Allagash Tenth (10th) Anniversary Ale

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

This cloudy lemon yellow brew pours with a smallish white head that sheets the glass in classic Belgian Lace fashion. Lemony sweet aroma. Lightly sweet flavor with a smooth creamy mouthfeel.

The body is a cloudy gold. The aroma has a touch of leafy mint and a bit of slightly unripe bananas (really more the peels than anything else). The body is quite airy. The flavor is lightly sweet with a bit of pear and more mild mint.

This beer is basically a witbier on steroids. It is brewed with unmalted wheat, coriander, and orange peel, but has twice the amount of alcohol of a traditional witbier. Tenth Anniversary comes in at a mighty 10% abv. This is a wonderful beer to sip and savor, and makes a wonderful aperitif beer. Allagash Tenth Anniversary Ale pours to a hazy deep golden to orange color, with a thick and creamy white head, and a vibrant carbonation. The nose on this beer is fantastic with lots of zesty aromas of orange and citrus, paired with some peppery aromas of coriander and alcohol. The palate on this beer is firm, with lots of good sweet malt and tart wheat malt flavor. This is paired with a very nice under tone of candied orange peel flavor. Tenth Anniversary Ale finishes with more good sweet/wheat malt and orange flavor up front, then ends with some nice peppery flavors of coriander and alcohol that linger. Marketed in caged and corked 750 ml bottles, retailing for $6-$7 a bottle, Tenth Anniversary Ale is a great tribute to their flagship Allagash White, and is a great beer to enjoy with or without food.

Estery bubblegum aroma. Whiff of coriandery spice, some candyish sugary notes as well. Medium-light bodied. Some bubblegum in the flavor, more coriander, lightly sweet and elegantly spice. Good stuff, thanks for sharing, Duane!

Bottle (courtesy of Secret Santa): Bottle was stored in my fridge and I pulled it out 45minutes before drinking. It opened with large pop and started to gush and I then poured quickly in my glass. Poured a hazy golden color ale with a huge foamy white head with perfect retention. Carbonation is just crazy, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and body is pretty much average. Aroma of wheat with some pepper, coriander and maybe a bit of cinnamon. Taste is also quite heavy on wheat with a nice spice mix. I couldn’t really detect any alcohol, which is great. Overall, this may lack a bit of complexity but great take on the style (Strong Belgian pale ale/Witbier).

The information sheet that came with the case I bought and the Allagash rep I’ve communicated with said to really chill this beer down to avoid a gusher. Well I did and no gush. Aroma was amazing. I could smell this from two feet away. It smelled very much like a saison; grass, hay, grapefruit. There was almost no head with no lacing. The body was a bit hazy and orange. Initial flavor was moderately sweet as was the finish. Taste lasted a long time. The texture was dry with soft carbonation. Since it was so cold it was really lively on the tongue. Once again Allagash has really brewed a winner. To me this did not taste like a witbier, but more like a Belgian strong pale ale. At 10% I expected to taste the alcohol, but I didn’t. I sure felt it later, though. At 10%, I think I’ll let the others age for a while.

Pours a cloudy yellow-orange with a little white head looking like soap suds in a sink where you didn’t add enough dish soap. The aroma is light with malts, some spice, and a finishing alcohol. There is a light spicy wheat flavor, and a bit of a tangy malt flavor that lasts for a while. Some residual alcohol comes in and there is a cool spicy finish which also picks up in dryness. Very little bitterness, but it is present. I have to thank my parents who brought back a case of this for me from the brewery.

Tasted at Belgium Comes to Cooperstown, July 16, 2005. Hazy blonde ale with a thick white head. Light sweet malt with orange peels and cilantro. Good sweet malt with light spiceyness, mainly curacao, and medium bodied.