Allagash Brewing Company

A vacation is always well complimented by a brewery tour and I was lucky enough to visit Allagash Brewing Company when we visited Portland during our stay in Maine a few weeks ago.  It took us an hour and a half or so from where we were staying but it was so much fun that there were no complaints during the car ride back.

The location of the brewery is far from downtown Portland and is nowhere near the water, but is definitely worth a visit when you are there.  The location is basically next door to their original building, which they now use mostly for storage.

The home of Allagash

The tours take place Monday through Friday at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm.  We were fortunate to be the only ones at the 11am tour that day.  Maybe most people have something against drinking before noon, but it was also well after the busy summer season.  We were able to sample the White, Dubbel, Tripel, Grand Cru, and Four Ale (four malts, four hops, and fermented four times).  Since The Wife volunteered to drive that day I ended up with the bonus of a second tasting of basically everything!  They were all very good, but I became partial to the Dubbel and the Four Ale.

The wife modeling some apparel

All in a line

Hard at work

Kate gave us a ton of information both during the tasting and while on the tour.  It is great when the person doing the tour is so knowledgeable about everything going on at the brewery.  It is amazing what only 19 employees are able to do.  A big thank you to Kate for a great time at Allagash!

Here are a few of the many pictures from our visit.

Me lagging behind

Bottling area

Just making the safety glasses look good

Big bottles . . . compare to the keg behind

Some of the good stuff hiding

Just yesterday, since I was wearing the apparel, I took the opportunity to pose with some Allagash brews pulled from the shelves here in Florida.  I am officially a fan!

Showing off the goods