Beer Rant

For this blog I wanted to redeem the Belgian Triple Style with one that could possibly just drive the margin of error back towards the high side. One of my favorite breweries is Fish Brewing in Olympia WA, so when I saw that they had brewed a Triple for one of their specialty Reel Ales, I knew I had found an American brewed Triple Style that should be up to the challenge. And challenge it did, my god I know a couple these styles from Belgium that could learn a lesson or two from the humble little organic brewery in Olympia. Carbonation, just the right amount, and if your a big drinker of Triple's you may even think it's a little underdone. It didn't hurt the smell of the drink either, the floral scent was perfectly fragrant out of a snifter style glass. In fact I could smell the raw ingredients of the beer better than a great many Triple's I've sampled in the past. The ale itself was silky smooth, it was like a gentle blanket of flavor across the tongue. This highly drinkable ale was a complete pleasure all the way through. The Belgian yeast flavor that is typical of just about all Belgian ales, was evenly woven throughout the rest of the flavor. For a Triple style this beer was the appitomy of equilibrium, nothing to out of the ordinary to spoil any of the other flavors. The barley and yeast flavors were melded into a wonderful array of strong flavors to give this the sweet, and bold taste that are typical of a good Belgian Triple in my opinion. Strong, well it just would'nt be a Belgian if it was not, this one weighs in at a respectable 10% alc. It doesn't taste the strength that it is though, it's the stealth bomber of beers. The alcohol in this will sneek through and knock out your senses with a decent helping of alcohol before you even know it, one will due for just about anyone quite nicely. If I had to put any negative on this, it would have to be the name. Monkfish although nice and punny given that it is a Belgian style Triple Ale which was developed by monks, is also the name of probably the nastiest tasting fish roaming the sea. This ale is definitely not nasty in flavor, just attitude. For me it would almost be on par with naming one of your beers pigeon shit brown ale, or rotten tuna sour ale. To all other breweries please I beg you, no puns! Their only clever to you for a minute and loose their appeal immediately to anyone else that reads it. Other than that this is definitely one I recommend you run out and buy as soon as possible, it's more Belgian than most Belgians I know.