House Beer
Allagash Brewing Company

House BeerHouse Beer
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From:
Allagash Brewing Company
 
Maine, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Ale
Ranked #14
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
88
Ranked #13,499
Avg:
3.94 | pDev: 8.63%
Reviews:
55
Ratings:
354
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 04, 2022
Added:
Oct 05, 2012
Wants:
  35
Gots:
  44
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by illpass78:
Photo of illpass78
Reviewed by illpass78 from Maine

3.88/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Tasting glass on tap at the brewery.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy straw. Fair amount of lacing on way down. Nice carbonation visible. White head.

Aroma: Some clove, some spice. Mostly faint.

Taste: Some apple and pear flavors are more forward in the taste than the nose. Some lemon, too. Spices are more faint than in nose.

Mouthfeel: Sessionable depth. Basic pale ale feel.

Overall: Nice easy brew. Not as complex as some of Allagash's offerings, and certainly not a "big" beer, but it doesn't try to be or have to be.
Mar 14, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.41 by glacialcactus from Pennsylvania

Nov 04, 2022
 
Rated: 3.94 by shelby415 from Oregon

Jul 18, 2022
 
Rated: 3.97 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Jun 26, 2022
 
Rated: 3.72 by benjaminsa from Vermont

Nov 12, 2021
 
Rated: 3.31 by sbradley41 from Pennsylvania

Oct 07, 2021
Photo of Gajo74
Reviewed by Gajo74 from New York

4.08/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From the bottle, pours a golden, pale straw. A billowing foam head rises to the top, retains well and yields lacing.

The nose displays vinous notes of white grape, along with tart and fruity notes of orange, tangerine and lemon. Aromas of sweet honey malt and cracker, while hinting at a grassy bitterness.

Light bodied, smooth and dry in the palate. Bitter, yet balanced, as the firm malt backbone evokes notes of crisp cracker, dry biscuit and subtle honey sweetness. Fruity esters highlight white grapes balanced with peppery spices. Tart and vinous with a very dry finish. The hops flavors are earthy and citrusy, with notes of grapefruit, lemon and grass.

I loved the simplicity and dryness. Delicately crafted and refreshing.
Aug 29, 2020
Photo of SierraNevallagash
Reviewed by SierraNevallagash from Maine

4.27/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle - poured into an Allagash small stem at 38°F.

Pours a golden brassy hue - mostly clear with just a touch of cloud, topped with nearly three fingers of foamy, puffy pure white head with excellent retention. Significant lacing is left clinging to the glass. Visible effervescence.

Nose: Wow, much more straightforward and ale-like than I would have guessed. Some really nice Belgian-style golden malts with grains and round barley malt. Some ultra-fruity Belgian yeast esters lend notes of pink bubblegum, apricot, and papaya. Very little peppery and spicy phenols, with the spice notes leaning more floral. There's some gentle hopping giving off notes of lemon zest, grapefruit, peach, earthy flowers, and some hoppy spiciness. A subtle marshmallow note in the background. Very well-rounded and balanced aroma.

Palate: The beer greets the palate with golden grains and malty barley with that Belgian yeast following closely behind. Very little bubblegum, and more like mixed fruit salad, with some peppery and spicy saison notes, as well as a hint of coriander and cardamom. There's some overripe apricot, and even a noticeable farmhouse funk note going on, which really adds to the complexity. Yeasty, peppery, spicy, with some musty attic and old books. The hops then follow, with some pithy grapefruit peel, lemon zest, dried orange, stone fruit, a hint of grassy/earthy European bittering hops, and a hoppy spiciness, before heading into a resinous, pithy, slightly bitter finish. Dry.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is light-bodied with a fair amount of soft texture from the malt. Not thin or water. The hops lend some weight as well. Effervescence is very fine, and on the lively side as well. Well-attenuated, never sticky or sweet, and has a nice building dryness in the finish.

Overall: This is a very fine American take on a Belgian pale ale. In fact, it's so authentic, I wouldn't know the difference, and would be happy to label this as a proper Belgian pale ale. Everything is perfectly balanced and well-rounded with no rough edges. The malt base is perfect, the yeast profile is authentic, colourful, and quite complex while avoiding being a bubblegum or nutmeg bomb. There's nuance and subtlety, with a very interest funkiness, and it's hopped perfectly for a nice pithy, dry finish. If you're a fan of the style, it's a must try. I can see why this is the beer that Allagash chose to represent them. It delivers on everything that makes them who they are.
May 31, 2020
Photo of Nuttin_but_the_best_Clark
Reviewed by Nuttin_but_the_best_Clark from Massachusetts

4.69/5  rDev +19%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Visited the Allagash brewery in Portland and was amazed how many brewery only offerings they had which were extremely good and would probably sell well if widely available outside of the brewery. I was extolling Allagash's virtues very early on before it became a household name.

