Allagash Musette

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

Misty and ruddy brown with an ample rocky head. Biscuit and cherry and a bit yeast in the nose, caramel sweet and lightly alcoholic with distinct woody, spirited edges. Fantastic experience sitting with it from cold to warm (57 degrees F?).

Sampled on-tap. Pours a slightly clouded dark ruby. Flavor is amazingly smooth. Wood character comes through as does a good sweet tone. Who cares about specifics. Feel is perfect balance between liquid and carbonation. I cant believe I am having this on tap. So drinkable, I want to kill the keg. I can only imagine what this is like on bottle and plan on finding out at some point.

Poured into a Duvel tulip. 3 fingers of fluffy tan head floating on a deep amber body. Reduces to a healthy cap without much lacing. Smells very Belgian, yeasty, estery, a bit of oakiness. Tastes like a 75/25 split between Belgian strong dark ale and Scotch ale. Dark fruits, horseblanket/yeast, apple, caramel, wood. Pretty smooth, not as thick as it should be for the style, kinda flimsy even. Alcohol is hidden well and it’s easy to get through the entire 750. Interesting interpretation, but not really wee heavy enough.

This was a VERY good beer. It was way too pricey but it’s kind of like the difference between a 21 year old Irish Whiskey and regular Jameson’s. It had a slightly hoppy flavor without the harshness. Wish I could put into words what my tongue is feeling. I will be buying more.

750mL bottled August 2006. Clear orange with hints of brown and a 3/4 finger light beige head, slowly fading to a thick creamy film. Though there isn’t a ton of bourbon in the aroma (thankfully), there is still a fair amount of vanilla and drying oak. Also some buttery notes, though also not dominating, but still necessary to note. I can pick out some dark fruits and peat, though apparently the barrel aging killed what makes Scotch ales awesome. At least there’s some bretty tang--hooray, since brett rules. Flavor continues with the buttery oak and brett dominating with some misc fruits (not dark though?) and caramel sweetness. Finishes oaky and bone dry without so much as a trace of bitterness. Finished clean except for some light wood. Low to moderate pinpoint carbonation with a full creamy body. As a Scotch Ale, I don’t think this fares too well at all, since nothing about it lets me know it’s a Scotch. As an uncategorized beer, it fares quite well, which is how I happened to rate it. As a Scotch--actually going by characteristics of Scotch Ales, this would get a 1.8 out of a possible 3.0 compared to the 2.6 it got with my rating. Nice beer, but if it was a Scotch, it was completely beaten out of the beer by the barrel.

Pours a dark plum color with a slight red tint. Aroma is dominated by scotch but also has hints of chocolate and dark fruit. Very strong scotch presence with tastes of dark fruit, vanilla and butterscotch.

bottle. pours a deep hazy amber, with a huge fluffy off-white head that lasts and lasts, and leaves a nice bit of lacing. smell is raisin and plum and grape and pear, with some woody caramel notes threatening the fruity esters for dominance, but failing. also a hint of alcohol in the end of the smell, but nothing that overwhelms, and certainly nothing that detracts. tons of fruit in the taste, dominated by pear and grape, along with some spices, and again a large caramel malty note, as well as some wood and a bit of bread. a chewy and coating mouthfeel, with a light bittersweet finish, a lot of carbonation, and a pretty full body. reminds me of some of my favorite belgians (like rochefort 10 and st. bernardus), except with the esters tending more toward pear, and a lot more of a caramel malt character. i really enjoyed this beer, and i wish i didn’t have to pay $13.99 for it.

(750ml bottle) Purchased at Bottleworks for $17.99. Nicely carbonated. Cloudy orange-brown body with a medium lasting white foamy head. Nose of scotch barrels and coriander. Burnt brown sugar tongue, wine and a smooth oily elixir finishing with caramel and fruit. So sweet.