I've always wanted that glass, and now I have it. Anyways, I popped the cork on this Belgian Tripel and poured. I was nervous about the green bottle, and sadly my fears were true. Skunky smell. Unfortunately, I know a skunky beer when I smell one and it overpowered the fragrance of the ale. As a result of this, I let the bottle and the amount I poured in my glass air out in hopes that some of the skunky smell would go away. Again, sadly, I was disappointed and it remained. Oh well, there are other fragrances on the nose besides the funk. There is still a sweetness on the nose. Extreme fruitiness with some pear, granny-smith apples, and even some banana. Sweet malts mix with the fruit to make a pretty decent smell through the skunk already mentioned. The beer pours a light golden color with a snow-white head that remains on top of the beer for quite some time.
Upon tasting the beer, I still get skunky. This is highly disappointing because I really want to like this beer. I know for a fact it also comes in smaller brown bottles, so I will explore those at a different time. However, I also get a really sweet, almost sour (delicious) flavor out of it. It is almost like biting into a sour apple in my opinion. Of course, a sour apple with sweet malts and alcohol. For a beer that ranks in at 8.4% ABV, I am somewhat excited about handling this 750 mL bottle by myself after a long morning at work. The aftertaste is actually quite pleasant, as the only flavor that remains in my mouth are the fruity flavors.
Sadly, I will not buy this in the big green bottle again. I will, however, buy this beer if I find it in a brown bottle. I feel a lot of the awesomeness in this beer has been left behind as skunkiness prevailed. Belgium very, very, rarely lets me down and I do not think this is actual flavor of this ale. I will buy a brown bottle and update this whenever it comes to fruition. Until then, I will try to forget this experience with the green bottle. Tripel Karmeliet, I will give you another shot. I promise.
