Radio Minerva Tripel

Strongish blonde honouring Radio Minerva, a local radio station in Antwerp established in 1982 but in spite of its old-fashioned image still popular in the larger Antwerp region. The term 'tripel' seems a bit overstated for a 7% ABV blonde, but who am I to set the limits... Towering high, bath-foamy, egg-white, paper-lacing, very pillowy, stable head on a hazy ochre-tinged apricot blonde beer. Aroma of apple peel, unripe peach, hard to halfripe pear, coriander seed, powder sugar, cooked turnip, banana but not overpowering, chamomile, overripe gooseberries or yellow plums somewhere, hints of honey, dessert wine, clove, chalk, oatmeal porridge and a whiff of iron hovering over it all - subtly so, but still easily ascertainable by the so-called 'hand test'. Sweet-fruity onset with pear upfront (Doyenné), followed by red apple and banana, with a souring effect from sharp to even numbing (over)carbonation even for this kind of beer; essentially smooth mouthfeel harshened by this carbonation, croissant- and almost waffle-like, due to a layer of honeyish sugariness resting on top. Coriander and clove spiciness accompanies a relatively 'full', honeyed sweetness to a mild grassy and floral finish, where hops play only a supporting role - alas. Honey-, ripe pear-, cooked apple- and white candi sugar-like sweetness thus remains the main flavour combination, even though the grassiness of the hops does persist. Sweeter than I was hoping for, in all, but I guess I should have known, considering the campy sweetness Radio Minerva sends out... Not my cup of tea - and again, not really a tripel at this strength - so let us hope their anniversary beer, which I also bought at Fontana (now Dullaert) today, will be better!

33cl bottle before the International Beer Exchange in De Bierboom on 9th June 2023. Slight haze in the golden body, off-white crown. Herbal nose and taste with Coriander to the fore, fairly sweet too.

Helder geel bier met schuim. Smaak is fruitig zoet en vrij sterk met iets van banaan, wat koriander en sinaasappel. Heel goede tripel.

33cl bottle from Delhaize Chazal in Brussels. F: big, white, good retention. C: gold, hazy. A: malty, pears, honey, spicy, coriander, floral, dough touch, banana. T: full malty base, pears, honey, spicy, coriander, dough, banana, decent bitterness, medium to higher carbonation, ok for another useless Belgium Tripel, enjoyed.

Lekker suikerwatertje

Huge yellowish dense head, very stable over hazy golden beer with a greenish sheen. White candi sugar, dull malts, coriander, other grains. Coriander, oats, white candi sugar, other spices, bit toasted malts. Sweet and spicy. Bit slick, very slightly sticky, however, good carbonation. Average, too sweet.