Allagash Four

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Portland, Maine USA

Bottle. Pours a hazy light brown color with a moderate light brown head that diminished slowly and produced good lacing. Good complex malt and yeast aroma. Medium body. Full yeasty malt sweet flavor with a balanced finish with a small alcohol bite. Very good brew.

Pours amber with a good size off-white head. Aroma is malty and a bit musty. Taste is extremely malty. Signs of all kinds of sugars. Honey, molasses brown sguar, its all inthere. Hints of dark fruits. Very complex taste.

Update:2/07 - Recently had a bottle that had been cellared for almost two years. I was very dissapointed. I thought this beer would really get better with age. Another outstanding beer from Allagash. Rapidly becoming one of my fav brewers. I’ve been holding onto a bunch of these for months. I just couldn’t bring my self to open open (if I drink one I’ll only have 5 left). Finally broke down and drank one for Thanksgiving Eve; had to rationalize it). Anyway, aroma was great. Even though there are four malts in this, I really didn’t notice it or the hops. What I really noticed was the cherry and ruby port. Head was creamy, light-brown, excellent lacing, that mostly diminished. Color was dark amber. Heavy sweet initial flavor that lessens. Definitely can taste the malt now. Finish was very long. The body was not as full as some quads. Texture was syrupy and flat with incredibly little if any alcohol finish. One of my favorite quads. It was very smooth without too much cherry, like Three Phils. Very interested to see how this matures. Now only if Allagash would distribute to Georgia.

IMO...whatever Allagash was shooting for they missed. Big alcohol kick but flavorless. I think I paid about $11 for a bottle of this this, definitely not worth it.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & blankboy -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Dark brown. Allagash yeast aroma (I’ve had enough to recognize it!). Strong alcohol and spicy malt in aroma as well. Taste of strong alcohol, yeast, spices, and red wine. Thick mouthfeel, yet somehow thing and lively tasting. Formidable! Fruity tasting as it warms. Cinnamon / caramel lingering aftertaste. Not complex, but really really solid. And I had the biggest sample which knocked my socks off for a bit! Thanks Harry for sharing this!

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & tupalev -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a dark hazy copper with a spare white head. Aroma of caramel malt, brown sugar, hops and alcohol. Flavour follows the aroma. Alcohol is present but doesn’t taste like 10%. Good but there are better beers in this style.

Clear ruby-purple body. Very large off-white/eggnog colored head. Leaves wonderful lacing. Variety of sizes to the bubbles. Smell is rich malt, apples, cherries, yeast, and lightly of alcohol and sugars. Taste is strong but not crisp like most Belgian quads. The alcohol doesn’t seem as strong either. This beer couples lemony hops with pit fruit and dark chocolate. Creamy consistency in mouth. Overall a sweet ale with a very strong hop presence in back of mouth and tongue that don’t seem to match each other. The final palate is actually really not that good. Alcohol is not emcumbering at all for a beer with such a high ABV. And finally, do not let the 97% overall ranking fool you. For this style, the beer is only in the 65 percentile.

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy, GregClow and tupalev - courtesy of me. Poured deep cloudy copper-brown with a thin white head. Aroma of ripe apple, raisin, mild caramel roasted malt, alcohol, even a hint of raw mushroom - quite spicy and while not totally blended, very appealing. Taste same as aroma - very warming - alcohol bitterness emerged as it opened up, but a good fruit/caramel balance. Mouthfeel was almost syrupy but lively, and alcoholic. I found this very refreshing and *strong* - glad I didn’t have to drink the whole 750ml myself. Very nice!