River Horse Tripel Horse
Thanks for the surprise bottle, zrrbrrt! Never had this before but I've enjoyed the Hop Hazard on draft in Philly a few years back. Brilliant clear beer with no sediment, small firm foam head, modestly active carbonation escaping in the form of a constant flow of small bubbles. This is a good looking, inviting beer. The nose features lots of malts, and an estery Belgian style pez-candy yeast, although much more restrained than, say, St. Bernardus. Some alcohol but it smells tamed. Very refined and well balanced. Refreshing, with pilsner qualities much like Duval. Subtle flavors that melt together in perfect harmony. Delicate noble bitterness that's quite enjoyable. Far from bold. This is one of the finer American versions of the style. It could compete with many Belgian versions as well, but I think it would be beaten in the personality department. Very diffucult to fathom this weighing 10% abv--where is the alcohol? Featuring subtle bananas and mild acetaldehyde. A tiny bit isovaleric. Not taking off any points because all the flavors melt, none are offensive, and there's alot of alcohol which is probably helping to tame everything. Gentle but confident carbonation makes for a great mouthfeel. Not too sweet, sticky, or syrupy, common complaints of mine for this style. A winner! Careful, because the drinkablity is way too high for the abv. My only complaints are that it's not exactly authentic and has a definate US vibe (screw tradition, US brewers should make beers with US style...but they call it a triple so they asked for it!!!). Cheers to River Horse!