Category: Beer

#2 Brewery of the Decade

| Posted in Beer

Allagash is in the #2 slot in Paste magazine’s list of The 25 Best American Breweries of the Decade (via a post from A Blog About Beer).

Allagash is like a little slice of Belgium without those pesky language barriers. Using Belgian yeasts and coloring brilliantly inside the style lines as with their flagships White, Dubbel and Triple, what really makes this Maine brewery special is their series of barrel-aged beers, led by Curiuex, Interlude and Fluxus—the latter of which includes sweet potatoes and black pepper in its recipe. We’re also impressed with tweaks to standards like the quad Allagash Four that blends four malts, hops and sugars.

Shipyard Wins Silver

| Posted in Beer

According to A Blog About Beer, Shipyard recently received recognition for their XXXX IPA at a competition in Sweeden.

Of course it’s always a treat to see local boys doing well, so I was pleased to hear the news this morning that Shipyard’s XXXX IPA (the third installment in the brewery’s four-beer-strong Puglsey Signature Series) recently won a silver medal at the Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Festival in the “Ale Modern Style 6% and Above” category. According to the Shipyard press release, the Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Festival is one of Europe’s largest trade and consumer shows and Shipyard was just one of ten U.S. breweries to medal at the festival.

Allagash Vagabound Ale

| Posted in Beer

A Blog About Beer has published a report on the scene at this morning’s launch of Vagabound Ale,

Today I arrived at 8:40, parked half-way down the street, and got in a line which was all the way out the side door and through the loading area of the brewery itself (before you even get to the gift shop). Everyone in line got two tickets – one for two bottles of Vagabond (no ticket = no beer) and one for a free Belgian waffle. There were also huge vats of free coffee for everyone. It really was a festive event.

And Portland Food Heads has published his first impressions of the limited release beer,

Well, one thing I will say is that this was an incredible beer. It poured a dark, murky amber with a small head. The immediate smell was that of dried fruit, like many of Allagash’s darker offerings. At first sip, macerated cherries hit me right off the bat with a surprisingly strong backing of carbonation…It’s actually pretty unfortunate that this beer will not be available anymore; it’s one of the better offerings I’ve tasted from Allagash, and I’ve tasted most of them.

Harpoon Beer Dinner Report

| Posted in Beer

About Town has published a report on last week’s Harpoon beer dinner at David’s.

local blue cheese bisque “shooter” with cayenne and celery salt popcorn: This was the least-familiar of the concepts: a chicken-stock reduction with blue cheese liquefied and served in a shot glass, with a small chunk of blue cheese and the aforementioned popcorn. You nibble the cheese, do the “shot” (which was far creamier than I had expected, and was the texture – though not at all the flavor – of an incredibly dense, thick New England clam chowder), and then munch on the popcorn, which cut through the thickness and richness with a little spice and crunch. I wanted a straw to suck up the last of the shot.

Launch of Vagabond Ale

| Posted in Beer

A Blog About Beer has a report on the anticipated October 19th launch of Allagash’s Vagabond Ale.

Now the exciting part. Just like with Garamel, Allagash is releasing Vagabond on a VERY limited basis. The beer — of which there are only 500 bottles — will be available ONLY at the Brewery (on Industrial Way in Portland) and ONLY from 9am to 6pm on Monday, October 19th. There is a 2 bottles per person limit and each bottle will cost $10.

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Review

| Posted in Reviews, Beer

Blog About Beer has published a review of Smashed Pumpkin, the Puglsey Signature Series beer from Shipyard.

But best of all, all of the spices from the nose are there in the taste, too. Plus some real pumpkin tastes — like the actual gourd, not just the pie — too. the wheat and munich malts lend a nice bready, biscuity flavor too, which compliments the spices. A bit of the hop bite and the warming alcohol bite (forgot to mention that this “imperial-style” brew weighs in at 9% abv) come through in the finish, too. Especially as the beer warms to room temperature.

Bartenders and more

| Posted in Farming, Distilling & Cocktails, People, Beer, Reviews

The new issue of The Maine Switch includes a feature article on Portland’s favorite bartenders.

Here in booze-loving Portland, we’re lucky to have an abundance of excellent bartenders. Which explains why when Switch reached out to readers, friends, bar flies and the Twitterverse asking for the names of the city’s favorite drink mixers, we were flooded with responses. We took the top suggestions, stirred them with our own bar experiences and these nine individuals rose to the top. Here they share outlandish bar stories and hangover cures, plus pepper us with drinks both beloved and loathed.

As well as a restaurant review of The Frog and Turtle, a guide to Maine beer and an interesting piece on the Maine Local 20 Project. Maine Local 20 is an effort by MOFGA to determine how well matched Maine’s food production and consumption are.

In contrast, we don’t grow nearly enough carrots to supply our local needs, which explains why the vast majority of carrots on grocery store shelves are trucked in from California. Right now, carrots are grown on roughly 30 acres of Maine farmland, but this would need to jump to about 700 to 800 acres to support Maine’s carrot habit. Even though Maine has a short growing season, carrots are a root crop that stores well and could be stockpiled for the winter.

Cheap Beer

| Posted in Beer

Now that I’ve got your attention let me tell you about a new website called Portland Taps. Portland Taps is a guide to beer and bars in Portland. What makes the site notable is that they’ve gathered together into one location the price lists for beer taps at bars all across the city. If your goal is to drink the absolute cheapest beer in the city, you can quickly learn that for for $1.50 you can get Genessee Cream Ale at Mathews, a PBR at Shack’s, or a Busch at Ernie’s or The Frosty Pint. If you just want to see the full beer menu at the venues they list you can do that too. The site can also help you find the bars where a particular brew is available.