Val-Dieu Triple - Brasserie de l'Abbaye du Val-Dieu

Zraly

Virginia

4.33/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured from a 11.2 oz. bottle with a Aug. 2006 "drink by date" notched in the side of the label.

A semi-cloudy golden-honey colored ale with a soft, thin head that clings dearly down a chalice. A soft fruit note coupled by yeast and alcohol compose of the overall scent.

Flavor is wonderful and bright. Tasty flavors of honey, apple, table sugar, and a slight rum note cascade the palate. Creamy, but dry, finish. A slight, herbal hop note dances through in the finish as well. Tight, phenolic nuance keeps the dryness pleasant. Subtle, yet refined. A nice classic belgian flavor.

The 9% alcohol content is nowhere near your immediate awareness because this drink is so light and crisp. It's refreshing and it is an early evening drunk's dream. Just from personal experience. :)

Somehow I can perceive myself eating warm apple pie with fresh whipped cream and sippin' this at the same time.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2005 22:00:12 | More by Zraly

drummermattie02

Texas

4/5  rDev -3.1%

06-15-2013 17:35:29 | More by drummermattie02

thehappybelgian

Ohio

4.75/5  rDev +15%

06-08-2013 04:23:52 | More by thehappybelgian

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-25-2013 15:03:32 | More by Slatetank

l1fted

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

05-24-2013 13:06:21 | More by l1fted

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -9.2%

05-23-2013 01:26:22 | More by mikeincharleston

Avagadro

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Corked 750, cork states the date 3-2013

A: Val-Dieu pours with a quick burst of foam that quickly falls to a thin film of froth that endures. Body is straw colored and hazy (flaked wheat or oats?), with good lacing throughout most of the experience, only to tucker out at the end of the glass.

S: Apple, pear, and apricot make for a nose that is more reminiscent of vouvray than a triple. Interesting and inviting.

T: Very vinous, with more apple and apricot, mixed with a touch of honey and an ever so slightly astringent finish.

M: Light and effervescent, with a subtle sticky residue.

O: A great example of what a triple can be. Not heavy, not full of solvent (despite its formidable gravity), and simply delicious. I'll admit, I've passed this one up more than a few times based solely on its ugly label, but I have let my prejudice deprive me. Definitely one of the better tripels out there.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 00:23:11 | More by Avagadro

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +9%

05-12-2013 12:00:16 | More by RedneckBeerz

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

4.16/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Best before May 4, 2013. Served in a Rochefort chalice.

Terribly decanted with chunky rock salt chips of yeast dredge. Color is a very cloudy yellow-brown ochre. Head looks solid. Lacing is committed.

Bready and wine-y. Notes of Zinfandel, huge clove, floral esters, tangelo, pineapple, wheat malts, booziness, pear, and hints of artificial cinnamon. Ridiculously complex. Lightly white grape-y yet spicy.

Heavyweight clove, sweet Hawaiian bread, apricot, honey, pear, artificial cinnamon, and booze. Sweet and rich. Love the honeyed flavors. Yeasts aren't over the top. A great tripel.

Filled out in the mouth. Lightly sticky, quite spicy. Tingling carbonic sensation.

Very impressed by Val Dieu. Highly recommended for the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 14:57:12 | More by thecheapies

JSkone09

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +15%

04-28-2013 20:38:16 | More by JSkone09

randylangford

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +9%

04-26-2013 22:32:00 | More by randylangford

phpfunk

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

04-24-2013 00:39:07 | More by phpfunk

beerthirtysa

Texas

4.26/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

a: cloudy, lemon-colored appearance. white, fairly long lasting head. creamy appearance.

s: lemon peel, grass, alcohol, malt, phenols, maybe a little butter back there.

t: fantastically well blended taste. extremely smooth and well-balanced. hints of aromatic spice, grassy flavors, underlain by a sprightly malt with mild hops. very little alcohol flavor, even at the finish.

m: slightly more effervescent than other triples I've had. creamy and tongue tickling.

