Allagash Odyssey

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

A Mes rate. Bottle at Mario’s.
Deep dark mahogany with a good beige head. Cheesy and funky aroma with some faint alcohol and fruit. Pleasant but not assertive. Very barrelly in the mouth but not overdone at all. Hints of pineapple and alcohol, good caramel and chocolate (although very subtle) and a big wooden finish. I like this you know. Surprisingly easy drinking for a 10.4% beer. I’d quite happily get messy on this. Good stuff.

Draft at Stone the Monday after Oakquinox. Pours murky brown with a big, creamy, offwhite head and sheet lace. Smells sweet and caramelly and fruity malty, some sugar and cardboard. Tastes about the same. Sweetness, kind of weird. Just a hint of wood, used and abused wood. Medium body, nice smooth carbonation.

City Beer Store, Allagash night. Very dark ruby/brown beer with a great big head, beige with lots of lacing. I always have a hard time describing Allagash’s beers; there’s some subtlety that’s difficult to put into words. The beer builds on a clean grain flavor with big caramel/brown sugar and fruity malt notes, raisins and plums. There’s some definite dark malt presence, as well. Chocolate and light coffee add some very interesting touches. Lots of oak and definite bourbon (better than Curieux but still a tad odd, in my opinion). Carbonation is relatively light. Flavor is fairly sweet. It doesn’t quite come together for me, but it’s an interesting and obviously well-made beer.

06 Draft @ NotB ’10. Black pour with no head. Sweet notes including caramel, cookie like malt flavors, some light funky characteristics, dark fruit, and some light oak. Nice but a little expensive for the bottle.

Pours dark brown, thin tan head that vanishes too quickly. Aroma of caramel, vanilla, cherry, oak. Excellent flavor. Quality through and through.

Draft served at Jake Melnick’s in Downtown Chicago, served in a snifter type glass. Dark Brown and opaque with a nice thick head. Lots of oak and maltiness in the aroma. Like the aroma, picking up oak and woody bark flavors in the taste with a little dry cocoa and dark fruit flavors. Good carbonation and medium bodied -- not as heavy as the dark color might indicate. No signs of the 10% ABV, very smooth going down. As the bartender joked, "This is so smooth, I’d give to my mom". Would pair well with sharp cheese or a hearty stew.

Bottled July ’09. Poured into my Duvel tulip glass. A-Body is a nearly opaque dark brown-cola color. Pours with a 2-3 finger foamy off-white head that fades quickly to a thin collar. Leaves minimal lacing behind in the glass. Bubbles can be seen steadily rising to the top. S-Impressions of anise, cola, and root beer come through initially with a slight spicy yeast overtone. Phenols can be detected at a moderate strength. T-Much like the nose the overall impression this brew gives off initially is that of root beer, anise, and cola. A wet oak presence is minimal in the background. After a few sips a spicy belgian yeast comes through and blends well with the initial flavors. The finish is spicy and sweet with the slightest hints of molasses and oak coming through as well as a moderate alcohol warmth. P-Medium to high tingly carbonation and a light to medium weight body. Body is wet and yeasty but there is a slight phenolic consistency as well. O- This is a great beer overall. ABV still somewhat detectable but not out of check in any way, shape or form. I wish there was a bit more oak barrel presence as well. Overall I think this is a great brew and great example of BSDA and measures well against the greats of the style. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 03-19-2010 03:34:17

Bottled feb 2005, bottle from Dickinsonbeer, thanks! Dark brown color. Porto, sherry notes, raisin and dsut in the aroma. Oak and vanilla. Oaky flavor with vanilla and raisin, milk chocolate, porto notes, hazelnuts and some warming alcohol. Amazing omplexity. Toffee notes in the long aftertaste. Characterful and lovely brew.