I decided a hearty tripel would be perfect for a post gardening beverage on a 92° F Miami afternoon! Luckily, Ed Roberts recently gave me some beers he brought back from their distribution area in northern Florida. Apparently, Aviator Brewing out of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina (whoa, tough break spelling where you're from) has plans to push their beers further south down to my neck of the woods. Anyway, Devil's Tramping Ground Tripel is first up from these guys for me.
As the story on the side of the can says, the name of this beer comes from North Carolina folklore. Devil's Tramping Ground is a place where the devil can emerge from Hell. And the very awesome can art shows him doing just that! The devil with eyes aglow is emerging from a scary-forest camp fire surrounded by strewn skulls. He is carrying a fiery scepter with a raven on his shoulder. Oh, and of course he has a huge mug of beer!
Honey comes first in the aroma with lots of banana and sugar, sweet and nice. Very fruity flavors. Loads of banana with some sweet orange are joined by honey and some spicy clove flavors. Rich and sweet, even bordering on a little too sweet. The 9.2% alcohol is definitely noticeable but does a great job bringing out the fruity aspects of the beer while at the same time toning some of their sweet flavors. Enjoyable. I liked it!