La Trappe Tripel

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

33cl. Light golden pour and off-white head. Fruity, sweet, slight wheat and citrus. I think I prefer the dubbels to the tripels in general, but this isn’t a bad beer by any means, as the 3.7 suggests.

Pours Dark golden with a small head. Plenty of malt in the aroma. The flavor has sweetness and alcohol with a bit of fruit. Light body.

Bottle 33 cl. pours an orangy yellow with a small white head and a fruity smell with hints of cinnamon. taste is sweet, ripe fruits, caramel, spices, something roasted and honey. Finish is nice, spicey and a some bitterness. A good Dutch tripel

Pours a nice amber color with moderate, but quickly dissipating head. Aroma is not real strong but is very sweet (almost like those candy circus peanuts we ate as kids) and some floral notes. Flavor is not quite as sweet, but still very fruity, with notes of banana and yeast. Medium boded and a dry finish that hides the alcohol well. A solid beer, but not the best tripel out there.

Clear amber with lots of bubbles and a small creamy white head. Light yeasty aroma. Sweet malt, smooth carbonation, fruity and alcohol also. Dark color separates this from the Belgian Tripels.

Serving date: 2009-02-24. Served in snifter. 330 ml bottle with freshness date on the label (best before end of 2010). Pours a brownish amber color with a lightly yellow shaded 1 cm head that settles after a while but leaves some decent lacings. First pour is clear, but a rather aggressive second pour with more or less all of the yeast going into the glass makes the beer rather cloudy. Lots of fruity aromas - most are on the sweet side, but some are slightly tart. Grainy malts, a general candy-like smell and some light phenols. The alcohol lurks in the background. The taste resembles to a large extent the smell. Plenty of vinous fruits (ripe apples, redcurrants), white bread, caramel malts, a touch of honey, some spices, candy and restrained yeast. It goes a little tart in the middle. A rather noticeable taste of alcohol. The gently bitter finish contains more malt, a taste of white pepper, a twang from the alcohol, and leaves a slightly dry sensation in the mouth. I must say, although the alcohol isn’t completely overpowering, it’s still rather prominent and sometimes overshadows the other flavors. Medium body, a bit too light if you’d ask me. Moderate carbonation with gentle bubbles. This is a good beer, but not great, and considering the expectations that one generally have on Trappist beers, I keep finding myself thinking that it’s just ok. It is surprisingly restrained for a Belgian Tripel, and not as complex as many other comparable Trappists. It’s simply just not that interesting. Also, considering it’s generally restrained character, it tastes slightly to much of alcohol. I’m not saying that it gets boozy - it just lacks some big flavors to back up the alcohol. However, in the end it is still a good tasting beer and I would like especially like to mention the composition of the sweeter components in it since I found them very pleasant. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

A: Poured with a large head that seems quite creamy and frothy... diminished down to 1-finger size. Lacing is fair, but not what I expected from the size of the initial head. Body is a copper color and hazy. S: Aroma of light malt and light yeast. Some orange in there too, and traces of alcohol as well. T: Very nice flavor that begins lightly sweet with malt, and then becomes more fruity and yeasty, as you’d normally expect from a tripel. Little bit of alcohol bite in the finish. M: Medium-bodied with a thin-to-oily texture, and lively carbonation... almost too lively. D: A very decent tripel... not my favorite of the Trappist entries, but still a very good beer.

33cl bottle poured into a La Trappe Trappist glass. Copper with a small off-white head. Aroma is candy sugar, fruit, spice, slight alcohol. Flavor is the same. The alcohol is a bit warming. Good beer for a cold day.