Middle Ages Tripel Crown

Brewed by Middle Ages Brewing
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Syracuse, New York USA

Bottle shared with blankboy and hogtown harry, courtesy of harry. Sweet caramel and alcohol in aroma, which was very inviting. Dark yellow appearance with a small white head. Strong! sweet caramel, pepper, yeast, some hops and alcohol taste. Wow, this one really does burn on the way down, I’m not sure we were quite ready for this one so early in the tasting - we all certainly had different opinions of it. I can’t say it is balanced, and I only get the Belgian influence maybe in the yeast taste, but this is a unique big little beer that worked for me as a winter warmer, but only a small sample. A little much.

12oz bottle from Puzzl. Thanks Andy! Pours a light golden orange color with a small foamy white head. Nose is light sugars and apricot. Taste is lots of apricot with some light almost sour melon. A decent malt flavor here with sugary candy notes, almost too sweet for its own good. A burning alcohol sets fire to my throat. Ah! ouch.

(12oz bottle) Hazy amber body topped by small off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, pear, orange. Taste is sweet, pear, confectionary sugar, light candi sugar, alcohol burn. Medium-full body. Very disappointing, my least favorite from what otherwise is a decent brewery.

Bottle courtesy of Pailhead. Pours bright copeer with no head. Aroma has some fruity, apple/pear and alot of hot alcohol. Initial flavor decent fruity candi sugar flavor but again turns to burning alcohol. Rather unimpressed.

Bottle: Dull golden, hazy, moderate frothy off-white head, spotty lacing, light carbonation.   Pale fruit, yeasty/bready, slight alcohol presense.   Doughy start, noticeable phenols, much akin to hair spray.   Luckily it doesn’t stick around long.   Moderate body and mouthfeel, almost sticky.   Unfortunately the alcohol translates to things other than alcohol.   Not bad, but the phenols detract.   Fairly sweet, almost syrupy.   Thanks Dan!

2005 bottle consumed on 12/15/2005. So this one is an American brewed English-style Belgian trippel? Ok. . . .
Pours a deep brass and copper with light rust tints and a bright golden gleam to it. The head is beige/off-white and like all other Middle ages beers, it is rapidly dissipating to a ring, with little spots of lace and then nothing. Quite clear, though inspecting the bottom (and the mouthfeel confirms) it is not as highly filtered as their other beers. Sweet! There’s actually some light sediment on the bottom.
However, from the first look at the nose, the problems begin. A musty, yet pungent and sharp cider-vinegar-meets-ethanol aroma rises quickly to meet me, with light powdered sugar, diacetyl, hints of dry nectarine and peach and just a bit of orange zest. Pale malt-like sugars are quite apparent. The subtleties (or shall I say, non-alcoholic qualities) of the aroma, are quickly passing, though. Unfortunately, about a minute or two after pouring, the only thing left in the nose is alcohol, strong, sharp, dominant alcohol. If I closed my eyes and someone put this glass up to my nose, I would guess it to be a glass of ethanol, no joke.
The flavor begins with a strong alcoholic note, followed by light cidery notes that are sharp, musty and very phenolic. Sweet candied peaches, apples, nectarines and oranges are noted, and the mouthfeel, wow! Simply put, this is what all Middle ages beers should strive for. Comforting, even lightly syrupy in texture, with that extra oomph that high filtration removes. Plenty of sugars on the end, and then fade to alcohol. Not quite as persistent/apparent as the nose, but still very strong and bullying. Touches of dry, bitter grassy hops only exacerbate the problem. If they could just get this alcohol under control. As is, this has to be in the top 3 most alcoholic tasting/smelling beers I’ve ever had.

Hazy golden pale in color, with nice head retention, lace doesn’t hang around long probably from the alcohol. Need to work on there aroma, slight hints of candied orange. Seems a bit unbalanced, alcohol shows through. Its rich upfront, decently sweet, but I think it goes wrong in the mid and finish, thats when the beer seems a little rough, on the finish the alcohol lingers.

Cloudy with a nice hue of orange. Sweet, orange-like nose. Lively carbonation; smooth body. Sweet, rock-candy sugariness in the base. A little spicy. Moderate amount of bitterness (flowers, grass). Sadly, a rubbing alcohol off-flavor surfaced and just wouldn’t go away. OK in some ways; fairly one-dimensional and unexciting in others.