Allagash Grand Cru

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

cloudy amber/caramel colored with a small filmy white head. aroma has lots of fruit(peach, banana), yeast, butter, and spices. flavor malty with peanuts, butter, yeast, and fruity(peach) and earthy herbal hops(mint, grass). light peppery finish. medium bodied.

750 ml in Westmalle glass. Slightly hazy reddish-orange with lasting pale orange head and lace. Orange-lemon-spicy-doughy aroma. Sweet and spicy with honey, candy sugar, peach, and spicy coriander and mild bitter finish. Medium-full body and medium carbonation. Has the soft mouthfeel of the best Belgian beers. Excellent.

Pours a cloudy peach color with little head, but sticky spotty lacing. Aroma is strongly sweet with some dried/candied and some citrusy fruits, including orange, as well as plenty of banana as it warms and moderate spiciness reminiscent of coriander, nutmeg and clove. Flavor dominated by sour fruits (mostly orange) upfront along with some sweet bready notes, followed by peppery spices in the relatively dry finish. Palate is surprisingly clean and a bit thin/watery. Prickly carbonation. Pretty drinkable. This is a pleasant seasonal strong ale, leaning more toward a spiced tripel style.

In the past, I’ve been fortunate enough to taste some aged samples of the Allagash Grand Cru. Yesterday, I eagerly purchased a 4-pack at Green’s in Atlanta and am quite Crurious about the fresh bottle experience. Appearance: Pours a hazy, orangey-amber body with a small, foamy white head. No amount of snifter swirling can seem to kill the gooey lacing. Smell: Flowery, doughy aroma that’s simply full of lush fruit notes, including bananas, oranges, and melons. Lots of spice character, too, with coriander and ginger. Taste: Bready, caramel maltiness with a perky Belgian dark candi sweetness followed by a pleasant cinnamon spiciness and a hint of herbs. All of the fruit juiciness blends well in the flavor and imparts a bit of sourness which, along with the spice, helps to balance the initial sweetness. Further spice notes appear on the drying finish leading into a peppery aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Relatively smooth mouthfeel. Drinkability: A very lovely Belgian Strong, and one that I know ages fairly well. Cruriosity: sated!

Bottle. Really interesting aroma comes across like a combination of a Belgian sour and a strong fruit beer. Cloudy, thin head, strange orangish-red color. The taste is quite unique...pomegranates, strawberries, pepper, cinnamon, bread, and yeast. Somehow with all this going on, it still finishes cleanly, doesn’t leave that sticky sweet feeling that fruit beers often do, and is quite refreshing for a heavy-bodied beer. Nicely done, Allagash!

Hazy orange in color with a medium off white head. Aroma is fruity with some citrus, spices, honey, and yeast. Taste is fruity with honey, light citrus, belgian yeast, and spices. Spices and fruit in the finish.

12oz. bottle. Pours a cloudy pale orange with a thin white head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is of apricots, apple and spices with a hint of floral hops. Flavor is very fruity with hint of honey and has a slight sour finish that hits the back of your tongue. Mouthfeel is light and velvety. Very well crafted brew.

bottle. hazy orange with off white head, minimal lacing. fruits, spice, candy with a sweet and sour flavor. Maybe a little thinner than I would have hoped for. Nice while watching the leaves change color. Enjoyable.