You Pick

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Wow, You Pick is an ambitious fruit salad that Allagash has concocted with three different berries and cherries too. But if anyone can blend this sour ale and get the mix to work, it would be Allagash.

#drinkitnow

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Dedicated craft beer fans have bottles stashed away either in a cellar or in the dark recesses of our ‘fridge but they do need to be drunk (at some point). Which is why whenever their is a proposal to head to the secret supply for a bottle, I like to promote it.

This time it is Allagash Brewing who are asking us to “drink some beers together that we’ve had stashed. The moment has come! ‪#‎drinkitnow ‪#‎getsocial 2.21.16”

No need to get all hashtaggy if you don’t want to but at least take a look around your beer inventory.

Business Tutorial – Allagash

Allagash Brewing Co. and on the occasion of turning 20 years young, founder Rob Tod gave the Bangor Daily News “20 lessons he has learned in 20 years of business.”

Here are the (7) take-aways that I think are most important for the many L.A. start-ups that are soon to open:

When you see trash, pick it up. “If everyone’s doing it, it makes a big difference. We have 93 employees who pick up little pieces of trash when they walk by them — literally and figuratively. If something’s not right, they take the initiative to do something about it. It’s just as important to do it when no one’s looking, when you are not going to get any credit for it. It’s a reflection of how much everyone at Allagash cares about what they are doing.”

Be relentless about improving. “Even though we’re constantly making strides with quality at the brewery, we’re never satisfied. Once we make an improvement, we get back to work and look for the next. There is always opportunity for improvement.”

Value the community you live in. “Maine has been extremely supportive of Allagash Brewing over the last 20 years. We have never taken this for granted. We love Maine, and we love Portland. Our crew’s hard work making great beer has made our philanthropy program possible. We focus our philanthropy locally, and everyone at Allagash is very proud of that.”

Don’t be a mile wide and an inch deep. “Jerry Sheehan, who runs a number of our distributors, told me this. And we learned it the hard way. By 2005 we were selling about 5,000 barrels of beer in 30 states and frankly not doing a great job anywhere. Around then, we made the tough decision to walk away from a fair amount of this volume and pull back — eliminating territories where we did not think we could be competitive and relevant. Now we’re selling 80,000 barrels of beer in 17 states, and I’m much prouder of the job we’re doing today in all of our markets. Better to do a great job in a small pond than a not-so-great job in a big pond. I think every business has concepts like this that are so simple they easily are overlooked.”

Smile. “Earlier today I walked by our kegging line and saw one of the operators who always has a smile on her face. When she is around other people on the line, guess what they are also usually doing? Smiling. It’s contagious.”

Do your thing. “When I made our first beer, Allagash White, not too many people wanted it. It was different — cloudy, spicy, distinctively Belgian. For a very long time it was usually the slowest draft line at the bars that were kind enough to keep us on draft. But I thought it was important to be doing something that was different. What’s the point in spending years building a brewery and possibly a lifetime running it just to make something people can already get? We avoid latching onto industry trends. We try to keep doing our own thing at Allagash.”

Stick with it. “If you are doing something different, sometimes it takes a while to get traction. It took about 10 years for the Allagash White to start catching on, but I’m glad we stuck with it and didn’t switch gears.”

Review – Myron’s Walk from Allagash & Sierra Nevada

As threatened at the start of the month, I will be reviewing ALL 13 of the special Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaborations in August.  I had my non-drinking wife randomly select the order and the second beer is from Allagash, Myron’s Walk.

“Myron’s Walk is a Belgian-style pale ale combining the best of our two breweries. It features intense citrusy flavor and a complex aroma from the use of fruity and resinous whole-cone Citra and Mosaic hops offset by the complex spicy character of Allagash’s house Belgian yeast strain. ”

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I took one sniff and one sip and said, yup, that is Allagash all right.  Put this beer into a line-up of their beers and it certainly would not stick out as a collaboration.  That coriander and a faintly Indian spice profile is right up front.  There is a lemonade quality lurking in the background that makes this a bit more complex and is probably the Sierra Nevada 1/2 of the equation but I wish it was a bit more prominent because the battle goes to the Belgian yeast here.  And that is not necessarily a bad thing but when I think of collaborative beers, I hope for a beer that is redolent of neither brewery in total.  While still having components of each.  As the beer warms up, I start to detect a hint of tea tannin as well.

