Beer 101 Archives - Allagash Brewing Company

Beer 101 Blog

April 15, 2025

Where to Find Allagash White at Citi Field

You’re a Mets fan. You’re an Allagash fan. So where, at Citi Field, do you…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

November 8, 2024

Where to Find Allagash White at TD Garden

You’re a Bruins fan. You’re a Celtics fan. You’re an Allagash fan. So where, in…

Brett Willis

A senior R&D brewer in the Allagash winery

Podcast Beer 101 Blog

February 16, 2024

Allagash Podcast: Deep Dive into Berry Wine (S3 E2)

You in the mood to geek out on wine making? Well, you better be if…

Brett Willis

Allagash White, perfectly poured in a chalice

Beer 101

February 16, 2024

Allagash White Homebrewing Clone Recipe

Brew it Yourself. Because we're all about the love of brewing here at Allagash, we…

Brett Willis

Allagash White pouring on draft at the brewery tasting room

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Beer Releases and Brewery News Blog

October 25, 2023

Allagash White is the most-awarded Wheat Beer in the world

It’s a big claim, we know. But it's true: Allagash White is indeed the most-awarded…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Beer Releases and Brewery News Blog

January 23, 2023

Creating our ideal IPA

We wanted to create our first year-round IPA. And given the range of flavors you…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

March 29, 2022

Hop-forward, malt-forward, yeast-forward: the myriad flavors of beer

What does it mean for a beer to be malt-forward, hop-forward, or even yeast-forward? It…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Blog

February 21, 2022

Common Beer Terms

First and foremost, beer is fun! And delicious! But that doesn’t mean that it can’t…

Brett Willis

Allagash Hop Reach IPA in a bed of whole-cone hops

Beer 101 Blog

February 9, 2022

Pale Ales vs. IPAs – What’s the difference?

Pale ale and IPA (historically called India Pale Ale) are two of the most well-known…

Brett Willis

A brewer holds up a glass full of wort, a sugary grain water, the foundation of beer.

Beer 101 Quality Control Blog

January 20, 2022

What is Wort?

To answer the question technically, wort is a liquid solution of extracted grains, a sugar…

Brett Willis

Allagash Tripel in a 6-pack of 12 oz. bottles

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Blog

October 28, 2021

The Story Behind Allagash Tripel

In 1999, Allagash Brewing Company had three full-time employees and three beers: Allagash White (a…

Brett Willis

Allagash White in a chalice and 12 oz. bottle on a table

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Blog

September 22, 2021

The Story Behind Allagash White

It’s 1993 and Rob Tod had recently graduated from Middlebury College. While deciding whether to…

Brett Willis

The wide array of colors you'll find in beer, from light straw to deep black

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Blog

August 12, 2021

What is a beer style?

Beer styles are meant to give you an idea of what you’re going to experience,…

Brett Willis

Allagash White can flippin' that skateboard, bay-bee!

Beer 101 Blog

June 17, 2021

Flip it & Sip it

To say the important part first: if you have a bottle or can of Allagash…

Brett Willis

Yeast bubbles out of a barrel during spontaneous fermentation

B Corporation Beer 101 Blog

March 17, 2021

What is Spontaneously Fermented Beer?

You may have heard your fellow beer drinkers buzz about “spontaneously fermented” beers. So what…

Brett Willis

A close-up look at a perfectly poured chalice of Allagash White

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Blog

March 12, 2021

If you like Wheat Beers, Give These Other Styles a Try

Ah, wheat beers. Light, refreshing, and citrusy, but also full-textured, spicy, often creamy. Wheat beers…

Brett Willis

Black is Beautiful was a collaboration imperial stout.

Beer 101 Blog

November 18, 2020

What’s an Imperial Stout?

The term “imperial” simply refers to a big beer, both in terms of flavor and…

Brett Willis

Close-up of a keg of Allagash White, about to be tapped

Beer 101 Most Popular Blog

October 30, 2020

How to Tap a Keg

Our guess is that you searched this on your phone and have a keg sitting…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

October 6, 2020

Is a Tripel three-times something? – What is a Tripel Beer

What exactly is tripled in a tripel? The short answer is, technically nothing! The style’s…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

August 20, 2020

I like IPAs. What other beer should I try?

At this point in time, the most widely available style of craft beer is the…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

June 19, 2020

Why is it named Allagash White?

Since 1995, we’ve brewed Allagash White, our flagship Belgian-inspired wheat beer with coriander and Curaçao…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

May 26, 2020

What makes a crisp beer crisp?

Across the brewing industry, one beer descriptor keeps popping up: crisp. It’s used to describe…

Brett Willis

Two employees brew a pilot beer on our 10-gallon experimental system

Beer 101 Blog

April 6, 2020

What is a Pilot System?

When it comes to innovating new beer, we rely on every single person that works…

Brett Willis

Hops hanging from their bine. Yes, with a "b".

