New England Brewing 668 The Neighbor of the Beast

The Stats
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 7.8%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.96/5
- RateBeer: 3.56/5

"Good fences make good neighbors - unless you live next door to Satan. Then you may need something extra to help you cope - like our "668". This hellaciously delicious Belgian style ale is brewed with pilsner malts, candi sugar, and blended with American and German hops. "668": Mortal tested...Goat Lord approved."

Pours to a hazy, golden yellow body with two fingers of frothy white head.

Belgian yeast dominates the aroma with banana and spices too.

Fruity banana and peach notes add a touch of sweetness to a beer with such a large emphasis on the Belgian yeast. The banana is much like a good Hefeweizen and there's a lot of spicy flavors with cracked black pepper holding the biggest presence. Also holding its own are the doughy, bread-like malts which have almost a powdery/flour taste and feel. There are also characteristics of good Saisons with some mild funk and barnyard qualities, but familiar Belgian flavors, like coriander, keep you grounded in knowing that this is true to the style.

Mouthfeel is full-bodied, but never syrupy. It has good carbonation and does feel dry on the finish. The alcohol does provide minor warming with every sip, but its easy to look past.

668 hold its own with other Belgian Pale Ales and would fit right in with any example straight from the country itself. Despite the big beer feel and taste, I can actually see myself enjoying this outside on a warm day due to such easy drinkability and refreshing nature.

Rating
8.5/10

Trillium Broken Angel

The Stats
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 9.00%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.07/5
- RateBeer: N/A

Not being content with sticking to the basics, Trillium has been able to branch out into different and unique styles. Recently they've been bottling some of their Belgian beers including their Belgian Strong Pale Ale. Clearly Trillium has been hitting home runs with their IPA's and American Pale Ale's, but how good of a job can they do with a Belgian recipe?

Pours a hazy, pale yellow with decent carbonation and a good finger and half of soapy, white head.

Classic Belgian yeast on the nose with banana, clove, and some hop bite.

The taste follows the nose rather well. It's kind of a bold, banana soda taste with a big helping of Belgian yeast and malt. In the middle of the mouth I am picking up a unique gumball/bubblegum flavor that was unexpected, but delicious. I also get some green apple skin and some saison-esque funk. Behind all of that is a miniscule tinge of hops that still let you know that this is an Americanized version of a Belgian recipe.

Mouthfeel is medium, but slightly thin. All of those sweet bubblegum and banana flavors linger nicely with no bad aftertaste. The 9.00% is hidden perfectly as it is completely undetectable. Some beers of the style tend to be quite dry, but this is clean and refreshing.

Broken Angel takes the standard Belgian Pale Ale recipe and leans a bit heavily on the sweeter flavors. Granted nothing is off-putting, but you would definitely describe this beer's dominant flavors as bubblegum and banana. It's good to see that an Americanized version didn't wimp out on the authentic Belgian yeast as this drinks like a genuine brew from overseas. Maybe a little thin in the mouth, but this is still leaps ahead of other American breweries' attempt at the style.

Rating
8.3/10

Allagash Victoria - 2014 Vintage

The Stats
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 9.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.92/5
- RateBeer: 3.57/5

Brewed with over 200 lbs of Chardonnay grapes, Victoria is a big 9.0% offering from Allagash as part of their Tribute Series. Belgian ale plus white wine? Sounds like a winner.

Pours a clear, pale orange, amber color with tons of carbonation. The two fingers of white, frothy head continued to stick around well after being poured.

Quite the smorgasbord of flavors. Belgian yeast at the forefront followed by banana and definitely those white grapes. With all of that is a spicy, black pepper accent which works well.

Banana is the dominant flavor for me - almost like a good hefeweizen. Oh, and those white grapes are just as juicy as biting into a fresh one off the vine. Make no mistake, the Belgian yeast is there to stay along with, believe it or not, some bitterness from the hops. That was a welcome addition!

In the mouth, there are tons of carbonation bubbles and it feels nice and light for a big, 9.0% beer. At times it can be a bit overly sweet, but it's not stopping me from enjoying all of the flavors. Speaking of 9.0%, I could search for days and still not find any hint of an alcohol presence.

Victoria has a lot of great Belgian character combined with those Chardonnay grapes. While it can get sweeter than I'd like at times, it is very flavorful and drinks easy.

Rating
8.6/10

Night Shift Trifecta

The Stats
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 6.40%
Current Beer Advocate Rating: 3.61/5

Night Shift Trifecta is a Belgian Pale Ale brewed with three different Trappist yeast strains and then aged on Madagascar vanilla beans.

Pours to a dark orange with two fingers of white head which leaves plenty of lacing.

I was taken aback by how sweet this beer smelled. I get the classic Belgian yeast with hints of banana and in the back those vanilla beans smack you in the face. Also in the mix is quite a large hop presence. Crazy, but this reminds me a lot of a cream soda with it's intense vanilla.

The taste follows the nose rather well. Big vanilla up front and typical breadiness you get from Belgian yeast is there too. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but this is unexpectedly sweet. In addition to vanilla, the banana is very present. Maybe even a faint caramel on the finish.

For as sweet as it is you'd expect it to be heavy or even syrupy, but it's not. Some decent carbonation makes this taste more like that cream soda I mentioned earlier. Surprisingly the finish shows no sign of bitterness as this is just sweet from front to back. It's not cloying at all and your taste buds are begging for another sip.

I am pleasantly surprised by this offering from Night Shift. I didn't expect the vanilla to be so prominent, but it's not shy and it works well with the Trappist yeast. The flavors make for a carbonated vanilla/banana bomb with hints of hops and breadiness. Well done, Night Shift. Well done.

Rating
9.0/10