Allagash Avancé
Allagash Four aged in bourbon barrels with strawberries.
3.9
168 reviews
Portland, United States
Community reviews
Turbid coppery pour. Nose was strawberry, yeasty funk, bourbon, oak. Tasted tart, with authentic strawberry, lactic tartness, oak, bourbon, tannins. Very complex.
Bottle at WTF V. Pours a cloudy orange with small white head that lasts. The aroma is strawberry seed and oak. Medium body, jammy strawberry, oak tannin, nice tartness, very good.
Bottle at Max’s. clear dark Amber with small white head. Aroma is tart strawberry, medium body, lower carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is malt, strawberries, oak, some molasses, and a little bourbon. Nice beer, pretty easy to drink.
On tap at Beercraft. Pours a brown color without much head. Strawberry fruit wafts from the glass. Tingling sourness. The strawberry clashes a little with the base beer.
4/22/17. 375mL bottle from Growler Spot, picked out by Mrs. Owl. Amber pour with a nice khaki head, good lacing. Nice aroma, sour, mild barrel, plenty of strawberry. Awesome flavor, sour as all get out, strawberries, light barrel. Delish!
Got in a BIF from Roguer. 375 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 7/14/2016. Pours slightly hazy pinkish golden/orange color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big juicy strawberries, lightly tart lemon, green apple, raspberry, cherry, red grape, brown sugar, and toasted oak; with light hay, leather, musty funk, bourbon, pepper, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of strawberries, malt/sugars, oak barrel, and light-moderate fruity/funky yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of huge tart/sour raspberry, strawberry, lemon, green apple, red grape, brown sugar, and toasted oak; with light hay, leather, musty funk, bourbon, vanilla, pepper, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic sourness and light yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour raspberry, strawberry, lemon, green apple, red grape, brown sugar, toasted oak, red wine vinegar, light musty funk, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, strawberries, malt/sugars, and oak barrel flavors; with a great malt/sourness balance. Lightly puckering, but not astringent after the finish. Moderate dryness from acidity/oak tannins, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth and moderately acidic/tannic/grainy balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Mildly warming alcohol for 9.7%. Overall this is an outstanding fruited sour ale! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, strawberries, malt/sugars, and oak barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV; and despite the increasingly lactic/tannic/drying finish. Interesting contrast between aromas and flavors. Nose was very sweet and juicy on fruit notes, with much less funk/sourness; but the taste was much more in line with what I expected for a sour ale on flavor complexity. A highly enjoyable offering.
Draft @ Sour Sunday 2017, Berkeley, CA. Pours a hazy orange pale amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity sour tart berry aroma. Fruity sour tart woody strawberry flavor. Has a fruity sour tart woody berry finish.
Poured from a 375 ml bottle dated July 14, 2016.
Aroma is nice and fairly strawberry forward. Some cherry, and other berry notes with a bit of fig and raisin. Light oak notes with some hints of bourbon and alcohol spice. Some light caramel and toffee notes.
Pours a slightly murky, reddish brown with a small, somewhat thin, tan head that quickly recedes and disappears. No lacing and moderate length legs.
Flavor is fairly sweet with some moderate acidity in the finish. Medium light strawberry notes with tart cherries, berries, raisin and figs. Light caramel and toffee notes with a bit of biscuit and cracker malt notes as well. Some light oak with hints of bourbon and some light alcohol spice in the finish.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium to medium high carbonation. Low astringency and medium low alcohol warmth.
Overall, one of the best strawberry beers I have had. It does not have even a hint of the weird phenolic note that so many strawberry beers get and the strawberry character is fairly well pronounced, especially in the aroma. Nice fruity notes in the acidity and the bourbon and oak notes are light and add some nice complexity in the background.
Bottled July 14, 2016. Listed as 9.7%. Pours hazy to murky copper with nearly flat off-white head. Aroma of strawberries, oak barrels, red wine, huge aroma...! Taste is rich berry tart with light funky side notes, rich oak barrels, mild berry sweet finish. Light and crisp body with average to lively carbonation.
Bottle. Pours cloudy gold, with a small, white head. Aroma is strawberries, wood, lemons,and some funk. Flavor is sour, with strawberries, wood. lemons, funk, and a small amount of bourbon.
A bit messy and all over the place but i cant help that i like it a lot. Aroma is super fresh strawberries, oak, some nutty notes, bourbon, and bread. Taste is tons of fresh bourbony strawberries. Reminds me of a new non existent dessert, strawberries foster.
A tad tart. Lots of fruit flavor. A sweetness on the finish that is pretty unique. Big bodied. Big flavored. Lots going on here.
Bottle from Londonderry Quick Stop
Hazy murky amber brown with a thin wisp of a white head that dissipates instantly. Great berry on the nose but the tart lurking underneath makes you stand at attention. Tart earthy berry flavor with a hint of alcohol and what could be some hop bitterness? Medium body tart lemony puckering mouthfeel, moderate carbonation. Pretty tasty beer, the strawberry is well done!
Pours deep mahogany into a tulip. Strawberry and funk aromas. Dry with sweet strawberry and tart cherry and oak front to back. Parching acidic finish.
