Beer and pizza. Pizza and beer. For most people, that pairing suggests a dorm room littered with empty Budweiser cans and Domino's pizza boxes. And in a way, that kind of makes sense: Cheap pizza goes best with cheap beer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not above cheap pizza or even cheap beer. I prefer a craft beer if I can get it, but there are times--say, when your favorite sports stadium only sells craft beer out of two stands that are both way the hell away from your seats--when a man just wants something fizzy and mass-produced.
But if you're at an upscale pizza place like Pizzology, drinking a "macrobrew" straight out of the bottle is just a waste. Great pizza demands great beer! So when I found out my local (seriously, just a few blocks from my house) upscale pizza place also serves a Tripel from Broad Ripple's Brugge Brasserie, I jumped at the chance. One of my favorite styles of beer on draft at my new favorite pizza place? Yes please.
The Tripel de Ripple arrived in a proper tulip glass with a nice-sized head on it. It's a cloudy golden color and boasts a rich, fruity aroma of banana and...is that pear? But don't be mistaken, there's a distinct spiciness in the aroma as well. Like any good Tripel, this beer has some great complexity going on, at least in the aroma.
And like any good Tripel, it's also packing a wallop. Most Tripels boast an alcohol by volume of 8% or more, and according to our server the Tripel de Ripple sits at 10%. Oh, Tripels are also notorious for sneaking up on a person--you probably won't (and shouldn't) notice the alcohol with all the other flavors going on. Drink a Tripel with caution.
For the record, I was cautious with the Tripel de Ripple, but it definitely wasn't easy. Just as the aroma promised, there were good strong banana and pear flavors, with a combination of lively carbonation and spice flavors to keep it from approaching actual sweetness. This is one mightily delicious beer. And true to the style, I didn't start feeling any alcohol buzz until I'd just about finished the glass. If you were to drink several of these in a row, you could easily send yourself to Dizzytown before you meant to.
Still, if you can resist the awesomeness enough to stay responsible, the Tripel de Ripple is well worth the willpower. Brugge's website is sadly lacking any notes on their individual beers, so I can't tell if the Tripel de Ripple is a year-round brew or a seasonal offering. Either way, it's one I'll gladly drink again, any time of year.
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