Mybeerbuzz .com Highlights Allagash Brewing Barrel & Bean

I swear every time I taste an Allagash Brewing beer I think about two things.  The first thought comes about in the form of my fond memories of my first experience tasting early Allagash beers; and the second thought is that I need to get my butt up to Portland, ME and visit the brewery.  I learned about good beer and really good barrel-aged beers from Allagash many moons ago, so I was excited to get to taste another beer.

Today’s beer is called Allagash Barrel & Bean, and while you may be thinking that this is a completely new beer, it’s actually a new name for the former Allagash James Bean.  With the new name, Barrel & Bean will now be a year-round beer and it will be distributed to Allagash’s entire distribution footprint. This is good news if you happen to be in that footprint, and really good news if you love barrel-aged and coffee beers.

Image Courtesy of Allagash

Allagash Barrel & Bean starts life as Allagash’s Belgian-style Tripel golden ale.  That beer is then aged for close to two-months in Bourbon barrels and then blended with cold-brewed coffee from local coffee roasters Speckled Ax.  The beer uses sun-dried Ethiopian coffee beans as well as Hallertau & Nugget hops and of course I can’t wait to try it….so off we go.

Barrel & Bean pours a deeper golden/copper color with caramel, toffee and of course roasted coffee in the nose.  The typical Belgian Tripel yeasty aromas are still there and the overall nose is complex and interesting.  The flavors start out with coffee, but not a traditional coffee.  I really liked the subtle fruit flavors that seemed to come out of the coffee as well as the touch of roastiness at the end.  The Bourbon barrel aging adds a really pleasant soft vanilla flavor to help balance it all out as well as a bit of oakiness that sneaks in as the beer warms.  At 10%-AbV there is a boozy and warming presence, but I found it really drinkable for a higher AbV beer.  Overall Allagash Barrel & Bean is a really complex and well balanced beer.  I think the mix of a Belgian-style Tripel with Bourbon barrel-aging and cold-brewed coffee makes for a unique tasting experience and my 12oz bottle was in my belly in no time.

Allagash Barrel & Bean is available now in 12oz bottled 4-packs so get out there and try it for yourself…and when you do try it, be sure to let us know what YOU think.