Allagash Victoria Ale - Allagash Brewing Company

popery

California

4.18/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

City Beer Store, Allagash night. Very nice looking beer, like champagne with a foam head that refused to quit. I'm continually impressed with Allagash's clean grain flavors that seem to act as a base for complex Belgians. It makes their beers seem more true to the native Belgian ales. Anyway, the grapes are definitely noticeable but quite pleasant and not cloying. They give the beer a vinous malt quality, much more subtle than expected. Good Belgian yeast notes, earthy and dry. Champagne-ish carbonation with lots of small vigorous bubbles. A happy surprise for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2010 06:46:48 | More by popery

jsanford

Georgia

2.75/5  rDev -30.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

750ml C&C bottle poured into a Tulip Glass. 2010 vintage.

A - Hazy gold with a thin white head that recedes to a thick ring and haze.
S - Sweet malt, grape juice, Candi sugar, and a very Tripel-like yeast profile. Smells like a grape Tripel.
T - Very close to the nose, I can't shake the grape Tripel descriptor. Sweet honey malt, grape juice, and spicy yeast.
M - Slightly sticky with a medium body and moderate carbonation.
O - Not really my thing, reminded me too much of the DFH Ancient Ales that use grape juice and honey. Once you've had one of those, they all kinda taste the same.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2011 00:01:42 | More by jsanford

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy golden amber with a big fluffy head that dissipates quickly.

Smell is a nice combination of yeast, matl, sweet white grapes and a hint of clove.

Tastes a bit sweet in front from the grapes, then a subtle yeasty tang and light malt kick in. Grapes reassert themselves in the finish.

Moderate carbonation, coats the tongue nicely.

A very drinkable beer, especially given the ABV. Very nice.

HV

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2008 00:04:22 | More by sholland119

GratefulBeerGuy

New Hampshire

4.05/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 ML corked and caged bottle > oversize wine glass.

slightly hazy honey color wityh many tiny bubbles and a high crown of smooth, bright-white foam and large clumpy lacing.

Very fruity nose, sweet, red berries, wild raspberries, sour and tart wild yeastie scent with lemmon citrus and overlly ripe red grapes and clean, wheat scent way down.

The flavor is a light and crisp wheatie malt, very pale wheat with white grapes and sour fruits. Later on, there's a wine-like earthiness under a smooth herbal hop. subtle spicey and peppery yeast effect tingles the tongue along with a mellow but noticable heat. Grapefruit tartness and fresh green veggies are subtle but effect for balance.

I think the addition of grapes adds some nice complexity and despite a 9% abv it's very refreshing in the summertime.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2008 22:47:57 | More by GratefulBeerGuy

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.15/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a tulip glass from a 750ml bottle.
Vintage: 2009

A - As soon as the cork is popped a nice steady flow of bubbles raises up the neck of the glass. As I gently pour it a nice 1 inch white head forms with some nice tight bubbles form. The color is straw yellow with some pal golden notes and is quite hazy.

S - Aroma is quite vinous. Some buttery Chardonnay notes as well as some nice slight tartness. This beer could be confused with a sparkling wine in terms of the nose. Quite delicious and refreshing nose. There is some slight grain and malt notes present o the back end of the nose and there is also a slight earthy hop note.

T & M - Flavor is fluffy and grainy up front with some nice bread notes. This is followed by the slight grape tartness and the vinous character. There i some slight leafy and earthy notes present as well as some nice slight funk from the yeast. The feel is fluffy and crisp with a nice light body that makes the beer easy to drink. Good offering.

D - Very easy to drink and yummy.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2011 19:01:28 | More by JoEBoBpr

brdc

Wisconsin

4.45/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks cookin420 for this one.
Large corked bottle, no bottling date I could find, poured into a goblet.

