Recently in Tripel Category

Homebrewing has been a real blast. I mean, I'm not a miracle worker, but I have managed, on several occasions, to turn water into beer. How awesome is that? Even when the results don't come out as planned, it's a fun hobby. I reviewed my first batch of homebrew, a brown ale, before I started my second beer (around a year ago), but for a variety of reasons (i.e. laziness), I've since fallen way behind on reviewing my beers. So over the course of this past week, I've cracked open one of each unreviewed homebrew and gave it a whirl. I suppose I should note the obvious conflict of interest here. While I'm sure you all think of me as a BJCP approved expert and grandmaster Cicerone, my beer tasting notes are highly subjective on even the best day, so my notes on beers I've brewed myself might be overly harsh or too lenient. I really don't know which, and maybe both are present in my notes. Make of this what you will, but since I bore you all to tears with my tedious brewing-day recaps, I figured it'd be worth letting you know how they came out (at least, in my mind and in the probably-no-definitely biased feedback from friends and family).

Homebrew #2: Trappist Tripel - I went a little adventurous for my second brew. High gravity beers are more difficult to brew for a variety of reasons, but I did alright, despite a few rookie mistakes. There are some good things about it, but it ended up with a lot of alcohol character in the taste. It has gotten better with age though, and I think I may be experiencing "waves of maturation", as sometimes I think this has turned out reasonably well, and other times I think it's kinda horrible. I still have about a half a case of this left, and with such a high ABV, I think I'll let it continue to mature (checking on it occasionally). Feedback from friends and family indicates that the beer is rather heavy, which it is... Let's see how this one treats me:

Pours a clearish golden color with a little orange and a finger of head. The smell is quite nice. Typical bready Belgian yeast and spice, along with a surprising fruity character and a not-so-surprising boozy factor. Taste is sweet with that Belgian spice character and plenty of booze, which really asserts itself in the finish and aftertaste. The mouthfeel is full bodied with solid carbonation to start and a little bit of a sticky finish (which becomes more pronounced as the beer warms up). Plenty of warming alcohol character... actually a bit too much hotness here, which is this beer's one major flaw. Overall, it's actually gotten better with age, though I wouldn't call it great. Not bad for my sophomore effort though! B

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a goblet on 3/13/12. Bottled on 3/6/11.

Homebrew #3: Bavarian Hefeweizen - This is, without a doubt, the worst beer I've ever made. I'm not sure what went wrong here, but there's always been a very distinct off flavor here that I can't quite describe. I want to say it's vegetative, but that's not really right. None of the traditional off flavors seem to describe what I'm getting out of the taste of this beer. In any case, at no point has it ever resembled an actual wheat beer, aside from perhaps the yeast character (which shares a lot with Belgian yeasts). Let's see how it's doing now:

The beer looks pretty enough. Perhaps a little dark for the style, but a nice golden orangeish color with tons of head. When the beer was young, the aromas were dominated by banana, but as time has gone on, the clove has come out more. It actually smells pretty darn good. The taste is better now than it was when it was young, but there are some off flavors present and it still doesn't taste at all like wheat. There's an almost tinny undertone to the beer as well. Carbonation is very high and along with the spice, it's got a bit of a harsh mouthfeel (this isn't normally a bad thing in my book, but for this particular beer it is). Overall, it's not a complete abomination and it's actually drinkable, but there is something wrong with it. (Other folks have told me that they don't mind this beer, so maybe I'm being to hard on myself, but in honesty, this beer turned out nothing like what I was going for, and so thus I rate it lowly!) D

Beer Nerd Details: 5.25% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a shaker pint on 3/10/12. Bottled 5/15/11.

