Flossmoor Station - 15th Anniversary

Well gang, in the last week I celebrated yet another birthday.  Besides recounting all the blessings and accomplishments of the past year, it's also a great excuse to drink whatever the hell I want.  Today, that translates into someone else that celebrated a birthday, too.  Today's review is for Flossmoor Station's 15th Anniversary Abbey style Tripel Ale.  Flossmoor's 15th anniversary has long since past as I've been holding onto this bottle for quite some time, but today seems as good a day as any to open it.  Besides, it's my birthday.  For those unfamiliar with Flossmoor Station, they're a local brewer located in (you'll never guess) Flossmoor, IL and have had some past success at events you may have heard of like GABF and those listed here.

The bottle specifically lists the brewery's 15th anniversary as July 8th, 2011.  Looks like I've been cellaring this longer than I intended.  The bottle also tells us that this brew tips the Toledos at 15.0% ABV, utilizes magnum and crystal hops, and pilsner, carapils, & demarara sugar malts.  Also, in my neck of the woods one will hardly ever see smaller breweries using nice wax-dipped bottles, which is always a nice touch.  Let's pour!

Aroma 12/12

It's the first sentence and there's already SO much going on in this beer.  The nose begins with lots of fruity aromas like apples, green grapes, honey, and a subdued Belgian yeast.  As it warms, the Belgian notes really come on strong with a pronounced banana note and a clove-based spiciness.  Later still, it becomes dominated by a wonderful sugary smell with a little warmth and a spiced-not-sweet Belgian yeast.  Finally, it puts all these things together by toning down the larger scents (Belgian, sugar, spice) and bringing out the fruity acidity.  Now THIS is a golden ale!

Appearance 3/3

Perfect.  It pours as golden as the wax crowning its bottle, but sits in the glass as a brilliant ocher color.  Oddly, looking down at the beer from the top it shows strong ruby hues!  And no I don't have red flooring.  Because I have aged this bottle so long, any sediment remains in the bottle and the resultant beer is crystal clear and bright.  The head is as white as the snow outside my window and rose to a finger in height; an impressive feat considering that the bubbles are nearly microscopic in size.  It lasted as a ring around my glass until well into the beer.

Flavor 20/20

This is an insanely complex brew!  It begins with unadorned sugary, malty sweetness and quickly moves into fruity sweetness full of apples and golden raisins.  Things blossom widely as those two flavors combine into the flavor of caramelized fruits (this is not an exaggeration).  Belgian yeast, not far behind, adds its goodness and a strong alcohol presence is felt.  Note that it is "felt" and not "tasted."  The strong warmth never impinges on the flavor itself, but gratuitously pricks the tongue while in the mouth.  A bitter note is present when holding the beer in the mouth for an extended period and adds complexity and balance to this sweet beer.  Way back in the flavor profile is a dull sour whose origin likely lies in fruity acidity.  This makes even more sense upon swallowing where the first impression of the finish is an almost citrusy splash of said acidity and a reprise of the aforementioned bitter.  The aftertaste is surprisingly clean after such a warm, sweet, clingy beer. However, the only sensation remaining in the mouth is the lingering effects of the alcohol on the tongue.

Mouthfeel 4/5

This is a beer that absolutely coats the mouth with its sweet, sugary presence.  It borders on syrupy at times, but its lighter flavors and ABV help draw it away from that characterization.  It also possesses a halfway sneaky alcohol warmth.  Granted, at 15% ABV, it's hard to do anything sneakily.  However, the flavor is never too boozy.  To the point, I've had many bourbon barrel-aged brews with half the ABV that taste twice as hot as this brew.  While it doesn't taste hot, the alcohol is undeniable in the mouthfeel and how it pricks the tongue. A lot.

Overall Impression 10/10

This is the lightest tasting big beer you'll never try.  It's not light in flavor - anything but! - but most big beers tend to be heavy handed with the hops or a very rich stout.  This beer is a giant, but still manages to taste like an excellent golden (an Imperial golden?).  The fruits and sugars are present to keep this beer sweet and innocent, even if the ABV and heavyweight body would just as soon mug you in broad daylight.  In your own driveway.  In front of your kids.

Total 49/50

Personally, I liked this beer a lot.  It's complex, big, and captures all the essentials of the intended style.  The flavors are out-of-this-world intense an unlike anything that you'll find anytime soon.  I checked the average scores on BA and RateBeer after this review and was shocked to see them so low!  Perhaps it was a different beast when it was fresh, but as it stands currently it is an "Imperial Golden" that will be my measuring stick for some time to come.  If anyone disagrees with this point of view, please remember that it's my birthday so I am right and everyone else can go suck a potato (insert good-natured wink).  Good work Flossmoor!  Please know that we won't hold it against you if you decide to NOT limit this recipe to just a 15th anniversary beer and to brew this one again.

