Carousing in the We The People Brewery with numerous glasses of Westmalle Dubbel, Doesjel, and Oaked Aged Yeti last night, Brandon informed me of Union Jack’s Allagash Extravaganza today. A plethora of congenial things should be said about Union Jack’s, but I’m lazy, not that clever, and truthfully don’t feel like taking the time to explain it when you should just go or check out their website www.unionjacksmanatawny.com .
A portion of Jack's bottle selection.
I arrived 20 minutes before the posted tapping time of 1:00, because I was bored and like to start my drinking as prematurely as I can on the weekends. The bar was bare when I walked in, so I grabbed the seat of my choice and prepared to do work. Jack’s was offering 10 contradistinctive Allagash beers available in 2 different flights. I chose flight #2 in the interest of frugality and due to the fact that it included a sample of Allagash Curieux.
The first beer I tasted was the Dubbel Reserve, which had a light, transparent, chestnut tint. A moderate amount of malt and caramel notes hit the nose. The well structured mouth feel reveals hints of cloves, nuts, and chocolate and finishes dry with a nice abv of 7%. I recommend picking up a bottle of this and keeping it for a year or two, due to the fact that age will impart those port and sherry characteristics that are favorable to some.
“Curious” about the Curieux, since I have a 2009 bottle in the cellar and have never tasted it, I took a decent mouthful. In my point of view this is an elegantly balanced, beast of a beer at 11% abv! The diffusion and conglomeration of aromas that burst in the nose are created by the cellaring of the beer in Jim Beam barrels for 8 weeks. Tremendous scents of vanilla, bourbon, and coconut are indicative of its mellow and rounded, wooded, warming, vanilla, bourbon, piquancy. After tasting this beer I salivate when thinking of an opportunity to open my 09’ bottle in several years.
Top left: Double Reserve; Top right: Fluxus; Middle: White; Bottom left: Curieux; Bottom right: Hugh Malone
Hugh Malone was the subsequent beer and an entirely dissimilar smell, taste, and complexion. With an amber apricot glow and an accumulation of grapefuity, florally, piney aromas; this beer tastes as good as it looks. The beer list that I yoinked from Union Jack’s says these scents and flavors are accomplished by using, “…generous portions of Simcoe hops at three points in the brewing process. To begin with, we use a technique referred to as first wort hopping, in which Simcoe is added to the sweet wort as it enters the kettle. When the wort comes to a boil in the kettle we add Warrior hops, adding another layer to the bitterness of the beer. Later in the brewing process we steep a large amount of Simcoe in the whirlpool to import a distinct hop aroma. Finally, during secondary fermentation in our conditioning tanks, we dry hop the beer…” (Allagash Brewing Co.). I’d say I could drink this beer all day, but at 8.5% abv I would more than likely drink half the day and fall asleep on my couch for the remainder of the evening.
If you’ve managed to read this far, congratulations, and for your reward I will spare you from an obviously amicable review of the Allagash White, since I’m assuming anyone reading this has already sampled it. Fluxus was the final installment to my flight and I’m glad I saved the least flavorable for last. Classified as a Belgian-style saison, I feel this beer should have had more of everything a saison should have and less novelty ingredients. I promote, condone, and encourage experimentation with beer, but sometimes you need to be able to accept the fact when a beer’s flavors don’t complement one another. Brewed with sweet potatoes and black pepper, this beer virtually had no smell until I vigorously swirled the glass and plunged my nose into it only to reveal a touch of sweet potato, no black pepper. Breathing air into my mouth when I tasted the beer unleashed the confusing, contradicting flavors of black pepper and sweet potato. If you like sweet potatoes and black pepper in your beer than this is the brew for you, but it’s just not for me. Just my opinion.
I would be thoroughly impressed if anyone read all the way through this article, but to those who did, thank you and make sure you get your ass to Union Jack’s on December 12th for their 2nd annual Back in Black Stout Fest. Prost!
