Allagash Curieux Ale

Costco has really upped their game lately when it comes to beer selection. They've always had a nice wine selection at good prices, but in the past few months I've been very pleasantly surprised to see the quality of the large beer bottles they have for sale. Last weekend, I picked up a bottle of Allagash Curieux for $11.99. That's about $8 cheaper than at other stores.

Curieux (French for "curious") is a Belgian-style triple that's been aged in bourbon barrels. It pours cloudy gold with a nice head and quite a lot of bubbles. The nose is gorgeous, almost like a wheat beer with banana, cloves, and oranges.

The taste is spicy! Really spicy. I think that's the bourbon coming through from the aging. This beer is for sipping. Even if it weren't 11% alcohol, I'd want to take it easy with this beer, to really savor it. The taste lingers on the roof of the mouth after every drink. It's really good, and it took a while to get through the bottle.

The next time you're at Costco, check the beer selection. Try something new. They weren't all $10+. There were also a few different Firestone Walker brews for $5.99.