Alley Kat's Charlene pours a sample of the 15th Anniversary Tripel

Tonight was the Release Party for Alley Kat’s latest 15th Anniversary release, and I decided to drop on by for a sample and a visit. The place was hopping as the Kats poured tasters of their version of Belgian Tripel, a strong, golden, spicy ale made famous by the region’s monks.

The aroma is a classic Belgian Trappist ale. It has an aroma of pepper, citrus and coriander with floral and earth tones. The front of the sip is fruity with a soft malt sweetness, which is overtaken by a sharper pepper spice with funky notes. Importantly, the alcohol hides behind the Belgian yeast qualities, surprising you with its strength (8.2%).

It is clearly a young tripel, but shows much promise. At the moment the malt may be too pronounced and the spice a bit isolated, but I do not consider that a criticism. Tripels are best at 6-24 months of age (or older if they are well built). My instinct tells me that in a year, the malt will have pulled back a notch and the spices blended to create a very desirable tripel.

Such is the conundrum of a limited release beer of this nature. Alley Kat needs to sell most of it quickly, to justify its limited nature. However, it will be at its best a number of months from now.

The solution? Do what I am doing. Buy a couple (or few) bottles now, maybe allow yourself to enjoy one right away, and then stick the rest away for sampling later. I picked up two bottles tonight and they are going immediately into my beer cellar, to hopefully see the full light of my beer glass in a year or so. I don’t know if this is what Alley Kat would want, but I think it is the best solution for all involved.