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Rob Tod the founder of Allagash Brewing was in California the last couple of days and I had the chance to sit down and speak to him a bit about the brewery and what is coming up in 2020 for the East Coast based brewery.
The meat of the info will be posted on Food GPS for the next installment of Brew & You on February 6th and I will review the barcade in a day or two but here is a teaser photo of beer …
The Helpful SoCal Allagash Brewing crew paid a visit to Highland Park Brewing to do up a collaboration and come October, you can taste ½ of it. Below are the details from HPB…
“We got together & brewed up a hoppy lager using Loral hops as well as Roy Farms 1940 hops. Part of this brew will get canned & kegged for a future release. Another part of the brew will be put into oak barrels to finish fermentation there. Keep your eyes peeled for this beer to get released sometime in October.”
I have been a long-time proponent of tea in beer. I think Chamomile is great in lighter beers and also like Earl Grey additions to, so this lemon and tea beer from Allagash is up my alley. What will be interesting to see is if the Brettanomyces yeast takes over and blunts the tea/lemonade notes.
Allagash Brewing is dipping into the can side of #independent beer and though I would have placed a wager that Allagash White would have been the beer of choice, instead they have gone with their Hoppy Table Beer.
For those who haven’t had the HTB in a while, here is the hopping breakdown:
“Hoppy Table Beer is hopped with Chinook, Cascade, Comet, and Azacca hops, then dry hopped with more Comet and Azacca.”
At least this new IPA from Allagash does not have juice in it (perceived or real), but I hope that this is really Belgian and really barnyard-y.
I expect that a Coolship IPA is next unless I already missed that.
Sometimes you need an extra push to commit to a beer dinner. So, in that vein, check out this Boneyard Bistro menu and the Allagash beers that they are pairing with it….(One big plus is that you have some choice in this matter)
STARTERS
Pineapple & Green Chile Shrimp Sopes with Guacamole | Cotija
*Allagash Tiarna
or
Kobe Donut Sliders with Strawberry Jelly | Bacon Jam
*Allagash Avance
ENTRÉE
Crispy Jerk Fried Chicken with Mango Chutney | Smashed Plantains
*Allagash Victoria
or
Braised Short Rib with Ancho-Cocoa Mole | “Street” Corn | Spanish Rice
*Allagash St. Klippenstein
(another) or
Seared Scallops with Kafir Lime Rum Butter | Grilled Mango | Thai Basil | Fried Rice
*Allagash Little Brett
DESSERT
Bourbon-Cream Filled Churros with Coffee Dust
*Allagash James Bean
or
Stonefruit & Cardamom Cheeescake Truffles
*Allagash Interlude
The annual release of Fluxus from Allagash Brewing had sorta fallen off the radar with the influx of new beers from outside the state but an added ingredient and different barrel-aging has it back on the to-buy list when I see it on shelves. (which should be any day now.)
The 2016 version is a saison that is “brewed with a plethora of Allagash base malt, including barley, rye, and wheat. After a heathy dosing of Noble hops, and ginger root,
There are not enough gin and tequila aged beers out there and even less that start with a Saison. The question is how strong will that ginger be?
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.
Allagash will soon debut a new year-round beer, Sixteen Countiesto honor the sixteen counties in their home state.
Utilizing a malt blend from Buck Farms in Mapleton, Maine plus caramel malt, biscuit, and brown malt. If you guessed that the hops are local, then you win as Aroostook hops from Westfield, Maine are part of the bitter blend.
The new beer becomes available in April, 2016.
Has spring sprung? Hard to tell in Los Angeles where the sun is always in the sky. Even when it is raining. But here are three fruit tinged beers with enough alcohol heft to make them good selections for cool and windy days.
~LIGHT
Almanac/ Apricot de Brettaville 6.50% ABV
For this special release, we set out with the goal of making a beer where every ingredient and process contributed to one ambition: creating layers of apricot flavor. The natural flavors of the brett yeast create tropical and stone fruit flavors in the barrel, which we matched with a small mountain of San Joaquin Valley apricots and finish with a delicate dry hop of aromatic hops. The result is every aspect of the beer, from the yeast, to the fruit to the hops add apricot flavor and aroma – resulting in a delicious wild ale.
~MEDIUM
King Harbor/ Coconut IPA 6.70% ABV
If a tropical beach vacation could be captured in a beer, this would be it. the pineapple, mango, and citrus hop character of our flagship IPA blended with lightly toasted coconut creates a tropical party on your palate. Go ahead, drink it out of a coconut with a mini umbrealla. We won’t judge you.
~DARK
Allagash/ Evora 9.00% ABV
“Evora is a golden hued beer, brewed with a 2-Row and Maris Otter malt blend. It was hopped with Northern Brewer, Mt Hood and Sorachi Ace hops. The primary fermentation used a classic Belgian yeast strain. The beer was then aged for 16 months in Portuguese Brandy barrels with Brettanomyces. The finished beer exhibits notes of honey and stone fruit in the aroma. Citrus and oak dominate the flavor giving way to hints of bread crust. Evora is medium bodied with a fruity, dry finish.”