Ottos Abbey Tripel

Brewed by Ottos Pub & Brewery
Style: Abbey Tripel
State College, Pennsylvania USA

Listed as Otto’s Trippel Ale at the brewery, I picked up a growler. Lightly murky golden orange body, white head, moderately thick lacing. Floral, perfumy, almost vegetal in a small sense, yeasty nose, reminds me a lot of the soapy anise qualities found in La Chouffe (more so when it’s draft La Chouffe vs bottle). Crisp and sweet and perfumy, yeastiness and spices are quite soapy... sticky and medium to moderately thick body, sweet and sugary, getting cloying near the end of the glass. Decent attempt, but Belgian beer is not Otto’s strong suit. Too much of a potpourri floral character when warm... and also too sweet.

(growler, thanks mj) Beige head atop hazy apple juice body. Taste is moderately sweet, orange peel, some coriander, light candi sugar. Taste is moderately sweet, orange, wheat, light clove, banana. Medium body that misses the dryness/mouthfeel of a Tripel.

On draft at Ottos, Penn State. Poured hazy gold with fizzy white head. Fruity flavor with some sweet malt and yeasty bread. Alcohol well hidden.

On draft at brewpub. Pours a cloudy yellow gold with a finger sized fluffy white head. Good retention on the head. Aroma is of the usual fruity esters, banana and bubblegum most prominant. Flavor is very fruity with lots of banana, a definate alcohol presence and a lot of yeasty character. Fairly sweet but with enough hops to cut through the underlying cloying base. Mouthfeel is a little sticky with moderate carbonation. Overall, a decently made Triple.

Visited Otto’s for the first time and luckily got something worth drinking. The beer was served with a cloudy, dark golden, color. Could not see through the beer. Head a light head. The aroma was not strong but in the vain of a tripel. Very good body, not too heavy. Goes down well, little hint of almost 10% alcohol. Overall, a good version of a belgian speciality.

Belgian Tripel is one of my favorite styles so I was very pleased to see Otto’s try to make one. - and thankfully the result was far better than the dubbel. Sampled on draft the beer poured a cloudy dark orange color with a small tan head. The aroma is light sweet and tangy fruits. The favor is tangy fruits and candi sugar with a thick tangy finish. There is a noticeable alcohol burn but not as pronounced as with the dubbel and it did not detract overly much from this beer.

Wonderful esters off this one. Banana, bubblegum, some cloves, Belgian yeast and a bit of dull barnyard. Light citrus and some musky melon sweetness. Hazy orange amber, very warming color, with thin off-white lacing head. Medium watery body, silky with light medium carbonation. Starts sweet with banana and bubblegum, a good amount of salty orange notes, too. Good sweet malty caramel and honey character with sour banana tang that mellows as the tasting goes on. Hops are very fruity but give nice drying bitter hit to knock down potentially cloying sweetness at the finish. After is pleasantly sweet and musky, with smooth yeasty notes to round out the beer. This is a really nice tripel, and even though you can tell it’s a higher ABV, it’s hidden very well and goes down smoooth.

HBF 2005. Slightly deeper in color than most tripels. Decent head but fades. Aroma is fruity, spicy and yeasty with some banana and ripe apple. Moderately sweet throughout but not too much as to make it cloying . All flavors blend well together. Nice dry finish makes it easy to drink.