Allagash Inoculator

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

Name: Inoculator
Date: 02/10/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer

cloudy yellow, frothy white head, tart oaky aroma with a light fruity character, creamy body, huge tart flavor, light oak, lemony tartness, light spicy character,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

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 at Spuyen Duyvil. Hazy pink tinted amber brew with lots of suspended yeast. Soft tartness, with lemon, soft sweet earthiness and loads of vanilla. A bit of cherry/berryish sweet fruitness. The normal sweetness of this beer is really tempered by the aging and the soft tartness. The barrel really comes through with soft vineous notes, vanilla/tapioca. Wheaty and spicy with the normal yeast phenols making themselves apparent on the back. As it warms a honeyish character really starts to assert itself. Great balance with the sweet/tart character really playing off of the yeasty spice. Nice to see something this good and sad to know that I won’t see it again.

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.

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.

Multiple samples, GABF 2007. Body is medium yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), lightly yeasty (barnyard), with notes of lemon zest and sour apple. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter, yeasty. Light to medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Pretty disappointing...I expected something very rustic and sour along the lines of something from Vinnie’s workshop, but there just wasn’t much to it. I kept going back for more, thinking I was missing something, but alas, I couldn’t find much to inspire.

Tap @ SD. Poured a hazy amber with a small off-white head. Amazing aroma of yeasty funk. Leather, strong vanilla and a hint of cherry. Light malt flavor quickly followed by acidic citrus, leather and a dry Belgian yeasty finish. Nice warmth in the chest.

[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.