Triumph Bengal Gold India Pale Ale

Brewed by Triumph Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Princeton, New Jersey USA

Date: 07/26/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub, Philly

hazy amber, wispy off white head, drippy lace, big citrus aroma backed by dark caramel, lots of hop flavor melds into a tasty bitterness that leads to a long bitter finish, dry dark caramel provides a stage for the hop transgressions,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **+/4

Clear amber body with off-white head. Aroma is mild sweet, grapefruit, caramel, some earthy. Taste is mild sweet, and fairly intense earthy/grapefruit bitter. Medium body, some resin. Decent beer, but nothing that stands apart from a decent homebrew.

On tap. Poured a medium amber with a smaller head. Hoppy, citris and floral aroma and tastes. Bitter finish. OK IPA.

filtered–on tap-pours a white head with gold color. Aroma is clover and no discernable hops. Taste some malt/hops, a mild beer. 3.0 unfiltered –on tap-pours a big foamy white head with gold/amber color, darker than the IPA filtered. No discernable aroma. Taste some malt/hops with a slight oily mouthfeel, a mild, nice beer. 3.0 060827-rerate-biting hops, malt. 3.7

Clear golden, generous white head, lacing well, but diminishing to cover rapidly. Once again another unusual beer, showcasing particularly grainy malts that never really can pretend to support the hops adequately. Bitter, tea-like green hops. Medium bodied, slow carbonation. Atypical example that might gain from being a bit more structured in its maltiness.

On tap at the New Hope location:

The Lure:
An unpredictably faint aroma for an IPA, especially considering that their Amber Ale and ESB possessed potent hop presentations. Mostly citrusy and fruity, with some grainy malts. Oh well.

The Festivities:
Frail body for the style, with a presentable hop bitterness. Hop flavor does not satisfy though, falling into the yeasty dryness trap. This is dusty, not malty enough for my tastes, and the hops are as bright as they could be. A disappointing rendition.

Transcendence:
The pot of gold was in reality just painted in a shiny yellow colour.

Sample at the New Hope, PA location. Clear gold, very fruity (apricots, cherries, apples), nice finishing long-lasting bitterness is dry without being harsh; elegant and assertive. Orangy/floral characteristics chime in occasionally.

Soapy, floral, grapefruit hop nose. Clear golden body is topped by a low but lasting white head that recedes to cover with very nice lacing. Floral, grapefruit, lavender hop flavour with assertive and well balanced bitterness. Very fruity and floral in character. Dry well attenuated medium body with moderate carbonation. Sampled on tap at the Pennsylvania location of the brewpub with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Rastacouere and Yowie.