Anderson Valley Brewing Company Brother David Triple Abbey Style Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.
Tonight’s featured beer is Anderson Valley Brewing Company Brother David Triple Abbey Style Ale. As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been a fan of Anderson Valley Brewing Company beers for years. I was originally introduced to their Brother David Double and Triple at their brewery years ago. Every now and again I’d purchase a 22 of them, enjoying the flavors and thinking of Boonville. Much to my surprise AVBC began bottling their Brother David Triple in six packs! A 22 of 10% ABV is one thing, but getting a 12 oz bottle is perfect for when you don’t want to commit to something so HUGE all at once.

From the Anderson Valley Brewing Company website: “A bright dry aroma tops off this deeply complex Belgian-style beer that has over tones of malt, fruit, and freshly mown fields. The intensity of the higher alcohol is rounded out by the deep richness of the malt and the light hop flavors. Light and pale in color, a nice malt backbone holds up the highlights of spicy hops intermingled with yeast esters and aromas. The triple (or “tripel” as the Belgian’s call it) is a medium-bodied strong Belgian-style beer, with just a touch of mild malt sweetness and a dry finish on the palate.

The comparatively light body of this beer is achieved by substantial additions of candy sugar in the kettle and medium-high carbonation level. The hopping has been kept low, with the use of classic European hop varieties to give just a hint of spiciness.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a burnt apricot/orange with a small head that fades quickly.

Aroma: Sweet and malty, spices, dates, raisins and perhaps cherry notes. There is slight alcohol aroma as well.

Taste: Sweet malt and caramel flavors. Spice and fruit mix wonderfully together to produce a complex and enjoyable beer. Strong alcohol taste, but very smooth.

Overall: Delicious and exceptional. An excellent beer to pair with foods.

Now that Anderson Valley is bottling Brother David Triple Abbey Style Ale in 12 oz bottles I plan to keep this beer on hand as it is a fantastic example of a Belgian tripel. There are times in life when you need a fantastic 10% ABV Belgian in your glass!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey