Augustijn Ale
Source/Serving: 11.2 oz bottle (aged 1-2 years) S: Honey coated pears and apricots. Moderate blood orange and caramelized sugar. Flowers with white petals and interesting spicy hops soften the edges. Light white pepper. Pleasant alcohol esters arrive as it warms. T: Slightly sweet apricot honey up front with more body that I anticipated, almost creamy. Floral hops saunter in over just a whiff of pepper in the middle. Tons of honeyed, candied apricot/blood orange fruitiness with a ton of nice complexity (lemon oil, passion fruit, mango) going on. Only moderately dry and only a touch bitter, but somehow even with all that fruitiness its semi-sweet at most and is more balanced that you might expect from the flavor description. Finish slightly dries out with a touch of pleasant alcohol added to the floral melange. Lingering green-skinned fruitiness and amped up floral hop flavor that remains smooth and mysterious. Notes: A really luxurious, decadent tripel that regales you with its story and isn't afraid of over indulging. However, not the most complex or dynamic.