Ninth Meeting

We're convening for our ninth meeting at Tom and Derek's house in Golden Valley. This week, we're sampling Belgian Tripels. They were selected by Brother Tom, as it is the style of his favorite beer.

Our first beer tonight is Affligem Tripel. This is a gin-u-wine Belgian tripel that comes in at 9.5%. The smell seems a litle earthier than the tripels I'm used to, and it pours the standard tripel color, which is a cloudy hef-like color. Notes of citrus and Belgian candi sugar coat the tongue.

BPA: 3.41

The next beer is Unibroue La Fin du Monde, which is my personal favorite beer. It pours a slightly lighter color, and it smells floral and wonderful. It's very carbonated, citrusy, and candied. Joe: "This stuff is just a treat." Colin thinks this club is just about free-flowing discussion about beer, after we attacked Belfry for thinking the first one is better than this one. On to the ratings

BPA: 3.71

Third up is Big Sky Buckin Monk, brought to us (obviously) by Brother Derek. This one is a delicious 10.5% ABV. "There is some serious chunking in this one," and "It looks like my door being screw-drived" are such comments coming from the group. It's pretty chunky nums. It's tasty, and it gets hotter the longer it stays on the tongue. Pretty dang tasty. As soon as it warms up, it sucks, says Joe.

BPA: 2.61

Batting cleanup is Maredsous Tripel, which is another true Belgian. It's a darker pour than most of the other tripels. Everyone agrees it has a smooth, balanced taste. I've never had this before, and it's quite impressive. Brent's diggin' this a lot.

BPA: 3.43

Next up is Kasteel Tripel. Friar Belf brought this one to us. It smells just like the Maredsous and Unibroue beers. It tastes just like it smells. DELICIOUS! Once again, conversation is veering off the road. We're making grand plans of wearing Dri-Fit tuxedo shirts to ABR. Next!

BPA: 3.40

Our second to last pour is Bell's Sparkling Ale. A few of us first tasted this at the food and wine festival the last couple of years, and I remember it being delicious. Keep in mind this was after 5 hours of eating random cheeses and drinking skanky beers and wines. This one pours the color of lager. It's a very smooth taste, but you can taste the candi sugars at the end.

BPA: 3.63

Last up: Gouden Carolus Tripel. It smells a little bit more floral than the last few. It's a light, carbonated beer that's pretty delicious. This last segment has gotten off-topic, as we've shown Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule. I recommend it if you'd like to learn about foods.

BPA: 3.29

And we're done. That was a pretty tasty theme tonight, and it may have garnered some of the highest ratings. But that is for scientists to decide. Cat Scraps!