Allagash Confluence Ale

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

Straw pour with nice offwhite head. Bretty, fruity aroma. Cinnamon spice as well. flavor is slight and subtle funk and tart, nice fruit, great flavor. Only weakness is a bit of carbonation a the outset, but this may be due to agitation during the car ride.

Pours a hazy gold with a bubbly white head. Aroma has lots of yeast, definite Brett notes, and some definite spice- cinnamon and clove. Lots of carbonation at the front, could do with a bit less, but mellows beautifully into great Brett, yeast, and spice flavor. Palate isn’t particularly full, but ever so smooth given the Brett use. Really nice brew, once again, by Allagash.

Name: Confluence
Date: June 27, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Appearance: clear pale yellow, fine white head
Aroma: big musty aroma, light malt sweetness
Body: creamy body
Flavor: light sweet malt flavor, lots of funk, light oak, balancing bitterness from the oak and funk
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

750ml bottle. Lightly hazed golden yellow with a small bubbly white head. Lots of brett and horse blanket on the nose along with some lemon peel and more underlying funk. Nice carbonation on the palate, finishes with some crisp brett-y-ness.

Hazy gold with a very large head. In fact, the bottle was a slight foamer. Bubbles stream like crazy from the bottom of the glass. This is very much like a Duvel or other belgian strong blond in that category, although the Brett that’s starting to come through leaves that bit of funk. Nice beer.

"Confluence." The only time I hear this word is when Monday Night Football is in Pittsburgh...Keith Jackson (back in the day) or who ever always waxes poetic along with the Blimp shot..."at the CON-FLU-ENCE of the Allegheny, O-HIII-O and the Mon-ANNNG-a-HEEE-LA rivers..." Well, this Confluence looks like it should be 23 fazules of goodness, so let’s see what happens. The Duvel tulip is the lucky winner today...it’s been warming for a good half hour prior to opening. Wow...this is actually pretty light-colored. Lemon-honey straight up...with extremely active carbonation in the center of the glass and it rises like a tornado pretty quickly. Head is about 1/2 finger and for a sour it sticks around at about 1/2 strength pretty well. Not much lacing - just yeast wisps. Second pour provides a full finger of head and then some - some tight lacing in there too. Very solid. Ooooh, pure austere funk. Horse blanket, dry dry dry citric acid sniff. I could detect a little fruitiness diffused from the glass earlier - not with my face buried in the tulip though. On the rim it has a sort of dry muscat feel to it, but on the deep dive it’s funkalicious. Big, perfumy, wild yeast. With warmth the grape must comes out a little more. If this was about 1/2 as funky I’d think it was more of a funky saison. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Can ya dig it? I am astounded by the dryness of this deal. The carbonation contributes to the cause. It’s not a sour for sour’s sake...there’s ultra-dry Pilsener-ish malt in here. Maybe even a little Styrian Goldings hoppiness in here...there’s not a whole lot of roastiness - it is wicked light - maybe a little stewy malt that’s lightly toasted? Am digging the primary Belgian yeast strain along with the Brett-ish funk. The yeast makes this deal and it’s extremely well-done. OK, maybe there’s not an incredible complexity to it at first but the light grapes show up a little later - it works very well.

After the cork prematurely ejected, it poured a golden yellow with a pillowy white head. Nose was bright and slightly citric, but almost completely dominated by brett and horse blanket. Taste was super dry and pretty much a one note horse blanket

750ml 2009 bottle thanks to ericandersnavy. Pours a nice opaque golden color, huge carbonation (read: head) and oily. Nose and taste are sour, funky, banana. Smell of pumpkin spice. Taste has some sour cherries, but not sure this one is as balanced as I would have liked. Needed more of something. Maybe some spiciness or additional carbonation for this style.