with some hop bitterness. Does not follow what I would expect from a tripel. There is a fruity, ester note towards the end, but it is not enough. Not much in the way of spice, but there is more hop bitterness than expected.

The mouthfeel is a medium to full body that is assertive and crisper than I would like.

The drinkability is there, no offensive flavors, but this is not what I would call a tripel.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2009 23:58:20 | More by ocelot2500

goblue3509

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -13%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a golden yellow color with a nice two finger head. The smell is of banana and wheat with some roasted malts. The taste is of malt, wheat, and a hint of banana with a little hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is slightly overcarbonated. Overall it is a good beer, it is a little average but solid.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2009 01:50:39 | More by goblue3509

twiggamortis420

Texas

2.73/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a mostly clear dark golden color with a nice, fat cream colored head. Pretty average retention, but really nice lacing.

Smell reminds me of cola. Sweetly malty - only slightly grainy, much less so than most tripels. Not much hops either. This is not a good smelling example of the style.

Flavor is not quite right, as the malts are a bit cardboardy the hops are rough and too prevalent. Not very complex and does not show much yeasty esters, which is essential for a good tripel. Severe lack of Belgian feel to this beer. I would seriously lighten the body up on this beer, lower the hops and ferment at a higher temperature with a different yeast. I will not buy this beer again, The other two ST beers I have had were much better.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2009 20:36:55 | More by twiggamortis420

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From a 22 oz bottle. Being careful not to disturb the lees, I was able to fill a large tulip glass that was completely clear. The subsequent pours, however, was a bit cloudy.

Without the yeast, it's a glowing, deep-golden-orange; with the yeast it appears more orangeish. Unfortunately, not much head was created by my delicate pour, and the short cap that was formed faded quickly.

I smelled and tasted it a bit before going back to build a head because I wanted to see how much influence the yeast has on the flavor, and it's quite profound. I found the initial flavor and aroma to be a hint sweet, subtly bready, and a bit candyish. There was a very nice, delicate note of vanilla and a sugary sweetness like rock candy, as well as a thin edge of soft golden caramel and a drip of orange that left it kind of like an orange cream-sicle. It wasn't particularly spicy, but there was a nice swirl of it in the aftertaste, as well as notes of floral, grassy, spicy, and gently herbal hops. And if that spiciness is from the alcohol, that's the only place that it shows. It's certainly nicely done in that respect.

My second pour was rough to bring up the head, and it brought up the yeast as well. To my surprise, I could see that there was a fair amount of it left adhered to the base of the bottle. That may be because it'd been in the fridge for about a month, or maybe not, but I think I usually tend to drink my Southern Tier beers quicker than that, and therefore find more yeast in my glass.

The head held well, dropping slowly from a finger thick frothy cap to a half-inch, lightly creamy off-white lid. The lace around the glass formed a panorama of tiny mountains as it went, and then with each sip that followed it left a creamy ring (well for three or four anyway).

The yeast was apparent in the nose at this point, along with a bit more fruity-floral character. And that carried over into the flavor as well. The yeastiness masked some of the subtle nuances of the straightforward flavor, and lent a bit more acidity. It lost the innocent sweetness that it had, but it gained more complexity. The orange note became more prominent, and it took on a delicate nuttiness that prior to hadn't been there.

There were good points to each glass, with and without yeast, and I'm not sure that I could choose either one, but with it being a big bottle I didn't have to, and I'd suggest you do the same if you can find a bomber. It certainly makes for a more interesting tasting than just one 12 ounce poured directly.

Overall, anyway you pour it, and regardless of how much of the yeast you find in your glass, it's a pretty decent interpretation of the style. It's a tasty, well-balanced and well-rounded brew; and for the price I think it's well worth it.

Nicely done, and certainly worth trying!

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2009 00:28:12 | More by NeroFiddled

jdubjacket

Georgia

3.63/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I've had a 22 ounce bomber of this in my fridge for the last few months. Went for a long walk with the dogs in the woods today and thought I would enjoy this upon return. Poured into my La Chouffe glass.

Pours a rich, golden color with a very attractive head and lots of carbonation. Reminds me somewhat of Duvel. Looks good enough to eat on a hot day like today.

Smell is slightly subdued... a bit of banana and alcohol. Green apple and pineapple in there as well.

Taste, like the smell, is subdued. It lacks depth... Slightly fruity, alcoholic taste that leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste, and not a whole lot of anything else. It's good, but it needs a slightly spicier kick to be truly excellent.

Good mouthfeel. Looks overcarbonated, but it sits well in the mouth and the stomach.

Overall, a decent interpretation of a tripel, but there needs to be an extra kick.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2009 19:39:33 | More by jdubjacket

Pencible

Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This poured a hazy gold with white head. It smelled like light caramel and honey malt with orange and lemon hops, and some sweet creamy yeast. It tasted like sugary caramel and wild clover honey with lemon and orange and pine hops, and some creamy yeast and subtle spiciness. It was watery with a bit of carbonation, and had a bittersweet aftertaste. Overall this had a nice delicate but potent flavor. It was very easy to drink and hid the alcohol well. It had pretty good body too. However, this really didn't seem like a tripel to me, but rather a double IPA. The yeast was fairly muted and not wild or sour at all. I personally enjoyed the sweet maltiness and stronger hop character, but this was certainly not a good beer compared to the style's standards.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2009 21:06:08 | More by Pencible