Tallgrass Brewing Co.
Manhattan, KS
Available: AL, AR, CO, KS, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, ND, OH, OK, PA, SD, VA, WI
First ever Belgian-style triple in a can. The beer pours a golden straw color with brilliant clarity. Topped with a lofty pure white head, it has a floral aroma with subtle fruit overtones. The taste is clean and crisp; with hints of fruit and sweet malt with just a touch of candy sweetness at the end.
ABV: 8.5
ABW: 6.7
Color: 5
Bitterness: 33
Original gravity: 1080
How much do I love it that this Tripel comes in a tallboy can? Quite a bit. And I love it even more so after opening the can and pouring the dark golden nectar into a glass, producing a fluffy white meringue head that would make a Belgian pop his buttons with pride. Bready yeast greets you at first in the nose with a lemony citrus sidekick. First sips produce more than enough peppery spiciness to keep the sweetness in check. Double that with the beer's enthusiastic effervescence, and this spicy Rooster will make you yearn for another sip.
A tripel in a can that lives up to its name, thanks to its smooth, silky malt foundation. The Belgian pretensions are obvious from the first sniff—a spicy yeastiness, joined by a fruitiness that falls somewhere between orange, mango and apricot, emerges from beneath a thick collar of tight bubbles. The same fruit is evident in the mostly sweet taste, along with spicy hop and a nutty, grassy note, before a drying finish that sees earthy hops eventually taking over. Not the most complex tripel you’ll find but it really does slip down very easily for the strength.
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.
