Some beers I never thought would ever come to cans, but then they do. Allagash Brewing is putting their wonderful and strong barrel-aged Curieux in cans this year.
I probably would have stuck with 12oz cans though.
Canieux
The Birthday Beer 2023
I zagged to a classic this year and picked up a bottle (glass to you young folk) of Curieux from Allagash. Labeled as a golden ale but really a blend of barrel-aged Tripel with fresh Tripel.
Since I have had a couple Cur-8’s that Allagash did with Crowns & Hops, I had bit of a head start on re-visiting this classic of the beer canon. Pours a muddy orange color. Orange and a tiny touch of bourbon oak on the nose. Belgian yeast esters in effect in the taste department with a mini-mix of clove and banana show up. That bit of spice really ties it together. Does not taste over 10% at all.
Maybe Not So Strange Bedfellows – Part 1
Allagash Brewing Company and Crowns & Hops Brewing Co., are bringing Maine to Inglewood with Cur-8. Arriving in time for Black History Month, the new beer mashes up Crowns & Hops’ 8 Trill Pils pilsner with Allagash Curieux. A bourbon-y Tripel-esque pilsner.
Here are more details about the partnership, “Cur-8 is part of the new Eight Trillion Allies Collaboration Series that partners established breweries with Black-owned beer brands to accomplish true representation in the brewing industry. “8 Trill Pils” is named after a statistic from a W.K. Kellogg Foundation report, “Business Case for Racial Equity.” The report suggests that the U.S. stands to realize an $8 trillion gain in the national GDP by closing the racial equity gap by 2050.”
Curiouser and Curieux
Tomorrow night at Stout’s Cahuenga location. Allagash Brewing will celebrate 10 years of Curieux and by extension, barrel aging beers.
In advance of that party, I e-mailed a few questions to brewmaster Jason Perkins about their signature and first barrel beer and aging in general:
1. Has Curieux changed much in its ten years of being brewed?
The beer really has not changed at all, in terms of recipe and process. We did add better temperature control of the barrel room about 8 years ago, which just helped to control the over oxidation of the beer. As it is a barrel aged beer, and there are inevitable variations from barrel to barrel, the beer is always slightly different batch to batch. We control this as much as we can through blending, but each batch is its own “vintage”. As we have developed our relationship with Jim Beam over the years, we have been also been able to specify the exact barrels we want and have been able to get them fresher and fresher. This has only improved the beer.
2. What have you learned about blending aged beers from doing Curieux?
Blending (like brewing) is a constant learning process. We are always learning new things, especially as we try new beers. Probably the most Curieux specific thing we learned very early in the process, is that this specific beer really open up and becomes more complex with 15-20% un-oaked Tripel blended in. Common sense would make one think that adding un-oaked beer would dilute the oak and bourbon notes, but we actually find that it compliments them, without diluting the beer.
3. Does blending get easier to do or is finding a balance still hard to accomplish?
I suppose the only thing that has made it easier, is having more staff who are competent at it. In the early years, it was myself, Rob and maybe one other person. We now have several of our Senior Brewers and QC folks who are able to blend this beer. This makes it more practical, while bringing more minds to the table.
4. Are there different consumer preferences on the East Coast vs. West Coast?
I don’t think so, not that I have seen. Although California sure does drink a lot of Curieux!!
5. Will there be a crossover in the Coolship and barrel aging programs?
The Coolship beers are, of course, barrel aged as well. As are many other of our Wild and sour beers. We house all of these barrels and foudres in a different building, adjacent to the brewery. There are some obvious similarities between the Non-wild and wild barrels, but what we are asking of the barrels is very different in each of those two areas. We do cycle some of our non-wild barrels into use in the wild barrel area, but never the other way around.
The only blending we have done of wild beer with non-wild beer, was a recent beer called Belfius-which is a delicious blend of a single Coolship barrel and our Saison. We only sold that at the brewery.