Allagash Odyssey

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

Pours a dark brown with a frothy off white head. Tastes of sweet malt, light oak, and a touch of molasses. Very good beer.

Pours dark brown like an overly syrupy Pepsi and has a creamy tan head. It has an aroma of roasted malt, dark caramel, molasses, dark brown sugar, pulpy fruits, and alcohol. Very smooth to drink, roasted malt, fruit, warm spices, vanilla, molasses, and a hint of oak. The finish is warm, sticky sweet, a has a feeling of liquor about it. Pretty good.

sampled bottle with stegosaurus.Pours a dark brown with a nice thick well retainted head. Aroma of yeast, fruit, and caramel with some hiths of oak.Taste is awesome with flavors of roasted malts,oak,spices and some sweetness. This beer is more complex than i can express in words. Excellent brew

Shared with Mr. Facto, CaptainCougar, & 1FastSTi. 750ml bottle 2005. Pours a Bombay mahogany color, very clear, with a light head. Vinous grapes and sweet malt are predominating in the aroma with tons of fruit syrup, plum, strawberry, and raison. Very inviting. The flavor starts with honey. It’s nicely sweet with fruity malt and apple wood. Hints of spicy bitterness are also lingering. The mouth feel was creamy and medium. A very enjoyable brew. Wish I had some of this.

25 oz bottle, via SoLan. Pours a clear cola brown colored body under a very fizzy soda like light brown head that fell quickly to a thin ring. Aroma on this guy is just huge, and can be smelled from a foot away. Heavy sweet scotch malt with lots of oak and some alcohol. Light smoke and dark fruits. The flavor is actually pretty thin for such a big beer. Moderately sweet malt and candied dark fruits up front. Finishes with some light smoke, oak, plum, grape, and alcohol. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a slightly cloying and sticky finish. Typical Allagash carbonation, a little too fizzy and prickly, especially for this style. I just don’t think that this beer had enough depth or complexity to start with, which doesn’t make a great candidate for barrel aging.

(Way too expensive) bottle. This one is real nice. Aroma has soothing, full and buttery oak, backed up by some tropical fruits and slight hops. Very mellow but very pleasant. Flavorwise there is more complexity, with dry, wheaty tones up front, dark fruits and candi sugar, bittersweet candy and a strong oak push at the back. Super-thick foam cap on the pour and incredibly drinkable for 10.4%. Totally mellow across the board, but good complexity in the flavor and just well-honed, perfectly balanced flavors, it’s tough not to love this one. Now, if only it weren’t $15...

Bottle sampled with Beerded_one. Pours almost black with a one inch thick tan head (like a stout). The aroma is heavenly oak, belgian style spices, yeast, sweet, caramel, fruit and slight roast. The flavor is amazingly smooth, oak is a strong character in this brew, slightly sweet, spices, silky, slight fruit, mildly carbonated, with a nice subtle hoppy bitterness in the background. Much like a scotch ale, minus the smokiness. Excellent brew!

Once again, the balance and integrity of a well made Allagash is nearly destroyed by the intensity of the oaking. Lovely hazy medium brown, small dark tan head. Overwhelming nose offers great promise ... chocolate, dark roast, dried fruits. Mouthfeel surprisingly thin, given the explosive nose, but consistent with the appearance. Taste is really complex ... chocolate, Belgian yeast, dried fruit, but it still screams of oak and, for some reason licorice. Alcohol nicely masked, but still lacking in balance. As with the Musette, anything this expensive and with this much alcohol needs to be wonderful or I won’t go near it. I’ll probably pour out 3/4 of the bottle and give away the rest of the case. It’s not bad, it’s just not good enough.