Westmalle Tripel

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle
Style: Abbey Tripel
Malle, Belgium

***May 06 / 08 K, so I’m chugging back a 2 yr+ cellared bottle... man, this has really mellowed. It’s to the point now where I could drop this back in mere minutes. Mild flavoured as well as in the aroma dep’t. The harshness of the yeast has really dissapated. Still quite dry and tart (or is that tannic?). Nothing much has change except for the mellowing effect and the fact that now I could chug this. Got another one for the long term cellar experiment. Upped Appearance rating. Great pour, super clear with the cellaring and the concrete sediment on the bottom of the bottle, great effervecance, lacing and incredible retention.... nearing perfection - serious.

***Jan 25 ’07: Grade bumped up from 3.5. After having a few of these in the last couple of days, the Belgium Tripels (or at least this one) have started to win me over. I’ll have to add apples to the aroma list; cinammon to the taste list; mouthfeel - great swish, good initial hard bitter attack and a softer bitter aftertaste that previously noted. Also I think there is also a slight nutty aftertaste too.

***Re-review July 13, 2006: Way way better this time around. Here’s the improvements/modifications to the original review: Colour leaning to the orange side and there is a freaking ton of sediment that is small and white leaving a pile at the bottom of my glass. Aroma is very present and quite spicy with the same yeast and a bunch of sweetness (maybe that crummy white grape juice from Welch’s). Taste is pretty strong: Lots of bold spiciness, lots of yeast and some things that I have no idea what they are. This time, I love the mouthfeel, although it’s no easy ride: the harsh yeast, spices and bitterness blend together to create a slight sweet start and a dry finish with a neverending hard bitter aftertaste. The whole time I want to say that I can really notice the alcohol, but it is just the harshness of this beer until the aftertaste - that’s where I finally know. Man, This is a pretty harsh beer that’s really drinkable.....don’t really like it but really like it.?.?.?.?.?.?

Feb 5, 2006: The excitement of this beer vanished the second I tasted it. Great looking hazy yellow and poured up a really thick head which stuck around quite long. Aroma was a bit sour but mainly apricots and yeast. A little bit of light brown sediment remained (almost like really crappy milk chocolate in colour - I’m not saying this was a bad think tho..). Suprisingly sour in taste, which was quite terrible, this is unquestionabally the worst Trapist beer I’ve ever had. The more I drank, thoughts of pouring it out crept in my mind (total sacrilege!!!). We got his directly form Belguim about 2 weeks ago...it is possible we got bad bottles despite the expiry date being 22/12/07.The Dubbel was better. Extremely dissapointing. Need a bottle from another batch to confirm horrible review.

Wonderful beer. Well balanced sweetness, spiciness, yeastiness, with a long, dry, slightly warming finish. Can’t go wrong here.

Dry fruity aroma. very estery fruity taste as well. not as dry as expected. fermentation lends very complex flavor. clear about 6 srm color. slightly warm finish. The high alcohol does not overpower taste and is balanced very well

Rating #50! This pours a sunshiney orange/yellow colour with a mountainous, fluffy white head. Overwhelming aromas of honey, oranges and lemons leap out of the glass immediately. Sugar melons, spices and honey in the flavour with a warming alcohol content and a creamy, full mouthfeel. A really characteristic long, dry and bitter finish. Although this is great too, I’d prefer their Dubbel.

Pours a hazy orangish-yellow with a light but big head. Aroma - Yeasty, citrus, notes of clove and orange. Taste - spicey, sweet orange/lemon notes, hops, and it has an astringentness to it and it is very dry. Overall - Sweet, bitter, dry and spicey. Though it’s not my favorite style it is still very good. The spiceyness probably isn’t my thing which keeps me from rating it higher.

Bel colore arancio chiaro,bella anche la schiuma molto compatta e persistente.Potente e deciso aroma di alcool e caramello.In bocca è molto dolce,zuccherosa direi,l’amaro è presente solo alla fine.Molto buona e complessa.La sto bevendo mentre sto leggendo un libro e devo dire che mi rende la lettura ancora più piacevole.

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange-yellow, with a thick white fluffy head, and a fair amount of sediment, even with careful pouring. Nose is orange, coriander, white pepper, with a suggestion of hops and yeast. Palate is dominated by a constantly shifting meangerie of citrus fruits, tempered with spices (cinnamon and maybe cardamom), behind an almost candy lemon-marmalade sweetness. Very Pretty. Finish is long, lemony, and slowly souring. Reminds me somehow of sour cream and sourdough at the same time. Wonderful beer!

Bottle. Hazy yellow pour with a good lasting white fluffy head. A crisp, light beer which I have now been drinking regularly for almost 15 years. Orangey, lemon taste, alcohol not too overpowering. This is a great Belgian beer but it used to be better in the 90’s IMO.