Type: Golden Ale
Color: Darker golden yellow
Alcohol content: 8,7%
Recommended serving temperature: 10ºC/50ºF
Brewery: Palm Brouwerijs
Webpage: http://www.palm.be/en/brugge.php
This beer was one of my most pleasant surprises among Belgian beers.
I did not, however, try it for the first time in Brugge, or even in Belgium.
I first tasted this beer in one of my favorite temples of beer in Amsterdam, the Gollem (Gollem 1 in Raamsteeg, which is now temporarily closed -a cause of tremendous grief were it not for their proeflokaal in Overtoom 160-162 is still open). This itself is a tremendous exploit, as this beer is quite rare and hard to find outside of Brugge, specialist beer shops, and a handful of fantastic and well-stocked bars and pubs.
Whether that is a deliberate marketing strategy relating to to the brand identity imprinted by Palm Brouwerijs (with words like Sophisticated, grand, or proud, and aimed at conoisseurs), I do not know. I have nonetheless ever since made it a personal obligation to stop by the supermarket on each one of my trips to Belgium, just to stock up, and, when possible, bring some back with me.
But enough of my habits and more on the beer.
The first thing that separates Brugge Tripel from most of the other Belgian beers, is its glass. With its vase-like shape, it's a glass more common in German Weizenbiers, than in high graduation Belgian beers, just a little smaller. It is probably this shape that gives it such a hefty head of foam, also more typical of Weizenbiers.
If I wanted to push the comparison with Weizenbiers a little further, I could also say that it lets itself drink just as easily, that is, it is very smooth in passing. But that would be about it.
The beer has a bit of a sweet feel to it (without being overly so), which makes it very easy to drink (even by those who do not really love beer), and a round spicy-herby flavor which, I can honestly say, I have never encountered in any of the other beers from Brugge I have tasted. If it is, as their webpage assures us, consequence of the traditional blend of spices the brewers of the city were obliged to use way back when, the other brewers must have changed blends in the course of history, or the people from Brugge Tripel must be unrivaled in their mastery.
The truth is, this beer is very hard to match.
It is dense, soft on the throat and with an impressive amount of heavy fragrant foam, like a Weizenbier. But its heavy fragrant foam and bubbles have a champagny texture and a slightly acid taste, which, together with its tripel fermentation and the 8,7ABV (in bottle, 8,5 from the tab), give it an unmistakably Belgian quality... and you an unmistakably Belgian buzz.
My personal recommendation: Order it without a second thought if you ever come across it in a bar. It may be one of your few chances.
Comments
Post a Comment