Allagash Confluence Ale
Allagash Confluence Ale is created with a mixed fermentation; utilizing our house primary Belgian style yeast in combination with our proprietary Brettanomyces strain. The two yeast strains work in tandem creating a marriage between spice and fruit flavors that ultimately leave a lingering silky mouth feel.
Confluence is brewed with a blend of both imported pilsner and domestic pale malts as well as a portion of caramel malt, resulting in a complex malty profile. Tettnang and East Kent Golding hops are added in the brew process to balance the intricate malty profile while adding a sweet and spicy citrus aroma.
After fermentation, Confluence undergoes a lengthy aging process in stainless steel tanks to enhance the flavors. Prior to bottling, it is dry hopped with a Glacier hops, providing a pleasant balance of aromas. Confluence is then bottle conditioned and aged in our cellar prior to release.
ABV: 7.4%
Original Gravity: 1064
Recommended Cellaring Temp: 50°F
Recommended Serving Temp: 40-50°F [Changed from Sour Ale to Belgian Ale - fermented only with saccharomyces and brettanomyces - mj - may/2009]
Confluence is brewed with a blend of both imported pilsner and domestic pale malts as well as a portion of caramel malt, resulting in a complex malty profile. Tettnang and East Kent Golding hops are added in the brew process to balance the intricate malty profile while adding a sweet and spicy citrus aroma.
After fermentation, Confluence undergoes a lengthy aging process in stainless steel tanks to enhance the flavors. Prior to bottling, it is dry hopped with a Glacier hops, providing a pleasant balance of aromas. Confluence is then bottle conditioned and aged in our cellar prior to release.
ABV: 7.4%
Original Gravity: 1064
Recommended Cellaring Temp: 50°F
Recommended Serving Temp: 40-50°F [Changed from Sour Ale to Belgian Ale - fermented only with saccharomyces and brettanomyces - mj - may/2009]
3.7
457 reviews
Portland, United States
Community reviews
On tap at SLL tasting and 750ml bottle. Pours a golden color with a white head with plenty of lace. Earthly aromas with horse blanket, fruity esters, and hints of lemon. There are flavors from clean fruity esters, earthly elements due to the yeast, spices, pepper, and lemon. It has a moderate feel that is moderately bitter with some alcohol warming. There is a slight tart feel in the finish.
Draft at First Draft in Chicago. A spicy, citrusy, yeasty Belgian saison- ish ale. Full of yeasty esters, sweet malt, and grassy funky hops.
Refreshing and light. Tons of flavor. Champagne bubbly mouthfeel. Lemon and citrus blast. Love it.
Not typically a Brett fan but this is a great beer. Flavor is lemony and peppery Flavor is refreshing, well balanced. Pours light yellow with a thin white head.
From a 750 cl bottle. Shady golden, medium white head. Grainy malt, strong green, chlorophyllic brett. Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Dry, medium bitterness.
It pours golden with a white head. It produces plenty of classic Belgian lace. It has earthly aromas with horse blanket, fruity esters, and hints of lemon. There are flavors from clean fruity esters, earthly elements due to the yeast, spices, pepper, and lemon. It has a moderate feel that is moderately bitter with some alcohol warming. There is a slight tart feel in the finish. Overall it is a complex beer with a balance between the yeast, malts, and hops that is excellent to drink.
July 23, 2015. On tap at Allagash.
Cloudy yellow with a small creamy white head. Aroma is fruity with green apples, lemon, ripe tropical fruits, some spices, oak and almond. Taste is medium sweet with ripe fruits, bread, almond, light funky, light bitter with a smooth finish. Medium bodied, soft carbonation.
Restrained funky floral aroma in a cloudy gold pour. Brilliantly balanced brew with a full fruity Belgian body with a laid back dry Brett finish. Probably better than my initial rating - way better (and reason enough to try again).
Sample in less than perfect condition No head, muddy orange-yellow beer, full of mini UFO’s. Vegetables, celeri (raw), faintly spicy, and a tad mineral. Wild yeast aromas, if mildly so. First spicy-sweetish, then suddenly quite dry-hoppy, only to revert to the spiciness, now spiked with floormop Brett. Uneasy balance, not attractive. Leaving a bitterish-oily film behind, light body. Sample undercarbonated. Not convinced. Thansk to M & L V, for all the effort!
655 ml. bottle sampled @ “Sir Goatie McGoat S&G Tasting”. Thank you Mathieu87 and/or PriorL! Golden, little white head. Nose is huge funk, dank cat pee funk, but also quite sweet, sugary. Taste is massive weird cat pee , some dank hops, sugar, oily, faintly sour, mineral, lemon but also sugar & malts. Lightly mineral body. Strange but enjoyable, touch too odd for me.
750 ml bottle pours a hazy golden color with a thin white head. Aromas of pear, apple, yeast, earthy. Medium bodied, crisp and complex, a great beer.
At the brewery, kindly shared by one of the brewers. Thanks again El Mustachio!
APPEARANCE: clouded blond beer.
NOSE: fruity, spices, malts.
