Allagash Brewing: Tasting Room

I've only been once but I appreciated the extremely reasonably priced flights.

My only real complaint is the wack way they sell their house beer. It is absolutely delicious but why are you making me buy a giant awkward wooden rack just to get some.

 

FWIW, the line this morning a half hour before opening was only about 50 people. There were several cases of La Vigne left at noon. And a good time was enjoyed by all...

 

They sell house beer by the four pack too now.

And line report: I arrived at open and was basically last in a quickly shrinking line. It was 15 minutes to buy beer. Most of wait was in the shade too!

What a great time. I don’t even really like day drinking but they have a new(?) 3.2% option that tastes great and doesn’t make me need a nap.

 

We stopped in for the first time since this change a week ago Saturday. I don't think there was a bottle release on the day, but the place was really hoppin'. I have to say I like the new options that are available and feel the prices are quite reasonable for what you get. You can try a lot of beer in decent pours for a few bucks. Food truck was pretty decent, tons of people, no jackasses. Good time and you can always wander across the street, too.

 

Can you imagine thinking anything from across the street or anywhere else in Portland is as good as most of what Allagash does?! I'll grant you Oxbow competes.

I don't know why it bothers me so much that people head to Portland and only seek out hop-forward beers (getting two cases of assorted hops, one stout, and one bottle of Coolship does not count as diversity in a beer haul). I don't think those people like beer. They like IPAs. It's like saying, "I'm a huge sports nut" but only watch pro football.

 

Hungout for a bit on Sunday. Bijoux and Eye Of The Swarm were so unbelievably good. Such a cool spot to spend the afternoon now.

 

This batch of Farm to Face is delicious!!

 

We visited about 8 breweries this weekend up in Portland and Allagash and Oxbow were the highlights of the trip. The Allagash tour was great, a free hour long tour and four free decent sized samples is pretty hard to beat. Other than parking being an issue at Oxbow we really loved their beers as well as eating the incredible fries from Duckfat. I'm a big fan of Oxbow after that trip. I could spend a whole trip at just those two breweries.

 

I try to make a couple of weekend visits to Portland each year - Allagash and Oxbow are the only two breweries that I always make sure to visit.

Despite now having to pay for beer at Allagash, I think the entire experience has improve substantially since the switch from free samples - the outside seating areas are a lot more comfortable and the quality, quantity, and price of the beers available for onsite consumption is outstanding.

There's nothing really unique about Oxbow's space, but it tends to be a relaxed atmosphere, especially compared to a lot of the other breweries in town. I just like the feel of the space. Their beers are unique and high quality, and the addition of Duckfat practically onsite is awesome.

 

I've shared this before (here and/or elsewhere), but last time that I was there, I looked around and realized that I was the only straight, white male in the place. There was a large bachelorette party, a couple gay dudes, an African-American couple. Then there was me. My point is this: I think there's something in the eclecticism of the place (the beers, the people, the artwork, etc.) that's welcoming for everyone. It's very unusual that I'm not surrounded by people like me -- white, 30's, male -- in a tasting room. I dig what they've done there in so many ways.

 

Oddly enough there was a bachelorette party there this last weekend as well. It was one of the most relaxed breweries I've been to in a long time. There's an authenticity to it. Where most breweries seem to try really hard to look artsy these guys just seem to do what comes naturally and it works.

 

Couldn't agree more. I'm starting to move away from DIPAs mainly because if I'm at a brewery I probably drove there, which means I need to drive on to the next stop. Given the choice I aim more for beers in the 4-5%ABV range and usually do a flight or half pour so I can try as many things as possible. If I find a favorite I'll grab a pint.

 

Not really about the tasting room, but, I like that Farm to Face is available on draft in my area. I have seen it at 2 places in NH so far. One always has an Allagash brew on tap, but not usually something in the Farm to Face league.

 

Just got back from a 24-hour Portland trip (fair game now that tourist season is winding down) and I'm happy to report that Allagash was the one and only brewery I visited on my trip. I took the industry tour, spend two hours in the facility, and could probably have easily spent another two there. From the dual brewhouses, to the canning line, Curieux room, bottling line, Wild facility and aging cellar, to the Koelschip and the industry bar, this is one of the cleanest, most hospitable breweries I have ever visited, and some of the best non-hoppy beer on the East Coast.

I really enjoyed the Brett Pilsner, the Brett IPA, 2014 Coolship Resurgam, Farm to Face, Shiro's Delight, Pick Your Own, and left with a wooden case of bottles and cans. For their troubles, I brought the employees some Suarez cans, OEC bottles, Kent Falls, and some Imperial Stout Trooper.

Lunch was Honey Paw, Eventide, and Duckfat (beat that) and dinner was Scales, Central Provisions, and Independent Ice Co. for some whiskey. Novare Res was somewhere in between. Breakfast this morning was Becky's, Dutch's, and of course, Holy Donut.

I miss it already.

 

Sounds like a great visit! I've really come around on Allagash in the last year I've lived here. When I used to visit, I always liked Allagash's space and vibe but found it a little boring compared to some of the other breweries. I have to say, since they did away with the free flight model and now offer pours, there are way more tap options, and seemingly several really awesome taps every time I visit. The last several times I've visited there have been several fruited sours and interesting, barrel-aged options. It's honestly one of the more interesting tap lists in town, which I don't think was the case when they just had ~6 beers, at least 3-4 of which of which were always White, Black, HTB, etc.

 

I see your point. I feel like part of it was that the beers on tap were mostly three beers you could get anywhere. For example, you’d get White, Black, and Curieux. All fantastic beers, but they were everywhere so it wasn’t much of a novelty. Best case was that you revisited some great beers you hadn’t tasted in a while.

In that way, it’s great there are so many more, new, taproom exclusive beers available. Add to that, the Allagash staff is the nicest around. They truly love working for Rob.

But on another side of it, I’ve been into craft beer for what feels like a long time. I’ve done the lines and the road trips. I’ve had affairs with all the styles. What Allagash does is nothing short of amazing. They’re consistent with the classics and innovative. That’s why I keep coming back and that’s partly why they, more than any other brewery, get my money.

 

wtf

 

I feel like my food hangover was actually worse than my alcohol hangover.

 

Does anyone have a sense of how busy this event might get?

I'll be in Portland this weekend visiting the in-laws. We have a tight schedule and, while my significant other loves Allagash almost as much as I do, we won't have the time/energy to navigate a slammed beer event.

I'll be visiting Allagash no matter what and am perfectly content picking up the options available at the brewery but if this isn't expected to be too crazy I might conveniently time our visit for Saturday around 4...