Allagash Hugh Malone

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

Bottle. So I’ve spent $15 on Dark Lord, $16 on BA Numbskull, and $22 on this one. How does it stack up based purely upon cost? Not even close. This is an average farmhouse/saison. Weak, but even weaker based upon the cost.

A nice ruby color with a distinct aroma with yeast, apples, carmalized malts and a piney hop background. This brew has a good, robust quality and a balanced hop/malts combination, leaving a layered and complex palate and aftertaste.

Corked bottle and served in my Duval snifter: Pour a amber hue with a mostly fading fizzy head and minimal lace. The aroma has notes of walnut, caramel, biscuit, mango, apricot, ginger, onion (WTF?), resiny hop, and some peat. Very strange to say he least, not sure of I am digging this or not...

A tart hop fruitiness dominates the beginning and overpowers the malt. There is caramel and rye-bread like layers here but they seem lost in the discombulation that is this beer. The finish is a tad peaty and very astringent aka metallic. I actually like the mouth feel for it is not sticky or cloy and the tight carbonation is about the only thing that kept this beer afloat.

This maybe an attempt to make a hoppy Belgian but the flavor combinations just seemed to miss the mark completely. While not a drain pour, I am finding the finishing the bottle is a chore and not a pleasure. I will age my other bottle a year to see if any improvement is found.

bottle pours a dark amber in color with a huge three finger head that slowly melted to a good layer. smell is very light, slightly cider sweet, light yeast, slightly metallic. taste definitely has that signature yeast, a little acidic, some malt, and the metallic taste. i guess it does have the advertised malt palate and and pronounced bitterness. not something i would go out of my way for, and the price will affect the overall score. so i keep sipping this because i need to finish the bottle and the alcohol burn is intense

Date: July 18, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party
Appearance: gusher, hazy dark amber, fine beige head
Aroma: oaky aroma with light hops and a hint of caramel malt
Flavor: dry malt flavor, lots of hops keep it dry, trace of caramel sweetness comes through to offset the hops, the oak and bitterness from the hops blend well together, light alcohol shows up upon warming

Date: July 18, 2008
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Appearance: cloudy orange, fine off white head, near solid lace
Aroma: sweet and spicy aroma with a light fresh grass character
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, nice spicy hops, good balance, nice long bitter finish
Overall: quite different than the bottle

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

A thick off-white head shimmers atop a cloudy bronze and deep golden body. The aroma is mildly sweet and complex. Notes of orange peel, alcohol, hops(onion, pine, orange, mango, sweetened grapefruit), moderate Belgian yeast(distinctly Allagash), toasted grain, sugar cookie scents, as well as light dollops of candy sugar and apricot. Mid-range intensity, muddled and uncommon. Hops are not nearly as focused, resiny or bountiful as I’d expected or hoped for. Alcohol is mild and pretty well concealed. the yeast esters introduce a new sensation: wrapped up in mildly spicy and peppery clusters is a distinct aroma of fresh melon, particularly honeydew. The flavor is full and leans toward the sweet end of a wide spectrum of tastes, fluctuating in vigor with each sip. Melon is more assertive and worthy of adulation for its complimentary nuances that are cast upon soft hoppy notes. Bitterness is mild, drowned out partially by yeast and sugars. This is interesting but doesn’t seem to be moving towards a productive end and doesn’t seem worthy of acclamation or rememberance. It seems to much oil was poured into the engine and the vehicle is just sputtering along, drowning in it’s own casing. Low acidity could be turned up a notch to provide a sharper astringency and cut through some of the muddled sweetness. Fruity flavors dominate this beer, but even they are not prominent in their separateness, just part of the whole(no excitement is coming from this. There is one awesome positive: Allagash makes this beer, and despite it’s lack of rigidity it is very tasty and easy to drink. The finish is semi-sweet, turning to dry, caramel and fruits lingering, yeast and hop bitterness beyond that. The mouthfeel is creamy, very highly carbonated, smooth, medium-full bodied and relaxing. Not bad, just not very interesting.

Post-Mondial Tasting. Hoppy nose, bit of malt, copper, small off-white head. Tastes like a Crispy Crunch bar. Medium bodied, balanced, very nice mouthfeel. Great stuff!

Dark amberish gold with a medium-sized white head. Grapefruity hops up front in the nose, slightly musty. Flavor is well-balanced: hop tang over fruity malt with a slight sour note in the finish. Nice.