Jack of the Wood Green Man Merlin Tripel

Name: Merlin Triple
Date: 08/12/2005
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewery

hazy dark yellow, whispy thin white head, sweet spicy malt aroma, robust body, big sweet malt flavor balanced by a nice array of spicyness, light bitterness in the finish
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Name: Merlin Triple
Date: 03/30/2007
Mode: draft
Source: brewery
Score: 2.6 to 3.0

opaque orange, picking up some nice horsey funk in the aroma which adds some really nice character, still the big sweet body with plenty of spicy ester flavor, big for a triple which makes me like it

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Draught. Pours fairly dark for the style. It’s orange with a nice looking white head. The nose is full of apple, honey, and bubblegum. Man, this stuff is sticky sweet and heavy on the nutmeg. Coriander, cloves, apples are present. The sweetness is gummy. The alcohol is hidden well. I would not say this is the best Tripel ale.

Draught at the brewpub. Pours orange gold with retentive white head. The aroma is honey, corriander, some banana, distant clove, and subdued lemon. The flavor is lots of banana up front with just a bit of zest and clove behind it. Grassy hops are detectable in the middle and finish. Slight alcohol wamrth and sweetness in the aftertaste. Pretty good tripel.

Sampled from a growler: Pours a transparent copper orange with a thin ring of white bubbles. Aroma explodes with lots of sweet caramely biscuity Belgian malt and some peppery notes. Body starts with a fairly full sweet caramel maltiness with nice bready Belgian yeasty complexity and light fruity, strawberry notes. A nice, authentic, abbey tripel.

Growler. Poured a hazy golden color with a brownish tint. The aroma is malty with some yeasty spice and a light skunk to it. The flavor is malty with a beligian yeasty spice and ester character. Nice warming sensation in the chest and a bitter finish. Medium bodied.

Draught at the brewpub. Hazy yellow color with thin white head. Yeasty alcohol nose. Warm and effervescent with a nice corainder and clove flavor. Tart apple fonish. Not bad, but not the best Belgian clone I’ve ever had.