Allagash Grand Cru

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

#1000-12 oz bottle: pours cloudy orange with a medium tan head. Light banana and coriander aroma. Yeasty flavor, full bodied. Hints of orange. Very subtle Belgian but very nice. :

Tasted in San Jose while on a business trip. Obtained from Fred’s Market in Berkeley. Appearance is deep orange/copper. Clear, with a wispy white sustained head. Aroma is of apricot, plum, fig, bread like yeast and vanilla. A slight hint of alcohol also exists in the aroma. Flavour is incredibly subtle and smooth and balanced. Not too sweet, but hints of vanilla and caramel. Some spice in the background and finishes quite nicely with a yeasty mouthfeel.

The 750ml caged and corked bottle (Batch #10) pours a cloudy amber hued ale with a large white head that dissipated quickly and left some decent lacing. Aroma suggests ripe banana and raisin, light caramel malt and hops. Initial palate is a light malt sweetness followed by flavors suggesting banana, orange and grapefruit citrus and hint of sweet anise or licorice. There is a long, semi-dry finish, a bit of warming alcohol and a pleasant, enduring aftertaste. Carbonation is high, but appropriate for this style. Nice.

12oz twist-off to trappist and no batch # listed / the highlight of this beer is the very soft and velvety, slightly chewy, just-thick-enough palate. however, i didn’t care a lot for the mix of flavors. it’s peppery with banana, licorice... it’s citric, and hmm... i just don’t care much for it.

Batch 10: Pours amber with a thick lasting head. This beer has a bit less carbonation than other allagash brews. Aroma is very sweet and lightly acidic. Very interesting. Hay and citrus come to mind. Something interesting in the flavor- my old soccer cleats, not in a bad way though. Mouthfeel is surprisingly round and smooth. Finishes with slight alcohol, I’ve come to realize this is a characteristic of all Allagash brews- the alcohol comes out briefly in the finish, just to remind you that it is there, but never overwhelming. Plenty of lacework. Damn good. Try this one with fried chicken and bbq sauce and kfc will become one of your favorite places to eat.

Batch 10. Pours a reddish color with a small head and nice lacing. Smells fruity with a hint of banana. tastes of caramel and seasonal spices with a good amount of carbonation. I have new respect for this brewery.

750 mL Batch #4. Good, quick head on top of a cloudy, orange body. Good quick aroma of orange peel, corriander and grassy hops. Fizzy and full mouthfeel, good for a belgian style. Citrus, orange and lots of hops at first few sips. It mellows a bit as it warms, and caramel and the alcohol start to present themselves. The glass finishes with quite an alcohol bite and has a dry (but not bitter finish). It could be a good one if the alcohol content was knocked down a tad (or masked a bit better.)

12 oz bottle: Medium sized off white head on a hazy medium amber body. Laces well. Bready and and light caramel malt aromas with a perfumey floral hop and plum fruits. Light lemony citrus aroma, and seems a little grassy & metallic as well. Flavor is well balanced with toasty malt and plum fruits. Some resin hop flavors with lemony citrus. Balanced toward bitter in the finish & aftertaste. Very dry, astringent m/f pretty much ruins this beer for me. Higher carbonation, lighter medium body, well hidden alc. As I said, the harsh resiny m/f ruins this beer for me. I like the plum fruitiness and balance of the malts in the flavor, but I can’t get past the harsh astringency.