Abbey Triple - Sprecher Brewing Company

Vitals:

Name: Abbey Triple (yes they spelled it different than the style)

Style: Belgian Tripel

IBU: 13

ABV: 8.41%

Gravity: 19 deg. Plato --> 1.076 OG

Purchased at: Riley's Wines of the World

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a dark orange, almost a University of Texas burnt orange. ZERO head on this beer, no cap, no lace, NOTHING...so weird. Seems very lightly carbonated, translucent and hazy. To be honest, this looks quite lackluster.

Smell: Fruity (banana) and spicy (cloves) with some yeastiness. Smells good but there's not too much else here. Maybe some other fruits on the nose and there is definitely a faint alcohol smell to it. Smells good but nothing else special.

Taste: Starts with very sweet notes (maybe caramel?) and the fruity banana kick which turns over with the spicy clove and slight bite of alcohol. You get some of the good old Belgian yeast flavor, which is good. Leaves you with a sugary and boozy aftertaste; slight detractor. The middle of this beer is very strong and then fades out, but you get some alcohol heat...hides it's ABV very marginally at best.

Mouthfeel: Lighter side of a medium bodied beer and not much carbonation. Provides the interesting spice/alcohol heat which is interesting...I can't figure out if I like that or not. That feeling rolls down the back of your throat throughout the experience.

Overall Grade: B

Comments: I had this at Quivey's Grove Beerfest last year and thought it was amazing. Now, placing it in context, with more experience with different styles, I think it's still a solid beer, but not as complex as I remember it. At ~$8 for 4 pints it's not a bad deal and is a slight step up from Leffe Blond. I still prefer Bedlam from Ale Asylum or Delirium Tremens if I'm having a Belgian beer at this point. Try it if you're interested, or if you're a Belgian beer connoisseur, but you can probably find something as good or better if you try.

Cheers,

Hurls

Rabbid Rabbit - Three Floyds Brewing

So, in an order to try more Three Floyds beers, I checked out their website and saw what beers were available around this time of year. Rabbid Rabbit (yes, I know that's not how you spell rabid, but that's how they spell it) was one of the beers that caught my eye. I will warn you, this beer (as well as the next one I will review) is a bit pricey. I got a 22 oz. bomber from Riley's, as that's the only place I found this one, but it cost $10.99. That's basically $11 for less than 2 beers. This had better be impressive.

Vitals:

Name: Rabbid Rabbit

Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale

IBU: 25

ABV: 7.4%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Riley's Wines of the World

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a straw color with 2 fingers of bone-white head. The head dissipates quickly, leaving a nice cap but no lace. Looks to be moderately carbonated; the bright color is quite inviting...

Smell: Big yeasty smell with big banana notes as well. Also seems like some honey, clove, and coriander are in there as well. Lemon comes through somewhat, too. Farmhouse ale is an appropriate term here because it smells faintly of sweet hay.

Taste: You get a big spicy taste up front with a yeasty/bready taste following, moving to the finish, which has a moderate/high alcohol heat to it. To be honest, this tastes more like a Belgian ale to me than anything else (a la Leffe Blond or another lighter Belgian Pale). The finish is drawn out and a bit too sour for my liking, but there is a decent floral/herbal hoppiness that is hidden in there. Doesn't hide the ABV well, but not incredibly poorly.

Mouthfeel: Medium carbonation, medium body. The body is heavier than it looks; the beer almost has a powdery texture to it based on how it dries your mouth out. Coats your mouth with the sour aftertaste it brings. 

Overall Grade: C+

Comments: This is just OK from FFF's; I feel quite disappointed, as I sought this out for a few weeks. This is definitely not up to FFF's standards; definitely the worst FFF's beer I've had so far (which still is a good beer anyways). It's a solid beer, but not for $11 for 22 oz. If I'm spending that on that little amount of beer I want it to blow me away; this beer simply didn't do that. I'd go with Gumballhead instead here, or if you want a true farmhouse ale you can grab some Spotted Cow on the (relatively) cheap.

Cheers,

Hurls