Allagash Curieux

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Portland, Maine USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

UPDATED: DEC 7, 2008 Hazy yellowish orange color with a white head. Soft sweet fruity flavor, yeasty with a touch of sourness, sour apple maybe, and strong bourbon flavors. As it warms more fruity and caramel flavors come out. Medium bodied with a soft feel in the mouth. Initial sharp carbonation but smooth thereafter. Nice long finish.

Draft at Redlight. Pours a hazy orange with a thin white head. Aroma had a nice malt to it along some some nuts and bourbon. Smooth malty body with a nice belgian sweetness and whiskey like bite that balance well. Very tasty.

Aroma is bready/yeasty with fruity tones, slight bourbon-musky smell. Smooth syrupy body but lots of carbonation. Very strange to me. Bourbon is wonderfully balanced, not overpowering. Blends well with the belgian sweetness.

Draft at Redlight Redlight. Pours a very hazy, brazen orange color with a small, foamy, off-white head. Soapy flares of lacing sloppily run down the glass. The aroma shows notes of banana nut bread, caramel, Kentucky bourbon, honey, fruity esters, and doughy yeast. The flavor is somewhat of a conundrum. Just the concept of a Belgian tripel aged in bourbon barrels is foreign to me, but this works exceptionally well. The bready yeast and sweet fruity notes work surprisingly well with the malty, sour mash bourbon. Nutty and fruity up front, with a lightly sour, pungent finish. Medium-full and smooth bodied, there is a bit of stickiness and alcoholic heat, but that can be forgiven. This is an excellent slow sipper, and a successfully daring take on a typically boring style.

UPDATED: AUG 1, 2008 Draft @ Redlight. Bourbon/vanilla comes through straight on in the nose. Hazy yellow gold color. Woody aromas as well. Flavor is doughy sweet with touches of wood, bourbon and peachy fruit.

RateBeer Rating, Style and Glass: 95, Abbey Tripel, Trappist ABV, Volume & Calories: 10.5 % in 16 fl oz. estimated at 250C Purchased at: Issac’s on tap in Newtown for $6.00 Aroma: oak, bourbon, nice. 9 out of 10. Visuals: clear, beautiful, golden, thin white head. 4 out of 5. Taste: bourbon, oak, barley, banana. 9 out of 10. Palate: amazing, dark, deep finish. 5 out of 5. Overall: nicely balanced belgian and oak. I’d have it again. It’s great. Very well crafted. 18 out of 20.

shared with friends poured into tulip glass. This is an exceptional beer brewed by people that understand just about everything anyone would ever need to know about beer. This is a big delicous beer with many amazing attributes. Drink it like you would that favorite bottle you were saving for the best of ocassions. Superlative in every conceivable way. When you are looking for a big luscious beer look no further.

750 ml bottle from bev4less. Pours a hazy dark gold color with a medium sized foamy white head. The aroma is moderate in strength with whiffs of bourbon, sweet Belgian yeasts, some red fruits and dough. The flavor features bourbon, but it is not a strong in your face bourbon, its a mellow subtle bourbon tease. Also present in the taste is bread dough, vanilla and oak. The mouthfeel is full and malty. The finish is rather short and dry. Overall: I’ve noticed that bourbon barrel aged beers fall into two categories: one, they are overpowering with whiskey and just a hint of beer character is present; or two, there is just hint of whiskey with a good beer character. This beer falls into the later category. And, because of that it tends to remind me of a cheap watered down bourbon more than anything else. Though it is undeniably a good product, I much prefer the stronger bourbon stock.