Allagash Interlude

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

The aroma was lightly tart with a bready and citrusy acidity. The aroma was very complex with a strong estery fruit presence and a notable earthy character. Oak was present as well as a complex vinous nature. The beer poured into the chalice crystal clear deep golden amber with hardly any had at all. The flavor was estery with cherries and strawberries coupled to a light citrusy tartness that was bready and slightly sweet at times on the palate with a candy flavor. The flavor was lightly vinous with an earthy and lightly spicy presence. The finish was dry with lasting impression of fruit and tart into the aftertaste and beyond. The body was just above medium and the carbonation was a bit on the low side. An extremely complex and interesting brew with some notable alcohol warming after consumption. 750 ml corked and bailed bottle. 2005 vintage.

Found this down at Southbay Liquor. 2007 bottle: I knew this was a rare gem to come across so i ponied up the extra loot to grab it now. Creates a murky and opaque glowing orange elixir with minimum amount of heading. The nose is sour and mild and almost smelling like a sun made tea minus the lemon. The drink is very dry and resembling a red wine in flavor. Other notes worth mentioning is that the drink is very tart and sour with green unripe apple and tea.

Deep golden cloudy body, oily in appearance. Tall frothy off white head, recession reluctant. Lacing is thick and arc shaped. Aroma is sweet and moderately tart, with notes of oranges, brettanomyces, oak, red wine grapes, cherry, light caramel and cumin-based spice and a touch of must and vanilla beans. Truly exciting nose, though more reserved than I’d like. All reservations are cast aside in a flavor that is similar, but dialed up several notches. Brett is crushing in its sourness, fading quickly to pleasurable levels that don’t throw the rest of the quaff into acetic dissarray. Yeast is moderately funky and well blended into the mold, a beer that is clearly Belgian in inspiration, even moreso in a farmhouse-rooted expression. Vibrant but never overwhelming carbonation pushes forth a tart citric acidity that is refreshing and complex. Finishes bold and medium dry. Alcohol is dutifully masked throughout. Palate is light to medium bodied, dry with sweet intervals and biting pepper notes. Very refreshing, a daring example. Another lesson from Allagash, I hope many American brewers experimenting with Belgian styles are taking notes. This is how you do it.

Bottle from PP Belgian Beer Fest. Aromas were definitley sour from the Brett. I didn’t get that as much in the flavor though. Some alcohol came through as well as a touch of woody spice. Pretty good

’07 bottle at Liar’s club. ha! i told cmubeerman that i was getting lots of farmhouse flavors and he told me there was none of that and no sourness. i was doubting myself for a long time. but the description clearly says that stuff is there. the aroma was mostly a white wine floral aroma. flavor was one of the most balanced beers of this style i’ve ever had. very sweet, some yeasty flavors, certainly complements of bret, i think i got some cherry as well. very very good. worth the $22? yes.

750ml bottle.
Pours a hazy, fiery copper amber with a quickly building fizzy head that almost as quickly recedes to a 3-bubble layer. Aroma is grassy sour like a farmhouse ale with leafy, earthy hops, straw, and a substantial bit of sweet malty goodness. Flavor misses the mark a bit for me with a funky corn-adjunct-like sour-mash flavor that seemed out of place. Other flavors taking their turn were a subdued but prickly hop bitterness, grassy grains, clover, a touch of acetic acid and plenty of candy-sweet malts. Finishes with a full mouthfeel and a dancing, tingly palate. I wasn’t quite as wild about this beer as most other reviewers, but like just about everything else Allagash puts out, it’s a pretty solid hit.

Pours a great hazy peach color. Aroma is brett, alot of oak and dry red wine. Flavor is really nice: more oak, peaches, red wine, with a great dry, tart finish. Peach skins and cherry skins. Younger bottles show more bready qualities, sourness increases quite a bit with age. This beer tastes alot like Russian River Temptation. Mouthfeel is creamy and lush. Loved it!

What a fantastically fine and unique beer. January 2007 bottling. Pours hazy copper with a sudsy light tan head. The aroma has lots of farmyard yeast, plums, hints of Sirah and Merlot barrels it was aged in, brett, light fruits (grapes and nectar fruits). The wine side leans more towards the fruit forward Sirah. Fan-f’n-tastic aroma. Medium / full body that is lush and rich with some unobtrusive sharp carbonation. The flavor starts with a mix of Belgium style earthiness and dry red wine that still seems more Sirah than Merlot - and that’s fine with me since I like Sirahs better. There is also some nectarine and pepper like spice along with a tannin aspect. There is a light sweetness, but this is mainly drhy. The finish is sharp and wine-like with earthy malt and yeast and spicy hops becoming noticable. What a succesful experiment. While this is terribly overpriced I will probably get another & I’m also excited to try the 2006 vintage. rerate for adjusting erroneous numbers