Beers from New Hampshire

I bought some beers in New Hampshire while attending a wedding there.

Fiddlehead IPA is a hazy New Englandish IPA with a mild bitter bite. 

20260917: ML gave me a can. I liked it. It was more West Coast than I remember and drank well.

Rating = 3.5 glasses and thought about 4

20260812: I am happy to drink it again but will not seek it out. The raters at BeerAdvocate like it better than I; they say that it is outstanding.

Rating = 1.5 glasses

Wormtown Be Hoppy is a pleasant IPA.

Tasting Notes
20260815: The last impressed me. Nicely balanced with a decent hop bite.

Rating = 4 glasses

20260812: The taste combines mild sweetness with gently bitterness from the hops. Easy drinking! The raters at BeerAdvocate rate it as Outstanding.

Rating = 3 glasses

Schilling Erastus is a nice abbey-style tripel. The taste combines citrus, orange rind, and hints of clove and banana. Tasty! The raters at BeerAdvocate rate it as Outstanding.

Rating = 4.5 glasses

St. Bernardus Tripel

St. Bernardus is a great Belgian Tripel. It has a bit more clove and a little less peppery spice than Allagash Tripel.

It has the 6th highest rating on Beeradvocate for a tripel.

Brewer's Notes: "St. Bernardus Tripel is a traditional abbey beer that follows the classic tripel style. In the Watou region a tripel is often referred to as a ‘Bernadetje’. A fine tribute that pays homage to Bernadette, the youngest daughter of Evariste Deconinck, the man to whom the monks of Abbaye Sainte Marie du Mont des Cats sold their Belgian property in 1934.'"

Click here to read more about the brewer's description of the beer.

Tasting notes
20251226: Alex A brought a bottle for Christmas dinner. It was a great match for the menu. The beer has a bit more clove and a little less peppery spice than Allagash Tripel.

Rating = 6 glasses

20091104: Click here.

20081129: Click here.

Allagash Tripel

Allagash Tripel is my favorite tripel. The flavor is a mix of spicy, citrus, a flash of sweet alcohol, and a titch of clove. It is an old friend and continues to impress. Other tripels can be too much clove.

Brewer's notes: This award-winning celebration of a classic Belgian beer style is filled with notes of passion fruit and honey. Its simple recipe yields a full range of elegant flavor and finishes refreshingly dry. Its golden, crisp, and refined profile pulls from a tradition that began centuries ago in Belgian Abbeys.

BeerAdvocate: This strong golden ale is marked by passion fruit and herbal notes in the aroma, with suggestions of banana and honey in the complex palate. The Tripel has a remarkably long and smooth finish.

Tasting notes

2311: Another delicious bottle last night with Lisa's birthday dinner.

Rating = 6.5 glasses

2004

Rating = 6 glasses, but thinking about 7.

New Belgium Trippel, Voodoo Ranger IPA, and Mountain Time

New Belgium sponsored the Mountains to Coast Bike Tour I took last week. Free beer when the camping sites allowed!! Here are notes on three beers I sampled. 

Trippel
Brewer's notes: Our Trippel has always been a big, beautiful Belgian-style ale, but in 2015, we tweaked the recipe to include a new yeast variety and even more complex malt profile. This golden beer opens with a bold blast of spicy Noble hops, courtesy of Saaz and Hallertau Mittlefruh, and gives way to the fruity aromas offered by our traditional Belgian yeast. Brewed with Pilsner and Munich malts, Trippel is classically smooth and complex, and sings with a high-note of sweet citrus before a pleasantly dry finish delivers a warm, strong boozy bite. Give Trippel a sip to get you smiling.

Tasting notes: I liked it the best of all the beers I sampled. Nice clove flavor without being overbearing. 

Rating = 3.5 glasses. MIght merit 4.

Voodoo Ranger IPA
Brewer's notes: Bursting with tropical aromas and juicy fruit flavors from Mosaic and Amarillo hops, this golden IPA is perfectly bitter with a refreshing, sublime finish.

Tasting notes: Eh. Ok but lacked the hop bite I seek.

Rating = 1.5 glasses

Mountain Time
Brewer's notes: Crisp and clean as snowmelt in spring, Mountain Time Premium Lager is brewed with only the finest ingredients by the employee-owners at New Belgium Brewing. This refreshing lager will take you to another time & place. Live life on Mountain Time.

Tasting notes: The surprise of the tastings. It is a decent lager and went well with fried fish and shrimp. Not good enough to savor - I did not finish a second can when the time to leave arrived.

Rating = 2 glasses

Unibrue Don de Dieu

 

Brewer's Notes: Don de Dieu (Gift of God) was the name of the ship that Samuel de Champlain sailed on his mission to “explore and discover the vast and perilous land of America” in the name of the King of France. His travels led to the founding of Quebec City in 1608.

