I stopped in to the Troegs brewery on December 16 to pick up bottles of the newly released Splinter series, but I was only fortunate enough to be able to purchase the Gold. The Gold originally saw daylight as Scratch #3-2007, but has been aged in oak wine barrels dosed with brettanomyces. I don't recall having Scratch #3 in the past, but I am a fan of tripels and I have heard good things about the original beer.
Moving on to the two-year aged tripel that was re-birthed as Gold, the beer has a yellow gold color with a foamy and carbonated head. The head floats lofty in the chalice glass, and it makes you let the beer warm up a bit before drinking it so the head recedes, which is for the betterment of the flavors in the beer. The smell is full of banana and white grapes aromas. The taste is very sweet and banana filled and there is an underlying grape hint, which gives the beer a whole new dimension. The beer finishes slightly dry and all throughout the experience, it has a decent kick of alcohol. The alcohol content is 12% ABV. I thought that the beer had a nice bubbly feel in the mouth. This beer definitely took on some characteristics of the wine barrels that it was aged in. I have heard some people complain about the carbonation level in the beer, but I thought the extra carbonation made the beer take on properties of a wine while maintaining its enjoyment as a beer. Overall, I thought the beer was excellent and I only wish I could buy more, even with the $22.99 price tag.
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