Fish Tale Monkfish Triple (2004-)

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.