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Avery Salvation Allagash Tripel 9% ABV 9% ABV Belgian Strong Ale Belgian Tripel Avery Brewing Allagash Brewing Boulder, CO Portland, ME |
For those of you who have followed my blog for awhile, you know that in general I am not a fan of Belgians (the beer anyhow, I don't have anything against Belgian people...I hear they make some damn good chocolate!), yet here I am featuring not one, but TWO! Well, here's the deal. I subscribe to no fewer than five beer related periodicals, would rather read a book about beer than some useless, sappy novel that deals with emotions I try my best to ignore, and would prefer that my husband bring me home a growler of good beer instead of a dozen roses. And if I'm really in the beer groove on any given day, I'll poke through the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines (for all you true beer nerds out there...here's the link www.bjcp.org/styles... I have the hard copy 'cause I'm old school). It was flipping through the guidelines that inspired this week's post. The style guidelines for the Belgian Tripel and the Belgian Strong Ale are nearly identical, except for a few noted differences. So, I wanted to see for myself how they compared. And since I know that your interest has been peaked because of this fascinating story, here you go (and because I don't want you trashing my blog and/or sending me hate mail, I will not bore you with the details that are included in the BJCP guidelines...if you've made it through this much of the post, I'll assume you can read them for yourself).
Now I can't say that I was looking forward to drinking either of these, but will say that I did not despise either. Avery's Salvation (Belgian Strong Ale) was much sweeter in aroma and flavor than I expected, and did not have the "typical" Belgian traits, which made it much more palatable, for me at least. Although it is only a 9% ABV beer, the alcohol is present on the tongue immediately, but isn't a turn off. It was a good looking beer, hazier than I expected, and had an interesting rocky head of foam. I would call it a medium bodied beer, with fairly high carbonation that disappeared quickly. I enjoyed Salvation, but thought that the sweetness was a bit overpowering-had it maintained the initial level of carbonation, I think it would have seemed more balanced. I would drink it again, but in small doses. Beer is best shared anyhow.
The Allagash Tripel was much more along the lines of what I was anticipating drinking. There was the definitive, banana/spicy/peppery aroma, but those flavors were much more subdued than I expected. It was a bit darker in color than the golden, with a creamy, white head that stuck around. There wasn't much hop aroma to speak of, but there was some noticeable bitterness in the finish. It seemed more crisp and dry than the golden, which is the exact opposite of the style guidelines, but I guess that's why they are called "guidelines".
Anyone out there wondering why I didn't choose a Belgian beer made by Belgians, monks (or Belgian monks)? Well, I figured 1) I like to support domestic companies, 2) I felt it would be unfair to compare a domestic beer and an import, and 3) I like Avery beers and Allagash is from New England! I would at some point like to compare the same two styles again and choose two imports, but that's a story for another day.
On a side note...
GOOOOO Patriots!!!!!!!
Cheers!
Becky
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