Allagash: Blazing Its Own Trail for 25 Years
Ask any aficionado or craft beer historian to name America’s most influential craft breweries and Allagash Brewing Company will be high on the list. This Portland, Maine craft brewing icon is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020, driven by the success of its wildly popular flagship offering, Allagash White, a classic Belgian-style witbier.
Despite the success and respect of its flagship, by no means is Allagash a one trick pony. This Belgian-inspired brewery that was founded in 1995 by visionary Rob Tod focuses on creating artistically balanced beers, regardless of the style. Besides the flagship White, Allagash is known for barrel aging and their cutting edge coolship brewing program that produces some of America’s best Belgian-influenced lambic-style brews. But it all started with one man and an idea.
A Brewery is Born
It was the early 1990s when Rob Tod began missing his East Coast roots after spending a few years living in Colorado. Relocating back east, Tod landed in Vermont and got a job working in a brewery. He had never brewed a batch of beer, nor did he have any aspirations to do so. He was simply looking for gainful employment. Otter Creek Brewing Co. in Middlebury became both his employer and his inspiration.
Naturally curious, the former geology major fell in love with everything he saw in the brewery. “I love to work with my hands, I love science, and I love the creative component of brewing,” said Tod.
July 1 is an important date in Tod’s life. Hired on July 1, 1993, he spent a year working at Otter Creek observing, asking questions, and learning. Exactly one year later, he began writing his own business plan. Wasting no time, Tod moved forward with his vision, including relocating to the Portland area. During that time, he came up with what he believed to be the perfect name for his brewery-in-planning: Allagash.
“Allagash is a wilderness region in the north of Maine,” explained Tod. “Since I didn’t think we’d ever sell beer outside of Maine, I wanted a name that resonated with Mainers. I thought Allagash had a nice ring to it, being a very important part of Maine’s history and culture. I really felt it would resonate with the locals.”
On July 1, 1995, exactly one year to the day after he began writing his business plan, Tod enjoyed his first commercial pour of Allagash White at the Great Lost Bear, a popular Portland bar.
Ahead of Its Time
Today, Allagash White sets the standard for the Belgian wit style in America. That success certainly did not happen overnight.
“I couldn’t give away Allagash White for the first ten years,” quipped Tod. When Allagash White hit the nascent craft beer market back in 1995, people just weren’t sure what to make of this cloudy, spiced wheat beer that wasn’t a hefeweizen.
Tod explained that he wasn’t looking to follow a trend and be like everyone else. “Why should I make something people can already get? I wanted to give people a unique experience with beer. That’s when I decided to make a white beer,” he said. “I didn’t look at it as being a visionary or as a niche, I looked at it purely from the perspective of people having an experience they have never had before,” said Tod. (Read more about the ascent of Allagash White in the sidebar below.)
Allagash Gains a Brewmaster
Jason Perkins joined the Allagash team in January 1999. Originally from Vermont, Perkins went to college in Maine before relocating to Montana for a year. There, Perkins discovered homebrewing when he got a job at the small Missoula brewery KettleHouse, where Perkins also bought homebrewing supplies.
“I fell in love with brewing,” said Perkins. “I moved back to Maine in 1998, working in a seasonal job near Portland at a place called Gritty McDuff’s Brew Pub. I wanted to stay in brewing and started looking around.”
Having taken courses from Siebel’s World Brewing Academy and the Master Brewers Association, Perkins was ready for his next big move. Knocking on doors brought him to Allagash. At the time, there were three employees: Tod and one full-time and one part-time brewer. Perkins was hired first
as a part-timer, quickly earning full-time status before eventually ascending to Head Brewer.
More than 20 years later, Brewmaster Perkins oversees all aspects of the brewery, including heading up the coolship and barrel-aging programs. Additionally, he leads efforts with local farmers and growers to plan for crops years in advance and also leads efforts for company conservation and innovation initiatives.
Balanced Beers
By nature, Allagash brews beers that emphasize balance. “In everything we brew, our goal is to give consumers new flavor experiences through beer,” said Perkins. While Allagash White leads the way, many of the brewery’s other beers have caught the attention of fans, aficionados, and beer judges alike.
River Trip is a low-alcohol fan favorite and often what Tod can be found drinking when not consuming his beloved witbier. A hop-forward, Belgian-style session beer, River Trip employs Azacca® and Comet hops to produce notes of tropical fruit and grapefruit.
One of the brewery’s newest offerings debuting in August 2020, North Sky is a silky Belgian-inspired stout. North Sky balances light notes of fruit and sweetness, reminiscent of date and raisin, with a subdued roast malt character that lets the yeast esters shine through. According to Allagash Brewer Patrick Chavanelle, “American and English stouts use a more neutral yeast for fermentation. The Belgian strain we use is far more expressive and the esters it produces integrate nicely with the other components of the beer.”
Saison is Allagash’s take on a traditional farmhouse-style ale. Northern Brewer, BravoTM, and Cascade hops sit atop a malt base consisting of 2-row barley, malted oats, rye, and an addition of Belgian candi sugar. Peppery spice notes emanate from the signature yeast strain to create a refreshing, dry, palate-cleansing sensation.
