St. Sebastiaan Yeast Hoist.

Not sure if this is a rebottling of something or a totally limited brew. Either way, the jug is cool. The printing is silk-screened.

The beer itself is an easy drinker. Nothing super complex. Tastes more like a young Belgian abbey crossed with a wit to me. Clearly, I am taking this summer super-cas(ual).

Straffe Hendrik Bruges Tripel 9.

I picked up a bottle at the recommendation of a WF guy who "loves malty, fruity things", tripels among them. Right on popping the cork, a spicy, tart aroma emerged, an auspicious start. A slightly reddish golden pour, topped by a fine, creamy head, which is a little low for the style. Despite that, it is persistent as a moss. The palate impression is rather phenolic, slightly tart, slightly bitter. Surprisingly, not as sweet and malty as I might have thought, given the source of the recommendation. I also have to say the carbonation level is rather low. What is up with that lately?

Actually, taking the last sip from this glass, it's almost completely flat, which sucks. However, I did pick up a perfume-y flower petal note as well. Also, a slight inhale on a sip yields some characteristic banana notes.

Pouring to finish off, the sediment is kicked up pretty early. It is not caked down. Slightly annoying, but maybe a candidate for harvesting? I might pick up some of the other Straffe Hendrik line, but I will rinse and save this bottle because I like the label (not paper, printed!). The others utilize the same moon image, presumably signifying the Halve Maan Brewery, but change the color of the label, much like Chimay. I enjoy tripels too much to think they need a pairing so nothing really comes to mind for this one. A gander at the label also indicates that this is a "Brugean tripel", with 6 malts and Saaz and Stryian Golding. Apparently, this is a local specialty of the Bruges area, using darker malts than normal, hence, perhaps, the reddish color. Neat.

• Appearance: Reddish golden. Rather thin, creamy head; low retention.
• Smell: Rather tart, a bit pear-like.
• Taste: Banana, tart, flower petal perfume. Not as malty as I might think.
• Mouthfeel: Carbonation is fine albeit a bit low. Slightly drying on the finish, which is nice.
• Drinkability and Overall: 9%ABV clearly disqualifies it from sessioning, but it's a unique tripel variation worth trying.

Allagash Tripel.

Despite Allagash being from Portland, ME, I am pretty sure I haven't seen it anywhere around me. The bottles I've seen here are pretty interesting, and many are well-rated. It's not often you see high-gravity styles in 12-ounce bottles, so when I saw a 4-pack of Tripel, I picked it up. Also, why is it that oft-elite beers tend to come in 4-packs instead of 6-packs? The only reason I can think of, assuming the shop doesn't break up packs, is that the price point would be too high otherwise. After all, 4-packs of GI BCB Stout and DFH World Wide Stout are both over $20.

Anyway, the fluffy head is leaving some nice lacing and seems to have changed aroma. My first whiff was more ester-y and fruity but now it's bit more spicy. I have to say this first, regarding the carbonation: SON I AM DISAPPOINT. For a tripel, is far too low, maybe low for a dubbel as well. It's pretty malty and creamy though with a strong phenolic character towards the finish. The alcohol is slightly apparent there as it seems to linger a bit, but it's fairly dull. There is a mild undercurrent of fruit, not melons but something similar.

I have to say, Belgian beers challenge my palate the most. Often, I can only say things that are typical of Belgian beers. To say such an appraisal to a person who has never has a Belgian beer is fairly worthless. I took a look at BA and saw that no one is really able to make fine distinctions either. Not that that makes me feel any better but it only validation that I need more work on my palate. Someone else called out mango which I think is the flavor I was trying to identify. Dropping all the key words into twisted sentences does not make a review.

• Appearance: Alternately pale gold or amber, depending on the backing light. Fluffy head dies down significantly, but leaves some nice lacing.
• Smell: Fruity at first but picks up some spice as it warms. Towards the bottom, I also got a hint of a tropical fruit.
• Taste: Bananas, ether-y, phenolic, blah blah blah. Strong malt up front but softens in a creamy sweetness. Mild alcohol on the finish but some kind of fruit that is not a melon but similar. Someone on BA mentioned mango, which seems right.
• Mouthfeel: Carb is too low. More creamy than effervescent, letting the malts weigh it down a bit.
• Drinkability and Overall: 9%ABV. The neck label suggests "as an apertif or compliment to a fine cuisine." Should be 'complement'. I would disagree with the apertif as it is not bold enough or effervescent enough to carry its weight. It is a decent, easy-drinking beer however. This is an A-/A- on BA. I would go more like a B+. You can kick at the dirt and say it's an American take on the style, so for that I'll give it a little leeway.

Woesten-Vleteren Westoek.

