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Ménage á Trois.
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New Belgium Goes for the Tripel Play
by Belly Buddy Mark Stevens
At A Glance Beer: Trippel Belgian Style Ale Pros: Soft and sweet like love's first kiss... Cons: Limited distribution area The Bottom Line: One of the finest Belgian tripel ales brewed in the United States. Not quite up to the level of Belgium's best -- but a solid performer. Good stuff! Recommended: Yes
Belgium has to be the capital of the beer world. Nobody else has quite the same variety of beer styles, many of which are largely unknown outside that wonderful little country, except among the most diligent of beer connoisseurs, most of whom revere (and justly so) all beers Belgian. While small craft breweries that emulate the beer styles of England and Germany are a dime a dozen, it's still relatively rare to find one that regularly does Belgian styles. One of the earliest pioneers in this market is Colorado's New Belgium brewery, so I was very eager to try their tripel to see how it stacks up against the best of the old country.
Here's what I was looking for, and what I found in the bottle...
What Makes a Great Tripel?
Tripel is one of the styles of ale brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium. It is usually the strongest of their beers, with typical densities of about 18 Plato (1072). If you're doing the math in your head the way I always do, then yeah, it's about 50% stronger than your typical Bud, or even your typical Samuel Adams. It'll pack a punch!
The real punch though is in the flavor. Trappists brew with distinctive yeast strains that produce an amazingly complex mileau of aromas and flavors, including spice and fruit flavors that might lead you to think that they were throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. Not so! It's the yeast that creates those flavors and aromas.
Tripel might be a big beer in terms of sugar and flavor, but it doesn't look like it. The beer is a light yellow color that resembles a million pale lagers or blonde ales. Looks can be deceiving...
Now on with the tasting!
Appropriate glassware always adds to the tasting experience, and for a beer with complex aromatics, like the Trappist styles normally have, I'd like to pick a bowl-shaped glass -- like a large brandy snifter. I've got some Chimay glasses that are just the ticket!
Tale of the Suds...
Pssssttt!! The cap is off...the beer swirls into the glass....and...
Appearance:
The beer pours with a bright golden yellow color (I'd peg it around 4 or 5 SRM). There's a slight haze in it when it's cold, but it clears as the beer warms, so I know it's just some proteins -- no biggee. I'd kind of hoped for the big rocky head I get on some Trappist Tripels, but not on this brew -- sorry, Charlie! The New Belgium Tripel pours with a very slight head, and one that dissipate all too quickly, leaving not so much as a trace of lace on the glass.
Aroma:
Apples and sweet sucrose are the two things that seem most prominent on a first pass. On a second pass you begin to pick up a little bit of complexity with some hints of coriander, but nothing like the enormously complex nose of the best Belgian beers. As the beer warms, the aromas develop further: I start getting a little bit more complexity with some hints of pepper and ginger.
Flavor:
Initially sweet with some caramel edges to it. Mileau of soft fruity flavors including some soft orange edges. The beer comes across as too hoppy when served cold, but when it warms a bit, it's a softer, more full-flavored beer. Is that a hint of cloves in there??? There's quite a bit of residual sweetness, but it tastes mostly malty with some caramel -- I don't really get much of the sugary sweetness that you find in versions made with more Belgian candi sugar.
I don't pick up higher alcohol flavors, nor do I get any of the warming sensations in my throat that I sometimes experience with higher alcohol levels. If this is really a beer with an alcohol level that matches that of the Belgian masters, then it masks it well, in much the same way as beers like Duvel or Lucifer do. Very interesting...
Verdict:
This is an outstanding beer, but it's still a little less than I really hoped for. I'd like it to feel bigger with more sweetness and less hops. I'd like a more complex nose with more assertive spiciness -- like what I find in Chimay. While I'm at it, I'd also like a better head, and better head retention. Don't get me wrong, New Belgium's Tripel is excellent, but it's really not as complex as I like my tripels to be.
If I think about the best Trappist trippels I've sampled, I'd have to say that New Belgium's rendition is probably closest to something like Westmalle Tripel -- at least in flavor -- or maybe even like a slightly subdued La Trappe Tripel.
About New Belgium
New Belgium Brewing Company was started in 1991 as essentially a basement operation run as a labor of love by brewer Jeff Lebesch. They've grown remarkably fast, due to their strong local focus and the tendency of Colorado beer consumers to be much more sophisticated and discerning than those in most states. Today, New Belgium is one of the larger craft breweres in the United States with a capacity of more than 100,000 barrels per year.
The brewery makes a variety of beer styles, concentrating on traditional Belgian ales. Their beers have won wide critical acclaim including several medals at the Great American Beer Festival. More info about the brewery is on their web site.
I hope you found this review useful. If you're as big a fan of Belgian style beers as I am, send me an email and let me know what you think of this beer (or any other American-brewed Belgian brew for that matter...) Til next time, see you at the pub. I'll be the guy with a smile on my face and a glass of tripel in my hand...
Price per six-pack ($US): 8
Beer Rating: Better than most