Nowaday Blonde, an ale fermented like a lager, is a brand new addition to the lineup. Combining Pilsner malt with Nugget, Hallertau, and Saaz hops, the Allagash house ale yeast is fermented at lower temperatures, including an additional lagering step, resulting in a crisp 5.5% ABV refresher of a beer with very low ester character.
Allagash Tripel, the beer with the complex taste made from simple ingredients, is also a fan favorite. Checking in at 9% ABV, this traditional tripel features 2-row base malt, Hallertau and Nugget hops fermented with house yeast to produce its award-winning combination of flavors. Tripel has twice won silver World Beer Cup medals and is a four-time medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival, including two golds.
Then there is the highly regarded Curieux, a barrel-aged version of Tripel. The beer is first barrel-aged for seven weeks, then blended with fresh Tripel producing smooth notes of vanilla, coconut, and a touch of Bourbon. This 10.4% monster of a beer took a bronze medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup.
The Coolship Program
After a trip of a lifetime with fellow brewing legends coined “The Brett Pack” (see sidebar below), Tod was ready to try something new; something extremely cutting edge. Enter the coolship. Inspired by his trip to Belgium, specifically his visit to revered Brasserie Cantillon, Tod wanted to bring a little bit of Belgium to the United States. However, nobody really knew if what he had in mind would work.
“Jean Van Roy of Cantillon is our peer,” said Tod. “We were talking about spontaneously fermented beers, specifically talking about the ‘fact’ that you can only brew these beers in the Senne Valley. Jean believed these beers could be brewed anywhere. That gave me the confidence to imagine I could do something similar in the States.”
Tod and Perkins went to work on designing a cooling vessel that would incorporate the naturally-occurring microbiota of the brewery and its grounds. The pair hoped and believed these microbiota would be the basis for crafting their own take on Belgian-style lambic beers.
“We didn’t know if it would work or not,” said Perkins. “We referred to it as an experiment for at least two years.”
Even prior to Tod’s trip to Belgium, there was hope for spontaneous brewing at Allagash, even if that chance was discovered by accident. “We have our own house strain of Brettanomyces,” said Perkins. “In 2004, we accidentally discovered a strain of Brett in one of our beers. Once we watched the behavior of what it did and the flavor and aroma of what it produced, we were excited. It produced very fruity flavors and aromas — especially pineapple, mango, and other tropical fruits.” Knowing this wild yeast was naturally present gave Perkins and Tod reason to believe great potential existed in the realm of spontaneous beer brewing.
“Lots of components go into lambic beer production,” said Perkins. “Brett is the key part. Lactic acid produces the acidity. Knowing we had this naturally-occurring strain, along with the encouragement from our Belgian brewing friends, gave us the confidence to move forward with this project.”
The respect between the Belgian brewing community and the Belgian-influenced upstarts in Maine culminated with Allagash being the first American brewery ever invited to participate in the esteemed Night of the Great Thirst event, a biennial celebration of lambic beers held in Belgium. Allagash’s participation in the 2010 event marked the introduction of its coolship-produced beers to the world.
Building the coolship took a lot of careful planning and strategic thinking. “We didn’t want to put it in the main brewery. We tried to separate the process as much as possible from the regular Saccharomyces beers. There’s a fan in the room that draws air from four windows across the coolship,” said Tod. The ceiling of the coolship space is made from pine trees that had to be cleared from the property in which the brewery was built.
“When it comes to producing wort, a whole different approach is taken compared with traditional beer brewing,” said Perkins. “We want to produce a wort composition — a feed source for the microbes — that’s very different from a traditional beer. Fermentation speed is very slow. It’s a 2–3 year fermentation process. For lambic beers, we’re looking for longer-chain sugars and starches to provide long-term food for the Brettanomyces. There are multiple types of microorganisms that take part in spontaneous fermentation. Brettanomyces is the one that finishes off the complex fermentation, so it’s important for there to be food leftover for it to consume.”
“It starts out similar to normal beer fermentation, except that it happens with naturally occurring wild yeast — no actual yeast is added. Simple sugars in the wort are consumed first over the first 2–4 weeks. After that, lactic acid begins to create acidity. Finally, Brettanomyces finishes it off, fermenting sugars that normal Saccharomyces yeast can’t consume. We use a turbid mash made up of barley and 40% malted wheat, trying to extract as much as we can from that grain,” explained Perkins.
The wort is produced in the evening and it cools overnight for about 18 hours until it reaches its ideal temperature of around 65 °F (18 °C). This is best accomplished when the outside temperature falls in the range of 28 to 37 °F (-2° to +3 °C). Throughout the night, airflow cools and inoculates the wort. Once the ideal temperature is achieved, the wort is mixed in a vessel known as a “horny tank” to ensure the inoculation reaches all parts of the wort. It’s mixed for just a few minutes before being sent into previously used wine barrels. The intent is not to barrel age or pick up heavy barrel character, the barrels are used simply as long-term fermentation vessels.
