Allagash Musette

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

Serve in Thistle

This was probably my favorite of NOTB at EBF 08, and confirmed when they had it again the next day. Pours a nice deep amber with a fluffy long lasting head- spritzy yet smooth carbonation. Aroma si nice smooth woodiness, a subtle earthy hop component, light on the booze- hardly any strong sharp scotch aroma and a modest dose of some farmhouse funk- Yeah- brett infection!! Flavor is smooth and sweet, herbal, phenolic and yeasty, caramel and toffee, light molasses and some light booze, and of course more funky brett with a light tartness in the end. Smooth and sweet lingering finish and a light acidity. Great BA beer, and a huge surprise- I didnt think this was going to be as complex as it was.

EBF- NOTB. You know that sound byte from ’Sideways’ right before THC gets caught chewing gum while tasting wine where Paul G says "and the slightest hint of a nutty Edam cheese"? This beer is like drinking Edam cheese (not texture-wise). Very strange. golubj didn’t taste the hops, and I absolutely didn’t taste the Scotch. Very Belgian.

EBF NOTB. Muddy brown pour. Aroma is the typical sweet malt from scotch ales, with some white-wine like alcohol, and sour wood. I didn’t notice the hops. The flavor is the same; pretty good.
Earlier Rating: 12/1/2007 Total Score: 3.8
Draft at the Blind Tiger. Light brown, slightly orange pour with a thin off-white head. Aroma was sweet malt, slightly roasted, with some banana and something else that I couldn’t identify. The flavor is like the aroma, brown sugar sweetness like most scotch ales, with some oak in the back. Good.

Misty and ruddy brown with an ample rocky head. Biscuit and cherry and a bit yeast in the nose, caramel sweet and lightly alcoholic with distinct woody, spirited edges. Fantastic experience sitting with it from cold to warm (57 degrees F?).

Sampled on-tap. Pours a slightly clouded dark ruby. Flavor is amazingly smooth. Wood character comes through as does a good sweet tone. Who cares about specifics. Feel is perfect balance between liquid and carbonation. I cant believe I am having this on tap. So drinkable, I want to kill the keg. I can only imagine what this is like on bottle and plan on finding out at some point.

Poured into a Duvel tulip. 3 fingers of fluffy tan head floating on a deep amber body. Reduces to a healthy cap without much lacing. Smells very Belgian, yeasty, estery, a bit of oakiness. Tastes like a 75/25 split between Belgian strong dark ale and Scotch ale. Dark fruits, horseblanket/yeast, apple, caramel, wood. Pretty smooth, not as thick as it should be for the style, kinda flimsy even. Alcohol is hidden well and it’s easy to get through the entire 750. Interesting interpretation, but not really wee heavy enough.

UPDATED: FEB 22, 2008 This was a VERY good beer. It was way too pricey but it’s kind of like the difference between a 21 year old Irish Whiskey and regular Jameson’s. It had a slightly hoppy flavor without the harshness. Wish I could put into words what my tongue is feeling. I will be buying more.

750mL bottled August 2006. Clear orange with hints of brown and a 3/4 finger light beige head, slowly fading to a thick creamy film. Though there isn’t a ton of bourbon in the aroma (thankfully), there is still a fair amount of vanilla and drying oak. Also some buttery notes, though also not dominating, but still necessary to note. I can pick out some dark fruits and peat, though apparently the barrel aging killed what makes Scotch ales awesome. At least there’s some bretty tang--hooray, since brett rules. Flavor continues with the buttery oak and brett dominating with some misc fruits (not dark though?) and caramel sweetness. Finishes oaky and bone dry without so much as a trace of bitterness. Finished clean except for some light wood. Low to moderate pinpoint carbonation with a full creamy body. As a Scotch Ale, I don’t think this fares too well at all, since nothing about it lets me know it’s a Scotch. As an uncategorized beer, it fares quite well, which is how I happened to rate it. As a Scotch--actually going by characteristics of Scotch Ales, this would get a 1.8 out of a possible 3.0 compared to the 2.6 it got with my rating. Nice beer, but if it was a Scotch, it was completely beaten out of the beer by the barrel.