Tripel Horse Belgian-style Ale

River Horse Brewery, Lambertville, NJ
10 percent alcohol by volume
Sampled: July 22, 2006

In a pass through Pace High Carryout, I often grab a random bottle of high octane microbrew. As a sucker for Belgian beers with multiple fermentations, Tripel Horse (not to be confused with Genesee product 12 Horse in any way, taste or form) an easy bargain.
What River Horse presents here is a pretty, yet standard, Belgian triple-style. It does nothing to embarrass the style, but really doesn't take any steps beyond what's come before. It kicks in with an estery nose that releases some ripe red fruit tones. Having undergone two fermentations prior to its brewers adding yeast to the bottle for one final round of conditioning, this ale is noticeably sediment-free. the bottle does not indicate whether the brewery filtered Tripel Horse, but if it kept with a strict Belgian style, it wouldn't even consider doing that.
Head is minimal, and the red fruit taste doesn't let up, even in the malty finish. The label advertises a vanilla flavor that no amount of searching uncovered, which is too bad, because the estery nose left me expecting it. But the dry red fruits do make for an almost compelling beer; I'd like to let one of these sit for a year and check for a difference.

Going on what I have, I've known Tripel-style microbrew ales done much better.
Find me some vanilla in the next tasting, and we'll talk.
Rating: 4.5/10