Allagash Hugh Malone

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle @ home. Soapy, floral, lightly citrusy, hoppy, Belgian nose. Quite floral, soapy hoppy, nice belgian flavor. Pretty tasty brew.

batch #5 @ dakine’s on 8/14/10. hazy golden yellow with a soft white head. there’s an odd combination of hops in here which give off the aroma of garbage water... not unpleasant just weird. there’s also notes of peppers, yeast, wood, earth and some faint citrus. the flavor is similar... there is a bit too much malt sweetness and cereal. it finishes with an unexpected tartness. the body is a touch thick and has soft bubbles. 7/3/6/3/14

Shared this with a friend. has a nice fresh brewed overall appeal. Grains are prominent. The hops are really altered by the grains and malt dominance. Aroma reminds me of some visits to breweries. I enjoyed it but it is a one time experience.

4th June 2009
Hazy amber beer, frothy white head. Slightly sour beer. Aromatic malt and some sweet mango and peach. Finishes soft with a nice splash of aniseed. all joins up very well. A bit unusual also!

Too hoppy to be a Belgian strong ale, too sweet to be an IPA, Hugh Malone kinda just sits there in front of the doors, unsure of which one to enter. Not that it isn’t good, just confused and overpriced. The yeast plays a surprisingly large role in the flavor, tart and strong and almost providing the brew with a champagne vibe. Yet the hops, while there in the nose, only provide bitterness to the mix, no orange or grapefruit or weed flavors to complicate matters. And the growing sweetness on the finish is a bit much. Still, I can’t help but notice my pint is empty, so Hugh Malone can’t be that bad. (2008)

Bottle at Max and Jess’s housewarming. Older than fresh i believe. Orange golden pour with white head. Grassy, herbal hoops have smoothed out. Other off flavors exist with some oxidation.

Belgian yeast and hoppy aroma. Dark gold in color. Sweet and hoppy with a belgian yeast and hop finish.

750ml bottle, listed at 7.8% ABV, bottled August 2010 and consumed March 2011. The pour yields a clear, beautiful, shining golden body that is strewn with lively, dancing columns of micro-bubbles. The effervescent streams tirelessly feed a massive, billowing head of eggshell tinted foam. Never quitting, the head proudly coats the glass with thick, sticky walls and intricately woven snakes of lacing. Gorgeous brew. Simply stunning to look at. Despite its age, the nose is quite enticing. I get a dry, very lightly sweet and doughy pilsner malt base. Notes of freshly baked flour crackers come to mind, along with a gentle hint of candied lemon. Hops are peppery, spicy, and dry, suggesting of grass and earth most prominently, with a subtle dash of citrus pith. Yeast is prominent and distinctly Belgian in nature, very spicy, dry, and dusty, hinting at some of the dry pineapple characteristics that brettanomyces tends to impart, I dare say. Flavors largely follow suit, again softly sweet, bready, and pilsner-esque up front before moving towards dry, biting grass and citrus hop bitterness. Yeast takes on more than its 1/3 share, layering the mouth with dusty, fruity spice galore. Tasty stuff.....but watch out if you’re overly sensitive to bitter spicing. The palate is big and creamy up front, coming across with a bit of a whipped feel before transitioning towards its dry, sharp, bitter end. Interesting and totally unexpected brew. Even at 7+ months of age, its bitterness is right up there with some of the better known IIPAs. It’s as Belgian as anything coming out of Brussels, yet with a very German-like pilsner base (I don’t get the crystal malt that is noted in the commercial description). Good brew.

The beers medium gold/orange with about 2 fingers of white head that has great retention and lacing. The aroma is very hoppy, fresh hops, which is great. It is medium hoppy bitter, not much of citrus or complexity to it. The feel is ok, decent drinkability.

Poured from a bottle that is about four (!) years old. This poured a very dark murky orange/brown with a half finger of good head retention. Aroma has mostly candi sugar and some sweeter crystal malts. Taste is very sweet with the typical belgian carmelized malts, though by now the hop profile has most definitely gone away. Even with the lack of significant hop flavor, there is a lingering aftertaste of slight hoppy citrus. An excellent belgian strong that is good for agin.