Poured from the corked and caged 750 ml bottle into my tulip, Tripel Overhead has a golden colored body with about a finger worth of foamy white head that quickly dissipated.  The head did not leave a lot of lacing but didn’t stop me from diving in. The aroma started with a sour fruity note up front, backed by a strong yeasty element. Oddly enough for the style, hints of dark fruits namely sour cherries came through as well. Minor alcohol notes were on the back end, not entirely surprising for a 9% ABV beer.

Yeast notes dominate the palate on first sip, so much I felt it was perhaps overly yeasty even for a Tripel. It does have nice sweet caramel malt backbone to help with balance. Strong sweet citrus notes with a slight twinge of bourbon are on the back palate and left into the linger. Medium-bodied and highly active carbonation gives this an impressive mouth feel, a testament to matching the traditional style.

I was hoping for slightly more from Mother Earth on the Tripel Overhead. The feel and appearance were all there but this one takes a hit because the taste and aromas weren’t as balanced as I would have liked. If you have a chance to try a bottle I do recommend it, but you don’t need to go out of your way to hunt this one down.

Rating

86
out of 100

In traditional European fashion, the Abbey Pale Ale comes in a 11.2 ounce bottle. The beer inside pours out a light golden color with a very active white head. Lacing is non existent but the carbonation bubbles are ever present. Aromas are light, but pleasant. Elements of citrus, coriander, lemon peel and a little mustiness are in play.

The flavors are a little sweeter than I was anticipating, there’s not much of an acidic bite coming through. Honey, caramel, some lemon and orange as well (but not tart) are mid-palate. There is a small amount of bitterness from the hops towards the back end. Overall, the beer is crisp and the lively carbonation delivers all over your mouth. It finishes dry compared to the initial sweetness but it helps the crispness of the beer.

This is a classically good Tripel. Sweet but not cloying, some bitterness, and good citrus elements. I do wish the sweetness was cut a bit, but overall this is an extremely drinkable beer. It’s crisp and refreshing with just the right amount of complexity. At 7.5% ABV and not showing any signs of it makes this is a good, yet dangerously drinkable beer. Enjoy and handle with care.

Rating

89
out of 100

Poured into two Bruery tulip glasses, Batch 300 opens up with a soft copper / golden colored body, reminiscent of a rustic sunset. It starts out a bit cloudy but as the beer warms and the chill haze disappears, the clarity improved. A white billowy and sudsy head is atop that eventually settles into a thin, patchy retention ring with minor lacing.

Oak wood starts the aromas but it’s not as powerful as you’d expect – while noticeable, it’s somewhat reserved and muted. A touch of spicy yeast, hay, clove and bitter orange peel all come through once you get past the initial oak notes. As with the nose, oak is evident upon first sip but again is not overpowering. The low carbonation and creamy nature of this beer, a departure from the style it seems, reveals the doughy and pale malt base of this beer. Finishing with hints of orange oils, the otherwise oak-centric profile ends somewhat messy – not as crisp and clean as it would be if a bit more carbonation was present.

Aging a Tripel on oak cubes is something we rarely see for the style, a testament to the innovation and exploration of American craft brewing. There’s no denying it added another dimension to the beer but unfortunately seemed to blanket most of the traditional Tripel qualities. Oak forward is was but the base of the beer seemed to be all but lost. Nonetheless, Batch 300 is unique and delicious – something I’ve come to expect nothing less of from The Bruery.

Rating

89
out of 100

Poured from an 11.2 ounce bottle, this Belgian Tripel’s appearance is exactly what you should look for in the style. Its body is a hazy golden orange color with a big fluffy and creamy white head. The retention is superb leaving a fairly thick cap across the surface sip through swallow. Add some splotchy, sticky lacing and you have what I consider to be the most gorgeous Tripel I’ve seen.