Allagash White is one of my favorite draft beers ever. You can certainly see the similarity in this and the better known Allagash White. This is a stripped down version of that beer without the banana bread and nutmeg spice notes.

What is left here is a fantastic everyday drinking beer. It feels very high quality in a minimalist way. Just as when you go to a very well reviewed restaurant and it is down to earth in a clean, aged farmhouse sort of style ... this beer reminds me of a repurposed old barn with light woods and exposed beams. It takes me back to my days in the Belgian countryside as I sip it.

This would compliment just about any meal. I could drink this with grilled steak, roasted turkey or slow cooked pork. On it's own its a fantastic sipping beer with a low 4.5% ABV. One of my friends' biggest gripes about today's IPAs are the high ABV which means you can't drink more than a few without getting drunk. House beer is a high quality beer which you can sip well into the night without being three sheets to the wind.

I love this beer ... like others said, I regret not buying a case because it is only available in four packs at the brewery. If one could say anything bad about this beer, it has a slight soapy note to it which is subtle but present.

It is a beautiful slightly hazy colour with a nice foamy head and each glass looks like something out of a magazine ad when poured. While many rate this low because of what it isn't ... I rate it near perfect because of what it is. Nothing amazing, unique, offensive or mindblowing about this beer but it's perfection in being a simple near perfect boring beer is getting harder to find in the age of juice bomb beers, cranberry smoothie milkshake beers or beers which are a liquid version of a dessert cart.
Nov 27, 2019
 
Rated: 4.06 by Tbone2131 from Connecticut

Nov 24, 2019
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.04/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Had on tap. Somewhat cloudy pale yellow body with a fluffy white head. This one is carried by the pear, lemon, and grapefruit esters in the smell and taste. Complimenting grains, yeast, and flowers in both as well. Feel is light, estery, and soft.
Oct 24, 2019
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.5/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This one pours a slightly cloudy but mostly clear straw yellow color, with a fluffy head, and a good bit of lacing.

This smells like pear skin, spicy hops, floral yeast, white pepper, and yeasty breadiness.

This isn't meant to knock your socks off or anything like that - it's just meant to be an approachable and proper Belgian banger. It succeeds wildly well at that goal. All of the flavors are in equal harmony here. There's a light, fresh and crisp hop character here- grassy and slightly spicy, with a restrained and clean clovey and herbal yeast character. I also get a touch of pear, and maybe some grapefruit rind, along with a spicy peppery yeast flavor as well.

This is light bodied, and really crisp, with a pretty fantastic amount of drinkability.

Allagash is always tremendous at building beers with big flavor in clean low alcohol packages. This is really quite good.
Aug 07, 2019
 
Rated: 4.75 by Vylo from New Jersey

Jul 31, 2019
Photo of cbutova
Reviewed by cbutova from Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A- Poured from the 12oz stubby bottle into a snifter with a slightly cloudy pale golden body. The one finger cap is white and has a thick and creamy texture rising above the glass with very good retention. Large webs of lacing decorate the glass.

S- Belgian yeast for the most part with spiciness and fruit notes backed by a bit of crackery pale barley and subtle herbal hops. More of an overall balanced brew but some specific things that come to mind are pear, grapefruit, subtle peppercorn and lemon zest.

T- If anything drifts from the aroma it is that the spicy Belgian yeast takes over a bit more and the hops and their bitterness are more pronounced but in the end it is a yeast driven brew with the great balance Allagash has mastered. Peppercorn, grapefruit, lemon zest, pears, a touch of apple, whole grain crackers, yeast bread, vanilla sweets, herbal tea and hay.

MF- Light bodied with a substantial texture that is both puffy and a bit creamy, soft and smooth. Moderate level of carbonation and an herbal bitterness throughout the finish.

A proper house beer for the brewers that pushed Belgian beer into the American mainstream. Hard to go wrong with any beer that comes out of Allagash and this one hits the spot in the warm weather.
Jul 27, 2019
Photo of mntlover
Reviewed by mntlover from Tennessee

4.21/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours golden with lots of bubbles feeding a small white bar pour head that falls slow and laces well. Aroma is nice cracker malts with citrus grapefruit, grapes and pear. Taste is light malt good citrus notes with out being overly hoppy. Just an easy drinking blonde ale that seems perfect. Mouthfeel is light but medium carbonation only even with all the bubbles rising. Overall liking it on this hot Maine day.
Jul 21, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by EatonHops from Massachusetts

Jun 23, 2019
 
Rated: 4.06 by nwhittin from Indiana

Jun 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.66 by BEERdedCharmer from New York

Apr 12, 2019
 
Rated: 3.5 by JLK7299 from North Carolina

Feb 18, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by AGust82 from Connecticut

Feb 16, 2019
House Beer from Allagash Brewing Company
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 354 ratings