Category: Beer

The Brewers Association released it’s 2nd annual list of the fastest growing craft brewers on Wednesday. Two Maine brewers, Lone Pine and Mast Landing were in the top 50. Lone Pine is #5, Mast Landing is #24.

Representing 27 states across the U.S., these small and independent breweries experienced a median growth of 163 percent with the median size being 1,350 barrels of in-house production in 2018. Breweries on the list range from 50 barrels to more than 40,000, and grew from less than 70,000 barrels collectively in 2017 to more than 170,000 barrels in 2018. As a group, these brewing companies represent approximately 10 percent of total craft growth by volume for the year, and include 13 brewpubs, 35 microbreweries, and two regional craft breweries.

Hop Culture has included Allagash in a list of the best breweries of 2018.

They might have a larger distribution footprint than the other breweries on this list, but no operation in the world has managed to grow with more grace and integrity than Allagash. Every time I wear one of their shirts, I feel proud to support an organization that in turn supports their employees, their community, and provides an unparalleled taproom experience. Despite being a well-established brewery, Allagash continues to innovate with canned releases hitting the market and an increased distribution of brewery favorite: Coolship Resurgam. There are few breweries we could name that have never made a bad beer. Allagash might be one of them.

Liquid Riot is releasing Quiet Revolution, a dark saison, today at noon. Here are the details,

Aged in Fernet Michaud barrels with Trou du Diable native Brettanomyces strain, brewed in collaboration with Le Trou du diable – Microbrasserie, Boutique et Salon during summer 2017. Herbal and spicy with present fernet notes and funk forward Brett flavor, bone dry

The Press Herald has published an article on how “beer lovers visited Maine breweries in record numbers this summer“,

Perry can’t separate out summer visitors, but the Maine Brewers Guild says June to September is the busiest time for beer tourism (and all tourism) in Maine. In 2010, Allagash welcomed 9,000 visitors. By last year, that number had skyrocketed to 150,000. Some of that growth can be attributed to the brewery’s location. There are now five other breweries in the immediate area, along with one distillery, so it’s a popular place for tourists to come and hit a number of breweries at once.

and an article on “how Allagash White shaped the nation’s beer tastes“,

So what is it about White that makes it stand out? Its soft, cirtusy palate and delicate spicy notes stand out from many other styles, and it’s a welcoming beer for both new and experienced drinkers. Allagash’s rigorous quality control procedures ensure that the beer tastes just as good at a bar in Los Angeles, as it does in a flight in the tasting room in Riverside.

and Dave Geary reminisces about a brewing internship in the UK for an article in The Bollard.

In the early ’80s, I was doing an internship at Belhaven Brewery, near Dunbar, Scotland, an ancient and beautiful place. Belhaven (the name means “beautiful harbor”) is nestled among the rolling barley fields of the East Lothian coast, about 20 miles east of Edinburgh. Established in 1719, Belhaven is Scotland’s oldest working brewery. With abundant local barley, fine water from the brewery well, and access to markets up and down the coast, Belhaven was the perfect place for a brewery three centuries ago, and it still is today.