Beer 101 Most Popular Blog

March 25, 2020

Beer Fundamentals – What are hops?

The four main ingredients in beer are malt, water, yeast, and hops. And though many…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

March 9, 2020

Beer Fundamentals – What about water?

In any beer you’ve ever enjoyed, 85%-95% of it was water. Arguably, water could be…

Brett Willis

Starters of yeast on a moving table to agitate the liquid

Beer 101 Blog

March 2, 2020

Beer Fundamentals – Beer has yeast in it?

Next to brewing, the most important part of a beer’s life cycle is fermentation. Like…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

February 20, 2020

Beer Fundamentals – What is Malt?

Unless you’ve homebrewed or have read a lot about the technical side of brewing, we’d…

Brett Willis

A look at hops right before they're about to be harvested

Beer 101 Blog

February 4, 2020

What is Dry Hopping vs. Wet Hopping?

What is the difference between dry hopping or wet hopping a beer? Luckily, the answer…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

January 17, 2020

5 Beer Styles to Help You Navigate Any Craft Beer Menu

Scanning the beer menu at a craft beer bar can feel overwhelming. With so many…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

January 9, 2020

What makes beer bitter?

Bitterness. It’s either one element of many in a well-rounded beer or the one thing…

Brett Willis

Allagash White next to an unlabeled beer.

Beer 101 Blog

December 6, 2019

Ale vs. Lager – what’s the difference?

Virtually every single beer* you’ve ever enjoyed can be broken into one of two main…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

November 19, 2019

Tripel vs. Triple IPA

We wouldn’t fault you for thinking these two beer styles were similar. As with so…

Brett Willis

Person holding a chalice to our glass rinser

Beer 101 Blog

November 12, 2019

Why rinse a glass before pouring beer into it?

Here’s the scenario: you order a beer at your favorite taproom. The next thing you…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

October 29, 2019

What Makes Beer Sour?

There are a variety of ways to get sour flavor into a beer—and an almost…

Brett Willis

Allagash North Sky Stout in a 4-pack of 16 oz. cans

Beer 101 Blog

October 25, 2019

Stout vs. Porter – What’s the Difference?

What exactly is the difference between stout and porter? While there are many varieties of…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Inside Allagash Blog

September 27, 2019

Should I put a slice of fruit in Allagash White?

Rob Tod founded Allagash Brewing Company in 1995, and released one beer: Allagash White. And…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

September 12, 2019

What Makes Beer Hazy?

The haze days are upon us. At this point in time, hazy beers are widely…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Most Popular

July 15, 2019

Calories in Beer

When we’re asked how many calories beer contains, it’s not a simple answer. Depending on…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

June 24, 2019

What is a Session Beer?

Session beer isn’t really a style of beer. "Session” is basically an adjective used to…

Brett Willis

Allagash Sixteen Counties being poured into a chalice

Beer 101 Most Popular Blog

June 10, 2019

Does Beer Expire?

A question we get often: does beer expire? Short answer, no. Beer isn’t like milk.…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

May 14, 2019

Is it OK to let cold beer warm up?

This is one the most-asked questions in our tasting room. Is it ok for cold…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

April 11, 2019

What is: a grisette?

A grisette is a refreshing, low alcohol beer with origins in the Hainaut province of…

Brett Willis

A wheat beer, a witbier and a hefeweizen

Beer 101 Most Popular Blog

February 27, 2019

What is: Wheat Beer vs. Witbier vs. Hefeweizen

An American wheat beer, a witbier, and a hefeweizen.We’ve heard a lot of people ask…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Quality Control Blog

February 5, 2019

What is: Can Conditioning?

What is can conditioning? Put simply, it helps to carbonate beer. How it works: we…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

September 25, 2017

What is: Wild Beer

What we call wild beer, many other people call "sour" beer. This is purely a…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

July 17, 2017

What is a White Beer?

At Allagash we love witbiers, literally translated from Flemish to mean "white beers." Originating in…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

May 8, 2017

Gueuze and Gose – What’s the difference?

This post was contributed by Certified Cicerone, Lindsay Bohanske. One of the best things…

Brett Willis

Beer 101 Blog

January 10, 2017

What is Table Beer?

Because the style has been growing in popularity, we thought it would make sense to…

Brett Willis

A look at the Allagash Coolship at night

Beer 101 Blog

December 5, 2016

Why Age Coolship Beer in Barrels?

When talking about spontaneously fermented beer, it’s better to think of the barrel not as…

Brett Willis

A "turbid mash" is required for brewing spontaneously fermented beers

Beer 101 Blog

November 28, 2016

How We Brew Coolship Beer

Normally, when brewing pretty much any style of beer, there are a couple things you…

Brett Willis

The Allagash Brewing Company coolship in all its glory

Beer 101 Blog

November 18, 2016

What is a Coolship?

In the fall of 2007 Rob Tod had an idea. Rob, the founder of Allagash,…

Brett Willis

Beer 101

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