Allagash Odyssey

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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October 2006 bottle. Absolutely gorgeous brown color with red highlights and an enormous tan head. Cherry and plums in the aroma along with an obvious bready smell and a touch of cinnamon. Vanilla flavors blend well with some sweet breadyness and lots of dark fruits. Wonderful beer.

Dark pour with a decent head. Aromas of wood and sweet malts. Dark fruit flavors with molasses and more sweet malts. Pretty darn tasty.

750mL bottle, January 2008 bottling. Pours a very dark cola color; fluffy, light-khaki head with excellent retention and lacing that coats the glass: medium-sized, tightly packed lines of bubbles at the edges of the glass, regenerative from below. Soft barrel presence in the aroma: cola, dried dark fruits, warming, toasty vanilla; a really nice balance between the dried fruits of the Belgian core and the vanilla from the wood; some raisins and dates. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: gorgeous vanilla notes layered over a cola and dried fruit core; nothing sticky here, nothing unfocused: reminiscent of a coke float: creamy vanilla layered with dry cola notes and sweet (again, nothing sticky) candy / cotton candy sugar; gorgeous, chewy, generous barrel-aged beer. The vanilla presence is lovely: toasty, and lacking the buttery notes typically seen from bourbon barrels. Lengthy finish: cola, toasty vanilla, and soft breadiness.

Bottle. My favorite release from allagash thus far. Dark brown pour. Aroma/taste is oak, malt, smoke, merlot, and floral notes. I will drink this again. great.

Bière #3 au Mondial 08 (28/5/08), bouteille. Brune noisette, petit collet. Arome de malte fumé avec des fruits sûrettes, un peu de vin rouge. Goût fort de fruits des champs mures, vin fortifier et une sensation d’alcool plaisant.

Bottle from Olive Tree Market. Pours a deep amber with a slight ruby hue, frothy beige head with some spotty lacing. Some candie sugar, coffee grounds, cocoa dust and dried dark fruits on the nose. Very woody on the palate with hints of charred oak, spice, yeast and dried figs......tasty stuff.

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.

750ml bottle (bottled Janauary 2008). Poured a deep mahogany color with a large whitish fluffy head and lots of rocky lacing. Smell consisted of big dark fruits, along with some vanilla, honey, and a touch of earth and oak wood in the background. Taste is smooth and bourbony, with plums and dates mixing with some caramel maltiness. Slight warming alcohol is not overdone and blends into the malts very well. Dark fruits are more pronounced as it warms, with lots of vanilla and woody oak from the barrel aging. This beer has a very creamy mouthfeel. The beer is full bodied and holds its booze well. Very easy drinker for its complexity and alcohol.

750ml bottle February 2005 Vintage. Shared with my girlfriend Cyn. I was searching for this beer for a long time and finally got it I think from jjmp74 or I don’t know an east coast trader. Porus dark dark brown with a thin tan head. Nose is malty and sweet with a bit of a sour tart fruity nose. Taste is sweet and tart and vinious. Very rich and redwine like. Unlike interlude which made me think of White wine this makes me think of red. Its bold and big and has a lot of complexity. There is a lot going on here and yet it still feels a little hot on the alc. Which is strange since this has been in bottle for 3 years. Unique is what I’ve come to expect from a oak aged allagash.

Pours a dark brown with a frothy off white head. Tastes of sweet malt, light oak, and a touch of molasses. Very good beer.