Village Brewery / Banded Peak Brewery Village Friend Banded Belgian Tripel Tripel at 10% ABV (C$11.69 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 14-Feb-2017, reviewed 16-Feb-2017)
Appearance: clear medium gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, apples, pale malt, bready yeast, hint of strawberry. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration warming finish. (3/5)
Yup, that’s a traditional Tripel, all right. Slightly too sweet for my preference: I’d like to see it more highly attenuated, with a bone dry finish. But, it’s pretty darned good as it stands. The aromas and flavours are pretty spot-on Belgian yeast esters, in any case, and any hop character is limited. It might not be as good as the best true Belgian Tripels I’ve had, but it’s certainly better than the worst ones. And, the high ABV is impressively well-integrated, manifesting only as a warming finish. (Well, that and a tendency for the room to get a little fuzzy around the edges.) (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
