Allagash Barrel & Bean
Formerly known as James Bean. Barrel & Bean starts its life as our Tripel—a Belgian-style golden ale. We age that beer in bourbon barrels for just shy of two months, before blending it with cold-brewed coffee from Speckled Ax, a Maine coffee roaster. The sun-dried Ethiopian beans in the coffee are known for their stone fruit and dark berry flavors. The finished beer features rich notes of caramel, bourbon, and coffee. Grains: Allagash 2-Row Malted Barley Blend
Hops: Nugget, Hallertau
Spices/Other: Aged in Bourbon Barrels, Blended with Cold-Brewed Coffee
Yeast: House
Serving Temp: 40-50°F
Ideal Within: One year
Hops: Nugget, Hallertau
Spices/Other: Aged in Bourbon Barrels, Blended with Cold-Brewed Coffee
Yeast: House
Serving Temp: 40-50°F
Ideal Within: One year
3.7
230 reviews
Portland, United States
Community reviews
Bottle from Brew Cavern. Hazy golden colour with a white head. Aroma and taste are coffee and slight juicy berry. Hints of vanilla. Medium body.
Flaska systembolaget. Lätt disig vätska. Doft av äpple, belgojäst och en touch kaffe. Söt smak med örter, kaffe, trä och äpple. Intressant smak som funkar bättre än anat. Känns välbalanserat
355ml bottle. Pours dark gold with a large head. Aroma is bitter coffee, sweet honey, straw and bourbon. Taste bitter coffee and straw to start, honey sweetness and bourbon in the finish. Spritzy.
Appearance is golden, amber, with a half-finger solid white head. Aroma is coffee, yeasty malt, Belgian spicy hints. Taste is coffee, oaky barrel, caramel, bit of hop peppery-ness, smooth biscuity malt, vanilla bourbon sweet finish. ABV hidden. Interesting stuff.
Strong coffee flavor dominates the rest of the fruity flavors. Big bold strong beer. Another good beer form this brewery!
12oz bottle. Clear gold with a big foamy white head. Aroma is sweet, vanilla and almond. Flavour is light with fruit, yeast and bourbon dominant. Not getting as much coffee as i expected, but that's not an issue because it's damn fine regardless
Bottle. Beer Stop, Dronfield. Hazed gold. Decent white foam. Sticky and leggy. Nose has sweet esters. Coffee bean. Rich malt. Hint of barrel. Taste is dry and lightly bitter. Vanilla sweetness throughout. Super smooth and easy drinking. Foamy carbonation. Dry and estery finish. Comes good.
Hazy golden color with aroma of coffee. Has a chocolate type flavor on the palate. Very smooth, hides the ABV very well. Interesting spin on the tripel
Hazy golden beer, thick white head. Sweet, bready aroma with a waft of coffee. Flavour has lots of coffee too, a little hop, bourbon, a little spice, some caramel. Beautifully balanced and dangerously drinkable.
The aroma is of coffee, earth, yeast, and bourbon. It tastes coffee, bourbon, malty sweetness, spicy yeast, and an earthy character. The bourbon takes over more as it warms. There’s some clove. It’s medium to full bodied with low bitterness. Complex.
Bottle pours darker gold, good white head. Aroma of coffee beans, biscuity malts, toffee. Taste is that noce tripel with clear coffee addition and subtle bourbon. I prefer Curieux, but this one is cool too.
Bottle from HoTM. It pours hazy pale orange with a thick, fluffy white head. The aroma has coffee upfront, nutty, woody, milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, cake malts, cereal, toasty grain and a touch of estery fruits. The taste is dry, bitter - sweet, bready malt, sponge cake, touch of booze, honeyed drizzled stone fruits, melon, nutty, coffee, toasty, milk chocolate, vanilla, oak, light tannin and spice with some warmth through the finish. Medium+ body and moderate, foamy carbonation. Pretty bonkers stuff, but kinda works. Novel.
19th December 2020
Almost clear gold beer, good bubbly pale cream colour head. Airy palate, semi dry, decent fine minerally carbonation. The Tripel character holds fast, that typically spicy and slightly alcoholic dry fruity yeasty vibe. Smooth coffee, a smooth and slightly earthy coffee vibe, the smoothest of espresso. The bourbon barrelling brings a lovely light oaky vanilla vibe along with mellow but rich fruity Bourbon soaked ripe fruits. Light finish. There is nothing shouty about this brew. Just a good take on a classic Belgo brew with very well thought out barrelling and additions. Smooth and semi dry finish. Entertaining Tripel and very drinkable. When I first got in to craft beer all that time ago, Allagash was a name that stood large and I was keenly seeking out. All these years and many thousands of beers later, it is a great comforting sense of continuity, that Allagash are still producing stuff I have not come across before.
