A tribute to Allagash

Kicked this thing off right with a tasting session at the Lincoln Rose Whole Foods, hosted by a Allagash helmsman Rob Tod. I went with Sir Karl, who is a gentleman.

Allagash doesn't make my favorite beers, but they make really, really good ones. Plus 5 pours, a tray of meats, cheeses and bread, $15, awesome deal. Since none of these were full beers, I'm not counting them, but my actual review of beer #1 follows.

1. Allagash White - not my favorite, but obviously a hit with many others. After trying this, a guy at the tasting asked, "Are there hops in this beer? I have a friend that makes beer and he puts hops in it. Does that make it a pale ale?" Rob then explained hops. Rob was very nice.
2. Allagash Fluxus 2009 - Rob explained that this beer changes every year, and that the 2009 is loosely based on the saison-style. They also brewed it with sweet potatoes and black pepper. Couldn't find the sweet potatoes, but the pepper was there, created an interesting dryness that I liked. Rob also noted that they donate some of the profits from this beer to support pediatric nurses, I liked that too.
3. Allagash Black - a maltier dark beer, much more subdued chocolate and coffee notes that usually hit really hard in this style. Rob said it sat somewhere between a dry Irish and a Russian Imperial. It was just OK.
4. "Four" - After my first sip, I didn't like this. I don't like fruit-infused beers and this tasted like cherries. But Rob explained that the 3rd fermentation of the "Fuckin Four" (as their brewers call it because of the difficulty posed by 4 fermentations) adds this fruit flavor - it's not from actual cherries. That made it more interesting, but I still couldn't imagine drinking a full glass of it.
5. Curieux - this had a big smokey, wood taste that I liked very much. They use their Tripel as the base, then age it in Jim Beam barrels for 2 months to create the Curieux. It kicks butt, I wanted more.

I wasn't going to drop $18 on a bottle of the Curieux, so I got the Tripel instead. It was a good choice. Karl elected to continue the evening (with a 4-pack of Pranqster) back at Club PlattiBrooks. So we put on Black Dynamite, popped bottles, and infused our evening of cinematic blacksploitation with a Belgian-inspired, bubbly American delight. I really like the relative simplicity of Allagash's Tripel. It's strong, crisp and pitch-perfect Belgian, with a balanced bitter/sweet/full flavor. Party. It is strange that I'll associate this beer with Black Dynamite the next time I pick it up, and I'll be a jive turkey if that isn't soon.