Allagash Four

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

Bottled (thx. Storm for sharing): Amber coloured. Unclear. Dense off white head. Alcohol, fruits and light spice in the nose. Flavour of liqourice, alchol, sweetness, fruits and some herbal and grassy notes. A hoppy quad. Awesome. Quite complex and balanced. Medium to full bodied. Has a light bitter alcoholdense end with loads of warmth on lips and palate. This I really dig.

This belgian pous with a nice reddish-amber body topped by a thick, off-white head with lots of lacing. The aroma is sweet and malty with notes of candy sugar and a hint of spice. There’s also a nice fruity accent. The flavor is sweet malty and slightly yeasty with a nice spicy note. Full bodied, warming and slightly dry.

Caramel color body with a massive, foamy off-white head. Strong esters in the nose. Includes bubble gum, chocolate, and some port. Flavor is of plums, raisins, and leather. Very winey. Full, viscous mouthfeel. Syrupy even.

The corked and caged 750 ml bottle yields a large, rocky light tan head that left great lacing atop a brilliant, hazy copper penny colored body. There are bold old aromas of caramel malt, molasses, ripe banana, orange rind and alcohol, which grow stronger as the ale warms to room temperature. Palate entry is quite sweet, but immediately tempered by a warming and drying alcohol flavor. Mid-palate introduces the flavors suggested in the nose, but I also identify plum and raisin. The excellent long-lasting finish is rather dry with the aforementioned alcohol and hop flourish. I am unable to determine the bottling date for this ale, but I would imagine that it is on the youthful side and might be improved with some cellaring.

Bottle into tulip glass. Sampled with jefcon at RFK in Washington DC. This is a quad? I guess I can see that, although it’s like a bastard child of what I expect a quad to be, as if the illegitimate father was of a different ethnicity or something. If I were rating to style, I might care about that, but as I’m not, I have no problem saying this is a great beer. Also, since the only quads I really know are St. Bernardus and Westy, I don’t claim to be an expert on the style. Caramel malt and roasted sour cherry with some cinnamon in the smell, but not as good as that sounds (like they aren’t blended correctly or something). Musty golden raisin, orange peel, and malty alcohol on the nose as well. Starts almost sweet like powdered sugar, transitions into some noble hop type flavorand ends mealy malty with Indan corn and a bit of sharp cherry flavor to begin the finish. Alcohol numbs the tounge a bit, but doesn’t influence the flavor that much. Large tan-beige foam head leaves a beautiful and thick lattice of glittering sticky lacing with wide, uniform spaces in the pattern of otherwise small bubbles. Transluscent glowing amber in the glass. Medium to full bodied in the mouth with a smooth, even feel. Brown sugar notes come out as the beer warms and makes the finish better and longer. Solid.

Pours mahogany, full tan head. Aroma is full with yeast, spice, malt, banana and nutmeg. Flavor is kind of raisiny, sweet, malty, yeasty. Creamy mouthfeel, nice alcohol masking. Very enjoyable.

Foggy copper color with a frothy tan head. Very malty. Some spice and yeasts. Dry in the palate. Very rich flavor. Sweet, some spices like cinnamon in the flavor. Caramel as well. Dry in the finisth. Pretty decent. Bought this bottle at Total Wine in Alexandria, VA.

08.01.04 750ml bottle. Pours a clouded red/orange/amber that glows in the glass; smallish, creamy head; slight lacing. Smells yeasty, lots of alcohol, some light fruitiness, but really not any huge aromas in my Chimay goblet considering this is a quad. Maybe a tulip would’ve been better? Flavors of sweet plum, brown sugar, banana, slightly tropical. Palate is outstanding - creamy, smooth, and coating, then *BANG* hops come in for an unusual finish that is sharp and somewhat biting. Quite well done quad. It’s definitely done in an American style that exaggerates sweetness and bitterness. Unusual and wonderful to ponder.