Golden brew, somewhere in the middle of the golden spectrum, just slightly hazy, with a dense, creamy white head that is rather short but lasts a long time, and covers the sides of the glass on the beer's way down.
Aroma is quite fruity, acidic, tart at times, caramel, bread, grains are noticeable as well.
Rare spices can be observed, pepper the most obvious.
Medium bodied, quite creamy on the palate, with sweet tastes opening up, followed by tart and acidic notes, and a dry finish. Grapes, oranges,
white wine like acidity, grains.
This is a very interesting beer, one that I would be glad to have more if it had not been discontinued.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2009 23:55:11 | More by brdc

rtepiak

Poland

3.63/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a cloudly, very light amber color... almost saison like. a sufficent head. not a lot but consistent. no lace. smell of apricot, astrigent, hop and grape esters... like that of a grape juice... not minerally but tangy with a light malt. the malt is with the grape tangy where as the hop is with the herbal quality... heavy thyme. quite crisp and dry. the crispness isn't a dry mineral sensation as the grape seems to lack the quality of the skin. it more subdued and exposed in the herbal effect. this beer lack the earth to be fantastic. its great but by way of two very separate things the hop dryness and the malt tangy all very crisp but this is lost in the high alcohol content. great with food... not back only. i would highly recommend game birds.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2008 10:57:41 | More by rtepiak

SkeeterHawk

Texas

4.47/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours pretty cloudy at first as a Yellow-Gold with a slight orange tint. It has a large white head that stands forever. Lots of thick lace are left on the glass after drinking the beer.

Aroma: Malts and spicy hops that are very Tripel like in their first impression. The grapes aren't obvious in the cold beer. The aroma is getting more grape-like as the beer warms, and it is also getting the chardonnay notes that the flavor has.

Flavor: Clean with bold hops up front. Strong sweetness in middle. Toasty bread crusts are the main representation from the malt, but caramel notes are coming out a lot more as the beer warms. The finish is well attenuated and quite dry. Grapes add a chardonnay note in the finish and this gets more noticeable as the beer sits. There is some evident alcoholic warming in the finish. The hops soften as the beer warms and start letting the malt shine through. There is a subtle honey impression that I am getting as the beer actually warms up some. The carbonation is ample to high, which is good. Now that the beer is warm, the hops are hardly noticeable.

Opinion: Overall this is a pretty good beer. I actually like how the flavor and aroma change as the beer warms us, especially since nothing about it ever gets one-dimensional. I actually think that I like this beer a little better than the Victor, which is a little surprising for me as I typically favor the darker side of things, but this is a really nice beer overall. If you like Dupont Moinette Blond, I don't think that you would be disappointed in this beer as they share some characteristics in hops especially.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2011 03:16:48 | More by SkeeterHawk

deltatauhobbit

Maine

4.1/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy golden/orange color with a good sized head, good retention, some lacing.

Smell is yeasty with strong notes of fruit, apple and pear possibly and a bit of honey, can't really make out much of a grape presence though.

Taste has a rather tart sweetness yet finishes sharply (most likely a result of the grapes), lots of spiciness going on such as clove, good carbonation amount for the style, the strength is well hidden behind the fruit and spice of the beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2008 16:41:36 | More by deltatauhobbit

nlmartin

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer was purchased at Jungle Jims for $12.99. The beer was served in a wide mouthed wine goblet.

Appearance: The beer pours a pleasing hazy golden honey coloration. The head was about two fingers high off white in coloration. The beer is lightly carbonated.

Smell: The beer has a sweet fruity grape aroma coupled with a funky yeast note. Did they use Bret yeast? The beer has a pleasant light citrus note. There is a noticable doughnutty character to the beer.

Taste: The beer has a vinous quality. This combines nicely with citrus and yeast. Again did they use brett? The hops provide a peppery zing. This is like a witbier on steroids. The beer produces a very interesting taste.

Mouthfeel/ Drinkability: The beer is full bodied. The vinous qualities create an interesting kicked up witbier. This is a very interesting and tasty beer. The alcohol is well covered up in both the smell and the taste.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2006 08:43:06 | More by nlmartin

asabreed

New York

4.05/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 ml. bottle split with a friend, into a Corsendonk Christmas Ale glass.

