La Trappe Tripel

Brewed by De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abbey Tripel
Tilburg, Netherlands

Bottle. Amber beer with an off-white head. Big phenolic, banana, clove aroma. Malty, yeasty, earthy, spicy, banana flavor. Medium body. LIngering yeast. Good complexity.

The mushroom cork on this beast was a pain to remove, it broke off as I was trying to remove it and I had to push the half inch nub down into the beer to get anything into my glass. A dark Tripel, this beer pours with a fairly clear, reddish hue and is topped by a frothy, barely half-finger thick, amber tinged tan head. The aroma is a mix of malt and fruit: notes of raisins and apples round out the fruit component, while caramelized malt sugars and lightly browned bread crust are on the malt side. The aroma is fairly dull though, I was expecting a bit more character here.

The taste is lightly sweet, and pretty light on the palate as well. It is not very heavy at all, especially for a brew of this strength. The flavors are a bit dull; notes of apple cider, raisins and some flabby malt are noticeable. This is probably showing some age as it seems to have picked up the beginnings of wet cardboard. Some spicy notes round out the finish with notes of clove, ginger and perhaps something like allspice giving this a complexity boost. Just not a very great beer; I expected quite a bit more complexity here, even with the light notes of age.

Purchased: Park Lane Liquors, Lancaster CA

Golden cloudy poor, nice thick head. Plenty of carbonation. Slight yeast aroma. Somewhat soapy, but not too strong. Easy to drink. Nice fresh bread like taste. Has more of a Belgian feel to it than a Dutch feel. Very enjoyable. Pleasant fruity, fresh ale taste. Despite the 8% alc content, the level is not pronounced in the flavor.

Bottle. 33cl. This is a classic tripel, alle the way, but not the same class as Tripel Karmeliet, but never the less a good one.

Bottle, 8%. Weak apple aroma. Clear copper colour, nice white head. The flavour has a bit of caramel and some pepper, unfortunately also a hint of veg.

I used to prefer this to the quad, although the more I drink it the more unbalanced it can sometimes be. Not the star of trappist ales--slightly overrated, but still pretty decent.

I’m with Chuck on this one. This beer is not good. The beer pours to a deep caramel apple colored body that’s hazy. A thin white head on top. The aroma is yellow apple skins and yeast. Very strange. The flavor is yellow apple skins and a very strange yeast. I’ve never tasted/smelled anything like this. The palate is sweet, well carbonated, moderately full bodied.

A light orangish/brown pour with a large white head that fades quickly. A brown sugar aroma mixed with yeast and a touch of the 8% as well. A flavor of fruit. It reminds me not in a bad way of apple cider that had gone hard. A nice soft mouthfeel and full palate. A beer I enjoyed very much.