Dead Soldier
Abbey Triple Belgian Style Ale
Sprecher Brewing Company
701 West Glendale Avenue
Glendale, WI USA
Est. 1985
www.sprecherbrewery.com
Brain Damage Quotient = 8.4 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0
Postmortem Brew Review
Slightly hazy, mostly orange color.
Floral, citrus hops nose along with more citrus fruit and bready tones. A bit of clove and banana esters also at play.
White, two finger frothy head. Tight bubbles that dissipate slowly and leave a draped lacing on the glass.
Taste starts a bit thin, but then fruits and citrus come out. Clove and spice pronounced as it warms in the glass.
Moderate carbonation.
Medium bodied. Interesting balances of flavor and easy to drink.
Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Is it a bad thing when you don't remember how beer ends up in your possession? Well, it is very curious because I'm the only one that places them in the fridge. Early onset Alzheimer's, no doubt!
Pulling and prodding through the stock of beer in the mortuary cooler, I noticed this one. "Hmmmm...", I pondered how it got there. Nevertheless, a Belgian style ale that just shows up in the fridge is like finding twenty dollars in the pocket of your old blue jeans. "It's time to spend this one...", I thought out loud.
It was good - indeed, very good. Is it the very best Belgian style I've had? No. But it has all the elements of becoming a great one. Everything is there. The banana and clove, the beautiful orange/amber tones with an ample white frothy head. Bready, yeasty smells and taste. Yup, it's all in there.
I enjoyed it, the same way I would have enjoyed spending that twenty bucks, especially considering there was no buyer's remorse with this beer. Whereas the twenty was mine to begin with, I really can't recall how the Sprecher ended up in the fridge. So, that made it a double, (or Tripel), bonus! Ha-HA!
It was tasty, though it took some persistence on my part to wait out the proper temp. Once that was achieved, the flavors did shine through. Interesting to note that this is made in Wisconsin. So I am happy to find yet another American brewer producing Belgian Style ales.
Stone Cold Fact: Sprecher Brewery also makes sodas, as do several other micro breweries. Nice to know.
U S A ! - U S A ! - U S A !
