Allagash Curieux

Interesting brew. Definite bourbon flavor. Sweet and smoky notes and very smooth especially for 11%. Some spicy fruity(orange?) flavors from the charcteristics of the trippel come out too. Really good BIG beer. Wish I had another bottle.

This hazy yellow ale poured with a thin white head, eliciting a strong alcohol aroma. There are some fruit and yeast flavors, but what stands out are the heavy oak and bourbon characteristics absorbed from the barrels. This is a very spicy and warm drink, that would likely improve with age.

On tap @ the Maproom: Pours a wheat colored yellow with a tight small head that fades with thin lacing. Sourness, distinctly sour cherries and oak aromas are surrounded by sweetness. The sweetness slides in with a medium body some sour cherries, yeast and trippel spices that fade into a balanced oakiness before the bourbon comes in and knocks it all apart. The bourbon finishes dry, leaving me intrigued and wanting more, until I grow tired of the overbearing bourbon. Hopefully it will blend and balance well after a couple years.

Golden, somewhat hazy, with a small white head. Quite a sweet nose, strong notes of apple cider, a bit of bourbon (malt+charcoal), hints of oak. Somewhat overly effervescent, hiding the flavor at first. Once we’re past that--mmm...bourbon. The whiskey character dominates, but it’s nicely balanced by the tangy, spicey profile of a Belgian ale. A lovely combination.

Although I seemed to enjoy this more at the beer advocate belgian beer fest 2006, in the bottle was not crazy about it. (2007 version) This is basically their tripel (which is one of my favorites of the style) completely overpowered by bourbon and oak. completely boozy, a train wreck packaged in a nice corked and caged bottle.

Sampled and then bought directly from the brewery. Golden brown to a loose white head, strong oak aroma that lends well to the taste as well. Thinner mouthfeel, lightly hopped just like their true belgian attempts, this was a nice twist to the line and very enjoyable.

Bottle. Cloudy honey color with a soapy white head that doesn’t last. Spicy, woody aroma, with lots of sweetness. Some citrus, vanilla notes, definite bourbon background, some fruit too (mangoes, bananas). I don’t smell the alcohol. There is an underlying medicinal smell, which isn’t all that good. Flavor is a bit confusing. Alcohol notes, woody, more bourbon, but leaves something to be desired. Flavor is almost metallic. Mouthfeel is oily but nicely carbonated... almost soapy. Not a great beer, definitely not worth what I paid for it, but interesting in its own right.

Oct 2005 750 ml bottle. Pours a murky yellow brown color with a creamy white head. Aroma is all bourbon with a slight detection of alcohol and vanilla oak. Taste is very bourbony with hints of vanilla and oak wood. In my opinion this beer has been overdone. Too much bourbon in scent and taste.