Is it 10-10-10 already?

The first Vertical Epic I tried was last year's 09-09-09, which was a Belgian style Porter. Definitely one of my favorite beers, as it took a style I love (porter) and added some nice custom tweaks to it. This year's edition is a Belgian Tripel with some wine grapes incorporated into the brew - specifically Musct, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc.

Appearance - Appropriately golden, with a frothy almond head. The light bubbles make the beer look really inviting - my mouth is watering! Nice and clear too. 4.0/5.0

Smell - Flowery sweetness and sugar. Lemon, banana and honey too. 3.0/5.0

Taste - The belgian taste is dominant - all of the spice, coriander and lemon are really potent and easy to pick up on. I don't mind the sweetness and it masks the alcohol extremely well (and at 9.5% ABV, this one will sock it to ya). The use of wine grapes is different - it adds some tartness to it that you don't normally see in a tripel. The taste changed a bit as the beer warmed. - 3.5/5.0

Feel - A clean beer - there is a little aftertaste, but it's very mild. Flavor is predominately on the tongue. 3.5/5.0

Drinkability - I gotta say, I enjoyed the beer, but I didn't really think it was so amazing that I would buy this by the case. I could get a bottle of New Belgium Tripel for about 1/2 the price. 2.5/5.0

Know Your Beer - Belgian Tripel

This week we are going to look at the Belgian Tripel style of beer. This style has become more common in the US, but especially in Nuevo Mexico - we're really starting to see our local breweries exploring this type of beer and seeing what they can do with it.

The term "tripel" actually relates to the part of the brewing process where a brewer will use triple (aka 3x) the amount of malt that they would usually use for a brew. These beers tend to be on the fragrant end; having a bit of floral, fruity and sweet aroma to it. The brew tends to be lighter in color and body; the lighter body hides the fact that these beers are really strong - most of these start off at 8.0% abv (an average beer is 5.0% abv) and go up from there! So don't suck these down, unless you want to end up with a headache the next day.

I haven't had a lot of these, in fact, we've only featured three on the blog: the Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel, the Chama River Menege a Tripel and the Prescott Brewing Belgian Tripel.

Some others that you could try are the Rock Bottom Tremere Tripel and the Sierra Nevada Stricklander.

Chama River Menege A Tripel & Amber

Tina and I like to go up to Pendaries, NM (it's a little past Las Vegas, NM) - it's peaceful and relaxing. Especially, when you pack a growler or two. So, one of the last go-arounds, we stopped off at Chama River Brewing to see what they had to offer. We ended up getting their Menege A Tripel & the Rio Chama Amber. One impressed, one did not.

The Menege A Tripel was a strong tripel representation from Chama River. The beer had a very "wheatish" look to it, making the brew seem more like a combination of a wheat beer and a belgium tripel. There is a lot of crisp banana & apricot flavors with a short fruity aftertaste. The beer isn't really that sweet - just enough to get that fruity flavor in there. With a 8.6% ABV, it was strong and fit with other tripels I've had lately (the Kerberes Tripel from Flying Dog was 8.5%).

Look - 4.0/5.0 - The unique blend of a wheat and tripel was intriguing.
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - The banana and apricot flavors are pleasant and not so overpowering that you feel like you snorted a line of sugar.
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - A pretty standard tripel - strong, flavorful and crisp.
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - The lack of being overly sweet was very nice
Drinkability - 3.5/5.0 - The premium charged to get this one counts against it - while the beer was enjoyable, the extra $3 to get the growler make my wallet a sad panda.

The Rio Chama Amber was the disappointment of the pair. The aroma from the beer was...unique, but in a bad way. It was bordering skunky and that prevented much of any good scents from being detected. The beer had a slightly bitter taste and mild, lingering aftertaste. I had to keep drinking it to avoid that aftertaste from sticking around. This beer had to be served cold cold cold, which is where it had the best taste (and that's saying something).

Look - 3.0/5.0 - A standard amber color, nothing to write home about.
Smell - 2.0/5.0 - Yikes, skunky.
Taste - 2.5/5.0 - The bitter taste was nice, but then had a lingering aftertaste that wasn't terribly enjoyable.
Feel - 2.5/5.0 - Lingering aftertaste...bleh.
Drinkability - 2.0 - Very disappointing - they have enough beer there that I can avoid this one.

