Allagash Grand Cru

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

Colour is cloudy-amber orange. Minimal head on mine, but I think it was partly due to the glass I was provided with. Great peach-tangerine aroma. Smooth and tasty, hard to put my finger on the flavours, but not bitter or too alcoholic. I’m a fan of the Allagash beers and this one deserves the designation of "Grand Cru".

750mL. Pours a fairly transparent orange brown with just a small amount of head. Aromas are pretty typical of other tripels - caramel, roasted malt, some citrus notes. Taste is fairly full-bodied with a good deal of smoky malt and some sticky caramel. Nice amount of citrus bite towards the end. I think this one benefits from keeping open a half hour or so. I find that more citrus comes out in the flavor. This is a damn good beer and I wouldn’t expect anything less from Allagash.

750 ml bottle from Total Wine. Pours a murky, cloudy, dark golden color with 3 cm. of tan head. Spotted lacing. Nose is sweet and sour yeast. Flavors include plums and other dark fruits, mild coriander, very subtle metal in the finish and a pleasant yeast presence. High carbonation and medium bodied. Very good.

12oz bottle. Blood orange pour with a thick, foamy off white head. Banana runt candy, bubblegum, dough and licorice. Taste is somewhat lighter than aroma with fruits, and yeasty spices. Some tingly/bitter hops in there as well. There is also some kind of a sharp wheat & malt taste throughout. Interesting. Good Beer.

Poured into a Westvleteren goblet. Blood orange color with a nice inch-high tan head. Good retention, thick wisps of lacing. Aroma is full of spices. Lots of orange peel, some licorice, some clove, and some sweet fruity esters. Doughy malt underpins the flavor, with honey, phenols, and spices atop it. Yeast and wheat-derived fruitiness also come out. High carbonation, substantial body, wheaty smoothness. One of Allagash’s best.

750ml bottle corked and caged from batch 18. Opens with a solid pop. Pours a cloudy golden amber color with a nice foamy white head. Flavor of malts and spices with a slight caramel undertone. Not overpowering in flavor but balanced nicely. A bit of carbonation noted as well. Nice and smooth going down. No alcohol presence noted. A very good offering from Allagash once again. Well done.

750 ml bottle. Pours a deep/dark amber color with a nice 1-2 finger offwhite head. A nice looking beer. Very cloudy. Aroma of carmel malts, doughy yeast and spice fruit. Malts and doughy/banana-y yeastiness come in first upon taste. Then moved on to notes of spiced fruit/honey and finishes with a hint of wheat and alcohol. Mouthfeel is very soft and velvety. Hard to drink alot, not because its heavy (although it is probably a medium-heavy body) necessarily but b/c of just the soft mouthfeel. Carbonation is assertive but very nice. Compared to some other similar Belgians (Delirium Nocturnum is first to come to mind) it is significantly more smooth, balanced and complex. The slightly lower alcohol also makes it more pleasant to drink and it lacks any of that metallic aftertaste.

Bottle - Pours a deep golden color with a thick carbonated head, and spiced caramel aroma. Fruity spice flavor, with a nice medium body really good Belgian.