Allagash Fluxus 2009

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Portland, Maine USA

Gold pour. Nice funky aroma. Spicy and fruity with some light lemon and earthy aromas. Flavor is very spicy and somewhat fruity with a good dose of barnyard/earthy flavors. Good.

Bottle from Champanes, ‘Batch# 2’ listed on label, thought I would give this one a try hoping the Black Pepper in this beer would not be the same experience I had with the Dieu du Ciel’s Route des Epices (I found the Route des Spices to have way too much Pepper), 2009 Fluxus has a hazy orange gold pour with white and some light tan colored bubbles, medium effervescence, there are a lot of fine particles and specks in the ale to, left some lacing on the glass, aromas of flowers and spices, orange citrus, light malt, faint black pepper, faint earth funk fragrance? (from hops?) faint sweetness on the nose seems to be a little different than the typical sweetness, the nose does become bigger as the ale warms, Pepper is more pronounced but is always in the background, not over bearing at all which I think is good, no alcohol aroma, flavors of orange and lemon citrus fruit, and light malt, I tasted field flowers and faint spice trailing after the finish, with some pepper and tartness at the finish, the sweetness in this drink is similar to the other Saison type ales but there is a difference in the flavor, I cannot point out what the taste is other than that the sweetness appears to be heavier and it is not a brown sugar or molasses type sweetness, Black Pepper seems to help add a bit of bite to the bitterness, no alcohol taste but some warmth is felt in the mouth, mouth feel is medium and creamy feeling, alcohol is hidden well in this ale, I was thinking that the Sweet Potato would have more influence on the nose and flavor, not bad but not really exciting, this is a nice Saison.

Bottle from Jungle Jim’s. Poured a clear golden color with a large frothy white head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate spice, raw potato and yeast aroma. Medium body with a oily texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy raw veggy flavor with a medium to heavy sweet & pepper finish of moderate to moderate duration. I would recommend this to a friend to try once.

Pours yellowish, thin head. Nose has notes of cardamon, cinnamon, and yeast phenols. Flavors are very spicey and yeast...cardomon, cinnamon, and squash-like flavors. Drinkable but overly spiced

Pours a very light hazy gold with an active white head. Aroma of spice and that wonderful Belgian yeast uniqueness that I love. Flavor is typical spicy saison. I didn’t really notice sweet potato specifically, but there is a definite sweetness, slightly more than most saisons that I have had, maybe this is the effect of the sweet potato. Loads of spice and pepper along with some grass, lemon, and wheat wang. I liked this beer a lot, but the price tag is ridiculous. This might have played into the rating. I always have an idea of the total score in my head before the individual ratings, then see how close I am, usually pretty close. But not so with this beer, I was expecting 4.0 - 4.1 and only got 3.8, odd. Allagash, bring th cost down a little and I could enjoy this beer more often!

Although I tasted no sweet potato, this was a very tasty beer. The pour was a slightly hazy light orange, and the flavor was typical Belgian with yeast and hints of fruit. The black pepper is certainly present as well. This was a good saison.

Bottle thanks to KJGAGNE (BA)!
Hazy gold with a foamy white head. Nose is very dusty, light yeast, grass, and lemon, but surprisingly little funk. Sweet flavor as well, light lemon and notable wheat. More like a belgian ale than a saison, especially the flavor.

750 ml bottle. $14.99. Pours a hazy light golden with an initial big white head- slight fading and moderate lace carbonation is on the med- to high side, but could stand a bit more actually. Aroma is a very nice authentic spicy, peppery, phenolic salty saison with a a bit more yeasty and sweetish malt character- but very traditional- and the black pepper spice added, makes it seem more authentic. Flavor is light to mod sweet upfront, but fades in the end- to become somewhat dry (not completely), phenolic, spicy, herbal, earth, sweet potato is hardly if at all noticed, besides a slight strange sweetness in the middle- almost aspartame-like or a very strange powdered sugar feel on the front of the tongue- so overall the middle is kinda sweet, but seems as though it finished in the dry range by the end- pepper in the flavor isn’t noticed as much as aroma- finish is mostly clean with light salty and peppery phenols. It is a nice saison, especially at the 8.3% abv, pretty good.