Craftsman Triple White Sage

On tap @ Blue Palms. clear golden with a one finger white head, creamy with pretty good retention. Aroma of rosemary and banana-y Belgian yeast up frontwith some white pepper and alcohol--overall kinda sweet but can’t pick what to attribute it to. Flavor adds some stronger herbal notes to the aroma with a slightly lemony earthy finish, which was semi-dry with alcohol noticeable, and bitterness @ a 3. Medium-full body with light to moderate carbonation. Good US interpretation of a tripel-ish beer, though just a hair sweet by Belgian standards IMO.

Draft at Lucky Baldwin. An unclear golden beer with a white head. The aroma is sweet with notes of malt, alcohol, and sage. The flavor is sweet malty with spicy notes of sage and notes of alcohol, leading to a dry bitter and alcoholic finish.

Tap at Father’s Office Culver City. I will probably never have this beer again, but it is an excellent spice beer. Turns out I’m not a big fan of sage, and this beer is the High Mayor of Sagetown. From the aroma to the three acts of the flavor, you get what you pay for: wave after wave of young sage leaves. Your mind imagines white tea, white pepper, maybe even some cumin, bay leaves or rosemary; these are figments to break up the pulsing sage spice that has confiscated your consciousness for the duration of the pint. This is a world-class style offering.

From tap at Lucky Baldwin, Pasadena. Pours hazy orange with a lacing white head. Solid ginger and cinnamon spiced aroma. Flavour is citric, light caramel malty but also extremely overspiced. Sweet and spiced ginger finish. Terrible out of balance.

Sample at O’Brien’s in San Diego. This brew is a hazy amber-gold color with a medium thin and creamy white head that recedes slowly. Stringy lacing. Aroma of fresh sage and ginger, along with touches of malt. Light-bodied with a sweet spiced character. Flavors of ginger and sage up front, with some sweet malt and tart apple following closely. The finish is spicy and fruity with a lingering sweet spicy aftertaste. Unique and tasty.

On tap at O’Briens with Katie. I really enjoy these unique spice beers. The use of sage creates a minty and fresh aroma with tones of ginger, mango and clove. Hazy yellow color with a medium off-white head. Retains a hefty tripel malt base with yeast and fresh bread flavors beneath the crisp spice. Intriguing and easy to drink. Yummy.

Pours cloudy gold with a frothy white head. Perfume aroma of bubblegum, yeast, and sage. The taste is massive; it feels like it fills up my sinuses. Loads of yeast esters, bubblegum, clove, and spice. I could not really detect the sage (unlike in a beer like the Mammoth 395 IPA), as the other flavors overwhelmed my senses. This is a very, very good beer, but in small quantities. I found myself almost relieved when the glass was empty.

On Tap @ Toronado SD. I was very surprised by this one. Very Unique and very drinkable. The sage, while there, takes a bit of a backseat. The underlying beer is very tasty and balanced. Nice job with this one.