There’s a reason the Alstrom Brothers, editors of Beer Advocate, give this beer an A+. It’s simply the most classic American example of its style. Allagash White is the perfect beer for a summer day. It’s clean, citrusy, semi-dry, semi-sweet, and effervescent. 

The aroma was very, very wheaty with lots of grapefruit and lemon on the nose. There was something very fresh and airy smelling about the beer, a whiff that reminded me of a bright, sunny day decorated with white, poufy clouds.

The pour gave a healthy white head, similar to the aforementioned clouds. And the sticky, messy lacing would have made a Trappist monk proud. 

In appearance, this beer is the color of pale straw with a cloudy transparence. I love a brew with tight, perky bubbles that stream ever upward in joyfully linear cadence. After two hours, the liquid got frothy when I swirled it. You know the expression “the cat’s meow.” Well, the carbonation in Allagash White earns itself the designation of “the beer’s bubble.” On the mouth, the citrus presented itself as grapefruit, lemon and orange, and these notes came out more as the beer warmed up. Allagash White feels dry on the mouth then finishes wetter.

The only fault I found with it was a slight astringent taste that lingered in the back of the mouth. But strangely, it wasn’t unpleasant.

The Alstrom brothers are right. This is an A+ beer.  

Tara Nurin is a veteran freelance journalist based in East Philadelphia, otherwise known as New Jersey. The former TV reporter specializes in craft beer, dining and destination coverage, and writes brew news for publications like All About Beer, Draft, Philly Beer Scene, and Philadelphia Weekly. She pens the “Athena’s Fermentables” column about women and beer for Ale Street News; co-hosts the Internet and cable show “Still Crazy After All These Beers” with Gary Monterosso; leads the Beer for Babes women-in-beer group in South Jersey; and is the weekly nightlife columnist for the Courier-Post newspaper. She also contributes regular beer reviews to DrinkPhilly.com.

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