US Vs Belgium...Battle Tripel

In this heavyweight matchup between the reigning world champ Belgium and the spunky underdog US it's BATTLE TRIPEL. 

The contestants?

Fighting with the Belgian flag on its shoulders it's Brouwerij Bosteels with their Tripel Karmeliet!

Fighting for the red, white, and blue it's Tradewinds Tripel from The Bruery!

The US is in the far left corner while the Belgians occupy the spot right next to them.

To be fair the US has a bit of a handicap with Bosteels being in existence for WELL over 200 years.

The Bruery clocks in at somewhere around well, a LOT less than that. 

The US is playing dirty and messing with tradition since their Tripel is not totally to style. They have replaced the candi sugar used by the Belgians with rice. They also have a healthy dose of Thai basil thrown in the mix.

Belgium uses the classic yeast as well as their proprietary mix of the 3 grains wheat, oats, and barley. Tripel having dual meanings in this case with 3 grains and an ABV of 8.4 which is near the classic Westmalle Tripel that started it all.

The US came out swinging with a sweet and a bit spicy aroma of Thai basil. First sip? CRISP. Lots of carbonation and a tad sweeter than any Belgian style beer I've ever had. I didn't really taste the basil much just a mild spiciness but ouch that alcohol kicks in. This was just an ok tripel. The body was thin for me and The Bruery actually writes on their site that they used the rice to lighten the body. Overall it was just ok.

Next up is Belgium. On the nose there is a distinct vanilla sweetness but not too overpowering. Very clean, very nice. First sip? This blows the US out of the water. Not as sweet, a nice thick body from the grains, a little citrus, and not too much carbonation. This is smooth. A classic it is. The US had no chance.

Rock Art Golden Trippel Guest Review

 Two milestones for this post, one old, one new.

1)I actually have posted OVER 100 times and totally didn't even notice it. Yay me.

2)This will be the first guest review I have been lucky enough to have here. My East Coast Beer Cohort JD will be reviewing for today. We've done some beer brainstorms before but I am honored to have him review from that OTHER coast.

So, without further ado.
Well, my vacation is over.  It was an awesome week off, and I’m going to start working on a way that I can do it more (e.g. winning the lottery).  If anyone out there would like to fund me sitting on my butt all day and drinking beer, please contact me ASAP. 
Before I go on,  I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Tyler for hosting my review tonight.  He and I have next done the guest review thing, but we have done two beer brainstorms: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout and Avery IPA.  Thanks Tyler!


I’m anti-celebrating going back to work with a bottle of Rock Art Golden Trippel.  Right from square one I can tell that this beer is an odd one.  I failed to get a bead on what was in the aroma (smelled slightly sour), so I fell back on reading the label.  GINGER!  This is clearly nothing like any other trippel I’ve ever had.
The beer is golden in color, as advertised.  The head was minimal, but hearty and fluffy: it doesn’t fade quickly at all.

Taking my first sip…YUP!  That’s ginger alright.  I’m not a huge fan of ginger.  Rock Art gets points for originality though.  Seems like there is something else in the flavor – maybe citrus.  The beer is complex for sure.  There are multiple flavors going on here, and I don’t think I can identify them.
The brew is 100% on the sweet side.  No hints of bitter at all.  It checks-in at 8% ABV, but the booze is pretty well hidden by the sweetness.

At the end of the day, I have to give props for uniqueness.  I’m not sure I can get by the ginger flavors though…it’s just not my bag baby.

Josh (A.K.A “Lost”) started his blog Lost in the Beer Aisle in the spring of 2009.  The goal of the blog is to write about beer in an unintimidating way, opening the world of craft beer up to everyone.  When Josh isn’t working or drinking beer he can be found on the golf course, or at home reading about World War 2 history.