Allagash Drunken Promise

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Portland, Maine USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

Couple of samples at EBF Night of the Barrels. Light orange with an off-white head. Did not get any pumpkin, more brett, oak, apple and light cherry. Tart and sour, medium body and carbonation, becomes nice and dry as you progress, leaves a nice grass and bit of funk taste on the palate. However had this after Daryl and I think it suffered in comparison.

(Template) Tasted either at NotB or EBF. There’s no way I could have taken proper notes on all the great beer I tasted within those 24 hours so I will just let the Aroma,Appearance,Taste,Palate,Overall scores speak from themselves.

A Sim rate (EBF Night of the Barrels): Sour cherry flavour with a sweet aroma. Very delightful with a sour finish.

Pours a bit murky amber on a thicker body with a light tan head. The aroma is right up my alley, funky Brett at a peak point for aroma with a light sweetness to help complement it. The flavor is the perfect balance of Brett yeast funk and sour with a bit of tart settling on the end

Allagash ghoulschip. 375ml bottle courtesy of Wallace... Cork pops to a mild degree. Pours a hazy orangey brown hue and topped with a creamy white head... Sweet toasty caramel grains, yams with light oak. Pumpkin subtle in the background with a light tartness... Flavors are continuation of the same with a light oak tartness to start things off with a softer pumpkin and yam essence albeit very lightly induced overall. Soft pillowy body with a light level of carbonation. Nicely executed and glad to have tried but somewhat underwhelmed as a whole. 7/4/7/4/15

375ml, bottled in September 2011. My bottle said 6.9% ABV (not the 8.5% that is listed). The pour yields a clear, dark, golden apple juice colored body. Beautiful pinpoint bubbles stream towards the surface, feeding a tall, foamy, off-white head. Slowly, the foam recedes to a thin center film with a thick, ramped up edge that lasts. Tall, splotchy, rounded flares of lace cling to the glass. The nose starts out with notes of tart, musty apples, showing ample acetic sourness and hints of cider vinegar. Softer lactic, milky, yeasty tartness is also prominent. Dry brett is less noticeable. Underlying malts are kind of sweet and appley. Pumpkin is certainly nowhere to be found. Flavors largely follow suit, loaded with sweet-tart apple and sweet cereal in the malt base. Buggy brett is soft and earthen, touching also on some pineapple. The acetic character is slightly softer than it is on the nose, taking on more of the milky, lactic elements. There’s nothing overly complex going on here. It’s really just a vinegary, tart, buggy orchard fruit sour. The palate checks in a bit heftier than medium bodied, due primarily to some saccharine sugars that linger after the crispness of the fine carbonation subsides. Eh....not a huge fan of this one. It’s OK, but it could be a heck of alot more. Disappointing coming from Allagash.

Appearance: Pours a dark rust orange with no head.

Aroma. Sour funk, white wine like.

Taste. Not pumpkin like at all. Similar to a golden sour with pronounced white wine barrel notes.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with lively bubbles.



Overall: Solid, fun, not pumpkin like at all.

UPDATED: DEC 4, 2011 (Drank as Ghoulschip.) Never would I imagine giving such a high score to a damned pumpkin beer. But here we are, with Allagash striking the perfect balance between a lovely sour ale and a nutty, sweet pumpkin brew. Which means, of course, there’s a good bit of sour and not much pumpkin. But there is a toasty, nutlike backbone to the sourness, while the molasses oozes through on the finish, rounding out the oak with a textured, lovely fade. One of the first beers we opened at this year’s War on Christmas Beer Party, supplied by Yonke, and it might be top three of the night.