Blue Mountain Mandolin Artisanal Ale

Brewed by Blue Mountain Brewery
Style: Abbey Tripel
Afton, Virginia USA

Courtesy of cigarcitybrew. Pours blonde, white head. Aroma, spices, yeasty and sugary. Taste, sugary, good presence of alcohol, fruity (lemon/orange), very sweet with honey.

Bottle courtesy of Retorp, I think. Pours a clear golden with a one finger white head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of banana, floral spicy hops, and as the beer warms, a decent amount of alcohol. Taste is sweet malt, alcohol, spicy yeast, and banana. Medium mouthfeel with a mild amount of bitterness and slightly hot alcohol. Good.

The bottle for this is a beauty. It’s come up in discussion at least 3 or 4 times now, and adds to the initial ’outward appearance’ before even seeing the brew. The beer itself is something of a golden clay colour, with a reasonably nice looking head of average retention. The scent of this is quite nice and promising... a clean fruity yeast aroma, a note of spiciness, and almost a honey-like sweetness. A little bit of a banana and clove like quality floating around in there. A nice little medley of aromas, and one of the better that comes to recent memory. Taste is big, without being TOO huge, the flavours swirl around quite harmoniously with a nice complexity. Many of the same flavours as noted in the aroma... a honey and spice over a banana/fruit flavour. It doesn’t go overboard on being sweet at all, and a little bit of alcohol warmth follows up to finish. A rich, sparkling mouthful with the flavours spreading over the tongue and slipping away gradually, leaving a pleasant, savouring post-finish. The alcohol kick is here, as with any other Tripel, so that can’t really take away from it a great deal. I am very pleased with the flavours and overall experience with this bottle. It might be a LITTLE hot, but this was also quite fresh, so a little time aside should smooth that out nicely for those who are feeling a little wary. Quite good, and a keeper of a bottle.

gold pour with a nice sized soapy white head. Aroma has plenty of pear yeast qualities along with some cereal grain and bananas. Flavor has quite a bit of spice, belgian yeast, caramel, grain, and a bit of pear and apple. Light boozy finish with a nice snappy carbonation.

Bottle, from Jimbo. Nice looking golden pour. Very strong aroma of hops, spices, banana, yeast and sugar. Definitely on the hoppier side of Tripels. Spicy, doughy and lots of heat. This wasn’t terrible per se, but way overdone. Awesome looking bottle. Definitely worth a try.

Bottle: Pours a clear reddish gold with a white head. Aroma, dry apples, juice, doughy and some spice. Flavor, spices, doughy malts, yeast, cloying, some buttery notes.

Pours hazy orange with thick off white head. Aroma is hops and and spices. Weird spices and slight sweet notes dominant the taste. Doesn’t make me think tripel in drinking. Average.

bottle from sachin. A little too hoppy for a tripel. Better as it warms. Good, but not great.