Homebrew #4: Saison - This was the first homebrew I made that I truly loved. I patterned the recipe after Saison Dupont (one of my favorites) and the beer actually turned out that way, so this all makes sense. I was very excited about this batch and impatiently cracked one open after only one week of bottle conditioning. And it was perfect. Beautiful fragrant spices and pale malts, very deep flavors, perfect carbonation and a well balanced, full body. Unfortunately, that perfection hasn't lasted. The beer is still good, but I perhaps used too much priming sugar, as bottles these days tend to be overcarbonated and as the beer has matured, it's taken on a bit of that boozy hotness (nowhere near the levels of the tripel, but still there). I think I underestimated how effectively the 3711 French Saison yeast would eat up the wort, as this did come out a bit stronger than I was looking for. If I make something like this again, it will be a little lower in gravity, with less priming sugar at bottling time, and again, I think better temperature control will also be helpful. Anyways, response to this beer has been generally positive, though some don't like the spicy and overcarbonated nature of the beer. Here we go:

Pours a cloudy golden yellowish color with tons of fluffy head that leaves a little lacing as I drink. Smell is filled with spicy aromas (definitely clove, maybe some banana and bready Belgian yeast. The taste is sweet, but filled with spiciness (again clove), and a mild bitterness in the very dry finish (this level of bitterness wasn't in the beer on the first week, but it's not inappropriate either). Maybe just a hint of booze as well. Mouthfeel is very strong, full bodied, and harsh with tons of carbonation. Overall, it's still quite good, but it's not even really close to my initial taste of the stuff. B+ (though maybe an A for that first taste).

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a goblet on 3/10/12. Bottled on 7/6/11.

Homebrew #5: Stout - The goal with this one was to make a stout with more than a one dimensional roasty character to it. I planned to emphasize chocolate and caramel in this batch, and for the most part I succeeded. However, the beer does have some issues. No real "defects" per say, just things that aren't ideal. For instance, the final gravity was around 1.020, which makes for quite a heavy tasting beer - I was hoping for more attenuation here. Perhaps as a result, the head on this beer is pretty lackluster, and it fades quickly. Its the sort of beer that starts off well, but gets to be a bit much by the end of the bottle. Perhaps it will improve with time, but here's what I'm getting out of it now:

Pours a very dark brown color, almost black (no highlights when held up to light) with a finger of quickly disappearing light brown head. The smell features that caramel malt in full force, with a chalky roastiness also present, maybe just a hint of coffee. The taste is similar, though the roasted malts are more prominent here and it could perhaps have used a bit more hop balance. Still, it's not one dimensionally roasty, and that caramel and chocolate malt adds a nice complexity to the taste. The mouthfeel is extremely heavy and full bodied. It's well carbonated, but a little acidic in the finish, especially as it warms up. It's the sort of beer that starts out well enough, but it really gets rough towards the end of the glass. Overall, it's ok, in the direction I wanted to go, but it hasn't quite reached the destination. I think some recipe tweaks, either toning it down (or up!) and using some more hops could help it out. I also need to figure out how to get a little more attenuation out of the yeast... Again, I like this beer, it's really interesting, but it's hard to rate it very high when even I can't seem to finish an entire bottle of it. C+ (would be maybe a B- or B if it held itself together longer)

Beer Nerd Details: 5.5% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a snifter on 3/11/12. Bottled on 8/28/12.

Homebrew #6: Spiced Christmas Ale - Not to toot my own horn, but this is the best beer I've made so far (ok, I'm going to toot my own horn a little ). It's a winter warmer style beer whose recipe was created on-the-fly in the homebrew shop (with a lot of help from the owner). Anchor Christmas was something of an inspiration, but this beer isn't patterned after a specific version and I came up with the spicing regimen entirely on my own. It's the beer I'm most proud of, from the recipe and spicing regimen to the way it turned out. Seems to be a popular beer when I give it to others, including the guy at the homebrew shop (I totally owed him a couple bottles thanks to his improvisation), who asked if I entered it into any competitions. It turned out to be pretty much exactly what I wanted, and unlike the saison, it's stayed that way for a few months now. Ok, let's toot some more horns:

Pours a deep, dark amber color (almost, but not quite brown), with a finger of light colored head. Smells fantastic. The cinnamon and clove come through especially well, though I also get a fair amount of sugary citrus in the nose. A friend described it like it was a snickerdoodle cookie, which is pretty awesome. The taste has a sweetness to it, but it's very spicy and it has a well balanced, somewhat dry finish. The mouthfeel is a dream - smooth, almost creamy, medium bodied, a little harshness from the spiciness, but still quite quaffable (probably my most quaffable beer). Overall, I can't believe this beer came out as great as it did. I was worried that I'd overdo the spices (and in a lot of spiced winter beers, the spices are overpowering), but the spices I added balanced out really well. Again, this is probably my best beer, and I think it stacks up well against a lot of the commercial winter warmers I had this year. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.0% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a tulip on 3/11/12. Bottled on 11/20/11.