“After mixing, the rest of the life of the beer is in barrels, 1–3 years, most being over two years,” said Perkins. “We’re relying on those barrels to be a home for the microbes to be happy. The barrels allow for some micro oxygenation.”
Another key differentiator of spontaneous brewing is the cleaning process. “We don’t use chemicals,” said Tod. “We manually clean everything with water. You get a natural population of bacteria and wild yeast wanted for the fermentation. We don’t want to change the balance.”
The Four Staples
Malt
Like any brewery, the key to Allagash’s success lies within the four main ingredients of beer: Malt, hops, water, and yeast. When it comes to malt, the story of Allagash lies in its commitment to sourcing as much locally grown and produced grain as possible. In fact, the company’s mission is to be able to use one million pounds (450,000 kg) of locally grown and processed Maine grain in the coming years.
“It’s a 5-year goal that we hatched in 2016,” said Tod. “We’ve been working closely with local farmers and grain processors. We were on track to reach our goal until COVID hit, yet even with the pandemic, we expect to reach our goal no later than 2022. Jason is very technically savvy when it comes to grain and malt specs. He works with the farmers on the specs we need to make quality and consistent beer.”
“Occasionally we run into issues, which helps inform us. We look at the specs and figure out what went wrong. Over 25 years of doing this, we have a pretty expansive set of specs that we need from our suppliers. The right farmer can fit those specs. No one really thought of Maine as a place for producing brewing quality wheat or barley — including me — but working together, it has become a reality.”
Hops
Despite the fact that Allagash doesn’t make many “hop-forward” beers, hops are still a very important part of the overall picture. Careful attention is taken to choose hops that aren’t assertive, but instead meld with the other flavors in the beer, especially the yeast esters. To that end, Perkins and his team tend to favor more subtle, balanced hops like Saaz and Hallertau.
“When we do make hoppier beers, like River Trip, we make sure to not be too heavy handed, so that the hops are not overpowering,” said Perkins.
In the case of the lambic-style beers, the goal is to use aged hops that retain very little of their bittering capabilities but do retain their antioxidant properties needed to produce great lambic-style ales.
Yeast
While many breweries rely on just one or two house strains of yeast, that’s not the case at Allagash. Besides the house strain that produces the popular Allagash White, the proprietary Brettanomyces strain, and a strain used specifically for bottle conditioning, several different yeasts are employed depending on the style of beer being produced.
“Yeast is an incredibly important component of what we do here,” said Perkins. “We have multiple strains in use at the same time. Yeast is a very important flavor driver. We pick yeasts that have assertive qualities. We often select a yeast strain that will shine and be the star of the show. At any given time, we’ll have 4–5 different strains working at a time. In a year, we’ll employ between 15 and 20 unique strains.”
Water
It can be argued that water is the most important part of any beer, considering it makes up over 90% of a beer’s composition. That’s certainly the case at Allagash. Water comes from nearby Lake Sebago, one of the purest public water sources in America. It’s a protected lake, as are its tributaries, keeping the lake clean and pure, ensuring a fantastic brewing experience.
“It does not require secondary treatment for public consumption, which is rare,” said Perkins. “It’s just so pure. Also key is how well protected the watershed is around Lake Sebago. The forest area and the tributaries are also very pure. The water that comes into the lake is naturally filtered from the watershed. Portland Water District does a great job of monitoring the water. It’s a great water source for brewing, requiring only minor adjustments for brewing purposes. For example, we add some calcium to River Trip to accentuate hoppiness. But that’s about it.”
And then, 2020 Happened
Rob Tod continued to build his business with his trusty Allagash White leading the way, most of which was sold on draft. In 2019, the brewery produced a total of 100,000 barrels of beer, 70,000 of which was sold on premise to bars and restaurants (65,000 of which were sold in kegs). Having a devoted draft following is a great way to build a business, at least until a pandemic hits.
“Seventy percent of our sales was draft and that all came to a crashing halt on March 16, 2020 due to the pandemic,” said Tod.
Thankfully, the brewery was one year into a four-year plan to grow its off-premise market, having just expanded substantially including installing a state-of-the-art canning line. After assessing the damage caused by distributors canceling their draft orders en masse, the team pivoted and put its efforts behind getting cans into its markets.
It wasn’t just the brewery that had to pivot after the pandemic. So did Tod who, personally, was an early victim of COVID-19.
“I had just flown back from Colorado,” said Tod. “Just as a precaution, I planned to quarantine after that trip, just in case. I got sick during my first night of standard quarantining. I took it really seriously so I didn’t see anyone for two weeks.”
Yet, as a brewery owner facing a 70% overnight reduction in orders, Tod couldn’t just relax, he had to keep working, albeit from home in isolation. He worked 12-hour days while sick with COVID-19.
“When a business you’ve had for 25 years loses 70% of its volume almost overnight, you just go,” said Tod of how he managed everything.
After a tough April and May, the ship settled. Allagash is running on all cylinders, thanks in part to the new canning line and, not to be under-
stated, from having its founder back to full health leading the charge.
