1001 Beers: Curieux

Beer Number 53: Allagash Curieux

After opening Allagash Tripel Reserve, and hearing that it may or may-not be the base beer for Curieux, I figured there is no better time to open this one than now. Right After I had the Tripel. I mean, what is the worse that can happen?

"I wouldn't call it a mistake," Rob Tod, the founder of Allagash Brewing, says of his groundbreaking barrel-aged tripel Curieux, "but it was a total accident." For reasons that only a brewer can appreciate, Tod insist on bottling his tripel reserve in special corked bottles imported from Belgium. When a bottle shipment was delayed in mid-2004, the brewery found itself with a supply of the strong golden ale that would either have to be moved or tossed. He scanned the brewery floor and his eyes fell upon some used wooden Jim Beam bourbon barrels that he'd planned to save for a batch of his dark and malty dubbel. "We didn't think a tripel would be a good fit at all," Tod says. "For some reason, you think of a dark beer as a better match with a barrel."

This beer has been in production ever since and I have never heard anything bad about it at all. Must have been the perfect little accident for Allagash. Sounds like a good idea to me.



Curieux poured a slightly hazy, golden color with a small, fluffy white head. Great rising carbonation throughout and you pick up plenty of fruit in the nose. There are some light whisky notes in there as well. On first sip, I thought the flavors came across as pretty strange... though, it really worked.

Everything was mellowed out quite a bit but came together. The sweetness, honey, light fruit, a bit of yeast and burnt flavors and notes of oak. I really can only describe this one by tasting it. Seriously magical. This is a beer that cannot be passed up.

948 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Tripel Reserve

Beer Number 52: Allagash Tripel Reserve

I have never had a beer from Allagash I did not like. I have only had a few from their collection but the ones I did have were fricken fantastic. I have had mixed experiences with Tripels in the past, so I hope this one lives up to the greatness I have come to expect.

This classic Belgian-style tripel--one of Allagash's original core brands made without funky ingredients--earns undying praise from beer fans. No unconventional brewing processes and no secret ingredients--unless you count the yeast. Tod won't divulge any details about the strain, possibly because it is clearly vital to the golden ale's complex layers of flavor. The brew kettle sees only two-row malt, candy sugar, and light unassuming hops--the same base any practiced brewer from Flanders would employ. Surely, they alone are not responsible for the sweet, honey and fruit flavors that roll across the palate.

For this beer, I decided to get really fancy and poured it into this wine glass. I know, right? Setting this one up to be even more fantastic then it probably already is. The Tripel looked really thick as I was pouring it into the glass. Almost like honey and the golden color helped to push that across as well. A very small, fluffy white head formed on top and it carried a very fruity and phenolic. That spice and a bit of yeast presence with hints of apple really took the initial experience of this beer to places I was not expecting.

I thought this beer came across pretty nice and creamy. Based on the nose I was expecting a lot of crazy flavors but everything was quite subdued, muted, and mellow. Low carbonation and honey, apple, pears come together before dissipating into the background. A beautiful beer that hides its 9% ABV. A great example of the style.

At first, the apples in the nose kind of turned me off to this one. I am not really a fan of apples in my beer but there was no denying how amazing this one was. There is nothing more to do or say than grab another one. A win for Allagash, and a win for 1001 Beers.

949 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

My Top 13 Beers

So, the other day the Brewers Association sent out an email to its members telling them to submit 20 picks for their top beers that are commercially available. I figured, why not do it? The form had an auto fill feature and you would just got ahead and hit enter when the name of the beer you wanted popped up, so as I was doing that I guess I miss keyed something and then it submitted my entries after only 4.

I tried to go back and enter more but I was denied. The error message was telling me that I already voted. So I figured, screw them. I will post my own top list because every beer on your list will probably end up being an IPA.

So, here is my list. I was trying to put it in order from 1 - 13, (Yes, you get 13 entries from me), but at times, that got hard. These are all 5 star beers in my eyes and I figured I'd share them with you in the order I thought of them, so obviously number 1 is my favorite but the list gets hazy as it goes on.

1: New Belgium 1554 (Reviewing Soon. My first beer love.)
2: New Belgium La Folie (Nuff Said)
3: Epic Fermentation Without Representation (One of the best Pumpkin Ales I have ever had)
4: Stone Double Bastard (The best of all the Bastards. Better with some age one it. 3+ years)
5: Sierra Nevada Porter (One of the most underated Porters in my eyes)
6: Deschutes Black Butte (My favorite Porter of all time. Especially the anniversary editions)
7: Harviestoun Old Engine Oil (Taste it. I dare you)
8: Allagash White (The first Wheat beer that I actually loved)
9: Stone Levitation (It is just beautiful in every way)
10: North Coast Old Rasputin (I feel every Russian Imperial Stout should taste like this. The definition of the style)
11: Williams Brothers Fraoch Heather Ale (Have a special version in my cellar)
12: Sierra Nevada Torpedo (A classic brewer making a classic beer)
13: Russian River Supplication (Probably my favorite sour ale. That damn good)

I need to review the ones on this list that I have not. You know, to make it official, but they are all some of my top beers. I am sure things may move in or out of this list and I am sure maybe something that I truly love missed the list because I cannot think of it... but we will see. I love the number 13. I can see things changing as time passes and I have taste more beer.

Cheers!

Allagash: Fluxus

Sometimes you are just given a beer and you have no idea when to drink it. Not because you don't want to, just because you hold that beer in high regards and don't want to waste it in the wrong setting, during the wrong event. I got this beer for Beermas, of course, and I decided now was a time better than any for the reason that Allagash Brewing was hosting this weeks edition of #BeerChat!



This is a beer that I did not know much about. Just that it was brewed by one of my favorite breweries. That list is pretty short (4), so it goes to show you I actually care. I did a quick Google search and found out that this is actually an anniversary ale that gets rebooted every July. They state they do this to give their brewers a chance to push the limits of beer. I also learned that Fluxus is Latin for "Continuous Change". This year Fluxus is a Strong Golden Ale brewed with a mixture of stuff.

Allagash Fluxus is a beer of continuous change. Brewed differently every year to commemorate our anniversary, this year's Fluxus is a strong golden ale brewed with a mix of barley and spelt, and spiced with both green and pink peppercorns. It was lightly hopped using Northern Brewer, Cascade and Saaz varieties. It was then fermented with with a yeast indigenous to the northern region of Belgium.

The resulting beer is a hazy, golden colored ale with herbal and spice notes throughout. The aroma is both fruity, with hints of mango, and spicy, with notes of clove and pepper. The medium body gives way to a subtle malt presence and dry finish, with a surprising residual sweetness and a mild peppery heat.

7.7% ABV. Released July 2012.

I have only had one beer that used Pink Peppercorns before. It was a collaboration beer between New Belgium and Elysian. Maybe I will be able to draw some differences off from that beer... probably not though. I really did not know what I was looking for then, and not sure now. That beer was an IPA, this is a Stong Golden Ale, Belgian Inspired.



The first thing I noticed when opening Fluxus is how funky the air around me got. That good ole, Belgian yeast stink I think I would call it. Into the glass it is very golden and poured a big fluffy white head that has some great staying power. I wonder where they got hazy from in their description because mine is as clear as the glass I poured it into. The nose is spicy and sweet. Maybe a little bit of bubble gum. That funk comes into play, too... in case you were wondering.

Spice attacks as soon as you take the first sips of this beer. It tingles and kind of gives your tongue that numb feeling from when you visit the dentist. It just doesn't taste like whatever they do to you there. Very grainy and highly fruity & sweet. I wish I could describe the underlying flavor in this one but it has a lot to do with the Belgian yeast used to ferment it I would say. Just the character is very distinct. Maybe pears & apples kind of describe what I am trying to get at. Medium to full bodied, quite a bit of carbonation.

Overall, I think Allagash knew exactly what they were doing when they put this together... 7.7% does not feel like 7.7%. I cannot taste it but for sure feeling it. The 2012 version is damn good and you can't stop drinking it. I like spice, so for me, this was great. If you don't, maybe not so much but I definitely recommend it. I am very interested to see how the recipes change over the years.

Here is another really cool reason you should get this beer. I just had to share.

Allagash Fluxus is brewed to help fund a scholarship set up for pediatric nurses at The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. For details on the great work that they do there, go to mmc.org.

Cheers!

January In Review

So a little bit of December bled into the beginning of January but it has been a fun month. I just wanted to take a look back and see where I had fun and what I truly enjoyed.I did 27 post this month, not counting this one. That is pretty big. Though, I was all over the place at the start of this blog. I am now finally "settled".



I only brewed twice this month, two 5 gallon batches, but they were both special beers. Ok, so I actually did a Mr Beer Kit as well, but that is for an upcoming post in a few days. I just wanted to get my tasting notes into there as well... I don't image it being pretty but lets talk about some good beers.

Pirates Booty, a Robust Oaked Rum Porter that some of the spent grain ended up being turned into Doggy Biscuits.

Also, my unnamed Flanders Red. This sour hopefully turns out good and last the test of time so that it will grow along with the little one for a number of years.

I will post further updates on those as they progress in the fermentation and aging process. I posted about Santa Berry as well.

This month I also wrote two non-beer reviews. A great Bourbon, Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon, and a great Shiraz, Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz. One was kind of beer related but, you know. Still not the same.

I got sent a couple of Beers From Home this year, Silver City St Florian IPA & Fremont Interurban IPA. I actually got a bottle of The Dissident from Deschutes as well, but that is for a review I am writing up after April about Conflux No. 1: Collage. I wish I was into beer before I left Washington, but I guess that gives me more to look forward to when I do go back.

I've done my second Side By Side comparison, The Lost Abbey Mo Betta Bretta vs New Belgium Brett Beer, and I am trying to put together quite a few more. Just need to figure out what beers should be a part of it. The first being Allagash White vs Blue Moon.

I got my first taste of Jolly Pumpkin this month, Calabaza Blanca. Even though I was not a fan there are several others I want to find and try. I got some great suggestions so I hope to find those soon.

And to finish things off, in Alphabetical order, my

Top Beers Of The Month:
Epic Fermentation Without Representation
Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter.
Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine
New Belgium La Folie
Sierra Nevada Narwhal

This seems to have been a big month. I can only imagine what is ahead of me in my Beer-Ventures.

Cheers!

Vrienden

This is one of the beers that I loved and I was happy when I was able to find it again after having to get rid of my whole bottle collection :'(. I guess at the time I never had a use for the bottles. Kind of keeping them for nostalgia purposes. I am sure the men and women of New Belgium would be proud but many others just see it as clutter. I hate those people. HAHA! JK! I still wish I had my bottles though.

To this day, I have still never had the Allagash Version of it, but now that I live considerably closer to their brewery... though, I am not counting on finding this "Colabeeration".

Get a Belgian Brewmaster and a Master of Belgian Brewing together and there's sure to be spontaneous imagination that leads to micro-organisms mingling in fermentation bliss! Bliss! BLISS! Allagash and New Belgium are pleased to offer you our CollaBeerAtion Vrienden.

This beer is an ale brewed with Hibiscus and Endive. Very amazing on my first go around so I am hoping it is just as great this time. Though, I know nothing about how it was stored before it came into my hands or how long this beer was even built to last. I guess we will see... right?

Brewed with the slightly fruity hibiscus flower, the aromatic Brettanomyces, and the flavor-boosting Lactobacillus. We recommend pairing it with creamy, soft cheeses and charming Vrienden-That's "Friends" in Flemish. Enjoy.

I did not pair this beer, and I was fairly selfish :p I guess maybe that is a bad thing but only few I know could appreciate something this amazing.

Though, I guess I got to it too late :'(. It still had that sour nose with hints of fruity, lemony, orange peel? Somebody tell me what hibiscus is supposed to be like. Lame, I know. I am missing one of the major aspects of this beer due to inexperience. The sourness is now very mellow. It was never too big before but it kind of dampened off. Not like I remember it. A bit of kick in the back, but nothing overwhelming. It doesn't even really have that funkiness I loved before. It is more dry and spicy now. I guess it is not a full loss, but still. A beer I loved lost to the hands of time. Maybe a rerelease? That would be awesome. Or am I just living unreal New Belgium Fan Boy Dreams?

Cheers!

Blue Moon vs Allagash White

This is a review that I am doing for one reason. My sister and all her friends love Blue Moon. I know I can never convert them from crap beer to Craft Beer, but I am hoping I can open their eyes and make them realize that Blue Moon is not good. They are all complete Winos so I am not sure if this really matters at all. It is just annoying that every time I come over I am offered beer and this is what they have. I was shocked when I came over and they said they had some Deschutes Twilight Ale. I took that! So for this Review, I am going to do my best to give an unbiased opinion on Two Beers, Allagash White and Blue Moon. I chose these two beers because they are both Belgian White Ales and one is from a Craft Brewery while the other is from a Corporate Brewery.



This is not my first attempt to give her real ale. The first Beer I brought to her attention was Dogfish Head Midas Touch. I figured this was very fitting being she is in love with wine, and I think the Muscat Grapes in this beer make it taste really "Winey". She told me she liked this beer like she likes Blue Moon... FAIL! My next attempt was Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment. Which, since it is my favorite "chick beer", I thought she would get a kick out of it and love it. For this beer all she said was, "that is pretty good"... and then she kept drinking her wine. I have five more cans in the fridge and I will make her drink a whole one. So this is pretty much my last attempt.

My main issue with Blue Moon is not that it is made by one of The Big Three. I actually had Blue Moon before I was first into Craft Beer on a suggestion from a friend while visiting Philadelphia. I had already started homebrewing at this point and had never seen the documentary, Beer Wars. When I first had Blue Moon, I almost gagged and sent it back. They brought me out a Sam Adams Boston Lager to replace it. Which, in my opinion, is not much better... but my opinions on The Boston Beer Company is another story. They are just Craft Beer for the masses, not the ones who actually care... I guess I told you my main point here.



So this will be my first revisit since that situation. If she does not like Allagash, I guess I will just give up. Not to mention that I am leaving in a day.

I am not one of those people that think there is a beer for everyone, some people are just not beer people but Blue Moon, really? Maybe I will surprise myself with this review. At this point, only time will tell.

First I will start on my initial reactions of the beers and then get into their flavor profiles, etc. etc. and score the beers on a ridiculous point system. As well as give my sisters opinions in a short blurb.

Initial Reaction

Blue Moon: The first thing that caught my eye on this beer was the twist top. It is a more convenient way for everyone to have access to your beer and satisfies the drinking from the bottle part of the beer society.

I honestly think that pouring every single beer you drink into a glass is just a tad pretentious. If it is the first time I am drinking a beer, or if I am reviewing it, I will always pour it into a glass. After that point, I don't really care anymore unless there is something about the beer that tells me to always pour it into a glass.

Allagash White: I guess it is just the homebrewer in me, but I have problems with bottles that are twist tops. Again though, at one point in my life, I did not care. It is far less work. Allagash uses the classic pop top bottle that you need extra accessories in order to open.

Both Beers give serving suggestions. I, as a beer lover, think that the suggestion on Blue Moon is ridiculous. "Bring out Blue Moon's natural spices by serving it in a Pilsner glass with an orange-slice garnish." That is just a major Faux Pas as anyone would know. The Allagash Bottle reads, "Pour. Swirl. Pour Yeast." Very simple, and very "traditional".

These two points make it very hard to judge but for the fact that you do not need to pour Blue Moon and that you can easily twist the top off, it gets the first point in this review. Though, I am not putting an orange slice into my beer...

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White : 0

Appearance



Blue Moon: So when I poured this bottle of Blue Moon I was quite disappointed by the fact that there was no head on the beer. It was nice and Hazy like a Wit beer should be but it also had little to no noticeable carbonation apparent on the pour. It was almost the color of a dehydrated persons urine. I love color to a beer, but that was pretty much a major turn off.



Allagash White: This beer poured a nice straw color, which is more common for a beer. It was hazy as well, but again, that is a factor the style. There was a nice, lasting head as well as rising carbonation on the beer. This is a sign of a true living ale.

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 1

Nose

Blue Moon: This beer was really Funky and pretty much reminded me of straight stank. The aroma was not very inviting. I kind of did not want to drink this ale sip after sip just because of the way it smelled.

Allagash White: The aroma was very subtle. It had hints of lemon but it was not very yeasty. The aroma was quite pleasant. It asked to be sniffed, and continuously sniffed throughout the whole tasting process.

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 2

Taste

Blue Moon: I thought Blue Moon was pretty flat, and nearly flavorless. It had a lasting finish of coriander, but not in a good way. It was really overpowering. There was some citrus flavor initially, but it soon faded out to a bland... well, I don't know what I would call it at this point. The beer was very drinkable, but that could have been due to the lack of flavor. I did notice a silkiness to the beer. I am attributing that to the wheat in the beer. It had a light mouth feel, but that is what I expect from this style.

Allagash White: This beer was very light bodied as well, and it had a nice lemony taste that followed what I thought to be a citrusy, orange flavor on the initial sips. Before the orange dropped in though, there was a nice spicy kick. I believe this was coriander as well. It really chopped through the citrus taste and balanced it out. There was flavor all the way through this beer and it left nothing to be desired on the palate. It was maybe a little acidic, but not distracting in the least. The coriander in the Blue Moon really stuck to the mouth, but in the Allagash, it had a really dry finish and left me asking for more.

