Allagash Grand Cru

I’m lucky to be in Maine and have great selection of local microbrews. Allagash is just such a brewery and they make an outstanding selection of beers. I was on a two month drinking jag with Grand Cru. It’s a dark, slightly spicy beer that is crisp and satisfying. Very nearly the perfect midwinter beer. The 7.2abv is sure to please and warm you as well.

Deep hazy orange pour with a large well-retained off-white head. Aroma is quite spicy with a distinct Belgian aura to it. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Spices hit the palate first, followed by some nice sweet malts. There was also some smokiness, dark fruit, and a very pleasant breadiness. FInish was spicy with dark fruits. Very good all around!

(750ml bottle) Pours a cludy amber body with a large beige head. Aroma of mustiness and raisins with a spicy yeast flavor.

Cloudy amber body. Aroma was spices with caramel and grass. Finishes fairly sweet. Very enjoyable Belgian ale, but not my favorite.

Bottle: Poured a slightly cloudy copper brown color ale with a huge off-white foamy head with perfect retention. Aroma is quite the spice mix with some Belgian yeast and caramel malt. Taste is also very interesting at first with some spices and caramel crating a huge full body beer (which seems to be more then 7.5%) with a slight bitter finish with some great medium funky yeast. I found the aftertaste was a bit thin and watery which would be my only complaint. Great Belgian…

A nice Orange/Brown color with a fruity,spicy nose. Good Belgian flavor, spice, caramel. A lingering aftertaste. A good Belgian....considering it’s American made, impressive.

Bottle 12oz - Pours bright amber but cloudy with a small but highly carbonated head. Aroma is citrus orange slight corriander and vanilla. Flavor is malty with a nice touch of corriander. Feels good on the palate smooth in the mouth due to the high carbonation slight spice taste and almost a buttery finish that covers the alcohol quite nicely. A nice beer. I enjoyed it.

Cork popped and scared the crap out of me. Lots of orange in the aroma. LOTS. Almost no head. Like the aroma, the coloring is orange, amber, and the colors right after a firecracker goes off. Flavor is like a spice drop, and then becomes a desert: dry and nothing there. Not in a bad way, it just drops off into a plateau of flavor. I’m going to stop, because I’m not able to write expressively enough about this at the moment.