Homebrew #7: Simcoe IPA - My most recent brew, it's only been 3 weeks since bottling. I've had a few of these so far (again, I was very impatient with this one) and damn it's been good. A little undercarbonated in the first week, but that should have worked itself out by now, so I'm really excited to try this out...

Pours a very pretty golden color with a finger of head that leaves a little lacing as I drink. Smells strongly of grapefruit and pine (interestingly, more pine now than in week 1) along with a nice sugary sweet aroma. The taste also starts off sweet, plenty of that citrus and pine hop character, and a nice, bracing bitterness in the relatively dry finish. Mouthfeel is quite good. Medium bodied and the carbonation has come up to speed too. Not sure how to describe it, but it's like the carbonation has small bubbles. Actually quite quaffable. Overall, this is one damn good IPA. There's nothing quite like a super-fresh IPA, but I can't wait to see how it matures over time as well. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a snifter on 3/10/12. Bottled on 2/18/12.

So there you have it. All in all, I think I've got 3.5-4 cases of homebrewed beer left, with another 5 gallons (about 2 cases) in the fermenter right now. Alas, my best beers are the ones that go the fastest, and the IPA was a small batch to start with. Anyways, I've learned a lot since my first batch, and I think my past couple batches show that I've at least got the basics down. I'd list out some of those learnings, but that's perhaps another post for another day.

Ron Regé Jr. is a cartoonist who has been putting out independent comics and zines since the 1990s. He somewhat recently began publishing a series of comics called "Yeast Hoist" which aren't really about beer, though there's some beer in the art and the phrase does seem to be slang for drinking a beer. But mostly it's just art. A large portion of it is available on the internets, but he was apparently approached by Belgian Brouwerij Sterkens to do some exclusive art for their St. Sebastiaan Golden Ale, and it resulted in one of the most gorgeous bottles (actually a half-liter ceramic crock) I've ever seen:

Apologies for the lackluster quality of the shot, but that is quite awesome, isn't it? And while Regé's art is often somewhat abstract, it really fits well with a Belgian abbey tripel style beer. Unfortunately, the contents of the bottle didn't quite live up to the promise of the artwork...

St. Sebastiaan Golden (Yeast Hoist) - Pours a surprisingly light golden color with an almost nonexistent head. Aroma is sweet, fruity, and spicy. Taste is very sweet, with a little fruit and spice. There's a sorta bitterish aftertaste, but not quite enough to counter the sweetness. Mouthfeel is light, under-carbonated, and a little sticky. Overall, quite disappointing. A little more carbonation may have done wonders, but as it is, it's underwhelming. C+

Beer Nerd Details: 7.7% ABV bottled (500 ml ceramic crock). Drank out of a goblet on 1/13/12.

I'm pretty sure the Yeast Hoist bottles were a limited run, but the standard St. Sebastiaan Golden bottle is the same style ceramic crock thing, just with different artwork. It's apparently somewhat popular, so perhaps I just got a bad, under-carbonated bottle or something.

Tonight was beer club, a meeting of beer minded individuals from my work who get together for a meal and lots-o-beer once a month. Tonight, we wondered why we don't do this more than once a month. We had a strange turnout this month. Lots of people, but really only 4 of us were drinking lots of beer (other folks bring wine or don't drink at all). Still, a good time was had by all, and we had a pretty nice selection of beers:

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For the sake of posterity, some thoughts on each beer we tried are below. As usual, conditions were not ideal, so take it all with a grain of salt. Actually, no. It's the final word on the subject. In order of drinking (not necessarily the order in the picture):