TASTE: fruity, malty, quite sweet, alcohol
Tasted from bottle. Pours a hazy golf with white head that fades quickly. Nice fruity aroma. Notes of apple, pear,grapes, apricots, yeast, and funk. Taste is not too sour. Nice crisp and refreshing mouthfeel. Flavors of apple, pear, peach, caramel, biscuits, Belgian spices, yeast. Very well done.
Things didn’t go well today, but they didn’t go badly either. Just a weird juxtaposition of shine and shit. At least I can relish the fact that tomorrow is another day and hope that there is no confluence of today’s events. What better way to fend that off than drinking this particular Confluence and removing the possibility for tomorrow? No better way as far as I know.
- The cage removed, a gentle press against the snug cork causes an uproar; a loud pop and a ferocious upsurge from inside the bottle. Naturally, my glass was handy and I was able to tip the bottle just soon enough to catch first the burst of foam and consequently the aromatic liquid streaming from the neck.
- The beer is a foggy shade of diluted honey, capped with a frothy lemon-white head that rises fast then recedes to a finger in depth, leaving a white, sticky sheet of lacing on the glass. The aroma is a mild balance of earthy, mild lemons, the delicate strains of dough, grass and a hint of geraniums almost effervescent above the Belgian yeasts. There’s a light malt foundation that acts as the beam for the balance of the flavors involving themselves on my tongue.
- A dry finish and a spicy tang buoys the flavor and aroma in such a way that my gustatory senses cry out for more, and as pricey as this was, I would definitely buy it again.
- Beautiful.
From notes (07/07/15). Belgian flavor with a lot of complexity. Sweet, biscuity malt on the nose, with a lot of Belgian esters and notes. Didn’t get much brett flavor, but that may have needed more time to come out. Just another world-class Belgian beer from Allagash.
Pours a hazy golden color with a white head. Yeast, fruit, funk, spice and malt aroma. Yeast, pear, apple, peach, apricot, clove, pepper, funk and biscuit flavors. Medium full body with lively carbonation and a yeast, funk and fruit finish.
2015 bottle. Gift from my brother. Lovely beer....somewhat clear-ish golden yellow pour, white head. Light mouthfeel, decent peppery spice feel to it. Didn’t get a ton of the Brett but still a very good Belgian ale.
Thanks to Blake for sharing! Poured slightly cloudy peach with a short white head. The aroma picked up juicy floral, fruity, and funky Brett over soft bread and fruity notes.. tangy and peppery on the back of the nose.. nice! The flavor found bready notes and a bit of caramel at the core.. very dry around with funky Brett, lemon rind, and cloves.. finished dry with a bunch more Brett. Light-medium bodied and very dry on the palate.. felt and flowed great!
Tap at Allagash. It pours cloudy gold with a thick white head. The nose is soft, bready, straw, hay, light funk, banana, cracker and clove rock. The taste is crisp, clean, bitter, alcohol, bready malt, funk, straw, light cinnamon, cardamom, wood and dried orange with a dry, spiced finish. Medium body and moderate, foamy carbonation. I was a touch disappointed with this one. The alcohol plays too big a role in this one. OK.
From a corked and caged 750 into a wine glass. It pours...., well, like most of these Bretted beers, it’s nothing to look at. But it had a lot of frothy head and mild lacing. Great dank funky aroma! Mouthfeel is slightly too much carb, but workable. Taste is just brettsation! Very drinkable and a great melding of hopps and brett. Excellent beer!
Cream malt aroma. Hazy golden body with a light fluffy head. Smooth bread like taste. Light tartness. Refreshing.
Aroma bread, hay, barnyard,
Appearance golden, hazy, white foam,
Taste light sweetness,
Palate light body, medium body, soft carbonation,
Overall a funky spicy beer that I would suggest to a friend
Pours cloudy golden with low white head. Aroma of peach and mango, light yeast, light green grapes and apples. Taste is sweetish with an apple and grape fresh crispness. Light, smooth body with soft to average carbonation.
Great beer. Goo balance. Not too sour. Not too funky. The Brett yeast comes through nicely. A beer you should drink.
Pours a bright lemon yellow color with a good head. Aroma is hay, lemon, sour, tart, grass, mild hops, pear, honey, white grape. Taste is hay, hops, brett sour, grass, honey, pear. Overall a decent beer, very different, but the combo they went for isn’t extremely appealing to my palate.
2013 bottle pours golden, white head. Funk nose, taste is slight sour, lemons. Light body with some booze and axidburn on the finish.
Draft sample at allagash. Hazy light gold. Lemon and pear, light honey, subdued brett throughout, touch of spice, pilsnery, grassy and floral. A lot going on but, very balanced. Everything is perfectly blended.
At WTWBA. Yellowish pour. Nose is filled with fruits and yeast. Tastes of pineapple, pear, vanilla, yeast, floral, and some funk. Interesting all around brew. Deep flavors
Bottle - Nice tart, slight perfumy stone fruit. Cloudy yellow gold with a small white head. Lemon, some funky peach and grassy notes. Nice.
Aromas are floral, tropical, pear, viognier-like, melon. Cloudy yellow, quickly diminishing white head. Fruity, barnyard, some banana, herbal, subtle spice. Light bodied.