Urthel Hibernus Quentum Tripel

Brouwerij De Leyerth
Brewed at De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abbey Tripel
Ruiselede, Belgium

(750ml bottle) Sampled at TiggMTL’s Montreal Crew YEHa!05 Christmas Party on December 17, 2005. Pours a thin white head with a highly carbonated golden body. Bitter, lemony and orange nose and flavour. Very good.

Hazy amber ale with a thin white head. Sweet vanilla and maple aroma, with restrained hops, smooth and dignified. In mouth, tingly spiced malt, sweet candy, oranges, restrained hops, warm alcohol mingling nicely, yielding a complex bodied beer. Quite nice. 1 yr old bottle.

Bottle at Tapwerks, OKC, OK. Poured yellow with a medium white head. Served too cold. Aroma opened up as it warmed. Light chocolate (?). Fairly big alcohol flavor with mild lemon and peach. Light sour finish. Good.

33 cl bottle. Yeast in bottom. Golden colour with a weak fluffy head. Yeasty aroma with notes of honey, sweetness and some sourness. Very nice flavour of yeast and complexity, ends up little alcoholic but nice.

The mustached fellow on the bottle seemed jolly enough for a cold Sunday evening’s rating session so myself and GarrettB decided to pop the cork of this tripel. My experience with tripels thus far has led me to enjoy the style but only in moderation and Urthel’s attempt was no exception. As with other brews of the style, the body poured a sparkling golden yellow akin to wheat fields in the early sun. An airy white head sat lightly on top, as if the glass had been covered of a dense cobweb. A very rustic appearance indeed. The nose is jovial and fruity with plenty of banana, guava, mango, honey suckle and bubblegum esters springing forward while sweet malty aromas of caramel, butter and wheat provide a satisfying balance. These sweet tones are found again in the flavor, especially at first with heavy pineapple, vanilla, sweet cream, brown sugar and smoked honey. A certain grain-like quality dominates the main body: a nutritious blend of corn, wheat and oat that I am sure warrants its own cereal brand stamped with Urthel’s gnome of approval.

This beer was, at once, one of the hardest collections of flavors to grasp. I really couldn’t understand what I was tasting, as if I had found a new base flavor that couldn’t be broken down into simpler parts. Blame my neophyte status, and my unfamiliarity with a good Tripel. The tone of the beer was stoic, akin to undercooked French fries, but the off-white foam looked like it could have been made into an architecturally sound super dome. I had a sudden urge to romp in it; to bounce around on this trampoline of delicious beer fluff. But my friend reasoned me about of it, citing the difficulties of a 185 lbs. man jumping onto a beer glass. Disappointed, I withdrew to the aroma analysis where I found an extremely exciting burst of scents like pear, banana, vanilla, mashed bread, caramel, butter and a touch of lemon. There is also a sweeter element that I can’t quite put my finger on it. Another reviewer said it smelled like guava, which is very close to the mark. The thick and nourishing construct of this beer is soothing. It lets your tongue rest on a cushiony mattress of delicious tripel, to roll around in a riddling complex of vailla, wheat, butter, peaches and pears all bound by an astringent tie. You know, for a beer that’s not a stout I had a hard time drinking this. Mind you, I wasn’t tired of it. I adored it. But something kept me from coming back to the glass earlier than I was meant to.

light yellow colour, strong and large head. aroma is overwhelming, enjoyable taste, finish is strong bitter going to a long light-bitter aftertaste.

Ah, a belgium 3x’s. Thick foamy off white head. Alcohol nose followed by yeast. Taste was spice with the warming of the ABV but well hidden. Good triple.