Allagash Bruin

Formerly brewed at Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
Portland, Maine USA

From notes dated June 2004: I’m not generally a fan of writing reviews from old notes, but since this is the only Allagash I haven’t rated and am unlikely to encounter it again, here goes nothing. Pours a deep red almost on the brown side with a thin off white head. Taste is very sour with some fruity notes popping out. Nice sour finish.

Ruby tinted amber coloured body with a velvety tan head-VERY nice! Cherries, raisins, malt, vanilla in aroma. Medium-bodied; Malty flavour, good nutty & spice hints with a subtle fruit flavour. Aftertaste clean & malty-decent! Overall, GREAT to try, a real treat being able to sample this Maine beer here in Washington! Not the best Ally ever (in my opinion), but a good beer none-the-less. I sampled this pint on draught at RFD in Washington, D.C. on 20-June-2004 with JonR888710 & Haddon90.

Thanks to Boto I got to try this beer at the CT River Brewers Fest. I would have over looked it since the tap handle was labeled as the Double. It pours with a deep amber brown body topped by a thin white head with little lacing. The malty aroma is slightly sweet with a touch of sourness and some yeasty notes. The Flavor is slightly sweet and malty with sour notes and a touch of yeastiness. Medium to full bodied and very smooth with a touch of warmth.

I had this beer on draft at a local bar. Beer was described as a "Belgian brown ale". I found the aroma yeasty (banana), beer poured with a foamy head, and adequate taste (for a brown ale). A light Belgian beer (aren't bruins usally low alcohol?) that would make a fine session beer.

Draught: I was suprised to see this at the CTriver Brewers Fest. They had a tap handle of "Double", but when I talked to the Allagash rep he told me that it was one of the last kegs of the Olde Bruin. There was a semi-sweet aroma to it. The beer poured a copper color, without a lot of head. The initial taste was a bit sweet, but turned sour in the aftertaste. It had a bit of a fruity flavor to it. Not much in the wa of hops in the taste or aroma. I am going against most of the previous ratings, but this is a style that is sometimes mis-understood. This was a very good beer!

Ruby and clear.The girlfriend didn’t think much of it. I thought it was okay. Thought of it as something like their session ale, but if I remember, the ABV was a bit much for that. A tad sour (or tart), but clean and well balanced. Not a let down exactly, but not up to par with the excellent beers I’ve had from Allagsh.

Had this on draught at a beer fest--Looked like a beer I wanted to drink. Nice brown, wee through color. Not much on aroma and not much on flavor. There was a tinge of the typical Belgian yeastiness, but not enough of it.

On tap at RFD in Washington, D.C. Clear ruby color. Frothy tan head. Faint aroma though. Malty, some sourness and a finish of yeast. Light flavor. Sweet. Some malt. Little sour in the aftertaste. Overall OK, but nothing special.