Barrel & Bean
Allagash Brewing Company

Barrel & BeanBarrel & Bean
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From:
Allagash Brewing Company
 
Maine, United States
Style:
Tripel
Ranked #22
ABV:
9.6%
Score:
91
Ranked #6,141
Avg:
4.1 | pDev: 8.29%
Reviews:
147
Ratings:
739
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 01, 2023
Added:
Jul 09, 2012
Wants:
  45
Gots:
  104
Formerly James Bean

Barrel & Bean starts its life as our Tripel—a Belgian-style golden ale. We age that beer in bourbon barrels for just shy of two months, before blending it with cold-brewed coffee from Speckled Ax, a Maine coffee roaster. The sun-dried Ethiopian beans in the coffee are known for their stone fruit and dark berry flavors. The finished beer features rich notes of caramel, bourbon, and coffee.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by acurtis:
Photo of acurtis
Rated by acurtis from New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%

May 22, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Brutaltruth
Reviewed by Brutaltruth from Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
From the 12 oz bottle in a snifter via a friend from work----Cheers Chris!
This unique brew pours a hazed golden with a moderate head of white foam that
settles down to a thick ring, thin clumping layer, and sport some light lacing. Nose
of coffee, orange zest, candy sugars, and subtle herbal Belgian spices. Flavors
surpass the nose with nicely pronounced coffee, Belgian candy sugars, orange
zest, subtle clove and coriander, faint cream, and VERY subtle oak and bourbon.
Mouth feel is medium , medium light effervescent carbonation, and a coffee and
candy sugar laced balanced herbal finish.

Overall, unsure what to say about this hybrid other than it is unique!

Cheers
Dec 01, 2023
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

4.07/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a bottle into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a lightly hazed golden color with a small head of white foam. The head fades rather fast leaving tons of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is a blend of coffee and standard triple aromas. There is a nice bready and cracker malt backbone aroma mixed with notes of coffee and oak. Along with these smells comes some coriander and clove as well as some light candied sugar and yeasty smells. With a touch of apricot and peach and a bit of white grape a rather interesting and inviting aroma is produced overall.
Taste – The taste starts out with a crisp cracker malt flavor paired with a touch of sweetness of a apricot and white grape flavor mixed with a touch of a bubblegum like flavor. There are also notes of yeast and coriander and clove, with the spice flavors growing stronger as the taste moves forward. While lighter upfront, some coffee and oak also join in. Although these flavors are light in comparison to what the nose would have let on, they do add a nice accent to the brew. At the end, the coffee really surges, leaving one with a nice crisp coffee triple like taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is crisp and light with a higher carbonation level. For the tastes and the style, the feel is great and makes for a very crisp clean sipper.
Overall – A nice triple. The coffee and oak flavors add a nice dimension to the triple nature of the brew. Although I may prefer their normal triple over this, this certainly is a nice brew to try, and if a coffee fan, this may be right up your alley.
Nov 29, 2023
 
Rated: 4.4 by Beecham from California

Jun 01, 2023
 
Rated: 4.24 by QuentinDishaw from Massachusetts

May 29, 2023
Photo of sulldaddy
Reviewed by sulldaddy from Connecticut

3.82/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Im sampling this 12 oz bottle poured into my snifter at cellar temperature. I picked up the bottle at the brewery in October, bottle don date of 7/21/2022.
The beer pours a bright golden hue with just a hint of haziness to the beer. Bleached white creamy dense head of .5 cm foams up and sticks around as a surface covering throughout the tasting. Really dense lattice on the glass from a swirl or when I take a sip.
Aroma is a bit of bourbon notes mixing with Belgian yeast sort of fruity notes and also some light coffee bean notes. Actually a little bit of a green vegtal note on the aroma here too. I guess that could be a hop character. No hints of the ABV at this point in the sampling.
the first sip reveals a medium body with fine yet tingly carbonation. Texture is smooth and very easy to drink with just a bit of drying out on the swallow.
Flavor is some sweet fruity notes mixing with a bit of spicy yeast and then coffee rolls through to the finish. Although the sweet fruit shows up again on the finish too. No ABV warmth here and the bourbon that was faint on the nose is absent on the flavor :( .
This is a good beer with a better concept, but the bourbon isnt enough present in my opinion. Its a fine beer, Id drink it again, but wouldnt go looking for it.
Feb 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by BeerInspector from Delaware

