Dulle Teve: 7.0 – The nutty and banana flavors are great here. This reminds you of what tripels should be, in terms of being filling, delicious, sweet but nutty, and not just a slightly odder pale as some have done of late. Well done.
Price Average: $6
Website: http://www.dedollebrouwers.be/
Birra Trappista Italiana Tripel: 6.5 – When one hears Tripel one often thinks of one place – Belgium. However sometimes the hooves are actually zebra’s as this comes from Italy. It’s a bit sweet, but the wealth of spice, malt, and flavor isn’t ruined, but accentuated by a lack of any bitterness. It has a nice creamy oakyness to it as well, and is rather pleasant to drink.
Price Average: $10
Website: http://www.abbaziatrefontane.it/
Cinq Cent: 6.0 – It has got a copper kind of taste. There’s a nice malt and overall the flavour is okay but now worth the traditional hype of Trappist ales. The other problem is the amount of head. This was one of the few times a cork given a mere second or two of negligence decided to pop off on its own.
Price Average: $12
Website: http://chimay.com/us/
Chimay Trappistes Tripel: 3.0 – The closest way to describe this is imagine if a tripel attacked you. It’s got the taste of a tripel, but it’s very sharp and upfront about said taste, is not smooth to drink and the taste itself isn’t super delicious regardless. Maybe there’s a reason for not Chimay
Price Average: $11
Website: http://chimay.com/us/
Le Freak Ale: 2.0 – It’s a combo of a Belgian Tripel and an American Imperial IPA (AIIPA?). Which is actually a good description of this beer. It’s got a strong taste, and I’m sure if you liked it would find this amazing. However I can attest that in my small sample size of a few people (damn you p values!) it’s unliekly you will enjoy this beer. It’s hoppy in all the wrong places, has gravity in all the wrong places – it’s a bastardized combo that shouldn’t exist.
Price Average: Le Freak Ale $9
Website: http://www.greenflashbrew.com/
Tripel Threat: 7.5 – That is actually really delicious. It’s not complex but it is very well balanced for a tripel. That may not seem like high enough praise, but tripels can sometimes get lost into a flavor or aspect that they lose sight of the beer.
Price Average: Name $7
Merry Monks: 6.0 – There is a nice sweetness to the tripel, and it makes a good Christmas beer (actually enjoyed this whilst setting up decorations). Aside from the pleasant sweet taste though it doesn’t do much to distinguish itself.
Google Shop Average: Merry Monks $9
Website: http://weyerbacher.com/
Ommegang Tripel Perfection: 7.0 – It’s not perfect despite the naming, and for some reason I’m slightly perturbed that it’s not 3 arrows on the target instead of 2. Anyway the beer itself is a fantastic golden tripel and well worth the buy.
Google Shop Average: Ommegang Tripel Perfection $15
Website: http://www.ommegang.com/
Maredsous Abbey Ale: 5.5 – A very interesting tasting Belgium beer with a nice taste, but not one I’m that much of a fan of.
Google Shop Average: Maredsous Abbey Ale $12
Website: http://www.maredsousbieres.be/
Straffe Hendrick Trippel: 6.5 – Here we have another Straffe Hendrik beer, this time the trippel instead of the quad. Overall I think they did a better job with the quad as this while still a good trippel, is only moderately above average.
Google Shop Average: Straffe Hendrick Trippel $12
Website: http://www.halvemaan.be/