Does the store ever have limited bottles for sale? I thought they made a standard ale u can get in cases at brewery or a bottle series?
Yes, but not always. (or even most of the time) They do trickle their limited releases out occasionally though. Last I heard their session ale sold like hotcakes and I have no idea if/when it's back in stock. Give them a call before you head over...
I picked up some of the House beer on Monday. Seemed like that had a decent amount left then. Didn't see any of the coolship beers available though. But like cbeer88 said, give them a call and they'll be able to confirm.
Last I went (about a month ago) they had House beer and regular staples you find everywhere else. If you're in the area, go to RSVP liquors - really solid selection and best prices I've EVER seen.
I live in Portland, here are my observations (hope it's accurate): Allagash Brewery Only Releases House Beer: Available Year round (I refilled last week). Sold by the case. $40 for the beer + a onetime $20 for the fancy wooden reusable case. Coolships - sporadically available. Last time I saw one was early summer (Resurgam), before that it was mid February at the Old HLT release (Resurgam). Believe it's $15 a bottle, usually limit of 2 per person. The fruited coolships (Cerise/Balaton/Red) were extremely limited brewery releases (see below). I believe Balaton was a one off, and as they try different cherry blends they'll keep it under the Cerise name. Not generally well publicized. It's nice to walk in and see them as a surprise. Brewery release events: Seems to be about 2 of these a year. Old HLT (this was the most recent, Feb 2012) and Ghoulschip were two larger releases that featured events/extras (pie eating contest, cherry seed spitting, allagash infused chocolates.) They gave people #s as they came in and let them walk around inside until their numbers were called to check out. Other (smaller event) limited releases over the last few years included: Fruited Coolships (Winter 2010/2011? I missed out on Cerise. But Red was fantastic.), Vreindien, Victor Francenstein, Vagabond, Gargamel, and Avance. Out of those, some bottles survived the release event crowds and were available at the brewery in the days that followed (Vreindien, Old HLT.)
We had house beer on friday and more in the tank. We're having some trouble getting the crates built fast enough, go figure... We're still gauging how often we'll need to brew to keep it in stock...we're sticking to small batches as it's low alcohol and decently hopped and we'd like folks to get it while it's fresh.
