Stoudt's Triple (Belgian Abbey-Style Ale)
A - The beer poured a nice deep golden color with a large white head. There was a lot of sediment in the bottle, much more then other triples I have had. The beer was hazy, but very pleasing looking. The head lasted until the end and left some nice lace on the glass. S - The beer had a nice big smell. As with all triples and strong ales, they look deceptively light but the smell gave this away as a more complex beer. I noticed a slight alcohol smell, which at 9% or so was expected but it was a little strong. T - When the beer first hit my mouth I thought it had a good taste, although less exciting than I was anticipating. Many Belgian beers, especially the high gravity ones, are very complex but I felt this rang a little shallow. It was not as estery as I was anticipating although there was a little banana in there. Unfortunately, the esters that I was expecting seem to have been replaced with higher alcohols. It finished with a strong astringent flavor that left my mouth puckered. I had hoped I was just not ready for such a high gravity beer on my first sip, but the...to put it mildly...after sip twang remained throughout. M - The mouthfeel as acceptable, there was a decent amount of carbonation although I think it could have used a little more. I would say it was to style but nothing to knock my socks off. D - This is where I gave the beer it's lowest score. The scores just kept getting lower as I went down the list and unfortunately, this ended the lowest. Although the beer looks and smells good the taste left something to be desired and when it really comes down to it, enjoying a beer is about taste and Stoudt's falls short on this one. Overall, I have to say I am disappointed in this beer. If I had just picked it up from the store on a whim I would been only mildly disappointed, but I expected more from Stoudt's. I have really enjoyed some of their other beer's and this one just fell flat for me. I don't know if the recipe needs to be changed, but I think the fermentation process could be improved and they can make a much better Belgian Triple.