Allagash (2020)

Any word from Allagash as to when their taproom will open again? I can't remember, do they have outdoor consumption space?

 

They do have a big outdoor area. They did a tasting room update in early June, but I have not noticed anything else. Maybe on social media.

 

They aren’t doing on-site consumption, at least as of Saturday. They are being very, very cautious. They are going with contactless pick-up. I appreciate when breweries have a super-safe approach. I guess I just like when I see a company taking this situation seriously. To me, it implies that they actually care about their customers and employees beyond the stock “safety is our #1 priority” every company is obligated to share with the public.

 

White is certainly a beer many people love to say is a classic but don't drink often. My wife used to drink it almost exclusively so we almost always had it on keg, I'd usually only drink it when we were trying to finish it off to pick up the next keg (I had my own keg which was usually an IPA). She switched to Gin and Tonics a while back due to the fewer calories so we haven't had it in a while. A few weeks back I found a few of her White cans left over in the fridge and was really surprised how much I enjoyed them, I've always loved the beer but I was one of those people who talk about White being a classic but rarely buys it. I'm pretty sure now I will always try to keep a few White's in the fridge, it has a long shelf life and is just such a great beer. I usually have a few Curieux's in the fridge but at its ABV its not really something you just drink on a whim.

I don't see the Saison that much either but I think there are a few actually in my overflow beer fridge, no idea how old they are. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many Saison options at the brewery last week. I picked up a growler of Saison Cycle, cans of Saison Violette, and a keg of Cascara Saison. I've only had a chance to drink the Saison Cycle, it was amazing. Not a typical Saison certainly but I enjoyed it thoroughly, kind of like the Curieux of Saisons. Speaking of not typical, I bought Hop Pilot #342 and loved that. They are really doing interesting stuff with hops, I had their dry hopped tripel about 2 years ago in their taproom which was also good.

 

Is switching from Allagash White to gin and tonics really going to make that much of a difference in terms of caloric consumption?

 

If it is a standard size beer versus a standard size gin and tonic you’re probably saving about 30 to 40 cal per drink by choosing the gin and tonic

 

Not really.

A quick Google search turns up about 170 calories in a standard gin and tonic. Due to the gin obviously and then the additional sugars from the tonic.

Given White is only 5.2% ABV, a 12 oz. bottle is likely to be about 160ish calories. Allagash’s blog has calories for Tiny House and River Trip, but not White. Some other Google searches indicated 175 calories, but I’m not sure if that’s reliable.

Anyways, doesn’t seem like it really makes a difference regarding calories.

 

I'd also imagine it's harder to limit calories when all you have to do is pull a tap to refill your glass versus measuring ingredients to make a GnT.

 

True. Although I wonder how many people are actually measuring.

Then again if you're counting calories, you're probably measuring.

 

I once did a story with a woman who owns a distillery specializing in gin. She sent me a bottle, but my question was, "How am I serving this?" Essentially, I wanted to make sure I was doing right by her product. Her answer: (1) buy good tonic, (2) measure.

Gin is my spirit of choice and I like to think I've perfected the g&t. Fever Tree Elderflower tonic, Hendrick's Midnight Solstice 3:2 ratio with a lime.

 

Have you ever had a chance to sample any of the Tamworth Distilling spirits? They make a wide range of gins.
This is the website description of their main gin product, but there are 6 or so options they produce:
After experimenting with a variety of herbs and botanicals in our seasonal Tamworth Garden Gins, we wanted to create a versatile, everyday gin using the best elements of each. Tamworth Garden White Mountain Gin combines traditional gin botanicals with a blend of Centennial, Citra, and Amarillo hops for notes of citrus and pine, resulting in a bright, fresh flavor. This gin pairs well with everything from a basic gin & tonic to more complex cocktails, while remaining smooth and interesting enough to sip on its own.
Tamworth Garden White Mountain Gin is a true New Hampshire staple.

 

Allagash White is generally not a very high calorie beer, from what I have researched you are correct in the 160ish calorie range for a 12 oz. can. Gin & tonic's calorie content is a little less clear and is also dependent on many factors (some of which you have control over). 170 calories is more consistent with a double Gin & Tonic, whereas a single is closer to the 100 calorie mark. You can get lower caloric tonic water as well which brings it down as well. For discussion's sake I think you can fairly safely say you can save about 60 calories per drink between GT and White. For 4-5 drinks that adds up but if calorie intake is your concern then its probably best to not drink at all (which she actually has done in the past few weeks).

Now that being said the calorie content wasn't the only reason she switched and I didn't get into that because it was easier to just say she switched for the calories and the details are boring . She felt better the day after drinking GT vs beer and she had more control over how much alcohol she consumed, etc..

 

Nope, but we used to venture up that way for bachelor parties once upon a time. Now we're all old and washed up. I'll check them out though. Thanks.

 

Beer has aprox twice the carbs which your body has to burn or turn to fat. Calories is not the whole story.

 

Your body rarely converts carbohydrates directly to fat, that’s a process called “de novo lipogenesis”. There’s rare instances where this can occur, but these aren’t normal situations. Like consuming in excess of 700-900 carbs a day for multiple days in a row.

Otherwise your body stores carbohydrates as glycogen in your muscles and in your liver. Once those stores are topped off, your body will burn the excess carbohydrate, not store it as fat.

Of course this can cause fat gain, just indirectly. If your body is burning carbs, guess what it’s not burning? Fat, which your body very readily and happily will store as fat if you’ve eaten more than you’ve burned.

Now the question most ask is, “Oh, well I can just eat zero fat and never gain weight!” Not exactly, but I don’t feel like getting into that.

It’s calories in and calories out barring one having something like diabetes, hypothyroidism...etc.

You’d be hard pressed to find a well controlled study that says otherwise and breaks the laws of human thermodynamics.

 

Old Raj, Q Tonic, 60:40 ratio, 2-3 slices each of lemon and lime. That’s my go to. And I get Plymouth if I can’t find OR

 

Well it turns out you are mostly correct but instead of committing to a date it's more like committing to take her away with you on a 4-6 week vacation. The next morning you are thinking that everything is really great but can you stand to listen to that voice for the next 4-6 weeks? You realize that at the end of the vacation you are either going to be regretting every single second or all of the other great qualities drown out the one annoying one and it might be love. Either way you are screwed...

There's a bit of a faint coffee taste but also a bit of fruitiness to it, its also quite hazy. I think it might grow on me but it's definitely different. If you ever had Mystic Kanzu its a bit like that but I preferred Kanzu. Its not really a Saison to be honest since the Cascara really overpowers everything else. Kanzu was a bit more subtle and leaned more towards the coffee flavor than the fruitiness of Cascara. Granted it's been about 3 years since I've had Kanzu. On the flip side prior to tapping the keg of Cascara I drank a 3 year old Allagash Saison and it was amazingly good for its age. I had bought a 4 pack for my wife 3 years ago and its been sitting in my overflow fridge ever since. Now that my wife is not drinking beer I'm trying to clean that overflow fridge out, might end up shutting it off. Anyhow taking risks always forces growth right? Still have a few Allagash beers to drink in the fridge that should be interesting.

 

If your bodys busy burning carbs (or alcohol) it won't burn off other calories you're taking in which will lead to weight gain. Right?

 

Correct, but the issue a surplus of calories. Not which macronutrient you're consuming.

 

Just got a can of this truepenny neva heard of a belgian pilsner before but i guess we have to add it to the new beeradvocate identities list. Eager to crack it cuz I’ve never had an allagash lager.