Belgian Style Ale
Aged in Oak Barrels June 2009Brewed by Allagash Brewing Co.
Portland, Maine
ALC/VOL 9.5%
It's been a long time since my last review. Too long. So let's kick it back in with a bang. I saw this beer staring me in the face the last time I was in my favorite local beer and wine establishment (Beltway Fine Wine, it's insane!). I was having a party that weekend and I wanted "something nice" for a night cap after the guests had left. Well, one things led to another and i had too many type of many beers. Then another few Patron shots later, my fancy night cap was no longer a priority in my state.
So now, a week later, I pull the bottle out with a fresh mind (and liver) to give this complex beer another shot. It comes in a nice thick 750ml bottle with a label that seems to drip "high end". I gave it pour and could tell immediately that I was going have a unique experience. A multitude of spices floated to the top in the head and the unbelievably complex blend of spices hit my nose like a ton of bricks.
OK, enough is enough, lets dive in. Holy crap. Haven't had a beer like this. It's difficult to even paraphrase my initial reaction. You get a lot of citrus up front; what seems most like apricot and pear. As the taste developed on my pallet, it became less acidic, but kept many of the sweet overtones from the initial bite. It's body at this point had almost expanded in my mouth, like rising bread. In fact, I get some slight hints of toast or cracker once the taste fully comes to fruition.
It ends much like a wine, which isn't hard to believe considering it's barrel aged. I get a deep red taste at the end, very plum like. I did a little poking around on the web, and it turns out that this beer is aged in Merlot and Sirah barrels, which fits in this puzzle perfectly.
What surprises me more than the myriad of complex flavors or the strong finish is how tame this 9.5% tastes. At no point does the pure taste of alcohol overwhelm what the brewer was intentionally trying to get across. I've had 9.5% before that have only achieved this by overpowering the alcohol by saturating the brew with a equally strong flavor. Kudos Allagash!
