Ale Asylum Tripel Nova

Brewed by Ale Asylum
Style: Abbey Tripel
Madison, Wisconsin USA

Date: 06/22/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

clear dark gold, wispy white head, spicy malt aroma with a candy sweetness, big body, lots of sticky sweet malt flavor, lots of spicy character, good balance between the candy sweetness and the spicyness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

On tap at the Ale Asylum Brew Pub. Poured a medium and lightly hazy yellow color with a small sized white head. Aromas of fruitiness (bananas and pears), spices, and some yeast. Tastes of fruitiness and spices. Light to medium sweet (not the overpowering, cloying sweetness, that I’ve found the majority of US Tripels are). Alcohol well hidden.

(Draught) Pours a hazy body with a small white head. Aroma of grass, orange peel, apricot, banana, and light pepper. Flavor of pepper, orange peel, candi sugar, floral, and herbs.

On tap at the brewpub on 6/22/07: Pours a transparent copper bronze with a pillowy froth of wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of complex sweet pale Belgian malt with some light candi sugar and doughy Belgian yeast with some light fruity esters. Starts with nice sweet light caramel flavor with authentic bready yeasty balance and light fruity complexity with a touch of peppery spice and a smooth finish that hides the abv well. A very nice and true to style Tripel.

Lightly hazed dark golden liquid. Smallish, but stable white head. Strong aromas of ripe fruit including bananas and pear that overpower the hints of malt and a light herbal hops and mild yeasty dough component. Lots of alcohol and banana in the flavor. A strong triple that while strong with some strong flavors seems to lack a touch of finesse that I would look for in a triple.

Draught sample at the brewery, mid-October 2006. Translucent gold with scintillating, obvious flecks of suspended yeast; small head dies very quickly....blaanced aroma of sourdough sharpness and syrupy apricots, baked apples mingling with golden raisins and a light farmy pungency adding dimension to it all....fairly sweet, lightly alcoholic (very restrained for an almost 10% beast), light but prominent yeastiness throughout, a bit cookie-ish and syrupy, full with low carbonation. Another winner from this remarkably consistent brewery.

On tap at the brewpub. The body was a slightly hazy medium gold color with a white head. The aroma was funky hay with some leather and some colby cheese. There was also some sweet sourdough pancakes. The taste was funky dry hay with some sweet pears and a little bit of cinnamon. There were traces of alcohol, but this was still fairly smooth.

Bottle and served in my Duvel snifter: Slightly hazed golden hue with a small fading head and minimal lace. The aroma has notes of candi sugar and honey, pepper, corriander and ginger, , banana and mango. biscuity malts, touch of leather and attacking alcohol phenols. The taste matches the nose with sweet malts, fruits and spice. Very tasty but little complexity. The hops are either overpowered or faded. The mouth feel is slick and soft, a very warming brew where the alcohol is not in your face but not hidden either. More and more I am disliking this style for there are more average to bad examples than good to great ones. This one from Ale Asylum is quite average.