Allagash Curieux

750 ml. Bottle dated feb. 2009. golden orange pour with white head. Aroma of bourbon, oak, vanilla. Flavor is lightly sweet but well balanced with the bourbon barrel. Notes of oak, vanilla, lightly booziness in the finish. Mouthfeel is nice, with a dry finish. Absolutely awesome take on a triple.

Bottle, 75cl. Pours a golden beer with a white head. The aroma is vineous with wood and bourbon. The flavor is sweet with notes of bourbon, vanilla and fruits. The palate is dry. Overall a great beer with clear notes of the woodaging.

Hazy golden in color, white head abides. Citrus, spice, and bourbon nose. Oak, sweet citrus, bourbon, vanilla. Crisp finish. Quite hard to drink slowly.

Perfumy nose, golden brown color. A whiskey-like component that is interesting and enjoyable. The wood, which plays rather nicely with the dry, spicy character of the beer, does detract form the overall complexity of the beer.

Still yet to find an Allagash beer I like. Rather unfortunate. THis one poured a big fluffy head, with an orangy body, with a red hint. Smell was very lightly of Bourbon with not too much else. Tastes too strong of Bourbon. The Tripel flavors are just too delicate to hold up against the hotness of alcohol and the bourbon tastes. Tastes liek watered down bourbon, rather disapointed.

February 2008 bottling. Pours golden with a white head that dissipates into a lace. Aroma is yeast, oaky, almost saison like with spice. Palate is medium, higher than average carbonation. There is a significant amount of oak in the flavor, as well as alcohol/bourbon in the finish. Has the bread triple flavor but BAM in your face with oak and alcohol. I can tell it’s a triple but I thing the bourbon is a bit much.

From a 750mL Bottle, December ’04 Vintage. Mostly transparent, golden yellow colored pour with a tall layer of well sustaining, fizzy white head. Estery aromas of lemon rind and bready malt spiced with some mild, earthy pepper. The bourbon characters lurk sufficiently behind the base beer, emitting vanilla tones while cold (40F), becomming increasingly boozy and brashingly oaky as it warms. Pear esters add a soft, soothing contrast to the bourbon. Medium-light bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a soft, malty texture. The body is nice and light, but has a texture that indicates a high starting gravity. Bready malt and pear ester flavors up front on the palate, followed by a white pepper brightness. Starts to warm a bit in the middle, with some vanilla tones softening up the spiciness of the alcohol. Finishes rather bourbony, and increasingly so as it warms, with a grainy, oak tannin harshness lingering in the finish. The tripel character is pleasantly evident beneath the barrel traits, but I find the bourbon (as opposed to the straight up oak) aspects to be slightly over whelming. Still, in all regards, this is a well executed, enjoyable beer.

I’m not much of a bourbon drinking, in fact the stuff makes me quizzy, but this is one interesting beer. I was three sheets to wind when I had it but heres what I recall. The smell was very oaky with bourbon (of course). Though the smell of bourbon was definitly in there, the taste was a little less than I expected, which was actually a relief. Definitly a sipping beer. Nice and smooth and comforting.