Beer-a-Day #96
I’m running out of Weyerbacher beers. This is a Belgian-style Tripel.
Light amber with plenty of haze, and a bunch of stuff floating in it (I hope from the bottle-conditioning). Lots of bubblegum and bananas from the yeast. No, something’s off. Too bad, I really wanted to like this. I guess I’ll have to try again.
Beer-a-Day #59
Pale yellow with white head and a bit haze. Fruity bubblegum in the aroma. Kinda creamy in the mouthfeel. Tripel’s not my favorite style, but this one’s pretty good.
Beer-a-Day #48
Yellow in color, with haze, which isn’t surprising as it’s bottle-conditioned. There’s that classic Belgian yeast aroma, with plenty of banana and spice. Big, malty mouthfeel. Pretty good.
Beer-a-Day #47
Back when I was shopping for Tripels for the Session I had trouble finding any. Now that I’ve done that, they’re practically jumping into my shopping cart.
Deep amber color with a prodigious head. So much so that I had a spill-over and am afraid that it’s over-carbonated. Or worse.
Smells nice, with some vanilla in the aroma. Some tart fruitiness in the flavor; more vanilla. Pretty good, although too big to have too many.
This edition of The Session is sponsored by David at Musings Over a Pint.
Announcing Session #24 – A Tripel for a Two
Beer is best when it’s shared, and a strong beer is just right for sharing. Belgian Tripels are big beers with a flavor profile that is enjoyed by both experienced and new beer fans. Be it an intimate evening, or watching a ball game on TV, a Tripel is made for sipping and sharing. For Session #24 the theme is “A Tripel for Two.” What Tripel would you pick to share with that good friend, family member, or lover?
If you have a beer or beer-related blog, it’s easy to participate in The Session. Pick a Belgian-style Tripel to review. Tell us why it’s your pick to share with that special someone. Be sure to include a review of the beer so that others might be inspired to choose that beer for a special moment. Bonus points if the person with whom you are sharing the beer includes their review as well.
We have long suggested that “the best beer in the world is one shared with a friend.” Since I was making the long trek up to Ron’s for his birthday a couple weeks ago, I brought along half of a four-pack of Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel, with instructions to Ron to save them for this Session. The other two I left at home.
Recently, we used that old-fashioned technology, the telephone, to talk about beer, family, and life, but also to discuss the beer we were both sampling. Both our wives were out for the evening and, although we keep in touch via e-mail and other technologies, it was good to have an old-fashioned vocal conversation. Ron’s my oldest friend, after all.
As for “why this tripel”, that’s pretty pedestrian. I was getting ready to take that 400-mile trip to Ron’s in upstate New York, Flying Dog is brewed local to me, and I don’t think that Ron can get it there in the Great White North. If we were going to simultaneously long-distance sample the same beer we’d have to go with something we could both get, and therefore common and written up by lots of other people, or we’d have to source the beer from the same place. Add to that: I like Flying Dog’s offerings and neither of us had ever had it. It’s also not a style I have much.
It’s lighter in color than I expected. Distinctly yellow with a chill haze. Head didn’t stick around long. Very fruity aroma; almost like a lemon Starburst but not as cloyingly sweet. Medium body with a cleaner finish than I find in most Belgian styles. I like it.
I’m also going to count this as Beer-a-Day #37.
We enjoyed our long-distance beer tasting so much that we may do it more often. I can’t guarantee that it’ll always end up as a Hop Talk article, but sharing a beer with a good friend, across a table or a telephone line, can only be a good thing.
(You can also read Ron’s review of Kerberos Tripel)
Welcome to the Session #24 , A Tripel for a Two sponsored by David at Musings Over a Pint.
Beer is best when it’s shared, and a strong beer is just right for sharing. Belgian Tripels are big beers with a flavor profile that is enjoyed by both experienced and new beer fans. Be it an intimate evening, or watching a ball game on TV, a Tripel is made for sipping and sharing. For Session #24 the theme is “A Tripel for Two.” What Tripel would you pick to share with that good friend, family member, or lover?
If you have a beer or beer-related blog, it’s easy to participate in The Session. Pick a Belgian-style Tripel to review. Tell us why it’s your pick to share with that special someone. Be sure to include a review of the beer so that others might be inspired to choose that beer for a special moment. Bonus points if the person with whom you are sharing the beer includes their review as well.
Sitting by the fireside, the house was quiet, I had some alone time and I chose to share it with a good friend and a good beer; “because good people drink good beer.”
It is session #24 and Al and I decided to sample our tripels virtually. I picked the Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel because Al gave me two straight from the brewery’s home state of Maryland; who am I to argue?
I could smell the brew from 3 feet away as I poured it; malt, hops and that Belgian yeast. It had a thin head of white foam which disappeared quickly. The color was yellow only hinting towards gold with a chill haze.
I enjoyed carbonation level, which is not too high, just right. The hops were bright, a hint of lemon, but without a strong citrus if that is possible. It had a big taste, but not shockingly, with a surprisingly clean finish. I would describe the taste as candy & spices, but I can’t come up with anything more specific than that. It forms a strange balance of a big beer while sipping, and finishing light at the end. I like it.
While I think of Kerberos as a network authentication protocol, Flying Dog named it for the the three-headed guard dog of Hades, or in this case, it guards the beer.
“Greetings, oh god of the barstool. In your hand resides mighty Kerberos Tripel. A Belgian-style ale so cherished that its namesake, the three-headed hellhound, sentinel of the underworld guards thy bottle. So quench thy godly self. Then ask thee barmaid to retrieve ye another. For you are most powerful and this is your bounty”
The big hellhound comes in at 8.5% ABV and 26 IBUs. Not a huge beer, but plenty big.
Our virtual session went close to two hours and was the highlight of my week. This is what a session is all about. I don’t know why Al and I haven’t done this before, but I do know we will be doing it more often.
(You can also read Al’s review of Kerberos Tripel)
The Session is a monthly one-day event held by beer bloggers around the world, where they each post their thoughts on a unified theme.
That theme, for February, is Tripels, hosted by David at Musings Over a Pint.
Beer is best when it’s shared, and a strong beer is just right for sharing. Belgian Tripels are big beers with a flavor profile that is enjoyed by both experienced and new beer fans. Be it an intimate evening, or watching a ball game on TV, a Tripel is made for sipping and sharing. For Session #24 the theme is “A Tripel for Two.” What Tripel would you pick to share with that good friend, family member, or lover?
If you have a beer or beer-related blog, it’s easy to participate in The Session. Pick a Belgian-style Tripel to review. Tell us why it’s your pick to share with that special someone. Be sure to include a review of the beer so that others might be inspired to choose that beer for a special moment. Bonus points if the person with whom you are sharing the beer includes their review as well.
This episode of the Session will take place on February 6, 2009. Details here: Announcing Session #24 – A Tripel for a Two
