I am always on the lookout for new and unusual beers. Not necessarily extreme beers, but beers that are made in an usual way, beers that show craftsmen ship. The other day in Spec's I found it in this beer from Allagash. Now, I have had an Allagash beer before and been impressed, so when I saw this one I knew or at least hoped I'd be in for a treat.
The Beer: The beer comes in a big bottle with a wire cage closure, its aged in oak barrels, and according to the label was bottled on December 2006! This is one of 518 cases bottled and finally the beer weighs in at 10% abv. The beer pours a cloudy dark amber, capped by a thick white foamy head. The nose is full of sweet malts, raisins, figs, and a hint of burnt wood. The mouth has smoky, oaky, slightly vanillin notes, and caramel. The oak brings out flavors like a good oak aged wine, this beer is dry in that vein too. Very smooth. As the beer warmed more vanillin notes started to pop out creating a beer of incredible depth. Very nice. Here's what the folks over at BA had to say.
A couple of other notes, according to Allagash this is a Scottish ale. The oak hides some of this, but I do see it. For more info check out their page dedicated to this great beer.
1 comment:
Very nice report on the Musette.
The price-tag on this bottle made me walk past it countless times, though everytime I left the store, I found myself longing for it. Picked it up today, and am thoroughly enjoying my second glass, which has more pronounced raisin notes than my first sips.
I like Allagash's (Belgian) take on a Scotch ale. This ale has a rich caramel tone, malty & slightly-sweet/smoky taste, and a smooth mouthfeel. A good beer to linger over too, since it develops some interesting flavours as its temperature increases.
While I initially didn't detect any effect of the oak-aging, I think it certainly contributed to the smooth mouthfeel yet balanced dryness, also bringing out the other flavours as it warmed.
Fantastic beer. Well worth its price.
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