Houston, we have a problem. Well, at least I hope it was a problem and it wasn't the beer itself.
After perusing the shelves at my local liquor store (Murray's in Newton Center, great selection of beer and wine), picking up a complementary beer glass (customer appreciation and who doesn't love free stuff), and discussing our website with the owner, I choose the Affligem Tripel. I had high hopes, as I'm a huge fan of the Belgian beers and especially love those that have directions on how to poor, and at what temperature to serve, on the bottle.
When I popped open the top (cork), I was hit with some excess head flowing out of the bottle, which is not a good sign. It did however, smell mostly of wheat with a hint of orange and a wee bit of spices, which is exactly what I was expecting. When poured into my glass, I was hit with a very healthy head (which I'm to believe isn't par for the course for this brew), too much really, but immediately noticed it's light amber color and got that tingle of excitement in my belly.
The first sip was almost medicinal in flavor though, almost like a cough syrup. Not necessarily tasting like cough syrup, but feeling like it. It was pretty flavorful with the wheat being the dominant taste, but I think I got a bad bottle to be honest. Something just didn't feel quite right about it.
The 9.5%abv, did make up for that though. I'm only going to give this beer a 2.5, but I'm reserving the right to come back and re-review it at a later date. I'd like to buy another bottle eventually and compare the two. If it was half decent when not quite right, I'm hoping for something much better when all systems are a go.
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