Catch up review time: Allagash Brewing Co.'s Allagash White

This weekend was a very good weekend for beer, as well as just a good weekend overall.  On Friday night I had the pleasure of trying Allagash White, and enjoyed plenty of Shiner Bock at a party.  On Saturday I tried Caffe Capri in Bryan for the first time, with an amazing dish of baked penne with pepperoni, and had fun running around the Northgate District for my friend Ty’s 21st birthday celebration.  Finally yesterday, I had my favorite Chinese food restaurant Chef Cao’s with a clean Tsingtao, and then failed miserably at Obannon’s pub quiz but had a good time doing it.  After such an eventful weekend, I’m stuck playing catch-up review.  So first up is my late Friday night review of Allagash White, from Maine’s Allagash Brewing Co.

A dull building, but looks can be deceiving

Allagash White is a witbier, unfiltered ale usually made from wheat, and commonly brewed with orange peel and spices like coriander.  The most common witbier is probably Blue Moon, and the textbook example of a witbier is most likely Hoegaarden.  Many wheat beers have specific pouring instructions for their brews, and Allagash is no different.  “Pour half the bottle, swirl to agitate the yeast, and pour the remainder of the bottle.” By including the yeast in the bottle, the beer continues to condition, after leaving the brewery.  Leaving the yeast in the beer also contributes heavily to aroma and flavor.  Some people will choose to serve a wedge of lemon, or orange with their witbier.  The only problem with this is the acidity will destroy the head, and it can overpower some flavors and aromas.  However, it’s not my place to say whether or not it’s wrong to serve that way, it’s completely the drinker’s preference.

The testing table in action

In order to get the most out this brew, I followed the bottle instructions for the pour, the proper way to pour any witbier or hefe-weisen.  What resulted were a cloudy yellow body and a thick 2 finger white head.  It did also leave some patches of lace throughout, which crystallized into little foamy snowflakes almost.

This beer smelled very good.  There was a strong lemon oil scent, like smelling the rind of a lemon after you juice it.  Also in the aroma was subtle fresh tilled dirt, a non-descript spice note, and a tiny hint of yeast.

On the first taste, I already enjoyed everything this beer had going for it.  The spice note was initially dominant, primarily coriander and clove.  The second notable flavors to shine were the fruit rind flavors, lemon for sure, a bit of orange peel, and maybe a little apricot as well.  As it finished you could definitely tell you were drinking wheat, and as you finished the beer the yeast taste became stronger.  That might be a red flag for some, but I like it; yeast is good for you.  This beer was extremely complex and interesting.  It had a delightful mouthfeel: velvety, warming, and rich.  There was practically no bitterness present at all.

Overall, I really enjoyed this beer.  I’d give it 4.5 out of 5.  There’s something keeping me from rating this beer a perfect score, but I can’t quite decide what.  It may be the price (roughly $10 for a 4 pack), or it may just be that wheat beers aren’t my style of choice.  I will say this though, if you enjoy brews like Blue Moon (owned by MillerCoors) and want to step out into the world of microbrewing, you’d be doing yourself a favor by trying Allagash White.  It’s pretty bold for a casual drinker, but it’s beers like this that truly make someone appreciate the art of craft brewing.

Pictured: the exact opposite of craft brewing.