1001 Beers

Beer No: 56
Page No: 312
Category: Blond

Today (or maybe it was yesterday), the House of Representatives passed a Beer Resolution!  Saluting "the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week," the American Craft Beer Resolution passed the House and is now officially recognized - whatever that means.  Personally, I think they have bigger issues to deal with, but a quick vote on beer is never a bad thing I guess.  So I hope everyone is enjoying their American Craft Beer Week.  I know I am.

Back to the beer, the Allagash Tripel Reserve is made following the standards of a classic Belgian-style tripel without any special ingredients.  According to 1001 Beers, brewmaster Rob Tod says what makes this tripel special lies in the yeast.  Using primary fermentation and a secondary fermentation with bottle conditioning, it's the yeast that gives this tripel its special flavors.  Unfortunately, I just wasn't a fan.  I felt the herbs and spices brought out by the yeast was just too overpowering and completely overwhelmed the classic tripel flavors that should have been present.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Allagash Tripel Reserve from Allagash Brewing Company

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating 3.2 / 5.0

Had from bottle from BevMo. Batch No. 144. Pours a hazy golden yellow with large, thick head. Aroma is sweet and spicy - fruity and yeasty with lots of herbs and spices. Taste is overwhelmed by spices. Also very sweet with sugar and herbs at the finish. A dry, astringent aftertaste lingered. I had higher hopes, but thought the spices completely took this beer over and were way too pronounced.

First off, welcome to my humble new website.  My name is Blake and I've been an avid beer geek for the past 10 years.  Going to college in San Diego and living just blocks away from Alesmith afforded me a unique opportunity to follow the craft beer movement not only in San Diego, but also throughout the rest of California.  Living within driving distance of Stone Brewery, before they were the large brewer they are today and also Port Brewing (and the amazing Pizza Port chain) gave me ample opportunities to try new brews, experiment at beer festivals, and get to know many great people throughout the SoCal craft beer scene.

These days, I still love my beer, but just do so from beautiful Orange County.  Home to The Bruery (2 years old almost), I hang out there almost every weekend and I'm lucky enough to have many great retailers that stock a wide range of beer selections - BevMo, Hi Time Wine, and Total Wine and More.  Through the years, I've maintained my beer geek status and will always try new things.  I am also an avid home brewer (Arkh Brewing), and have bi-annual parties each year at my home - the largest being an "Around the World" beer festival where each participant chooses a country and brings enough to share.  We have also started to have an "Around the U.S." beer gathering as well since there are so many fine craft breweries throughout the United States that a lot of people never get to try.

Since I am currently unemployed after a five year stint at a real estate consulting firm (this real estate market really isn't helping our country's recovery at all...), I decided recently to take a two week trip around the United States, picking up local brews from each market I stopped in and also stopping at brew pubs and breweries wherever possible.  Upon returning home, I was browsing the internet and happened upon a new book that was released on March 23rd, 2010, 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die.  I could sense a challenge, and thus, this site was born.

I ordered my book on the 24th, it arrived on the 25th, and I now have approximately 50 beers ready to be sampled, reviewed, and discussed.  I plan on post a review a day, but I know I can't keep that pace up forever.  At some point, my local beer shops will no longer be able to satisfy my need for a new beer from the book.  Luckily, there are always festivals that I can hit up (including the Belgian Beer Festival this Saturday, March 27th at Pizza Port, Carlsbad) where I will try and pick out some of the rarer Belgian beers that are in the book, but not available in store.  But if I can keep up the pace of 1 a day, it will still take me 2 years and 271 days to review every beer.  Compounded by the fact that there will be many rare beers that are just not available to me without traveling large distances, my goal is to review as many beers as humanly possible.

Follow along with me, suggest new beers that I should try, let me know what you think of the beers that I review, and, most importantly, if you're not a beer geek like me, I hope this site will open up new flavors, styles, and experiences in beer that you have not yet had the opportunity to sample.