Barrel & Bean

bourbon barrel-aged golden ale + coffee

Barrel & Bean starts its life as our Tripel—a Belgian-style golden ale. We age that beer in bourbon barrels for just shy of two months, before blending it with cold-brewed coffee from Speckled Ax, a Maine coffee roaster. The sun-dried Ethiopian beans in the coffee are known for their stone fruit and dark berry flavors. The finished beer features rich notes of caramel, bourbon, and coffee.

9.6% ABV

12 oz BOTTLE

DRAFT

Allagash_Map 40 coffee beans Speckled Ax

Preparing coffee beans for brewing at Allagash Brewing Company

Allagash Tripel, Curieux, and Barrel & Bean

What’s the connection between Tripel, Curieux, and Barrel & Bean?

So what is the connection between Tripel, Curieux, and Barrel & Bean? Well, they all start out as the same beer; it’s just what we do to those beers after they’re brewed that makes all the difference.

Barrels for a good cause

To set the scene, imagine 417 oak barrels. Each could hold around 53 gallons of beer and had previously been used to make Curieux, our golden ale aged in bourbon barrels. Now, imagine turning those barrels into… food?

Barrel Aging: The Vessel as an Ingredient

“Selecting a barrel is as much a part of the brewing process as hop selection, malt selection, or yeast,” says our Brewmaster, Jason Perkins. “It’s another opportunity to add unique flavors.”

Allagash cuvee d'industrial emptying barrels

Why Blend Beer?

Blending beer is exactly what it sounds like. Practically, it involves a brewer sampling multiple beers and then determining (with specific measurements and careful sensory analysis) the right combination of flavors. In barrel-aged beers, this involves pulling nails from the front of aging barrels and sampling the liquid therein.