Voodoo Brewing Co. Voodoo Love Child – Tripel at 9.2% ABV | 25 IBU (2019 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #1, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 22-Nov-2019, reviewed 16-Dec-2019)
Appearance: clear deep gold with a short, short-lived fizzy head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: cherry, candi sugar, artificial raspberry, light wood. (5/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter, light tart. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, sticky mildly warming finish. (3/5)
[Note: I mistakenly did #16 the first day of the calendar, instead of #1 – I blame the poor lighting in my dingy basement room. This is the real #1, in place of #16.] Yeah, comparing this to a Lambic, like the label does, is like comparing chalk and cheese. Even classifying this as a Tripel is a stretch, though I’ll admit I’ve had some sickly sweet examples of that style in Belgium, so I suppose I can’t say it’s inaccurate. And that’s what this is: sickly sweet, with sugary and artificial fruit notes on the nose and very little complexity on the tongue. It kind of reminds me of Magic Hat #9, except with more sugar and less authentic fruit. By far the best thing going for this is the degree to which the ABV is hidden. At best, merely OK. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
