Abbaye des Rocs Triple Impériale

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Montignies-sur-Roc, Belgium

Pours a dark amber color with some quickly disappearing tan head and a lot of floating yeast. Aroma is of sweet caramel and yeast. Excellent flavor consisting of caramel, yeast, and a hint of chocolate completely hiding the 10% ABV. This is an excellent Belgian Strong Ale from an awesome brewery.

Bottle. Continuing my weekend Belgian tour, this one poured slow and dark cloudy amber brown with sediment. Foam head begins but simmers down quick with a light ring till almost the end. As it warms it gets a little dry mouth feel. Cola like aroma with light spice and yeast. Light roast with an herb like spice hop note but mild and ALC very mellow.

750 ml bottle from Total Wine in Tustin ($7.99). Pours a deep ruby/garnet color with a big three fingers of beige head. It’s cloudy with a huge amount of really big floaties. With all the floating sediment, it’s not surprisingly that the nose has a lot of yeast but also includes caramel, spice (cinnamon), candied fruit, and other stuff. It’s a very complex aroma and I’m at a loss to describe it much better. Flavor is similarly complex with notes of caramel, chocolate, cherries, spice, and other rich flavors. It’s moderately sweet and nicely balanced. Medium body with no alcohol presence and a sweet and tangy finish. Excellent brew and perhaps the most yeast I’ve ever seen in a bottle.

Oak flavors all over everything. Cherries also strong in both aroma and flavor. Looks fantastic in the glass. Hidden ABV and balanced start to finish. A non-Belgian yeasty-ness pops up and keeps it from excellence.

330ml bottle. Pours a deep chocolate brown with a thin dense biege head. A sweet bready malt aroma with some funkiness. Flavor is sweet dark fruit, caramel, earthy yeast and a light spice. A nice creamy texture with well hidden alcohol.

The beer had a good usage of spice, dark malt and hops. It had nice hints of caramel but overall the beer did not seem complete. It was served a bit warm when I had it so that could have been a factor.

Pours a hazy very dark ruby/amber color with a thick frothy 1.5 finger head and chunks of yeast floating about. This is odd considering I left a good portion of the bottom of the bottle. Decent retention, slowly fading into a lasting ring, leaving sporadic spots of lacing. Spicy estery aroma with hints of apple and pear. Also a bit of dark malt, subtle hops, alcohol and a weird chemical soapiness. Peppery spice up front with some dark malt, light and dark fruit notes, candy sugar and slight alcohol warmth. Pretty smooth with the high ABV well masked. Complex and well balanced Belgian Strong Ale.