Allagash Musette
Musette is Allagash's next release in its Barrel Aged Series. It is Allagash's interpretation of a Belgian-inspired Scotch Ale. Following fermentation with a Belgian strain of yeast, a portion of it is aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels for an additional three months.
3.7
393 reviews
Portland, United States
Community reviews
Dark golden, decent white head. Aroma dominated by vinous notes. Faint apple and pear. Flavor has a ton of residuel sweetness, tart fruits, and loads of alcohol. Alcohol really thins out the body, and kills the score.
2006 vintage at the 5th Annual Epic Beer Tasting in Richmond, VA, November 28, 2010. Pours a hazy dark amber color with a large frothy head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of toffee, caramel, fruity notes, wood and an earthy finish. The taste is warm caramel and toffee notes, leafy hops, peppery wood, peack and plum. Medium-full bodied. Nice beer,
2008 Bottle. Sort of dirty toffee colour. Light foam. Dark sugary warm alcohol aroma. Boozy, sweet, brown sugar. Lots of flavour addition from the Bourbon, not as much noticeable from the oak. Sugary bready Bourbon.
750ml bottle: 2006 vintage. This one pours a fairly clear, ruby tinged amber color. There was a bit of a tan head on it, but it didn’t linger long, nor leave any lacing. The aroma is nice. There is a fair amount of the oak in the initial nose. Lots of other aromas in there: fruits, bread, caramel, faint spice, maybe some peat. The taste is quite good. It is quite complex and starts a touch sweet, but there is a bit of caramel, fruits and smokiness on top. There is a bit of oakiness there also, as well as a slight bitterness to the finish. Almost a bit of a port wine characteristic to it also. Very Nice!
Brown bottle, 1 pint 9,4 ounces, savoured on August 10 2010; eye: bronze with a copper hue, no effervescence, moka head that turns into a tiny sheet, light lacing; nose: lots of malt, fig, scotch, woody; mouth: lots of malt, fig, woody, scotch, finale in malt with presence of alcohol, medium body, below-average carbonation, slightly sweet, slick texture; overall: fine
FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune, 1 pinte 9,4 onces, savourée le 10 août 2010; œil : bronze avec une teinte cuivrée, claire, pas d’effervescence, mousse moka qui se transforme en une mince couverture, légère dentelle; nez : beaucoup de malt, figue, scotch, boisé; bouche : beaucoup de malt, figue, boisé, scotch, finale en malt avec présence d’alcool, corps moyen, carbonatation sous la moyenne, très légèrement sucrée, texture coulante; en résumé : bien
pours rich amber with medium white head. aroma is caramel malts, sweet sugars, oak, vanilla and alcohol. drinks with a nice alcohol bite followed by a rich malty sweetness, some vanilla, oak, and a touch of fresh bread. alcohol on the finish but not overbearing.
25.4 oz bottled on 3/08 12/27/09 (Binny’s Naperville)-Snifter @ 52° Pours a clear amberish brown with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel, Belgian yeast, slight vanilla, and wood. Taste is of the same with the malt and sweetness coming through followed by some oak. This full bodied brew is banced very well and the oak and alcohol are not too prominent. A great Scotch Ale and another great brew form Allagash.
Bottle. 25.4 oz. Pours slighlt murky amber with a tall, milky white head. Aroma of apples, grapes, figs, barley, roasted malts, and hints of hops and vanilla. Fully, thick body with a similar mouthfeel; yet this brew has some bite. Finish is moderate, but heabilu warming and hearty. Excellent scotch ale.
From the Bottle at Dr Bill’s Tasting Falling Rock Tap House, Denver 09/10/2008
Some sherry aroma. Mid brown coloured smooth on the palate and strong in alcohol with a slightly bitter malt finish.
Bottle. Pours hazy copper coloured with a small off white head. Aromas of dried fruit, wood, caramel and syrup. Sweet and fruity flavour with notes of orange fruit, dried fruit, sugar, spice and wood. A little too sweet.
In short: A kick-ass big extra-caramelized woody beer that goes beyond the standard scotch ale style.
How: Bottle 750ml. Consumed 2 years after bottling date.
The look: Partly cloudy orange-copper body topped by a persistent small beige head
In long: A big full body with flavours loads of caramel. Notes of maple. Distant orange peels. Strong oak presence that resembles woody hops but obviously coming from the oak barrel aging. I found the wood/oak particularly well integrated and it really dried out the beer. Alcohol is very well hidden. Very yeasty and with a lively Belgian-like lively carbonation. I never cared that much for it before but I fell in love with this bottle. It was either a superior batch or had the perfect aging on it. A very original take on the style. There are obvious scotch ale elements in here but also many things I’m not used to find in scotch ales, a style I usually don’t care much for. But I could love a romantic comedy, if it was a love story between two lesbian vampires with lots of blood and explicit sexuality.
750ml Bottle, cork shot off as I undid the cage. Bottled March 2008. Deep red pour with thin, off white head. Aroma of pecans, caramel, maple syrup, some clove. Flavor is mostly maple syrup, nuts, and caramel, some fruits, with most of the oak character and some smoke in the back of the throat. A tiny bit of hops and alcohol in the finish. Pretty solid, tasty ale.
Sampled at Max’s American Beer Fest. Pours a translucent amber, brown with a lacing head. Sweet caramel, chocolate aroma with nuts and a little bit of booze. Flavor is the same, nuts, caramel, some milk chocolate. Sweet, crisp finish. A little disappointing as there was very little hop presence and very little wood or barrel presence. Glad I didn’t pay for a bomber.
