MacTarnahans Gran Luxe Tripel Ale

Formerly brewed at Portland Brewing Company (Pyramid)
Style: Abbey Tripel
Portland, Oregon USA

Pours an orangish amber with a small delicate white head. It seems to dissolve fairly quickly. Aroma is rich alcohol soaked fruits, honey, candy sugar, and spices. Taste is magnificent! Definite alcohol and fruit. The candy sugar is there on the tongue as well. The spice is evident on the tongue as well but not as dominant. The palate is smoother than expected. Most Belgian style tripels tend to have a sharp carbonated body. This was very smooth for the style. The carbonation only seemed to show up during the finish and even then is subdued. Otherwise definite sweetness and more fruit in the finish. Damn good beer!

22 oz capped bottle [fairly fresh]: loud fizzy carbonation dances in the glass above the golden peach body and settles into a ring of white foam with several patches of carbonation remaining throughout. . .honey suckle, orange peel aroma with a bit of peppery sourdough. Moist, spritzy palate. Wide gambit of flavours: pineapple flesh, bitter grass, blood, lemon seed, pepper and moss. I can’t say that this one was remarkable, but the flavours came together and grew on me significantly. I wonder what would happen if this spend a handful of months in my closet first?

Expectations were low for this layman's tripel, and that was fortunate; It isn't a bad tasting beer, just not nearly on par with the better tripels on the market; Mildly sweet, but with a moderate sourness as well, and it's too sour for the style; Flavor starts out spicy and finishes spicy too; Very carbonated mouthfeel; Banana and sweet bubble gum aromas; Light golden color and hazy with a significant amount of carbonation bubbles; Sizeable white head is very bubbly and fades to a sheen within a few minutes

Poured a clear orange color with a very small off white head. Yeast and a sweet spiciness in the aroma. A warming sweetness followed by yeast and alcohol in the taste.

Yeasty and sweet alcohol aroma. Flavor is much of the same, sweet candyish malt. Decent bodied, some phenols and a touch of rubber. Considerable alcohol in the finish.

Strong dryness and heavy carbonation is Gran Luxe's most noticeable feature. It's not very aromatic or sweet and the body is not rich or all that tasty. Thinnish mouthfeel and uncomplicated. A disappointment from one of my favorite breweries.

orange/amber body, well carbonated, dense white, shiny head. nose of alcohol and fruits, as well as floral tones, pretty intense. a bit yeasty, mostly phenolitic. dry, clean malt character with honey and spices. Smooth, full and sweet, good balance. slightly effervescent. sweet later on. lacks a bit in depth and complexity

There is something about this that is different...something very immediate. I can't quite place my finger on it but it seems a touch more sour than most tripels, similar in mouthfeel to a Flemish Red, like a cherry, or even a raspberry. This is unique in more ways than one as the yeast is actually fairly well incorporated, unlike many American tripels. The beer itself is a great honey/peach color with a minimal head. The mouthfeel is a bit thin, especially in the finish, but overall not bad. I'd just rather see this as a summer seasonal.