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I thought since I missed the opportunity to submit a review for International Beer Month, I would review a beer created by an international brewer that has been known to collaborate with craft brewers. The beer in question is actually created by three breweries: Stone Brewing Co., Alesmith Brewing, and Mikkeller Brewing and it is called Belgian Style Triple Ale.

Eddie, in his article The New Breed, mentioned a new generation of European brewers that are becoming famous internationally. Mikkeller Brewing, which is the combination of the names of the creators Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller, is one of these new brewing companies that are putting a stamp on the craft beer market in Europe. They are an inspiration to all homebrewers that you can start out brewing small and make a name for yourself. Although it would help that your partner not take a job as an editor for a music magazine, which Kristian has done and pretty much left Mikkel alone to keep up the business.

The beer pours into the glass a cloudy golden color with an overpowering hop aroma emanating from within. Along with the strong hop aroma is a subdued clove-like aroma and a bit of astringency associated into the mix. The astringency is also present when tasting, but it doesn’t ruin the flavor of this beer. That is because as the beer flows pass the tongue, there is a sweetness that equalizes the overall taste of this fine brew. If I had to guess what the alcohol content was of this beer and what it actually was, I would have been pretty close. This bad boy registers as an 8.7% alcohol by volume (ABV), which is normal for this type of beer because a Tripel uses three times the amount of malt then a regular Belgian Ale.

I do not have that much experience tasting this type of beer, so my perception of what a normal Tripel should taste like is skewed. I will however give my professional opinion. It is a good tasting beer, but if I had to change one thing it would be a decrease in the amount of hops used. It is a little too overpowering and I would have liked to experience a balance of hops, malt flavor/aroma, and characteristics associated with Belgian yeast fermentation.

Prosit

Reviewed by Franz Mueller on March 8, 2009.

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