Conservation/Green efforts
When it comes to finding ways to reuse, repurpose, and recycle, Allagash walks the walk. The initiatives are endless and are baked into the DNA of every employee of the company. Finding ways to be environmentally friendly is never considered burdensome, instead it’s seen as an opportunity. Some of the countless efforts employed to help the environment include:
• Finding new homes for used materials, which results in keeping 99% of waste out of landfills.
• Repurposing spent grain with local farmers to be used as cattle feed.
• Installing a solar array on top of the brewery to reduce energy needs.
• Creating a designated “green team” constantly looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly.
• Using motion sensing LED lights throughout the brewery.
• Collecting used corks, which are sent to ReCORK to turn into sandals and yoga blocks.
• Collecting wire cages from Allagash bottles to be specially recycled.
• Reusing all packaging materials from bubble wrap to packaging peanuts and air pillows.
• Being a founding member of the Glass Recycling Coalition — a group of companies dedicated to improving the recycling and sustainability of all kinds of glass.
• Finding ways to use less water per barrel for brewing and cleaning in the brewery.
• Donating money to Sebago Clean Water Organization with the purpose of keeping the brewery’s water source clean and pure for years to come.
B Corp Certification
At Allagash, work-life balance has always been a cornerstone on which the company was built. The brewery has been voted one of the Best Places to Work in Maine for seven years running, thanks to a generous benefit plan that involves volunteer time off, a trip to Belgium after five years of employment, post-shift beers, and more. Being a B Corp gives Allagash specific structure to continue to improve the lives of its employees long into the future.
The company even provides a pilot brewing system available to anyone that works for the company, regardless of position. Beers brewed on the system are judged and the best of the best get put into production. Initiatives such as these expand the innovation footprint exponentially, giving the brewery so many more opportunities to create and develop its next great beer, all to the delight of the brewery’s devoted followers.
Allagash White: The Beer That Started It All (sidebar)
When you think about iconic, classic examples of specific styles from American breweries, some obvious choices come to mind. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Anchor Steam for California Commons. Heady Topper for New England IPAs. And Allagash White for Belgian-style witbiers. Five Great American Beer Festival medals (the fourth gold just announced in 2020) and five World Beer Cup awards will attest to the fact that Allagash White is the quintessential witbier brewed in America.
The Vision
It was Rob Tod’s encounter with Celis White that turned him on to the style around which he’d later build a brewery. Celis Brewery in Austin, Texas was the company created by former Hoegaarden Brewmaster Pierre Celis, often credited as the savior of the Belgian witbier style.
“I tried Celis White,” said Tod. “After my first sip I thought, ‘this is weird, I don’t know if I like this.’ I tried more, and by the third bottle I was fascinated by this beer. I loved it.”
Typically when a new brewery opens, many different styles are available, giving patrons options. Breweries in the mid-1990s were making standard, predictable beers such as pale ales, ambers, and brown ales. Tod wasn’t looking to be revolutionary, but he wanted to create something different. When he started Allagash in 1995, it was with a single beer — Allagash White. While that may seem brilliant in hindsight, in 1995 the average beer consumer was not familiar with the witbier style. That, and hazy beers were widely looked upon as being flawed. Tod strongly believed in his witbier and went “all-in,” believing if he was meant to make it in the beer business, it would be with Allagash White.
“When planning what I would brew, I wanted to give people a unique experience with beer,” said Tod. “That’s when I decided to make a white beer. It was somewhat against the grain at the time. I knew I accomplished my goal when people reacted the way they did to it, saying things like ‘what’s wrong with this?’ or ‘I’ve never had anything like this before.’ The downside was that it was so different that it did not sell for at least a decade. In fact, I couldn’t give it away for the first ten years.”
While saying he “couldn’t give it away” might be somewhat of an overstatement, the fact was the beer was not selling at the pace needed to sustain a brewery, long term.
“It wasn’t that nobody liked the beer,” said Tod. “Often, once people gave it a try, they really liked it. The struggle was more about the awareness of the witbier as a style. It was hazy and had spices where the average beer of the time was a clear lager or pale ale. So we had to do a lot of scrambling to increase our volume in any way we could. I was traveling all of the time, visiting as many bars as possible in all of the states where we were distributed. We were distributing to a bunch of places, many more states than we’re distributed to right now, actually. We were stretched really thin and just barely hanging on, but luckily we stuck it out until the craft beer environment started to change.”
Crafting a Masterpiece
Allagash White is not an easy beer to brew, due to the delicate balance needed to achieve the beer’s complexity. Two-row malted barley, pale malt, red wheat, oats, and unmalted white wheat make up the grain bill, much of which is grown and processed within the state of Maine. Nugget, Crystal, and Czech Saaz round out the hop bill. Coriander and Curaçao orange peel deliver the authentic flavor profile expected for a true, traditional Belgian-style witbier. Using any other type of orange peel will alter the character of the beer beyond traditional style guidelines. Allagash’s Belgian house yeast complements the lineup of ingredients that deliver a symphony of flavor without any single component standing out and taking center stage.
According to Brewmaster Jason Perkins, crafting a moderately hazy beer is actually quite challenging. “It’s relatively easy to make a clear beer, and it’s relatively easy to make a really hazy beer,” said Perkins. “But crafting a predictable, consistent beer with stable haze is a challenge since multiple components go into creating that haze, such as yeast, polyphenols, and proteins. You have to achieve the perfect balance for it to work.”
