12 oz single, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA.
When a beer has the generic words, “Belgian Style Ale” on the label it makes me nervous. When it’s from the Holy Mackerel stable as well, it makes me even more wary, and to be honest I do not have high hopes for this beer before I open it.
A copper hue with a decent amount of lace and some creamy head that sits on top of the brew,
Firstly this is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination a beer that should be categorized as a Belgian Strong Dark. It fails to fit that category on a whole bunch of levels. For all intents and purposes this is a, “slightly darker than normal”, Tripel.
The nose and tastes deliver most of the classic Tripel elements; a viscous body, plenty of sweetness, some fruit esters (pineapple) and a BIG dose of alcohol. In the back end there is a really interesting blast of herbal, juniper tastes and some bubble gum. The Tripel notes are backed up with some white pepper in the finish. A touch of honey in the sweetness and a little caramel and banana round things out. The bubblegum notes that come with some Tripels are subdued.
It’s all there for a Tripel (with the exception of a light copper color rather than a bright, golden one) but “Tripel” is the benchmark that will tell you where this beer is coming from and how it drinks.
Quite tasty, and much more enjoyable than I was expecting, but this is a beer that you will want to drink in small quantities!