I just got back from some fantastic shopping at Beers of the World. I was planning to just pick up another case of Mendocino White, which I can't get enough of, but I did much better than that. I picked up Stone's new 8.08.08 and bitter chocholate oatmeal stout. I got the Ten Fiddy from Oskar Blues. I got new beers from Victory and Flying Dog. I got a fantastic deal on a Unibroue variety pack (seriously, about 50% off) that includes one style I haven't tried. And when I was strolling through one of the Belgian aisles, I picked up a bottle I hadn't tried before just because it was on sale, and that's what I'll review tonight. The beer is Kasteel Bier Gouden-Tripel-d'Or, which is apparently also known as Kasteelbier Donker (lol). I bought a 750 mL bottle on sale for $7.33. Sometimes when things go on sale, you're not sure if you're getting a good deal or not. We'll have to find out with this one. Since it had tripel in the name, I assumed that was the style, and the ABV would be around 9%. I didn't realize what I was getting myself in for. It's actually 11% ABV.
On pouring, it's pretty clear that this is not exactly a traditional tripel because, well, it's pretty clear. It's a light gold, but it doesn't have the cloudiness from yeast, and lacks any semblance of a persistent head.
From the smell, it's definitely not a tripel. I smell a strong grassy hopping and a light malt. The flavor is surprisingly smooth for a beer that's this strong and that smelled rather hoppy. It's not too sweet, and it's not too bitter. I might guess this was a high ABV beer from the lack of head, but I wouldn't know it from the flavor, certainly not 11%. It's not a particularly bold, flavorful beer, but what it lacks in boldness it makes up somewhat in drinkability. I prefer bold to smooth almost universally, but there's at least something to be said for smoothness, and it does have a lingering finish with some nice subtleness in it. And for a lowest common denominator comparison, this has almost the same alcohol content as a six pack of Budweiser, and it's definitely preferable for a not-too-much-higher price. I'll give this beer
. On sale, it's not a bad price. I would have been disappointed had I paid full price for this, but for $7.33, it's a subtle yet tasty beer that will get you as wasted as a sixer of Bud in a much more pleasurable way.