Opening the nose, aromas of lemon zest, ripened banana and orange flesh work well to strike a balance of both sweet and bitter complexities. Profound yet still restrained Belgian yeast notes and spice are introduced trailing off into the distance. A reversal of sorts on the palate, doughy malts and a touch of yeast are the immediate players of flavor. Bittersweet citrus elements, that of lemon and grapefruit skins, arrive mid-palate and intertwine with the finishing touches of honey and white grape.

With its bubbly and creamy mouth feel, along with the unmistakable balance of traditional aromas and flavors, the Westmalle Tripel is a beer lovers awakening. For someone like myself that loves Tripels, this is perhaps one of my new favorites that sits at the top the plethoric heap of competitors. It’s a wonder it took me so long to try this, however, now that I have — I’m not turning back.

Rating

95
out of 100

The pour on this one is fantastic and really displays the Tripel style well with a deep copper body. There’s a full two-finger foamy head that leaves very nice lacing around the glass. The aromas are reminiscent and full of Belgian-style qualities. Evidence of Belgian yeast is at the forefront, followed by some fruit esters, strawberry and banana, that peek through the malt base. Everything seems well-balanced on the nose, nothing out of place or overplayed.

As wonderful as the aroma was, the taste was a bit of a disappointment — it definitely could have a lot more going on than it does. It started out rather nicely with sweet, fruity notes and brought in a heavy malt base in the middle. The finish has a bit of a funky tartness, almost like a Granny Smith apple. The overall mouth feel is medium-bodied, great for the style, and not as heavy on the alcohol as one would expect – especially for a Tripel at 10% ABV.

The Maredsous 10 is a solid Tripel, for sure, but not a personal favorite of mine for the style. The flavors seem to impart a certain something that makes drinking this a mild challenge. It needs more complexity and bold flavors to stand out among the plethora of other world class Belgian Tripels.

Rating

86
out of 100

The Dominus Vobiscum pours a very clear golden yellow color with a very large foamy white head on top. There were a lot more carbonation bubbles in this beer than I expected, which probably contributed to the large head on the first pour. There is a good amount of sticky lacing left behind as well. The aromas are great, very  fruity and inviting. The yeasty smells combine with aromas of apples and pears and some added hop spiciness. Finally, some citrus notes round things out, making this a well composed and complex nose.

Given how good the nose of the Dominus Vobiscum was, the flavors have a lot to live up to. The fruit flavors come through first, pear and apple as with the nose. These are followed by some cloves and citrus. Some warming alcohol follows, but it works with the flavors and doesn’t detract from anything. This finishes with some sticky bitter hops and a little more citrus fruit.

Being adventurous with beer has its benefits, and the Dominus Vobiscum is certainly one for me. This is a great example of a Tripel — it was fruity, spicy, well carbonated and worked with the higher ABV. A lot of Tripels live in that dangerous realm, where they have a well masked ABV and you could drink them all night. The Dominus Vobiscum is one of those. If you are looking for something to compare with a Golden Monkey, a Chimay Tripel, or a Gouden Carolus Tripel, the Dominus Vobiscum from Microbrasserie Charlevoix is a good one to look at.

Rating

89
out of 100

I’ve come to expect the same look for most Tripels, though some tend to still surprise me. The pour produced the expected minimal, well really no, head on the beer. What foam that did exist settled immediately into a thin, white and bubbly ring around the 10 oz goblet glass I’m using. The color was crystal clear at first and golden-orange. As I finished off the bottle and the beer warmed, the visuals changed to become more cloudy.

The nose on this was powerful and full of sweetness. That’s the best way to describe this one. I think the aging really had an effect on making this one more sweet than perhaps a 2010 bottle, but I can’t validate that. You can really smell the yeast strains coming through heavily here, but it’s cut sharply with the Double Bubble bubblegum scent, along with some fresh clove. Also present, though definitely undertoned by the usual Tripel scents, were rosemary and garlic.

