Allagash Tripel Roselaire

Draught tulip at Publick House late Spring 2008. A very bright, burnished copper colored body shows a gentle haziness and a large, though rapidly dissipating white head. Sweaty, musty, sour and stiff in the nose, it promises to be quite the cantankerous little beast in flavor and certainly dosent disappoint. I dont know what exact bug got ahold of this, but it is dominated by extremely musty, heavily cheesey bacterial notes and strong oakiness (dull tannins, heavy wood butteriness and some oxidation). It certainly is nothing short of rich, sour and rewarding in flavor, but for the life of me, Im not in to the heavy cheesiness nor do I particularly care for the wine barrels used (reminds me of allagash interlude, which I also feel to be both too buttery/oaky and grapey). A struggle for me to finish and not something I could ever drink much of, it just seems too far removed from what I enjoy about their tripel; the delicate esters, pinch of alcohol, light honey notes from the malt and a snappy, lightly spicy phenol driven finish. This is just a whole boatload of everything and a major palate bombardment.

Pours a hazy amber with a nice white head. Smells funky with some crisp dry malty hints. Tastes dry and tarte with some grassy hints on the finish. Nice, but I like the regular tripel a lot more.

Handbottle from Goldtwins, he got at Shoreline liquors in Long Island. Pours orange with some apple juice look. No head but a bit of carbonation. Nose is musty, with sweet notes and a lot of tartness as well. Taste is sour with a vinious quality and some fruity sweetness. Lots of complexity, which is what I’d expect from Allagash, nice sour.

Courtesy SoLan. Golden color, no head, although carbonation is evident. Fruitness on the nose that is a mix of sweet and tart with an almost cherry-like background. Great taste - sour start, sweet middle, dry finish, mild oak notes. A great addition to the tripel.

Thanks to Margaret (LilBeerDoctor) for this. Hazy orange amber with no head--a broken ring of a few (practically) microscopic bubbles. Oak, lemon, and buttery brett are up front. I already wish that I’d shared this one. Vinous notes, light candy sugar and only a hint of Belgian yeastiness. Flavor is fairly tangy up front, though the diacetyl keeps things balanced. However, there is the brett funk and light barnyard notes that mingle well with the lemon and wine tang that have this beer going all over the place. Some warming alcohol is present, and probably contributes to the dry wood finish. BItterness peaks around a 3, some slightly grainy notes coming forth after the finish. Only the slightest tingle of carbonation is present with a medium-full body. Sourness peaked around a 3-4. I don’t feel this resembles a tripel much anymore, but it is a damn fine beer.

Courtesy goldtwins. Gold/bronze, insignificant head. Cross a tripel and some rodenbach and you got it. Medium/full body, very drinkable. Excellent.

Courtesy SoLan. pours a light, copper color. aroma is full on funk. notes of dill, summer fruit, some acetic notes. The flavor is more of the same, with a vinous note thatbrings everything into focus.

Thanks to xmarcnolanx for sharing this rarity. Pours clear golden with no head. The aroma is sour with vinegar and light butter and is quite sharp. Medium body that is sharp and has minimal carbonation. The taste has vinegar, butter, citrus, pepper and honeysuckle. The finish is lightly citric, slick and buttery with only a slight hint of abv. The feel and taste gets grainier as it warms. This is nice, but a proper bottling and aging would probably make this quite wonderful.