Allagash Tripel Reserve

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Portland, Maine USA

I felt that this beer was a little over-rated upon trying it, not bad though. I appreciated the aroma more than its other characteristics. Definitely light fruits, some ammonia, lemon and sweet banana. Good yeasty finish, but didn’t finish like a good Belgian-style. Stingy on the palate, with some spice that is not well-balanced with the dry alcohol finished. This is what turned me off. The initial flavor is nice, but the unsubtle finish was not something I was looking forward to after each sip.

On tap at Blind Tiger. Not as good as I was hoping. Aroma of clove, garlic, yeast. Flavor is strong, tropical fruity esters, yeast, bread, yogurt. Lively with candy apple finish. No head, cloudy mustard pour. This was much fruitier and not as dry as I like my tripels.

# 90 (batch?)
Aroma: soapy, mellow, sourish in an almost lambiclike way...
malty & sweet below the surface, slightly funky. Some hops & lemonpeel, fried banana & cardamom.
Appearance: pale, cold yellow w/ white head, slightly dim. Nothing special.
Flavour: initial sourishness, almost meaty , bittersweet...raisinlike, full-bodied, yeasty... mmm, sourish caramel.
Palate: wonderful! Powerful & champagnelike.

Pours a clear orange blonde with a modest head. Aroma is of fruit, caramel, grass, pepper and alcohol. Flavor has residual caramel, yeasty notes,honey, and phenolic spice. Moderate hop bitterness. Nice and dry with a tart finish.

Verre de dégustation, provenant d’une bouteille de 750 ml avec bouchon de liège, lors d’une soirée chez Glouglouburp. Arôme: Odeur d’agrumes et de banane avec une légère pointe d’alcool. Apparence: La couleur est blonde pâle voilée. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’agrumes, de miel et de banane. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Présence de céréales en arrière goût. (Rating #445)

Pours sligtly hazed tawny yellow w/ a full, semi creamy froth. Good head retention w/ a full canopy and a fluffy ring. Aroma of banana citrus and vanilla creamy malts. Medium nectar w/ soft residual effers. Texture is velvety. Malted banana citrus and creamy vanilla spice protrude w/ a mild sweetness. A persistant peachpit bittering component sets in at mid palate and sticks through to the finish.

This is a welcome tasting after recently trying Dicks Gran Cru (too spicy) and Rock Bottom MaryJane (too sweet). The other are good beers, but this one hits the nail on the head. A beautiful pour, great aroma, exquisitely balanced taste, clean dry finish.

750mL bottle, Batch #88. Pours a slightly hazy honey golden with a frothy three finger eggshell head. Good retention. Aroma of Belgian yeast, candi sugar, banana, citrus, pears, white pepper, and it’s a little bit musty. Flavor is yeasty and fairly sweet and hot. Everything else in the aroma comes through in the flavor. Minimal bitterness with a dry finish that lingers with the yeast. Full body with moderate carbonation and a fairly creamy body. This was an excellent tripel. Wish we could get more the the dubbel and white in Iowa.