6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Commissioned tripel, found in Wijnegemse Drankenhal. Very thick and rocky, irregular, greyish white, coarse and thickly lacing head, colour a warm orangey blonde, clear with lots of floating yeast, becoming - expectedly - muddy with deposit. Aroma of fresh sorrel and raw rhubarb as well as green apple - clearly an overdosis of acetaldehyde; I otherwise get bubblegum, pineapple, white grape peel, sugared strawberry yoghurt, a lot of banana ester, cooked red cabbage with brown sugar, sourdough, green plums, butterscotch, cake and a faint hint of burning wood, but not disturbing at all; in all, a bit cliché for a strong Belgian blonde but not unpleasant. Fruity taste, lots of banana and bubblegum so in that sense very stereotypically Belgian, pineapple, peach and kiwi, sweet and even a bit sugary, very strong and spritzy carbonation to the point that it detracts attention from the actual flavour. A soft, rounded honeyish malt sweetness ensues, loaded with spicy and fruity yeastiness; the sweetness persists till the end, but is accompanied by a grassy, lightly spicy, floral but most of all very earthy hoppiness, more aromatic than actually bittering; a dash of gin-like alcohol makes its appearance as well without becoming too astringent. Fruity but somewhat ’dirty’ yeastiness and lingering malt sweetness remain in the throat, only partially balanced with hop bitterness. A bit ’untidy’ and amateurish, lacking finesse and balance, but in all this is an agreeable tripel if you are into this particular style; I have nothing against this type of beers, it’s just that there are so many of them around here nowadays (or, for that matter, since decades) that it becomes hard to distinguish between them. This one passes for me, I even enjoyed it and it has all the typical tripel characteristics, but it has little redeeming features making it more memorable than just being another average tripel.
Tried
on 08 Aug 2015
at 12:54