Tod stresses that balance is the key to success when crafting his popular White beer. “When you drink the beer, you shouldn’t be able to quickly and easily identify the ingredients in the beer,” said Tod. “There should be a spicy character, but not so much that any one specific ingredient stands out. You want subtlety. So much of the character comes from the Belgian yeast strain. To achieve the end result, you need the right amount of oxygen and a perfect temperature curve during the fermentation process.”
After all this time, you’d think Tod would want to change it up a bit, but that’s simply not the case. Allagash White is, and always has been, his “go-to” choice when he’s looking for a refreshing beer. “Not being able to pick out any individual ingredient is key,” said Tod. “I’ll discover a new flavor even 25 years after having my first one! The complexity is so important because it keeps you guessing.”
The Brett Pack (sidebar)
Inspiration can come from just about anywhere. In the case of Allagash Founder Rob Tod, his inspired moment came during a visit with a group of friends who also happen to be craft beer brewing legends.
Nicknamed “The Brett Pack” due to their love and admiration of all things Brettanomyces, this group of five brewery owners assembled to visit the holy land of wild yeast brewing — the Senne Valley of Belgium. Already leading the charge of American craft brewing, Rob Tod (Allagash), Tomme Arthur (Lost Abbey), Adam Avery (Avery Brewing), Vinny Cilurzo (Russian River) and pack leader and trip organizer Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) set out for Belgium in November 2006 to see what they could learn and bring back to America.
While today these five are considered brewing royalty to many, at the time they weren’t exactly flush with big travel budgets.
“Adam and I were roommates on the trip,” said Tod. “We were sleeping on these cheap foam mattresses with beds about four inches apart. We stayed in small, smelly rooms that went for about $25–$30 per night. Despite that, we had a blast! It was cool of Sam to organize this trip. Because of it, we all formed a long-term bond we probably wouldn’t have formed otherwise.”
Visiting several Belgian breweries, the group set its sights on Brasserie Cantillon, renowned for its expertise in crafting some of the world’s finest spontaneously fermented lambic ales. Here the group connected with Brewmaster Jean Van Roy who would support Tod’s vision of bringing true Belgian-style lambic brewing to the United States.
At the time, it was widely believed that brewing lambic-style beers could only occur in Belgium’s Senne Valley near Brussels. Centuries of tradition supported that theory, however Van Roy challenged that concept and convinced the American brewing contingent that this type of brewing could occur elsewhere. Realizing that Portland, Maine and Brussels, Belgium had some overlapping climatic similarities, a light went off in Tod’s mind, inspiring the idea that brewing lambic-style beers in America may actually
be possible.
According to DownEast.com, Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione said this about the group’s visit to Cantillon. “Rob and I climbed the stairs to the attic at Brasserie Cantillon — where they keep their coolship, the vat where the beer gets spontaneously colonized by yeasts and bacteria in the environment. We were sitting there with the roof slits open, the night air coming in, the steam coming off the (wort). We were just quiet for a second, and then Rob turned to me and said, ‘You know what, Sam? I’m going to build a coolship in Maine.’ That was a great moment that I’ll never forget.”
It took over a year before the idea of building a coolship went from concept to reality. “I went from ‘we can do this’ to ‘no way we can’ due to worry about potential cross-contamination,” said Tod. The adventurous side won out, and brewing commenced in December 2007.
Not only was the Belgium trip inspirational and informational, it created a connection with many of Belgium’s best brewing minds, helping Tod launch his Belgian-inspired brewing system in Maine.
“Our Belgian friends encouraged us to experiment,” said Perkins. “They monitored our progress. They wanted to sample our work as we were developing the beers.”
An important distinction at Allagash is that they never use the specific Belgian terms such as lambic, gueuze, framboise or kriek; they use “Belgian-style” instead.
“We know Belgian brewers are proud,” said Perkins. “Sure, there may have been some apprehension from our Belgian counterparts when we started down this path, but I think the way we approached it with respect to their craft made it easier for them to be supportive of our efforts.”
The coolship has produced some of Allagash’s most revered brews. Resurgam is a 1-, 2- and 3-year lambic blend made in the gueuze-style. Coolship Balaton is a spontaneously fermented beer aged on cherries. A similarly crafted beer with raspberries is called Coolship Red.
That trip to Belgium with The Brett Pack resulted in other spontaneous beers from other parts of the country too. “Ultimately the most awesome part of the trip was agreeing to collaborate on a spontaneously fermented beer when we got home,” said Tomme Arthur of San Diego’s Lost Abbey. “Isabelle Proximus came out of that and it was an incredible experience that we were able to steward here at our brewery. My favorite part of that collaboration was reading on Beer Advocate that the five of us would never be able to all agree on something to brew. Then we collaborated and created this stunning batch of beer. That is a legacy that I am always going to be proud of.”