Appearance: A hazy golden yellow body with lots of a bubbles at first, and then they slow down a bit. Head is foamy as hell at first but dissipates rather quickly. Spotty lacing but I wish it stuck a bit more I suppose.

Smell: Lots of bitterness, yeast, candi sugar, a bit of vanilla and slight bubblegum. I wish the vinous aroma would come through more, but it's pretty subdued. Still it's pretty nice.

Taste: An initial shot of vanilla, candi sugar, citrus, some diacetyl, and a lingering bitterness with the finish. Where are the grapes? They're there, but if you didn't tell me there were grapes in this I'm not sure if I'd know. Maybe the lingering bitterness comes from those vinous characteristics? And the hops I suppose too?

Mouthfeel: There's a fullness and a great amount of carbonation to this that I like, without being too much. It ends in a great non-cloying coating feeling also.

Drinkability: I'm not sure I'd buy this again, but it's certainly a solid brew and worth a shot. I just wish, as I said, that the presence of grapes was more present and complex and in the mix.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2006 00:49:21 | More by asabreed

froghop

Washington

3.43/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

had this a little while ago but was not able to rate because it was 'retired', even though it is still found on the shelve.

pours a yellow-orange with a medium size egg-shell head, some lacing.

smell is faint, musty, sweet fruit, and some yeast.

taste is light yet crisp, fruity, tad bit of sweetness comes through, some caramel, pear, and some spice.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2009 03:39:38 | More by froghop

Foxman

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It pours a golden orange, a bit hazy and exremely carbonated. Three fingers of off-white egg white head ebb slowly. A reef of lacing lays cemented to the inside of the glass.

In the aroma there comes sweet grain, with light vanilla and caramel. A sour yeast riff sings green apple, and a note of clove wafts through as well. A vinous touch of port carries a solid stripe of alcohol along.

Upon sipping, there's a malted grain sweetness partnered with a more earthy vinous sweetness, with the grape component heavier on the tongue. Mellow bready yeast, tangy and slighty sour, duels with a credible alcohol presence. A glint of clove surfaces, then flattens to a rounded bitterness which joins some residual malt in the finish. There's quite a bit going on, but it all comes together in a good way.

Medium bodied, the carbonation is very peppy and it joins the rest to enliven the palate.

It seems Allagash just doesn't know how to disappoint. It's something different, and done well, no surprise considering the track record in place. With a muscular ABV it warms and even numbs, but enjoyed wisely the grain and grape combo drinks pleasingly. I'm all for pushing the envelope, but it's always refreshing to see a brewery that dares to experiment without having to go over the top.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2006 14:04:15 | More by Foxman

jujubeast6000

Texas

2.98/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed 7/21/2009 (2009 bottle):

Pours a clear bright golden colored body, with a big foamy white head, lasting. Fruity fresh aroma, light grapes, and dark grapes. Some grain smell, mustiness too, like horseblanket or something. Not too strong, though. Grapey taste, fruity, with a strong grape aftertaste. Light and crisp tasting. Some warmness, and a lot of carbonation. Light taste, not heavy, not alcoholy. Alright, light flavor, grapey.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2009 21:42:31 | More by jujubeast6000

MrHurmateeowish

New Hampshire

4.33/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Somewhat murky orange body with a couple of fingers of offwhite head that dissipates a bit more quickly than expected. Smells yeasty, citrusy, and somewhat spicey. Tastes citrusy, malty, and spicey. Medium bodied. Surprisingly drinkable for the ABV... Very enjoyable! Kudos once again, Allagash!

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2006 02:47:31 | More by MrHurmateeowish

craytonic

District of Columbia

4.38/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Beautiful Belgian pour, perfect and typical Allagash head, nice bubbles off the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Delicious, I get muscadines, not grapes. Also it smells of juice, not fermented juice, which I think throws off many tasters. Lots of fruit - I get apple, pear, cloves, muscadines, and Belgian yeast.

