Allagash Grand Cru

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

The aroma has a tremendous amount of esters giving it a fruity character along with floral hops and brown sugar. The appearance is medium brown with haze. The flavor is sweet and fruity with some spice. The palate is a little thin for a Belgian but not bad. Overall I like it.

Bottled. Hazy reddish orange colour, mediumsized off-white head. American hops along with fruits and berries in aroma. The same in flavour, with some spices added. Also a plummy tone to it in the finish. Wellbalanced brew, and hides the ABV well.

Bottle with sersdf, zeswaft, and cmubeerman. Honey color with a white head. Probably a bit old (batch 8, 2003). Slightly hoppy and alcoholic nose, slight floral and fruity notes. Flavor is spicy and fresh though, with nice small bubbles. Aftertaste is crisp and short.

Batch 8, 4/03. Murky copper, white head. Served pretty warm. 60+ degrees. Strong yet off aroma. Rotten fruits and alcohol. Flavor is yeasty, fruits, kind of funky sourness. Definitely passed its prime (though i’ve never had it before).

[Bottled] Cloudy amber, creamy head. Aroma of almonds and butterscotch. Medium sweet with full body and firm mouthfeel. Dominated by caramel and grass. A solid work.

Pours a copper-ambercolor with thick head. Aroma is extremely malty sweet and fruity, reminiscent of strawberry jelly, with strong spicy undertones. Sweet, spicy, and toasty; this brew has nice complexity but gets a little thin after the initial sips. Still getting that strawberry jelly flavor though, which is pleasant, but not exceptional by any means. Some bitterness in the finish. Not overly sweet, the earthy and yeasty flavors really stand out to me.

750 ml bottle, batch 6 - Pours very hazy orange with a big, fizzy head. It smells great. The assertive aroma had yeast, spice, and citrus notes. The flavor was fairly good though perhaps I wasn’t in the mood for a Belgian tonight as I thought it was extremely sweet, overdone even for the style. I don’t see that reflected in the other ratings much. It tastes rich, spicey, and yeasty. The finish is mildly dry. I couldn’t really taste the alcohol. It’s good, but far from my favorite Belgian style brew.

Nice orange pour with pinkish edges. Head was minor but stayed and laced well until the last sip. Aroma was spicey, earthy, and yeasty. The flavor was not overly sweet, tasting like apples and peaches with some spices and a hoppy finish. Much less sweet than your usual Belgian Ale, but enjoyable. Flavor was a bit weak and the mouthfeel thin. Re-rate, 1/07: Pretty dead on with my first rating, a more golden color than anything orange, but great head and lacing. This did come off more as a Belgian Ale vs. Belgian Strong. Looks like it is categorized accurately now.