La Trappe Trappist Tripel

Nothing like diving straight into the beginning of the hot part of summer with a struggling air conditioner.  It's the house's original unit, which makes it almost 30 years old, so it's had a good run, but man...it's hot in here.  And it's only going to get hotter.  Beer might just get me through it all.  And so we have the La Trappe Trappist Tripel from The Netherlands' Koningshoeven Abbey, an 8% Belgian style Tripel from a place that's been churning out the goods since 1884.  The brew pours a beautiful gold with a white head and smells of grain and light notes of pepper, apple, pear, and spice.  The flavor is a pleasant mix of fruit, apple and pear in particular, along with some subtle notes of clove, pepper, honey, and a little bit of bread.  It's a really good example of the style and very drinkable.  It almost made me forget my AC is on the fritz.

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Lazarus Blushing Bride

I wish i could do more.  I wish i could go to every brewery in Central Texas every week and buy beer to go.  I wish i could help keep the lights on indefinitely.  I'll do what i can, but we've already lost at least one brewer to the virus (RIP NXNW).  Just try and stay afloat.  Anyway, Lazarus Brewing is doing what they can too, beginning to can some of the beers for easier access as well as setting up some collaborative brews that we will hopefully be sipping very soon.  They've also got bottles of their Blushing Bride, a delicious, 10% ABV Belgian Tripel with orange blossom honey and aged in white wine barrels.  The beer pours a nice straw color with a white head and smells of orange, fruit, and white wine.  The flavor is dominated by the white wine notes but with hints of orange and pear and a dry finish.  It's a wonderful beer, and i'll have to procure some more of it soon.

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Devil and The Deep Over Current Belgian Tripel

At the start of the summer i decided it would be a good idea for me to attempt to go to 40 different breweries by Labor Day (the kinda sorta official end of summer).  Well, i ended up hitting #40 a week ago when i was in Galveston with a whole four weeks left to go.  So now, i'm sitting at 44 and shooting for 50.  Anyway, #40 was a brewery i've never been to before, the relatively new Devil and The Deep Brewery, and i really dug their Over Current Belgian Tripel.  The 9.5% ABV brew pours a nice gold with a full white head and smells of spice and Belgian yeast with some notes of banana and some floral hints.  The flavor has those same banana notes meshing with the other spices in a beer that tastes and feels strong, yet is still very easy to drink.  I'll have to come back next time i'm on the coast.

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Here Comes the Sun

It's getting hotter here, and as nice as it is to pick up your sessionable kind of brews for the weekend, sometimes you needs something that's easy to drink, but has a bit more of punch too.  Karbach's Here Comes the Sun is a strong and tasty Belgian style Tripel, pouring a hazy gold with aromas of bread, fruit, and spice.  The beer is crisp with a lot of floral notes on the tongue, as well as some hints of fruit, coriander, and the ever present Belgian yeast.  And it clocks in at 8.5% ABV, making it much stronger than your average daytime drinker, but it is a tasty one, and perfect for dusk and sunsets.

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Thor's Sunstone

Odin Brewing Company out in Washington state have a perfect track record with me so far, their latest offering that i've been luck enough to sample being Thor's Sunstone, an abbey Belgian-style tripel.  This tasty beer pours a dark and golden amber with a medium and quickly dissipating head.  A good mix of yeast and fruity aromas give way to an almost earthy flavor, possibly from the spelt (a kind of wheat) the beer is brewed with.  And it finishes with just a subtle hint of bananas.  As far as tripels go, the Sunstone is a little more bitter than i would have expected, but pretty damn tasty all the same.  I would recommend this as a pretty dinner beer.

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