Pisgah Solstice Tripel

Brewed by Pisgah Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Black Mountain, North Carolina USA

Bottle at the Nashville BA tasting. This pours a murky golden with a white head, it looks unfiltered. Nose of yeast and Belgian esters. Medium bodied with a great mouthfeel, earthy with perfect carbonation. Flavor of pale Belgian malts, pear, orange, spice, and even some honey. This has a moderate amount of residual sweetness. This is not what normally comes to mind when drinking a Tripel, but I am not a huge Tripel fan. This is sort of like a Wit on steroids. I like it.

Picked up a bomber in Asheville over the holidays and it does not disappoint. Mine poured with a huge creamy head and punch of citrus fruit in the nose. Goes down smooth, slightly imbalanced toward to sweet side but that is my only complaint, and a minor one at that. Nice tripel.

Pale clear gold pour with a fluffy white head. Acidic aroma. Lots of citrus and spice up front slightly dry finish

Bottle from Bruisin’ Ales poured into a pint glass. Pours a crystal clear golden color with a creamy white head that stays as a cap for the duration with massive amounts of bubbles straming up from the bottom. Lacing is plentiful The aroma is seriously sweet with candi sugar, fruity esters and tons of light fruit - pears, apples and apricots. There is also a bready malt aroma as well. The taste is even sweeter than the aroma suggests. The sweet fruits and candi sugar are dominant throughout with bananas, apricots and pears on top of a light citrus and bready malt base. Good, but a tad sweeter than I prefer. The mouthfeel is massively carbonated and fruity sweetness lingering on the palate.

Pours from 750 ml bottle, cork had a bit of beer crusted on the edge, loud pop and a glass full of white foam ensued. It settles out and the first glass is a crisp straw yellow with a heavy bubble stream to the top. Subsequent pours show an increasing cloudyness as the sediment is increasingly disturbed. Aroma was of A sweet aroma of a fruity nature, citrus with pineapple and banana. Soft wheat undertones laced with bubble gum and candy sugar. Flavour that of super light, and full of flavour, this was an instant classic as soon as I took the first sip. Very nice light notes of yeast and wheat, some light fruit backed in as well. Nice hints of peach and a touch of wine like alcohol, but very light and more of a subtle nice surprise then anything else. The flavour was insanely good, and at times effortless. The finish was dry, almost like a champagne dryness to it with a long lasting flavor of grass or wet hay, and you just had to go back for another sip when it was done. Delightful beer, easy to drink and wonderful to enjoy! NC rejoice!

750ml bottle shared with tomthompson @ Coles. One of best American made tripels Ive come across. Pours a golden color. Spritzy, cork exploded out of the bottle. Sweet citrusy flavor & aroma. Some belgian yeastiness. nice mouthfeel. good tripel

Bottle from Bruisin’ Ales. Pours a clear golden color with a big frothy white head. Incredibly carbonated and fizzy texture. Aroma of spice and light citrus, orange and lemon. Flavor is citrus, a little funk, dirt and wild yeast. Finish is slightly sweet. This one is light and refreshing very tasty drink.

Finally rating this after drinking as much as possible when in Asheville. I am not a huge tripel fan, particularly not American tripels, but I consistently enjoy this beer, particularly when they serve pints of it for about $4 at Ruby’s. Nearly clear golden with gauzy white cream head. Sweet aromas of candied sugar and summer fruits (apricots, peaches), citrus, and citrus peel. Tart and almost sour on the nose. Nice slight bit of spice and yeast, but not doughy. A little thin on the palate, but otherwise I really dig this beer.