7.3

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

The tripel in a series of three beers issued by the "Brasserie de Flandre", a very 'commercial' project intending to make money rather than to add something substantial to the Belgian beer culture, I have the impression - with all three beers seemingly commissioned from Boelens nowadays. This tripel, moreover, seems to appear here under different brand names, the other ones being Eagle and Quinks (the latter referring to the 'locofaulism' for the inhabitants of Gavere, where this fake 'brewery' is situated); doubtlessly these all need to be aliased to one and the same beer. In any case my sample here, purchased at the Carrefour supermarket of Sint-Denijs-Westrem, clearly says Ad Vitam (and mentions Boelens as the executive brewery - I know Boelens insists on being mentioned, which I think is a good thing, but apparently they no longer force their commissioners to use the Boelens crown caps nowadays...). Very thick and frothy, snow white, uneven-bubbled and irregularly shaped, shred-lacing, pillowy head, sitting stable on an initially near-clear, deep orange blonde beer, almost amberish, with tangerine glow (though calling it 'red-brown' as in the commissioner's own description is clearly taking it too far - and may mislead the consumer into thinking he is going to get an "oud bruin" or something); turns into a murky terracotta brownish-blonde with sediment. Aroma of ripe persimmon, old stale biscuits, raw radishes, pear, dust, coriander seed, dried hydrangeas, glazed beetroot, a side note of honey to even brown sugar but subtle, banana peel turning brown, clove, dried apricot, roses, tulips, vague bergamot tea and even something liquorice-like popping up every now and then, as well as a distant smokey accent somehow. Estery onset, sweetish but not too cloying, impressions or pear, medlar, persimmon and (dried) red apple, touch apricot perhaps, medium carbonated with smooth, full mouthfeel; some very light honeyish sugars linger over a rounded bready and biscuity middle, while clove-like phenols abound retronasally (4-vinyl-guaiacol) and an earthy, leafy hop bitterness builds, eventually 'gripping' the root of the tongue and lasting for quite a long time. Meanwhile these pear- and persimmon-like fruity-yeasty notes, along with certain herbal aspects (withered parsley) proliferate along with the clove phenols - helping in a kind of 'soggy breadiness', verging on dirtiness and almost feeling 'Wallonian' (which I mean in a positive way, to be clear). The alcohol remains very well hidden and has not bothered me anywhere; something thinly honeyish lingers at the back, overwhelmed by this earthy hop bitterness. A tad messy, overly yeasty and earthy, but technically correct and interesting for a tripel in being not too sleek, more malty and less simple-sweet than so many others; the earthy, floral and herbal notes here strongly remind me of Boelens's own classic honey beer Bieken, though, and so do the colour and ABV... Too many coincidences in one beer? I will not go as far as to state here that this is simply an alias of Bieken, primarily because I have not had any Bieken for at least fifteen years, but I remain suspicious. The Eagle and Quinks versions listed on this site, on the other hand, are very obviously aliases of this one and should be treated as such.