Amber orange. Small head. Aroma is malt, yeast, fruit. Taste is the same, bitter, dry, light sweet. Ok.

The second creation by the Italian trappist monks, this time resorting to bitter orange peel - an obvious classic in brewing - rather than the more original eucalyptus they put in their much-discussed first beer. Slow gusher but perfectly manageable. Very tightly paper-lacing, thick and frothy, snow white, mousy, stable head, lightly misty deep and warm orange-hued 'old gold' but more orange than gold, no visible sparkling; cloudy and deeper peach blonde with sediment. Somewhat weak aroma, in any case weaker than that of their eucalyptus tripel, with impressions of indeed (dried and old) bitter orange peel, bread dough, banana, soap, dried field flowers, notes of freshly baked and spiced cookies, rusk even, dried rosemary, linseed, vague background whiff of freshly fermented farmland but faint enough not to bother me. Fruity, quite crisp onset, lively carbonated with souring and minerally effects piercing through notes of red apple, light banana and vague apricot, slick and supple body, bit resinous, with a cereally, streamlined, bit bread-crusty maltiness spiced with a clear soapiness and 'dry spiciness' linked to the curaçao, albeit in a moderate way and less outspoken than I was hoping for. Still, it does add a certain 'liveliness' to the finish, certainly when a floral, lightly leafy hoppiness sets in; resinous spiciness and mild bitterness spread out over the back of the tongue, with a very subtle touch of orange sweetness hidden faraway in the background. Not a badly made beer by any means, but while the first creation at least showed some originality, this one feels much more stereotypically Belgian - even if physically brewed in Italy, but the link with Belgian beer culture is of course obvious enough. Somewhat less of that annoying soapiness, a more outspoken (maybe even less classically 'Belgian') character and perhaps a tad thicker, more biscuity maltiness could propel this beer forward and make it more distinctive, though. But entre parenthèses: why all those 'fake' 5/5 ratings below? Monks with a RateBeer account?

Bottle @Abbazia delle Tre Fontane (Rome). Dorata, lievemente torbida, schiuma bianca abbondante. Al naso note di lieviti, scorza di limone, erbaceo. In bocca è dolce all'attacco con amaro finale piuttosto spinto, lungo e persistente. Corpo medio, carbonazione media. Interessante, ma va rifinita.

Imported from untappd on 02-05-2020

Bottle 0.33, many thanks daniele. medium dark amber clear pour, medium persistent foam. Nose: straight away I spotted an under-fermented aroma...kind of phenolic. Mh...even a mild spiciness and yeast. Mouth: medium carbonation, sweet-tart overall with a zest-like tartness.

bottle bb12/21 leggero ambrato velata buona schiuma quasi abbondante buona persistenza lieve spezia lievito note fruttate discreta maltatura un po di caramello buona secchezza un finale discreto amaro arancia