Tripel in this Stien series, brewed at Beerselect but conceived by a hobby brewer in Wetteren southeast of Ghent. Thick and frothy, beaten egg-like, pillowy, very stable head, initially clear, warm ‘old golden’ robe with very strong visible sparkling, misty apricot with sediment added. Aroma initially dominated by that overload of carbon dioxide but this, as usual, fades very quickly, making room for impressions of damp straw, banana peel, peach, sweet bread, dust, coriander seed, ‘herbes de Provençe’ in the background, grass, dried apple peel. Fruity onset, sweetish with banana peel, peach and some pineapple notes, lively carbonated as expected but strangely not overly coarse, soft-edged and full body. Brioche-bready maltiness with a layer of residual honeyish sweetness on top, very light and brief metallic accent and mild coriander seed spiciness; some clove- and thyme-like phenols but nowhere overdoing it, instead tying everything together quite decently with a floral hop bitter note and some warming but nowhere astringent, calvados-like alcohol. Technically a very well-executed tripel, even if the concept as such adds absolutely nothing to the style; if this hobby brewer was trying to prove that he can brew a good tripel, then mission accomplished, this is somewhat above average in comparison with the gazillions of other local and regional tripels which have been created in Belgium in the past decades (and in the last years, at an accelerating frequency).

@ Neerhof, Moortsele. Hazy golden colour, white foam. Medium sweet, a bit herbal, light fruity notes and that typical Beerselect profile.