Totally took a chance on this one. I have never heard of Braskpear and I have always been a little unsure as to what a Triple is. Or is it Trippel? I'm sure any experienced beer enthusiast could scoff at my ignorance with such beers but I'd like to highlight that as my advantage for reviewing them. I really don't know a lot about them and each new one I try will further educate me without any immediate cynicism. My naivete and my open-mindedness forge to make me thirsty for more exotic beers! So here I am at the LCBO, mind wide open and the price ($3.35), the "Triple", and the alcohol level all catch my eye at once. So I do need to point out that, yes, this beer is 7.2% alcohol. So, yeah, you can get fairly drunk off the stuff but really I am just focusing on this aspect because it affects the taste of the beer. I swear.
The Triple tag, according to the Braskpear website , is because of a triple fermenting and triple hopping process. I could be wrong but I'm guessing from what I've read on the Wikipedia page about Tripel and the Westmalle Tripel website that Brakspear have produced their own version of a Tripel with this beer. I'm assuming since this is not a Trappist beer (i.e. made by monks in Belgium) so they probably can't call it a Trippel. Instead, calling it Triple. Or maybe I am just overanalyzing this and the simple answer is that Brakspear is an English brewery (Oxfordshire!!! It doesn't get more British than that!) and Triple is the English word. (Duh!)
Either way, from reading the blurbs here, I assume this beer will taste similar to Belgian Trappist beers I've had in the past (notably, the delicious-yet-slightly-overwhelming Chimay beers). I also think that if I enjoy this beer I will need to track down a bottle of Westmalle Trappist Tripel for comparison (and joy).
I pour the bottle into my Chimay glass (go figure) and notice that it's very dark and brown but reminds me more of a dark red beer than a stout or porter. Since it is an English Ale, I'm not entirely surprised by the flavour. It's definitely smooth and tasty but it reminds me of most English Ales that I've had in the past (St. Peters, Boddingtons, etc). The main difference is a tasty malty flavour like a subtle caramel finish. Even though it's 7% alcohol, I don't really find the alcohol that prominent amongst the flavours. Whereas with an Innis & Gunn at times the higher alcohol content can be far from subtle, this is much classier and not all about that.
I am definitely enjoying this beer even if it's not my usual fare of hoppy IPA. After eating some Triscuits and taking another sip, it definitely brings out more of the carbonation but the flavour doesn't change much. This is a fairly clean and smooth beer. The flavour is rich but subtle and balanced - as it is stated on the bottle. Man, these breweries really know what they are doing and talking about simultaneously. It's a beautiful thing. There are no rhetorical curtains here, this is basically what you'd expect from reading the description.
The only criticism I would have is that I went in expecting something more of a Belgian-style knock off but really it's just a malty English Ale. I still enjoy it though so I'm going to give it a thumbs up.
75% : Malty English Ale. Don't dive in expecting a Belgian Trappist-style rip-off. Instead sip back an English Ale that has a more rich caramel-like flavour while still being a very crisp and smooth Ale.
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