Three Ridges Belgian Style Triple
Devils Backbone Brewing Company

 

 

As a huge fan of Belgian Trappist and Abby Ales, I was hugely impressed with this beer. Stumbled across it at a friend's house. It may not be the peer of Westmalle or the like, but it is easily the best American Belgian-style I have had. And at about a third of the price at the local grocery. It is a Sporty ABV as you would expect of the style. More clear than a comparable Belgian, with expected strong cloves, with a clean finish. Big fan. If you like Belgian, it is a great deal.

 

 

 

 

 

Served in a Petrus large stemmed fluted goblet.

In all honesty, I've let this guy sit in my fridge for far too long. Thankfully, the pour shows no real sign of decay. Diving in, the aforementioned pour results in a clear golden color with a uniformly short layer of bright white foam on top. With a little bit of agitation, the nose begins to open up with feelings of yeastiness, breadiness, clove-i-ness, spiciness, and a minor case of corniness. I think with a little bit of conversation, the brew will eventually be able to overcome some of these perceived issues, but it has to open up first. On the tongue-shaped couch, flavors of bananas, cloves, peppercorns, yeast, and a touch of sour funk. (I don't think that last one will affect its future much, particularly in the area of interbeer relationships.) The diagnosis comes swiftly, with little hesitation. Because its body is light but strong, and because it has merely a moderate amount of carbonation, the prognosis is very smooth and positive. Thankfully for this brew, its issues are not much worse, if at all, than anyone else's. Still, I'd advise continued council with my tongue, just to make sure...

On tap at the DBBBC. 25 IBUS

A: Clean gold with a stark white head. Lacing is good.

S: Pear, apple, apricot, raspberry, star anise and star fruit all come on strong and well-balanced.

T&M: Very very fruity and complex. Thick, malty passion fruit is underscored by a tart, cider-like acidity. The carbonation is quite crisp, with the entirety of the brew being sticky and sweet. The sweetness, while huge, is not overpowering. Rather, it has a pear-like smoothness in the way it coats the tongue with subtle bursts of varying fruit sweetness (pear, apple, passion fruit).

D: Even though it's quite thick is flavor, the Three Ridges projects a delicate and uniquely refreshing character. Well done.

Served in a logoed balloon tulip at the brewery.

Appearance: Arrives a clear, pale golden body, topped by a creamy two-fingers of white head. Unfortunately, the head retention is relatively poor, fading quickly to a thin sheen, though the collar is foamy and persistent. The lacing is intermittently sticky in faint blobs, but generally pretty runny. Carbonation is slow, fine, and relatively sparse.

Aroma: Very floral, green, and light, with some faint, neutral spices (clove, strong anise, peppery notes), and plenty of earthy, light sweetness, reminiscent of honey in places.

Taste: More honey sweetness, accompanied by hints of green apple and pear - far more fruits than peeked through in the nose - with cinnamon, clove, and licorice notes and a few faint noble hop notes rounding things out. A pretty nice blend of spices and fruits with a good underlying backbone.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, though with ample effervescence, the end result of which is a slightly uneven, rough mouth.

Drinkability: A good stab at a difficult style to nail down, this one hits most of the right notes, but for some reason just doesn't ring true to me. The alcohol is about typical for the style, so I can't knock it for drinkability there. Maybe it's the strong anise note that throws things off for me. Either way, it's worth a try, and I'd be happy to have it if I went back - it's a 45 minute drive from my house, and by god if I make that drive, I'm gonna have some beer to show for it!