Allagash Four

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Portland, Maine USA

Draft. Trappist-brown sugar coloring. Sour apple, citrusy, floral hints abundantly present, enticing even. Flavoring is more subtle than aroma suggests, with raisin and pinot noir notes shining through more prominently past the initial malty, sugary taste. High alcohol content not overly noticeable in taste, but pleasantly warms the roof and back of throat, numbing me midway through the sample. Not my favorite quadrupel by any stretch but solid.

Date: 08/20/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

Appearance: amber with small floating particles, whispy beige head,
Aroma: hot sweet malt aroma with a nice fruity edge,
Flavor: light rich fruit malt flavor,
-------- /> Date: 03/08/2008
Mode: draft
Score: 3.0 to 3.3
Words: trappeze

Appearance: cloudy burnt orange, fine cream head, streaks of drippy lace,
Aroma: light sweet fruity aroma with a peach appricot character,
Flavor: rich fruity flavor, light earthy character adds a bit too much balance, touch of spicyness adds complexity,
-------- /> Date: 06/07/2008
Mode: draft
Source: brick store

great fruity character but still a bit too much bitterness that offers great balance but dries out the fruit too much,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *4

Pours an opaque mahogany brown. Tan head that dissipates quickly. Nose is malt, sugars, dried apricots, and a little citrus(?) Malt and sugars make up the flavor. Not too complex, surprisingly for a quad, but a very, very, good, straight forward beer. I’ll have to see how it rounds out after 1,2,3 years.

Courtesy to SoLan (aka Reklaw) for sharing. Amber color. No head with white rim. Great lacing. Nose is caramel and oak. More oak and caramel, slight mint, vanilla, dark fruit, and door meat. Medium carbonation and big body are refreshingly balanced and well-rounded. Great beer.

allagash four deserves a four rating! Great beer dark brown color. great taste with a roasty caramel taste.

Bottle, in the blind quad tasting with tronraner and NachlamSie. Pours murky dark brown, no head at all. Aroma is quite bright for the style. Lots of sweet juicy fruits, berries. A bit of darker fruits come through as well. Flavor is sweetly oaky, lots of berries and spice in the finish. Mouthfeel is oily, probably due to lack of any hint of carbonation. The 10% alcohol is well hidden though.

Bottle in blind quad tasting with NachlamSie and muenster. Pours cloudy dark copper brown with small beige head. The aroma is peach, banana, vanilla, and some oak and raisin. The flavor is smooth and caramelly sweet. Some woody fruit-pit elements begin to come through early, then notes of lemon and banana, and a sweet finish. I pick up some mildly charred notes after a while. A bit of clovey spiciness comes out in the finish and the aftertaste is woody. It’s a bit lacking in the carbonation department, which makes the mouthfeel a little bit dense. Pretty good all around, but there’s better stuff out there.

Bottle split with Tronraner and Muenster in a blind tasting among Allagash Four, Rochefort 10, and St. Bernardus 12. This one is slightly hazy, a bit lighter than mahogany in color, and has only a whispy trace of a head. The nose is noticeably fruity. I’d say this one had the richest suggestions of ripe fruits with notes of plums, banana, cardamom, and other soft, spiced aromas. The mouthfeel is semi dense. The beer rolls of the tongue quickly at first but leaves residual flavors of figs,grapes, cinnamon, bubble gum, berries, and barely noticed chocolate. It’s slightly tart but not quite dry. It’s a soft but complex beer. I liked it quite well, but I found it couldn’t match the complexity or depth of the exemplary, authentic Trappist quads in this tasting. Given its $11 price tag, I’d say go with their Trippel instead or perhaps a St. Bernardus 12.