Pour slow, large foamy head. Nice clean and clear caramel brown color, head leaves behind no lacing at all. Spicy peppery lemon grass& pear aroma. Heavy bodied brew with good warming sensation in the chest. Notes of malty sweetness in the foreground subsiding to a spicy flavor.
(750 ml bottle (March ’08) from Tully’s, cellared for 10 mos. after purchase) Pours rusty reddish-brown with one finger of light tan head. Aroma of fruit, candy, alcohol and wood. Mouthfeel is fairly fizzy, slightly thin, a bit sticky and also a bit dry on the back end. Fine, weepy rings and sheets of lacing. Tastes of dark fruitiness and light chocolate, light hints of wood and bourbon. Some rock-candy sweetness. Light yeast. A bitter pinch in the finish. The barrel-aging aspect is quite low key in the flavor. Slightly hot but the cellaring may have toned it down a bit. Pretty nice but seems much more like a Belgian than a Scotch.
750 ml at home served slightly chilled. Bottled date- March 2008. Last of the birthday beers... Dark brown / mahagony in color, with a rocky head that mellows but never quite disappears. Beautiful aroma of sweet malt, dried fruit, yeast, and a very slight hint of oak. Some alcohol too. Taste is sweet right away, very boozy, no discernable oak though. This beer tastes a lot "younger" than it is- could benefit from another year in the cellar? (I’m biased with the incredible year-old Goose Island Pere Jacques I had last night). The finish of this one is slightly bitter / spicy / peppery but ends a touch too sweet and too quickly. This is a very nice beer, although I had higher expectations of it at $15 a bottle. BUT...I will say now that it’s 30 minutes later, the bitterness has mellowed a bit and the oak and smokiness are both a bit more present, which adds some complexity to it (as well as to the rating). Still a bit too sweet though at the finish. I need to not drink these so damn fast!
Aroma is woody with some smoke, peet and malt. Taste is sweet and very oaky. A hint of spice but muttled by alcohol.
Bottle shared at Trappeze. Poured clear dark brown with a nice big beige head. Aroma of sweet malt, sugar, fruit, oak, almost like a barleywine. Taste is also sweetly malted, fruity, oak, and lightly spiced. Mouth is nicely carbonated and full. Finish is dry. Overall, a very enjoyable brew.
(Des. 2006) 75 cl bottle at Hopheads´ tasting 30.01.09 (Trygve). Brown/amber color, lovely off-white/beige head. Aroma is oaky and sweet malty. Flavor is sweet, oak, whisky... Very interesting, and I like it!
Bottle. Mahogany and hazy. Smells like date sugar, very sweet. Light effervescence. Fizzy but good body. Reminds me a lot of fig jam. Overly sweet.
Golden-amber. Bright. Some caramel and earthy aroma with a grapey fruitiness. Very sweet. Almost a syrupy malt character; not getting much barrel.
rbesg08 grand tasting, bottled. reddish brown, wet wood aroma with hints of cinnamon, stone fruits, slightly musty with faint citric tang. average
Bottle, thanks to Oakes and Beershine!! Nice brown pour wtih a small light head. Aroma comes through with malt, bourbon, caramel, faint spices and woody notes. Flavor has a great bourbon backbone, yeast, wood, and has a great dry finish. I really liked this.
Draft: pours a dark brown with a thin head, aroma is malt and spices, taste is malty with caramel and some of the bourbon flavor coming through. Pretty nice stuff.
From a bottle poured a hazy brown color with a good amount of head. Nice spicy malty flavor with a quick finish.
750 ml bottle. A hazy deep amber beer with a medium sized, creamy and quite persistent beige head. The aroma is malty and yeasty with notes of spices, fruits and some woodiness. Lightly toasty. The wood character is not overwhelming. The flavour is quite sweet and has some acidity. Fruity with notes of grapes and spicy. Once again the oakiness is balanced but present. Medium to full body, lively carbonation, dry and quite long finish with light to medium bitterness. Lightly alcoholic. Very good appearence and elegant both in nose and mouth. Underrated like their Tripel.
Bottle. Moderate malt aromas of dark bread and roasted, light perfume for the hops, moderate barnyard and earth for the yeast, with notes of pear, white wine and ginger. Head is rocky, off-white with fair lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is clear medium brown. Flavor starts moderately to heavily sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes moderately sweet and lightly bitter. Palate is medium, creamy and has a lively carbonation. A huge complex Scotch Ale, and you can definitely taste the Belgian influence from this brewery.
pours a dark brown with an orange tint, has a large beige head that goes away quickly leaving a good lacing.
smell is of malt, caramel, and some hay.
taste is creamy, grain, some caramel, some malt, barley, and some spice in the back, becomes thicker as it warms.
750 ml bottle. Pours a rich mahogany with a rather disappointing tan head. Somewhat musty woody nose with a slight tartness. Medium to heavy body. Rich malty body with little bitterness to balance things out - inline with a Scotch Ale. Smooth finish with a lingering sweetness.
Draught, ’07 vintage, @ BTAH VSK. Pours very hazy brown, with a thin, creamy off-white head and solid lacing. Nose is cocoa nibs and Belgian yeast, bit spicy, just a hint of pear. Lively carbonation up front. Bit yeasty, with an interesting melding of roast, cocoa, and sweet golden fruit - candied pear dipped in coca powder. Finish is fruity, bit of yeast, tiny bit dry. Mouthfeel is med-light, crisp carbonation. Dry.