Black
Allagash Brewing Company

 

Dark brown almost black in color. Nice, tanned head. The aroma of chocolate, roasted malt, and dark fruits. Moderate sweetness in taste with distinct hoppy notes at the end. I felt slight notes of Belgian yeast in it. Close to dry finish. Delicious beer.

 

 

 

Bottled 12/11/19

"Belgian-style stout" huh? I can't say I've ever really had anything like that, and it seems to not fit into its' own style category. I'm sure this will be good nonetheless

Pours a very dark brown with a finger of brown head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

The nose instantly veers towards a heavily roasted stout, maybe even a RIS, but there's some subtleties. I get roasted barley, drip coffee, and milk chocolate, but there's also hints of plum, cinnamon, and earthy hops

Despite the heavy roast, the flavor starts off with smooth malt and a slight general fruitiness. Post swallow, this gets a little weird trying to straddle the line between styles. Roasty coffee is offset by caramel sweetness and herbal hops. Strange, but certainly not bad

This has a full body and very subtle carbonation, leading to a smooth slick drink. It's always nice when a beer can be drying and super smooth simultaneously

So I wasn't floored by this. But I didn't really expect to be. It was not super fresh, but in a style like this I don't think it makes too much of a difference. Good stuff, but more just like a weird stout than a Belgian dark

 

Visual: dark brown, almost rootbeerish red tinge. no lingering head.
Aroma: roasted malts, bitter chocolate, burnt sugar, vsl vanilla
Taste: best part of the beer - nice burnt caramel, toasted marshmallow, roasted coffee, somehow the IAA still comes through.
Overall: if tasted blind i would've thought belgian strong, definitely not typical stout mouthfeel or aroma, especially with the lightness of the body and strong IAA. Another great beer from Allagash.

 

 

Another happy Allagash mix up. Last week I noticed two Allagash White's in my usual four pack of their Tripel. This week I swear the same situation happened but two Allagash black's found their way into my presumptive 4 pack of Tripel. To be fair this time I noticed it at the register but went through with the purchase based on my discovery of their "white" as something I would never choose but happy to have had. Same goes for the Black. Even more so. Is this a marketing strategy? is a "mix up" really a mix up? Anyway when it comes to Allagash Brewery, it's all good! (except the bean and barrel, which is a total miss.)

6/17/20...pours deep brown with a touch of brown foam sitting on top. Borders on black. Roasted malt nose, hints of coffee. Earthy. Chocolate/coffee malt flavor. Light sweetness spills into a bitter background. Both chewy and bitter. Solid.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't get the hype. It tastes like a golden ale but it's black. It's no match for Founders Breakfast Stout. Not even close