De Dolle Dulle Teve 10º (Mad Bitch)

Last but not least comes a different kind of Tripel, if I had to classify it as anything I would say it would be most like if a Tripel and a Dubbel were combined into some amazing concoction. Anyway... lets get to the beer.

It pours light brown with a decent sized white head that quickly fades into a small half finger sized ring. Very good carbonation with tight knit bubbles. Not much lacing. The aroma is of hops, light fruits, brown sugar, maple. Its very sweet with a subtle hops backbone. The taste is very sweet at first and then leads into a nice bitter hoppy ending with a slight warming sensation from the alcohol at the end.

It may be because I'm partial to Belgian Dubbels, but this was by far my favorite out of the four we tried for "Tripel" night. If you can find it, try it, you won't be disappointed.

Appearance - 3.9

Smell - 4.3

Taste -4.4

Texture - 4.2

Overall - 4.2/5

Allagash Tripel Reserve

Time to step away from Belgium and see how a microbrewery in Maine can do. The third one we tried out for Tripel night comes from Maine, courtesy of Allagash Brewing Company.

This brew was by far the lightest colored of the four, with no sediment, good carbonation, and a large foamy white head. The actual beer was also a lot more cloudy in appearance than the others. The smell is of pine, herbs, trees, bitterness, and flowers. Not as strong as an aroma but more complex than the others so far. Taste is of bitter hops that leads straight into a pine tree aftertaste, with little to no hint of alcohol at all. A bit watery, but not too bad. Kind of weak. Probably my least favorite out of the ones for Tripel night, but still good if anyone out there wants to give it a try.

Appearance - 4.0

Smell - 3.6

Taste - 3.8

Texture - 3.6

Overall - 3.75/5

Tripel Karmeliet

Next up is the Tripel Karmeliet brewed by a very small place in Belgium known as Bosteels. This brew pours a light brown to golden yellow in color with extremely heavy carbonation. A large white head forms quickly (although not as large as the one from Chouffe) and then fades into a small one finger wide ring. The aroma is of heavy pine, light fruits (grapes, orange, bananas), and hops. The initial taste is found to be a bit weak and includes notes of lighter hops, earth, and sweet fruits. Hides the alcohol very well, but besides that not much else is going on. Taste is lacking a little, but the texture and complexity is right there.

Appearance - 3.8

Smell - 3.9

Taste - 3.9

Texture - 4.2

Overall - 3.95/5

Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

First out of the four beers for Tripel night tonight is the Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen, made by a very well known brewery in Belgium. This beer pours light brown with a huge billowing white head, large carbonation bubbles, and very nice lacing on the glass. It took quite a while for the head to subside enough for me to even be able to drink it. The aroma is of pure pine trees, with some slight floral notes in the background. The taste is not nearly as strong as the smell, and is nice and mellow at first but leads into a giant Belgian hops finish.

Quite good, although a bit weird since its supposed to be a mix of an IPA and a Tripel, lets see how the other three fair in this little match up.

Appearance - 4.2

Smell -3.8

Taste - 3.8

Texture - 3.9

Overall -3.93/5

De Dolle Dulle Teve 10º (Mad Bitch)

This was one Mad Bitch - my favorite out of the 4 tripels we reviewed. Let's get down to it.

This Bitch poured out the darkest of the 4 with a lot of sediment. The color was a very dark gold and it had the most minimal head of the tripels. The smell was of light fruits and hops and the sweetness that goes along with that. The taste was very velvety and smooth. It had a lot of fruit and sediment in the mouth with a cool alcoholic kick at the end. The texture was full of body and it was lightly carbonated - not too much and not too little. From start to finish the feelings go from sharp, to mellow, to the bite of the alcohol. Very nice.

This was my favorite because this beer stood out the most of the 4 beers. It had an identity that stood out from the others and, even though it was #4, it was #1 in my books.

Appearance - 4
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 4.1
Texture - 3.8
Overall - 4.03/5

Allagash Tripel Reserve

#3 on ratebeer - the Allagash offering. This is a beer maker that we've noticed charges quite a bit for their wares and we were hoping this reflected in their beer. Let's see how it fared.

This beer poured out with no sediment and a medium brightness and color compared to the other tripels. It had a nice bubbly head but it was still kind of opaque. The smell was very tree-y with an herbish scent and a much more bitter nose. The taste had a slight bite at the beginning that faded and disappeared at the end with almost no fruit notes to speak of. The texture was not nearly as full-bodied as the other offerings and the taste couldn't hold up through the entire experience, resulting in a kind of flat beer.

This was a tad of a disappointment. For top 4 on the list, I don't think it held up very nicely. The beer had very little character and couldn't hold up what it had throughout the entire test.

Appearance - 3.9
Smell - 3.6
Taste - 3.5
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 3.63/5

Tripel Karmeliet

#2 on ratebeer - the Karmeliet. Let's get down to it.

Pours mostly transparent with a huge, white head. It had substantial carbonation and a nice golden hue - like ginger ale. It smelled like a mix between the #3/4 tripels with fruit and evergreen notes and a dash of light hops. The taste didn't present itself at the beginning but kicks in at the middle with a slight IPA vibe along with the bitterness that normally goes along with IPAs - very good though. The texture had an interesting flow that was, admittedly, boring at the beginning but flows through to a great finish and an alcoholic kick to top it off.

Overall, not a bad beer at all. Out of the 4, this had some of the best identity to call its own. It was a unique beer and I like that in a beer that is a top in its category.

Appearance - 4.1
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 4.1
Texture - 3.9
Overall - 3.98/5

Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Here's my first entry for the Tripel night. This was #1 on ratebeer.com and it did not disappoint.

This brew poured with a huge, white head and cloudy, but bright gold, body. It was also very bubbly and teeming with carbonation. It had a smell that was very close to gin (in terms of a pinetree-esque nose) but that's about it. The taste was truly unique. It started off pretty nice with touches of fruit notes and proceeded to get bitter. It also had a pine-y aftertaste that was very prominent. The texture was rather bitter, almost in an unpleasant sense, but mostly interesting. It was also very warming.

Overall, not a bad tripel at all. It was very intriguing and, for as big a fan of gin and tonics as myself, very satisfying. I can definitely see why this beer is #1 on ratebeer for tripels.

Appearance - 4.2
Smell - 4.0
Taste - 4.0
Texture - 3.8
Overall - 4.00/5

Brew Tasting the Thirtieth

To celebrate our thirtieth review night on this blog we have decided to do something very special and never done before on this site. We will be having the top 4 Belgian Tripel's that are currently listed on ratebeer.com and having them back to back to back to back. Hopefully we will be able to compare them appropriately and find out if our ideals actually match those of the public.

Stay tuned, because this is going to get interesting.

1. De Dolle Dulle Teve 10º (Mad Bitch)

2. Allagash Tripel Reserve

3. Tripel Karmeliet

4. Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel