Allagash Curieux, TiarnA and Midnight Brett

Allagash Curieux - Ale aged in oak bourbon barrels (2013)

Brewed and Bottled by Allagash Brewing Co., in Portland, Maine. USA.

Year Round Brew.

25.4 fl. oz. / $16.99 USD (w/ Free Company Glass) / 11% ABV

About: "Allagash Curieux was our first foray into barrel aging. Curieux is made by aging our Tripel Ale in Jim Beam bourbon barrels for eight weeks in our cold cellars. The aged beer is then blended back with a portion of fresh Tripel. The resulting beer is soft with coconut and vanilla notes, with hints of bourbon."

Thoughts: Cork popped out like Nothin'! My second Allagash brew. I once had a 12 oz bottle of their Black. Looking at this bottle I wonder what kind of Ale this is. Is it one of their other ales that they've barrel aged? It doesn't really say on the label. It doesn't say much of anything on the label other than when, how many and how heavy.

One thing I didn't expect at all was for this beer to pour a really cloudy lime green yellow. Hold on, let me hit the lights. Curieux poured a really hazy soft yellow color with shades of orange and apricot. Carbonation is rampant and there's a huge marshmallow fluff head because of it.

The scent is really light. Especially for an 11% beer. I'm getting very soft notes of dried banana chips. Belgian yeast, vanilla and oak. It smells very crisp. It's not all too deep in character, but it smells good.

Taste is mild orange peel, citrus, yeast, soft pepper, rain, margarita salt and angel tears. Don't got much experience with Belgian Tripels, but this tastes great to me. Very peppery in the finish and those pepper flakes bounce around and pop. It's smooth and pleasurable. It's just not all that interesting. It's got a lot of thing I like such as peppery tones and spice though. It's a bit hazy feeling, but really soothing overall.

Allagash TiarnA - ale aged in oak barels (2013)

Limited Edition Brew.

12.7 fl. oz. / 14.99 USD / 7.1% ABV

About: "Tiarna is a blend of two beers, one aged in oak and fermented with 100% brettanomyces and the other fermented in stainless with a blend of two Belgian yeast strains. Both beers were brewed with a combination of 2 row and wheat malt in addition to specialty grains. It was hopped with Hallertau, Styrian Goldings and Cascade hops. The finished beer is dark golden in color with citrus, pineapple and bread in the aroma. The flavor of this tart beer has notes of grapefruit, lemon, and bread crust, and a long, dry finish."

Thoughts: Popped the cork like a willing cherry and a little smoke came pouring out. Sniffed it of course. Smells a little sour, a little fruity. Started the pour and it all came out bubbles. Stopped. It's lighter than I expected, but then again, I know nothing at all about this beer as I write these words. The whipped topping head on this thing just keeps... fucking... growing! Contents under pressure is right. The carbonation on this thing is off the fucking charts. It's like the Stuff from that old horror movie, the uh... Stuff.

TiarnA poured a very light cloudy yellow with so much carbonation that the head grew and ended up expanding out of the top of the glass and nearly fell down. It was so Stay-Puffed however that it just swayed in the wind of my table fan. Crazy shit. There must be a thousand million bubbles rising up in this beer.

Smelling it both at the head and the bottle and really the head isn't holding much of the scent back. It's bright, vibrant, fruity, and wild. This beer smells sour as fuck, dude. It took about five minutes for the head to die down near something acceptable to drink. Oh, and I poured it soft. So soft.

First gulp and it sure is wild. A little smokey, but not how you'd expect smokey to seem. It's more like stale cigarette smoke. Not terribly unpleasant though, so don't get me wrong. It's sour and pleasing to the tongue. It tastes good. It's not all that sour, which is a bit too bad... but it's got a flavorful and fun profile. The oak barrel aging is very light here. It's woody or woodsy or whatever you call it, but there's not much flavor of whatever barrel it was that's imparted in it. I don't know what these barrels were used to age, but if anything it's some sort of wine.

It's soft, fizzy, a little earthy, slightly tart, a little sweet, very low bitterness, and is overall enjoyable. Mouthfeel is a light to medium with a lot of carbonation. This tastes really good, but I wonder what justifies the price. How it was made most likely.

Allagash Midnight Brett Ale (2013)

Limited Edition Brew.

12.7 fl. oz. / 13.39 USD / 7.3% ABV

About: "Midnight Brett is chocolate brown in color, brewed with 2-Row, Midnight wheat, raw wheat and rye malt. It was hopped with a blend of Perle, Glacier and Simcoe hops. The beer was fermented with our house strain of Brettanomyces in stainless tanks. The finished beer has the aroma and flavor of fresh berries, sour cherries and a slight roasted character. The finish is pleasantly tart and fruity making this beer very drinkable."

