Allagash Victor

Allagash brewery focus's on Belgian Style beers, with of course an American twist. They make outstanding dubbel, Trippel, and a Wit, as well as numerous other more unique beers. Beers aged in Oak, beers made with grapes, beer made with wine yeast and spontaneously fermented beers. All of these styles have made this brewery from Portland, Maine, one of the best American Brewers to focus on Belgian Style ales. Their Victor ale is no different, and it comes with a unique back story. The beer is made with red chancellor grapes, uses Pilsner malt, fuggle hops and fermented with a wine yeast. This is not your typical beer. It also part of Allagash's Tribute series. From the Allagash Website:

Lawrence Arts and Community Center, perched at the crest of Munjoy Hill in the Portland’s East End. A National Historic Landmark, this granite and slate church was built in 1897 by Arthur Bates Jennings. The Romanesque, Queen Anne architecture is accented with turrets and over 90 stained glass windows; it is a distinctive and unique building whose history and mission serves Portland well.

The church has been renovated by the non-profit group, Friends of the St. Lawrence Church. The Center’s mission is to create a community focused auditorium where everyone can enjoy the arts. Allagash will contribute $1 from every bottle of Allagash Victor sold to help realize the mission of the St. Lawrence Arts and Community Center.

The Beer: This one weighs in at 9.0% and pours a bright golden honey color with a thin white head. The nose is fruity, honey, melon, yeasty, and smells of grape must, that whiff that you get when you walk into a winery. Flowery. The mouthfeel is bright, medium bodied. Fruity yeasty notes, grapes, honeydew melon, honey, candied sugar, vanilla, pears. Its a refreshing beer with a lot going on, very little if any alcohol flavor in this one. There is some carbonation, but not a lot, for the most part it slides along the tongue. I had this last night, and I wasn't sure how well it would go with the dinner I cooked but it went surprisingly well. We had some posole and the semi-sweet fruitiness of the beer complimented the spicey smokiness of the dish. A really wonderful match. This is a fine beer that gets an A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.