La Trappe Tripel

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

Bottle (330ml). At Smokeless Joe shared with blankboy. Poured hazy orange (some tiny black sludgies) with a large light tan foamy-creamy lasting head. Aroma of banana, wine, spices (cloves, coriander), yeast, oily slightly toffeeish malt. Taste is blended and balanced, mostly fruity spicy malt and plenty of well-behaved alcohol. Mouthfeel lively and syrupy - way smoother than most tripels I’ve had, not as complex as the St. Bernardus or the Westmalle, but nevertheless ...

A bit sour and satisfying. Yeasty and orange and apples aroma. Hazy white with an orange tint. Mid-sip coriander spice. Almost as good as the quad. Medium wheat grain and creme mouthfeel.

So I bought this Belgian together with La Trappe official glass. Poured and orangey tea look matched well toffee / sweet cherry aromas. Nothing spectacular just nice. Hmmm, I must say that it tasted more complex than aroma would suggest. Pear at start transforms into mid roasted malts with specific for Belgian ales finish. A bit earthy, garden like.

November 2007. On Tap @ Beer Bistro. Golden amber body with a good sized head. (3+) Sweeter and less dryly alcoholic profile than many triples in both the aroma and flavour. Light caramel notes throughout. Aroma is a bit more traditionally tripleish than the flavour which leans more towards the malty character of a dubbel. Average palate. Quite pleasant. 7/3+/7+/3/14-15 - 3.5 <P>January 2004. Bottle. Hazy golden amber body with a fluffy white head. Bit of yeast in the aroma and flavour, sweet slightly spicy with a hint of a flavour I described as honey but wasn’t. 6/3/7/3/16 - 3.5

This brew pours a large invigorated light brown head of fine to medium sized bubbles. It has a cloudy dark orange-brown body full of yeast. Its aroma is a very pleasant yeasty peach smell. Its flavor is full bodied and chewy with hints of spice and fruit.

Bottle. Amber colour with medium head. Very flowery aroma at first. Then some fruit, slightly yeasty and some banana. Medium body. Flavour is defiantly sweet with ever so slightly bitter finish. I had a excellent experience with this beer. Very drinkable I thought.

Bottle at Le Moules in Prague. Unclear orange/amber - offwhite head. Fruity, yeasty, licorice, sweetness, orange, apple, pear, flowery...... a sweet, light dry tripel.

(Bottled, 0.33l) Slightly hazy, golden-amber color with a smallish, but lasting, slightly lacy head. Very fruity, citrusy, sweetish-candy-caramely aroma with some acidity and alcohol. Neutral, fruity flavor with some acidity (especially in the finish), and lots of grainy malt. Alcohol is better hidden in the flavor. Quite full-bodied palate with pretty low, but somewhat sharp carbonation. A fruity and full-bodied, but slightly sharp, alcoholic and acidic triple. Lacks in the complexity department, too. (Bottled, 0.75l, rated Jul 15, 2005, BBE 07/2007, was 7-4-7-4-14=3.6) Clear, dark reddish amber color with a smallish, lasting head. Very earthy, moldy and yeasty, alcoholic aroma with toffee hints. Earthy-malty, yeasty and slightly sugary flavor. Medium-bodied, dryish palate with a quite high carbonation. An earthy tripel, slightly spoiled by the alcohol and carbonation. (Bottled, 0.33l, rated Nov 24, 2003, was 8-5-6-3-14=3.6) Extremely beautiful, dark orange color with reasonable, almost white head. Strong, yeasty, alcoholic aroma. Quite subtle and neutral, soft but alcoholic taste with some sweetness. At first very drinkable, but changes towards the end of bottle as alcohol begins to taste through.