When Allagash comes a callin’ with a new beer, any beer blogger worth their salt will want to taste it. Such was the case when I got an invite to taste the new Little Brett from the Maine brewery at the cheese shop / deli, Milkfarm in Eagle Rock.
L.A. rep Hallie Beaune led me through a tasting of favorites forgotten as well as one of my favorite beers that just was re-released in our beer market. But let’s start with the star of the show.
Little Brett was started on the Allagash pilot system and the beer evolved from where it began. Utilizing Allagash house 2 row malt and their own version of brettanomyces. All the while managing to be at 4.8% abv. And be a complex beer and not watery. The initial aroma is Mosaic hop which transitions to some cool tropical fruit notes before the not so little Brett makes its appearance. It is very Brett at the end finishing with leather and barnyard notes. As with the other beers in the flight, the a uniform dryness completed the picture.
The taster flight started with the beer that made the brewery, White. I haven’t had that beer in soooo long and it was almost new to me. It was much more Belgian-style yeast driven. Very dry and I was reminded to swirl the glass to get the sediment moving and give the cloudy effect. Nancy, their yearly cherry beer was as awesome as I remembered. Just a blast of pie cherry flavor with a restrained sour/tart tang to it. If I had to pick a cherry beer to give to someone as a template, this would be it. Curieux was as good as always and I learned that a gin barrel beer had been made at the brewery. If it is as good as this Jim Beam barrel classic, it will be awesome to find.
Lastly, I had my first taste of Sixteen Counties, their Belgian Pale which has a Maine Grain malt bill and a slight touch of hops. I really enjoyed it. All of the beers had a simplicity to them. No gimmicks. Just a dogged point of view. You could really tell that these beers came from the same brewery.
By the way the Cheese of the day was Alpha Tolman. Milkfarm has a small selection of wine and beer to choose from with some pricey corkage but according to Beaune the sandwiches are great. So grab a beer and a sandwich and enjoy in the Cali sunshine.
