(Portland, ME) – Allagash Brewing has received label approval for Victor Francenstein.

[8/19 Update: From the brewery: “Victor Francenstein now available at the brewery retail store! Limit 2 per person. Retail store hours Mon – Fri 10-5, Sat 11-3.”]

[7/26 Update: 500 bottles and likely to be an unannounced release. Better watch the media channels (BA, Facebook, Twitter) closely!]

The brewery announced on Twitter back in May that Victor Francenstein would hit 375ml bottles eventually. Here’s a pic of the brewing team preparing to rack barrels. The expectation is that these will go on sale only at the store and whether there will be a formal announcement for a release is unknown [ed. note: email is out to the brewery for a date & bottle count on these].

The debate as to whether limited releases should be announced is popular in the beery underworld and will only heat up as more breweries experiment with barrels and bugs. Reward the locals or give fans from afar an opportunity?

In the case of Allagash, the Gargamel release in May of last year drew some local fans. The release of Vagabond later in the fall was a different story with a long line outside the brewery in the early morning hours.

As for Mr. Francenstein, this beer debuted at the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston in February and was described as “2008 Victor aged in a cask w/ bugs and 2009 Cabernet Franc grapes.” It weighs in at 9.7% ABV.

For more on Allagash barrel room activities, check out this CraftBeer.com write-up from Brewer, Dee Dee Germain.