Allagash Grand Cru

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Portland, Maine USA

I always enjoy the winter brews! Pours a cloudy orange and amber with a thin light beige head. Average lacing. Aroma and flavor of warm spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a nice malty finish.

ORIGINAL RATE (8-6-2006): Odd that I found this at the South Portland Hannaford in the middle of the summer, but it was in the remnants of the last 4-pack of them. Hazy amber body with thin light tan head. Smells spicy, with yeast and hop notes. Tastes sweet, kind of fruity and spicy with just a hint of smoke. Honestly I have never ever been disappointed by Allagash, and this has not broken their streek. Possibly the best Maine brewery, especially if you’re more a fan of the Belgians than of the British Isles beers (that most other Maine brewers focus on) Check plus! I’d definitely get this one again.

RE-RATE (2-14-2007): 750ml brown bottle from Florian’s. Murky orange-amber body with a little less than an inch of off-white head. Smells sweet, fruity, and spicy. A plethora of spices dominate the flavor with more orange peel on the finish. Very well ballanced, pleasing flavor. Light to medium in mouthfeel, with a fair bit of carbonation. The combination of flavors and lighter body make this an extremely drinkable brew for the style and ABV. I’m very impressed, and am glad I picked up a couple extra bottles to cellar.

Tasted in San Jose while on a business trip. Obtained from Fred’s Market in Berkeley. Appearance is deep orange/copper. Clear, with a wispy white sustained head. Aroma is of apricot, plum, fig, bread like yeast and vanilla. A slight hint of alcohol also exists in the aroma. Flavour is incredibly subtle and smooth and balanced. Not too sweet, but hints of vanilla and caramel. Some spice in the background and finishes quite nicely with a yeasty mouthfeel.

Quickly diminishing head. Mild carbonation. Cloudy brown in color, thought maybe it should have been darker for the style, but I may be wrong. Soft aroma. Good mouthfeel. Sweet, clove start to apricot finish. I had a bottle from batch #2

750 ml courtesy of Naka, shared with he and Nate. Batch 17. Rating #300. Pours orange red, hazy, off-white, fizzy head. Nice lacing. Nose is wit-esque. Spicy, of coriander, orange peel, touch of clove, some clean fruit, banana, orange-cutrusy type thing. Spice with lots of fruit. Clove, anise, coriander, orange peel, banana, lemon and orange. Lots of flavor exploding in my mouth. Dry ending with mild to moderate bitter. Well rounded and balanced. There is some caramel there, some toffee, but it is subtle and underlying, just showing itself to balance the brew out. Nice treat for 300. Thanks, Naka!

hazy orange body. dense, soft, shiny head. fairly strong, ripe, spicy, warm and inviting. oily, spicy and yeasty flavors. cloves and spices. good complexity and well rounded

A very tasty ale with notes of orange marmalade, currant and pepper. Not life-changing, but very good and satisfying overall. Recommended.

Copper with a decent-sized head. Malty/phenolic aroma. Spicy/phenolic taste. Good, but I was expecting a bit more. RERATE: Better than last time, but the coriander doesn’t seem to blend with the other flavors as well as it should.