Let's go west for a bit, shall we? Booneville, California is the home of the Anderson Valley Brewing Company which began producing fine beers in their brewpub1987. Do you know what happens when you are a small, 10 barrel brewpub and you start brewing up fine beers for a flavor starved nation? That's right, you grow into a 15,000 barrel, state of the art brewery, sell it to some other guy and retire rich. Bastards.
California brewers love labeling their beers as classic beer styles, and then produce a beer that is almost, but not quite, exactly opposite of that beer style. Take for instance, the Belgian Tripel Ale, which is typically a clear, golden ale. Bother David's Triple is a coppery orange. "What about the yeasts", you ask, because you know that the Belgians are all about the yeasts. Oh, they are here all right. The Belgian yeast flavor along with something else, something earthy, something that tastes like .... hay. "Heh?", you ask, "Did you say hay'? I am here to tell you that there is a flavor here that reminds you of a freshly mown field. Hops? Yes, the Belgian tripel is the hoppiest of the classic Belgian style ... oh come on, this is a California beer, what do you think? You will probably find it a bit sweet, a bit malty, rather hoppy and quite interesting. It is a pretty darn good beer, not great, but good enough that I would drink one with you, if you are buying that is.
Anderson Valley Brewing CompanyP.O. Box 505 – 17700 Hwy 253
Boonville, CA 95415-0505
http://www.avbc.com/main/
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