Chimay Triple / Blanche (White)

Brewed by Chimay
Style: Abbey Tripel
Baileux, Belgium

Poured from the bottle by the barman at Galbraiths (and a great pour it was too). Amber colour with a big full head. Sweet malty aroma, also wheaty. Taste a winey sourness I often find with these types of beers (maybe tart is a better description). Quite spicy as well. Enjoyable, though I found I enjoyed these beers better from the tap when I was in Belgium.

75 cl bottle from the cellar. Cork date was 07/2001. Pours a cloudy orange yellow hue. Has a 1 finger head which faded in a couple of minutes leaving a smattering of lace. The smell is of spices ; black pepper, lemongrass etc. The beer tastes like it was stored in an oak barrel ; a pretty strong smoked wood, musty, vinous taste with a hint of black pepper, cloves and oranges. Finishes with a tangey, dry hop tone. A most excellent Belgian pale.Dec 2003

750mL bottle, no date. Pours a hazy orange golden with some chunks and a one finger fading eggshell head. Aroma of yeast, and dusty grassy hops are the strongest, though the overall aroma isn’t terribly strong. There was a little bit of fruitiness as well. Flavor is the same with a little bit of candy sugar added. Dry bitter finish. With the exception of La Chouffe’s Houblon, this is the hoppiest tripel I’ve had. A little bit of warming ETOH noted. Highly carbonated, a little lighter bodied than I had expected. This was a little bit of a letdown for me. I think that some of the reason for my low score is for the lack of complexity. Sure it tasted all right, but I just didn’t feel it had enough going on with it.

Pours a hazy light gold color with a huge, well retained, foamy light tan head. Smells of mild candy sugar, a little spice, citrus fruit, and yeast. The taste has a nice spice character to it, a little sweet, but the spices somewhat dominate the sweetness. Just a slight little bitterness at the end, but nothing bad. Tripels are usually a little boring to me, but this has enough spiciness to it, that it keeps it interesting. Solid.

750 mL bottle in a tulip glass. Pours an oversized forthy head, in which even the foam has an alcoholic taste, and a pleasant hop note to the smell. A golden hazy body. Once I get past the foam, I find a slight lactic tang among citrus notes and the mouthfeel of a Squirt soda. A delicate, balanced bitterness and the hint of orange peel at the end. It’s just great for relaxing to in the recliner.

33cL Bottle. Muted crackers and toast, with a squeeze of starfruit and bubbly spritzers. Faint bananas and a little yeast esters. Weakly warm. Pours a hazed deeply hued gold, with a big finger of fluffy light silk soap in buttermilk. Flavor develops a filling chewy malt sugar, with a dose of lemon pith, oak soap. A standard. Airy, glowing and fresh. Finishes with an indiscriminate hop touch.

A nice amber pour slightly cloudy. Pleasing fruity aroma. Sour flavors with some spice. Small bitterness in the finish. Certainly a good tripel.

This is different than any Tripel I’ve had. This had a much bigger hop taste than I have had in this style. The aroma was unmistakably Belgian. The taste was yeasty with hints of grapefruit and spices. The bitter hop aftertaste was a welcome suprise that filled my entire mouth. Nice and dry.