Piraat

Why I tried this: I think a co-worker of mine, David, recommended this to me, but my memory is a bit hazy. Shit happens when you drink lots of beer. It was a tripel belgian, a style I haven't touched much of recently, so why not?

Smell: Has a slight hoppy bitterness to the scent, but otherwise is overwhelmingly sweet, mostly from malts and various fruits, such as citrus and berries. Quite pleasant.


Taste: Slight hints of caramel, but heavy on the berries and sweet malts. I could also detect some pear and apple in the taste, but that may be the beer playing tricks on me. Or the alcohol. Had a bit of a yeasty taste to it as well, but this was very mute and a welcome addition.

Overall, I'd probably award this beer a strong quarter full glass. It's a very good example of the belgian tripel style, incorporating heavy amounts of fruits and malts, but quality enough that you can taste almost everything that went into it. The carbonation is a bit high on this one, but I rather enjoyed that. I really can't say anything particularly negative about it, other than it didn't completely floor me. All in all, I would definitely recommend.

--Jeff

Tripel Karmeliet

Why I tried this: By now some of the bartenders are getting to know us pretty well. One of the bartenders we get pretty often is named Logan. I asked him to recommend a beer to me and after a short discussion about Belgian beer Tripel Karmeliet is what he came back with. He told me it was one of his favorites so I decided to go for it.

Smell: grainy yeasty earthy scent, not too strong, balanced and fresh

Taste: WOW! By far the best Tripel I have had to date. This beer was extremely well balanced and an extremely tasty smooth flavor all the way down. A refreshing flavor balance between a grainy flavor, slight citrusy flavor, sweetness, hops, malts and yeast. The carbonation of this beer was interesting as well and really completed the package.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer a 9. This beer was incredible from my first sip to the last. The depth of how well the flavors worked together was awesome. This was a great beer suggestion on Logan's part and I will absolutely be enjoying more of these in the future. Next time I run into Logan we will for sure have more discussions about more Belgian beers to try.

--Jon

Chimay Tripel

Why I tried this: I have had Chimay, all three types, in the bottle before and thought it was pretty good.  My friend Jason recommended it to me after he went to Vegas with his brother and dad.  I don't really see this stuff around very much so I don't get to drink it very often.  When I saw this stuff was on tap at World of Beer I definitely had to see what it tasted like on tap.

Smell: grainy bready yeast scent.  I didn't really detect any fruit scents as Ive seen around online, guess that's why I'm not a beer pro.

Taste: At first you get a yeasty, grainy, bready taste that is smooth and enjoyable.  It fades into a more hoppy grainy finish just before the slight alcohol finish.  None of the flavors are overpowering, this beer is smooth and enjoyable.  I could drink this beer for a good portion of the night with no problem.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer an 8.  It tastes great, the flavors are very well blended and it makes this beer something that I know I will enjoy when I see it anywhere.  

--Jon