Tuesday was the last day that I was going to do any drinking until Easter, and with an entire afternoon to kill, I decided to visit Triple Rock Brewery, which was just down the road and seemed like a place worth visiting. Triple Rock is apparently one of the older breweries in the area, with about a dozen different beers on tap. I spent an hour or two there Tuesday afternoon and then went back later that night with my friend for a beer before heading back to his place for some Halo and punishment whiskey.
First up: Dragon’s Milk. 6.5% ABV
I was originally going to go with a beer called “Bug Juice” but they were out of that at the moment. As I scanned their beer list, I noticed the Dragon’s Milk, and figured that it merited a try, if for no other reason than to compare it to the Dragon’s Milk that New Holland Brewing makes. Dragon’s Milk was a very smooth, slightly hoppy brown ale that reminded me a little bit of Brewery Vivant’s Solitude. Definitely a beer that you could have a few of on a cool fall day.
Next, I decided to move onto something a little stronger: Rodger’s Last Stand. 12.3% ABV
Rodger’s Last Stand is a triple IPA that absolutely stank of hops. It was glorious. This beer was the last one that one of their brewers had made before leaving a few weeks prior, which made it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Unlike other extra IPA’s that I’ve had like New Holland’s Imperial Hatter, which has a smoother, sweeter profile than regular Hatter, this one was decidedly hoppy with a strong citrus flavor as well. A delicious beer.
Finally, because I was on vacation, I finished out the afternoon with their Kaiser Soze. 14.5% ABV
Kaiser Soze is an Imperial Russian stout, and is easily one of the darkest beers I have ever had. It was certainly the strongest I’ve ever drank. It was a nice, smooth beer, but not one you’d want to drink too quickly.
I wished that I had brought my laptop with me, because the pub would have been the perfect place to set up shop for an afternoon, drink some beer, and watch the soccer game they had on the big screen TVs. I was not surprised with how busy the place was when I went back later that day to have another beer with my friend.
My last beer at Triple Rock was their IIMAXX double IPA. 9.3% ABV
This beer was very similar to New Holland’s Imperial Hatter. It was equal parts sweet and hoppy, which wasn’t exactly what I was going for, but it was still tasty.
Triple Rock will definitely merit a follow-up visit if I’m ever back in the Berkeley area; their food menu looked rather tasty, and I am always on a quest to find the perfect burger.
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