Brouwerij Van Eecke Kapittel Watou Tripel Abt Tripel (?) at 10% ABV ($4.84 from Willow Park Wine & Spirits)
Pours clear gold with one finger of dense white head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, minimal lacing. Nose is pale malt and dark fruit, candy sugar, Belgian yeast. Taste is moderate candi sugar and fruit sweetness, mild bitter. Medium body, moderate sustained carbonation, with an off-dry moderate bitter boozy finish.
On the one had, my kind of tripel – balanced slightly more to the bitter, yet with enough pale malt/candi sugar sweetness to keep it easy-drinking despite the double digit ABV. But on the other, hints of characteristic Belgian yeast flavours – bubblegum, bananas, cloves – layered behind what basically amounts to a light fruitcake, means the flavour basically bridges the gap between tripel and quadrupel. It’s definitely fruitier than your normal tripel, but much lighter than a quad, so I see why they call it a Tripel Abt. It hurts my OCD when things defy easy characterization, but I guess I can’t really blame the beer for my own shortcomings, can I?
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
