1001 Beers: Tripel Reserve

Beer Number 52: Allagash Tripel Reserve

I have never had a beer from Allagash I did not like. I have only had a few from their collection but the ones I did have were fricken fantastic. I have had mixed experiences with Tripels in the past, so I hope this one lives up to the greatness I have come to expect.

This classic Belgian-style tripel--one of Allagash's original core brands made without funky ingredients--earns undying praise from beer fans. No unconventional brewing processes and no secret ingredients--unless you count the yeast. Tod won't divulge any details about the strain, possibly because it is clearly vital to the golden ale's complex layers of flavor. The brew kettle sees only two-row malt, candy sugar, and light unassuming hops--the same base any practiced brewer from Flanders would employ. Surely, they alone are not responsible for the sweet, honey and fruit flavors that roll across the palate.

For this beer, I decided to get really fancy and poured it into this wine glass. I know, right? Setting this one up to be even more fantastic then it probably already is. The Tripel looked really thick as I was pouring it into the glass. Almost like honey and the golden color helped to push that across as well. A very small, fluffy white head formed on top and it carried a very fruity and phenolic. That spice and a bit of yeast presence with hints of apple really took the initial experience of this beer to places I was not expecting.

I thought this beer came across pretty nice and creamy. Based on the nose I was expecting a lot of crazy flavors but everything was quite subdued, muted, and mellow. Low carbonation and honey, apple, pears come together before dissipating into the background. A beautiful beer that hides its 9% ABV. A great example of the style.

At first, the apples in the nose kind of turned me off to this one. I am not really a fan of apples in my beer but there was no denying how amazing this one was. There is nothing more to do or say than grab another one. A win for Allagash, and a win for 1001 Beers.

949 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!