Brewery Spotlight: Allagash Brewing Co. in Portland, Maine
During our recent trip to Portland, Maine, we had the opportunity to stop by Allagash Brewing Co., and y'all, what a stop this one was!
This stunning location had such an incredible variety of brews, and we loved learning all about the history of Allagash.
In this interview, we chatted with Mike Elvin, Marketing Specialist at Allagash, and learned all about what makes Allagash unique.
About the Brewery
Work For Your Beer (WFYB): We are so excited to be chatting with you, Mike! What year did Allagash Brewing Co. open and what's one fact we may not know about Allagash?
Mike (M): Allagash opened in 1995. For the first ten-ish years that we brewed Allagash White, people really didn't know what to do with the beer. It was hazy and had fruit and spice added, which was definitely an oddity at the time. Remember, this was decades before hazy New England-style IPAs became all the rage. Folks were used to very clear lagers and a few pale ales, so it was an uphill battle to sell it. Our founder, Rob, would hang out at the handful of bars pouring it at the time and buy pints of Allagash White for other people at the bar so they’d give it a try.
WFYB: That's such an interesting backstory — gotta love the hustle! Why do you think people should visit Allagash Brewing when in town versus the plethora of other breweries around? What really makes y'all unique?
M: We specialize in Belgian-style beers and have lots (and lots) of options that we only serve here in our outdoor beer garden at our brewery. We’re also home to the Bite Into Maine food truck, serving lobster rolls, whoopie pies, and all sorts of other goodies.
WFYB: We loved the variety you had on tap — and you better believe we chowed down on some lobster rolls before we started our tasting. Yum!
Let’s Talk Beer
WFYB: We think we know the answer to this, but: what's the most popular beer you sell?
M: Our signature Belgian-style witbier, Allagash White, which comprises roughly 80% of our sales.
The quality and consistency of Allagash White has only made it better over the years. Our team of brewers—not to mention our onsite lab—puts a ton of effort into ensuring that every batch is as tasty as can be. Our founder, and the creator of Allagash White, Rob Tod, is famous for saying that he finds something new to love every time he drinks it.
WFYB: We love Allagash White — it's such a great staple to have on-hand in our beer fridge at all times, and we love to hear that y'all are passionate about quality. Now, let's pivot a bit. What is the weirdest beer you’ve ever made (whether you sold it or not)?
M: Ha! We sure do have a candidate for this one. Our Coolship series of spontaneously fermented ales would have to take the top slot here. Back in 2007, Rob and our brewmaster Jason Perkins fell in love with the lambic style of beer on a trip to Belgium, and they decided to be the first at attempting to make that style here in the U.S. They bought a coolship—a large, shallow metal pan—and built a shed around it, for the specific purpose of inoculating that wort with wild microbiota in the cold Maine air. This process, in theory, leads to spontaneous fermentation over a period of years in oak barrels, producing an incredibly complex, tart, funky, and delicious ale. Until that point, this had only been accomplished in a specific region in Belgium and possibly the Netherlands, so they weren’t sure it would even work. Thankfully it did, because these beers are weird, wild, and wonderful.
WFYB: Honestly, we are huge fans of the Coolship series. Spontaneous fermentation is such a fun concept, and we love how y'all continue to push the limits. Now for a fan-favorite question: if you had to make the perfect mixed six-pack, what beers would you include in it?
M:
Allagash White (witbier)
Coolship Resurgam (spontaneously fermented blended ale)
Tripel (Belgian-style golden strong ale)
Curieux (our Tripel aged in bourbon barrels)
From Maine, With Love #14 (a mashup of a schwarzbier and a biere de garde from our pilot system, only available at the brewery)
Interlude (strong saison partially fermented with wild yeast in red wine barrels)
WFYB: This sounds like a six-pack we'd love to dive into!
Let’s Focus on Community
WFYB: We love to learn more about how craft breweries give back to their local communities — tell us about how you give back to Portland, Maine.
M: Since the very beginning, Rob has prioritized giving back to the Maine community that we’ve called home. As the brewery has grown, and especially now that we’re a Certified B Corp, we’re at a point where we can make a significant impact here in our home state.
Every Allagash employee receives sixteen hours of paid volunteer time annually to assist local charities, and last year, we donated over $400,000 to Maine-based nonprofits. An additional $100,000 was raised by guests in our tasting room and donated through our Charitable Partner program. We aim to exceed that number in 2022.
WFYB: Wow! That's incredible! How do you make sure that Allagash is inclusive?
M: Great question - we do it in a few different ways.
First, we have a code of conduct for our tasting room space. It’s posted on the wall for all to see, as well as on the Visit page of our website.
We’re also committed to attracting and supporting employees that fully represent the gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the communities in which we make and sell beer—and we actively seek applications from underrepresented groups.
We’ve also recently worked with our friends at In Her Presence—a nonprofit that is all about empowering immigrant women—to attract interns from our burgeoning immigrant community. That program has been a great success: our first two interns both ended up becoming full-time employees.
WFYB: We LOVE to see it. Well done, y'all. Final question: how do you ensure your brewery is sustainable?
M: From using less water per barrel of beer to keeping more waste out of the landfill, we look at everything we do with an eye toward sustainability here at Allagash.
As a Certified B Corp, we view all of our sustainability practices as powerful ways to be a positive member of our community, both local and global. For example, we use more than 1 million pounds of locally grown and processed grain per year; we keep 99.8% of our waste out of the landfill by side streaming and hosting the Allagash Recycling Co-op, enabling local breweries to join our recycling processes; and we compost and/or recycle the vast majority of waste generated in our tasting room.
Our water source (Sebago Lake) is vital to us, so we donate money for every barrel of beer we brew to Sebago Clean Waters—last year, that totaled $10,000. We also purchase wind credits and have a solar array installed on our roof, the latter of which has saved 313,241lbs of CO2 since 2005.
WFYB: We are so impressed with everything y'all do. From great beer to community involvement — you're the real deal, and we are so happy we were able to visit!
Huge thank you to Mike for taking the time out of his day to chat with us.
If you're visiting Portland, Maine, we highly recommend you stop by Allagash. Grab a few beers and a lobster roll, and we promise you'll have an amazing time.
Want to be considered for an upcoming feature? Email cheers@workforyourbeer.com to set up an interview!