The Folks at Flying Dog Ales were nice enough to send me a bottle of the 4th member of their Canis Major Series — and their newest beer — Kerberos (ker-burr-os) Tripel. Kerberos is a bottle conditioned Belgian-style Strong Ale that weighs in at 8.5% ABV. It’s brewed with Pilsner and Aromatic malts and Golding and Saaz hops, yielding a deep golden to light copper in color and pretty, puffy (although quickly disappearing) finger-wide head.
Kerberos (the mythological three-headed guard dog of Hades) tastes sort of like a much ballsier version of their spring seasonal Garde Dog. One of its most note-worthy features is the millions of tiny bubbles, making it feel almost champagne-like across the tongue. But the uniqueness of the beer doesn’t stop there; the first few sips are almost overly sweet and unexpected. It’s as if someone drenched candied pancakes in alcohol. Then, as the beer warms, a few bitter and spicy notes begin to peak through. Lastly, whole thing finishes very dry and strong.
The best part about this beer is, for the almost 9% ABV, it’s surprisingly easy to drink (maybe not that surprising, as many of the Flying Dog ales can be described this way)! It’s really a perfect session beer but, unlike it’s session-counterparts, it still packs a punch! For more on the process of creating this beer, watch this video interview with Flying Dog Brewery Lead Dog Eric Warner and Executive Brewer Matt Brophy and look for Kerberos Tripel as part of the “Canis Major” 4-packs on shelves nationwide this summer.
Flying Dog Brewery Kerberos Tripel from Flying Dog Brewery on Vimeo