Inspired by this great adventure, Unibroue created Don de Dieu—an abbey-style triple wheat beer refermented in the bottle. Soft and round, it has delicately nuanced fruity and hoppy notes.

01 Nov. 2020
I fear that my first review was too exuberant. More clove came through on the second bottle. The clove is true to the style but is I think it detracts from the taste. I am downgrading the rating.

Rating = 4 glasses.

28 Oct. 2020

The bottle claims to be a pale ale but Beeradvocate correctly calls it a Tripel and ranks it as the 8th best Tripel. 

Don de Dieu is a wonderful beer. It is wheaty, yeasty, and spicy with a titch of clove. Do I like it better than Allagash Tripel? I am keeping the rating a little lower pending further investigation. 

Rating = 5 glasses.

Straffe Hendrik Wild

Straffe Hendrik Wild is a tripel refermented with Brett. It is an interested Orval-like take on a triple. The bottle I drank was dated 2015.

Rating = 4 glasses.

18 August 2013

Bell's Oarsman: A solid 4. Simple, tart, and easy drinking. 

Boulevard 80-Acre: A hoppy wheat ale. Simple and a little watery. 2 glasses.

Allagash Tripel Reserve: I am liking this more and more. Upgraded to 6 glasses.

Tripel Perfection

Brewer: Ommegang

Style: Tripel

Tasting notes: (1012) Cloves, candi sugar, orange rind bite. Might need to age. Closer to 3 glasses than 5.

Rating: 4 glasses

Tripel Reserve

Brewer: Allagash

Style: Tripel

Tasting notes: (1012) A bottle @ LeMaire. Fruity, spicy, with a tiche of dry funk. Complex. Upgraded from 4 glasses and thought about 6. (1008) Fruity and nice w/ a touch of triple sour dryness. 0705: Dry, sour, grapefruit hops, with hints of lemon and citrus.. Downgraded from 5/8. ???: My first Belgian style ale and still one of my favorites. Fruity and nice. You spend half the bottle trying to identify the flavors and then the 9.0% ABV hits you.

Top 100: 29 December 2005

Previous ratings: 5, then 4 glasses

Rating: 5 glasses

Maerfant Damse

Brewer: Steenberge

Style: Tripel

Tasting notes: (1004) On draft @ Mekong. Candy sugar, apples, and a spciy finish with a tiche of hops. Pleasant, a tiche sweet, and easy drinking.

Comment: An called it "Naked Draak", I think I have the correct brew but may have the wrong name.

Rating: 5 glasses

Sparkling Ale

Brewer: Bell's

Style: Tripel

Tasting notes: (1003) On draft @ Mekong. OK. A tiche of sweet.

Rating: 3 glasses

Karmeliet

Brewer: Bostells

Style: Tripel

Tasting notes: (1101) On draft @ Mekong. Sweet orange, spicy fizz, and a tiche of funk. (1004) Ditto. (0910) "Blond, robust, smooth and fruity, withh a delicious spicy flavor."

Top 100: 29 December 2005. (Not 10 March 2007 or 03 April 2009.)

Rating: 6 glasses

Tripel

Brewer: St. Bernardus Style: Tripel Tasting notes: (0910) On draft @ Mekong. Sweet apple and pear, w/ a little alcohol and a tiche of spice @ finish. (0801) Not what I remembered. Nice but nothing great. Downgraded from 6. Thought about a 4. (0711) Very nice. Sweet apple at first. Late I noticed pear and sour funk and alcohol. At the bottom of the glass the alcohol started to take away my breath and I detected banana. (0709) Pear, apple, pepper, spices, and a little sour funk. Some alcohol comes forward as the beer warms. Better (fruitier, darker, sweeter) w/ yeast. Wonderfully balanced and very drinkable. Top 100: 29 December 2005 and 10 March 2007. (Not 4 November 2009.) Rating: 5 glasses

Dulle Teve

Brewer: de Dolle

Style: Tripel

Tasting notes: (0910) Dry, apples, raisins, and lemon rind bite at finish. Thought about 6 glasses.

Rating: 5 glasses

Koningshoeven Tripel

Beer: Tripel

Brewer: Koningshoeven

Style: Tripel

Tasting notes: (0906) Apple juice syrup w/ some spices. Missed my mark.

Comments: This brewery is called La Trappe outside of the US and Canada. It is one of only only seven that may carry the name “Trappist”. The other six are: Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westvleteren, and Westmalle. La Trappe is the only one in Netherlands. The other six are in Belgium.

