I needed a great beer for New Year’s Eve.  A random six pack wasn’t going to do.  I wanted a big bottle of something special.  I hesitated as I browsed the excellent selection of 22 oz and 750 ml bottles at Magruder’s.  What gave me pause?  The prices – I’m not used to paying $10 for a bottle of beer.  But then I realized that I had just put a $14 Prosecco and $10 Brut in my cart.  If I was willing to pay that much for New Year’s Eve bubbly, why not spend as much on a great bottle of beer?

I picked the 750 ml bottle Allagash Tripel sealed with a cork and cage – perfect for popping the cork at midnight to celebrate the New Year!  This is one of my favorite beers, and one I had the pleasure of serving at a beer festival a few years ago.  A tap of Allagash Tripel at my fingertips to dispense and indulge at will was an incredible experience.  I also got a chance to visit the brewery in Portland, Maine and I’ve met the head brewer Rob Todd, so I have a few feel-good memories about Allagash.

Sentiment aside, the beer is incredible.  I couldn’t describe it better than Allagash: This golden hued ale is marked by passion fruit and herbal notes in the aroma, with subtle suggestions of banana and honey surfacing from its deep and complex palate. The Tripel’s finish is remarkably long and soothing.

This beer is a golden beauty.   I don’t know about passion fruit, but the flavor profile is amazingly complex.  The beer is strong, at 9% ABV.

I have a few posts to catch up on from late December, highlighted by our travels to New England over the holidays, but I had to interrupt my regular flow of chronological posts to write about this remarkable beer!

I think I just started a new New Year’s Eve tradition – Allgash Tripel!