Allagash Interlude

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

Hazy yellowish pour. Aroma has some tartness, yeast, tart stone fruit and wet woody smells. Flavor isn’t as tart as i expected. A bit more yeast and fruit and less funky barrel flavors than I wanted.

2008 bottle. Pours a very near clear glowing orange caramel with a small soapy fine white head. Aroma is sweet and cheesy, lots of barrel but with lots of residual sweetness, hard candy like, famtastic woodiness, some vinous notes from the barrel. Flavor follows, hand candy caramel sweetness, very smooth and well aged, a unsuspected amount of malt oxidation, glassy aged malt sweetness, very round, sourness is medium light, wonderful cheesy woody barrel, not too much vanilla, the brett is very preset but mostly muddled with the sweetness, very good, very drinkable, but the oxidation and the smoothing presence of the malt might be a bit detracting, would love it more if it were dried out a bit, if it dries out a bit. Medium bodied, some syrupiness with light stickiness, sharp fine crisp carbonation that is quick to disapate leaving it feeling a bit flat. A few more years brewing this and this could rival some RR’s... seriously ;) . All the basic elements are there, it just needs some better conditioning upping the sourness and lowering the residual sweetness. [we mixed a bit of this with some homemade cherry vinegar and came pretty close to a Flemish red!]

This just gets better and better every time I have it. Aroma is complex of grain, sweetness, honey, brett, funk, citrus, sour. Flavor is so smooth and drinkable. The right amount of funk and sourness with other nice fruit flavors.

Tap at Rattle n Hum. Off the bat, I am not a huge fan of this beer. Just not my style. Pours a hazy orange with a soft, white head. Floral nose with hints of barnyard sourness. Flavor is tart and somewhat fruity. Mildly sour. Notes of wood and hard alcohol. Tingly mouthfeel with some puckering. Aftertaste is a little sour but still crisp and a bit refreshing. I try to be objective...

Hazy orange/brown with a loose frog spawn of a foam. The aroma contains gooseberry, white wine vinegar and thick cherry. In the mouth it reeks of sweet toffee and fresh baguette. It is very boozy but totally easy. Such a wonderful finish like someone baking cakes in my throat. Warming and sweet, utterly delicious.

Dark tangerine pour with a small beige head that dissipates rather slowly. Aroma is bursting with just about every nectar-fruit that exists in this world: Tangerine, apricot, strawberry, raspberry, grape, oak, and a mild but fully present funk character. Flavor is another vigorous nectar punch to the palate. Pureed peach, raspberry, sweet grape, banana, and cove round out with a robust brett profile and a mild dry toastiness. Funk profile intermingles with a savory juicy ripe fruitiness in ways that simply titillate the senses. Allagash yeast is fully recognizable and welcomed. Palate is nicely effervescent with a medium body and a dry smacking finish that is slightly puckering. There is such a swirling torrent of complexities intermingling in this bottle- one of my favorite Allagash brews so far.

09 vintage. Pours a dark copper with orange tints, decent off white bubbly head. Aroma holds tons of nectarine, apricot, strawberry, wine, and definite funk notes from the Brett. Juicy smell is rife with grape, raspberry and pear, and a touch of wood from the aging seems to come through as well. Flavor has two facets that are both phenomenally presented. One is the mixed berry from the aroma, and though sweet it is extremely well balanced and not cloying in any way. The other facet is the Brett; boldly evident both at the start and the finish, it complements the fruit punch aspect of this beer impeccably. Intertwined with both of these major sides of the flavor are notes of Belgian spice, yeast, and clear vinous notes fro the wine barrels. The palate is as intriguing to the tongue as the flavor is, but not overdone in any way; the Brett is strong, but not overpowering. This is a unique and exquisite beer; excellent work from Allagash.

07 vintage on tap at VSK 2009. Nice fruity flavors on the citrus side. Some tartness.