Brouwerij Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet
What the brewers say
“Blond, robust, smooth, and fruity three-grain beer, with final fermentation in the bottle. Brewed with pride and patience after the Carmelite tradition with wheat, oat, and barley. 100 percent natural beer.”
What our panel thought
Aroma: “Bananas, gentle peppery phenols, shortbread, hints of bubblegum, faint grainy malt sweetness, some spicy, grassy hops notes. Orange and spices. Spicy phenolic clove notes.”
Flavor: “Very much follows the nose. Honey-like malt sweetness when it first hits, but waves of pepper and clove phenols and banana esters merge with a lightly herbal hops presence for a cleansing finish. Finishes off-dry with a pleasing good carbonic bite and reassuring alcoholic warmth. Malt lingers into the finish, along with some of that honey sweetness. Crisp and refreshing.”
Overall: “A wonderful textbook tripel aroma. Beer drinkers whose friends ask them, “What is a tripel?” should simply hand them a sample of this beer. The blend of spicy phenol and soft ester is dead on target. It’s refreshing and, while the flavor drops off quickly in the finish, each taste is bright and beautiful.”
