The Bruery's Trade Winds Tripel

I had The Bruery's Trade Winds Tripel last Friday evening. Mike, the "Beer Guy" at The Olive Tree Market, had reserved this beer for me. I had tried it before and knew it tasted excellent, but I wanted to try it again to attempt to detect is many ingredients, including rice and basil. The beer poured a soft orange with huge, white foam that was slow to dissipate. It took several minutes to fill my chalice due to the beer's carbonation.

This is a delicious, complex, yet drinkable beer. It's clearly a Belgian-style due to its yeast, which is a detectable in the flavor. I'll admit that I could not taste the basil or the rice, although I am not sure the rice was supposed to be tasted. It was a spicy beer that when combined with the high level of carbonation produced a beer that needed to be sipped. I caught a whiff of banana, but did not taste it in the beer. The beer had strong yeast, spice and carbonation.

Trade Winds is The Bruery's summer seasonal, although its rich flavor can enhance a meal or evening in any season. I have not seen it in my usual beer haunts for the past several weeks so I am guessing the this year's stock has been sold out. After finishing Trade Winds it had me thinking of summer and the next release.