Allagash Bacchus Tripel

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Portland, Maine USA

Tap at Barcade’s 3rd anniversary party. Deep ruddy gold colour, slightly cloudy with no head at all. Nose has lots of sweet red grape and a soft vanilla oaky character. Soft sweet spice along with lots of lighter fruitiness as well. Some of the triple-ish peach/apricot character pops out but there is also a soft berryish sweetness as well. Warming brings along some more balance with the lovely oaky notes playing off of the slight vineous quality and the normal spiciness of this brew. A touch of yeastiness and light alcoholic cooling on the palate. An excellent brew.

[Draft at Sputen Duyvil] Poured a hazy golden color with a medium sized white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of earth, citrus fruits, vanilla, and white grapes. Taste of vanilla, grapes, yeast, light citrus, toast and a bit of alcohol as well.

Draught at EBF on 2/10/07
Vibrant golden-amber, with a coppery sheen to it, just like the regular trippel, of course. Large white head is held at cover and leaves quite a bit of lacing. The liquid shows moderate carbonation and a high clarity, although there is a touch of unfiltered haze. I thought there was just a slight peachy-rose tint from the wine barrel, though that could just be my imagination.
Intensely fruity/tannic nose, much like the En Garde, indicates a relatively fresh barrel with tons of wine character. Red currants, cranberries, curacao, tart cherries and strawberries all seem to comprise the wine-like aroma, which is decidedly strong. Chewy aromatic malts and light biscuity notes sit behind it, with the strong, ester-rich yeast and light earthy tones seeping in to the barrel character to produce curious results. Moderate tannic qualities on the end produce a dry, acidic finish but it leaves a little room for some soft, pale malt sweetness. Fruitiness continues, a very deep and juicy (but tart) red berry fruitiness, that is probably a bit too much and really leaves the beer component searching for an identity (though it is nice for what it is).
Strong fruitiness again in the flavor, with plenty of acids up front and a very dry, almost grainy, woodiness that stretches the malt sweetness to its limit. The fantastic yeast character of the trippel can’t be held back, however, and it’s there, in it’s estery, spicy glory, but a moderately sharp tannic acidity, and sweet fruitiness begin to win out on the finish. The vanilla and almond-cream-laced alcohol esters from the base beer are still present, though they sort of clash with the lighter, brighter wine notes, I think. Still, very intriguing overall, and it certainly is much nicer than the obnoxious trainwreck that is curieux. But I still think it’s got too much wine. I get the impression of drinking wine, like I did with Cantilon Reed Pinot, and not enough of drinking beer. The fruitiness gets a little fatiguing as well. Texture is perfect, just like in the Trippel. A touch of slickness from the barrel does not really disrupt.

EBF 07. I wasnt really feeling this one that much. The regular tripel is great, but they shouldnt mess around with it. Pours a slightly deeper color than the regular tripel, with a more diminishing fizzy head. Aroma is oaky, vanilla, slight butter, and the usual yeasty phenolics like clove and light vanilla- subdued on the ester/fruity quality. Flavor is also dominated by oak and other woody/earthy qualities- lots of tannins from the oak and possibly the wine- orange rind astringency with a slightly tart acidic finish. Ok.

EBF 2007 - the third barrel-aged beer of the night from these guys - sans the fruit of the other two (avance, inoculator), this beer was free to soak up all the wood it wanted, and, hence, leave it soaking into my palate - I got way too much wood from this - vanilla and oak overpower very faint flavors of wine grapes, honey, some floral hints - this just lacked balance to me.

Tap at Barcade’s 3rd Anniversary Party: Golden pour, with a head that becomes a thin ring. Aroma is dominated by oak, with some spicy alcohol hints and citrus fruit esters in the background. The original Tripel is a great beer, but this rendition is not working out. There’s no harmony between the rich, fruitiness of the base beer and the wine character from the oak. It seems the beer only sucked out a bunch of oak/wood/cork flavors from the barrel. The vinous qualities are lacking depth, if there at all. It just has a citric, mild burn. There’s also even more oak in the woody finish. Didn’t work out all that great, but still an interesting experiment.

Ah yes, the Allagash brew I’ve been searching for, that will push me into second place. Eat that, JoeMcPhee! Tap at Spuyten, like everyone else. Served too cold. "Lightly sour aroma reveals complexities when one closes the eyes and concentrates." That’s what I wrote on this sheet of paper, at least. Chardonnay and soft oak is, um, "sensual and delightful." Looks like my alter ego may have made a visit when I wrote this. Dry and flavorful, light kiwi and bread... bourbon? Tough to drink, but tasty. A bit oak dominated as it warms. I will now bask in the glory of seeing myself in second place.

On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown. Supposedly the keg said Wine aged tripel. Hazy golden amber body with a small white head. Sweet caramel and light oak aroma. Sweet, slightly tart flavor with some caramel, vanilla, oak, and a touch of honey.