Oct 11, 2022
 
Rated: 3.71 by howardnss from Pennsylvania

Sep 18, 2022
Photo of entheos
Rated by entheos from California

3.52/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
An interesting coffee taste, but not all that great.
Feb 06, 2022
Photo of teromous
Reviewed by teromous from Virginia

3.34/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
From the side of the label: "BOTTLED ON 10/28/21 18:41"

Appearance: The body is a medium-gold color with a very murky appearance. Very fuzzy shadows are only just visible through it. The head is white, creamy textured, and short.

Aroma: There is a pleasant coffee aroma that has a slightly earthy note.

Taste: Up front there is a Belgian yeast character that immediately comes through with a strong coffee flavor. As it rolls over the tongue it picks up a bit of clove character and a hint of black pepper. Towards the back of the palate there isn't much flavor development, and there isn't a lot of aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is somewhat high which is good. It has a body on the upper edge of light with a slight smoothness.

Overall: The label says that this is a "BOURBON BARREL-AGED GOLDEN ALE blended with COLD-BREWED COFFEE." The coffee character comes through in both the aroma and flavor which is nice. The coffee adds an interesting note to the Belgian yeast notes and it creates a pleasant twist, mostly in the flavor. Unfortunately the advertised barrel character is completely absent. There is no bourbon flavor or aroma and the same can be said for any kind of wood notes. It's disappointing to have a major component of a beer be entirely absent. As a whole I liked what was present in the beer but I wouldn't buy it again given the lack of any barrel or bourbon character. I wouldn't recommend it given the lack of advertised flavors and aromas, but if you're just looking for a coffee beer with a nice Belgian character to it then this does a nice job.
Feb 01, 2022
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Bottled 5/22

This didn't sound good to me, morbid curiosity prompted the purchase. Danged if it isn't good.

The balance is nice here. Belgian yeast esters and coffee commingle nicely up front. Like having a cup of coffee alongside spiced banana bread... sort of. The barrels are subtle and finish is kind of muddled, but this works overall.
Jan 29, 2022
Photo of harrypowers
Reviewed by harrypowers from Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a lightly hazy golden color with a small white head and a lot of lacing.

Smells of yeasty bread, coffee and sweet fruit.

Tastes of bread, sweet fruit, oaky bourbon and coffee with a bit of spice and a warm boozy finish.

Medium body with light carbonation. Lightly lush and syrupy mouthfeel.

This is an excellent re-envisioning of the traditional Belgian Triple. The addition of aging, bourbon and coffee to the mix make it a great sipper. Well done!
Jan 26, 2022
 
Rated: 4.24 by clm9 from North Carolina

Jan 22, 2022
 
Rated: 4.38 by jmbeerdude91 from Arizona

Jan 17, 2022
 
Rated: 4.28 by irishevans from California

Dec 30, 2021
Photo of JamFuel
Reviewed by JamFuel from Sweden

4.28/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pours a fairly clear orange with fine head and pretty lacing.

Smell is fruity and oaky with notes of bourbon, dried fruit, coffee beans and fudge.

Taste is oaky with lots of bourbon and some fruitiness. Notes of coffee grounds, espresso, dried fruit and some vanilla.

Mouthfeel is medium, smooth and velverty, with good carbonation.

Overall, a very nice hybrid beer where the coffee isn't overpowering.
Dec 21, 2021
 
Rated: 3.9 by newcastlemike from Connecticut

Nov 28, 2021
Photo of RaulMondesi
Reviewed by RaulMondesi from California

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Umm. Wow. What? A triple with coffee? Sure, why the hell not. It’s pretty wild, so I am going to jump into this one like Felix Bumgarner from the edge of space.

Thoughts? I’m enlightened. Not everything can be beautiful together, but like Miranda Kerr and a crop top, we have a winner. It’s just different (like Miranda), and sexy (like Miranda).

Ok, I’m out of here.
Oct 30, 2021
 
Rated: 4.02 by Newtobeet345 from Georgia

Oct 18, 2021
Barrel & Bean from Allagash Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 739 ratings