Allagash Musette

Has anyone tried this beer?

A friend of mine, a fellow beer connoisseur, brought me a 750mL bottle of this stuff. The brewery is out of Portland, ME, and this is an oak-aged scotch ale. He said it wasn't a belgian style, but after reading about it on their website, I'm not so sure. They use belgian yeast, so it's got to have some crazy esters kickin' around in there.

So, I was just curious if anyone else has tried this, and what they thought. I'm not sure when I'm going to drink it, since it's a 10% ABV beer in a big ass bottle. My friend got the last two bottles they had at the store, so this will probably be my only chance to drink it for the next year or so.

I've got a bottle in the beer cooler but haven't tried it yet either. I'll be sure and post when I do. I recently had the Allagash Interlude though and it was fantastic. Reminded me of Orval.

Hmm sounds nice. I am picking up 2 cases of the Grand Cru this afternoon....so nice to see stores 'clear out all that old winter stock' at $20 a case I have had their White and it was very good. I am guessing you have a winner.

One of the few advantages to living where I do is Allagash is an hour away. I am pretty sure all their beers are belgian style, but here is the link to the official site.

http://www.allagash.com/musette.htm

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I love my Belgians ales, so I'm encouraged. Overall, it sounds like it might be in the general vicinity of Unibroue's Trois Pistoles, which I adore. Oak-aging a dark strong Belgian could be very interesting. It sounds like a better fit than an oak-aged imperial stout, which I tried recently and did not enjoy.

It would seem to me that the complexity of an Imperial Stout would be sufficient on it's own without the oak? I tried the Grand Cru last night. Not bad at all especially for the price.

Excellent. I think I'm going to drink it tomorrow, during my big non-brew brew day. I've got to bottle two batches, and transfer another to secondary. Should be fun!

I tried it tonight. It's quite belgian in character, with all the sweetness and dark fruit, but the oak is pretty noticeable. There's a vanilla/bourbon smoothness enveloping the whole thing. It's good, but I don't know if it's worth the price. (A friend gave it to me; I think it cost somewhere between $15 and $25 for a 750mL bottle) I gave it a 3.7 on beer advocate.

Torchiest said:

I tried it tonight. It's quite belgian in character, with all the sweetness and dark fruit, but the oak is pretty noticeable. There's a vanilla/bourbon smoothness enveloping the whole thing. It's good, but I don't know if it's worth the price. (A friend gave it to me; I think it cost somewhere between $15 and $25 for a 750mL bottle) I gave it a 3.7 on beer advocate.

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The 750 Allagash bottles run between $9 - $10 at the place I grab em. Had a bottle of the Four last night and it was mighty good.

Yeah, the rest of the Allagash are in that range, but this one is supposedly significantly more expensive. On a related note, I picked up an Ommegang last night, and I'm looking forward to it. I've heard a lot of good things about that brewery.

Torchiest said:

Yeah, the rest of the Allagash are in that range, but this one is supposedly significantly more expensive. On a related note, I picked up an Ommegang last night, and I'm looking forward to it. I've heard a lot of good things about that brewery.

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Which brew? The Abbey Ale? Ommegang is one of my favorite breweries. It is a pretty cool place to visit. An old farmhouse. I wanted to get back there this year butI am not sure I'll be able to go until fall. The Abbey Ale, Rare Vos, Hennepin and Philosophers are all exceptional. I haven't tried their newest offerings.

Torchiest said:

Yeah, the rest of the Allagash are in that range, but this one is supposedly significantly more expensive. On a related note, I picked up an Ommegang last night, and I'm looking forward to it. I've heard a lot of good things about that brewery.

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shhh...don't let my takeout place hear that.:cross:


I second zoebisch01, Ommegang has some great stuff...waddaya get?

zoebisch01 said:

Which brew? The Abbey Ale? Ommegang is one of my favorite breweries. It is a pretty cool place to visit. An old farmhouse. I wanted to get back there this year butI am not sure I'll be able to go until fall. The Abbey Ale, Rare Vos, Hennepin and Philosophers are all exceptional. I haven't tried their newest offerings.

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Yes, it was the Abbey Ale, although they had all four of those you named. How would you guys compare Ommegang to Unibroue or Allagash? I had one other Allagash, the Grand Cru, and it was only okay I thought. Unibroue rocks my world.

My limited 2 cents: I don't have a lot of experience with Allagash..so far I have only had Four (which I liked very much). Ommegang's has that more traditional slant while Unibroue beers are pretty unique stand outs.

Unibroue seems to be one of those brewers that inspires either a love it or hate it reaction.

Torchiest said:

Yes, it was the Abbey Ale, although they had all four of those you named. How would you guys compare Ommegang to Unibroue or Allagash? I had one other Allagash, the Grand Cru, and it was only okay I thought. Unibroue rocks my world.

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Ommegang is an awesome brewery. I travel in the Northeast region a lot and I've been to both Ommegang in Cooperstown and Allagash in Portland. While they are both excellent Breweries, I would say that Allagash is just about the norm for micro brews while Ommegang is a step ahead. One of my favorite all-time beers is Ommegang's Cave aged Hennepin. It was fantastic.

Ommegang should be a stop on any baseball lovers tour as well since it's right near the Baseball Hall of Fame. You can make a great day out of heading to the hall and then over to Ommegang for a tour and tasting.