• Harpoon Winter Warmer - A pretty straightforward winter warmer style beer. Not quite as dark as I'd expect, lots of holiday spices in the nose and taste. Decent, but nothing special... B-
• Achouffe N'Ice Chouffe - Achouffe's holiday beer brewed with spices turned out to be a bit disappointing. Pours a nice brown color with a bunch of head and a nice Belgian aroma. But the taste is filled with sweet raisiny character that doesn't always work well for me. It got a little less powerful as it warmed up a bit. Very sweet and raisiny. A decent beer, but I expect more out of Achouffe... B-
• Great Lakes Christmas Ale - It's got all the standard winter warmer characteristics, but it's also brewed with honey, and you really get that additional honey character in the taste. It makes this a somewhat unique brew, and it's actually well balanced. That being said, I've never been that big of a honey person, so it's still not knocking my socks off. B
• Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown - I've never been one for Leinenkugel's beers, and I don't think this was anything special, but it's a reasonably well executed brown ale with a nice nutty flavor. Not something I anticipate trying again, but it wasn't repugnant either. B-
• Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Ale - I actually reviewed this last year and my thoughts on the beer have changed very little. A decent beer, but not something I'd go out of my way for...
• Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager - My least favorite beer of the night, this one wasn't really offensive so much as it didn't really have much going for it. Flavors seemed a bit muted (especially considering the context of a beer tasting) and while it was crisp and clean, it just didn't do much for me. C
• Goose Island Christmas Ale - ZOMG! It's a beer mostly owned by Anheuser Busch. I have a reflexive dislike for that, but then, this was actually one of the better beers of the night. A really well balanced and tasty winter warmer style beer. Hop flavors of pine and spruce dominate the palate, but it's not particularly bitter either, which is an interesting combination and everything is rather well matched. B+
• Heavy Seas Yule Tide - A Belgian style tripel, this one doesn't really have much in the way of holiday spirit, but it's a decent strong pale ale. Typical Belgian yeast flavors are there, but it is extremely sweet. This worked fine for the limited portions of beer club, but to be honest, I'm positive this would become overly cloying if I tried to drink an entire bottle of the stuff. B-
• My Homebrewed Christmas Ale - I've been trying these ever since I bottled it, but this particular bottle seemed a bit under-carbonated. My regular 12 ounce bottle sseem to be fine (I'm sipping on one right now, actually), but this 22 ounce bottle seemed a bit light on the carbonation. Not sure what to make of that, but it should hopefully work itself out by Christmas...

A few of the beers in the picture were not actually opened. We ended up using them as a sorta Holiday beer exchange/white elephant style gift for each other. Overall, we all had a good time and I'm already looking forward to the January edition of beer club. Until then, expect a whole slew of additional holiday beer reviews!

We don't get a lot of The Bruery's beers around these parts, but there are some places that stock them and whenever I see a new variety, I snap it up as quick as I can. I have to admit, I'm not even really that familiar with their catalog - I just know that if I see a bottle from The Bruery, I should buy it. Sometimes an expensive proposition, but usually worth every penny. Even when I'm not completely blown away by one of their beers*, I find myself happy to have tried it anyway. Most recently:

The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel - In an attempt to differentiate this beer from the throngs of other Belgian style tripels, The Bruery gave this one an Asian twist. Instead of using Belgian Candi sugar (as is traditional for the style), they used rice**, then spiced with Thai Basil. Pours a slightly hazy golden color with lots of fluffy, tightly beaded head. The nose is filled with fruitiness as well as a spicy and musty Belgian yeast character. There's also an almost, but not quite funky aroma going on here too. The taste starts spicy with some sweetness hitting in the middle, finishing crisp and extremely dry. That finish is actually quite strange; it's almost like I can feel the liquid evaporating in my mouth, leaving it very dry. The mouthfeel is actually pretty tame for the style. It starts out as expected, but gives way to a gentler, more subtle mouthfeel. This lighter-than-expected body is no doubt due to the use of rice in the recipe. Overall, it's an interesting take on a classic style***. I don't think it really rivals it's competition, and it's not blowing me away as some of The Bruery's other brews do, but it is really quite good. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 8.1% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 8/26/11.