10% bourbon barrel Belgian tripel blended with cold brew coffee. Strong coffee flavor gives this a unique taste. Would pair well with a cigar
Hazy golden pour with a thin white soapy head and lots of lacing .. aroma of vanilla, caramel, coffee, spicy tripel yeast and light bourbon ..... taste is of vanilla, caramel, coffee, tripel flavors, yeast, and some bourbon flavors as well, spicy bourbon, and dry oak .... light banana flavors.... finish is dry, vanilla, caramel and coffee .... actually a nice blend of the styles .... vanilla lingers quite a bit ... solid brew
Interesting Tripel. Decent nose of yeast and coffee. Golden color. Flavor was complex with sweetness and coffee and some berry. Medium body.
Quite hazy deep orange and copper glowing body with a nice, thinnish, single centimetre tall off-white head that stays afloat for a while and leaves a nice lace on the sides. Aroma of crisp alcohol, light grain, caster sugar, hay, a dose of flowers and more astringent medicinal notes with a pungent dose of yeast throughout. Medium perhaps, slightly Full-bodied; Strong rich malt and grain flavours dominate with a bunch of yeast and alcohol and the supportive sweetness, with a good hit of coffee and some light peaty notes and a subtle dose of spices that come through at the end. Aftertaste is deep and pungent with a lot of coffee and bitterness from yeast, spice and light hop notes with a touch of coriander seed freshness throughout, which makes this complex and deep, while still showing more pungent notes that hit on the softer side. Overall, a nice and flavourful beer that shows nice and eleganrt throughout, but has the nice earthy, lightly nutty and very coffee-y vibe at the end. I sampled this eight ounce pour on draught at Whole Foods in Arlington (Pentagon City), Virginia on 19-Februrary-2020 for US$6,00 sampled at the store.
12 oz from tavour. Tastes of coriander, spices and Belgian yeast. Coffee and barrel are in the background but quite good. Great beer.
Thick and creamy, Barrel and Bean sports a ton of coffee and Belgian candi sugar character. The character of the Tripel is at no point overwhelmed by the coffee addition. Mild dark fruit notes and lots of breadiness play a part. Hazy golden pour with a thick lacy white head and lots of lace is nice eye candy. Vanilla and stone fruit start to unwind in the fade. Complex flavors keep your palate guessing with this one. Excellent.
Hazy gold pour with a white head. Lots of lace left behind. Smoky spicy aroma. Meaty. Taste is spicy and smoky with a pork bbq rub like flavor. This would be perfect with wings.
Bottle from Tavour. Hazy golden with a small white head. Aroma is nice coffee, some -bal notes, dough, Belgo. Flavor has nice subtle coffee but is lacking on bourbon, not enough barrel time I guess. Some stone fruit notes and roast, moderate bitterness. Medium-full body with a fairly lively feel. Pretty good but sounded amazing and wasn't as good as I expected.
A 12 oz bottle of Barrel and Bean was found late this summer at an upscale NYC bottle shop or at least the price indicated so. Cooled off and being sampled on a seasonable fall evening in my Great Heights Brewing snifter. Not sure that I have tried a barrel aged tripel previously, interesting possibilities. A clear, regal-gold liquid and a skinny, mostly white top. The nose is yellow raisins and nectarines. The taste, yes, definitely interesting, apricots, grain yeast, some welcome but not overwhelming booziness and a slight bitterness at the end. Fine indeed.
9-14-19
Bottle - hazy gold - lovely carbonation and a frothy head - creamy texture - vanilla, Barrel, dough, moderate coffee - spicy finish and some caramel sweetness throughout - mild bourbon heat in the finish - it’s good, but not great.
$4.65 bottle, WW. Pours hazy gold with a small off-white head. Aroma is white grape, coffee, a bit of wood... not getting a bourbon aroma. Flavor is coffee, wood, bourbon, some sort of buried fruit, a bit of ash. Interesting. Enjoyable.
Amber with off white head - Malt aroma with fruity spicy yeast with wood and bourbon aroma - Malt body with a good wood and bourbon flavour with some dark fruity tones and coffee - The dark fruity flavour with coffee and wood goes into the finish - This was good
Aromas of coffee Belgian yeast hay barrel wood bourbon golden malts oak espresso latte mocha banana clove caramel and malt must. Taste is beautiful coffee mocha latte espresso honey golden malts caramel Belgian yeast oak grain malt bourbon vanilla apricot barrel wood sawdust and malted barley. Overall, a beautiful spectacle of harmony between coffee Belgian and barrel. A must try.
Brownish copper pour from a 12 oz. bottle. Faint espresso and dark chocolate aroma belies the hearty coffee blend taste. Some candied raisins, molasses, caramel brown sugar and all things sticky sweet. A solid outing from Allagash.
12-ounce bottle pours hazy gold with a tiny beige head and lacing; lots of small bubbles rising in glass. Aroma: honey, coffee beans, floral. Flavor: caramel, vanilla beans, honey, coffee, coconut, wooden char, bourbon. Mouthfeel: full-bodied, slick finish.
Draft: pours golden amber with a white head, coffee aroma, taste is coffee, some bourbon, a little too watery though