Allagash Black

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Foreign Stout
Portland, Maine USA

pours jet black with a suprisingly light head (for a stout anyway). head dissipates quickly. nose is chocolate with that belgian funk. slight roastiness in the back of the throat, but less than I would expect. It balances well. hops are slightly noticable, but rather subdued. slight alcohol warming. overall a very interesting beer that I would drink lots of!

Nose is strong chocolate with light clove and peppery esters. Dense and mahogany-colored body with a white head, creating a nice contrast. Opens with loads of chocolate and rolls into dark-roasted coffee beans and a lightly bitter finish with some alcohol. Thin, slick palate.

750 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Pours, well, black with a tan one-finger head. The bubbles are extremely fine and leave filmy lacing. Aroma is cocoa powder, Whoppers chocolate malt balls, tobacco, and a distinct ferrous note. Flavor is pretty simple: intense roasted malts with a bone dry bitter finish. There’s a light smoked/peaty character to it as well. Alcohol is nearly invisible. The fine carbonation washes over the tongue and ends with a great clean finish. The beer really vanishes from the palate. Body is just about medium, just enough thickness to satisfy but not too heavy that it loses its delicateness.

Bottle at The Raleigh Times, Raleigh, NC. Pours a deep dark black with a creamy tan head. Strong choco smell showcasing subtle roasted flavours and perfect creaminess. The palate is more like a porter than a stout with it’s thin mouthfeel and slightly inky sensation. Not a bad brew, not mind-blowing stuff, but solid nonetheless...and miles better than the boring label would suggest. Does Allagash even have an art department? Geez...

Date: July 05, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta
Appearance: black, wispy tan head, bits of lace
Aroma: dry roasted malt aroma with an earthyness adding to the dryness and slight fruity esters balancing it back out
Flavor: rich roasted malt flavor, lots of roasted and earthy bitterness, touch of balancing sweetness from dark caramel and fruity esters grows as it warms, light spicyness

Date: October 17, 2008
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Score: 2.9 to 3.2
Aroma: all roasted aroma with a touch of dark caramel sweetness
Body: creamy body
Flavor: sweet and roasty flavor with lots of dark caramel sweetness to balance the roasted malt, black burnt bitterness from the dark roast, touch of bitter dark chocolate

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

750ml bottle: Pours to an opaque black colored body with a medium sized light tan colored head that lasts. The aroma shows bits of cocoa, bitter coffee, and some light molasses. Taste is milder than expected: dry cocoa, milk chocolate, not very sweet, with hints of caramel and a dry yeast. Medium bodied, lively carbonation, finishes with a mild dry cocoa flavor. To be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about this particular style, but in my opinion the body could have been more full and the flavors could have been less one dimensional. At times it even felt a bit watery.

Six month rule. Lots of chocolate. Roast. Not as full bodied as I expected, but quite tasty. The wife said: That’s not what I expected. I like the official description: A foreign stout. I have no idea what that means or what else qualifies. But this is nice. Rich.

Bottle from SL. Pour was wonderful, nice generous initial head with decent retention. Aroma was lovely, light yeast, gentle cocoa, nutty, well-complementing spices. The flavor followed along with some light fruity ester elements, licorice, and a toasty earthy aspect. All roast and smoke aspects were delicately present to combine with a dry finish that really made this quite enjoyable. Ally has some hit and some miss, this one far exceeded my expectations, well done!