Allagash Interlude

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

07 vintage on tap at VSK 2009. Nice fruity flavors on the citrus side. Some tartness.

Hazy apricot. Thin but resiliently creamy and rocky white foam. Musty and irony aroma with hints of honeydew melon, mace, wool, straw, brett, and buttered oak. Soft carbonation gently prickles the palate. Understatedly sharp, initially, with an herbal snap of yeast blanketed by a pillow-soft malt and buttery oak foundation. Brett character is short-lived, but packs enough force to cut the softness, depositing dusty crushed-mineral grittiness to the prominent malt huskiness. Lightly toasted hay harmonizes with the buttery oak. Immensely juicy and vinous, but the presence of tannins is minimal, which allows a supple medley of tropical fruitiness to glow. Carbonation softens and the silkiness peaks at higher temperatures. Malt character is exceptionally focused, rich and bright, and accentuates a late hint of tart pineapple as the flavors evolve. Finishes much fluffier than it is dry, with full-fledged pepper dusted malts and lingering bandage phenols. Just a superb beer that’s highly appetizing due to the subtle acidity and fairly light weight, but equally satisfying due to the restrained dryness and assertive malt richness. More sour depth is all this really needs. Thanks, Clark!

Yeasty nose, lactic and funky already. Dark copper color, fizzy foamy head (really fizzy). Sweet heavy body, orange and apricot tastes. Just enough lactic sourness to counter the sweetness. Spicy end. Complex for sure and a good balance. Something "New World-ish" about it.

Hazy orange body with a thin, tan head that quickly dissipates into the ether. The aroma is fantastic! Sweet, fruity and full of yeasty ester goodness. Lovely Brett stylings of hay, mango, vanilla, honey, vanilla, oak, earthy Noble hop resin, fresh dough, sweet oranges and some light spice like grains of paradise. The body is lively and fairly smooth considering the ample carbonation. The flavor is sweet up front with layered malt smoothed by oak and vanilla. The Brett adds a fruity, tart yeast element before a rather pronounced hop bitterness at the end. Upon further examination, there is virtually no detectable alcohol presence whatsoever. This is a smooth, flavorful, elegant yet aggressive, beauty from Allagash. All the Belgian Brett lovers will dig on this something fierce, I would think.

January 2007 bottle Hazy amber colour. OK head. Aroma is quite vinous with notes of lambic and cherries. Flavour is pretty much like the aroma with an oaky bitterness added. A tasty and quite odd beer; the missing link between red wine and lambic.

Draft. Copper color with a nice off-white head. fruity (grape/berry) aroma with oak and yeast. Fruity (grape/berry), oak, tart flavor. Lingering light tartness, with lots of grape/winey characteristics. Medium body. Candy grape qualities. Hides alcohol well. Very easy drinking and could drink all day.

(2/23/08, 750ml bottle, 2005 vintage) Given how much as my wife and I loved this beer the first time we tried it, I had to acquire another bottle from that initial batch, which we let sit for far too long (even though part of the delay was due to Kathy getting pregnant and then being a nursing mother). Aroma is medium sweet, the brett is stronger than the wine now, but there’s still some pear/cabernet sauvignon, together with some tropical fruit, funk, light lemon. Taste is mild sweet, oaky white wine, some Brett, berry, tropical fruit. Some alcohol warming in the finish. Medium-full body with some syrup, light acidity. With the disappearance of the red wine characteristics, my appreciation of this beer is sadly diminished. Nevertheless, it still is a lovely beer. (8/4/7/4/15)

(2/4/06, 750ml bottle, 2005 vintage) Cloudy golden body with small off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, vinous (grape, plum, some cherry, light tannins), light duskiness. Taste is medium sweet, vinous (merlot), some oak, brettanomyces, dusky, white grape. Very fruity, and the brett imparts a white wine characteristic. Medium body, some effervescence. Truly a fusion of beer and wine -- unique just how much the wine qualities are imparted in this beer, well beyond what a wine cask can provide. (9/3/8/4/17)

Cloudy copper, with a huge white head. Aroma of gingerbread and lemon. Very distinct notes of red wine and an earthy bitter finish. Maybe some sour funk, too, at the end. Sampled at Noogfest2