This marks the sixth Bruery beer I've tried, of which three have blown me away, and three have "merely" been great. In a recent beer run, I picked up a couple bottles of Cuir, their third Anniversary ale that is composed partially of a barrel aged version of their second Anniversary ale (there is actually a really interesting reasoning behind this method, which I'll cover when I review Cuir). Actually, their second anniversary ale, called Coton, was the first Bruery beer I'd ever had, and it knocked my socks off, so I'm expecting a lot out of Cuir. At 14.5% ABV, I'll have to find a good time for that (or perhaps share it with some folks), but I'm very much looking forward to trying one (and cellaring the other, along with an old bottle of Coton). I'm also very much looking forward to The Bruery's next step in the 12 Days of Christmas series...

* And in such cases, their beer is still among the best out there.

** Rice is typically an adjunct used by the big macro breweries to lessen costs. Sugars derived from rice are very simple and thus completely consumed by yeast, increasing alcohol but not really impacting the taste. This proves useful for light, flavorless beers, I guess, but in the case of The Bruery, they're adding it to an 8.1% ABV beer of a style that is usually overflowing with taste. In other words, The Bruery is using rice to enhance and complement the beer, rather than to make the beer cheaper and more flavorless.

*** Indeed, it almost reminds me more of a dry saison than a tripel. Sorta like a summer tripel - and this being a summer release that features the words "Summer Fun" on the label, I guess that makes sense.

I'm pretty sure I've covered all the Trappist beer tropes before, so I won't bore you with the general trivia again. Chimay is probably the most commonly found of the Trappist beers... Indeed, back in the day, they were probably one of the most common Belgian beers you could find (in particular, the Chimay Red was pretty popular). The name of the monastery is actually Scourmont Abbey, but they market all of their products (aside from beer, they also make a line of cheeses) using the name of the tiny town in which they're located: Chimay.

This particular beer is variously known as Chimay White, Chimay Tripel and Chimay Cinq Cents. The first refers to the white cap that was used in bottling, the second is a reference to the style, but the third is a mystery. It only appears on the 750 ml bottle... the smaller, 12 oz. bottles make no mention of the... catch phrase? What does it really represent? At first glance, I thought it perhaps translated to "Five Cents" and referred to, perhaps, some aspect of the pricing in the distant past. But it doesn't make any sense that a Trappist brewery in Belgium would name their beer after American monetary units. After some google-fu, I figured out that it really translates to "Five Hundred", but I was still a little unclear as to what that really meant. More googling ultimately lead to this post from 52 Brews (apparently their first post!) where the author heroically answers the question:

Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide features interesting write-ups on some of the best beers in the world, and upon perusing its pages, the answer was right under my nose. Regarding Cinq Cents, the book makes note that while this beer was once identified only by its white cap, the "Champagne-style presentation" was introduced to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Chimay, the town.

Mystery solved. Not only does that explain the significance of the phrase, but it also explains why it's only on the 750 ml "champaign style" bottles.

I've probably had this beer a dozen times over the years. On tap, in small bottles, in large bottles. It's often one of the few good beers available, which I'm usually pretty happy with because these beers really are great (indeed, I had one of these along with a Blue during my recent Vegas Trip.)

Chimay Cinq Cents - Pours a cloudy golden color with lots of fluffy head. Smells strongly of sweet, fruity Belgian yeast. Taste is sweet and very spicy with a dry finish and a little lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. Chimay beers have a certain distinctive element that I can never place, but I think it's the way it's spiced - it's more peppery (?) than most other Belgian beers (this is probably entirely due to their yeast, not actual spice adjuncts). It's here in the Cinq Cents, but it's not as prominent here as it is in the Red, and I think this more subtle treatment works better here. It's got a full body and tons of carbonation. Overall, it's a great beer. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 7/17/11. Cork says 07/10, so I'm guessing it was about a year old when I drank it.

I think the Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue) is probably my favorite of their beers, but comparing that with the Cinq Cents is an apples and oranges type of thing. Strangely, despite the fact that I love dubbels, I'm not a huge fan of the Red. It's a really well crafted and unique beer, but something about it just doesn't jive well with me. Of course, I haven't had it in years, so perhaps my tastes have changed...

