Beer – #132 – Tuatara – Belgian Tripel

Tuatara Belgian Tripel Brewed by Tuatara Brewing Company in the style of a : Belgian Strong Ale and that’s all done in Paraparaumu, New Zealand.

8.5%ABV (4.65 Standard drinks) contained in a 650ml bottle.

Develop an active interest in Belgium’s monastic Trappist brews and it’ll quickly become obvious that the Low Countries weren’t named after the alcohol content of their favourite beers. Tuatara Tripel is is brewed in that same intense style, rich on the nose with esters and hop aromas balanced to perfection. It’s possessed of a sustained and lively body that instantly fills the mouth with flavour. Meanwhile a smooth aftertaste ensures the kind of drinkability that by rights no 8.5% alc/vol beer ought to possess.

This wasn’t my first choice tonight, but if you buy beer at lunch time and leave it to get warm then what can you do, except stop and buy another beer from the cold room.

Expectations are of golden/chestnut , malty sweet, and alcohol present but not making a big deal about it.

Ok it pours golden syrup golden, it fizzes like an alka-seltzer, but delivers no head, and now appears to look very flat. Slightly bittery yeasty aroma.

And then heaven on the tongue! All the malty sweetness floods you with a tearful hug. There’s plenty of length in this too the lingering taste on the lips and back of throat. They’re fairly docile tastes though, and I didn’t get the same enjoyment second or third mouthful. Bit disappointing, I do still get the back burn of something though.

For me there isn’t enough sweet malt taste, the alcohol is masked but bobs it’s noise in a bit, it might be just over carbonated, and it still looks like a flat beer poured a day ago.

Taking stock though, as you must. This isn’t bad. It stands on it’s own merits and is doing what it says on the label. There isn’t much indication that this is an 8.5% beer, and that you should be paying more attention to that.

Overall the pdubyah-o-meter things that 8 on its arbitrary scale means that this is accomplished, and well mannered, unlikely to disappoint, and also unlikely to make it to the top table. I like it a lot more than I thought I would, you know the bar is high when it comes to trying to make a standard your own thing. Fair play and well done.