Fles 33cl thuis. Matig zoet, licht kruidig, matig yeasty, orange peel, witte peper, fruitig. (23-4-2021).

Ever since their tripel gained commercial success, the d'Oude Caert guys have been toying around with barrels a whole lot - I have no idea how many barrel aged versions of this beer have appeared so far, but it must be a whole string. I had several of those before but this is apparently a relatively new one, aged on whisky barrels and (to a lesser extent) sweet Sauternes wine barrels. Egg-white, medium thick, shred-lacing head on a misty golden blonde beer with apricot tinge. Aroma of ripe banana, peach, sugar loaf, honey, camomile, egg yolk, something sweaty, pear compote, white bread, melting butter, sweet white grapes seemingly a bit more obvious than the whisky, potato juice, margarine, damp straw, gin, Cointreau somewhere (probably the whisky in combination with esters or something). Sweet onset, banana, peach, ripe pear, medium carb, rounded and soft, full mouthfeel; honeyish residual sweetness over a white-bready, bit 'fluffy' maltiness, hint of coriander seed spiciness right before the barrel effects begin to set in, producing that typical vanilla scent of wet oak wood, indeed a sweet dessert wine element and a warming booziness, if not very outspokenly whisky-like; woody tannic effects as such remain gentle, while hops provide only the slightest background bitterness and sweet fruitiness and breadiness remain the key aspects of this beer. As an old Dutch saying goes, a dressed up monkey is still a monkey: this needs more elaboration, a stronger barrel effect and less of those banana and coriander flavours associated with the basic beer (and tripels in general). Not overwhelmed (at all), but good enough for what it is, I guess the average Belgian 'specialty' beer drinker will find this accessible enough to enjoy.

Gyllengul vätska med vitt skum. Fruktig, jästig och lite pepprig arom som avslutas med en lätt brödighet. Pepprig inledning som sedan ersätts av en frisk maltbas och något höigt, beskt. Eldig värmande munkänsla med en eftersmak som dröjer sig kvar.

Bitter

Fruity with a good bitterness

Hazy medium golden, full with tiny bubbles, good frothy white head, good retention and heavy lacing. Aroma sweet malt, Belgian yeast, light banana, white grapes, sugar melon, coriander notes. Maste medium sweet and bitter, Belgian yeast, overripe fruit, spicy notes. Sugary sweetbitter aftertaste, alcohol, dusty notes, medium body, oily texture, lively carbonation. Not balanced, too sweet and alcoholic, okay.

D’Oude Caert in Brasschaat has been experimenting with barrel aging their tripel for quite a while now, this is one of the new ones at the time of my rating, a version aged on cognac barrels. From a 75 cl bottle coming from De Caigny. Medium thick, snow white, mousy, dissipating head over a misty apricot blonde beer with warm ‘old gold’ hue. Aroma initially struck by DMS, but atypically this effect, which I thoroughly detest, fades away fairly quickly, making room for impressions of banana, sweetbread, stewed apple, coriander seed, brandy indeed but not very strong, vanilla-ish oak (also subtle), orange zest, pear drop, pineapple slices, honey, candyfloss, bubblegum, touch of iron. Estery onset with a strong dosage of banana, bubblegummy even, with notes of peach and pineapple at the sides, fizzy carb, full and rounded mouthfeel. Malt sweet middle, bread-‘pulpy’ and honeyish in its residual sweetness, soft and fluffy with sweet-and-spicy coriander as well as indeed a subtle cognac barrel effect, warming, a bit vinous and dessert wine-like even, with vanilla-ish oaky notes retronasally; the cognac accentuates the beer’s own booziness but doesn’t alter the taste as thoroughly as I was hoping for, so the whole thing still ends as a sweet, boozy, coriandered and banana-estered tripel. Maybe second filling, or not enough time in the barrel? I’m not sure, but this is the second of these barrel aged Oude Caert tripels I try now and the second one that falls a bit short of expectations.