Allagash Clone Recipes
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Allagash White clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.049 FG = 1.010
IBU = 20 SRM = 3 ABV = 5.2%
One of America’s most awarded Belgian-style witbiers, Allagash White
features coriander and Curaçao orange peel that delivers a refreshing balance
of citrus and spice.
Ingredients
5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) 2-row pale malt
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) malted red wheat
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) raw white wheat
0.3 lb. (0.14 kg) dextrin malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked oats
3.9 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 13% alpha acids)
4.1 AAU Crystal hops (10 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 3.3% alpha acids)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Czech Saaz hops (0 min.)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Curaçao orange peel (0 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) coriander, crushed (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout),
or SafAle K-97 yeast
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Heat 15.5 qts. (14.6 L) of strike water to 165 °F (74 °C). Mix with grains. The mash should stabilize at about 152 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes, then raise temperature to mash out at about 168 °F (76 °C), either by infusion of boiling water, decoction, or other means. Vorlauf until wort runs clear then begin the sparge process. Collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) and bring to a boil. Total boil time is 75 minutes, adding hops as indicated. After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add the final hop addition along with the coriander and orange peel bagged (it helps to bag the coriander and orange peel) and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. After 15 minutes remove the spice bag.
Chill the wort to 65 °F (18 °C). There should be about 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a temperature-stable place in the 68–72 °F (20–22 °C) range. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.7 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Allagash White clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.049 FG = 1.010
IBU = 20 SRM = 2.5 ABV = 5.2%
Ingredients
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) extra light dried malt extract
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) malted red wheat
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) raw white wheat
0.3 lb. (0.14 kg) dextrin malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked oats
3.9 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 13% alpha acids)
4.1 AAU Crystal hops (10 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 3.3% alpha acids)
0.75 oz. (21 g) Czech Saaz hops (0 min.)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Curaçao orange peel (0 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) coriander, crushed (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout),
or SafAle K-97 yeast
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Put all the grains in a steeping bag, then heat 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to 159 °F (71 °C). Add the grain bag. The target mash temperature is 152 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes. Rinse the grain bag with 170 °F (77 °C) water to top up to 7 gallons (26.5 L), remove bag, then boil. (If your brew kettle doesn’t allow for that large of a volume, rinse the grain bag with another gallon/4 L of water, remove bag, then raise to a boil.) When boil is achieved, take the kettle off the flame and slowly add the extract while stirring. Return to heat source and boil for 60 minutes, adding hops as indicated. After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add the final hop addition along with the coriander and orange peel bagged (it helps to bag the coriander and orange peel) and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. After 15 minutes remove the spice bag.
Chill the wort to 65 °F (18 °C). If you brewed a smaller volume, top off fermenter with pre-chilled water. In either case, the goal is to collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a temperature-stable place in the 68–72 °F (20–22 °C) range. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.7 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s River Trip clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.040 FG = 1.004
IBU = 40 SRM = 2.5 ABV = 4.8%
Good for any adventure, River Trip is a low-ABV, Belgian-style table beer with hop-forward grapefruit and stone fruit notes.
Ingredients
6.5 lbs. (3 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) flaked oats
6.5 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 13% alpha acids)
8.3 AAU Cascade hops (15 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Comet hops (0 min.)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Azacca® hops (0 min.)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Comet hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Azacca® hops (dry hop)
0.25 oz. (7 g) coriander (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout), or SafAle K-97 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Heat 12.7 qts. (12 L) of strike water to 162 °F (72 °C). Mix with grains. The mash should stabilize at about 149 °F (65 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes, then raise temperature to mash out at about 168 °F (76 °C), either by infusion of boiling water, decoction, or other means. Vorlauf until wort runs clear then begin the sparge process. Collect 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) and bring to a boil. Total boil time is 60 minutes, adding hops as indicated. After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add the whirlpool additions (with the coriander bagged) and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Steep for 10 minutes and remove coriander. Rest for an additional 10 minutes.
Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C). If you end up with a smaller volume, top off fermenter with pre-chilled water. The goal is to collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in the fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using a liquid yeast strain. Place your fermenter in a temperature-stable place in the 70–74 °F (21–23 °C) range. Add the dry hops on day four of fermentation directly into the fermenter. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.55 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s River Trip clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.040 FG = 1.004
IBU = 40 SRM = 5 ABV = 4.8%
Ingredients
4 lbs. (1.8 kg) extra light dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) flaked oats
6.5 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 13% alpha acids)
8.3 AAU Cascade hops (15 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Comet hops (0 min.)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Azacca® hops (0 min.)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Comet hops (dry hop)
1.5 oz. (43 g) Azacca® hops (dry hop)
0.25 oz. (7 g) coriander (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout), or SafAle K-97 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Heat 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to 157 °F (69 °C). Using a steeping bag, insert the Munich malt and flaked oats. The goal is to achieve a mash temperature of 149 °F (65 °C). Mash for at least 60 minutes or until converted. Rinse the grain bag with 170 °F (77 °C) water to top up to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L), remove bag, then boil. (If your brew kettle doesn’t allow for that large of a volume, rinse the grain bag with another gallon/4 L of water, remove bag, then raise to a boil.) When boil is achieved, take the kettle off the flame and slowly add the extract while stirring. Return to heat source and boil for 60 minutes, adding hops as indicated. After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add the whirlpool additions (with the coriander bagged) and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Steep for 10 minutes and remove coriander. Rest for an additional 10 minutes.
Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C). If you brewed a smaller volume, top off fermenter with pre-chilled water. In either case, the goal is to collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort. Add yeast and aerate wort aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a temperature-stable place in the 70–74 °F (21–23 °C) range. Add the dry hops on day four of fermentation directly into the fermenter. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.55 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s North Sky Stout clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.073 FG = 1.016
IBU = 45 SRM = 32 ABV = 7.5%
A silky Belgian-inspired stout, North Sky balances light notes of fruit and sweetness with a subdued roast malt character that lets the yeast esters shine.
Ingredients
11.5 lbs. (5.2 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) flaked oats
0.3 lb. (136 g) caramel malt (120 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) Caramunich® malt (57 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) torrified wheat
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) chocolate malt (350 °L)
0.1 lb. (45 g) Briess Midnight Wheat malt (550 °L)
0.1 lb. (45 g) roasted barley (300 °L)
0.3 lb. (136 g) dextrose sugar (30 min.)
8 AAU Northern Brewer hops (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 8% alpha acids)
5.5 AAU Cascade hops (10 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
1.25 oz. (35 g) Cascade hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3787 (Trappist High Gravity), White Labs WLP500 (Monastery Ale), Imperial Yeast B48 (Triple Double), or Fermentis BE-256 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Keep the light and dark grains separate. Heat 20.7 qts. (19.6 L) of strike water to 166 °F (74 °C). Mix with pale malt, oats, and wheat. The mash should stabilize at about 153 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes, then add the crystal and roasted malts. Mix until homogenized. Begin lautering by raising temperature to mash out at about 168 °F (76 °C), either by infusion of boiling water, decoction, or other means. Vorlauf until wort runs clear then begin the sparge process. Collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) and bring to a boil. Total boil time is 75 minutes, adding hop additions as indicated.
After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add whirlpool addition and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.
Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C). There should be about 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a temperature-stable place in the 70–74 °F (21–23 °C) range. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.65 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s North Sky Stout clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.073 FG = 1.016
IBU = 45 SRM = 32 ABV = 7.5%
Ingredients
6.25 lbs. (2.8 kg) extra light dried malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) flaked oats
0.3 lb. (136 g) caramel malt (120 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) Caramunich® malt (57 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) torrified wheat
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) chocolate malt (350 °L)
0.1 lb. (45 g) Briess Midnight Wheat malt (550 °L)
0.1 lb. (45 g) roasted barley (300 °L)
0.3 lb. (136 g) dextrose sugar (30 min.)
8 AAU Northern Brewer hops (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 8% alpha acids)
5.5 AAU Cascade hops (10 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
1.25 oz. (35 g) Cascade hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3787 (Trappist High Gravity), White Labs WLP500 (Monastery Ale), Imperial Yeast B48 (Triple Double), or Fermentis BE-256 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Keeping the pale malt, oats and wheat in one steeping bag and the crystal and roasted grains in another, heat 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to about 160 °F (71 °C) to achieve a mash temperature of 153 °F (67 °C) once you add the steeping bag with the pale malt, oats, and wheat. Mash for 45–60 minutes, until converted. Once mash is complete, add the dark and crystal steeping bag and steep for 10 minutes. Rinse the grain bags with 170 °F (77 °C) water to top up to 7 gallons (26.5 L), remove the bags, then boil. (If your brew kettle doesn’t allow for that large of a volume, rinse the grain bags with another gallon/4 L of water, remove bags, then raise to a boil.) When boil is achieved, take the kettle off the flame and slowly add the extract while stirring. Return to the heat source and boil for 75 minutes, adding hops and corn sugar as indicated.
After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add whirlpool addition and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.
Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C). If you brewed a smaller volume, top off fermenter with pre-chilled water. In either case, the goal is to collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a temperature-stable place in the 70–74 °F (21–23 °C) range. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.65 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Saison clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.046 FG = 1.000
IBU = 30 SRM = 8 ABV = 6.1%
Allagash’s interpretation of a classic Belgian farmhouse-style ale. Saison is spicy, light, and super drinkable, featuring yeast-derived light peppery notes.
Ingredients
7 lbs. (3.2 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) rye malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) flaked oats
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) dark rock candi sugar (30 min.)
2 AAU Northern Brewer hops (60 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g at 8% alpha acids)
11 AAU Bravo™ hops (15 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 14.6% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Bravo™ hops (0 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Cascade hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3711 (French Saison), White Labs WLP590 (French Saison), Imperial Yeast B62 (Napoleon), or LalBrew Belle Saison yeast
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Heat 13.9 qts. (13.1 L) of strike water to 162 °F (72 °C) and mix with grains. The mash should stabilize at about 149 °F (65 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes, then raise temperature to mash out at about 168 °F (76 °C), either by infusion of boiling water, decoction, or other means. Vorlauf until wort runs clear then begin the sparge process. Collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) and bring to a boil. Total boil time is 75 minutes, adding additions as indicated. After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add final hop addition, and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.