The taste on this really followed suit with what I came to expect from the nose. Whoa – it’s pretty darn fruity. Specifically the fruit is pink grapefruit and peach, though this is fused with baked chicken with olive oil. The backbone of this one was dry and lingered with some very light alcohol esters. The mouthful was medium-bodied, though almost on the heavier side, and quite low carbonation (again, I’m assuming due to the aging).

While Tripels are not my go-to style of choice, they’re definitely pleasant for me. I really enjoyed the Kerberos and generally have been overly impressed with the stuff from Flying Dog. I’d be interested to do a vertical on the ‘09 and ‘10 as well to compare the differences. But, setting the stage, the Vintage ‘08 did a great job.

Overall: 8.3/10

The New World Tripel comes in an interesting looking 750ml bottle, not like any that I have seen before. Out of this interesting bottle pours a beer with a bright orange color that is a bit cloudy. The beer has a nice white head, around two fingers in height, that diminishes down to about half a finger, leaving a decent amount of lacing on the glass.

The nose on the New World Tripel is very pleasant, consisting of some bright fruit smells, a bit of banana, some spice, coriander, along with a twinge of alcohol. At 10% abv a bit of an alcohol bite is to be expected throughout the beer.

The flavors fall right in line with the aromas. The orange, pear, and hints of banana all come through and create a very pleasant mixture of flavors. The spices are back as well with some added bitterness and some sweetness from the malt. It’s really well balanced. The alcohol isn’t as present as I thought it would be, making the beer all the more pleasant to drink.

The New World Tripel is a well balanced, flavorful beer that leaves you wishing you had another bottle to dust off. If you can find it give it a shot, but distribution is limited so find a friend to bring you one.

Overall : 8.5/10

Special thanks goes out to Matt (@MattFiedler on Twitter) for the beer hook up.

I started off pouring the 12 oz bottle of the Exit 4 into my snifter glass (brand new, in fact). The pour was really marvelous and looked awesome in the sunlight. Vibrate hues of orange shined in this cloudy golden brew. There was an absolute minimal white head for no longer than ten seconds until it dissipated into an ever so thin ring around the glass.

The nose of this was really fun and the snifter definitely enhanced the volatiles. Immediately the nose was really sweet and then spicy at the end. Swedish Fish, banana and peach dominated the upfront sweet side. The backbone came together which a nice spice of clove. Really well played out in a nice overall complexion of flavors.

I wasn’t disappointed in the taste at all, though it did take a bit of getting used to (I’ll explain). Up front, I was hit with sweet malt and yeast. The mouthful was light to medium in body with a small share of carbonation. The mouthful had hints of smoked wood and dried orange peel. The finish had a bitter bite to it. It tasted like dried and crushed hops. Far more bitter than I was expecting but it added another level of complexity to the beer that I love. After getting used to the quick transition of flavors, I found this one to be more than enjoyable.

At almost 10% ABV, this isn’t something to mess around with. While I wouldn’t drink this as a session beer, it has its place. Due to the complexity of the beer (sweetness, bitter and fruity esters) this would go great with a number of cheeses. A delicious find in the Tripel-style brew and definitely worth sampling.

Overall: 8.5/10

The Belgian Ale poured a glowing red with a nice single finger worth of head. The head does not quickly dissipate at all. The cherry and raspberries which are added for the flavor are obvious in the color of the beer. The scent is inviting with the cherry, raspberries and passion fruit strong but not too overpowering.

There is a welcoming taste that finds a pleasant balance between a subtle sweet from the Belgian candy sugar and tartness from the cherries and raspberries. This beer is hands down delicious on initial contact with the palate. However, there is a slight alcohol burn when it goes down, but that should be expected with the ale clocking in at a 9.5% ABV.

This beer presents a fantastic balance of sweet fruit and mild tartness. Being a fan of fruit beers I thoroughly welcomed the Voodoo Love Child. It had a pleasant aroma and balanced taste. The true test of a beer is: would you order it again? Enjoying a beer of this caliber is what my passion is about. I would order this beer in a heartbeat.

Overall: 8/10