Thoughts: I was down at the old watering hole when I saw an Allagash truck leaving the liquor store. I was headed in that direction anyhow, but consider me intrigued so I browsed the isle only to find a single bottle of this that wasn't there before. Strange that there would only be one, but I immediately grabbed it despite it being a bit expensive (but then again aren't all Allagash products?) and here we go. Oh cool, I just looked at the side of the label and this was bottled on my birthday. Nice.

Unlocked the cage and slid out the cork smooth and easy with a loud pop and a ton of smoke emerging. Midnight Brett poured somewhat true to its name with a solid dense raspberry brown, but a near black nonetheless. The frosty beige head was thick and lasted forever.

This smells pretty sour. I'm sure in for a treat aren't I? The malt profiles are bouncing all over the place. It's a funky one that's for sure, with that grimy raw wheat and rye battling it out on a pummeled floor of pale. Swirling the glass I get a hint of underlying sweetness, one of cherries, plums and figs... but once it settles that sour house yeast floods the nose. There are other odd notes in there, like cocoa, damp driftwood, and booze.

First sip and well, that's not all that sour at all. Everything was rather calm in fact. It tastes like berries, the middle is a very gentle haze with a hint of tartness, and it all rides out with a roasted nutty like quality. The wild yeast is the main flavor aside from the soft sweetness, and it hangs around long after the swallow. Nothing harsh about this one though. This is some really tame stuff. Tasty, and a little funky, but really really tame.

Mouthfeel is pretty standard for an ale, if a little light. It's clean and leaves a smooth texture in the mouth. This one is OK, but nothing great. I guess if you're into subtleties and all that you might like it a little more than I do, but I would have preferred it to be more up front and powerful.

Timmermans Pumpkin Lambicus

Timmermans Pumpkin Lambicus - Beer with Natural Flavors added (2013)

Brewed and Bottled for Anthony Martin by Timmermans Brewery in Itterbeek, Belgium.

Limited Fall Release.

25.36 fl. oz. / $12.29 USD / 4% ABV

About: "Two traditions are brought together here in a unique complacency, namely an original succulence never tempted before. The result is sublime, liberating a graceful taste tinted by a controlled acidity on the lambic confused with the dry fruity of the pumpkin and the discreet sugar added. By crossing the middle of the mouth appears a taste of brown sugar remembering and accentuating the convivial touch of Halloween."  Great description.

Thoughts: "Produced on 7/24/13" Drank on 11/27/13.

Poured a deep golden orange with a soft white head that faded rather quickly. Carbonation seems a bit heavy, but not overly abundant.

This stuff smells amazing. It's not in your face strong or anything, but it smells like Pumking's little brother or something. There's a ton of cinnamon and pumpkin spice running through this. Very nice.

First gulp and this one already has my seal of approval. It hits you first with a sour kick which lasts all the way through the beer and right after the swallow there's a blast of that pumpkin spice and then a really beautiful, clean malt bill that tastes like liquefied graham crackers. Very tasty for a 4%er. The malts hide of course under the heavy sour notes, but when it falls back on it it's really a perfect accompaniment. There's tons of cinnamon everywhere and I really couldn't have asked for much more in this one.

Mouth feel is a little watery, but slick and leaves a thin oily film. It puffs up a little bit but finished dry and crisp. I do wish this one was a little stronger, just for the hell of it, but as it stands this is one fine tasting pumpkin brew.

Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela No. 1 pumpkin ale

Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela No. 1 pumpkin ale (2012)

Autumn Seasonal (First Year)

25.4 fl. oz. / $13.99 USD / 5.9% ABV

About: "[Blend 15 - Bottled 09-21-2012] Ok, so the joke was that Jolly Pumpkin doesn't brew a pumpkin beer. Well, now we do. Just this one. Packed with real pumpkins, hints of spice, and a gentle kiss of cocoa to liven the soul. An everyday easy way to fill your squashy quotient. Guess now folks will have to find something else to joke about..." We'll see.

Thoughts: Poured an ultra hazy dirty orange color that's almost auburn or slightly yellowed, but hardly. Carbonation is off the charts. Tons of small white bubbles comprised the head before it eventually turned to fluff and puddles.

Smells like bubblegum and spice. Doesn't smell much like a traditional pumpkin beer at all, but that's not a problem as I welcome the different. I don't expect every pumpkin brew to smell like Pumking, but I do hope for each new one I try to have at least some personality. This actually smells like something my mom used to make... it was like a custard or something, sprinkled with nutmeg and other spices. I was never really into that stuff as a kid, and I'm not really into eating flan these days, but it doesn't smell bad. It's inviting, though bubbly. Like a creamy, bubblegum pumpkin cidra.