I’m sorry.... I enjoy beer but do not get caught up in all the nomenclature. Trust me, I despise Bud Light and anything main stream. I enjoy many types of robust beers and enjoy about any type of beer that is unique albeit I lack the acceptable terms for what it smells/tastes like. Again, I’m sorry for my lack of the proper terms among true beer connoisseurs ... but this was absolutely TERRIBLE! What a terrible, fruity, sour mess. This must only be considered "beer" by the definition of the brewing process vs other alcoholic beverages only. It is absolutely foul and undrinkable. I would rather mop the bathroom and drink the left over water. I read the reviews on here and immediately lost all faith in humanity and fellow beer lovers. I signed up ONLY to warn others that don’t smell their beer like a wine snob every time they pop a top to STEER CLEAR. For shame Allagash.... and to think my middle name is named after this beautiful, rouged area of our great State of Maine.
Bottle via Stateline... Great nose of fresh strawberries. Average looking red murky color with small head. Taste is a solid Belgian ale. Malt body, bread notes, balanced bitterness....Little sweet with a tartness, followed by a strawberry aftertaste. But not like a sweet girly drink. Body is light and bubbly. I was surprised to see the alcohol content, hidden really well. Easy to drink for a high ABV. Overall, I can dig it but doubt I would get again just do to the price tag.
Shared 12.7 oz. bottle poured to a snifter, showing a cloudy, light amber color, with modest, bubbly, off white foam, and light spots of lacing. The nose was a bit of barnyard funk, pronounced strawberry, tartness, just a touch of dark caramel & treacle sweetness, with some barrel/tannic scent. Medium bodied, the taste was similar notes, possessing more of a sour nature that somewhat masked the level of effervescence, which was low, imo, with some pleasant warmth, and finishing dryness. Nicely matured Four.
Looks like grape plum juice. no head. smells like grape jelly with baked plum. interesting. oooh holy sour. tart with some ham smoked salty taste. cherry pie in the middle. sweet and juicy flavor with a slight bit of oak
375ml. Bottled 7/14/16. Aroma is sour berries. Taste is strawberry. Lots of sourness, very acidic, low sweetness.
Finish has slight oak and bourbon.
Draft at armsby abbey. Pours golden with a thin white head. Nice fruity and tart notes on the nose and tongue. Puckers the mouth with tartness which is nice. Finished clean. Nice.
Draft. Crystal clear copper body topped by small off-white head. Aroma is moderately sweet, molasses, some caramel, strawberry, light Bourbon. Taste is sweet, caramel/molasses, light berry, Bourbon, alcohol warming. Sticky medium-full body, low carbonation.
Copenhagen Beer and Music Celebration Boston: pours bright red with a big white head. Aroma is strawberries, wood and wine. Taste is quite sour. Loads of wood and berries. Deep and complex. Alcohol well covered. Tasty as always.
Ok...maybe as a female child of the late 80’s this has ruined me, but the combo of oak and strawberry smells and tastes like my plastic play kitchen bakery set. I can’t get into this. Maybe it’s good. But I taste and smell plastic, like sour bandaids. Haunting me. Lovely memories, but I don’t want it in my beer. Hazy brown red. Mouth is sour tart. Tap
Keg at Citizen Burger Charlottesville, 4/20/16. Hazy red-bronze, thin creamy tan head, good retention. Aroma of tart berries, funk, oak, whiskey, vanilla. The taste is oak, lacto, funk, bright and tart strawberry, vanilla and plum. Medium bodied, lingering tartness, a bit phenolic. Nice.
Nose is pleasant. Super sour. I f I had to guess I'd probably say strawberry is the fruit it was aged on. Pretty cool that the strawberries come through on the taste and would have someone actually guess it. Very, very acidic. Bites the hell out of the tongue. Very good beer. If you like sours!
Draft at Arlington. Poured a hazy pink with hardly any head. Aroma and flavor are loaded with acetone. Begind that is a solid jammy strawberry, toast, lemon sourness. Nice body, medium to fuller with strong carbonation and a lingering acidic burn. Solid.
Bottle. Pours hazy deep orange, large off white head, dissipates slowly, decent lacing. Aroma starts a bit of nail polish, dust, must, strawberry. Flavor is better, but still a bit of acetone, plenty of strawberry, light plus tart, medium funk. Medium body.
Strawberries and sour plum. Hazy brown pour with ok head and lacing. Tangy finish. Some light citrus. Should be a sour not Belgian strong.
Hazy brown color with a small, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of caramel malts, wood, nuts, strawberries, brett, bacteria. Taste of caramel, spices, wood, strawberries, and a tart finish.
This gets classified as a Belgian strong ale, but really should be a sour. The base is a quad, but it is then aged and soured. Aroma is quite nice, slight sweet strawberry with some lactic sour. Taste is a lactic sour, maybe 4 of 10 sour, strawberry slight sweetness with a bit of a band aide funk finish. It is all lactic until the finish and then a weird band aide funk. Not malty, which I would expect if it is the Four. Full flavored and complex, but body doesn’t seem like a quad. Really quite nice overall.