Allagash Fluxus 2009

Formerly brewed at Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Portland, Maine USA

Serve in Tulip

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750ml from Sam’s, Durham. A typically nice-looking pour from Allagash, lustrous light orange with a fluffy head, decent retention, and nice carbonation. Sharp dry nose reminds me that this is a saison, and there’s very mild spice and a hint of sweetness (somewhat indistinct, definitely not much you could specifically ID as the yam). Nice prickly body and smooth drinking. The flavor seems, aside from the dryness that’s certainly there, very reminiscent of Allagash’s fine tripel (proprietary yeast strain, yada yada). Nothing wrong with that, but there’s not enough in there to summon up the sweet potato, and certainly not enough pepper for my tastes. I was hoping for something a bit more challenging and weird. As is, a solid and very enjoyable beer but I’d call it stasis.

750ml bottle, consumed with Thanksgiving dinner 2009 edition. The pour yields a beautiful looking, cloudy, golden-orange body that’s topped with a thick, mountainous head of pure white froth. The head lasts for ages, and leaves insanely thick, impenetrable sheets of lacing all over the glass. This is what a beer should look like. The nose sports a dry, bready malt backbone with notes of sweet yeast, baked yams, straw, and white pepper. Hints of glazed cereal and wheat lend a little more sweetness to cut through the dryness and earthiness of the yeast profile. The flavor shows very much the same, with the caramelized malt and doughy bread proving to be the perfect level of sweetness to support the peppery, spicy yeast and savory sweet potato elements. There’s a grassy, hay like hoppiness on the back end, along with some wildflower and citrus rind notes that are really interesting. The palate is quite substantial, sporting a fine but lively carbonation, finishing very dry and zesty. Saison through and through, yet ingeniously inventive in its use of unique ingredients, this beer is a Thanksgiving match made in heaven. I loved it.

Bottle. Pour is hazy gold/ orange color with a small white head. Aroma is hay, grass, mild funk, and black pepper. Also a little rock candy. Flavor is very saison-like with mild barnyard, grass, hay, with a subtle apple flavor in the background. Also a nice spicy black pepper finish. I cannot say that I specifically taste sweet potato, however there is a nice balancing sweetness present in this beer that plays against the funky and spicy flavors. I like it, solid beer.

Pricey corked and caged 750ml from Olive Tree Marketplace in OB, but these Allagash brews are always pricey even in Maine. This is my packing for my trip beer, or my I’m too tired to pack but I have to beer. Pours orange with a tan head. Nose is sweet floral and light with an overall nice inviting feel. Taste is sweet floral, lightly bittered and very very quaffable. Another good balanced brew from Allagash

Bottle. Rocky white head, hazy gold body. Aroma of barnyard, spice, pepper, grassy. Taste is fruity, starchy, pepper, fruits. Odd. Slight twang and alcohol. A bit bitter. Medium bubbles.

Pours a hazy goldenrod color with a creamy beige head that leaves some nice spotty lacing. Aroma is tart lemon creme with a big pepperiness. Flavor is light candied citrus, sort of like how lemonheads candy tastes after the sourness is gone. The sweet potato is very mild but I get a little bit of it up front. The pepper comes in strong in the finish. Very dry and the flavors are all very well-integrated. Mouthfeel is divine with a clean finish and a slight warmth.

From the Bottle at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting, Wynkoop Brewery 25/09/2009 Big banana fruity and yeast aroma. Large white head. Golden coloured strong in alcohol and a little hazy in appearance. Crisp and dry malt finish.

Draft at Duckworth’s in Moville, as I admired their expanded tap selection. Awesome awesome saison. Spicy and smooth, totally delicious. YEAH

Gold pour. Nice funky aroma. Spicy and fruity with some light lemon and earthy aromas. Flavor is very spicy and somewhat fruity with a good dose of barnyard/earthy flavors. Good.

Bottle from Champanes, ‘Batch# 2’ listed on label, thought I would give this one a try hoping the Black Pepper in this beer would not be the same experience I had with the Dieu du Ciel’s Route des Epices (I found the Route des Spices to have way too much Pepper), 2009 Fluxus has a hazy orange gold pour with white and some light tan colored bubbles, medium effervescence, there are a lot of fine particles and specks in the ale to, left some lacing on the glass, aromas of flowers and spices, orange citrus, light malt, faint black pepper, faint earth funk fragrance? (from hops?) faint sweetness on the nose seems to be a little different than the typical sweetness, the nose does become bigger as the ale warms, Pepper is more pronounced but is always in the background, not over bearing at all which I think is good, no alcohol aroma, flavors of orange and lemon citrus fruit, and light malt, I tasted field flowers and faint spice trailing after the finish, with some pepper and tartness at the finish, the sweetness in this drink is similar to the other Saison type ales but there is a difference in the flavor, I cannot point out what the taste is other than that the sweetness appears to be heavier and it is not a brown sugar or molasses type sweetness, Black Pepper seems to help add a bit of bite to the bitterness, no alcohol taste but some warmth is felt in the mouth, mouth feel is medium and creamy feeling, alcohol is hidden well in this ale, I was thinking that the Sweet Potato would have more influence on the nose and flavor, not bad but not really exciting, this is a nice Saison.