studentofbeer
05-15-2004, 06:51 PM
Today I pulled from the fridge one of New Holland's specialty brews, the Black Tulip Trippel.
I poured the beer into my Unibroue tulip glass, which usually builds up a big head on the beer. This brew however didn't show much sign of a head until the pour was finished, giving a nice looking two-fingers that quickly fell to nothing.
The aroma had some funky Belgian yeast notes combined with strong orange/citrus/lime. Even with some good swirling the scent failed to come on strong. The look showed a slightly hazy orange/yellow color with a few bubbles making their way to the top.
The first taste showed off a beer with medium body and carbonation demonstrating a powerful lime sweetness with a bit of green grape and floral character that turned slightly sour on the sides of my tongue. The finish was like a green vegetable—starchy sweetness with sour overtones. A bit of rough bitterness from the hops, combined with a spicy alcohol character that picked up as the beer warmed left a flinty aftertaste that coated the mouth with lingering sourness. The initial taste is rather crisp, but it finishes a bit flabby.
Overall a pretty nice tasting beer that's easy to drink, but nothing overwhelming. As a trippel it's not really in the league of its Belgian progenitors, but as an American pretender it's got some of the elements. The beer lacks some of the yeast flavors and spices I expect from a trippel, being more one-dimensional with its sweet/sour lime taste, and has a bit too full of a mouthfeel for the style in my opinion.
The beer might match up well with pad thai, as the lime flavor dominates and it has some sweet/sour flavors to pick up from the dish.
I poured the beer into my Unibroue tulip glass, which usually builds up a big head on the beer. This brew however didn't show much sign of a head until the pour was finished, giving a nice looking two-fingers that quickly fell to nothing.
The aroma had some funky Belgian yeast notes combined with strong orange/citrus/lime. Even with some good swirling the scent failed to come on strong. The look showed a slightly hazy orange/yellow color with a few bubbles making their way to the top.
The first taste showed off a beer with medium body and carbonation demonstrating a powerful lime sweetness with a bit of green grape and floral character that turned slightly sour on the sides of my tongue. The finish was like a green vegetable—starchy sweetness with sour overtones. A bit of rough bitterness from the hops, combined with a spicy alcohol character that picked up as the beer warmed left a flinty aftertaste that coated the mouth with lingering sourness. The initial taste is rather crisp, but it finishes a bit flabby.
Overall a pretty nice tasting beer that's easy to drink, but nothing overwhelming. As a trippel it's not really in the league of its Belgian progenitors, but as an American pretender it's got some of the elements. The beer lacks some of the yeast flavors and spices I expect from a trippel, being more one-dimensional with its sweet/sour lime taste, and has a bit too full of a mouthfeel for the style in my opinion.
The beer might match up well with pad thai, as the lime flavor dominates and it has some sweet/sour flavors to pick up from the dish.