Green’s Quest Tripel Ale

Quest Gluten Free Triple Ale

Brewed by Green’s in Belgium

Today’s review is for the Green’s gluten free Quest Tripel Ale. It comes in a blue-label glass bottle and is brewed in Belgium before being distributed internationally. I don’t get my hands on many of these (I think this is only my second Green’s review ever?) but I’m excited to share my thoughts on it with all of you!

It’s worth noting that Green’s makes a couple types of “gluten free” beers. One kind is naturally gluten free, and the other is more of a “crafted to remove gluten” situation. Be really careful when purchasing. This review is for one of their gluten FREE styles, brewed with entirely gluten free ingredients.

The Quest Tripel Ale is brewed on a malt base of sorghum, millet, buckwheat, and brown rice. It boasts a 8.5% ABV and is packaged and distributed in 16.9 oz. glass bottles. (Do you think they’ll hop on the can train at some point?)

This beer has a printed expiration date of 2/13/22 (or 13/2/22 in EU). That means its shelf life is literally YEARS, according to the brewery. I’ve spoken about this in other Green’s reviews before. It baffles me that they don’t mind their beer sitting on a (potentially unrefrigerated) shelf for several years.

Sometime I find Green’s Beers in strange places with low turnover, so I’m curious to hear from you…what are your thoughts on these exorbitantly long shelf lives? Have you tasted a beer that was near the end date? Or far from it, but tasted like it? Let me know…

The Taste Test

Green’s Quest Tripel Ale

The Green’s Quest Tripel Ale poured with an incredible head. And it lasts. The beer has a muted golden orange color with lots of cloud to it. Its color looks different at every angle, depending on the lighting. When held up to the light, you can see plenty through it but otherwise, it’s pretty opaque to everything but light.

This beer smells super sweet and malty. There’s also a fair amount of citrus on the nose. The taste has even more of it, and some serious spice too. In fact, the flavor is much less malty than I would have guessed from the tease of the aroma. It’s fizzy and fruit-heavy when it first hits the palate, then the malt body arrives and the spicy sweetness carries you through.

Interestingly, I feel like the hops are imparting more flavor than bitterness. The citrus notes carry through the entire tasting experience. Bright and sweet are the two words that come to mind as I sip. The Quest Tripel Ale has a medium body and it comes off pretty smooth for a 8.5% ABV beer.

It’s just soooo sweet. But I like that there’s lots of fruit alongside that quality. I feel as though the hop profile dominates the malt a bit. This tripel has a 4 ingredient malt bill, and I think they all play quite nicely with one another. The carbonation is lovely, and the flavor is smooth and unoffensive after the swallow. No lingering sorghum twang.

Overall, I think this is my favorite Green’s beer so far. (Out of…two? Lol) It certainly tastes fresher and more vibrant than the last one did. It has me wanting to try the rest of their styles. One nice things about Green’s beers is that they are pretty well distributed for being brewed in Belgium. This Tripel was purchased on the west coast of the United States! (Quite the trip.)

And I have to say…this gluten free beer holds a head better than almost any other. I poured this thing a good 20 minutes ago and it still has a head at the top! (Super rare in the gluten free space.) If you’ve had it before, did you have the same experience? It’s quite impressive, Greens!

If you live in Europe, let me know what you think of this beer, and how it stacks up to your other options in the EU. If you live in the States (or elsewhere), how do you think it compares to our options here in the U.S.? I’d love to know what you all think…Cheers!

A few more photos…

P.S. Like what I do for the gluten free beer community? Consider buying me a beer for my efforts! ;)