Ängöl Trippel Kalmarit

Style: Tripel
Brewery: Ängöl
Origin: Kalmar
Size: 33cl
Alcohol: 8.2%
Price: 33kr
Systembolaget: 30714

Ängöl was founded in 2010 by Kalmar native Johan Håkansson, who has been a home brewer in his basement since 1993. The brewery was first based at the site of an old barrel making factory that was active between 1910 and 1963. They left to their new facility in 2016 which doubled their storage and fermentation area. This beer will only be in production temporarily and is a play on words of the famous Belgian Tripel Karmeliet. As someone who drinks Karmeliet regularly, I was worried that this might be a pale imitation of one of the best Tripel beers in the world. I was relieved to find out that this was excellent and a worthy Swedish version.

This was amber in colour with a clear body and very thin head, but high carbonation was spotted in the glass. The aroma was absolutely delightful, with sweet malts, banana, clove, spices, pepper, coriander and a hint of lemon. These all transferred into the taste, with an added orange note in the background. The body was medium and slightly oily on the palate. The aftertaste was rather short, but the pepper and banana held on the longest to leave the mouth invigorated. The alcohol was noted but it was never a negative component of the beer, adding an extra warming edge.

Big, bold and delicious, this ticked all the boxes I would look for in a Tripel. This is an extremely well made example of the style and well worth hunting down if you’re a fan. When paired with goats cheese it increased the lemon notes and added an extra dimension to the food. Delicious.