There are a variety of ways to get sour flavor into a beer—and an almost endless variety of beers that you can add sourness to. To be clear, we’re honestly not the hugest fans of the term “sour beer.” For us, sour is a flavor descriptor and not a beer style. Sour beers can be dark, fruity, light, heavy, anything really. But that doesn’t answer the question: how do you make a beer sour?

One of beer’s most remarkable aspects is its versatility. On top of the fundamental ingredients of water, grain, yeast, and hops, a brewer can add almost any extra ingredients (unless you’re in Germany, where there are literal brewing laws about what you can put into beer). Ingredients found in beer today include fruit, chocolate, coffee, nuts, waffles, cookies, spices, cocoa, marshmallows, breakfast cereal, toffee, and so much more. This is not to say that WE use all of these ingredients, just that brewers, mainly in the United States, have really been pushing the limits of what can be added to beer.

Ten years ago, we sent our employees their first Best Places to Work in Maine questionnaire. Spanning all aspects of our business—from emotional support to physical workspace to compensation and benefits—and all departments of our company, the questionnaire gave us an accurate picture of how employees felt about working at Allagash.

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?