The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B
Yesterday’s review was of the Battle Cry American Malt Whiskey from the Rhode Island brewstillery, Sons of Liberty. Today we’re tackling the beer from which that single malt was distilled, Battle Cry Belgium Tripel, bottled at 8% ABV.
Since we do whiskey here (we’re reviewing this beer because of the whiskey connection), a word is in order about what a Belgian Tripel is. The word “tripel” comes from high strength denoted traditionally by three x’s on the cask, and these beers tend to emphasize malty sweetness and a dense, spicy complexity. The hops are often subdued behind the sweetness and moody spiciness.
That is certainly the case with Battle Cry, although the look is quite atypical. My pour was a rich brown-red, whereas most tripels are dark gold. It actually looks more like a dubbel than a tripel, and is more syrupy than I was expecting. There is a barrel aged version of Battle Cry, and that would account for the color, but the version that was sent to me has a far lower ABV.
Barrel aged or not, it’s a yummy pour. I much prefer Battle Cry as a tripel than as a whiskey, in fact.