Taste: The grapes are more present on the palate, although I still get more white muscadine than chardonnay grape. A bit sweet for the style, probably from the grapes. Delicious.

Mouthfeel: Perfect creaminess and carbonation. Alcohol is not noticable at all.

Drinkability: This disappeared much faster than it should have, delicious brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2009 20:01:02 | More by craytonic

jmz62565

Connecticut

3.9/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This pours a honey orange color with a large foamy head. The smell has a grape aroma along with a yeast "bisquity" scent. The taste has a fruity quality to it, as expected, along with some bakery flavors. The m/f is light with the flavors mixing well with the high alcohol hidden very nicely. This is a good beer, but nothing really too exciting. Still, I would have this again.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2006 05:52:49 | More by jmz62565

barleywinebrewer

New Hampshire

3.3/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I am a huge fan of allagash. They make great beer. It was with much excitement I found this and bought a couple to bring home from Maine.

A - It looks great. amber / brown, some haze with a large white head.

S - There is a lot in the smell which for me was hard to describe. Some candi sugar, light malti with an unusual dry characteristic which has to be the grapes.

T - Someone else wrote "Interesting but off". I think this sums up how I feel about this beer. definitely begian derived but taken on a right turn due to the grapes. It seemed to alternate through the bottle between sweet and cloying, spicy and dry / wine hints.

M - Medium bodied.

D - Goes down easy enough but has a mid taste and after taste that was a little different than what I expected.

I plan to let the other one cellar for 6 months and see if it changes in any way. An interesting beer - love it or leave it I think.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2006 17:29:31 | More by barleywinebrewer

soupyman10

District of Columbia

4.33/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Not going to write too much here - StephenRich just wrote the most insanely impressive review ever, and his is right below mine - so check that out. In any case, this was a nice, solid Allagash "big beer," that didn't quite reach the heights of the Interlude, Odyssey, or Fluxus. Just a kind of standard (but still very tasty) Belgian flavor, with lots of sugar, candy, citrus, and a touch of yeast. Overall, good, but maybe not worth the price tag (not when you could go with a La Chouffe or Gouden Carolus for cheaper).

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2010 00:12:38 | More by soupyman10

callmemickey

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Golden-orange body. Minimal head. No lacing to speak of.

S: Bam. Chardonnay hits you right of the bat. Its not overpowering though. You could still get some yeast, pepper, clove and banana notes.

T: More of the same. I think the Chardonnay grapes accentuate the flavor even more than in the nose. Banana and yeast carry the day as malt takes a back seat.

M: Smooth. Refreshing. Slightly acidic. Clean finish.

D: More of a novelty than anything else. A nice beer, but one that maxes out toward the end of the glass.

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2009 01:45:17 | More by callmemickey

coldmeat23

Oklahoma

4.28/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

GLASS: Oversized Wine Glass
TEMP: Cellared @ approx 50 degrees
VINTAGE: 2009
Corked & Caged 750ml

Damn! That cork just almost took my eye out! I barely had the cage pulled away and the cork popped, like a gunshot. Fortunately, I had the glass right there, so I didn't lose anything.
This is a beautiful, golden orange color with serious yellow tinting. It has a slight haziness to it. Almost two-fingers of off-white colored foam make the head, which fades to a surface covering film that sticks around for quite awhile. The lacing is in seriously thick strands that are very nicely sticky.

This smells like a big, fat, glass of white fruits. The grapes come through easily. Nice notes of pears, apples, peaches, nectarines, even some light traces of pineapple and raisins. Nice hints of pale malts and belgian yeast notes.
This has a very wine-like overtone to it, which is not surprising, considering what it is.

I'm surprised by the amount of wheat-ness that I seem to be tasting here. It's not bad, just unexpected. The chardonnay grapes tend to dominate the flavor profile, somewhat. The other white fruits that were apparent in the nose are here, they just aren't as prominent. Big hints of yeastiness. Lots of pale malt notes abound. Good hints of spices. Light sweetness that is similar to honey.
Overall, this is more sweet than tart or funky.

