Tripel

Thanks to my buddy Kevin for a bottle of this.
Clear gold, topped with a thick white foam. The head settles into a fine mist, leaving some blotchy specks of lace. Surprising aroma, a citrusy hop scent being evident over the usual tripel stuff.
Hoppy tripel?
Excellent!
Still the requisite fruitiness, candi sweetness, vaguely plastic phenols (very light), but perhaps a bit less complex and milder on the sweetness. I personally feel the hop presence makes up for it. The flavor follows suit, starting off moderately sweet, a noticable dose of candi sugar, not quite the complexity you expect of a tripel, but a surprising hop presence in the finish contributes some bitterness. Somewhat similar to Piraat (isn't it a tripel?), or other hoppier belgian pale ales, only with an american hop character. Citrusy, punchy and perfect for the sweet, candy-ish tripel flavor profile. Fruity, leaning towards a tropical fruit mix. Modest hop bitterness serves to brighten up the finish in the absence of the usually bold, spicy, phenolic tripel character. Still some of that, but pretty tame and subtle. Lightish medium bodied, with moderate carbonation. Bright, sunny mouthfeel. A lick of booze in the swallow. A beer entirely in it's own class.
Certainly not a stylistically correct example of a tripel, but definitely a unique and delicious beer unto itself. More my idea of a tripel/american pale ale hybrid.
American style tripel?
Wierd, not at all what I expected. I should have known, with Southern Tier's heavy hand towards the hops. Tripel or not, I like it.
More brewers should bend style guidelines like this.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 12-21-2005 06:16:32 | id: 298403

Big foamy head on this straw to golden colored liquid. The lacing is random and choppy so far.

Smells of straw and raisins and urine with a sweet undertone like sweetbread.

Biscuit taste is clear while toffee and caramel sweetness run around in my mouth. The finish is remarkably crisp and clean. Very well done.

The finish is remarkably clean while the overall feel is light to medium in body which may not be as dense as the traditional tripel style would normally have but this is a winner. I would go so far as to call this a gateway to Belgians for the uninitiated.

Drinkability is almost too good for a beer of this caliber. If they could make this beer at 5-6% I would love to drink a few but for this 22oz beer I need to plan accordingly.

I will defiantly buy this one again if only to indoctrinate my micro-loving friends into craft and Belgian styles.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 04-26-2009 19:34:53 | id: 902111

L: Pours an orange-yellow color with a short and medium bodied white colored head that fades fast to a ring around the beer. Not a whole lot of lacing down the glass.
S: Smells of sweet malts, some citrisy-fruity aromas, and some subtle yeast aromas.
T: Alot less strong than I thought it was going to be which was pleasent. Very sweet malts with some bitter ones mixed together for a nice malty base. Followed by a nice cirtisy fruit flavor and some subtle yeast flavors, followed by a nice slightly hoppy bitter finish.
M: Very crisp, lighter feeling with the right amount of carbonation.
D: Very drinkable beer as the amount of alcohol was not as easily detected as I thought it would be.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 09-01-2008 23:41:39 | id: 735771

Bought as part of a Southern Tier mixed pack ($14.99/12)

So far in my young drinking career, this is the best American Belgian I've had. I think it trumps Victory and Flying Dog's for sure, because it has much more drinkability and isn't too spicy like those others. The 9% ABV is hidden so well it tastes like its a 4% wheat ale so it'll sneak up on you. Overall, just a great a tasty beer.

I must also say that I'm lucky.... in the Southern Tier mixed 12 you get 3 each of 3 standard brews, but the other 3 in the mixed pack are a mystery. I'm glad a 9% Belgian was the mystery choice!

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 09-24-2008 23:25:12 | id: 748950

I am re-reviewing this in 2009.

Smells of oranges, malts and rich honey. Taste focuses on the citrus and earthy hops with a malty sweetness. Very clean flavors that all stand out on their own. This beer also has a clean finish.
The mouthfeel is full with bright carbonation. The hops provide nice earthy and spicey notes.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 01-18-2009 00:39:22 | id: 552723

Sampled on tap (nice) at Southern tier night at the Blind Tiger in NYC. Pours dusty straw, cloudy, white head leaves well developed and nice looking lacing. Nose is all fruity and yeasty. On tap this brew is bursting with fruity notes, yeasty hues and alcoholic twinges all dancing together. Citric, floral, nutty . Slight pine crispness late to seal the deal. Strong and spicy. Fine stuff. After reading the reviews of this one in bottles, Id say try to seek it out on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

Reviewed on: 03-06-2005 14:35:58 | id: 214695

Poured from the bomber a clear light golden with a nice tighter one finger white head no haze to this trpipel very good clarity to this one.Great aromas of overipe pineapple and peach just a lighter note ofsweet alcohol but faint,what I like best about this tripel style is that the yeast and phenols dont overwhelm the palate somewhat sweet and raisiny and citrusy with pineapple being dominant the phenolic spiciness is underlying not overbearing the way I like it.Overly complex no, a lighter spritzy mouthfeel lends though to its easy drinkablitiy,hey I like it Iam not a big fan of the big Belgian yeast flavors this was low key and I liked it alot.A great beer to to savor as Detroit put Cleveland away finally damn that has a nice ring to it dont it.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-21-2006 22:42:22 | id: 356179

It poured a deep glowing yellow, with very little head. This Tripel possesses a very faint flowery scent, and is pretty boring on the the nose. But what it lacks in scent, it makes up for in mouth-feel and taste: a moderate hoppy bite in the mouth with a superbly mellow honey-like finish and a nice residual alcohol taste. The mouth feel is as thick as melted ice cream. I could drink a few of these no problem.

I bought the mix pack from these guys and I have to admit. It's one of the best mixers I've purchased. Every beer in it is a gem. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 07-22-2007 20:37:33 | id: 527524

I've had this on tap at MacGregor's and didn't like it quite as well as I remembered. Then I had it on tap at Monty's Krown and for some reason just loved it. Fresher beer? Cleaner lines? or just the fact that they were heathens and poured it in a regular old pint glass instead of a tulip?

Anyway. Poured very clear, golden, nice carbonation, slight lacing in head. Aroma was unusual for a Belgian, hoppy and flowery with a hint of rose. Phenols were noticeable in the aroma. Mouthfeel is sugary, a little slippery. I noticed a slight bitter aftertaste but that would not deter me from ordering this again. All in all, a very pleasant pint.

Serving type: on-tap

Reviewed on: 01-05-2006 22:03:52 | id: 303755

Pours a light tawny amber. Ha. Well, maybe it's not tawny. Whatever color that might be. But it is light amber. So, go on, use tawny in one of your reviews, eh? No head, no lacing. Very light on the smell - maybe just a hint of a caramel malt. Very light on the flavor as well - just a hint of a caramel malt. What's so nice about this is that it's just so nice - very smooth, gently sweet, no off flavors anywhere. No hops detected and you sure couldn't tell that it's a 9% beer just by drinking it! I wish that I could pick this up locally (other than in mixed 12 packs)!

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 01-17-2006 23:14:37 | id: 308096