Allagash Musette

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

Serve in Thistle

Pours a cloudy rust color with a large off-white head, that fizzes to a nice ring. Strong aroma here, with some sour fruit, oak, vanilla, and cheese. First thing I taste is the vanilla and caramel notes, followed by a strong dark fruit taste, along with a slight sour fruit flavor. Plenty of toffee tastes hitting the sides of my mouth. Finishes pretty dry and woody, with yeast and hops working well together. This beer felt medium and creamy, and the carbonation was pretty high. Alcohol was pretty high in the aroma and flavor. This beer does everything it set out to do very well, except for hiding the alcohol and being affordable. Still a good beer that is much more enjoyable than McChouffe.

Dark gold pour, no head. Aroma of grapes, cherry, and oak. Flavor is brown sugar, dark fruit, cherry, vanilla, and a bit of sourness. Medium body with high carbonation.

750 mL bottle dated May ’06. Poured a dirty, lighter iced tea brown with a short, uneven cap of off-white head. Nose was of dark stewed fruits and burnt caramel... herbs, oak, vanilla, and alcohol rise with warmth and there was faint citrus lurking in the background. Flavor had well-integrated oak accents.. caramel, spiked dark fruits, vanilla, sweet bourbon, and fruit formed a sticky goodness and finish. Heavier-bodied.. soft carbonation with prickly alcohol and herbal bitterness on the palate. Good stuff!

Bottle: Courtesy of Styles. The aroma has lots of grape with some yeast and hints of cherry. It pours a transparent amber with a minimal off-white head. The flavor is dominated by lots of grape and moderate candi sugar. There’s a light yeastiness in the background. It finishes with some faint sour grapes and a hint of raisin. I didn’t get in bourbon influence on this beer.

well carbonated. ring around the glass as it went down, flavorful of the oak and a little spice.

UPDATED: APR 5, 2010 750 ml bottle into a Barleywine Snifter glass. Bottled in August 2006. Pours a deep mahogany orange with a very retentive lightly tanned head. The aroma lightly hints at scorched oak wood, bourbon, vanilla, medium malts, and the smell on your clothes after you’ve been standing around a fire for a while (weird I know, but it’s totally what I smell). The taste has begins on a tiny burnt alcohol singe moving into a syrupy malt body with light oak flavors melded with light vanilla. A spiced hoppy note kicks in towards the finish while going back to somewhat of a burnt oak/wood and bourbon taste that sticks to the mouth for quite a while. Beautiful bubbles spur from the bottom of the glass. The flavors are all so subtle you can barely tell what all is making this one up. The bourbon and oak have mostly killed all the carmalized malt and toffee notes of what would be a Scotch ale. The spice note near the end is confusing as well - tastes great, but was unexpected and you can’t really tell what it is made of except for some clove. Overall a good beer, quite complex, and well brewed. Like most special Allagash I think this was over priced for something from America (when I’m in America)...but like I said, overall, a nicely done wood aged brew. Updated 4/5/10: Had the last of the May 2006 batch last night. Can’t believe I’d had this thing rated at a 3.6! This brew with 4 years on it was mellow as gold...if that makes sense. Ahhh, yes, the wonders of age. YUM!

Oak, yeast, vanilla nose, cloudy, murky brown in color, short lived tan head, flavor is of whisky and burnt oak, not particularly appealing.

Bottled May 2006. Opened Dec. ’06. Well carbonated opening. Clear, medium mahogany colored with a fantastic off-white head. Great lacing. Aroma is malty and full, notes of oak and vanilla, some fruity characters. Medium bodied, well carbonated which is a bit distracting but understandable after reading the description posted. Sweet malty flavors with a decent bitterness, pit fruits. Alcohol is well hidden for 10%. Nicely done, an interesting play on several styles that comes off quite nicely!