Allagash Tripel Reserve

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

Decent Tripel but not at the top of my list of styes. A bit of silt to watch out for, and the corresponding yeast flavor, but not over-powering or out-of-balance. Anyone who prefers Tripels will enjoy this beer a lot. Batch #137 at 55F from the 750ml bottle.

Beautiful pour into a bordeaux stem, great lace. Restrained nose shows some honeyed grain, fresh pineapple (not sweetened from can) and nice hop spice that compliments the dryness well. While the fruit continues on the palate, it never becomes cloying or tooti fruity. The esters never get to heady and balance is held to a level of seduction that many Belgians don’t achieve. Yes I just said that. A certain richness to the body does let the drinker know that this beer isn’t afraid to take the recliner in the living room without asking. Well planned carbonation level gives this beer a spring in its step without jumping to a gallop. Honeyed malt and hop spice finish cleanly. Very digestable. Had this with a fresh baquette, butter, and some mixed atipasto. Cheers to Mr. Tod. 94

Poured a golden color that had some has. Head is nice and tall and bright white as a tripel should be. Aroma is yeasty with hints of citrus and some mild spice. Taste is balanced and crisp with yeast and citrus over tones. A nice beer that can be picked up at the local grocery store.

750 ml bottle, from batch #134, served in a tulip glass. Poured a hazy golden color with about 3 inches of thick, pillowed white head. Nose is Belgian yeast, citrus rinds, and a light peppery spice. Taste is yeast and citrus peels that finishes with a peppery citrus bitter. A good beer and example of the style, but nothing that will make me remember this a few months down the road.

750 ml bottle, batch #134. Pours clear orange. Aroma of bready yeast. Full bodied, orange peel with a mild herb background. Decent bitter finish. Nice example of the style.

Batch # 136. Picked up from Greens Ponce De Leon. The cork may be used as a deadly weapon. This thing exploded right out of the bottle. Holy crap. Anyways, Nice looking head. Nice slight orange haze color. The beer looks pretty friggin good. Head eventually fades away to leave a thin layer. Very fruity aroma. Yeast is noticeable as well. Very pugnent beer. Slight citrus aroma. This beer doesn’t have that cheap fruit aroma, but a very nuanced and complex one. Very fruity and a nice yeast taste. The beer is too carbonated for me. It gets in the way of having the smooth flavors sit on your tongue. Nice banana/yeast and slight citrus. Nice candy sugar sweet flavor. This is a nice trippel. I just wish the carbonation would have been toned down.

Pours a four finger white head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Clear pale amber color. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Oak and dark fruit nose. Flavor is sweet oak, bready and some orange peel at finish. Decent triple. $3.00 for a 12oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.

Source: 750 mL bottle purchased in Georgia.
Glass: Tulip.
Appearance: Clear gold pour with a two finger white head.
Aroma: Fruit and candi sugar, with a hint of alcohol.
Flavor: Fruity, but very dry and bready finish.
Palate: Medium body with solid carbonation.
Overall: Not my favorite tripel. Finish was too dry, and the fruit didn’t dominate the palate as much as I would have liked.