Get it? Julytful, like delightful! Eh, so yeah, good beer puns are sometimes hard to come by. Consider yourselves lucky, as a British attendee to this month's beer club contributed this one, which superceded my initial thought of Brewly Beer Club (which isn't the worst possible beer pun, but still pretty terrible). For the uninitiated, the beer club is basically just a bunch of folks from my work who get together once a month to enjoy a nice dinner together... along with lots of different beers and wines and other alcoholic wonders. A relatively small group of people this month, but lots of beer (thanks mostly to a club member who was just on vacation in Ohio recently, and thus was able to bring a bunch of beers we've never seen or heard of before!). Here's what we had:

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For reference, here are some brief thoughts on each. As usual, this isn't exactly ideal tasting conditions, so take them with a grain of salt, but still... From left to right in the picture:

• Troegs Dead Reckoning - Very nice porter. Roasty and smooth, but not overpowering. I'm not normally a huge fan of porters, but this one's pretty decent. Not something that's lighting the world on fire, but good in it's own way. Unfortunately, it was probably overshadowed by a couple of stouts we had later in the tasting... I'll give it a B
• Ohio Brewing Verich Gold - A kolsch style ale that's not particularly good. It reminded me of a typical Bud/Miller/Coors style beer, with a bit of a twang. It's a beer that might be ok on its own, but when drank side-by-side with a bunch of other good beers, it just pales in comparison. I suppose it just ain't my style of beer.. but then, it was also pretty much the unanimous worst beer of the night among beer club peeps. D
• Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale - Probably the worst time of the year to drink a winter warmer style beer, but I quite enjoyed this spicy beer. It's relatively dark, but not roasty. Very spicy with a full malt backbone. Some folks thought it was almost too spicy ,but I quite enjoyed this beer. B+
• Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale - Seriously one of the best Belgian wit beers I've ever had, rivaling the likes of Victory's Whirlwind Wit and Ommegange's Witte. Very effervescent, almost lemony, but with lots of balancing spiciness of the light variety (coriander, orange peel, etc..) Right up there at the top of the list for wheat beers. B+
• Thirsty Dog Cerberus Belgian Tripel - Nice fancy foil packaging, with a beer to match. Extremely sweet and boozy, it's a bit hot for the style, but very good. There was a bit of a twang to it that I could place, but which differentiated it from other examples of the style. Quite good. B+
• Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA - I've had this beer a few times before... and have never really enjoyed it. It's not particularly bad, but it's definitely a victim of circumstances, as I always find myself trying one when I've already had much better beers. By the time I got to this tonight, it just wasn't doing it for me. Again, not a bad IPA, but not particularly accomplished either. C+
• Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout - We tried to drink the beers listed here from lightest to darkest, and this one ended up being the last beer of the night... and the best! Dark as night and seemingly thick, with a nice brownish head. Very sweet, chocolaty, and roasty, with a nice booziness apparent. A wonderful imperial stout. The name of the bear stands for "Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout", and it's well worth the moniker. A-
• Hoppin' Frog Turbo Shandy - A shandy is normally a beer mixed with a citrus flavored soda like 7up or Sprite. Usually this is something that happens after the fact - a beer coctail, as it were. But some breweries release shandies right in the bottle... and in this case, the beer really does taste like a 7up/Sprite... Extremely sweet and crispt, maybe some lemony/lime feeling to it, and you can't really even detect the relatively strong 7% ABV. Would perhaps make a good lawnmower beer, but not particularly something I'm all that interested in... C+
• Rogue Shakespeare Stout - Another oatmeal stout, this one was second to last in the drinking order, and quite a solid example of the stile. Very chocolately, but with a surprising earthy feel to it. This is quite good, but not great. B+
• Red's Rye Pale Ale - I know next to nothing about Rye beer, but I have a few more of these in the fridge, so expect a full review in the nearish future. Initial impressions are quite positive.
• My Homebrewed Saison - This actually turned out far better than I was expecting. It seemed to be a general success with the folks of beer club, and it's the first beer I've made so far that I really enjoy drinking from start to finish. It's very light in its way, but it makes up for that with some Belgian yeast spiciness and a nice hoppy aproma/taste character (though it's not particularly bitter). My favorite batch so far. Makes me want to pour my last batch down the drain!

