10th Anniversary Ale
Allagash Brewing Company

10th Anniversary Ale10th Anniversary Ale
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From:
Allagash Brewing Company
 
Maine, United States
Style:
Witbier
ABV:
10%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.12 | pDev: 9.95%
Reviews:
56
Ratings:
66
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 11, 2016
Added:
Jun 21, 2005
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  2
Tenth Anniversary Ale was a beer brewed to celebrate 10 years of brewing artisanal Belgian style ales. A unique interpretation of our flagship Allagash White, Tenth Anniversary is a blend of two different whites; a sweet batch (brewed in February, 2005) and a dry batch (brewed in March, 2005). By blending the two batches, an additional complexity is imparted. Further complexity, most notably expressed by the delicate vanilla notes, was gained by aging some of the beer in new oak barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by dsa7783:
Photo of dsa7783
Reviewed by dsa7783 from New Jersey

4.38/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
750 ML bottle recently copped from Super Saver in Somerville for $13.99... I was surprised to see this one on the shelves still...
Overall, I would basically describe this in the most simplest of terms as a "super Witbier" - big on taste, flavor, and alcohol, and very fruity and tasty like a sweet Tripel...
A gradual pour resulted in a hazy, golden, light-amber colored-hue, with intesne carbonation visible along with a giant, five-fingered head that exhibited tremendous staying power...
Classic, rich Witbier aroma of coriander, spices, lemons, citrus and such...
Taste strongly complemented the smell, with a burst of citrus, oranges, nectarines, tangerines, cloves, and coriander with mixed spices...
Superb, creamy, thick, filling mouthfeel with an ultra-easy level of drinkability for a 10% ABV - the alcohol really struggles to make itself noticed on this one...
Great stuff from Allagash - I actually enjoyed this one slightly more than their 11th Anniversary one...
Recommended...
Mar 19, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by waddellc2 from Pennsylvania

Feb 11, 2016
 
Rated: 4.09 by Rifugium from North Dakota

Jan 31, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by jrob21 from North Carolina

Feb 02, 2015
 
Rated: 5 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 05, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Zbeetleman from California

May 15, 2013
Photo of AleWatcher
Reviewed by AleWatcher from Illinois

3.38/5  rDev -18%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Reviewed from voice notes taken at a previous tasting.
Typed up in an attempt to finally consolidate all of my reviews in one place.

This is a hazy golden yellowish color with a shimmering white head. It actually doesn't look too bad!

Smells... well... a lot like a wheat beer... I'm impressed at how well this has aged. There is certainly a little booziness here, but not nearly as much as I had expected with this thing being 10% abv.

Thick and creamy feel-- very different, but not bad.

Overall== this is decent-- but it probably should have been drank 6 years ago. I don't know that age has helped it.
Sep 30, 2012
Photo of corby112
Reviewed by corby112 from Pennsylvania

3.97/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml shared with shadowane and sideshowe.

Pours a bright golden orange color with a half finger white head that quickly fades.  Not much in the way of lacing.

Complex aroma with a good balance of candy sugar, citrus fruit and zesty spice.  Lots of orange and tangerine candy sweetness that's countered by spicy hints of pepper and coriander.

Medium bodied with a decent amount of zesty spice and sweet citrus fruit.  Still pleasantly carbonated with lots of zesty spice up front.  Hints of pepper coriander followed by tangerine, orange and peaches and cream.  There's also a subtle bubblegum presence that falls off toward the finish. Abv excellently masked making this beer dangerously drinkable. This beer has held up surprisingly well.
May 02, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by ScottyC54 from New Jersey

Mar 17, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by jongullotti from Massachusetts

Feb 19, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by sideshowe from Pennsylvania

Jan 19, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by imperialking from Illinois

Jan 17, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by rmalinowski4 from Illinois

Jan 15, 2012
Photo of gtn80
Reviewed by gtn80 from Maine

4.18/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Received as a incredibly generous wedding gift. Poured from the bottle into a flute glass.

Appearance is a wonderful golden color. Beautiful head created hordes of tiny bubbles. Bubbles and lacing cling to side of the glass during the drink.

Aroma is complex, not surprising after seven years in the bottle. Lots of malt, esters, fruity and yeast character.

Flavor is complex. Bready up front. Tons of malt. No hops, no bitterness. Spices not present, maybe subdued from age. Yeast is throwing off lots of fruitiness, bubble gum in the finish.

Mouthfeel is super carbonated, but still rather viscous.