Rating: 3 glasses

Unibroue La Fin du Monde

Beer: La Fin du Monde
Brewer: Unibroue
Style: Tripel
Tasting notes: (2) Cloves, yeasty wheat, banana, white grapes, and alcohol breath. (1) Cloves, alcohol, and apples. Previous review.
Dates on which reviewers at BeerAdvocate.com rated it as one of the top 100 beers on the planet: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, and 1 January 2009.

Rating: Recommended without reservation.

Bell's Expedition Stout, Chimay Tripel, and Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Beer: Expedition Stout
Brewer: Bell's
Style: Imperial Stout
Tasting notes: A bottle from 1.5 years ago. Massive bittersweet chocolate and coffee w/ alcohol, and hops in background. Upgraded from recommended w/ qualifications. Previous review.
Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate.com rated the beer as one of the top 100 beers on the planet: 29 December 2005 and 10 March 2007. (Not on 30 January 2009.)
Rating: Recommended without reservation

Beer: Tripel
Brewer: Chimay
Style: Tripel
Tasting notes: (4) Orange zest and hop bite. More assertive and not a fruity as I remember. Downgraded rating from highly rated to without reservation. (3) Draft @ Belga Café. Wonderful. Funky, light, flavorful, cleansing, hoppy sour bite @ end. Upgraded rating from no reservation to highly rated. (2) A bottle @ Can Can. Very nice, I remember the draft as being fruitier and funkier. (1) A glass @ Daniel's rehearsal dinner. Wonderful, light, funky, w/ hoppy sour bite at end.
Comments: Chimay is one of six Trappists brewers in the world.
Rating: Recommended without reservation

Beer: Nugget Nectar
Brewer: Tröegs
Style: Red Ale
Tasting notes: (3) Ditto, A tiche too much pine and perfume. Downgraded rating. (2) Flavorful, hoppy, red ale w/ just a tiche of perfume. Upgraded rating from good to with reservation. (1) Better. No perfume. Previous review.
Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the top 100 beers on the planet: 29 December 2005, 10 March 1007, and 30 January 2009.
Comments: This is a well crafted beer whose flavor profile misses my mark.
Rating: Good

New Year's Eve

I enjoyed three beers on New Year's Eve: a lager from Germany given to me by DZ, Unibroue La Fin du Monde, and J.W. Lees Harvest Ale aged in Calvados Cask. The lager was tasty and a nice aperitif. I don't remember the name. Details for the other two beers follow.

Beer: La Fin du Monde

Brewer: Unibroue

Style: Tripel (BeerAdvocate earlier classified it as Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Tasting notes and comments: (1) Nice. Cloves, malt, and spices. (2) Sweet malt, complex light fruits, and fizzy spices, with a touch of funk. (3) Delightful. Light, complex, and funky. (4) Fruity, fizzy, and smooth. Light and refreshing.

Dates on which reviewers at BeerAdvocate.com rated it as one of the top 100 beers on the planet: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, and 1 January 2009.

Rating: Recommended without reservation.

Beer: Harvest Ale aged in Calvados Cask (Calvados is French Apple Brandy.)

Brewer: J.W. Lees

Style: English Barleywine

Tasting notes and comments: (2) Another bottle dated 2004. Sticky sweet apples, followed by husky leather w/ alcohol breath. (1) A bottle dated 2004. Sticky sweet, peach and prunes, burnt caramel, w alcohol burn at end. Lisa hated.

Dates on which reviewers at BeerAdvocate.com rated it as one of the top 100 beers on the planet: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, and 1 January 2009.

Recommendation: Highly recommended. It is on my current top 10ish list.

Two More Favorite Beers

De Dolle Still Nacht and Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA have crept into my top 10 list based on recent tastings. The top 10 now contains 12 beers. I count like the Big 10 does.

Still Nacht is Belgian Strong Ale. The flavor is a delightful medley of candy sugar, orange zest, spices, funk, alcohol and subtle hop bite. The beer is a seasonal release and usually arrives early in the calendar year. It ages wonderfully. I recently consumed a 2-year old bottle and it was FANTASTIC.

120 Minute IPA is at least a double IPA and may be a triple IPA. It tastes like a BIG English Barleywine. Bitter hops fight to emerge from a sweet raisin mash, followed by big alcohol blast. It is a 2+ hr. sipper. It is an occasional purchase due to its price. A 12 oz. bottle goes for $9 or $10 dollars.

Chimay Tripel has earned an honorable mention. A recent glass on draft was FANTASTIC.

Inventory

I purchased Unibroue Trois Pistoles, Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Weihenstephaner Vitus, Schneider Aventinus Weizen Eisbock, and Chimay Tripel today. Trois Pistoles is strong Belgian Dark Ale. La Fin Du Monde and Chimay are Tripel. Vitus is Weizenbock. Aventinus Weizen Eisbock is Eisbock. Chimay is also Tripel.

All are wonderful beers. The Unibroue beers are great values.