Allagash Four

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

Red-foxy, hazy beer; fast gone off-white head. Wine-y, vinous, sweet&sour fruit aromas. Phenolic taste but with very restrained sourness. Some rosewater flavour trait gives sweetness. Fruity flavours, but with a "bathroom soap" streak. Burning MF, slight oiliness, good body. First impression is always aggressive at Allagash brews. This is no exception. It mellows down eventually, but I have a slight problem with this.

Another delicious high grav brew from Allagash. This one pours hazy deep copper/ruby tinged with a fluffy, 3-finger white head. The aroma is very fruity, with a tropical skew, and a heavy caramel malt and hop presence, plus a cobwebby, candi sugary element. The palate is dense and bold, with the flavors being fruity up front (figs, plums, berries, cabernet, port) then yielding to a hoppy floral spicy candi sugary malt taste. Very complex, the alcohol does emerge a little as it warms, but that takes nothing away from this one. Another masterpiece from Allagash, a brewer that is quickly rising into my all time upper echelon.

Bottle pours deep brown. Licorice, fruit, and candy sugar with a mild alcohol aftertaste. Good, but not great.

Pours a dark hazy nut brown amber with almost no head at all. No lacing and no head. Aroma is immediately fruit with apple. Taste is immediately sweet. Lots of sweet apples, figs, and plums, some dark fruits such as raisin, and smaller amounts of citrus, and a small amount of spicyness that comes thorugh stronger in the aftertaste. Intensly sweet. Light mouthfeel, maybe a little bit oily, with very small, gentle smooth carbonation. Almost too sweet. Would have been great after a huge meal and some sharp cheeses, but by itself I’d like a little more balance. Still a great beer.

750ml - Aroma is sweet candi sugar, raisin, cherry, malt, and a bit of yeast. Pours transparent red-brown with cascading bubbles, small head, and great lacing. Flavor matches aroma and hides alcohol well. Palate is smooth and creamy. A great tasting quad.

A beer i thoroughly enjoy every time i crack one. Very malty and sweet, but much better balanced than other American quads i have tasted. It hides the alcohol well, though the thick pour, rich flavors, and dark color do hint at what’s in store. It has good favors found in Belgian classics, with some citrus and spice backing the malts. One of those beers that makes you wonder why you should go to a bar and buy $4 imports when you can spend $4 per person for a delicious glass of this.

Bottle: Amber color, small head, but decent retention. Sweet aroma, touch of alcohol. Flavor has some dark fruits and some sweetness, a bit yeasty. It was enjoyable.

Bottle: Poured a clear amber color ale with a huge beige foamy head with excellent retention. Aroma of sweet malt, cookie dough with some alcohol hint is pretty interesting but I could have done without the alcohol hint. Taste is a bit sweeter then expected with lots of cookie dough and some dry raisins. I would have loved for this beer to have more attenuated sugars and a fruitier aroma à la Rocherfort 10 (I can’t really have an ABT without comparing it to the best). Body is above average but could have been more full and alcohol could be more hidden. Very interesting beer from Allagash but cannot honestly say that it compared to the world bests.