How is that title for a ridiculous tie in to grab attention including a bizarre allusion to Niagara Falls?

The Boston Beer Company, better known in drinking circles for producing the Samuel Adams line of lagers and ales had a pretty outstanding 2009 in terms of reconnecting with craft brew enthusiasts.  If it is possible to boil down the themes that have dominated the craft brewing world the last 5 years many would point at three terms; Imperial, Extreme and Wood Aged.  Frankly the first and second have a habit of becoming interchangeable and somewhat pedestrian in explaining extraordinarily unique well made beers.  The latter however is fairly straight forward and while not entirely new, it has grown exponentially as an outlet for breweries to explore and provide rarer offerings.

The folks at Boston Beer are certainly not new to the “Extreme” beer concept (to many if they did not invent it, they certainly rekindled it) and while they debuted their “Imperial” lineup of beers only early in 2009, big doppelbocks and stouts were not exactly unheard from the brewery either.  Really what differentiated Samuel Adams lineup of interesting below the radar beers was access.  Before this year most of the specialty releases were done in extremely small quantities only available at their brewery in Jamaica Plains, Ma.   This included their very own barrel aging room.  As of this fall, the barrels go to bottles, albeit in a very limited geography.  I was fortunate enough to have a co-worker agree to pick up a bottle of each of the Barrel Series when he recently visited the Jamaica Plains brewhouse.  So thanks to John, the Barrel Series is in Albany.  First up, Sam Adams New World Tripel, so on to the review…

To be completely fair, my expectations for this beer was tempered.  I absolutely wanted to get a hold of each beer in this series, but I was not planning on having my palate ignited.  Belgian Tripel is easily one of my favorite beer styles - compelling, complex fruit aromas and flavors, light bodied and yes, they tend to pack a punch.  American craft brewers have been in my opinion largely hit and miss with this style.  Allagash Brewing in Maine makes the only world class Tripel in the United States to my palate, and it compares favorably if not equally to what is a gold standard for Tripels from the Trappist Abbey Brewery of Westmalle in Belgium.   So after a painstaking (and I kid you not, this was not without effort) attack pulling the cork from the bottle, it was time for a pour.

Recently I came across a great pair of Sam Adams Imperial Series snifter tulip glasses.  I had no idea Sam Adams had produced these, and while a Tripel is most commonly poured into a chalice or goblet, I have been trying to put mileage on these.  The beer poured with a bold egg shell white head, which initially was thick and mousse like.  The head provided plenty of nice lace on top of a straw golden slightly hazy bodied beer with orange and bronze highlights.

The aroma character in this beer was tremendous.  While I picked very faint hints of the oak barrel aging in this beer, there were intense fruit complexities.  Tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, along with sweet ripe peach character.   Again while the wood notes were faint and vanilla like notes of orange and light tangerine character came through as it warmed.   No perceptible hop character is shown, but the spicy and slightly foral peppery characteristics often associated with Belgian yeast strains shine.

The flavor is deep and complex for such a pale bodied beer, which is part of the magic of the Belgian yeast strains and frankly a well made beer.  Heavily tropical fruit upfront with white rum character.  I noted pineapple, banana, clove with hints of maple and rose.   While the alcohol character of the beer is subtle and not overplayed it provides the bulk of the drying sensation on the palate, with notes of honey suckle and jasmine in the finish.

The mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium bodied, with a dry finish that is very clean and smooth.  No astringency or thick cloying character.

In my opinion the only area where one could find a reasonable problem with this beer is the decidedly minimal oak barrel character that shows up.  That said, in the Tripel style wood characteristics in my mind can detract from many of the other subtleties created by the yeast and fermentation.   I gave this beer a 4.5 overall rating out of 5.0 in my personal review on BeerAdvocate.com.   It comes off extremely drinkable for a beer that is 10% abv with an incredible yeast derived character in the aroma and flavor profile.

The Tripel style pairs extremely well with pungent such as sharp cheddar or gorgonzola making it excellent substitute or option at wine and cheese pairings.  It will also pair exceptionally well with pork or poultry that is cooked with citrus and herb marinades.

The Sam Adams Barrel Series New World Tripel is not exceptionally easy to come by and is currently unavailable for retail purchase in New York State.  If you can’t convince someone to lug three bottles of beer around Boston for half a day and are interested in the Tripel style, look for quality imported examples such as the aforementioned Westmalle or the very fine Chimay Cinq Cents.  North American examples which should be fairly easy to find include the previously alluded to Allagash Tripel Reserve and Unibroue’s La Fin Du Monde out of Quebec.  Harder to find perhaps, but worth the search and currently readily available in the Capital region of Albany, New York is a beer from the Bruery - Trade WInds Tripel - which has its own unique take on the style.

Have a favorite Tripel?  Don’t agree that Sam Adams New World Tripel is as good as I say?  Drop a comment or hit me up on Twitter at @patrickboegel.

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