New Belgium Trippel

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado 
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Illinois; 2011
Style/ABV: Belgian Tripel, 7.8%

New Belgium Trippel

I love Belgian Tripels and I love New Belgium Brewing. This may be one of the few times where I don't have a lot of cynical things to say. Tripels are an interesting style of beer. They are similar to a Belgian Strong Ale, and are very complex, spicy, effervescent, and boozy but with the alcohol being well masked.

Now, I rarely talk about the head size on beer in any specifics outside of what I observe. That's because the size of the head is not a hard science. How much head you get depends upon your pour, your glass, and the temperature of the beer. Still, you ideally want a nice head as it stirs up the volatile components in the beer, releases gases, and preserves the beer. Tripels seem to benefit from a narrow tulip with a narrow neck, but most glasses will do: the important thing is to get the beer into a glass.

Today's beer pours with a nice pale, golden body. There is slight orange tone to the beer depending on how you hold the beer up to light. There is a gorgeous 2-finger head that is white in color. The head is foamy, but it isn't quite as thick as some of the heads you get. As the head diminishes there is excellent lacing on the glass. Belgian lacing is the best, right? There is medium carbonation in the beer, and the beer is slightly hazy so you cannot see all the way through it. This isn't the most effervescent Tripel I have encountered, and the head goes away a bit quicker than I would like, but it still is a good looking Tripel

What do I smell on the nose? Bananas, white sugar, some of that pale malt, maybe some lemon or orange zest, perhaps a hoppy note. There is a touch of clove or corriander, but I'm not really getting pepper. Floral and perfume notes, but not super spicy.
 
According to New Belgium's website today's Tripel uses Saaz, Liberty, and Target hops. It also uses Pale, Munich, and Victory malts. The Liberty hops are clean and add some of that spicy character, Saaz hops are earthy and spicy, and Target hops are pleasant but intense. I would definitely describe this Tripel as earthy. There is this earthy banana-like component. There is a hint of orange-citrus, and a lot of yummy malts in the body. I get clove in the taste, and I do pick up on some pepper which was absent from the nose. There is a slight hop note, especially on the back end, which seems to be where the 25 IBUs are channeled. I pick up trace hints of booze, but at 7.8% this hides it well.

Rating: Average

Score: 75%

It is tempting to peg this beer as Above-Average, but I just can't...so let's break it down:

At the end of the day, this beer is pretty well-rounded. It hides it's alcohol well, it is very drinkable, and it has an okay taste. The front end is carbonated and malty-spicy-fruity, with the middle hitting more spices and fruit, and the back end finishing off slightly bitter with an alcohol bite. The back end is slightly drying. The mouthfeel has a slightly sticky viscosity from the sugar, but is well carbonated to keep it drinkable; this is a medium-bodied beer. 

There isn't a ton of complexity or depth, and the flavors in this beer don't exactly stand out. However, a 6-pack of this stuff is like 8 or 9 bucks. To put that into perspective, a 4-pack of Maredsous or Karmeliet can easily push 14 or 15 bucks. And that is just for a 4-pack. New Belgium's Trippel is really accessible, drinkable, and it is cheap as hell. I also don't have any specifics to complain about, which means this beer works for me.

To conclude, this is a widely available and pretty tasty Tripel. It hits all the right notes, and doesn't do many things wrong. If this beer had a bit more flavor and depth, I would have bumped it. Given that this beer is widely available, you can likely can find it near you for a reasonable price. And at 7.8% a bottle...you could have a fun time. Definitely check this out, especially if you are new to Belgian beers or Tripels. This is a nice gateway Tripel and another solid brew from New Belgium Brewing.