 jhumphries69 (718), Tyrone, Georgia, USA
Jun 20, 2008
750ml caged&corked bottle. Pours a very cloudy orange that seems to glow intensely from within when held to the light - beautiful. The head pours up off-white in color and very thick, even, with small spots/pockets - like pancake batter. A large ring of lace remains on the glass. The aroma is mesmerizing and hoppy: grassy and herbal with oranges and pears. There is also a tinge of crystal malt and honey drifting around the nose. The flavor starts sweet with some breadiness and a very pleasing hop flavor and bitterness. By mid-palate, the bitterness grows as do notes of pine, flowers, and grapefruit. The finish is bitter and somewhat dry with a hoppy aftertaste and some residual malt sweetness. The alcohol is almost unnoticed - just a subtle warming in the chest after a few sips. What a beautiful beer! The mouthfeel is heavily carbonated and the carbon dioxide tickles and stings with pinpricks all over the tongue, greatly accentuating the perceived bitterness. Overall, an absolutely awesome brew that defies category - though I’d say it’s closer to an Imperial IPA with some ester and grassy character from Belgian yeast than it is a Belgian Strong Ale with lots of hops. One of the best beers I can remember tasting in a long time.
corby112 (679), philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Nov 10, 2009 Pours a cloudy golden amber orange with golden orange hues when held to a light source and a thick, pillowy 2.5 finger white head with excellent retention that slowly settles into a lasting cap that leaves chunky rings of soapy lacing in it’s path.
Spicy hoppy aroma with lots of estery crisp golden fruit notes, especially grape, apple and pear with a subtle malt presence underneath.
Soft carbonation up front with a lightly hopped creamy medium body with some earthy dry pine notes that linger throughout. Sweet estery golden fruit notes from the Belgian yeast. Apple and pear dominate with hints of grape and raisin. Subtle malt backbone provides nice balance. Slight alcohol warmth present throughout yet the ABV is decently masked making it quite quaffable. Very resinous dry pine hop flavor in the finish.
halfonit (424), Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
Nov 6, 2009 Nice hazy deep golden color. Aroma of fresh floral hops and yeast. Flavor is of citrus, hops, and malts, Has a nice bite in the end.
tmoreau (528), Lombard, Illinois, USA
Oct 30, 2009 On tap at the Bavarian Lodge, Lisle, IL. and served in a short stemmed, globe glass, a lightly hazed, orangy hue, with a finger width of off white foam, and clingy, curtainy lacing. The aroma was fresh, light citrus, negligible yeast, just a hint of pine, and mid-toned fruit as apricot and peach. The flavor was a nice blend of the fruit, hop bitterness and smooth malt. Warming alcohol and subtle dryness capped off the experience. An excellent, well balanced brew as a comingling of Belgian and American styles.
MadIndian (987), Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA
Oct 10, 2009 On tap during the annual Boston/Salem/Marble head tour. Sampled at the Sunset grill.
Hazy pour with notes of caramel and yeast. Cany, hoppy and bread taste. A good brew.
17thfloor (1403), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Sep 14, 2009 On tap at the maproom. Pours a peach color with a big white dense froth. Aroma is somewhat peachy and quite floral. Flavor is a bit sugary, yeasty, decent bitterness, sweet peach. This was fairly good, just not entirely interesting.
thedm (3833), Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
Sep 12, 2009 This corked and caged bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a large sized head of foamy finely sized off-white colored bubbles that were mostly diminishing and left behind a transparent typically carbonated orange colored body and a thick foamy lacing. The mild aroma was orange peel and mild hop. The crisp mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish with a mellow hoppy aftertaste. The flavor contained notes of malt hops well hidden vinousness and orange peel. Delicious and one I would certainly buy again.
jkaiser (219), Orlando, Florida, USA
Sep 11, 2009 Hoppy for a Belgian. I had this at Great Lost Bear in Portland. I find the beers of Allagash are unique.
arrogantb (695), Denver, Colorado, USA
Sep 5, 2009 The first smell is a little phenolic and medicinal. The head is creamy looking, beer is reddish and cloudy in color with lots of carbonation streaming towards the top of the chalice, the taste is odd and slightly harsh. My novice palate cannot seem to detect a hint of the simcoes used in this beer or any hops for that matter. Once, this beer starts to approach room temperature it gets much better. The beer starts to exhibit hoppy qualities (contradicting my previous statements) and is actually pretty good but I still don’t know how my amateur palate feels about this Belgian IPA thing. I probably wouldn’t buy this again but I will try other Allagash beers since this was my first. I think I got a really good deal because this only cost me $8.99 and I think it is supposed to retail for around $15.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 07-02-2007 16:46:30
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