BAB 401

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Abbey Tripel
Ichtegem, Belgium

The BAB 401 I tasted last week here at Cambrinus was way better than the one I tasted from draught at the Second Bruges Beer Festival. I’m very well surprised with this bottled BAB 401. excellent brewing by Marc Strubbe. And... a great choice from the BAB people! BAB 401 has become a delicious 8.0 vol% hoppy Tripel. 3 Kinds of different hop varieties were used, which gave the beer that pleasant flowery, hoppy bitter, experience. Folks, this is a tripel like it should taste. Crispy, hoppy, somewhat sweetish, not too dry, full bodied, pleasant soft without too much carbonation tingling.

From tap on BAB festival Brugge 15.11.08. Almost clear dark golden color, with good white head. Aroma malts, hops, bit citrus. Medium body. Taste nice caracter with malts, hops and bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter. Good one.

Botte Blond, bit hazy body. White, creamy head. Excellent lace. Aroma of hops, flowers, citrus, vanilla, honey. Nice and well balanced aroma. Moderately bitter flavour (citrus, hops).

(Bottled) Hazy golden with a large, firm and lacy head. Dry aroma of pale malt, with hints of acidity and grassy hops. Nicely dry, yet honey-malty flavor with a mildly acidic, grassy-hoppy finish. Smoother with yeast, with typical tripel fruitiness coming into picture. Hides the ABV completely. Medium body with balanced carbonation. The aroma was not that inviting, but I liked the dry and solid-malty flavor, and reasonable grassy hop bitterness.

Pours golden with thin white head. Aroma is bland with undertones of funky earth. Very light. Flavor is initially overwhelmed by carbonation, follows with a medium bodied, slightly sweet flavor which is underwhlming. Peaks with a slight hop character.

Towering, just off-white head over yellow-golden beer, very carbonated. Vegetable nose, pale malts, dry white candi sugar. Some citrus/citruspeel. Both pale & caramel malts, more white candi sugar, roasted & caramelized sugar. Fleeting sweetness, but maily dry, unless in the aftertaste. Some alcoholflavour and –warming. Quite slick, oily texture and quite spritzy. In the end, long sweeter aftertaste, turning sticky. Bit sweet – but seen the refermentation, heres another one that might perform better with a bit of aging.

Bottle. Hazy golden yellow. Soft sweet flowery aroma. First taste is the same sort of sweet, goes into more bitter and malty. Not too alcoholic but still has that ’warm’ feeling. Soft bitter aftertaste, hop taste somewhat to the background. Overall not a spectacular, but certainly very pleasant tripel.

Cloudy yellow colour, clear with an off-white head. Aroma of malt and fresk friut. Sweet round and pleasant fruit caramel flavor with some dryness at the end.