o: taste is a definite 5. Hindered by the slightly better than average appearance and smell, this is definitely one of my favorite triples.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 19:33:11 | More by beerthirtysa

kwa357

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +9%

04-21-2013 13:47:37 | More by kwa357

bacasnax

Florida

4/5  rDev -3.1%

04-02-2013 00:25:42 | More by bacasnax

Kuromaru

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +9%

03-28-2013 18:28:23 | More by Kuromaru

alysmith4

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev -9.2%

03-21-2013 18:21:05 | More by alysmith4

spycow

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

03-11-2013 04:40:47 | More by spycow

FLima

Brazil

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Amber color. Poured a two finger head with good retention.
Aroma of caramel, banana, licorice and matured tangerines.
Sweet fruity flavor with notes of caramel, again matured tangerines, pears, condiments, liquor soaked apricots and Belgian yeast with hints of flowers, white wine and earth. Mild dry and refreshing spearmint type aftertaste.
Medium body with low carbonation. Smooth feeling. 9% ABV is felt but improves the experience.
A bit too sweet for my taste but appropriate for the style. This is a beer that definitely improves with temperature. Very good Tripel.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 22:33:57 | More by FLima

VoodooBear

Puerto Rico

4.36/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 11.2 oz. stubby brown bottle. Served in an oversized wine glass.

Appearance: Thick, one and a half finger head that goes down to a thin ring and stays all the way to the end. It has a nice gold color and leaves some great lacing.

Smell: Sweet fruit aroma complemented by some spices, pretty much sums it up. A faint alcohol smell is in there as well.

Taste: A sweet fruit taste is dominant, with a strong alcohol kick a hint of hop bitterness at the end.

Mouthfeel: It's medium bodied with average carbonation. Creamy, smooth, and easy to drink.

Overall: The sweet taste and smell combined, and the fact that this is a very easy to drink brew, are misleading. Not that this is a bad thing, but it's something most people don't expect on a beer with a this high of an alcohol content. But that's what gives it such amazing character and feel. This is a must try.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 19:36:45 | More by VoodooBear

djrn2

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -9.2%

02-28-2013 22:19:13 | More by djrn2

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.01/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Served on tap in a 10 oz chalice glass

Appearance – Served an orange yellow colored brew with only a tiny white head floating atop the brew. The small head fades rather fast to leave only a light level of lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is fruity and sweet with notes of biscuit and doughy bread. The fruity aromas are of banana, apricot, peach and some apple. Mixed with these aromas are a lighter yeasty and spice smell as well as a little bit of earthy smell.

Taste – The taste starts out with a mix of a bready flavor as well as a strong fruit showing. The fruity flavors are all quite light (in color) in nature with apricot and peach the strongest, but mixed with other flavors of orange and tangerine. A banana flavor comes to the tongue more toward the middle and at the end. The banana flavor is accompanied by some sweeter honey flavors as well as notes of coriander and pepper. Toward the end the spice flavors grow more intense and are joined by a lighter alcohol boozy flavor, which leaves a warming and fruity spiced flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the average to slightly below average side for a 9% abv triple with a carbonation level that is a bit on the lower side. The thinner body was quite nice for all the fruit flavors of the beer as well as the drinkability, although a little more carbonation may have been a bit for fitting for the flavors.

Overall – A quite enjoyable triple with sweeter fruit flavors and just enough boozy, spicy and bready flavors to balance out all the fruit. Quite tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2013 01:30:24 | More by Darkmagus82

Philousa

California

3.49/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A golden, tawny yellow beverage, pours very clear and has carbonation to spare. The myriad streams of bubbles float to the top and replenish the two finger head as quickly as the top bubbles burst. The foam seems endless and hasn't subsided for at least a minute since I poured the beer. Settles soon after, but bubbles keep coming. Seems like it's putting on a show. A sweet juice, champagne-like aroma starts things out along with sweet, light fruit: pear & green apple. A mild steely metal aroma lingers underneath. There is a pungent, strong dough aroma that comes though occasionally. Lots of flavors hit at once: sweet fruit described earlier, doughy German pretzel, thin, metallic flavor that often accompanies high gravity pilsner malts, and an earthy bitterness that grows towards the end and lingers on the back of the tongue. Feel is slightly viscous and finish is decidedly dry. Both appropriate for the style.

Though I'm growing weary of Tripels, after having discovered that St. Bernardus makes the best one, this is truly interesting considering it has a limited range. Remind me of champagne so much that MGD should be sued for their "champagne of beers" slogan.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 04:34:42 | More by Philousa

DmanGTR

New York

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

02-05-2013 18:42:34 | More by DmanGTR

jmann40

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +21.1%

02-05-2013 02:28:27 | More by jmann40