Kurkuma
Allagash Brewing Company

Golden color. Big, white head. Malt, dough, spices, and yeasts in the aroma. Turmeric is palatable but not too much. Rather sweet start with Moderate herbal bitterness later on.

Can.

A clear light yellow with a dense white head with good retention and lacing. The nose is clean, floral, spicy with a soft pear/apple ester note. Fresh turmeric lend a mild spice character. Soft honey and dough. The palate is clean, spicy, softly fruity, with honey, soft dough, a light grain note. The mid-palate has a nice blend of soft fruit and spice esters. Soft turmeric notes. Drying, lightly spicy and refreshing finish. Light in body, crisply carbonated.

 

 

16oz can poured into a tulip.

A: Sunny golden color with a very mild haze (yeast was roused and poured). Rocky white head sits at a two finger cap and retains well. Thin collars of lacing.

S: Fresh and lively saison nose. Cracker, grain, and bread dough from the malt. Perhaps a bit oaty. Expressively yeasty- a bit chalky, peppery, vague spices, earthy. Floral hop notes with flashes of lemon zest and grapefruit pith. With time and warmth, a lot of earthy turmeric does begin to separate itself from the yeasty spices.

T: Doughy malt base. Yeasty, mildly chalky and medicinal, white pepper, lots of earthy/gingery turmeric. Hops cut through it all and bring lots of citrus pith- both grapefruit and lemon. Dries a bit into a peppery/crackery finish.

M: Medium-light body. Full, fluffy, and round in the mouth with a bit of gently pressing weight. Sharp carbonation is stiff and ample, cutting right through everything and providing a hearty scrub.

O: A nicely made hoppy saison with a big dose of turmeric. It is pleasant and drinkable, though I suspect others' mileage may vary based on how sensitive they are to turmeric. I found it to be good if not a little forgettable, but this is one I'd like to revisit in the summer rather than the dead of winter, and with food.

16 oz can with a 27 January 2021 date stamped on the bottom.
Appearance. This has a pale straw colored body with a good white head.
The aroma carries subtle hints of white bread that are largely hidden by spices (mostly turmeric?) and hops. The flavor follows.
Mouthfeel. Medium body and carbonation.

 

Pours pale yellow with a 1/4" white head, which quickly fades to a wisp. Light lacing. Slight haze.

Aroma is turmeric, clove, hay, a bit of funkiness.

Taste is turmeric, clove, bready, earthy, yeasty.

Medium body, moderate carbonation. Dry, spicy finish.

Turmeric is a strange addition to a beer, but it works.

 

From a 16 oz. can dated 01/27/21. Sampled July 24, 2021.

Golden color underneath a moderate white head with a foggy appearance.

This is brewed with turmeric, which is one of my favorite spices, and I notice that front and center in the aroma. I also get toasted white bread, a slight citrus zest, and an overall character of cleanliness.

Light-medium mouthfeel.

The taste is at first sweet and toasted with the turmeric jumping in to overtake the experience. However it ends clean and crisp.

 

 

 

The beer pours very clear, light yellow gold, with a lively but fairly short-lived white head.

Definitely a saison with yeast notes, very earthy from the turmeric. A bit of spice in general. Mild fruity esters, mildly spicy. Not a powerful smell, but pleasant and well rounded overall.

The taste is pretty typical for a farmhouse ale, faintly Belgian inspired but again not overwhelming. The earthy sense is strong, and on the swallow pepper, clove, phenolics emerge. The spice builds pleasantly and leaves a lingering tingle well after drinking.

Light-bodied, dry, crisp, and refreshing. Spice pepperiness lingers long!. Nicely carbonated for the style.

Liking this beer. It is not as odd as it sounds. I expected a more orange color, maybe, and had no idea what to expect for the tast

 

 

16oz bottle purchased off the shelf as a 4-pack from a local package store. Poured into a saison glass. Canned on 12/23/20, so this is almost 6 months old.

Look: Pours a straw yellow / almost golden color with a very faint haze. Has a nice little compact white head that is hanging on. After pouring the bottom of the can, the haziness has increased. It's still translucent.

Smell: Smells fruity, zesty, peppery, yeasty. Getting lots of clove, some ginger/turmeric, lemon zest, and black pepper. Smells dry and refreshing. After pouring the bottom of the can, I get a big bubble gum aroma along with some banana and estery character. It seems to round out the nose a bit.

Taste: Mmmm. Very refreshing. This beer has a touch of acidity that really serves it well. The beer is mildly sweet up front, a bit fruity. The finish is quite dry with very clovey/spicy/pepper notes.

Feel: Clean, crisp, and refreshing. Light to medium bodied. Perhaps slightly under carbonated.

Overall: A very nice American saison offering, and great that it is available in a can. It's very spicy, which kind of seems to be Allagah's MO. I wonder if I would have enjoyed this more if it was fresher; I recall that the can that I had previously from a different batch was brighter and more lemony. While it is advertised as a turmeric beer, the turmeric flavor is pretty subtle which is probably a good thing. This is an excellent beer to drink with food. Overall, it's a very good saison.

 

Kurkuma from Allagash Brewing. Received on 9/4/21 from @Rub_This_BBQ in NBW BIF #13. 16 oz can stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 12/5/21. This was the mystery beer. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
On bottom of can “PACKAGED 12/23/20”. Served at 50 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 55.2 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), clear.
Body – Pale Straw (SRM 2), translucent. When rear-lite, same but with a greenish tint and effervescence is evident.
Head – Large (Maximum six cm, aggressive center pour), white, medium density, average retention, diminishing to a two to three mm crown and a thin partial cap. Second pour produces a high density 1.2 cm head.
Lacing – Good. Medium-wide three-dimensional bands of tiny to small bubbles, with the bands connected by short columns of varying widths.
Aroma – 4 – Aroma is weakly fruity with a bit of coriander and yeast. No malt, no hops.
Flavor – 4 – Flavor follows the nose, but the coriander is predominant. No malt, no hops. No ethanol (5.3 % ABV, marked on container) taste or aroma. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Light, dry, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 Really quite good. Possibly what I am identifying as coriander is actually turmeric – I don’t know that I’ve ever had turmeric as a stand-alone spice, only as part of a mélange. But then this is based on Allagash’s saison so there may well be coriander in the mix. Allagash is one of those breweries I have not sampled in 5-6 years but probably should reexamine.