Craftsman Triple White Sage

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Pasadena, California USA

Draught at Lucky Baldwins, Pasadena
What a fantastic brew! I consider Craftsman to be my "local" brewery, even though it is over 40 miles away it is the nearest producer of fine hand made, hand crafted, quality ales that I have available to me and this beer is by far their best offering.
Pours a hazy, golden-apricot colour with a thick, two-finger off-white head. Mild spicy hop aroma, almost smells of stale or aged hops. The aroma of candi sugar pokes through as well, with a pleasant earthy/spicy smell. To say this beer has quite a flavor is an understatement. An absurdly sage flavored belgian triple might be closer to the truth. The taste is lightly malty sweet, quite herbal, and yet still light, refreshing and tasty. The earthy-herbal sage is definitely evident, from the aroma through to the finish.

Opaque amber body with off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, Belgian spicy, white pepper. Taste is moderately sweet, Belgian spicy, white pepper, some alcohol. Moderately full body.

Dark gold brew with a dense and creamy white head. This one is all about sage! Some wheat like tartness. Spicy and yeasty. Tastes like a good liquid turkey stuffing.

Sampled draught at Lucky Baldwin, Pasadena.
Clear golden, lively, rich head. Rich gingery aroma. Sweet and fruity and rounded, fairly soft mouthfeel. Rich and mouthfilling with herbal notes and drier salty finish.

Sampled on tap at Father’s Office
This beer has a hazy, honey color and a very thin, pale white, wispy head that never quite covers the top of the beer. A nicely herbaceous note of sage hits my nose; it is very aromatic, green, a touch savory and something even like fresh weed. Scents of orange zest, honey and clove are noticeable at times underneath the dominant sage aromatics.

The flavor has a certain sweetness to it, yet somehow the herbal character allows the over all perception of this beer to be dry. The beer tastes of sage, of course, but interestingly enough it is note nearly as pronounced as it is in the nose. Notes of honey, biscuit-like malt, a hint of bergamot and even some peach-like pear flavors are found here. The sage & yeast character evokes notes of mint, perhaps a touch of rosemary, pitch and perhaps even some coriander notes. The carbonation, though somewhat light, adds some sharpness via carbonic acid, as does some peppery / ginger fermentation derived flavors.

This has a fairly full mouthfeel to it; the malt almost sticks to the palate. It is certainly not rich, though it is in line with many examples of Tripels. I wonder if the honey notes, which are certainly malt influenced, are accentuated in my mind by the sage; after all sage-honey is a tasty nectar. This pairs really well with food, which plays up the honey and malt flavors and allows the sage to pair and meld with the food flavors.

Sampled September 2004
Pours a nice hazy gold color with a thick off-white head. This beer has quite the aroma to it, I get an earthy-herbal-astringent note, that is jointed by notes of clove, and something that reminds me of fried potatoes (but only in the best way). The taste is lightly sweet, quiet herbal, yet still light, refreshing and tasty. The earthy-herbal sage is definitely evident, from the aroma through to the finish. A year or so of bottle conditioning could make this beer phenomenal. It is still a bit sweet, and though it is enjoyable in it fresh rawness the sage could meld quite a bit more into this currently tasty beer, and make it that much more tasty.

Started with yeasty doughyness and moved to sage, mint, soap and grass. Tasted the same in the mouth but with a touch of cobweb, much more sage up front, cream, dough, a little alcohol, bubble gum, and spruce. Finishes with doughy bubble gum.

on draft stone 8th ann: this one was nice looking yellow lemon sun with arms of fluffy white stuff. nose was good banana bubblegum spiceiness and herbal sage. slightly lavender feel. your mouth had the same thing going on but there was some more sweetness and spiced fruit. really the only one of its style at the festival that i found and pretty damn good.

Tried this at the Stone open house. I went back for three tastings of this one, that’s how good it was. The strong sage scent reminded me of hiking in the Fall. Sweet spice, orange zest and ripe fruit filled my palate. I must track down more of this beer, it’s excellent!