15 September 2024. At 16de Brugs Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Kevin & Jerre!

Ripe apple & pear, herbs & spices, mezcal. Sweet apple & pear, white sugar, some spices. Peppery & herbal hops, dash of mezcal or vodka. Quite okay.

33cl bottle from Struise Beershop Woesten e-shop.
F: medium, white, average retention.
C: deep gold, hazy.
A: malty, vaguely fruity, bready, bit spicy, orange, herbal touch.
T: full malty base, citrus, bready, juniper, bit herbal, caramel, peppery, nice balanced bitterness, medium carbonation, nice one, enjoyed for sure.

Mezcal-infused tripel (a first for me) by De Meester, from a bottle at Mexcalli, a Mexican-themed bar in Ghent, housed in the part of the old Baudelo monastery that under French occupation and until deep into the 20th century served as a public library. Eggshell-white, moussey, medium thick, largely stable but eventually nonetheless dissolving, over a hazy peach blonde beer with warm, deep orange glow. Aroma of old bread, indeed noticeable spicy mezcal but also ‘graanjenever’ or gin, dry earth, some DMS (cooked green cabbage), bitter garden weeds, apricots, straw, unripe peach, cold pasta, moist white pepper. Sweetish, fruity onset but not wildly estery, rather restrained notes of apricot, pear and Cape gooseberry, fizzily carbonated with smooth body; white-bready core with thin biscuity and caramelly edges, developing a spiciness at first connecting with floral hops, then a more white-peppery effect from the mezcal and lastly a strongly ‘jenever’-like effect from the beer’s own alcohol, which, in the very end, proves stronger than the mezcal itself. Still, this perfectly controlled sweet fruitiness and general smoothness and ‘cleanness’ do their best to counter this effect so all things considered, not the worst tripel around, even if the mezcal is completely redundant to me.

Bottle at Het Mouterijtje Kortrijk. Hazy gold colour lasting white head. Earthy hoppy aroma. Some peach and banana esters. Some more white stone fruit flavours in the mouth. Peach nectarine. Some fruit sweetness then dry finish. Rich ripe.

Pours fairly clear (before yeast addition ) blonde, darker side of blonde to be fair. Medium large white head. Scent is very tripel-typical, as it shows banana esters and phenols typical to a triple, as well as maltyness, a mild touch of (earthy) hops, and quite some balance between al these factors. Taste is sharp, smokey ( I guess that's the mlescal reference? ) the smoke is a real surprise, as I didn't get that in the scent myself, and didn't expect it. it truly is mescal-like smoke as well, not like the rauchbeers we all know (and some love) . medium body, medium high to high carbo (as is the style I guess) and a fairly common, yet well executed triple base. it might not be my favorite style, it might not be my favorite tweak ( not a smoke fan) , I must give my respects to this original take . Very well executed as well. One tripel to seek out , if you want to get a new experience in this overly produced style (at least in BE) where only the very few have a different story to tell.