Oxfam Juste Tripel

One of the three 'Juste' beers commissioned by fair trade organisation Oxfam, following the Belgian 'triangle' of blonde, dubbel and tripel, but containing exotic ingredients obviously harvested under fair trade conditions - Bolivian quinoa in this case. Bottle at Lekker Gec, a vegetarian and Oxfam-connected restaurant right across Ghent's St. Pieters train station. Medium sized, irregular, cobweb-lacing, snow white head slowly breaking over an initially clear, yellow-golden robe with lively sparkling, turning misty with sediment. Aroma of oxidized green apple slices, coriander seed, potato peel, clove, cooked white beans but this could be the quinoa, damp straw, withering green kale, unripe apricot, leek soup going spoiled, dry gherkin. Fruity onset, not overly sweet though with hints of green banana and unripe apricot, something very thinly honeyish but also an impression of raw gherkin somehow, lively carbonated with smooth, supple, lean body - seemingly made more slick by the quinoa and otherwise typically pale-malty and a bit grainy. The quinoa also adds a dim, underlying, basic kind of sourishness. Retronasal vegetable soup impressions along with coriander and floral hops, the latter providing a grassy, soft bitter note draped over lingering graininess and some warming, 'jenever'-ish alcohol which remains altogether well hidden. The quinoa does not do much - other than bringing a kind of sourish graininess which I do not think does the recipe any good as well as somewhat off-beat herbal accents which are at least unnecessary, but okay, I get the idea... Very average, but enjoyable enough, mostly because it manages to avoid the residual sugar-sweetness one gets in so many other tripels in Belgium.

33cl bottle from the Ostend Oxfam shop; poured into an old Hoegaarden Grand Cru, stemmed tulip glass at home on 5th December 2025. My second beer in a mini tasting session with myself (Bertie is watching) while Margie is Christmas shopping in Chester. Just had the Blonde from the same guys. Billowing snow white head, light haze in the pale golden body. Initial taste is a bit harsh, hope the quinoa is healthy and good for me because I don't like the taste too much. There is some herbal action going on within this brew and the yeastiness is helping to bring it back into normality I suppose. Finished fine in the end.

Towering, dense & fine, fluffy and just yellowish head over lively carbonated pale golden beer with lacerings. Chalk, yeast, spicy malts. Some strange other grains impression, and sugar. Rather bitter-bitterish taste, with a somewhat sweeter finish, again referring to white sugar. More spicy malts and the label indeed testifies of some pretty strange adjuncts. Wether this is better quality remains to be seen. Somebody might explain to them that rice is considered low quality adjunct, even if it comes from ngo operated paddies. Something as felt retronasal. Fluffy, creamy texture, medium bodied at least, high carbonation. OK, but nothing special. Txs to Stef!

Hazy blond colour, white foam. Citrussy, light tart, a bit irony, unbalanced.

Interesting tripel.. Bit sour and some spices... But has some defects in the aftertaste who grow with every sip. Too bad.

Bouteille 33cl, Oxfam Shop Waterloo. BB 12/2021, lot# L051.
Dorée/paille présentant un léger voile, col blanc crémeux.
Troisième de la série et proposant les mêmes ingrédients que le brune, à savoir farine de yuca, sucre de canne et ici un ajout de quinoa.
Arôme met clairement en avant un bouquet ester rappelant la banane, le tout sous des notes très belges, ici via des houblons nobles
Palais moins abouti que les autres versions, alcool burn, un peu sur un effet fruité fermenté/levure - un peu côté chimique - pas certain que le quinoa vienne changer en profondeur le palais, no la farine de yuca - peut être une pointe d'épaisseur en fin de bouche.

La moins bonne des trois versions.

9/VI/20 - 33cl bottle from Oxfam Wereldwinkel (Gent), shared @ home, BB: V/2021 (2020-482)

Clear deep blond beer, big towering creamy irregular off-white head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: bit sweet, malty, grains, bit spicy, cow fodder, banana, some marzipan. MF: lots of carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sweet, malty, yeast, alcohol, banana, grains, bit spicy. Aftertaste: little chemical, pretty bitter, sweet, very yeasty, ripe banana, dry, bit medicinal, rubbery finish. Not very good.

Paired with an Indian veggie curry, which was pretty ok.

Bronzen medaille World Beer Awards 2019.