REVIEW #83: Reinaert Tripel (De Proefbrouwerij)

Pours a wondrous gold with a gleaming white head that's well retained throughout drinking. Honey, orange peel and cinnamon aroma. Yeasty, sugary, estery (especially apricot and lavender) with cinnamon spice and candied fruit initially. Sweet but not too sweet. This fades into a fairly unique marzipan and marmalade, floral finish. Medium bodied with a treacly mouthfeel offset by very energetic carbonation making it feel almost delicate. Slight alcohol burn at the end but overall the 9% ABV is well hidden. 

This one is made by De Proefbrouwerij of Lochristi, a brewery that supplements its own beer production (under the bvba Andelot business-name and of which this beer is one) by brewing other brewers' ales on commission. The list of beers it produces for other entities is extensive so I won't go into it here but Mikkeller is one of the many. I have previously reviewed one other ale that is their own (review #19). Reinaert is De Proefbrouwerij's main brand so I'm pleased to have tried it. In addition to this Tripel there is also a Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale, Flemish Amber Ale and Grand Cru. The name Reinaert, which translates to "Reynard" in English, relates to a fox that features in an eponymous 13th Century Dutch epic/fable by William Madocke.