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As we progress through the box o’ beers, I will start to rank them but as of now, the first two are pretty even.  Both were very flavorful.

Ghoulschip

Allagash has a Belgian twist to the Halloween seasonal with Ghoulschip. Aged in Oak barrels with pumpkin and pumpkin seeds as well as molasses.

Don’t know when or if it will hit the west coast so if you see it, grab it.

Repoterroir

Repoterroir is a mega-collaboration between:


“A distinct 5.5% ABV session-lager brewed with elemental, native terroir from the following collective of brewers: Sierra Nevada (wild rice, beets, cucumber, mint and carrots), Avery (Colorado alfalfa honey), Allagash (Maine purple potatoes), Dogfish Head (free-range Atlantic Ocean beach wood), and Lost Abbey (cage-free Pacific Ocean beach wood).

Born out of a backroom conversation in a Boulder restaurant and blooming into a full-blown cornucopia of a collaboration, Repoterroir is a coming together of like-minded craft beer compatriots. Brewed at Sierra Nevadas brewery in Chico, CA this sessionable lager beer reclaims the earthbound mantle of terroir from the grape-soaked, buttoned-down world of wine and repurposes it in a new sudsy sense. Featuring natural ingredients contributed by each of the five breweries, this unique and earthy beer is complex and layered but ultimately drinkable. Using the full repertoire of skills from more than 86 combined years of brewing knowledge and skill, this lager combines traditional (and not so traditional) ingredients into an ideal summertime brew.”

As with the first post of the day, I like the idea but it seems two ingredients too much just for the sake of equal representation. I can do without the carrots and beets. Color is the least of my beer judging worries.

Allagash + Library Alehouse =

What sounds to be a great beer night. Check this out…(from the press release)
“Josh Gil can often be found at the bar of Library Alehouse, sampling some of its wonderful libations. He also happens to be the chef de cuisine that earned Joe’s Restaurant its Michelin star, and he has a new project called the Supper Liberation Front — a guerilla style dining experience that sets up tables in an unknown location each week.

Library Alehouse will welcome him as guest chef for a not-so-secret night of food and beer pairings on Wednesday August 4. Rob Tod, founder of Allagash Brewing, will be co-hosting with Tom Kelley, Library’s Certified Cicerone™. Kelley will speak about the pairings while Tod will be introduced and interviewed by special guest, beerscribe Tomm Carroll of the Celebrator Beer News, to provide the dinner guests with a a behind the scenes look at the featured beers. Some stories about the “old” days of craft brewing are bound to come out as well…

This beer pairing dinner promises to be a unique gastronomic experience and of a caliber not usually seen — or tasted — in local beer bars and restaurants. The matching of craft beer with innovative cuisine is being taken to the next level, and the proof will be on your plate and in your glass.

Below is the menu, but beers shall not be limited to this. In addition some small release Allagash beers are sure to be poured.”

This event is by RSVP only. To obtain tickets you may visit
https://www.libraryalehouse.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=39

Wednesday, August 4
One seating at 6:30 p.m.
5 courses + beer pairings, $60 (plus tax and tip)

lil bites
with
allagash white

mackerel victoria ale foam, gari sheet
with
allagash victoria ale

red roast pork croquettes slaw, kung pao glaze
with
allagash curieux

lamb reuben two ways
with
allagash four

foie gras gelato stout swirl, kubocha tempura
with
allagash black

Coolships from Allagash

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Allagash is doing some experimental beers that are done coolship Belgian style. None are available as of yet which is a bummer. Here are the first three in the line…

Allagash Coolship Resurgam
This is a Blend of 2 year, 40% 18 months, and 6 month spontaneous beers.

Allagash Coolship Cerise
Coolship Cerise is a blend of 90% 2 year spontaneous with 10% 6 month spontaneous which sat on local Maine Montmorency tart Cherries for 3 months.

Allagash Coolship Red
The same blend as the Cerise, but sat on fresh raspberries for 3 months.