Dark Horse Sapient Trip Ale

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Marshall, Michigan USA

I shared a bottle of this with BeerBaron617. It poured a hazy dried peach color...if that makes any sense. It’s a dark orangy yellow with an off-white head. It’s aroma is very bready and a bit fruity at the same time. It tastes a bit awkward but a lot like a traditional Belgian brew. It has a lot of clove in it, and a strong flavor that’s orangy or banana...but old, like it’s been sitting for a while. It’s VERY spicy. overall a pretty decent recreation of a Belgian brew aroma and taste.

$2 for a bottle of this @ vintage. Strongish beer aroma, sweet and fumey. Lots of sediment on the bottom of this stuff. Thin white head on top of a hazy brown brew. Old tomato or old fruit initial impressions. Ropey and leathery at the same time, indeed. Weird personality all its own. Has some of that stronger tripel East End feel to it, must be the yeast. Barely any carbonation. Mouth coating alky impact. Not quite as refined as the real belgie tripels. Wew, I think I’m getting dizzy. A little too much for this lager lover. Strong, smooth syrup at times. Finish is a tad difficult with all this complexity going on. Almost honey or winelike in some respects..

TAP: copper pour, small head. Wheat, spice, yeast, honey on the nose, medium mouthfeel, fruit and yeast on taste, a little dry. Something seems to be missing to round out the flavor, but I can’t put my finger on it. Pretty good tripel.

bottle.pours a golden copper color with no head.has a sweet, orange like aroma. has a taste of orange and quite a bit of spice. a bit bitter. finish is very warm with a chocolate taste.

Sample at the Troegs and Dark Horse tasting at Blacklick Wine and Spirits on 6/5/09. Pours a cloudy copper/amber with a thin off-white head. Banana Belgian yeast nose with spices and some malt. Pretty much the same flavor with malt, bananas and clove. Typical Belgian; nothing terribly special.

Pours muddy caramel tan with a 1 finger (chalice) cream colored head that has decent retention but fades to a skim and ring after a while. Aroma is citrus, caramel, dark fruit, cloves, anise, wheat, banana, nuts, passion fruit, a hint of basement mustiness, hints of earth and spicy herbs. Flavor is caramel apple, grain, dusty fruit, nectarine, mild citrus, wheat bread, hints of earth, dried leafs, finishes with a citrus punch like hop note, anise and clove spice and some wheat. Palate is thin to medium body high carbonation (though pretty average - maybe low for the style) with a slick, yet sticky feel and dry finish. Good stuff, not exactly a world class tripel but for the price ($10/6er here, just shy of 3 750ml bottles volume wise, for roughly the price of 1) it’s a real knockout.

On tap @ the Brew Kettle 6/5/09 1/4 L tulip glass: Hazy amber w/a lasting off white medium sized head. Peppery yeast, fruity, w/ odd hints of peppermint for some reason? Green apples, plum fruit, floral hops, and also a bit woody. A bit of flat toasty malt aroma as well. Initial flavor is slightly woody. A fruity plum, green grape, and floral hop notes mid palate. Dry from start to finish in balance with a lingering lightly bitter and clean hop aftertaste. Toasty malt flavor is mild and has a peppery yeast to boot. Higher medium CO2, dry m/f, warming alcohol, medium bodied. Not bad! Not quite a traditional tripel, but a decent brew.

Bottle. Pours clear golden copper with a thin off-white head. Aroma of cotton candy, fruit, honey and a hint of spice. Full body, very little carbonation. The cotton candy, fruit, honey show up in the taste, but are overshadowed by spice, orange, yeast and quite a bit of alcohol heat/bite for 8.5%. Finishes drier that a popcorn fart.