Drinkability is surprisingly nice given a high abv. Carbonation is helpful in lifting the beer off the tongue.
Nov 13, 2010
Photo of koopa
Reviewed by koopa from New Jersey

4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: glowing orange body with honey folds and a huge 3 finger slightly off white crown...this one gushed! Some retention and minimal lace.

Smell: candied orange, wheat, coriander, and a touch of alcohol.

Taste: Wheat and candied orange throughout with some hop bitterness sneaking in at the end.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and chewy with just enough carbonation on the finish.

Drinkability: Not bad considering the strength.

This one held up fairly well considering its a double wit that has 4+ years on it.
Sep 30, 2009
Photo of orbitalr0x
Reviewed by orbitalr0x from Illinois

4.32/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Hazy orange yellow with a big 2" head that leaves sticky lacing along the glass. Head sticks around awhile. Aromas of spicy sweet malts entangled with cotton candy and grape skin aromas. Lots of bright fruit and spice throughout with a vibrant Belgian yeast backbone. Enticing.

First sip brings sweet deep pale malts with light fruit and grape accents. Spicy yeast with coriander and earthy flavors as well. There's a great depth of flavor here. Finishes on the malty side with no alcohol bite either. A tasty concoction.

Smooth with a great malty body. Easy to drink at 10% and quite yummy. This one has held up very well and is still drinking great! Thanks to Dave for the chance to try this one.
Jun 07, 2009
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden color with a touch of peach; a massive head in the bottle and a couple of inches cap the liquid and leave nice lacing although the persistence was not great (of course, this does have a bit of age on it)

Smell: Massive aromatics with stone fruits (nectarine, apricot and pear) joined by bubblegum esters; spicy yeast, orsnge peel, coriander, white pepper and vanilla area also discernable

Taste: Starts out fruity, with the wheat base also in the profile but turns sweet and spicy by mid-palate, as the candi sugar, and peppery yeast elements take control; coriander and orange peel are also part of the mix; after the swallow, the sweet and spicy flavors continue to dominate into the lengthy finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate to low carbonation (despite the head) but leaves a prickly sensation on the tip and sides of the tongue; some warmth in the gullet

Drinkability: Lively flavors and quite complex, but ultimately a bit too sweet
Oct 11, 2008
Photo of jwc215
Reviewed by jwc215 from Arizona

3.7/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Cage-corked 750 ml bottle, served cold as per instructions on the tag:

Pours golden with champagne-like bubbles rushing to the top, creating a thick foamy head that slowly descends to a thin, lasting cover. Some trailing lace slides down the glass.

The smell is of bready yeast, coriander, clove and a hint of orange peel.

Very spicy taste - coriander, clove, orange peel - Coriander quite hefty, so along with alcohol - this one has quite a bit of black pepper in the taste. Grainy sweet malt is behind the strong spiciness. Very dry finish.

Light bodied and effervescent, it has a lingering spiciness along with heat from the alcohol.

I do recall liking the 11th Anniversary better, but this one isn't bad at all. It's a bit heavy in flavor for a witbier, which is fine. But, it's a bit too spicy/black pepperish for me to say that I would want to see it as a regular offering, which it isn't anyway. Bottom line - I have mixed feelings about it after having a tasting of it when it came out, and after having the whole bottle after a year of aging.
Dec 15, 2007
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

4.1/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I am surprised that it is a derivative of the witbier. A most mellow of 10 beers, possibly relecting cellaring for a couple of years. Tasty ale, not complex but certainly easy drinking. Oaking gave it vanilla, its also slightly biased sweet. Pineapple, spices with corriander and clove and white pepper. Superior. Soft but above average mouthfeel. Suitable carbonation.
Aug 26, 2007
Photo of TexIndy
Reviewed by TexIndy from Texas

3.53/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Got in a trade with BeerBeing - thanks! This was a one off beer that was a mixture of 2 different batches with one sweeter and one drier. They were blended, aged in oak and then bottled in May 2005. Poured from a 750 ml corked and caged bottled that opened with a loud pop. It was a hazy golden color. The aroma was a bit muted but it is 2 years old so not unexpected. It was heavy on oaky vanilla smell with a hint of the 10% ABV. There wasn't much spiciness left in the aroma. The flavor was pretty good but again was lacking the spicy bite of most wits. Not bad but tasted more than a BSPA than a Wit. Overall, a good beer that makes me wish I'd had it in its prime (3.5, RB-OTR, T, O)
May 19, 2007
10th Anniversary Ale from Allagash Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 66 ratings