Allagash, Baby
This past weekend I was up in Portland, Maine and had the opportunity to visit the incredible Allagash Brewing Company. For those of you who have not had their beers they do exclusively Belgian style beers and they do them exceptionally well. The evening before I had the pleasure of tasting their Fluxus ‘08 at a very cool (and new) Belgian Bar Novare Res Bier Cafe. Inspired by the Fluxus I dragged my wife and some co-workers and we did their brewery tour on Friday afternoon. Some thoughts…
- I was slightly disappointed with the tour (albeit was much better than what most breweries offer) but in fairness to the guide she claimed to be the sales manager and wasn’t the normal person who led the tours (she almost forgot the 4th key ingredient in beer after water, hops, yeast, and _______). It’s okay, sales people don’t need to know what they’re selling anyway. That being said I did get to talk to one of the brewers for a little bit and had the opportunity to meet Rob (the founder) and chat with him for a minute as well.
- These guys are slammed. They just moved into a new space over a year ago but they are packed to the max. It’s great to see their success and cool that they have a strong commitment to great beer and quality (like the room full of beer aging in various barrels).
- Their beers are awesome. I was able to taste a few new ones like the Victory (brewed with grapes) and I have yet to find a beer of theirs I don’t like. Many kudos to them for pleasing my palate.
Some pics are below. If you’re ever in Portland (Maine, that is) you should check them out.
Jonathan, Joel & Jeff
August 15th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Water, hops, yeast and Kool-Aid?
August 15th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
No John. Kool-aid is only used in beers like our BogMonster (a failure) and Sweetwater Blue (I think the flavor they use is called “Great Bluedini” to be exact).
August 15th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Sweetwater used real blueberries when they first started brewing that beer. It was fun to watch them backwash the filter, with blueberries spewing out all over the floor. Now I think they do use a syrup but as far as I know there have been no incidents of a big red jug busting through the wall yelling “OH YEAH!!”
August 16th, 2008 at 11:55 am
It seems like we have a mixed bag when we hit brewery tours as well. Some of the local ones are great, and the corporate ones can either be too commercial (Budweiser) or worth a second visit (Coors, for example). It is best when the head brewer gives a tour (America’s Brewing Company or Two Brothers–as other examples). We really enjoy seeing how much of the process is the same, and how much is really different. The smaller the brewery, the more exciting the ingredients, I think. Rye was interesting to find at one place–pizza ingredient at another, not so much. :)