It's Friday! *Commence Happy Dance*
Tonight I'm drinking Maredsous Tripel, brewed by Maredsous Abbey, who licenses their name to Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat. I've seen this beer in the past, and I believe it used to be named under a number system (Maredsous 6, 8, and 10), and this would've been the '10'. A lot of Belgian breweries use this system, and it seems to be most commonly organized by alcohol strength. But it looks like Maredsous moved away from the number system and now just calls it the Tripel.
The label is pretty basic, with a little description on the back. The color of the beer is dark golden, slightly hazy and holds a massive layer of web-laced foam. The aroma is full of that signature belgian yeast funk. Plenty of light fruits, cloves, pears, maybe even a little pineapple. Oh, alcohol is also in there. The first taste is a bit different than I expected......lots of pale, pils maltiness laced with a tangy belgian yeast flavor. Alcohol is a heavy hitter in the middle, along with peppery cloves. The middle and into the finish brings an odd flavor that's hard to describe - it's a bitter, bubbly, fruity sweet champagne-ish-ness - not in a good way. Mouthfeel is dry, with heavy carbonation.
Overall Rating: This turned out to be a real let-down for me. I'd pick an Orval or a Gulden Draak over this any day of the week. Something just seems off, the bitterness holds a vegetal, medicinal yuck that's not good. Possibly a bad bottle? Hard to say. C
I've had this beer twice... the first time, I remember really enjoying it. At the time, actually, it was one of the better Tripels I had had. The second time, several months later, however, it struck me more along the lines of what you've described. So, maybe it's a very inconsistent beer... or something has changed?
ReplyDeleteShawn - thanks for the feedback. I do plan on giving it another shot in the next few months. Even if it's better the 2nd time, the inconsistency makes it tough to justify the "gamble" of buying the beer ever again...
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