Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Spaceman
Brewfist
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.

Recent Articles

Outdoor Winter Tippling Tips
Stay safe from the pandemic and stay warm with these winter patio drinking tactics. Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. archives »

Beer Reviews

Final Absolution

Other reviews for this beer:
Eddie Glick		read it ›

Dragonmead Microbrewery
Warren, MI
USA
http://www.dragonmead.com/

Style: Abbey Tripel
ABV: 8.5%

Jill’s Rating:
   (Outstanding within its style.)


Comments:
It must’ve been hard to be a knight. First you have to wear the suit of armor (I can’t imagine going to the bathroom in that thing). Then you actually have to move in it. Then you’re expected to do things like joust and slay dragons and woo the ladies. Well, I think Baby Boy would think that’s not a bad life, but I think it’d be kind of a pain in the ass.

Perhaps the one good thing about being a knight is that at the end of a long day of sword fighting, you could go to the pub and get a nice big tankard of something similar to Dragonmead’s Final Absolution to take your mind off things.

Dragonmead pulls out just about all the stops to brew this Belgian-style trippel ale. It pours out a beautiful deep golden color that seems to have a touch of red in it. It’s slightly cloudy, which is what you’re looking for in this style. The head is not quite as large as I would’ve thought it would be, but it does stay and lace nicely on the glass.

The smell is sweet and malty—you won’t get that hop scent with this beer—and the flavor is pretty big and robust. The sweetness makes it nice and creamy going down.

The only thing that prevents me from giving this beer the full five mugs is that it’s slightly watery on the end. The robustness dies a little bit, and you don’t have the full flavor that’s promised to you at the beginning of your swig. I thought it might help if the beer opened up a little bit, but it doesn’t fully improve enough for me. Of course, once the 8.5 percent ABV starts to kick in, you think it just might be the best trippel you’ve ever had, which is not a bad way to think; however, I’ve got to rate on style and be honest by saying Final Absolution is almost—but not quite—the final word on this style. Still though, it’s a great beer to enjoy, even if you don’t have to slay dragons on a daily basis.

Reviewed by Jill Jaracz on May 2, 2008.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties. Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...