Pastiche
Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, United States 🇺🇸
Belgian Style - Strong Ale Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.06
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Pastiche is a barrel-aged blend of four different ales aged in twice as many barrels. The beers in this blend use various local malts and were created specifically for Pastiche by our team of senior brewers. Barrels included in the aging process were: rye whiskey, vermouth, port, rum, bourbon, red wine, gin, and brandy. After aging the beers between three and four months, the brewers got together and blended them all into a single, unified whole called Pastiche. This complex amber beer contains notes of caramel, dried fruit, spirits, and oak.
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7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
On tap at Vermont Tap House, Williston, VT (03/02/2018)
Poured into a tulip.
Appearance: orange to brown color with a thin cap of a little white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: apricot, dark fruits, vanilla, sweet oak, toffee and some clean sweet earth
Flavor: blends the previously noted aromas to a fine sweet to earthy quality; finishes smooth through all those aromas
Texture: medium bodied, great as a sipper; pretty smooth along the tongue and a light dryness running over the tongue as well
Overall: a nicely done strong ale I would return to.
On tap at Vermont Tap House, Williston, VT (03/02/2018)
Poured into a tulip.
Appearance: orange to brown color with a thin cap of a little white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: apricot, dark fruits, vanilla, sweet oak, toffee and some clean sweet earth
Flavor: blends the previously noted aromas to a fine sweet to earthy quality; finishes smooth through all those aromas
Texture: medium bodied, great as a sipper; pretty smooth along the tongue and a light dryness running over the tongue as well
Overall: a nicely done strong ale I would return to.
Tried
from Draft
on 27 Feb 2026
at 17:17
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
C&C 750 mL bottle from Beer Run, bottled 12/7/2017, enjoyed 11/26/2020. Probably had it about a year. Hazy orange, large frothy tan head, fair retention. Aroma of whiskey, oak, vanilla, apricot, plum. A bit oxidize but not bad. Taste is plum, grapes, oak, vanilla, mild whiskey. Full bodied, low carb, booze hidden well. A tad bit past its prime but still pretty nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Nov 2020
at 04:23
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle: Poured a deep brown color ale with a large foamy head with minimal attention and not much lacing. Aroma of tart notes with some oak and barrel-aging notes with some caramelized malt notes also perceptible. Taste is a mix of different liquors from the barrel-aging with some woody notes with caramelized notes and some very faint tart notes. Body is lighter than expected with medium carbonation and no apparent alcohol notes. Enjoyable mix even though it is a lot of different flavours into one beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jul 2020
at 19:28
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Good, if overthought. Makes for a tasty Belgian strong ale, lovely notes of date, plum, maraschino cherry, toffee, and spice, but the various barrels meld together into an indistinguishable blend of booziness, tasty but not particularly distinctive. Gin shows up in the nose, and a mild vinous vein runs underneath the oaked liquor warmth, but altogether the beer comes across as a tasty barrel-aged beer without any discernible center. Drinkable as hell, though.
Tried
on 30 May 2019
at 02:51
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottled on 12/07/17 and from the brewery on our first trip there. Pours a slight hazed amber-copper colour with a big beige head, good retention and thick foamy-creamy lacing. So much going on in the nose with the dark fruits and every notes from the different barrels. Fruity notes and some tamari. The port barrel gives out notes in the flavours. Still, lots going one, which makes this quite interesting overall. Nicely balanced and would have again, at my next visit.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Nov 2018
at 00:35
4.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 5
On tap at the Ginger Man, pours a hazy dark amber with a small beige head. Aroma brings of a rather harsh bourbon barrel character, with dry bready malt. Flavour is very harsh - the bourbon isn't expressing itself very well - with caramel and bready malt. Alcoholic, harsh and metallic. This isn't working.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Jul 2018
at 07:57
6.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Draught at Ginger Man Boston, 2/6/18.
Clear, rich amber with a medium-sized, dense, off-white head showing strong retention.
Amber malts with rich cookies n cream-like notes open the nose. Cherry-vanilla-like fruitiness combines with wood to dry things out quickly and it picks up a lot of dullness, ending rather abruptly.
In the mouth it comes across initially as a pretty basic Belgian amber ale. Cherry-like yeast esters with cookie-like malts. Fairly soft texture with chewy, tannic character. Very low acidity and the sweetness eventually runs away with the balance. Kind of thin and watery, as well. Lingering cookie, toffee, raisin...gets quite monotonous with very little of interest.
Clear, rich amber with a medium-sized, dense, off-white head showing strong retention.
Amber malts with rich cookies n cream-like notes open the nose. Cherry-vanilla-like fruitiness combines with wood to dry things out quickly and it picks up a lot of dullness, ending rather abruptly.
In the mouth it comes across initially as a pretty basic Belgian amber ale. Cherry-like yeast esters with cookie-like malts. Fairly soft texture with chewy, tannic character. Very low acidity and the sweetness eventually runs away with the balance. Kind of thin and watery, as well. Lingering cookie, toffee, raisin...gets quite monotonous with very little of interest.
Tried
on 04 Jun 2018
at 20:17
7.3/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Draft at Brawley's with Rob Tod lurking nearby. Clear amber brown color. Vinous aroma. Taste is vinous port wine and burnt caramel with lots of tannins. A big beer.
Tried
from Draft
on 05 Apr 2018
at 13:07
8/10
Tried
on 24 Mar 2018
at 15:18
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
750 ml bottle. Bottled 12-7-17. Deep brown in color. Aroma is open, dark room, mild subtle bourbon. The flavor has some mild Belgian yeast with oak, maybe a dirty vermouth, figs, and oak. Has a mild sour hint in the background. Mild oak. Subtle port wine. The flavor profile is all over the map. This certainly is not my favorite beer from Allagash.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Mar 2018
at 20:32