THS 36: Allagash Brewing Co.

Cask & Vine’s What’s On Tap: Jeff Pillet-Shore and Zach Bodah of Allagash Brewing Co!

Allagash Brewing Company started in 1995, as a one-man operation in a small space on the outskirts of Portland, Maine. Founder Rob Tod had worked in a brewery setting before and recognized a void within the craft brewing movement. While both German and British styles had become prevalent throughout the U.S., the ever-creative Belgian-styles were very difficult to find. Through his travels, Tod had sampled many of these unique beers and felt that the flavors and traditions of Belgium needed to be shared with the American drinking public. He designed a small 15-barrel brewhouse, gathered the finest array of authentic raw materials and began his quest towards the production of traditional Belgian style ales. Rob sold his first batch of beer in the summer of 1995.

Allagash Brewing Co: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Vimeo

Cask & Vine’s Allagash Take Over starting November 4th!

Bert’s Better Beers’ Draft Pick of the Week:

1. Allagash Coolship Resurgam

Coolship Resurgam is a blend of both old and young unfruited spontaneous beer. The name comes from the motto of our fair city, Portland, Me. It means “I shall rise again”. Coolship Resurgam won a Silver medal at the 2010 GABF.

2. Martha’s Exchange Flander-ish Red

3. Martha’s Exchange Whose Geuze

Listen to hear our reviews!

Kettle to Keg’s In the Kettle: Oxygenation

Ale Communications:

Omagh’s ‘Shawshank Husband’ Dug Tunnel From Bedroom To Pub Over 15 Years

An Omagh plumber tunnelled a hole from under his bed to the local pub 800 feet from his house over the course of 15 years, a court heard today.

Patsy Kerr had been summonsed to Omagh County Court after it emerged he had been the cause of a collapsed sewage pipe from a neighbouring house. Kerr told the court about his secret tunnel and the reasons behind it: READ MORE

The Best Beer From Every State

From Alabama to Wyoming, craft breweries are making brews that blow the competition out of the water. Of course, everyone has his or her favorite homestate beer, and opinions differ depending on whom you ask.

We asked our friends at craft beer authority RateBeer.com to help us come up with the best beer in every state.

Most beers on this list are imperial stouts and IPAs, but higher ABV (alcohol by volume) beers seem to be trending in general. Did your favorite beer make the list? READ MORE

Seeking to regain buzz, German beer goes American

BERLIN — In Germany, home of Oktoberfest and a five-century-old brewing law, beer consumption has been on an unstoppable decline, prompting Europe’s biggest producer of the beverage to turn to an unlikely place for help: the United States.

Oliver Lemke has been making trips to Colorado, New York and California, learning how craft brewers grabbed a sizable portion of the U.S. market. Lemke, who says his American counterparts have taught him to be bolder and experiment with new categories, is now expanding his Berlin brewery as the trend reaches Germany, where the number of micro breweries has increased by more than 30 percent since 2005 to about 670.

“We Germans were convinced we’re making the world’s best beer but meanwhile, beer diversity suffered,” Lemke said while sipping his newest creation, an India Pale Ale with a hint of grapefruit and mango. “Craft brewing is a lucrative and interesting niche and it was a mistake not to do it earlier.”

Germany, home to the world’s oldest active brewery started by Bavarian monks a thousand years ago, is synonymous with beer and the country’s 8 billion-euro ($10 billion) industry. Yet consumption and output in Germany – which has beer gardens in cities such as Munich that can seat 8,000, and more than 1,300 breweries – has declined for the past seven years. READ MORE

Jukebox: “Mango” by Scope & Figure

Leave us a rating and review on iTunes or Stitcher!