Allagash Brewing Company Coolship Balaton

Coolship Balaton

 

Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, United States 🇺🇸

  Lambic Style - Kriek Rotating Out of Production
Score
7.27
ABV: 5.9% IBU: - Ticks: 6
Coolship Balaton is a blend of spontaneously fermented beer aged on Balaton cherries. This beer is brewed with Pilsner malt, 40% raw wheat and aged hops, then cooled in a traditional coolship and fermented only with the resident microflora. All of the fermentation and aging takes place in French oak wine barrels over several years, with two pounds per gallon of fresh Maine cherries added near the end of the aging process.

The finished beer is bright red in color with cherry and oak in the aroma. Cherries dominate the flavor, along with funk and hints of dried apricot. The finish is tart and dry. We made this beer once in 2011 and released a new batch in 2019.
 

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6.5
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 5.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

2019 bottle from trade. Initial pour is kind of pinkish, with an even pinker parfait head. Smell of tart cherry and horse blanket funk. Taste actually starts with a bit of sweet cherry before tartness sets in. Funk gets stronger further down, almost more than I can manage.

Tried from Bottle on 26 Jun 2025 at 02:49


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle at the July 2023 DC RB Tasting. Poured a nice, deep red color with a small pinkish head. Aroma was big sour cherry skins. Flavor was pleasant fruit, some tartness. A touch of acid. Really good stuff.

Tried from Bottle on 14 Aug 2023 at 03:43


7.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Cherry and grapefruit Bretta. Reddish pour with ok pink foam. Tart finish. Nice cherry profile. Bottle.

Tried from Bottle on 29 Jul 2023 at 21:25


7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

375ml pours a fairly clear, garnet red with some pink head. Nose is dusty, their base beer is there with some funk, lambrusco, chewy cherry and some fruit roll up. Flavor is big fruit roll up and cherry, natural wine, some cranberry. Finishes medium bodied, medium high acid, long lasting cherry fruit. January 2019 bottling.

Tried on 29 Jul 2023 at 20:34


8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle @ Stephen’s house, courtesy of bardwashrind. Muchas gracias, Andre! Pours a hazy, grapefruity reddish orange appearance with an off white head. Super rich, juicy, rich wild cherry, herbal/a touch woody, pretty funky, cherry skin, fairly spicy, a bit oaky aroma. A touch watery, wild cherry, tangy herbal, light barnyard, moderately tart, light vanilla, just a little cheesy, a bit funky flavor. Not as much going on as the Coolship Cerise, but a delicious beer nonetheless. It was kind of like eating cherries off of a wild tree on a farm. Fun stuff.

Tried from Bottle on 15 Dec 2012 at 17:19


8.3
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle shared at tasting at my house. Pours pinkish red with a white head. Nose and taste of dirt covered cherries, earth, light cherry vinegar, oak and funk. Moderate acidity. Medium body. Good balance.

Tried from Bottle on 11 Nov 2012 at 17:39