Hooked on Belgium

Red Hook Brewing Company has just announced that they will be releasing a limited edition Belgian-style Tripel.

This is great news for folks who have been anticipating something new from the of Woodenville, Washington brewery, who last year reintroduced their Double Black Stout in 22-ounce bottles. The company, founded in Seattle’s Fremont District in 1981, also has a location in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, when a merger with Widmer involving the Craft Brewers Alliance. CBA now portfolios the beers of Goose Island (Chicago) and Kona Brewing (Kailua, Kona Hawaii).

Well, it most certainly Belgian beers are gaining popularity in the craft beer mainstream (oxymoron?). This has been evident in most brewers making a beer with a Belgian yeast varietal appear in their repretoire, and events like Portland’s Cheer to Belgian Beers being more attended than the Barleywine and Big Beer Festival this year. Even the largest West Coast craft brewers such as Deschutes, Widmer, and BridgePort are bottling up their Belgiques, betokening the rise of this trend.

Redhook’s Tripel is a saucy 10.2% ABV and will be pouring on draught taps in western states in late May with a nationwide bottle availability sometime in June. According to a press release from Redhook, the deep golden colored beer is subtly sweet and quite effervescent and may be cellared for up to two years to intensify the flavor, though it is ready to drink now.

Pouring a deep golden color, the Redhook Tripel offers a three-part flavor profile created during the brewing process: vanilla and clove in the first sip, followed by a slight pepper and cinnamon kick, and ending with a clean, smooth finish and more hints of vanilla.

Following other big Northwest breweries like BridgePort, Redhook will continue to produce seasonal, limited released bombers, saying they will release another one this fall.

Here’s what they say about enjoying food with this particular beer:

Redhook brewers recommend pairing the Tripel with acidic foods such as sharp cheeses, olives, smoked pork, salmon and bittersweet dark chocolate.