Allagash Musette

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

Bottled May 2006, Sampled November 2006
Pours with a frothy, thick three finger thick, tan colored head. The beer shows a lightly hazy, ruby, amber color when held up to the light, otherwise it sits a slightly dull, burnt, concentrated amber color. As I pour this beer I get a nice, sweetish fruity note of plums. Yep, notes of plum and raisins play a forward role in this beer. Towards the end the oak starts to become noticeably; touches of vanillin, and buttery oak character. The oak actually seems to accentuate the alcohol aromatics here, it almost gives it a hot, even bourbon like edge. Malty, caramelized notes of rum, brown sugar and toasted bread crust. There is also a touch of something that makes the aroma smell a bit tart; it sort of reminds me of tamarind.

The taste has a touch of complex sweetness to it up front, that dies down a bit in the middle and then picks up again through to a long, caramelized finish. Definitely has a certain tartness to it; it seems to remind me of plums and perhaps a touch of apples. For an oak aged beer, the wood is fairly subtle. Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely noticeable, but it is not so in your face that it is the first thing I notice. The oak first becomes noticeable towards the finish, with notes of vanilla, a touch of astringent oak, and perhaps a hint of buttery oak. This beer has a nice fullness to it, it is not heavy, though it does manage to coat the palate for quite some time after the beer has left. Once again the wood seems to accentuate some hot alcohol notes, but it is even more subtle in the taste than it is in the aroma. The notes makes me think of spicy notes of pepper.

This is a nice beer to contemplate over an evening. Perhaps the best thing about this beer is that the oak is fairly subtle, so often the wood is overdone in the wood aged beers. In this one it plays a supporting role & it just works. As the beer warms and my palate gets used to it, it loses the sweetness that was initially here. It becomes actually a bit meatier, more chewy and more savory even. Perhaps not mind blowingly good, but this is certainly quite tasty and I am enjoying this quite nicely right now.

750ml bottle - bottle May 2006 - Hazy copper with a fizzy light manila head. The aroma is very yeasty, sweet, and earthy wood. Seems to have lots going on but it is all rather muted. The flavor is fruity-citrus with some faint chocolate and a decidely malt whisky middle. The palate is medium very lively almost fizzy. The alcohol is well hidden and the beer is quite drinkable for a 10%abv brew. Not outstanding but not shabby either.

(750ml bottle) Pours a cloudy burnt orange body with a medium-sized beige head. Aroma of citrus, pear, apple, cucumber, celery, and oak. Flavor of oak, malt, yeast, and caramel.

Pours amber with a nice sturdy head. Certainly aroma of earth and wood, with an undertone of cherry. The cherry follows into the flavor on the back, with a caramel Scotch character, combined with a very yeasty and bread like finish.

draft at map room. pretty awesome. coffeeish and burnt-sugar syrupy, kinda alcoholic too. some chocolate, but i guess coffee was the most important thing. probably one of my favorite scotch ales.

Bottle shared with Hogtown Harry, GregClow, Blankboy, Mabel, and Jerc, courtesy of Harry. Very dark orange/brown/copper, bubbly and foamy white head. Sweet woody aroma, some alcohol. Good taste - lots of alcohol, some wood, fruity, sweet. Very good, alcohol present but not 10%, looking for a tad more complexity.

Bottle. Poured cloudy brown with an average fizzy off-white head that mostly diminished with good lacing. Heavy complex caramel malty and wood aroma. Medium to full body with a slick texture. Heavy balanced flavor with a medium sweet bitter finish of long duration with a small alcohol bite. Another very good Allagash beer.

Bottled May 2006. Poured a light brown color with some murkiness, an ok initial head with weak retention, minor lacing. The aroma was a cross between a weizenbock and a Belgian strong ale: bananas, roastedness, yeast, caramel, coriander and spices. The flavor followed suit, some light notes of bubblegum mixed in along with some smoke and pepper. Wheaty base detected. No oak aging evidence at all in the aroma or flavor profile? Mouthfeel was light to medium, some carbonation, finishes with a gentle sweetness, yet somewhat dry at the same time. Maybe a bit too spicey.