A solid medium body with a high level of (natural) carbonation. It is nicely refreshing and also has a good amount of creaminess to it.
Very nice.

Much like a good bottle of wine, the 9.00%abv is very nicely hidden. The taste is a touch too sweet to get a perfect score here, but it is still definitely drinkable. Grab one if you have the chance. It's a different kind of beer, for sure.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2010 21:21:43 | More by coldmeat23

meathookjones

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Golden orange body with a nice tall eggshell white head. Aroma was a bit strange with sweet grapes and biscuit malt coming on strong. Very light spiciness and yeast. Biscuits, yeast and spiciness over a pretty big sweetness in the flavor. Light alcohol peaked though. Fruity notes and a big sweet finish. Not bad but it was a bit overly sweet. Well carbonated and has some trailing warmth on the way down. Easy enough drinking and comes off pretty mild. Unique brew that would be interesting to see what a bit of age does for it.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2006 16:05:46 | More by meathookjones

joepais

Maine

3.4/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Again thanks to Stan for sharing these. Stan figured we should do both back to back. I like red wine more than white so I think the same can be said for these two brews. The bottle poured into a snifter produced a huge three finger off white head. There is tons of carbonation on this brew. The color of the brew reminded me of honey.
The nose had a ton of green grapes in it. The flavor was very spicy and dry like a chardonnay. I never thought I use that word in a review. It has a light feel to it with all kinds of carbonation. It was drinkable but not my favorite Allagash.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2011 18:48:11 | More by joepais

geexploitation

Indiana

2.6/5  rDev -34.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I love Allagash. I boost for their beers. I boost for Maine beers in general. Allagah's barrel series and their other special releases have been extraordinary. I've eagerly anticipated their Victoria Ale, which is brewed using chardonnay grapes.

Pours a dark honey amber with a big off-white head that fades gradually while lacing the glass. The nose is quite complex, with candi sugar, dates, and raw alcohol dominating, but there's also a sweetness to the nose that has to be derived from the grapes -- its fruit character is redolent of chardonnay wines. It's an interesting nose, but the grape characters don't fit very well into the rest of the beer. It's off.

"Interesting but off" could describe the flavor of this beer as well. It's quite sweet initially, with the grapes providing a cloying, sticky sweetness unattenuated by hops or bitter malts. That sweetness sticks to the mouth, clogging the palate. Victoria Ale feels high-gravity while rolling around the tongue, with relatively little carbonation for a bottle conditioned, Belgian-style beer.

Is this beer interesting? Yes. But the flavors do not meld together well; there's a reason that beer is made from grains, wine from grapes, and the that two remain separate. The influence of the grapes on the beer adds some interesting notes in the aroma department, but the overall effect is a bit gross... way too sweet, with a bit of a chemical tinge, this beer is unsatisfying, and not worth the price you'll probably pay. In the interest of seeking out unique beer experiences, I recommend giving this brew a try, but it's not something I'd go back to, that's for sure. I'm sad to say it, but it's the truth.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2006 22:37:29 | More by geexploitation

kkipple

South Carolina

3.68/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a very mead-lookin' nearly still dingy dull orange. Head dies faster than a snickers bar in death valley.

I'm getting a lot of yeast in the nose, vitamin B and tang, with layered notes of honey and white grapes. There's alcohol heat and a pleasing floral scent here - let it sit for a while and the yeasty smell fades a little and it opens up. Not awfully complex, but good.

Tastes quite grape-y, white wine and sulfur yeast mingle with your basic mellow Belgian golden ale. Lots of honey and pears, pepper, mild apple tartness. The yeast is still a little overpowering here and sits in the finish a tad too long. Overall it's a pleasing mellow flavor if you can get past the yeast funk.

Mouthfeel is finely carbonated and slick, the finish is heavy on the white grapes and a little boozy-sweet. Not too shabby.

This is a good beer, but the yeast character overpowers a lot of budding nuance. Worth a try, now I've got to get some Victor!

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2008 06:02:56 | More by kkipple