Allagash Confluence Ale

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

’07 bottle thanks to BanditBrewingCO (BA)
Transparent gold, nice white head that lasts and lasts, body keeps bubbling after even ten minutes. Pineapple, orange, and lemon lead the incredibly fruity nose, also some dry bretty hay and wheat to accompany. Very sweet, bretty flavor, some lemon and wheat to dominate what remains. Moderate body, not overly carbonated but still rather zesty. Another good beer from ’gash, but the flavor could use some variation, and the bitterness isn’t a personal favorite.

On tap at Max’s on Broadway in Baltimore. Golden yellow color with a fluffy white head. Aroma was fairly malty forward with just a touch of funk. A little bit of fruit on the nose. Some apple maybe? Flavor was fairly subdued. Some malt, a nice touch of spiciness and funk from the yeast. Really nice smooth mouth feel. Good beer.

On tap at the Copper Mine. Hazy golden in color with a nice fluffy white head. Fruity citrusy aroma. Grassy, lemony and bretty notes. Malty and fruity flavor. Slightly sour. Orange and appley notes. Tart. Finish is dry. Crisp and clean tasting. Very nice. Well made beer.

Bottle. Very soapy head, like champagne. Good carbonation. Aroma is slight apple, citrus, tart. Flavor the same, dry finish, clean, slightly sour.

January 2009 Bottle Date; Sampled July 2009
A very careful pour yields a billowing, off-white colored head that starts out a glass filling four-fingers in height, plus adds an additional, almost two-fingers of structurally sound height above the rim of my 25cl tulip glass. The head only slowly recedes, forming nice structural formations as it does so as well as leaving nice lacing patterns on the sides of my glass. Nice aromas of ripe pear, floral melon and apple are noticed as I visually inspect this beer. The beer is a hazy, pale amber color that shows an orange-gold hue when held up to the light. A nice, slightly grassy, cracker-like grain aromatic quickly yields to a firm, but not dominating, funky Brettanomyces note that provides notes of light phenols, a musty blanket note, plus a touch of muskiness. The fruit character is the most recognizable character in the nose though, with nice notes of Meyer Lemon, orange zest, and a touch of honeysuckle joining the afore-mentioned ripe fruit notes. There is an earthy yeastiness to the aroma that melds nicely with the fresh grain notes.

Nice and effervescent as it hits my tongue, the beer is a bit drier than the expressive, up front fruit aromatics might have suggested. This is very light bodied, but still has a hint of body and viscousness to it especially in the finish where it manages to just stick to the palate. Slightly tart and tasting of ripe green apples, some floral melon qualities as well as some notes of ripe pear. These notes morph into a orange-zest like citrus note towards the finish that tends to linger for a bit on the palate. Musty Brettanomyces notes add a certain woody white pepper note, a touch of phenolic soaked cotton ball flavors, some spiciness that is similar to oak. There is some more structure in the finish from a nice hop bitterness that is noticeable, but not domineering. There is perhaps just a hint of malt sweetness to this beer, much of the time I think I am imagining it because of the floral fruit notes found here, but there does seem to be a touch of something that boosts the malt character just a hint. Other malt notes of unsalted saltine crackers, a touch of grassiness and a nice crushed pale malt note.

This beer remains stubbornly effervescent until the end of the bottle; this works quite well with this quaffable-beyond-its-alcohol beer. I like the balance in the flavor between the spicy fermentation notes, the fruit, the pale malt and the fresh hop character that this brew has. At times the zesty hop character really comes through quite well; this must have been quite a bit more hoppy when freshly released. It is eminently quaffable with just enough Brettanomyces influence to keep my interest piqued throughout. Definitely a wonderful effort and I like that the Allagash house Brett strain has’n’t run rough-shod over the rest of the beer (though that can be nice at times too). I wish I had a couple more bottles of this to age.

Tap at Barcade: Hazy golden pour with a dense white consistent head. Nice bright and bretty aroma- some mild Gouda rind, lemony citric notes, and that classic Brux horsey/leathery character. Crisp body. The flavor seems a bit young with some evident sugars and residual maltose. The middle displays some more rustic character I expected giving off some dry/sharp cheese rind, though it’s subtle. The brett will definitely pick up after some time. I’m cellaring my bottle for at least two years. I look forward to this aged.

My Bottom Line:
This diplomatic Wild Ale extends straw-like cereals onto delicate tropical fruit, leading to a leafy hop bitterness and dryness.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the cloudy blond.
-The brettanomyces’ apport is restrained, yet perfectly levelled with the rest of the flavors. This is a very classy flavor profile.
-The big bubbles and the polite flavor intensity make this extremely drinkable.
-The hop bitterness is rather short. This would pair nicely with seafood, methinks.

January 2009 bottling.

Tasted on tap. "Plastic flower aroma" - that’s what my notes say. Floral but in an almost fake, synthetic way. Fruity, floral flavor that reminds me of one of those pink urinal cakes, but not in an altogether bad way. I found this beer odd.