Allagash Interlude

Poured a nice hazy golden with a big fluffy white head. Talk about bringing the funk. It was like walking into a horse barn after a heavy rain. Smells much like a Belgian Sour to me. The seriously strong funky taste overpowers all else. Extremely sour with a hint of lemon and possible some light fruits, though it’s tough to get through the funk. Well, I’m certainly intrigued by this one. I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of sour ales, and this skews heavily in the sour direction. I have to give Allagash credit though as I’ve never tasted anything like this. Very unique.

A- 750 ml Bottle, corked and caged. When opened a jet of bubbles overflows and leaves one running for the sink. It pours a beautiful tangerine color with a small, unassuming eggshell head which fades to just about nothing. Looks like a tropical sunset. S- Smell is fainter than that of other brews with brett although it does have a sour cidery nose with hints of apple and pear along with a touch of sweetness. T- Tastes predominately of mixed fruits apple is at the forefront followed by citrusey tangerine tones that end fairly sour. Bready and earthy with hints of its boozy nature hiding beneath the bouquet of flavors. M- Mouthfeel is sticky and fairly viscous with a bubbly champagne like carbonation even after quite a bit escaped when it was opened and with a hearty pour. D- This is so complex it’s hard to say that it is drinkable. As others have said I think there is a bit too much going on with this one. The Belgian pale aspect of it has some amazing flavors that get a little undercut by the brett. If one focuses just on the wild ale characteristics of this brew still something is left to be desired with balance. I think this one comes close but falls short in the fact that it is just trying too hard to be too many things. I like complexity but sometimes its good to master simple things then throwing a bunch of different fairly good aspects together. While I am pretty hard on this brew, it was excellent and I commend the people at Allagash for putting it together. With some minor adjustments it could be up there with some of the better Russian River wild Ales. Was it worth $20? I’d say probably not but if you’ve got the itch sometimes you just have to scratch it. I might buy this one again if it were in the 12 dollar range.

750 ml bottle from west lakeview...... pours a muddles orange apple cider brown with a thick off-white head at first but soon settles to a thin ring around the edge of the glass..... aroma of sweet candy sugar malt and soft light and tart oak notes.....nice oak tartness hits the mouth and lasts throughout. leaves a yeasty,earthy aftertaste. some herbal grassiness as well and a slight bitterness in the end. a nice level of carbonation compliments the flavors....very nice.

Bottle. Hazy honey color. Aromas filled with oaky sourness. Flavors are very involved: lots of oak, tartness, even some bitter backbone. Seems crazy but it all came together for me.

Bottle dated December 2007. Hands down one of the sourish beers. The sour notes are subdued though and balance the oak notes that are also present. SOme nice flavors of peach and apricots, with a hint of tartness. Outstanding!

Bottle. My rating is from the 2007 bottle. Poured a deep red hazy body with thin head. Aroma is sour, Brett(?) and oak. Flavor is slightly soure, oaky, earthy and Bretty. I honestly didn;t know that Brett was added to this beer and it was a welcomed surpise to find it here. This really hit the spot.

Appearance: Pours a clear, coppery body with a medium-sized, ivory-colored head. Smell: Aroma dominated by Brett with a dailed up musk factor and old, tired oak vessels with a lesser note of sour apple. Taste: Some malts and a syrupy sugar sweetness get quickly dislodged by a powerful tangy tartness and coarse astringent tannins. Splash of sour apple vinegar. Slight vinousnicity. Touch of sour-tasting yeast, a small hint of booze. Oaky finish with a slap of acidity and chock full of tannins. Argh! Mouthfeel: A hair above medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Quite the tongue-coating mouthfeel. Drinkability: Here’s my problem, I found it to be overly tart, sharply so, and a bit heavy on the oak. For me, this left the overall taste to be rather disjointed, with nothing really coming together for me.

I swear this is the second time I’ve entered this rating. 2006. Ok, nice reddish pour with a lasting head. The aroma had the following elements: sour, tart, fruity, bretty, funky, Belgian, spice. Similar flavor, very very nice brew alcohol not upfront. Definitely will be having this again. After a year its getting dry and I likes.