Gouyasse Triple

 This Christmas, I was more-or-less volunteered by my wife to provide her dad (my father-in-law, duh) a mixed case of 12oz beers that he would like. He digs American Pale Ales, so that's not too hard, is it? Well, only in that many places in San Diego don't dig it when you break up a six-pack. But Holiday Wine Cellars sells 12oz singles, so I made the quick trip north to Escondido. While grabbing a bunch of rather routine APAs, some Belgian beers caught my eye too -- including this one, which I had never seen before. 

Although the label doesn't scream "traditional Belgian!" to me (it looks almost as if the giant on the label has a mother-f*cker of a headache, to be honest!), and the beer itself doesn't look very much like a Tripel (e.g. where's the huge mound of foam?)...., it does have some very traditional Tripel-ish aspects to the flavor profile. Malty sweet in the front, with some nice clean elements in the middle, and a satisfyingly dry backend and finish. Very covert with the 9%ABV alcohol, it seems to me. 

At $3.29 for a 33cL, this isn't the cheapest/most cost-efficient Tripel you're going to run across. But for what it's worth, this had quite a bit of bang for the buck. I'd prefer to get this again from a full-on 750mL, in order to really see what this beer has to offer over the long(er) haul. But for now? This 330mL has me reasonably impressed. I dig it.

//TB