Eel River Triple Exultation

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The Triple Exultation was an experiment, of sorts.  I've been wanting to brew my own old ale for some time yet, but it hasn't quite gotten to the top of the priority listing thus far.  However, since it is a variety that's not exactly en vogue these days, I decided it would be a good idea for me to get a feel for what I would be shooting for in my eventual batch.

Eel River seems to have put together an ale that caught me off-guard, but most definitely in a favorable way.  This beer's smell was significantly fruitier than I anticipated; the malt was extremely prevalent.  However, the fruit was only minimally present in the taste.  Instead the malt came through strongly, which, as one might expect, led to a somewhat high-gravity final product (the beer didn't list its FG on the bottle, but it had a lingering feel to it).  To balance the sweetness, there was a significant amount of some form of grain I couldn't quite put my finger on (my best guess was rye).

You may notice from the image above that there was a significant level of carbonation present; very much higher than most beers I consume.  That said, it was balanced well by the high level of alcohol and the thickness of the beer itself.

Pairing Suggestions
This is an interesting question; I don't typically have beers that are this malty, so I'll have to wing it and see how it goes.  I would imagine this would balance well with an acidic dish, perhaps even a spicy one (pad thai?), as the thickness of the beer would help calm down the fire.  I wouldn't recommend any light flavors, however, as they might get overwhelmed quite easily by the beer itself.