ALDI France Bière Triple Traditionnelle

I picked up this huge 750ml Belgian tripel from an Aldi beer festival and it's not bad at all for a budget beer.  

It's a deep golden beer with a frothy, robust off-white head.  It has a sweet and hoppy aroma with the distinctive tang of a Belgian ale.  I could smell notes of caramel, honey and banana in addition to the hops.

The taste isn't as much of a Belgian ale as the smell implied, although it is a very easy drinking ale.  It's a sweet taste of honey, fruit and hops all blended together beautifully.  It has a thin body and is very well carbonated with prickly bubbles that are a little on the harsh side.

It's a lovely, sweet honey beer that's not as hoppy as I expected but enjoyable nonetheless.  It's a good attempt by the French but it just goes to show that nobody does a Belgian ale as good as the Belgians!  The huge size is a little too much for me so whilst I enjoyed it, Ale not Be Seeing You again.

Brewed in France for ALDI
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Kasteel Tripel

This stonking 11% Belgian tripel pours a sunshiney golden yellow with a tight, off-white head.  The head is amazing; it actually looks like frogspawn as perfectly formed, distinctly separate little bubbles cling to each other.  I have to share a close up photo just to show what I mean.

It has a lovely hoppy aroma with a hint of sweet fruit, including citrus and banana.  The flavour is equally impressive with the expected tripel taste of tangy, sour hops but with the addition of zingy, fruit bursts that give a sweet edge to the sourness and a maltiness that lingers on the palate.  It has a medium body with good carbonation.

You can definitely taste that this has a high ABV but I couldn't really detect any hints of raw alcohol that sometimes overpower strong ales.  Let's face it, the Belgian's know how to brew decent beer so it's no surprise that I'm saying 'Ale Be Seeing You' again to Kasteel Tripel.

Brewed by Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck, Belgium
11% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at Kasteel

Corsendonk Agnus

Agnus is a lovely deep golden slightly hazy Belgian Tripel with a tight frothy off-white head.  It's quite lively on opening so it needs a slow and steady pour to get it out of the bottle in one go.  The head lasts well and laces the glass.

The aroma isn't strong but it has hints of honey, caramel, hops, biscuit and sweet fruit.  The overall smell reminds me of bananas drizzled in honey.

It really twanged my taste buds when I had my first sip.  Lashings of caramel over ripe banana provide a big hit of sweetness followed by tangy hops and a slight spiciness before finishing with a lovely dry lingering bitterness.  It's pretty fizzy with champagne-like prickly, tingly bubbles and has a medium body.

It's a very refreshing, fruity and well-balanced ale, especially if you have a sweet tooth as it leans more towards the sweet side of the scale and it seems to get sweeter as you drink it.  With the distinctive hoppy, spicy tang of a Belgian Tripel, it's very moreish but at 7.5% ABV you can't glug it too quickly.

Another one that's cracking value, purchased for £6.99 for 4 from Lidl.  You can't go wrong for £1.75 a bottle and it's a quality Belgian ale to boot.  Look out for these hitting the shelves again and Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by Corsendonk Brewery, Belgium
7.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Corsendonk Brewery

Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet

This is one of the lightest Belgian tripels I have ever seen, but it does look beautiful in the glass.  It's a deep golden yellow ale with a thick, frothy white head and looks very lively and bubbly in the glass.  There is some sediment so it does require a careful pour to get a clear beer, but you can add the yeast if that's to your taste.

With wafts of honey, hops, peach, banana and a hint of herbal spiciness, the aroma is complex and so very appealing.  The taste is absolutely sublime; it's a lovely blend of malt and hops with a fruity undertone.  I could taste juicy peaches drizzled in honey with a hint of lemon drizzle cake to give a bitter/sweet finish.  There is also a hint of raw alcohol in the taste, which is unsurprising as it's a stonking 8.4% ABV.

It's certainly one to savour rather than glug and the intense fizziness and harsh carbonation ensures you don't drink it too quickly.  Even though I took my time drinking it, the amazing head lasted until the very last drop.  Don't be fooled by the light appearance, this is a tripel that packs a punch and one Ale Be Seeing again. 

Brewed by Bosteels Brewery, Belgium
8.4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Bosteels Brewery

Adnams Triple Knot

Having tried quite a few Adnams ales, I was really looking forward to trying this one.  Just look at the beautiful bottle with the old fashioned bottle stopper; full marks to Adnams for presentation.  Unfortunately, that's the only full marks I was able to give them.

The beautiful golden colour is slightly let down by the very thin white head that disappears in the blink of an eye.  Now I know that beauty isn't only skin deep so I moved in for a sniff and oh my goodness, it smelled like I had poured a fruit liqueur over some fermented fruit.  I was almost afraid to taste it, but needs must!

No no no, this isn't beer is it?  With flavours of fruit and honey it reminded me of the sweet wines you taste when you go on the excursions to vineyards in Spain.  Sickly sweet, intensely fruity and extremely low in carbonation, it tasted more like a Madeira wine than a beer to me.

Far too odd for my taste and unfortunately one Ale NOT Be Seeing Again.  Adnams have got so much right with their core ales like Broadside, Southwold and Ghost Ship but they got so much wrong with this Triple Knot.  Of course, it wasn't completely undrinkable and I've never left a beer unfinished yet, but it's a bit of a Marmite beer and I'm not in the 'Love It' camp.

Brewed by Adnams, Suffolk
10% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Adnams Brewery

Durham Brewery Bede's Chalice

I've neglected my beer blog of late, so what better way to storm back online than with a 9% Belgian Tripel from my local Durham Brewery.

This is a bottle conditioned beer so I made sure to pour it carefully and managed to get a lovely clear pint, leaving the little bit of sediment in the bottle.  It's a traditional 'beery' coloured ale, being deep golden/light amber with a thin but very very tight off-white head.  The head is so tight that it looks like you've poured a layer of milk on top of your beer - very impressive.

There is quite a complex aroma - at first it just smells of malt and hops but it seems to develop into a smell of fruity peaches with a slightly floral edge as it lies in the glass.  So let's dive in and see what it tastes like.

It tastes exactly as I would expect from an abbey ale with the distinctive sweetness of fermented fruits but with a surprisingly bitter aftertaste.  You can't disguise the high ABV as the strong alcohol content is very apparent in the taste but it doesn't overpower the other flavours, as I've found with some other strong ales.  An added hint of caramel makes it feel initially very smooth until the zingy orange citrus aftertaste tingles your tongue.

A lovely beer for a treat and one Ale Be Seeing Again but I wouldn't have too many or I'd be dancing on the tables...with an empty purse at £4.49 per bottle!

Brewed by Durham Brewery, Durham

9% ABV

Pint rating:

Find out more at Durham Brewery