Alesmith Mikkeller Stone Belgian Style Tripel Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Tripel
Escondido, California USA

12oz brown glass pry-top. No date. Appearance: A hazy orange/amber with a thin, bone-white head that recedes quickly leaving some light spotting. Nose: Lots of pine-y hops right off the bat! Some medium-sweet wheat notes come through and a faint fruitiness. I get a lot of mixed citrus as the hops and the "Belgian" parts meet. Palate: Medium-bodied and clean. There’s the traditional tripel notes here with white peach, earthy/bark notes, and is framed out by a nice hop bitterness and flavors of dried pine, grapefruit and leaves. Notes: This is a seriously good beer! I particularly enjoy how the hops give the beer a frame for the flavors. The keep the tripel from being sweet or overly fruity. Nice work and please brew this one again!

(Bottle) Pours clear golden with small, creamy off-white head. The aroma is near medium hoppy with tones of spices/herbs/floral tea alongside pale brad/grain/cracker malt. Undertones of band-aid/spicy clove phenols and hints of pear and pineapple-like esters. Some peppery mint bubblegum, apricot perfume and tangerine citric notes. The flavour is medium hoppy and clean, light sweet malty with tones of floral/herbal hops and grainy cracker-like malt alongside hints of fruity melon/pears/apples esters and spicy phenols. The mouthfeel is clean and medium carbonated. Light to medium bitter finish with a light dry sting. There is still too much hops and too little phenols and esters if you want a normal triple. Medium bodied. A nice and not too crazy triple from the new world.

Small white head. Slightly hazy paleish yellow body. Light fruity wheaty toffee aroma with Belgian yeast profile and peppery sugary cardamom notes. Light dry-sweetish peppery fruity spicy taste. Some alcohol heat. Sugary, sharp mouthfeel. Light, fresh palate. Dry spicy wooden aftertaste with barnyard notes. Nice, clearly well made, but a bit anonymous. Should rerate if possible. (0.355l bottle at Olympen.)

Bottle @ 3 små rum-Gothenburg-Sweden. Clear golden colour, with almost no head. Aroma of citrus,sweet maltynes,flowersand typical belgian yeasty nose in the end. flavor is almost the samethe belgian yeasty/flowery mouth feeling is werry dominated here, lots of citrus, and a long fruity finish and a nice medium to full bodied. werry nice beer this one!

12 oz bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Copper color with quickly vanishing head. Sweet, fruity, orangey and warming aroma with notes of pear and alcohol. Orangey, fruity, herbal, bready and slightly toffeish flavor with pineapple, apricot and sharp alcohol. Unpleasant astringent, yeasty and sharp finish.

Split a little bottle with my homebrew buddies. Aroma of subtle west coast hops and Belgian yeast. Appearance is dark amber with some little yeast floaties hanging out. Lots of sweet caramel in the flavor profile, very sweet malt presence. Very drinkable, but maybe not as complex as I had hoped.

Bottle: Thanks Sam! Pours a golden color with a light head. The nose is sharp with yeast and hops. Bitey flavor too with more yeast esters, citrus and hop bitterness. The mellow balance that a tripel usually has is lost here with a hop forward west coast mentality. Not to say it’s a bad thing, but some people don’t like pineapple on their pizza.

12oz bottle shared by suzygreenberg. Pours a hazy dark golden straw small off white head. Nose is pepper, spice and sweet malt. Taste is yeasty Belgian flavor and a bit thin and watery. Reminiscent of 080808, but not as good.