NOTES: Bomber from City Beer Store in SF
STYLE: Tripel
ABV: 8.5%
APPEARANCE: Rich, hazy gold
HEAD: Very large, very frothy white head that fades slowly
LACING: Chunky and sticky like spackle
NOSE: This is as good a Tripel aroma as you’re likely to find on this side of the pond. Big bursts of coriander, orange zest, clove and pepper that snap, crackle and pop atop a bed of biscuity malt and candi sugar sweetness.
TASTE: Nice, sweet bready malt up front which is punctuated throughout the sip by citrusy orange and coriander notes, some fruity esters, and a nice phenolic spiciness. A touch of white pepper and alcohol in the dry, clean finish.
MOUTHFEEL: Champagne-like mouthfeel with boisterous effervescence and a fuller than medium body.
DRINKABILITY: Remarkably drinkable, refreshing, and complex. A very impressive Tripel especially considering that it’s brewed in Anchorage, Alaska…halfway around the world from the style’s ancestral homeland in Belgium.
RATING: 3.5 Hops. It would be worthy of that rating even if it didn’t have one of the Best Beer Names ever.
[...] There’s another caveat as well. I probably like Belgian beers as much, if not more so, than the other Aleheads. But if there’s a chink in the armor of my Belgophilia, it’s the oft-heralded Tripel style. My tastes run more towards Belgian Strong Dark Ales, Flemish Reds, Oud Bruins, Dubbels and Quads. The pale Tripel style is exemplified by a trademark blend of spicy phenols and fruity esters which I don’t necessarily love (just a personal preference). That’s not to say a great Tripel can’t win me over. Westmalle’s version is the standard by which others are measured, but I also love Allagash’s Curieux, De Dolle’s Dulle Teve, Boulevard’s Long Strange Tripel and Midnight Sun’s Panty Peeler. [...]