Tennessee Brew Works Tripel Star

Small breweries are popping up around Nashville like zits on a teenager - we're maggotty with these things. I couldn't be happier about it, either. I wonder how many small breweries actually make it long term, and I suspect it is a lot like the other small business percentages, but I suspect the best will be able to keep it rolling (unlike Hot Chicks, Nashville, that had some of the best hot chicken ever, and I just found out they closed).

The haze in the orange-amber beer is generated by tiny little bits of stuff (I'm guessing hops) that is suspended in the beer. I comment only because, normally, hazy beers have bits that are so fine that they create the haze without giving the impression of floating flotsam. This one, however, has comparable chunks. The stark white head boils away to absolutely nothing - NOTHING! The aroma is a very light, funky yeast and maybe a bit of citrus.

First sip is a very nice yeast (with very little funk, but it's there) with the bright citrus. The malt adds a feeling of sweetness to the mix, but I keep coming back to that yeast and the light funk - it's very interesting.

Tip-in is sweet malt, the bright citrus, and a slight hint of the ensuing yeast funk. The middle opens up into a more thick honey with grains and the citrus highlighting it all; the middle is sublime. The finish is a rounding out of the beer with a fog of funk that settles and blows away on the edge of a honey and yeast funk.

Bottom Line: Probably not my go-to beer, but it certainly has its charms.

3.0/5