Orabelle

Orabelle Great Divide Brewing Company 

Trying out a new brewery tonight, Great Divide from Denver, Colorado. The beer I am trying is Orabelle, which is a Belgian Style Ale. Orabelle is a seasonal beer from Great Divide. This ale is a Tripel Ale. Tripel's are high in alcohol content and tend to usually get you drunk very quickly. I have had some Tripels on this blog before, they were as followed: Bolg and Merry Monks. Out of the two so far I would have to say Merry Monks by Weyerbacher was the better of the two. Tripel ales are known as Tripels because they use three times the malt than a standard beer. In addition to that Tripel's use a Belgian Candy Sugar, which adds complex flavors/aromas to the beer as well as adding alcohol to the beer. Usually Tripel Ales have a yellow to gold complexion and are a couple shades darker than pilsners. 

Golden Complexion of Orabelle

Time to dive into Orabelle. This Tripel Ale had thick foamy head to the beer. The aroma I am picking up from Orabelle is a coriander and citrus smell. Orabelle has a ABV or alcohol by volume of 8.3%, which is on the lower side of the Tripel's. Tripel's usually average between 7.0 and 11.0% in alcohol content. I do not know why I like Tripel's, they sure are good ales and have one or two and you are done for the day or night. To quote Great Divide, "Don t let ORABELLE' s nature fool you, this is one flavorful brew. Watch out, she s a charmer- one sip and you'll be in love." Now it is time to try this ale for this first time and see if I will love it. First sip I took was a sweet malty taste, usually a sign I might not like this beer. I think that its too sweet of a Tripel. I think that this beer has a full flavor, but to me I do not think that the flavor and I like each other. It could be the use of coriander in the beer that is making me not like this beer as much as I should. The beer is definitely smooth and I think through drinking half of this beer I might be feeling tipsy. The 8.3% ABV is catching up to me. This is why you can only really have two of these types of beer at a time because after the second one you are not going anywhere. 

Orabelle 8.3% Seasonal Beer by Great Divide

I am not a huge fan of this beer, but if it was put in front of me I would drink it. I think that if you are a fan of coriander being brewed into your beer like White Wing by Shiner than you would like this beer. Seasonal beers can be tricky because of the season you are having that beer come out could affect the view on the beer. For example, most breweries would not brew a pumpkin beer right now in the middle of spring it is just not the right time and I think that Orabelle to me is more of a winter style beer. Keeps you warm and toasty while having a great full taste. We are headed into spring and I think that beer drinkers like myself and everyone that reads this blog are looking for those light refreshing beers for spring and summer. I want to give this beer another shot and I will have to try it in the winter not early spring! To me this is a good beer, I just got it at the wrong time.