Session 24 - Tripel for Two - Session 1 for BeerTaster.ca.

This is our first post as part of the Sessions project and I'd like to start by saying how pleased we are to try to contribute to this.

The topic chosen by David Turley over at Musings Over a Pint for this session is "Tripel for Two" which leaves me with a couple of problems.

First is who to share this with since I have been divorced for years, and second is where to get a tripel in Ontario at this time.

The first problem was solved by simply asking my friend and co-founder in BeerTaster if he'd like to have a beer. Devoid is, well, devoid of most anything to do with social skills but he will always take a beer, especially someone else's.

I must admit too, that sharing beer is not something I am good at. I don't mind sharing in general, but beer is something else again, especially good beer.

The second problem was of greater concern since we have a bunch of absurd liquor laws in this province which means, in this instance, that I can't get any Tripel I want but have to take what the L.C.B.O. will allow me to have at this time.

I had hoped to review a Westmalle Tripel since it is one of my favorites, a quick check shows that it is not available. It only comes in for the L.C.B.O. Christmas promotion and that is now over.

OK, how about Chimay? Nope.

Maredsous? Nope.

Koningshoeven? Well there is a possibility, there is none at the L.C.B.O. but I still have one in my personal stash. Only one, and as I said I don't play well with others when it comes to good beer. (This may help explain why I am single.)

Ah well, there is always Unibroue (one of my favorite Canadian breweries) and they don't take a back seat to anybody when it comes to making good Belgian style beers. Their La Fin du Monde is a very good version of the tripel style.

Unibroue is one of a very few Canadian breweries making traditional Belgian beers and they do it very well, they got started in the early 1990's and have produced some really great beers over the years. A lot of beer lovers were really worried when Sleeman bought them out a few years ago but to date they have not interfered with Unibroue's unique line up of beers.

So lets get on with drinking some of this stuff.

DEVOIDS REVIEW

La Fin du Monde

Greenish gold with a thick white head.
Very complex aromas. Citrus bitterness,fruit and earthiness makes for a pleasant smell. Strong spice aroma as it warms. Lots of natural fermentation since it is still fermenting in the bottle.
Citrus and spices are the first taste with a mild pleasant grapefruit with sugar middle and an earthy finish. Mouth feel is very creamy and coats the mouth and tongue.
Very complex blend of flavors in this beer make the individual tastes hard to define.
The second and third bottles, (I'm a brave man), were slightly different in flavor than the first.

NEMSIS REVIEW
La Fin du Monde

A full, bright white head which slowly dissipates and leaves lots of lace.
Pours a very cloudy, slightly dark amber/gold colour.
A tart and tangy aroma of cloves and coriander with a bit of bread dough and earth mixed in.
There was no alcohol aroma that I could detect.
The feel of this beer is exceptionally full and creamy with a lot of body and a pleasant mouth drying aspect to it. It matches the cloudy appearance you see.
This beer has a very complex taste. It starts with citrus and spices, (cloves, coriander and a bit of pepper).
There are hints of apple, apricot, and quite bit of vanilla or banana with a suggestion of sugar.
It's a very subtle and nicely balanced taste, although this batch seems just a bit on the rough side it is still, overall, an excellent beer.
The aftertaste is mostly citrus and fruit with a bit of cloves and vanilla, fairly dry and very pleasant.

Since that poor bottle of Koningshoeven was still in the stash waiting for a special occasion I decided to open it in celebration of our first Session Blog.

KONINGSHOEVEN (La Trappe) REVIEW

A very thick, smooth, slightly off white head which leaves large clumps which lasted to the end of the beer and leaves a great lacing down the sides of your glass.
The ale has a dark copper, almost rose colour to it, slightly cloudy and very attractive.
The aroma is slightly earthy and orangey, the alcohol aroma hit me as soon as I got the cork out of the bottle. The feel is very creamy, full and rounded.
On the first sip there were tastes of honey, earth, bitter orange, cherry and some faint spices (cloves and coriander with the cloves predominating), the alcohol was quite noticeable.
With the second sip there were a lot of bright fruity berry tastes with sweet cherries showing up nicely. The cloves became more prominent. There is now only a hint of an alcohol feel in the finish.
The cherry tastes also lingered well into the finish. An earthiness tends to come through as the beer warms for a while.

Taste Off
The La Fin du Monde is a much lighter colour and is much cloudier, Koningshoeven is more a coppery colour.
Both have smooth white heads, La Fin du Monde is a bit thicker and lasts longer.

La Fin du Monde has a much more citrus like aroma, Koningshoeven is more fruity, especially cherry.

Feel, La Fin du Monde is dry but very thick and creamy,
Koningshoeven is not as dry and is more coating. Both are very well rounded feels with lots of body to them.

Now for the tastes.

La Fin du Monde is quite spicy with a lot of banana or vanilla tastes where as the Koningshoeven is more fruity and the alcohol predominates.

The spices are in the Koningshoeven, just not as "Up Front". It seems a bit smoother than La Fin du Monde, but both are great.

I am going to wimp out here and NOT state my preference, I couldn't if I tried. It would come down to what I was having for dinner or the mood I happened to be in. They are different and great and could each be preferred on different days of the week.

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer."

— Abraham Lincoln

Cheers
Nemsis