OK, so sorry for the lame ass picture of the label here to my left. My digital camera broke and I had to "borrow" a label from the brewery website and this is what it ended up looking like. As soon as I get another camera I'll take a proper picture and replace this one.
Anyways! My wife was able to pick this beer up for me on her trip to Arkansas as well. This one has an interesting story behind it though, well at least it's interesting too me. I knew my wife was going on this trip to Arkansas so I asked around on beeradvocate.com about good beer stores in the area she would be visiting. I got a reply that suggested I send her to Timberlane Wine and Spirits. Great, so that's cool, I now know where to send her, but, the beer nerd in me needed more info! Of course, I had to call and find out what beers they may carry that I can't get here in Louisiana. I couldn't possibly send my wife, who doesn't drink at all, into a beer store without a list. Now to be fair to my wife, she has a good memory and would have remembered some of the over 300 beers I have tried and currently keep the bottles to but most likely she would have picked my beer by how cool the labels look. This could be a good thing or a really bad thing. So, as I'm talking to the owner, Chris, I happen to mention I too, work in a wine store here in Louisiana. The first thing he says when he finds this out is, "If you can you get me some Abita Strawberry I'll trade you!". Now, Abita Strawberry is a hot selling beer here in South Louisiana and you're lucky to see it in stores for more than one month but this was about 2-3 months after it's release. But, I'm not one to turn down an offer like this so I told him I'd do the best that I could. Ironically, I had just taken my last 6 pack(of which my beautiful, loving wife dropped 2)to a little shin dig thrown by some friends, so I was out. I called around to all the stores in the area and everyone was out. Did I give up? Hell no! I'm The Beerbuddha and Beerbuddha's never say die! Or is that Goonies never say die? Anyways, I made some calls to my peoples and my boy Riki came through for me finding a buddy of his who bought something like 3 cases of it and gave him a six pack. Sweet! So, my New Belgium Trippel comes to me via trade for some Abita Strawberry! I think I'm the winner in this trade and I hope I didn't bore you! On to the review!
Beer: Trippel Belgian Style Ale
Style: Tripel
ABV: 7.8%
Recommended Glassware: Snifter or Goblet
Serving Type: Chalice
Appearance- This beer poured a nice golden color with a huge 2 inch frothy head. The amount of bubbles was crazy. Like a champagne. Lacing was amazing and made nice little rings on my glass as I drank the beer.
Smell- Incredibly aromatic with wonderful smells of bananas and other fruits such as grapefruit and apple.
Taste- WOW. Nice malty sweetness up front with a nice hoppy bitterness in the finish. HUGE apple tastes were coming out of this beer. Also was able to detect hints of bananas(as in the nose). The 7.8% alcohol made this beer warming as well but was nicely hidden.
Mouthfeel- Has a nice medium body with a medium high carbonation. Very crisp and refreshing beer.
Overall- 4 out of 5 Buddhas. An incredible beer. Maybe not the best trippel I have ever had but ranks at the top. Once again here is the part where I say- Wish we could get this Louisiana. Hey New Belgium, if you're reading this please start distributing in our state!!
