Steenbrugge Tripel

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Cloudy, golden yellow pour with tight high head that dissapates slowly leaving nice lacing. Slight bready nose with a little fruit. Smooth creamy mouthfeel. Slighty bitter ,sour, nice finish. This is good beer. Worth another go.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

I was intrigued in reading the label of this Belgian Trip, stating that it was brewed with Gruut. Gruut? That didn't sound so good. In fact it sounded kind of gross. However, the rear bottle label describes Gruut as being "an herbal mixture that is one of the secrets in creating a divine drinking experience." So off we go. The head is nice, white and foamy, and has good staying power. The actual brew displays a pale golden color, congruent to the Belgian Tripel. Scents of low key citrus are present. On the buds, there are notes of spices, yeast and, yes, Gruut (herbs), but they are not overbearing. Not to bad, with some pretty good flavors, but I must say, I have had stronger Belgian Tripels.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Golden yellow with white foam head. Aroma contains fruits but also some hop and yeast. Taste is bitter, fruity with short aftertaste. Refreshing tripel. (Velp 201201)

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A bubbily pop and uncorked. Bubbles dance in a yellow, orange-tinged colored beer. A big sudsy white head rises above. Pretty good hang time. Settles eventually into a thick soapy ringlet. A big presence of apricot and phenols in the nose and in the tasting. Nice alcohol bite in an effervescent, light and dry finished body. Pretty good.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

June 2012 Best by Date; Sampled July 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three finger thick, light tan colored head that leaves a nice amount of lace on the sides of the glass. The beer is a rich gold hue that has a touch of copper to it. When held up to the light the beer shows an absolutely brilliantly clear, bright, rich gold color. The aroma is quite fruit focused with notes of ripe pear, Macintosh apple and perhaps some fruit white grape notes. A touch of grassy grain character comes through after things settle down, but this remains a fairly straight forward smelling Tripel.

The beer is sweet tasting, though not cloying as there is some peppery carbonation, a touch of hop bitterness and some higher alcohol spiciness that helps to balance the sweetness. This flavor has a solid fruit contribution, and though it is not at the same level as the nose I still taste notes of ripe melon, a touch of kiwi fruit, aromatic pear and some sweet apple notes. There is a touch of earthy spiciness in the finish as well as a spicy clove note that tends to linger a bit on the palate along with some warming alcohol notes. This is light and drinkable for a beer of this strength, though it could perhaps use a touch lighter body.

This is the best of the Steenbrugge beers I have had so far. This still isn’t a great example of the style though, it could use more spiciness and some more fermentation character & nice malt backbone (appropriate for the style of course) would be nice as well, but it is serviceable.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8.7%. Golden colour, slightly hazy, pours very fizzy with a huge to moderate head. Strong and pleasant aroma of spices, Belgian yeast and fruit (cider apples, oranges). Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is fairly sweet with notes of spices, white candi sugar, yeast and some fruit, noticeable hops in the finish.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Golden colour, not much head. Aroma is semisweet, and has some notes of alcohol. Flavour is quite sweet overall, almost like some of the sweeter Eastern European Lagers... Still, quite close to nothing, and boring.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

11.2oz bottle with cool and intricate label. Best Before date of 12 04 04. Poured into an Orval Belgian glass. Pours a cloudy blonde color, interestingly the same color of my oak table on which it sits. Nice head with good retention and some lacing. Smells...doughy green apples with a hint of cloves. Rather odd, I must say. Taste is quite good, though a bit different from anything I've had before. It's very complex. I'm at a loss to discribe much, though, but I'm trying. Definately some strong fruit esters with a hint of green apple. Cloves are apparent as is the malt. There's a lot going on here. The alcohol does make its presence known in the taste. Mouthfeel is very full and carbonated, but not overly so; it's definately not all foam and no thickness. This has some meat to it. Drinkability is good, but I want another to contemplate the flavors more and not because I can't wait to have another. A great Tripel and definately one worth seeking out.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Solid yellow color, yeasty aroma, sweet-bitter solid taste with bitter ending and long lasting sweetish aftertaste. Reall Belgian Tripel. Very solid and original. Harmonious taste of sweetness and bitterness. Drinkable with high pleasure.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

cloudy orange colour, big creamy head and a nice lacing, honey and alcohol nose, spicy, tart, full with a late bitterness, long bitter honey aftertaste