St. Martin - Tripel

I love Belgian beers, especially Abbey Ales.  They were one of the first "expensive" beers (as I called them) that I got into when exploring craft beer.  Today, I am in luck as I will be reviewing an official "Certified Belgian Abbey Beer."  This is often indicated somewhere on the label and often looks like a stained glass window (picture included at end of post).  This is not to be confused with the seal that indicates an authentic Trappist brew.  Before I get too distracted I should mention that this beer was bottled in February of 2010.  I'm not sure if that will effect the flavors or not (I kept in refrigerated, but I obviously cannot attest to the retailer), with the high ABV, I'm hoping any effect would be negligible.  St. Martin has a great presence on Twitter (@AbbeyStMartin ) and I can't believe I have not yet reviewed one of their beers.  Thanks St. Martin for the great conversation with your customers.  We really appreciate it.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 12/12
This is an incredibly complex aroma.  Be prepared to smell everything a Belgian beer could possibly include.  As the head settles from a somewhat vigorous pour, a strong malt comes to the nose and smells like rich, baking bread.  The head settles marvelously into place and allows a understated banana to take over.  It is not the overly sweet, candied, "laffy taffy" variety that we find in many belgian-style ales, but a simple, natural, mouth-watering banana.  The warmth can be felt in the nose at this point, but does not truly add itself to the aroma.  Subtle spices soon make their way to you, consisting mostly of a dusting of clove and coriander.  Wait a minute or two longer and a few lemony citrus notes poke out their head along with a clearer malt aroma than in the initial sniffs, and even a touch of honey.  None of these ingredients smack you in the face.  They are presented simply, earnestly, and in balance.  Very complex and extremely well done.

Appearance 3/3
Initially pouring light, but growing darker with more sediment, the Tripel pours a dusty golden peach color with an ample white cloud of head.  Moderate lacing on my glass and a wonderful, hazy brew that seems to catch the light and create new facets with every twist of the glass.

Picture is my own.  Look at all the sticky lace!

Flavor 18/20
The first touch on the tongue is a combination of the bready and light malts from the aroma.  This transitions beautifully into a light citrus, then a very spiced banana and quite a bit of alcohol warmth that is definitely not as camouflaged in the flavor as in the aroma.  The alcohol with the spices and sweetness are nearly reminiscent of a spiced rum.  Almost simultaneously is a dark caramel sweetness, but is largely overshadowed by the alcohol and banana.  To let this sit in the mouth lets the banana+alcohol mix mellow, the citrus grow a bit, gives the whole lot a bit of a sour/tart tinge, and a light bitter to develop.  The finish is more of the spiced banana and strong alcohol warmth.  The aftertaste is oddly a good portion of the bready malt, but also some peppery hop flavor without much hop bitter.

Mouthfeel 5/5
The first thing to mind, of course, is the strong warmth of the brew.  Its body is a nice medium-full and the carbonation, though incredibly tiny, appears in ample amounts even through the bottom of the 750ml bottle.  The creaminess is relatively low for what one normally finds in the style.  Is that a bad thing?  No.  This is already a big beer and it does not need any creaminess to prove or improve it.


Overall Impression 8/10
Nirvana-esque aroma, but the flavor did not quite play at the same level.  The alcohol largely overwhelmed some of the cornucopia of flavors originally found in the aroma.  This is still a damn tasty beer.  Non-candy banana, lots of spices, big flavors, technical brewing, and even a peppery hop at the end all make this beer a winner.


Total 46/50
I am very impressed by this beer and would definitely buy it again, but I cannot help shake the feeling of disappointment that I wish the flavor lived up to that intoxicating aroma.  It was complex, beautiful, comlimentary, and.... wow.  A lot of that was lost when the alcohol was introduced to the palate and overwhelmed a lot of the give and take that was happening.  Long story short, I was thinking that this might be the first beer that I give a perfect rating to, but it got lost in the warmth.  Does that make this a bad beer?  Hell no.  If someone offered me this, whether I knew what it was or not when I sipped it, I would probably give them a hug (in a very masculine way).  Big Belgian authentic taste, alcohol laden, spicy, bananas, and amazing technical specs all make this beer worth every penny.  I just cannot help but think... "what if."

Marty himself.

The seal of "Certified Belgian Abbey Beer."