Allagash Tripel Reserve

Hazy golden pour with soft orange glints at the perimeter. Visible yeast in suspension, a cloud of life in the center of the glass. The head is tall, rocky, compacted, well retained and leaves awesome lacing in its wake. The aroma is lovely and is immediately recognizable as a top notch tripel with an unmistakably Belgian influence. In other words, this smells like the real deal. Notes of candy sugar, ample yeast, tart and sweet tropical fruits, dusty pepper, honey, appleskins, touches of cloves and well integrated alcohol. Lovely. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, quite yeasty, with fruit notes even further accentuated by a simple, forthright alcohol component. wheated malt is plentiful in character, though I get the feeling this is an illusion of sorts. The finish is smooth, sweet at first, then very dry and lightly sticky. Mouthfeel is mildly sticky, medium to medium-full bodied, moderately to highly carbonated and very luxurious, without any flavor clumping together or seeming muddled by excessive sugary sweetness. An excellent example of the style, easily one of the best produced in the United States. I’d expect nothing less from this brilliant brewery.

Bottle, batch #83. Slightly cloudy gold in color. Medium head. Apple aroma. Persistent finish a nice surprise to the relatively light body. Agree with the alcohol comments below. Like a yeastier better-balanced Tripel, myself.

[bottle, batch # 95] Pale orange/brown, hazy colour. Moderate head. Fruity citrus aroma. Dry, spicy (aniseed) flavour with the alcohol being way too dominant. A beer for the cellar, pity I don’t have a cellar :o(

xxx Batch 74, great beer, definitely happy with this one. A nice 750ml bottle that did me well.

Bottle at Københavnske øldage 07. Golden colour with a white head. Aroma is sweet, wheat, fruit, banana. Flavour is sweet, banana, wheat, fruit, alcohol, spices. Nice beer.

bottle shared with brie. The flavors are bitter and spicy. It tastes like grassy bananas and alcohol. The 9% tastes great with the spice. Good american triple.

Bottled at Københavnske Øldage. Clear, golden beer with a white head. Wheat, fruit, banana, spices and hops in the aroma. Wheat, alcohol, banana and spices in the flavor. Nice flavor, but there’s more to it in the nose. Full, sweetish mouthfeel, and a long, hopped and spiced finish. Quite nice it is! (070511)

Blonde-amber. Nose is alcohol and grain. Pours barely any head with yeasty white swirls among the definition. Very crispy taste, almost typical Belgian characters of wheat, roasted grain, finishing out with Brazil nuts and banana. Slightly metallic aftertaste. Refreshing.