A loose bottle from WF's Belgian beer section. After the Arend, I was looking forward to this one. Upon closer inspection of the bottle, this is indeed imported but has a weird label. Ok, gave it a pour, and it looks ok. Gave it a smell. No spice, no sweetness, just some wood, sour fruit, and a bit of funk. Taste is flat, thin on the malt, thin on every nuance except for that metallic finish. It's both weird and totally plain at the same time. I can't really quite put my finger on it. I'm nto even sure what kind of beer this is supposed to be. From context, I would assume a dubbel or tripel. Strength, 6%ABV, would lean towards dubbel. It looks a little like a dubble. But it doesn't smell or taste like a double. What gives?

A gander at BA says this is supposed to be a tripel and reviews are mixed. It averages a B+ but I saw a few Cs on the most recent reviews. Bad bottle maybe or just a regional twist on the style. Some other folks picked up on floral, and that might be the weirdness I perceived before. Lilac was mentioned, I would add lavender and a notion of flower petals.

• Appearance: Amber-y brown, but more on the brown side. Appears transparent and clear against the light.
• Smell: Fruity, musty. Metallic, like nickel. Some funky yeast going on.
• Taste: Nondescript. A touch of wood, metal on the finish. There's some thin malt, a tiny bit of hop bitter. No fruits, phenols, esters.
• Mouthfeel: Pretty flat, almost no carb on the tongue but a steady stream of bubbles is visible.
• Drinkability and Overall:

Arend Tripel.

Loose bottle from WF. I haven't had a bonafide tripel in a while. I used to spend a lot of time in the Belgium aisle at my local bottle shop. I'm not sure how I relocated since then back to IPA country, but this is a welcome change of pace. Pour from a standard 11.2 oz bottle made a beautiful, luxurious head, excellent head retention with heavy lacing. Creamy with a little bit of maltiness to round out that Belgian spiciness. The complexity is too awesomeMYMINDISBREAKING. I should really spend more time on Belgian beers. I wish I had more words to describe this one. Bottom line is that it's just a great, enjoyable beer. It is 8%ABV, so this is a dangerous one. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but this one feels like a hit.s

• Appearance: Glowing dark gold; rich, luxurious head, great retention and lots of lacing.
• Smell: Spot on Belgian spice character
• Taste: Very agreeable spiciness, little bit of that yeasty taste, little bit of maltiness. No heat.
• Mouthfeel: Creamy with appropriate carbonation, very smooth.
• Drinkability and Overall: Loving this beer. At 8.0%ABV, it's dangerously drinkable.

The Bruery Tradewinds.

Description on bottle: "Tripel / Belgian-style Ale brewed with rice and Thai basil". Not going to lie, this could get pretty weird. But after stopping by their tasting room, I trust them. They do inventive, creative recipes, and none have been terrible. The bottle also says "SUMMER FUN". Ok then.

Thick head off the pour quickly settles down to a persistent cap with a steady stream of bubbles. I get some lemongrass in the nose along with some of that typical Belgian witbier spice. Thai soups have a great blend of spicy and sour which can be initially confusing to the palate. I kind of feel that way with this one. There's a lot going on, but I'm having trouble separating all the elements, many of which are very brief. Rice is obviously mild; I think I catch a bit of it on the finish. Overall, this is certainly a drinkable, enjoyable beer, but I'm not sure if it's memorable. Certainly, the notion of rice and Thai basil will stick with me, but I don't think I would be able to recall the taste in the future.

• Appearance: Solid golden, steady bubbles, persistent head.
• Smell: Lemongrass, citrus, the spicy aroma off a Thai soup.
• Taste: Primarily witbier-like, maybe some glutinous rice flavor on the finish but also a bit of heat. The basil is either too mild or getting muddled in my mind with other flavors.
• Mouthfeel: Carbonation is a little low up front but a nice wash comes through at the end. Body is slightly heavy for a tripel but still enjoyable.
• Drinkability and Overall: Light and refreshing, in the style. At 8.1%ABV, not a session beer but a few pours are certainly manageable. As a Belgian-style beer, it does just fine. The notion of doing an East-West fusion is cool but might be too subtle in this execution.

Rogue Ales Public House and Cherry Voodoo Tripel.

Took a stop by the Rogue Public House again after spending the day in SF by Fisherman's Wharf. The aquarium is SF in not as great as the one in Monterey which we went to/are going to a couple weeks later. (Starting drafts, filling them in much later and backposting is trippy. Hold onto your butts.) From left to right:

• Red IPA: Red, scotch ale-y on the finish, mild hop throughout. Seems unbalanced or unsure of itself unless it's going for wishy-washy.
• Younger's Special Bitter: smooth, milky bitter, balanced and bitter backbone. Finish evaporates. Sessionable with a hint of malty sweetness.
• Creamery Anniversary: Cream porter, Hershey's chocolate, cocoa finish, slight raisin, lots of volume. NOTES FROM THE FUTURE: I bought a couple bottles of this from WF, not knowing what it or Rogue Creamery was, but now it makes sense. I had bought one, holding off until I knew what it was, and then bought another one. And now it turns out I've already had it so I'll probably just hold onto both bottles for later. Bottom line: I get these sweet, swing-top jugs.
• Single Malt: low, tight carb, thin body. Hop bitter with an alcoholic finish and aftertaste. Palate is smooth and slightly sweet, very reserved.

