Allagash Confluence Ale

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

Pours a slightly hazy amber with a white pillowy head. Smells of perfume, light funk, dry malt, spice. Tastes peppery and tarte with a dry, perfumy finish.

Bottle from corby112. Let me say flat out: this is absolutely delicious. One of the most unique, well crafted beers I’ve had yet this year. This is the kind of beer that makes me want to homebrew, so I could spend my life trying to nail something like this. Perfect pour, very cloudy, with a huge, rocky, everlasting head. The nose is a mix of very dry, very bretty hay and farmyard notes, and a fruity, spicy hoppiness loaded with pineapple, caraway and saffron. Similar flavorwise, big and juicy and near perfect, delicately complex and just dripping with personality. Like a dry, bretty, hoppy saison, this stuff is just incredible. I need to find some bottles locally for the cellar.

Bottle from Lonehill. Golden yellow with a fluffy white head. Strong orange and ripe fruit aroma. Bright and lively palate. Crisp and freshing mouth feel. Mild sourness balanced well against the bitterness of the hops. Zesty fruit flavors dominate. Very good.

"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.

[Draft @ Capones] Poured a hazy golden color with a small, white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of brett, vanilla, wood, earth, banana, floral hops, and some citrus. Taste of honey, citrus fruits, toffee malts, earth, vanilla, and a dry, tart finish.

I wish this wasn’t $17.99 I really do. Outstanding brett, beer experience. The aroma was perfection. The conditioning was spot on - vibrant and drinkable. The freshness of the tartness defines an excellent brett beer. Flavors of hay and grass intermingle wit ha soft sweetness. Wow. World class, if a bit aggressive. Fresh beyond compare (there with bits of floating debris in the billowing head!).

Firkin pour @ Brouwer’s Sour Fest 2009. Soft yellow cloudy appearance with perfect fine-bubbled white carbonation, thick, could last for hours. Delicate nose of dried hops and perfume-laden (soft) brettanomyces. Pillowy and soft texture, syrupy and frothy, lovely. Hoppy in the vein of Belgian pale ale/IPA (think XX Bitter/Taras Boulba). Dried hop cones, slightly spicy Belgian yeast, a mild/mellow funkiness that tastes like a cloudy spring sky. Lovely.

Tap at Barcade. Hazy yellow-gold pour with a thick sticky white head. The aroma is great. Loads of sweet/tart pineapple and a lovely bretty spicy funkiness. Fairly fruity nose with a touch of lactic tartness as well. The pineapple character lingers nicely on the finish along with a touch of minerally character that lends a nice dryness along with the acidity. Warming brings up a bit more soft tart fruitiness and kiss of mint on the back. Awesome stuff.