Allagash Curieux

750ml bottle poured into a Trappist glass. AC pours similiar to the color of grapefruit juice but with a touch of pink and it is hazy. The head is small, fine and settles quickly. The aroma is a mix of citrus and peach juice. When you get closer to the beer there is a moderate, well-blended aroma of bourbon. The bourbon makes a light to moderate presense in the taste. It is just enough to make this a very unique tripel. The citrus acid flavors don’t mix with the bourbon as well as I’d like. I think that idea -almost- works but misses by an RCH. The alcohol presense was moderate adding to the feel of the general heaviness of the beer. I know the Allagash Odyssey is a completely different beer but it is the best of the four set series. This one disappointed me a tad.

On tap @ Coles Buffalo NY. Very good beer. Pours a slightly hazy golden. Light oak & citusy sweet aroma. Taste has mild oak, vanilla taste followed very nicely by the triplel sweetness. Bourbon aspect is present but does not overwhelm.

I was disappointed in this beer. The aroma was so strong that it hit me like a brick while I was still pouring it. It actually smelled like mild Beam, something I do not consider pleasant in the least. Bourbon dominated every aspect of this beer. This might have been more enjoyable if the beer had a stronger flavor to balance out the heavy bourbon character. I feel like this one is a little overrated. (June 2007 vintage)

Served on tap at Capital Ale in downtown Richmond. Lemon yellow from what I could tell from the dim, dim light. Medium sized frothy head. Good retention and lacing. Aroma of yeast and citrus with a little spice. Taste is vanilla, Beam, yeast, coconut, green apple and peach. Very complex. Good level of effervescence, alcohol hidden well.

tremendous beer, on tap at hollingshead deli in orange county. very sweet and sippable, like a fine bourbon.

the initial taste is very similar to bourbon. it finishes great though, w/out the burning sensation of a whiskey.

The Allagash pours like a Belgian Ale. I can taste that Belgian yeast. But it is saturated with subtle bourbon flavors. They linger in your mouth like a fine drink in a Louisville hotel where you were once over charged for two shots. $75 for what? you yelled. Only it wasn’t you who yelled that. It was me. Allagash underwhelms some beer geeks, but I almost always like their subtle flavors. This one is no exception. I’m really enjoying that undertone of bourbon mixed with the ale. Very nice. Or as Mr. Food says on his banal taped food show that concludes our local news every night at 5:30 pm and that drives my wife crazy: “It’s soooooo good.”

Served in a snifter, on cask at Pizza Paradiso in DC. Transparent, rosy, amber body with a thin, white head. Aroma of vanilla, oak, yeast, slight malt, candy, and honey. Flavor is extremely well balanced. Many barrel aged beers have way to much oak, alcohol or something else to be tasty. This been had only a mild oak, bourbon and vanilla flavor. The abbey tripel portion of the beer was still relevant, with slight malt, fruity esters and Belgian candy all lurking behind the Jim Beam flavors. Finish was slightly sticky and a little dry. I have not had this from the bottle, but I have to imagine this beer was meant to be on cask. The absence of carbonation allows the flavors to coexist and the warmer, cellar temperatures allow the unique flavors and aromas to come out.