And that covers all the beer we had... Someone did bring a bottle of Australian wine, but they said they were a bit disappointed by it (no idea what it was called). Good times, as always, and I'm already looking forward to the next meetup.

I should drink more Allagash. Along with Ommegang, they're the other major east-coast brewery that seems to specialize in Belgian style beer, so it's no suprise that I tend to enjoy their beers. They make the standard Belgian styles, but they aren't afraid to experiment either. Their 2009 Fluxus was a bit of a revelation for me. "Ale brewed with sweet potatoes and black pepper." It certainly doesn't sound all that appealing, but it was a unique take on the Saison style. I would love to try it again, but alas, it was only a one-time brew (Fluxus is released once a year, but the recipe changes - 2010 was an Imperial Chocolate Stout). Sometimes their experimentation isn't quite as successful, but I'm always game for a new one. However, I've been a bit neglectful of late. Indeed, I've had this bottle sitting on my shelf for a solid six months (and according to the label, it was bottled in May 2010).

Allagash Curieux is a Belgian-style Tripel aged in Jim Beam bourbon barrels. It was apparently their first foray into the world of barrel-aged beer, though they've clearly expanded their scope in the past few years.

Pours a cloudy golden color with minimal head. Smells of sugary sweet fruit, spicy Belgian yeast and maybe even a little of that Bourbon. Tastes very sweet. Candi sugar, fruits, some spiciness. Finishes dry with some sticky alcohol in the aftertaste (perhaps a hint of Bourbon in there too). Mouthfeel is quite harsh, making this more of a sipping beer. A good thing, too, considering the 11% ABV. As it warms, the beer becomes more clear and a little more smooth, though it's still full bodied and the alcohol still asserts itself. It's perhaps a bit too hot for the style, and certainly not an everyday beer, but it's another interesting offering from Allagash. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 11% ABV bottled (750 ml, caged and corked). Bottled May 2010. Drank out of a Goblet on 5/14/11.

In case you can't tell from the past several reviews, I'm in the midst of a bit of a drink-down right now. I've collected quite a few bottles over the previous months, and despite my best efforts, quite a backlog has accrued. Most of them tend to be high ABV monsters, which partially explains it, but I've also been a bit overzealous in my procurement. This is, of course, a good problem to have. I'm a bit behind on reviews as well, and may end up grouping a few together here and there. In any case, whenever I manage to dig out of this wonderful hole of great beer, I plan to try out a few more of Allagash's limited releases. I've had their standard stuff, and several of the limited releases, but I'd really like to explore more. However, looking at the beer on my shelf (not to mention the homebrew that's building up), that may be a while.

I love Ommegang, but even I have to pause at their presumption of "perfection" on the label of this beer. They even mention on the label that tripels are brewed "with simple ingredients and fierce attention to detail, there is little room for error - but lots of opportunity." Indeed. Belgian tripels are among my favorite styles, and Ommegang is among my favorite breweries, so I had high expectations here. Indeed, this was a hard one to find, raising expectations further. The only place I saw it was in a holiday package that also had a couple other Ommegang beers and some nice glassware (which, unfortunately, didn't show up particularly well in the image below).

Ommegang Tripel Perfection - Pours a cloudy orange/brown color with a couple fingers of head. Smell is full of fruity and spicy belgian yeast. The taste starts off sweet (some fruity character here), hits a spicy note (coriander?) in the middle and finishes dry. That dry finish may be partially because I waited so long to open the bottle - tripels tend to get more dry the longer they age. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it's not out of place at all here. The bottle I have is marked as having been packaged on 6/29/10, so it isn't that old, but still. In any case, the beer is extremely well balanced, which is something I've come to expect from Ommegang. Mouthfeel is high in carbonation and a bit harsh, but those are welcome for the style. Just a hint of stickyness and some warming alcohol notes. Very complex for a tripel. Perhaps not the best in style, but certainly in the top tier. In general, I feel that Ommegang's seasonals and special releases aren't as good as their regular stable of beers, but in this case, I think they really have a winner. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8.9% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 5/6/11.

There's an anonymous quotation on the bottle that says "One can not adequately explain perfection. One can only enjoy it." Indeed. I don't think the beer quite lives up to Perfection, but it's close!