Allagash Curieux

750 ml bottle, Dec. 2004 vintage, stored in my cellar since summer of ’05. Nose contains a good bit of oak, also plenty of honeyish sweetness, the bourbon present here as well along with some toasted malt notes and dried flowers. Clear light-medium golden color with an amber cast, head is almost fully subsiding. Flavor profile is a nice blend of fruity sweetness and honeyed oak, some melon and white grape, finishing with stronger notes of bourbon and oak tannins, bitterness is fairly minimized overall by this point in time. Some faint, lingering peppery alcoholic fire. Mouthfeel is low in effervescence and lightly syrupy, body is of course quite full. Satisfying and flavorful, certainly no worse for the wear after its slumber.

Nice clear golden color with a moderate head. Yeast, spice, oak accompanied by vanilla notes on the nose. The wood, which plays rather nicely with the dry, spicy character of the beer, does detract form the overall complexity of the beer. Yeast and malt character are moved to the background to make way for the wood. This beer is mellow, well integrated, and still complex enough to tantilize. An interesting departure from a fantastic tripel that works very well. Quite enjoyable.

Bottle from BevMo. Nov. ’06 bottle. Color is orange with hint of yellow. Strong woody aroma. Good whiskey character. A little yeast in the nose as well. Strong wood flavor right up front with a little bourbon. Subtle dry character of a tripel underneath the woodiness. Only a slight hint of alcohol. Good stuff.

No head. Body is light cloudy yellow, glowing. Aroma is honey, vinous tones, some floral hops make it very nice. Taste is alcohol, lemon, bitter and grassy hops. More vinous flavors. Clean finish with subtle hints of bourbon. I was impressed.

After letting this one sit out in my garage for a few months, I figured it was time to pop it open. Warned by Brian - we let this warm up considerably before opening - it seems to have worked, it wasn’t overly boozy at all. Aroma was mildly sweet summer fruits - honeydew, and earthy spices mixed with an oaky bourbon. Body had a nice amber glow to it, great head and lacing. Sweet and peppery, plenty of my favorite triple flavors, all surounded by warm bourbon alcohol and dry oakyness. Finish was dry, slightly hoppy, more whiskey. We really enjoyed this - This is definitely one to hold onto for awhile and see how it ages.

Hazy straw color. Aroma and flavors of bourbon, wood, citrus, and spice. Medium bodied and semi dry finish. Bourbon is strong not not too out of balance.

GABF 2004 Deep straw in color with a slight haze and small white head. Aroma is of fruit,oak and spice. Flavor is of more oak,subtle whiskey with more fruit, finishign dry.

Bottled 11/2007. Okay, so you take a great tripel and back with a sweet bourbon. Where can you go wrong? Well, in their hands, you can’t. This was a winner. The fruity nature mixes well with the touch of bourbon and the overall sweetness takes on a slightly woody nature.