A Year of Craft Beer, Vol. 109, Stoudts Triple

Hey everybody, welcome back!

It seems that I am carrying on a Stoudts week here at A Year of Craft Beer.  What better way that to up the double of last night with a tripel.  A tripel in some ways is like the double IPA that I had last night in that much more of the grain is used and that it has to be balanced with the bitter of the hops to make it palatable and not syrupy.  But last night's IPA was VERY American in style and hop character.  Tonights beer is a MEGA-Belgian!  It should be light in color with a big head, high in alcohol which will be most likely noticeable, but a good one should not be.  There may be phenolic flavors that taste like clove and banana (and sometimes band-aids like a beer that I reviewed on Untappd not too long ago) and will also have some other ester flavors like apple.  These flavors are pretty complex and due to such variables as the type of yeast used and the amount of alcohol in the beer.  This beer seems to me to be one of the toughest to brew so I am keeping that in mind.

Let's take a look!

I poured this beer into a chalice at a cool 50 degrees F and it poured golden and slightly hazy, one step above a pilsner or lager with a nice one finger head that retains as a ring and Friar Tuck center cap just like the Monk on the bottle.  The lacing is fine and delicate.

I'm getting aromas of evenly mixed bananas, pears and honey with that familiar coppery metallic twinge that is common with Belgians.  At least I think so.  It may be a factor of all the aromas combined with a bit of alcohol.  All in all, this is VERY nice!  Some spice is definitely there as well.

The taste starts off sweet with an alcohol/carbonation bite there is a bit of the banana, and maybe some apple with a breadiness to the mix as you work your way through the sip some hop bitterness becomes apparent but it is very mild.  What takes you most is Nutmeg, nutmeg and more nutmeg mixed with alcohol and black pepper.  It's very good, but mostly sweet than balanced.  Warming alcohol.

The mouthfeel is moderate to full bodied, creamy and sweet but leaves a film across your tongue.  I found the carbonation in the bottle to be mid-range and playful.

Overall I would say that this is a good beer!  In fact, I would definitely recommend trying it.  If you could, put this up against a La Fin Du Monde and compare.  I would love to do that some time.  I would bet that there is a pretty big difference.  I am going to give this a 3.8 out of 5 overall.  I like it and want to drink it again, but I've recently had better and can recall the flavors.  This might be better if it was cellared a year!

Dump out that Budweazle!  Start drinking real beer and living!  Don't be a wastoid!

-Wisstoid