Confluence Ale
Allagash Brewing Company

I had this on draft 8/6/25 @ the Hopleaf.

Opaque orange appearance.

Huge white head; a thick curtain of lacing remained.

Pear, banana & candle wax notes in the nose.

Soft medium mouthfeel.

Pear, banana, mild candle wax & faint clove flavors.

Subtle, with great depth. A killer beer.

On tap at Sabatinis in Exeter pa this lunchtime.

Dull orange body, small white head, a sheet of lacing. Aroma is tart with light spice notes. On tasting, delicate and light bodied. Smooth spice, and some wood touches. Finish is where the brett really shows up.

Overall, a very fine sour ale, mellow and balanced. Paired nicely with a cherry stilton cheese plate.

 

Bottled in 2017.

This beer looks and smells excellent. A translucent, deep yellow / light orange body is capped by an incredibly persistent inch+ of head that's supported by plenty of visibly carbonation flowing upwards. The aroma has plenty of brett to combine with mixed fruit. Overall, before my first sip this is a very enticing beer.

Alas, the taste is not quite on par with the aroma and appearance. Don't get me wrong, it's still tasty, but everything is a little more subdued. I'm enjoying the funk and crackery aftertaste, but it doesn't quite have the depth that the aroma suggested. Everything tastes just a tad watered down.

Overall, maybe consumed fresh the taste would have been as world class as the rest of it, but as it stands this falls in the good to very good, but not great category.

Bottled April 2022

The first bottle I’m popping open from my first trip up to Allagash yesterday. We’re starting out with a mixed fermentation Golden Ale. A pretty straightforward way to start things off. Let’s see what it’s all about

Pours a cloudy gold with 3 fingers of off white head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves nice lacing

This is just lightly funky in the nose, it’s elegant over the rather restrained base. I’m picking up on aromas of pineapple, lemon yogurt, sharp oak, stone cellar, nectarine, bready malt, wildflower honey, white pepper, and orange zest

Unfortunately it loses a bit of that funk in taste going for a more earthy approach, but it’s still good. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting pineapple juice, orange zest, floral hops, biscuity malt, honey, light lemon zest, and light peach pit. The swallow brings notes of biscuity malt, pineapple, orange zest, crackery malt, wildflower honey, white pepper, and stone

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a crisp beer. Finishes neutral but not all that refreshing unfortunately, it just kinda sits there

This one is a bit strange, but I can’t get behind it. Not quite what I was expecting but still good

2016 bottle. Clear, fizzy, gold, some particulates, mild carbonation. Definitely funky and citrusy, notes of lemon, Belgian yeast, orange, and a bit of spice. More mouth watering finish than I expected. Healthy booze presence. Not sure if it’s faded due to age or it normally is this mild. Pretty good.

 

2015 vintage. Poured from a cork'n'cage bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Nearly clear golden pour... 2 fingers of fizzy white head. Solid lacing.

S: Complex... tart and yeasty. Brett, grains, and fruit.

T.F: Fruity... a bit of sweetness and then modestly tart. Apple rind, funk, honey, pear, and grape must. Not overly acidic... complex. Lemon citrus, rind, and spice. Medium bodied... well carbonated... champagne-like. Finish is dry.

O: An outstanding Brett-aged beer. Complex and delicious. Allagash really knows does this style well.

I had this on Christmas vacation on tap at the Vermont Hotel. It was a fantastic beer. Allagash makes fantastic beer. The brett was there but fairly subdued. Really well done and really great of tap if you can find it. It's probably very hard to find on tap.

2012 bottle drank on 07.08.20. Bought from the brewery in late 2019. Drank out of a tulip.

Wish I could have done a side by side with a more recent bottle, and wish I’d gotten another few of these. Just a five star beer in every way, would love to know what 8 years of professional aging did for this. Poured nice and golden with a nice white frothy head. This is a tasty Belgian ale with just a hint of Brett. The taste is fruity and orangey, just wonderful. Nice full mouthfeel. I could drink this all night at 7.4%. Thanks, once again, Allagash!

Pours a cloudy medium yellow, ample foamy head that lasts. Aroma is funky and hoppy, a little soapy and floral. Light bodied, crisp and effervescent, has a nice mild malt profile with a gentle hop bite. Overall an easy drinking Belgian ale.

1/26/20
750 ml bottle dated 4/27/17
4 rating

A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottled in April 2014, and poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.

Appearance: A cloudy pale orange colour with a thin off white head that poured thick almost like syrup and left no lacing.

Aroma: Funky, brett, stone fruit, peach, apricot, lighter citrus, lemon, yuzu, grass and a touch floral.

Taste: Stone fruit forward, mango, apricot, peach, funky, brett, more mango juice, with a splash of lemon and floral notes.

Mouthfeel: Thick-ish, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: This was interesting… as I poured what looked a thick syrupy pour, I had the feeling that it might have gone bad. However, the aroma and flavours were great and had lots of stone fruit mixed with funkiness and brett. Mouthfeel wasn’t nearly as bad as what the pour appeared to me, but the carbonation was too light for me, and I felt that stronger carbonation could have helped balance and break down the thickness of the body.