On a side note - I'm part of the Albuquerque 20/30 Club and we put on an annual charity event called the Equestrian Cup. This is the first year we would get local breweries to add their beers to the tasting menus (normally just really good food and wine). We asked Chama River and they denied us saying "We have given enough this year."

All I wanted was 2-3 kegs to have to feature their beer and market themselves...didn't think I was asking for that much. Anyway, if you go there, talk to them and tell them you want to see Chama River beer at the Equestrian Cup!!! That, or if you know someone who can make something happen, I'll owe you a beer.

I'll Believe it When Dogs Fly

I have actually seen a dog fly. Once Sarah (our hyperactive terrier) somehow went from the coach in our living room to the dining room table. And for a dog that is only 12 lbs, 10 feet is a long way to jump. But the Flying Dogs that I prefer are the ones that come in glass bottles. I got the Tire Bite Golden Ale and Kerberos Tripel as part of the recent Beer o' the Month Club. I had seen the Golden Ale in stores before, but the Kerberos was an unknown quantity.


The Tire Bite stood out from first whif...the aroma was pungently sour. I didn't think you could smell sour, but this beer managed to do it. The taste was pretty light, offering some hints of hops. Not hop like you'd expect from an IPA, but enough to warrant that sour smell (only 16 IBUs). I had this when I was really hot after working in the yard and it went down really quick. I had another one when I wasn't hot and I wasn't terribly impressed. This is definitely a summer beer, so if you're going to be sitting on the patio getting some rays, not a bad pick. If you're going to sit inside in the A/C, go for something else. While this was a good enough beer, it's lack of "versitility" brings down its score a bit. 78% - better than your average beer, but not quite there.


Flying Dog has a select group of beers that are a bit more...rowdy than their normal fare. These, called Canis Major, include the Kerberos Tripel, a Belgian style tripel that offers a real sneaky kick. Like most tripels, you can expect the Kerberos to have a light fruity aroma and taste. The malty aftertaste is crisp and refreshing. The ABV is what is sneaky - 8.5%, which means you can have a few of these things and really feel it afterward. Even though it features a higher IBU rating (26) to the Tire Bite, the bitter taste is really short at the beginning of each taste.

I really enjoyed the Kerberos and I do give it a few extra style points for the nice reference to the three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades. So, 88% on this beer. If you can find it here in ABQ, let me know where, as I haven't been able to locate it at Quarters, Kelly's or Sunflower.

Beer Fridge on the Road - Prescott Brewing Company

Last weekend, I had a great trip out to Phoenix, AZ and got to take a detour to scenic Prescott. This quaint little town is about 2 hours from (and 20 degrees cooler than) Phoenix/Scottsdale. While my wife and mother-in-law explored the thirft stores for hidden bargins, I took a tour of the town square, which was surprising stock full of bars. I think one block alone had 5 bars.

The first stop in the square was Prescott Brewing Company, a great microbrewery located in one of those mall-like areas where there are a bunch of stores branching off a central hall. The brewery itself is covered in coasters from all over the world and antique beer plates. Very chill environment and definitely would be a place I'd frequent if I happened to live in Prescott.

Our server, a very Irish-American gent by the name of Bryant, started me off with the Belgian Tripel and a warning of the beer's 10% ABV. While a lot of highly alcoholic beers have a bit of a kick to them, this one was extremely smooth. It had a light champagne taste with a texture similar to Boddington's (without the nitrous). There was a hint of sweetness to it, but nothing overpowering. The beer taste sticks with a mild, honey-like aftertaste. There is definitely a buzz-worthy factor to this beer, as I was feeling very nice after finishing it.

Bryant's next recommendation was the Alpine Wheat. This traditional Bavarian wheat beer reminded me a lot of the Hofbrauhaus (except not in the massive mug that Hofbrauhaus would provide). In tradition with the German method of drinking this beer, there would be no lemon! It definitely didn't need it though, as the beer had just the right taste without the extra citrus. There is a bit of a banana taste to it, but it's not overwhelming. Very crisp taste and extremely refreshing, but not a beer I'd be drinking after working in the yard. Would definitely enjoy this beer again!

Next, we'll visit Murphy's and check out the Professional Beer Drinker's Club.