Flat Earth Bermuda Triangle Tripel

Ah yes. I've definitely been too busy this fall. You know how it works: wife is off working when I'm at home, 2 young kids (enough said), family and friends' birthday events (I think I know of at least 7 in October), beer tastings, the birth of a new nephew, a 4 day fishing trip to Canada...

I feel as though I've fallen behind on my blogging, so I forced myself to squeeze in a beer session after work and before my wife had to leave for the evening. I decided to pull a bomber out of the fridge that I had been saving for a session since I purchased it in the late summer/early fall. Time for me to sit down with Flat Earth Bermuda Triangle Tripel.

The style of this brew is obviously Belgian tripel. I mean, it says tripel on the bottle, so that's what it should be, right? I guess one should never assume in the crazy world of beer names. OK, I did the "official" check, and it is most certainly a tripel. Whew, what a relief! The label looks pretty cool with a shipwreck, what looks like a flying saucer, and the floating "Flat Earth barrel guy" all sticking out of the ocean's surface. It's nice and strong with a big 9.1% ABV.

I pour from the 22 ounce bomber into my snifter glass. A 1/4" white head shows up only briefly, as it disappears almost the instant I stop pouring. The clear liquid is golden orange in color, bordering on copper. Thanks to the clarity of the beer, there is much visible carbonation racing to the surface.

The smell of light brown sugar is present, along with a bit of bubble gum. There is also a slightly grassy waft with just a touch of spice on its back.

Taste-wise, I'm getting a floral honey character that leads into some caramelized sugar sweetness. Then, a light dried fruit similar to Sunmaid apricots comes in just before an earthy and spicy cleansing bitterness at the finish.

The liquid's medium viscosity briefly coats my mouth before some prickly bubbles and a dry finish strip it away. There is no lacing at all on my glass, which is not surprising since the head vanished so quickly.

I LIKE IT! This is a very enjoyable tripel. It has loads of taste complexity and alcoholic strength while remaining surprising drinkable. The way the sweet flavors hang for a moment before being erased by the crisp finish only encourages me to sip some more. I found it is very hard to detect the alcohol in this brew, so be careful with it! I highly recommend giving this a try if you have access to it.