Triple Imperiale is a Belgian strong dark ale, one of my favorite styles.
It pours a nearly opaque dark brown with finger and a half thick off white head. The photo at left was taken after my first sip and after the head had gone down quite a bit.
The aroma is sweet, caramel, and malty. If I hadn't known it was a Belgian beer, I might not have picked it out by the aroma.
The flavor starts with a kind of barrel-aged woody note and a strong malty sweetness. There is a mild bitterness from the hops, but not an unpleasant one. I get some caramel in the middle, too. There's a bit of dark fruit, like a raisin, to it also. It's not as complex and flavorful as some Belgian ales, but still quite good.
I'm giving it an 8 out of 10. Beer Advocate rates it a 93 or "outstanding". Rate Beer gives it a 99 overall. They apparently liked it a bit more than I did, which is unusual for a Belgian ale.
According to Beer Menus, there are only a few places that offer this in bottles and they're all over 300 miles away from us. I had this particular glass at The Winking Lizard on Bethel when it was available on draft there.
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