Merveilleux is Marvelous!

Brewer-Allagash Brewing Company

Beer- Merveilleux

Style- American Wild Ale

ABV- 9.60%

Description- Allagash’s Merveilleux pours a hazy dark copper with a thin beige head that doesn’t linger to long.  The aroma immediately sends the alert that this is going to be a tart and funky beer with the Brettanomyces jumping out of the glass and attacking the nostrils hard.  The aroma has a lot of pleasing fruit characteristics with cherries and grapes, along with hints of oak, and a background note of crusty bread.  Upon the first sip your taste buds are attacked with a sharp tartness from the yeasts before a bit of cherry cuts through along with oak characteristics, following this the bready characteristics make an appearance before a sharp, crisp, and dry finish.  The flavors are very complex within this beer and make every sip a wild and enjoyable ride.  The medium mouth feel and high carbonation hide the 9.6% ABV very well with no alcohol heat coming through at all.

Food pairing – Merveilleux is truly a wonderful beer to enjoy on its own, so I recommend that you pick up more than one bottle to try it alone and a second to have with some fabulous food pairings.  The tartness within Merveilleux make a great match with venison steaks covered in a sour cherry sauce, or if you are even more daring try switching out the venison for wild boar instead.  Merveilleux is also a wonderful match for crab in any form; the sweetness from the crab will melt into the tartness of the beer and create a wonderfully complex flavor experience.  This beer could also make a great appearance during your next brunch when paired with a succulent goat cheese omelet. 

The Final Word – Merveilleux is an absolutely marvelous beer, which works out because Merveilleux is French for marvelous.  Allagash is truly a world class brewery that consistently produces amazing beers and this is truly one of their best.  It is also an amazing process to create this beer.  Merveilleux is actually a blend of 5 different beers fermented in a mix of both bourbon and wine barrels.  The thought and care that went into creating this beer shines through.  If you are a fan of beers such as Rodenbach, Supplication by Russian River, or Duchesse De Bourgogne, do yourself a favor and hunt this beer down, it is absolutely amazing, the only negative thing that can be said is that is a limited release.

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Where can I get it? -  It is only available in375 ML bottles for limited fall release.  However, it is currently available at: Jcs Fireside- Trevose, PA; The Greeks- Newtown, NJ; Country Liquor Store- Hope, NJ; and The Local Table and Tap-Kauneonga Lake, NY