Two Brothers Oh Brother! Tripel Ale

Brewed by Two Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Warrenville, Illinois USA

Pours very orange, hazy, with minimal head. Banana bread aroma. Nice balanced flavor, predominantly citrus, some spice notes. Very clean aftertaste, for better or worse. Very smooth, very drinkable. Refreshing.

Pours from the bottle a cloudy golden orange in color with a very small to no head and a small chunks of yeast suspended. Beer has a nich doughy aroma with bananas, cloves and a bit of spiciness to round out the aroma. Flavor has a sweet/sourness to go along with flavor of bananas, spicy clove and a slight cider acidic flavor. The clove and a slight alcohol flavor linger after the beer is down the hatch. Overall, this beer is pretty sweet at times and the alcohol does hit the body pretty nicely. Will definitely get another bottle to age down in the celler.

bottle. Pours a bright golden copper color, small head that leaves a decent ring. Aromas of sweet and citrus fruits, grainy sugar sweetness, and some tart yeast and spice notes. Flavor starts with a solid noble hop spicy bitterness. Some interesting dry barnyard notes, a fair amount of slick grainy sweetness, and some booze notes in the background. A bit heavy and slick on the palate- to be expected to some extent, but detracts a bit here. Interesting, not average Tripel.

This brew pours a cloudy orangeish-yellow colour with a medium white creamy head. Aroma of banannas, mangoe and cloves with soft notes of spice and tropical fruits throughout. Taste is pleasent, refreshing and very clean on the palate.

Bomber. Thick layer of yeast visible on bottom. Let’s not disturb it just yet– – pours a bright golden color with a little haze, under a barely off-white head. Smells of crisp malts, a bit of lemon. Taste starts with a touch of sourness, which I see other raters mentioning (good: my new basement is NOT cool at all; I’m concerned for my preciouses). Seems to show a bit of soft water, with sodium underlaying. But bready, bits of honey in the malt, a cross of many wheat styles, focusing on banana, clove, and coriander. Thickens up further down the glass. A bit too much dry wine settles on my tongue, which I don’t quite expect from this style. I think I expect a bit more complexity from abbey style beers, and this does not show much of it.

Bomber, my 35th ’Tripel". Sweet and chalky, very yeasty nose, soft pale malts with just a little vanilla. Light spice and pepper. Hazy golden pour with a creamy beige head. Taste is sharply tart but not really all that acidic, gradually breadening out with some soft malt. Faint coriander and medium-strength pepper with a touch of orange rind and slightly harsher spice, perhaps a bit of booze toward the end, as well. Honey and phenols! Mediumish body. Wholly agree with the reviews that consider this a big Belgian Golden rather than a Tripel. And, though I’m dinging this a bit with a "low" rating (at 3.0), I still rather enjoyed drinking it.

On draft at the Clark Street Ale House, Chicago. Poured the usual, hazy golden-straw color, white head, but this one wasn’t that impressive, quick fade, only ok lacing. The aroma was nasty sweet caramel apples, over-ripened bananas. The flavor followed suit, fowl apples w/ hints of cider, and those sweet over-ripened bananas, almost to the point where the mealiness of them buggers could be felt in the mouth. Spicing, dryness, and pilsy-grassy-hoppy elements all missing. Mouthfeel was a bit light and acidic for the style. Sorry, another 2Bro bomb.

Bomber rating. Pour is golden orange with a thin white head. Aromas: Apricot, honey, orange, and light biscuit. Mouthfeel is sticky, but the flavors are nice and bold. My only complaint here is that the beer seems a little undercarbonated for the style. Because of that, the flavor is almost a little too sweet, and not balanced out by higher carbonation. Generally I am disappointed with American versions of belgian beers, yet this one is more spot on than many of its american competitors. For that, I give it props.