Allagash Tripel Reserve

A few weeks ago I tried a couple of craft brew Tripels. I decided to pick up another one this week and give a try, comparing it to the other two, continueing to try and find out if that great Belgian beer transititions over to American Craft brewing. I spoke about the Tripel style here.
The Brewery: Allagash brewery sold its first batch of beer in 1995. The brewery based in Portland, Maine is owned and brewed by Rob Tod. In the early nineties, Mr. Tod, a lover of craft brewed beer looked around the American Beer scene and saw a lot of German and English styles of beer. What he didn't see was Belgian style ales. So using traditional Belgian techniques and ingredients he set out to create Belgian style beers in the states. He started out with a traditional wit beer before moving on to the Reserve Collection made in the traditional Methode Champenoise. Releasing the beers in 750 ml Bottles corked and 'living.' The 'living' means that these beers go through a second fermentation in the bottle (as does Champagne). While Allagash has branched out into other styles they stay true to their roots continueing to make great traditional Belgian Ales.
The Beer: As mentioned above this is a Big Beer and weighs in at 9.0%. The beers pours a bright golden straw color with a thick pillowy cottony white head, that eventually dissipates into a thin white line with plenty of lacing. The nose has some alcohool, bannana, spices (pepper), maybe some citrus and a bit of bitterness fleshing it out. The mouthfeel is thick with creamy banana flavors, some bitterness and a hint of alcohl at the very end. Nice complex beer that I thoroughly enjoyed sipping. Here is what the folks over at BA say.