This lil’ pepperpot of a bottle was calling to me from the shelves of Whole Foods in San Francisco, a store that has somehow become a beer mecca and then some. What a selection! This beer from BROUWERIJ VAN STEENBURGE N.V. in Belgium is the first example of a “Tripel” I’ve ever had, and based on the evidence, I sure hope there are many, many better Tripels waiting down the great beer highway for me to try. This was an almost sickly-sweet malty drink, full of flavors that just didn’t do a whole lot to excite & which just lingered on the tongue in a nearly foul way. My glass – a true Belgian beer glass, purchased that very day! – had a bunch of ungodly sediment at the bottom which made me pour the beer out with 3-4 swigs left to go. Never a good sign, and after being totally underwhelmed with the flavor, seeing that just made me knock off a point for style alone. 3/10 – Try to avoid this one and have a friggin’ Moosehead instead.
Friday, May 05, 2006
REVIEW: AUGUSTIJN ALE
This lil’ pepperpot of a bottle was calling to me from the shelves of Whole Foods in San Francisco, a store that has somehow become a beer mecca and then some. What a selection! This beer from BROUWERIJ VAN STEENBURGE N.V. in Belgium is the first example of a “Tripel” I’ve ever had, and based on the evidence, I sure hope there are many, many better Tripels waiting down the great beer highway for me to try. This was an almost sickly-sweet malty drink, full of flavors that just didn’t do a whole lot to excite & which just lingered on the tongue in a nearly foul way. My glass – a true Belgian beer glass, purchased that very day! – had a bunch of ungodly sediment at the bottom which made me pour the beer out with 3-4 swigs left to go. Never a good sign, and after being totally underwhelmed with the flavor, seeing that just made me knock off a point for style alone. 3/10 – Try to avoid this one and have a friggin’ Moosehead instead.
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4 comments:
Why don't you stick with the classic trappist beers if you wanna try a great tripel: Westmalle, Chimay, Achel... The sediment is chunks of yeast, which is perfectly normal for these beers that referment in the bottle. You're supposed to leave the last bit of beer in the bottle so you don't get the sediment in your glass and drink it, and possibly spend all of the next day sitting on the can...
Tom, you can tell I'm pretty new to the Belgian beer game if I didn't know that perfectly reasonable explanation for the sediment. Still didn't like this beer in any case, but appreciate the explanation.
we export all the bad stuff to the States and keep the good beer for ourselves ;-)
I actually really enjoyed this Belgian beer. It is actually so far one of my favorite tripels because it had a slight hoppy smell to it when it was first poured.
The sediment is normal, in fact pour all but the last little bit of the beer to avoid the sediment.
Finally, maybe you just don't like Belgian beer. It's not for everyone.
You can read more about my thoughts on this beer in my review:
http://beer47.com/2009/04/van-steenberge-augustijn-ale-review/
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