Triple Cone
Alvarado Street Brewery

Had this at Toronado during SF Beer Week '26 after drinking a very disappointing Pliny the Younger and this perked me right up. It's a bit boozy but not too much so.

 

Had this at the dipa fest 2022. Was like the 4th beer I had it looks like.

Pours an amber color. 3/5" white head. Looks maltier than single or double cone. The aroma still pops. Has that Mosaic, Amarillo, Citra, Galaxy hop presence (no Amarillo but the 3 create Amarillo like bright hay lemongrass vibes as well). Punchy.

Taste brings more hop flavor ratio wise than the appearance would suggest. Mouth feel much lighter as well. Double digit abv pretty easy to drink here. Not flabby or hefty, but not that nimble dry west coast mouth feel too. Mosaic gets a little lost in the taste segments. That Citra Amarillo like sensation comes strongest, varied citrus amounts of different origins like orange, grapefruit, tangerine and lemon. 125 ibu and the malt heft somewhat work each other down, like ratio'd cross cancellation. Ratio is the word of the day in this review.

Can poured into an Alvarado Street Brewery Willi Beecher glass

A: Pour slightly hazy golden orange amber with a cream white head that settles to a firm layer and

S: Zesty citrus and spicy resinous pine, tropical, exotic, and stone fruit, floral notes, slightly herbal, bready slightly biscuity malt, and a caramel sweetness.

T: Resinous, spicy pine, citrus, orange, lemon, and grapefruit, tropical and stone fruit, pineapple, peach, apricot, passion fruit, mango, and subtle gooseberry and white grape, slight earthy herbal notes, a bit floral, bready slightly biscuity malt, and caramel honey sweetness.

M: Full body, moderate carbonation, just a touch of alcohol warmth

O: I've been wanting to try this one for YEARS but it always seemed to be the 1 beer from them that never showed up in the shipment to my local shop. But not this year! I all but sprinted to snap up a can.
Really nicely balanced, you know it's big but everything has its place. I'm digging the hop combo. It brings a lot of classic flavors, plus some Nelson elements for extra depth. Damn good unofficial SF Beer Week/Anniversary IPA.

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: American Triple / Imperial IPA
Glass: Pure Project 16-oz. snifter glass
Price: $25.99 for a mixed 4-pack
From: Blind Lady Ale House in Normal Heights (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: Feb. 21, 2021
Consumed: Feb. 27, 2021
Misc.: Canned on Feb. 7, 2021; Can says 11 pct. ABV

Bought an Alvarado Street mixed 4-pack when I saw it available at Blind Lady Ale House. I love that BLAH is doing these lately as I’m on their website every day. Untappd called it “"Hop Bomb" would be cliche to describe this beer. It goes way beyond that - pungent, intense aromas of pineapple, freshly crushed gooseberry, orange pith and the whole spectrum of DANK blast through the glass. That's what you get with a clean fermentation and healthy heaping of Mosaic, Citra, & Galaxy hops.”

Poured a medium amber clear color with two fingers of frothy off-white head. Tons of fast-moving bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. World-class foamy lacing. Excellent retention. (Sight - 4.50)

Smelled orange, peach, Citra, grapefruit, gooseberry, Mosaic, bubblegum, Galaxy, passion fruit, pineapple and nectarine. Might have been even better out of the can. (Smell - 4.25)

First thing I thought on the taste was how smooth it was for 11 pct. ABV. Got orange, Citra, grapefruit, gooseberry, Mosaic, passion fruit, peach, nectarine, Galaxy, pineapple and bubblegum. (Taste - 4.25)

Medium body. Oily-to-creamy texture. Average carbonation. Long, smooth finish. (Feel - 5.00)

This was world-class overall. Just so smooth for a 11.0 pct. triple IPA. (Overall - 4.50)

4.39 | 97 | A

 

Alvarado’s Double Cone is one of my favorites.
First time trying the triple.
Pours clear, west coast style, honeyed golden.
Out the gate I’m getting a big big big bouquet. Slightly funky, slightly skunky, some huel melon and sticky diesel and a pinch of alcoholic booziness on the back end. Lightly bodied for the size, sharply bitter with a drying finish on the end. It drinks like an ipa, with little residual sweetness.

 

Can dated 02/11/21 into a plastic pint glass.

L: Vibrant golden with less than 1 finger of white head with limited retention.

S: Very nice, pine and floral, subtle tropical notes.

T: Follows the nose well with some added citrus. Finishes with mucho bitterness and some astringency and acidity, drys the palate.

F: Medium bodied with medium carbonation, lively on the tongue, somewhat full on the swallow.

O: I love Single Cone, but find Double Cone sweeter than I personally prefer. This keeps the sweetness in check, packs a bitterness punch, and has a dry finish that I personally love. Not quite PtY and Notorious territory for my palate and preferences, but not too far away either. I'll definitely grab again when I find it fresh.

Sweet tropical hoppy, orange/tangerine citrus, and piney dank nose on this one! Fantastic and prominent aromatis! Taste follows with some sweet tropical grapefruit citrus bitterness...and then a huge, piney dank bite with some booziness as a sidekick. The booziness increases as it warms, unfortunately. This has decent depth and feel for a triple. It's good, it's just a bit too boozy on the backend for my palate.

Canned 2/11/21 batch ABV 11% review: 4.75/4.75/4.5/4.5/4.5

Sweet, tropical hoppy, piney citrus, and tropical dank nose on this one! Taste follows with a clean and balanced, tropical hoppy, hint of citrus, and mosaic piney-dank finish. This is just wonderfully balanced...and hides big ABV much too well! This is a much better batch than last year. This is great stuff!

 

Can from Lúpulo.
Only 6 days old.
Look: light amber, slight haze. Ok head.
Smell: dank! Stone fruity.
Taste: dank, grassy, earthy, stonefruit, honey, slight booze
Feel: medium slick. Slight booze burn. Numbs mouth a little?
Overall: as the label states “ hop bomb would be cliche”. But that is what it is. And it does it’s job. Solid.

 

Disgustingly smooth triple IPA. No boozy, fusel burn. Not sticky or overly sweet. Miraculously balanced really for something with this heady ABV. A fairly standard array of flavors in grapefruit, orange peel, pine, a hint of weedy dankness, that subtle perfumey note that comes when you hit these drunken heights. But it just puts the package together in a way that few 10%+ IPAs manage.

Continuing to reinforce my opinion that Alvarado does clear better than hazy. No knock as I'm a guy that straddles the aisle.

 

 

 

This beer pours a hazy light straw colored gold with a massive fluffy white head in my Avery tulip glass. The smell is a pungent guava, passionfruit, tangerine, pineapple, and mango. It smells like overripe tropical fruit. The taste follows with a very sweet tropical fruit character. I taste mango, pineapple, guava, and even a very juicy peach. This beer should be the ambassador of tropical hop character. The sweetness creates a smooth avenue for these fruity, tropical hops. There is a noticeable, but mild solvent like alcohol taste on the very end which is to be expected at 10.5%. That being said, the alcohol taste is only hinted at. For being an imperial IPA the alcohol is hidden very well. I could drink this brew all day. The mouthfeel is smooth and lingering just like a NEIPA should be. There is some bitterness to offset the sweet tropical character, but I don't think the taste is truly reflective of 120+ IBUs as the can states. Overall: this is a phenomenal beer. As president Trump would say: "trust me I know beer and this beer, trust me, is a tremendous beer" The only thing comparable in Oregon currently in Great Notion. Keep it up Alvarado and please start distributing to the PNW.