Allagash Musette

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

Bottled May 2006, Sampled November 2006
Pours with a frothy, thick three finger thick, tan colored head. The beer shows a lightly hazy, ruby, amber color when held up to the light, otherwise it sits a slightly dull, burnt, concentrated amber color. As I pour this beer I get a nice, sweetish fruity note of plums. Yep, notes of plum and raisins play a forward role in this beer. Towards the end the oak starts to become noticeably; touches of vanillin, and buttery oak character. The oak actually seems to accentuate the alcohol aromatics here, it almost gives it a hot, even bourbon like edge. Malty, caramelized notes of rum, brown sugar and toasted bread crust. There is also a touch of something that makes the aroma smell a bit tart; it sort of reminds me of tamarind.

The taste has a touch of complex sweetness to it up front, that dies down a bit in the middle and then picks up again through to a long, caramelized finish. Definitely has a certain tartness to it; it seems to remind me of plums and perhaps a touch of apples. For an oak aged beer, the wood is fairly subtle. Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely noticeable, but it is not so in your face that it is the first thing I notice. The oak first becomes noticeable towards the finish, with notes of vanilla, a touch of astringent oak, and perhaps a hint of buttery oak. This beer has a nice fullness to it, it is not heavy, though it does manage to coat the palate for quite some time after the beer has left. Once again the wood seems to accentuate some hot alcohol notes, but it is even more subtle in the taste than it is in the aroma. The notes makes me think of spicy notes of pepper.

This is a nice beer to contemplate over an evening. Perhaps the best thing about this beer is that the oak is fairly subtle, so often the wood is overdone in the wood aged beers. In this one it plays a supporting role & it just works. As the beer warms and my palate gets used to it, it loses the sweetness that was initially here. It becomes actually a bit meatier, more chewy and more savory even. Perhaps not mind blowingly good, but this is certainly quite tasty and I am enjoying this quite nicely right now.

(07.29.06) One pint 9.4 oz brown bottle from DiCarlo’s, Mundelein, IL. Bottled 5/2006. 690 cases bottled. 10% ABV. Spicy caramel aroma. Poured hazy amber with giant off-white head. Soft carbonation. Medium bodied oak-aged Belgium style ale that starts with light malt sweetness and spicy (coriander)/fruity/oak wood flavors. Finished dry with spicy aftertaste. Smooth, well-balanced and clean tasting, this is another enjoyable delicious Allagash beer. I wish I bought some more bottles while I had a chance.

A really nice experience. Warming with the right amount of alcohol showing. Nothing like what one person said tasted just like Maudite. I found this to be much more layered and complex then the Maudite. Lovely, but at $23 at Sauver, I sure hope to find it in a store somewhere soon.

This bottled brew from a bottle shop marked bottled on 05/06 poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized tan colored bubbles that were mostly diminishing and left behind a very hazy no visible carbonation and a good lacing. The aroma was malty brown malt and musty. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and strongly tingly at the finish. The flavor contained notes of malt spices dough and brown malt. Delicious and one I would certainly buy again.

Brown color, fairly clear with a large head. The aroma is pretty complex with tobacco, malt, and fruit. Big malt flavor with candy sweetness and alcohol coming through but balanced with some dryness at the end. The oak is there but not overwhelming. The Belgian yeast plays a big part as well. Real nice carbonation to bring out all the aroma & flavor. Great beer.

Caramel, banana, cherry, tobacco, light smoke, pepper, clove, cinnamon, lemon cucumber and more. Obviously some serious complexity. Alcohol. Dense and chewy with a creamy mouthfeel. Slight burn in the back. Signature belgian yeast esters. I wouldn’t call this a scotch ale. It’s really just a Belgian strong, but it’s still damn good.

(750ml bottle) Pours a cloudy burnt orange body with a medium-sized beige head. Aroma of citrus, pear, apple, cucumber, celery, and oak. Flavor of oak, malt, yeast, and caramel.

Pours out a nice semi cloudy brown color with a small white head. Aroma is very malty and nice undertones of bourbon. Flavor is has a odd twist to the scotch ale with a nice bourbon finish. This is a much better bourbon brew than Curieux.