Allagash Odyssey

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

February 2005 batch: Holy smokes, Batman! This beer defies any classification system. If you wanted a Belgian, you’d cry funky. If you wanted a strong ale, you’d cry odd. Poured a nice dubel like dark brown color with a humungous head that really sustained itself well. The lacing was incredible and clung to the walls of the glass well after finishing. The aroma was very strong vinous / wine-like and with a definite oak presence. The flavor was very complex with vinous / oak flavors coming across first. The candy sugar and spices came out underneat the main flavors as the beer warmed, but the alcohol also increased. Oddly enough, minutes after each sip, there was a mild chocolate flavor in the after after taste (take that for what it is worth). Mouthfeel was medium bodied.

Pours with a dark reddish-brown body topped by a thick head with good lacing. It’s very flowery with a little spice and sweet notes. It smells and tastes like soap...Ugh!

750ml, dated Oct. 2006. aged 8months. pours dark with off white head that lasts. nose has lots of vanilla and oak, toasted biscuit, very mild funk to it, some chocolate and coffee too. flavor is interesting, mild roast, caramel, mild chocolate, cookie, vanilla, subtle sweet alcohol warmth. mouthfeel is a tad fizzy and thin, finishes harsh with a slight charred toasted oak. this is tasty but i can’t help thinking this with cherries in the barrel would be killer because it’s just missing that something to make this special.

Pour is dark brown with a nice dense tan head...smell is initially smoke, bacon, vanilla, oak...taste is sweet with some mild rauchbier qualities including bacon and dirt, prunes, plums, some wheat...finish is nice...not too quick, but not cloying...somewhat sweet and fruity...

Bottling October 2006 / Cases Bottled 460

8/03/2007: Allagash Odyssey is very dark brown and has a foamy tan head. The aroma is a mouth-watering blend of sour cherries, dark fruits, and slight bit of oak and bourbon. The alcohol is well hidden in the strong and malty flavor. The flavor is also accentuatued with lots of caramel, dark and aged fruit, and some smooth bourbon-like alcohol. The mouth feel of this beer is medium-full to full and very smooth and complex. This is an excellent beer that was quite a treat. I hope to have to opportunity to enjoy this beer again someday...

750 mL bottle (10.3% Alcohol by Vol.) shared by Tmoney99 at the Cincinnati RateBeer Gathering. Thanks for sharing! Rating #173 for this beer...

Samples during GBBF 2005: Flavour is dominated by raisins and prunes. Quite dry beer. Well-balanced and not too much taste of yeast.

Bottle @ Beer Chef Dinner in San Francisco (5-25-07). We enjoyed this one during the second course. Brown in color with a tan head. Molasses, wheat, caramel, licorice, a lightly burnt oak flavor with a subtle and nice fruit character. Smooth. An October 2006 bottle.

Suited for adventure: husky brown, crimson highlights, cocoa head, a classic countenance, sets the mind in anticipation and the imagination loose. whiskey screams from the nose, escaped from the bottle and ready to let fly with it’s fury...rich malt and alcohol at the helm, steering us into the situation...prune, oak, raisin, plum are at guard on the side. what first stung now seems mellow, even sweet. Glorious. Bold entrance on the palate, the rich, roasty, lush and fruity flavor floods the gates, and breaks down the door. Bourbon-y feel dominates the mouthfeel. Other associations beckon forth...dark rum, molasses, slick, yet leathery...berries and grapes, the darker kind, come to match the onslaught of the whiskey. Medium bodied,yet full with flavor, an relenting river of taste washes up and out with every swallow. Finish is rather dry, just a touch sweet. Like any good drama. The rush has been resolved, the quarrel abated, and the goals have been met: satisfaction sits in the glass, and a happy smile on the face of the drinker. We’ve gone to a wonderful place, throught the vessel that is this bottle, and it’s noble contents, and come back better, stronger, wiser, even. Can beer do that? It already did.