Fish Tale Monkfish Triple (2004-)

Brewed by Fish Brewing Company/Leavenworth Beers
Style: Abbey Tripel
Olympia, Washington USA

Thanks to footbalm for this one. Pours hazy dark straw (not copper) with medium white head. Aroma of huge resiny hops, big dark fruit (grapefruit, honeydew, berries). Tastes malty, with a lot of hops and fruit in the finish. Dense, firm, solid palate. One of the fruitiest Tripels I’ve yet had. This could fare well as an IIPA or even a barleywine. It reminds me a little of Avery Hog Heaven. Nice complexity and balance. This one needs more respect!

From a fresh bottle.

Pours a hazy amber brown with a relatively small head.

The aroma is relatively mild and dominated by orange peel hops with a bit of pepper and just the faintest hint of yeast.

The flavor comes through as a surprising hybrid between a mellow IIPA (or a hopped-up West Coast Barleywine) IPA and a Belgian tripel --- and even more surprisingly, I really like it. Lots of citrus hops, some candied orange peel, very restained yeast flavors for the style, a late hint of grapefruit-driven alcohol. The mouthfeel is deeply quaffable, sparkling on the tongue and extremely tasty.

I just clicked with this bottle like nobody’s business. Sure, this one is not true to any particular style, -- but who cares? I’ll give it a huge shout for reminding me just how much I love beer (and just why I love it so.)

2006 bottle sampled May ’08 Another failed aging experiment. The hops are gone, cardboard in their place. Drinkable but not special. This is about a 3.3 today, and it makes me wonder about whether I’d be anywhere near the 4.3 above if I had it again fresh.

A great triple, not quite as good from the bottle as a previous batch was from the barrel, but still a great beer worthy of the triple name.

750 ml bottle. Tasty orange and tangerine flavor with a smooth yeasty taste. Aging did this baby well.

Pours with an orange body with lots of floaters topped by a medium thick head with some lacing. It’s sweet and malty wtih a note of candy sugar and a slight spiciness. Medium to full bodied and smooth.

Bottle: Courtesy of Styles. Strong buttery caramel and fruit aroma with some light yeastiness. Pours a cloudy orange with an insignificant white head. Lots of caramel in the flavor with some fruit and yeastiness. Finishes with a light citrus and a touch of hops. Apparently in the minority on this one, but I really liked it.

Poursa cloudy orange-golden hue wtih a small halo of a white head, and for some reason, I figured that this wouldn’t be bottle conditioned, so now I have yeast floaters. Aromas of lemon, grass, slight golden raisin, and little oak(wait.....I thought this wasn’t oak aged). Mouthfeel is medium bodied and wow.....I don’t remember liking this as much as I seem to right now. My problem with most triples is the initial effervescence, which is why I prefer doubles and quads, but this seems to lack such, which may, for my sake, improve this rating. Flavors of apples, a hint of bubblegum, a little lime, a little flowery, pineaplle dew. THis is very nice. Spices are kept to a minimum, but are notciable throughout. A little creamy as it warms as well. I only wish I had an barrel aged bottle still to compare the flavors.

2004.Murky.golden amber brew with no head at all.The nose off this is incredible.Hops,yes but more like some kind of bubblegum,sweet and rich.Then comes the oak,out of the woodwork.no pun.Has the acidity of a wine but that oak flavor is subtle but outstanding.Fruity and a little bitterness at the end.A very nice brew. I thank either Indiana Red or HeRftYDrF for this.