Chill the wort to 75 °F (23 °C). There should be about 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a warm place in the 80–90 °F (26–32 °C) range. Allow to ferment for four weeks, or until a stable gravity is reached. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.8 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Saison clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.046 FG = 1.000
IBU = 30 SRM = 8 ABV = 6.1%
Ingredients
4.25 lbs. (1.9 kg) extra light dried malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) rye malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) flaked oats
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) dark rock candi sugar (30 min.)
2 AAU Northern Brewer hops (60 min.) (0.25 oz./7 g at 8% alpha acids)
11 AAU Bravo™ hops (15 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 14.6% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Bravo™ hops (0 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Cascade hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3711 (French Saison), White Labs WLP590 (French Saison), Imperial Yeast B62 (Napoleon), or LalBrew Belle Saison yeast
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Heat 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to 157 °F (69° C) and add the rye malt and flaked oats in a steeping bag. The goal is to achieve a mash temperature of 149 °F (65 °C). Mash for 60 minutes. Rinse the grain bag with 170 °F (77 °C) water to top up to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L), remove bag, then boil. (If your brew kettle doesn’t allow for that large of a volume, rinse the grain bag with another gallon/4 L of water, remove bag, then raise to a boil.) When boil is achieved, take the kettle off the flame and slowly add the extract while stirring. Return to the heat source and boil for 60 minutes, adding hops as indicated. After boil is complete, turn off the heat, add final hop addition, and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.
Chill the wort to 75 °F (23 °C). If you brewed a smaller volume, top off fermenter with pre-chilled water. In either case, the goal is to collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a warm place in the 80–90 °F (26–32 °C) range. Allow to ferment for four weeks, or until a stable gravity is reached. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.8 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Nowaday Blonde Ale clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.051 FG = 1.010
IBU = 25 SRM = 4 ABV = 5.5%
A blonde ale fermented like a lager. Nowaday is fermented at lower temperatures, including an additional lagering step, resulting in a crisp 5.5% ABV refresher of a beer with very low ester character.
Ingredients
9.5 lbs. (4.3 kg) Pilsner malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) caramel malt (10 °L)
4.3 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.33 oz./9 g at 13% alpha acids)
5.4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (10 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 4.3% alpha acids)
2 oz. (57 g) Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (0 min.)
1 oz. (28 g) Czech Saaz hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout), or SafAle K-97 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Heat 15.8 qts. (14.9 L) of strike water to 162 °F (72 °C) and mix with grains. The mash should stabilize at about 149 °F (65 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes, then raise temperature to mash out at about 168 °F (76 °C), either by infusion of boiling water, decoction, or other means. Vorlauf until wort runs clear then begin the sparge process. Collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) and bring to a boil. Total boil time is 75 minutes, adding additions as indicated. After boil is complete turn off the heat, add whirlpool hops, and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.
Chill the wort to 50 °F (10 °C). There should be about 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a cool place in the 50–55 °F (10–12 °C) range. On day five, conduct a diacetyl rest by raising the temperature to around 70 °F (21 °C) for a couple of days.
Once terminal gravity has been reached place the beer in a refrigerator or cold fermentation chamber to get the beer as cold as possible without freezing. Allow at least one week for the lagering period. Bottle or keg after lagering is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.55 v/v.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Nowaday Blonde Ale clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.051 FG = 1.010
IBU = 25 SRM = 4.5 ABV = 5.5%
Ingredients
5.75 lbs. (3 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) caramel malt (10 °L)
4.3 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.33 oz./9 g at 13% alpha acids)
5.4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (10 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 4.3% alpha acids)
2 oz. (57 g) Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (0 min.)
1 oz. (28 g) Czech Saaz hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout), or SafAle K-97 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Place caramel malt into a steeping bag and submerge in 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water at or near 155 °F (68 °C). (Reaching an exact, specific temperature is not required as there is no enzymatic conversion happening in this recipe. Just make sure it doesn’t exceed 170 °F/77 °C while steeping to avoid tannin extraction.) After 10 minutes of steeping, rinse the grain bag with 170 °F (77°C) water to top up to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L), remove bag, then boil. (If your brew kettle doesn’t allow for that large of a volume, rinse the grain bag with another gallon/4 L of water, remove bag, then raise to a boil.) When boil is achieved, take the kettle off the flame and slowly add the extract while stirring. Return to the heat source and boil for 60 minutes, adding the hops as indicated. After boil is complete turn off the heat, add whirlpool hops, and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.
Chill the wort to 50 °F (10 °C). If you brewed a smaller volume, top off fermenter with pre-chilled water. In either case, the goal is to collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a cool place in the 50–55 °F (10–12 °C) range. On day five, conduct a diacetyl rest by raising the temperature to around 70 °F (21 °C) for a couple of days.
Once terminal gravity has been reached place the beer in a refrigerator or cold fermentation chamber to get the beer as cold as possible without freezing. Allow at least one week for the lagering period. Bottle or keg after lagering is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.55 v/v.
