Allagash Curieux

First Brewed: 2004
Brewery Location: Portland, Maine, United States
ABV: 11%

History & Availability: To finish off Expensive Beer Week, we've got a beer that weighs in at $18 a bottle. The Curieux was Allagash's first beer in their "Barrel Aged" series. Like the bottle text "ale aged in oak bourbon barrels" implies, the beer is actually aged for 8 weeks in Jim Beam barrels, just like a real Kentucky bourbon would be, before being bottled. As a result, the beer is advertised as gaining a "hint of bourbon flavor." We'll see how it stacks up. As for availability, I picked this up the first time I'd ever seen it a couple weeks ago. If you're actually on the hunt for it, you could probably find it with some searching, but this is another of those limited-quantity special brews so maybe not. It would definitely be much easier if you could get into the Portland area.

Appearance: I have a little confession to make; I actually popped this beer open before I was planning on doing the actual review, which is why I knew to make the little joke with the glassware there. The beer itself is a nice hazy tan, almost completely opaque even in the rocks glass. Not much carbonation or head is apparent.

Smell: Yeah, smelling a lot like Jim Beam.

Taste: I'm gonna be straight, this beer tastes like pure whiskey. The alcohol is so present as to have the warming effect of a light liquor, and the bourbon taste has really taken hold. I can't even extract what this beer would have tasted like before it was aged. There's a slight hint of vanilla beneath the whiskey but again it's so backgrounded as to be swallowed up by the main taste.

Mouthfeel: Light, as tripels go. Really heavy-handed on the alcohol feel, which does tend to reduce the density, but of course also warms the mouth and evaporates quickly leaving little to no residue.

Drinkability: Essentially none. The joke about putting the beer in the rocks glass was only partially an exaggeration. You want to drink this beer about as fast as you'd drink bourbon, and I'm not really joking around. Definitely don't drink the full 750mL bottle in one go unless you have the tolerance of an alcoholic who's drunk a fifth a day since 1980.

Overall verdict: A, it's a really, really good beer, but be careful, this shit will get you fucked up.