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

Shipyard Brewer's Brown Ale

Why I tried this: I was sitting at the bar at World of Beer UCF and I had noticed they rotated this brown ale onto the draft menu. I'm a pretty big fan of brown ales, so it was a natural decision for me.

Smell: Lots of malts. Kind of hard to discern, but not overly strong notes, so that didn't help much. Was rather neutral about it, so I went on to the tasting.

Taste: This beer was rather light going down, starting off with a slightly bitter, very malty flavor. At the very end, you catch a little maple syrup. The malts didn't feel like a solid mix, and tasted overall of oak or something similar. I didn't really enjoy the taste that much.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this beer a 5. It was overly malty with little pleasing flavor, marginally balanced out by a bit of bitterness and then a very slightly sweet ending thanks to the maple. The beer was lighter in mouth feel than your typical brown ale, making it feel a bit watery. Definitely no where near a Tilburg's. Overall, fairly sub par and a bit disappointing, although not awful. I wouldn't get it again, and don't recommend bothering with it.

--Jeff