I thought cherry tripel sounded interesting. I'm not really sure why, actually, because I'm not very fond of Three Philosophers which has too strong of an acetone likeness for me. But get this, I did, and it wasn't bad. It was a bit cherry cream soda-like. Definitely creamy. I remember the waitress coming around and asking what I thought and telling her I had expected something more tripel-y. Didn't really hit the tripel spot but was still enjoyable.

I also spent a few minutes to go to the liquor store around the corner where I was recommended to go after asking if they sold the Rogue Distillery spirits at the Public House. Turns out they had all (I assume all) the Rogue spirits: Spruce Gin, Pink Gin, Dead Guy Whiskey, and Hazelnut Rum. I've had the Spruce and while it was great, I wanted something new. The Pink is aged in pinot noir barrels. They were $45 apiece so I went with the whiskey and rum and the guy sold them to me for an even $90 at the end of the day. Not sure if I'll crack them open here or wait until I get back home. Depends on if I find better prices on them.

Middle Ages Tripel Crown.

Addendum: Uh, I apparently forgot to take notes on this before I left for the summer. I remember this being an awesomely malty, biscuit-y, sweet, Belgo-style, refreshing, and dangerously sessionable ale. A pretty good beer. I didn't have much interest in Middle Ages before, and I still find most of their beers average, but the Tripel Crown is evidence that they can turn out some remarkable stuff. Druid Fluid is now on my list.

St. Bernardus Watou Tripel.

Thick, creamy head. Darker golden straw colored, clove in the nose, refreshing. Good carbonation, milder spice profile than Heogaarden which makes it more drinkable. Only 7.5%ABV. Rich and satisfying without being filling. Easily a contender for my top tripel.

St. Bernardus Tripel.

Terrible pour. Cannot do my no-tilt pour on a tulip glass.

I've been staying off the Belgians for a while for various reasons. Wanted to give this a go so I can start moving on from St. Bernardus, but I still have a Watou left. Light, crisp, hay flavor, very mild and refreshing. Seems a little thicker and less effervescent than I'd like in a tripel.

My tripel is still way darker than this.

St. Bernardus Abt 12.

Forgot to write notes afterward. Tasty.

Belgian Tripel.

OG: 1.071.

Made a yeast starter in my 1L Erlenmeyer. Should really invest in a 2L.

Addendum 110407: After a longer than planned secondary, I bottled tonight into a draft bottle, a case of bombers, and about 2/3 of a case of regular bottles. I used 3/4 cup of dextrose to boost the carbonation a little, hopefully. The recommended 2/3 cup seems to give me low carb levels, but I wonder how much difference 1/12 of a cup will produce. A little concerned about bottle bombs.

Ommegang Tripel Perfection.

Been a while since I've had a tripel or anything remotely Belgian. Delicious. Golden straw color, pretty luscious, creamy consistent head. Really nice spice profile, nutmeg, clove, and a lot of others, I'm sure. Mild effervescence, smooth, very drinkable.

Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel.

Picked up a 4-pack on sale. Flying Dog is kind of a hit or miss but this is a pretty good hit. Refreshing and crisp, a bit sugary. Definitely worth the sale price.

Victory Golden Monkey.

Coriander, orange zest, concentrated Hoegaarden, spicy, spice-y, cinnamon. I like it. At roughly $12/6-pack, it's a little pricey, but I can see some circumstances where I'd opt for a sixer of this than a hit-or-miss venture of trying to pick out a new Belgian abbey ale.

New Belgium Trippel.

See post below. Color is wrong.

Thanks for the ears, Sister.

Maredsous Triple.

Ah, there's that strong ale taste I miss!

I do have to say though that these two Maredsous brews have a peculiarly different taste than other Belgian abbey ales I've had. They've both been a bit more bubbly and less smooth and rich than I'm accustomed to. Hmph. I'm looking for something a bit more like Brother Thelonius, heavy and sweet.

That's not to say it was bad. I'm glad I had the experience. Really. I just don't think I'll buy it frequently or in quantity.

Unibroue La Fin Du Monde.

I had heard wonderful things about this one so I was pretty excited when I found a pack of this.

An ale, so it had that thick, creamy but bubbly taste. I don't know anything about this triple fermentation business, but it has some sort of initial punch that I can't quite figure out. It reminds me of pumpkins. Delicious!