Allagash Inoculator

Formerly brewed at Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Portland, Maine USA

Bottle @ Beer Chef Dinner in San Francisco (5-25-07). We enjoyed this one during the third course. A hazy yellow orange color. Cherry flavors with a hint towards a Rodenbach triple. Nicely tart with a light sour finish compliments the banana, lemon and wine flavors.

a: yeast, honey, fruitiness, cherries
a: dark yellow, white head with lots of lacing, cloudy
f: sourness, yeast, farmhouse, cherries and wheat
p: smooth, some soapiness, sour bite with cherries. Has a yeast, cherry and leafy aftertaste.

Cloudy amber bosy with white head. Aroma is medium sweet, cherry, medium sourness, oack, some Brett, light mint. Taste is medium sweet, cherry, oak, some Brett/sourness. Smooth medium-full body.

Tap, Max’s American Craft Beer Fest. Pours a cloudy golden color; white head with fine-bubbled lacing. Tart, sour cherries and lemony citrus in the aroma; dense and vaguely reminiscent of a Flemish sour. Lively, almost fizzy carbonation. Dense, warm alcoholic mouthfeel: chewy cherries and tart lemons; yeast and bread following, especially near the finish. Lengthy, chewy, warm alcohol and tart fruit finish. 8.4.8.4.16=4

Rerated at Max’s, after my allergies cleared up a bit. Dense, tart cherries and citrus in the aroma; hint of vanilla. Still slightly overcarbonated, but that’s really the only central drawback for me: great density of cherries, toasty vanilla; hints of butter and butterscotch.

Draft at Max’s, multiple glasses, and different ends of the week... too much really. My goal was to drink the entire 5 gallon keg, since they only made 30 gallons of it... I failed, but I think I did drink about 1/2 gallon, which is like almost 2% of the batch. Anyways, the thing is a beaut... soft golden murky appearance, looks similar to Interlude but more cloudy, same color though. White film head, a bit of lacing but not a huge amount. The brett, aged fruit and bourbon scents are amazing. Very thick and syrupy on the tongue, sharp and spicy brett flavors in full on Russian River mode in this beer... two years in the barrel and you can tell, you can taste it... it was reminding me a little bit of RR Depuration, but very boozy, and also a little bit of La Folie, at least a couple of bottles of that where there’s some apple and white grape flavors. Inoculator is an amazingly good Belgian beer, very boozy, and that’s something I usually don’t like but for a few beers out there I can dig it, but that’s because the brett is the centerpiece in this beer, not the alcohol. Sour wood, huge dose of brett, and then some old decaying oranges in the nose. The finish is peppery and lightly dry, lingering flavors of grapes, oranges, wood and bourbon. The one thing I don’t get in this beer is cherries - absolutely no cherry presence at all, which I was a little worried about... but hey, it doesn’t matter the way this thing tastes.

[Draft @ Max’s] Poured a hazy, orange color with a small, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of brett, sour cherries, some toffee, and some toasty dough. Taste of more sour cherries, with earthy, yeast, some toffee, and a sour finish. Soft mouthfeel.

On tap at Über in Seattle. Funny, I was just talking about this the other day, and then out of no where it shows up on tap at Über! Pours a fairly light golden yellow color that is somewhat cloudy. A dense, thick, and large white head sits atop with excellent retention. The aroma spills notes of yeast, sour cherries, a bit of sour funk, and whiffs of vanilla. The flavor starts out with a very yeasty start to it, then mixing into a sour cherry body while melding in tastes of oaky vanilla and a very small and somewhat refreshing hop note. There is a very lemony aspect that I imagine is the triple shining through a bit still. Quite malty, but where it is, its funky. Quite complex, you can definitely tell this has been sitting in wood for a while. Surprisingly to me it seems fairly light bodied (which for this is great). Not much of a finish either...which seems odd, all the lovely flavors fade rather quickly. Overall I was impressed, but not blown away like I thought I would be. Definitely glad I got to try this half lambicy/half soury strange brew though!

Tap @ Ubertavern in Seattle: Pours a golden bronze color, vaguely murky with a nice full white head and plenty of lacing. The nose is very spicy and herbal, some citrusy and tart notes along with the full yeasty notes. The flavor is very balanced with a nice tart citrusy yeast note, lots of fruit (cherry) notes and an oaky dry finish. Nice fuckin BSA with a very nice mouthfeel. Sweet.