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White:3

Overall

Blue Moon: It was far better than my initial taste about a year and a half ago, and it does stand above anything else I had from this brewery. Though, the taste that I had is not something I want in my beer. I see this as a worst case scenario beer and I really do not want a glass of water. It does the job but not for the craft beer lover like myself. I give this beer a 3/5. Would I buy it while out to eat... Probably not, but after this second tasting this is maybe an option. Coors is making money off of this beer without me purchasing it, so I do not really want to contribute to their success, but, like I said, they do not need my help anyway.

Allagash White: This beer was a great definition of the style and it has a high level of drinkability. It is very nice for a hot day, and is, in my opinion, Damn Good. I give this beer a 4.5/5. I am not really a fan of Wheat Beers, but this one I have always came back to as it is just that damn good. It is ashamed that they pulled out of Washington State, but Oh Well.

My sister drank the Allagash White first after having an initial taste of the two and she said it was really good. I think that is a Win, No? For it's price point I do not think that it will ever replace Blue Moon in her eyes, but she was actually interested in this beer and enjoyed it. That is good enough for me. Again, I wish they still distributed in Washington because I feel she would pick it up again, but at this time she cannot.

Therefore, My winner 3:1 is Allagash White. I guess I should have had another category in the case of a tie so I will add another point to the Overall category. Allagash White 4:1... Okay, so maybe that is not fair, but in my opinion Allagash is the Superior beer. Though, there was some complaint about an after taste in the Allagash. Something about a wood barrel taste. I did not pick this out at all... I have no idea what they were talking about. I thought if anything, Blue Moon had an after taste and I did not care for it. To my knowledge, Allagash white is not aged in barrels, unless noted, so I do not see where this taste came from...

Read my opinions on the two, and taste them for yourself. I cannot tell you what you like, but I can let you know what I think. Let me know how you feel on the two. I promise to play nice.

Hooah!

Gravity Beer Market

Moving is a hard adjustment for everybody but I think the thing that makes it harder is not staying in one place for too long. I only have a few days left but I was on a mission to find Kick and Clutch. You have to remember what is important, right? Thanks to some fancy searching from Nikkee, Yelp, and King 5 I ran into Gravity Beer Market. I basically struck gold finding this place.



I called this store and a few others. Not a single person at the other locations knew what these beers or even the Lips of Faith series was. I had someone tell me that they had The Grand Cru and the purple one. I, being the Self Proclaimed New Belgium Fan Boy of the World, knew that he meant the Dunkelweiss but I was like, ugh. When I called Gravity, The guy who answered the phone sounded really excited when I asked about it and said that they should be getting it in sometime next week. I pretty much had a beergasm at this point.

A week later, I called back and the woman who answered the phone told me exactly what I wanted to hear. KICK AND CLUTCH WERE IN!!!!! She told me that she literally just opened the case and that they were not even in the system yet but to give her 15 minutes to take care of it all. ZOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!! SCORE YEAH!

Gravity Beer Market

First and foremost, we are beer lovers. We are a wife and husband team that has spent 25 years collectively working in the beer industry. Our path has been filled with many pints of wonderful beers and now we have come home to open Olympia’s only bottle shop which officially opened in June of 2007.

This shop pretty much seemed to have everything. Their bottles were set up all along the walls around the shop and had an island with four and six packs for the shoppers who only want one thing. Behind the counter they had vintage bottles of beer, (most of them empty), but it made me smile. There was a bottle of the original Life And Limb up there as well as many others. The thing that caught my eye the most though was this.



Sadly, it was not for sale. I really want a bike once I get situated and this would be the most amazing bike ever. If I didn't need my car to get around I would totally put my name in for the Tour De Fat.

I found several other bottles that I was looking for and wanted while on this trip. I found a bottle of Ninkasi's Summer IPA, Maiden The Shade, Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu as well as a few other DFH brews I was looking for, and probably the very last bottle of Allagash White in Washington State.



Later on I will be doing a side by side review of Allagash White and Blue Moon. I am trying to show my Sister that Blue Moon is crap and to quit buying it. I know she will never be a craft beer person, but she should make better decisions in her life. It is unfortunate that Allagash no longer distributes to Washington but each company has to take care of themselves.

Just a few more days left. Hooah!