The last time I visited (which was also the first time) Portland, Maine I had a fantasico food and alcoholic beverage combo... Duck Fat fries and Allagash White Beer. It was a crisp, cool and fragrant orangy beer that cooled down the spicy and perfectly crisp fries... yes that had been fried in duck fat. It really turned me on to the beer. This time 'round, I drove so I figured I could load up on a few 4-packers of Allagash. Well, with a few hours to spare, my thirsty mother along for the ride, we just went and visited the brewery! Why not! The prices were amazing, we got a tour and tasting, and I left with more than a four pack!Allagash is not a huge operation. They started in 1995 and even up to three years ago, they only had 6 employees. Now there are more than 20. If you've never had or never heard of Allagash, go out and find some! I will tell you that they make delicious Belgian inspired beers. They make some Trappist style ales, wheat beers, and some barrel aged beers as well. They get their bourbon barrels from Jack Daniels because the owner loves him some Jack! These are definitely hand-crafted, lots of love and care, thought and trial and error is going into these beers. They are also using 100% wind generated electricity, so you can feel ever better about this beer!
We sampled 4 during the tour:
Allagash White - traditional wheat beer this has been brewed with orange peel and coriander. color: cloudy, lemon yellow nose: very frangrant, citrusy/ palate: crisp, honeysuckle, spiced citrus -- subtle. VERY refreshing! yum!!! This is their best seller - it accounts for 70% of their sales.
Allagash Dubbel - darker in color, made with 5 different toasted malts. Rich and slightly bitter, a distinct toasty espresso finish. color: dark mahogany nose: toasty slightly pleasantly burnt brioche palate: roasted coffee, chocolate, toasted malt
Allagash Tripple - this is one of those celebration ales that those wild and crazy monks would drink. It's higher in alcohol -- closer to 9% so you can really rock the monastery! I really liked this one too. color: golden nose: herbal, passionfruit, honey palate: slightly bitter with a counterbalance of crisp fruit. really tasty!
Allagash Fluxus 2009 - Every year the experimental folks at Allagash come out with a new beer under the Fluxus line. Even though the ingredients of the brew may change, it is always a saison style (traditionally a lower alcohol beer, consumed during the summer months by farm hands who were entitled to 5 liters of beer a day during the harvest season. They were generally brewed in the previous winter with a lot of hops - which has preservative and antiseptic properties) The 2009 is brewed with sweet potato and black pepper. I am a HUGE sweet potato fan, but there really isn't a sweet potato taste as much a creaminess to the beer which is so smooth and luscious - that I don't care what it was brewed with. color: golden/slightly orange a la sweet potato nose: honey and citrus palate: citrus, papaya. Also for every bottle sold they donate a BUCK to pediatric nurse scholarship!In NYC you can buy most of these at Whole Foods. Let me know what you think of them!
http://www.allagash.com/
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