Taste starts off with a ton of malt, then a hard fucking slap in the face full of sour, followed by a quick spike of spice that injects then retreats. Gawd dayum. This brew is very earthy, dirty, herbal, and duckface inducing. Noticing tons of lacing. After a few gulps the spices start to come through a little bit more, so it's not obtrusively spicy up front obviously, but once the palate adjusts to the harsh sting of first contact the overall flavor and blending becomes a little more evident. I suppose if (un)Domesticated Wild Ales are your sort of thing and you like a bit of pumpkin mash and a lot of pepper in the background, then this beer would be right up your dark alley. I'm gaining the tongue for it, and really I don't mind (I'll finish the job you can count on that) but believe me when I say that this is a harsh one. Especially for the unexpected drinker. You've got wild ale yeast, straw and hay, tart and sour mash, lighter Belgian characteristics, it's a bit acidic, and there's a dry spice on the end of the tongue once it goes down. I love sour stuff. Ever since I was a kid I've been obsessed with sour, and on top of that, I drink pickle juice just because I love the stuff. Not to mention with all the beers I've tried so far, I think I'm gaining a pretty good handle on what is fuckin' harsh and my overall opinion on this one is: It could use a touch of sweetness. Bitterness and Tart is off the charts here and it's slightly painful. Every single spot in my mouth tingles and quivers when this beer hits it, like I'm biting down on aluminum foil or chewing raw citrus-less lemons (if that even fuckin' makes sense!?).

That said, I've typed all this and I'm not even half way through the bottle. So I'll quickly get to the other stuff and them I'm off to chug the rest. Mouth feel is slightly foamy due to all the carbonation, it bubbles up quickly once it comes in contact to saliva and remains an enigma after that. Finish is crisp, drying and semi-clean. Aftertaste is good too. Like an apple cider and flowers. It gets very floral and the slightest hint of fruity, but an artificial type. This is one fucking weird drink, man. It takes a little getting used to.... and if you're not used to a lot of other beers like this, it'll probably take you a lot of getting used to. So if you plan on buying a fifteen dollar bottle of wine for a special occasion, buy this instead... and when she (or he) spits it out, you can drink it all to yourself.

Berkshire Sour Mash Whiskey Barrel Aged Saint of Circumstance

Berkshire Saint of Circumstance - Sour Mash Whiskey Barrel Aged IPA (2012)

Limited Release (Brewed Once)

22 fl. oz. / $9.49 USD / 5.7% ABV(?)

About: "Saint of Circumstance Sour Mash Whiskey Barrel Aged IPA married the grassy hop notes of this unique India Pale Ale with the richness of whiskey and oak, creating an enticing brew of exceptional character. The use of a mystery hop means this beer can never be duplicated. Aged 8 months in barrels from a well known Tennessee distillery, we at Berkshire Brewing Company offer up this special brew as a treat to you, our loyal customers. Ad Chris and Gary are fond of saying "Its all about the beer, but the beer is nothing without the people". We hope you enjoy it, and thank you for your support."

Thoughts: Poured a darker amber with a shade of red that settled into a orange hued, near golden haze. The eggshell white head was slow to form and lasted for a short while before frothing out into clusters.

The scent is blisteringly strong and agonizingly beautiful! Very strong splinters of wood from those sour mash whiskey barrels pierce my nose. I'm not really getting much of an IPA scent on this one at all, and I'm wondering if they even completely emptied the barrels before filling it with their beer. Either way, it smells delightful, but if you don't like the smell or taste of any sort of whiskey then you'll positively hate this!

E-Gah... whoo-boy! Straight up sour mash whiskey slap to the face. Any resemblance to an IPA seems to be completely lost in this one. I'm getting a lot of wood around the end and after the swallow once the air hits me again. Then I sucked the froth out of my mustache and cringed as the sour remnants struck their chord once more. Nicely done, Berkshire. They say they use a mystery hop in this so it'll never be duplicated, but I'll be damned if I can't really find much of it here. What I am getting is citrus and light grass, and it's very sour but not like lemons or limes or grapefruit at all, more like orange... but it's funky sour orange like I've never tasted before. Not only is this IPA domniated by the aging process here, but it's really seemingly malt heavy as well. I'm getting a lot of biscuit and a little bit of caramel. The hops, well, they start to come through the more you drink it. But it's an undertone to it all, and that's mainly how citrus and grass likes to hang around on the back of the tongue and taunt.

Mouth feel? Pucker up baby!

The only other beer that I've had that's remotely comparable to this is Innis and Gunn's Whiskey barrel , and even then, they're not even near similar.

This tart as all fuck brew doesn't exactly stand out as any sort of IPA, but as a whiskey aged brew it is decent enough, though totally sour! I can only imagine what it would have tasted like if it were a true IPA with a bit of these flavors. The sour overwhelms everything here. Meh, I finished it.