Anniversary Trip - Allagash

Hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend and are getting the neccesary events in order for Philly Beer Week 2012!  Before delving into the events I'm excited about this year, I want to post the last stop on our anniversary trip - Allagash.

We arrived about 40 minutes before the next tour, so it gave us plenty of time to explore and talk to all the friendly employees.  Everyone was super nice and very informative!  Unfortunately, you have to make reservations for the tour.  Thankfully, they let the two of us in on the next tour even with 2 groups of bachelorette parties.  What was different about this tour, was that you drink the beer first, then explore.  We tasted the Allagash blonde, white, and black.

Our tour guide, Lisa, then took us through the brewery with lots of interesting beer facts along the way.

There were plenty of weird sightings throughout the brewery.....

That barrel, with a bloody arm hanging out of, was HUGE.  They even mentioned that because of its size, the beer may take twice as long to mature/age, or may not at all.  Still, it was fun to look at.  We went into the barrel room, which was awesome.  There were at least over 50 barrels, all with different beers and dates attached.  We even saw a Pleepleus barrel, which was a collaboration beer with Zane Lamprey of "Three Sheets" & "Drinking Made Easy."

They also gave us a little information about their Coolship Beers.  Just for your information, a coolship is a large shallow pan used to cool wort overnight using outside air temperature. During the cooling process, naturally occurring yeast from the air inoculates the wort. In the morning, the cooled wort is transferred into barrels where the fermentation process begins.  Until recently, Allagash were the only brewery in the US to utilize beers using this process (Russian River has started using the same process, but Allagash was the first).  I haven't tried any, but they're supposed to be incredible.

After the tour, we went back to the tasting room and bought lots of beer and swag, of course.

This was the perfect end to the perfect brewery trip.  We definetly had our fill of great beers and cannot wait for the next trip.....out west maybe?  I didn't take any pictures of the trunk/backseat of our car, but let's just say that with all the beer in tow, we had over 4 coolers and lots of icing/re-icing everyday.  It was a lot of work, but so worth it.  If you're looking for some sweet Allagash beer for #PBW and meet Rod Tod, the founder and head brewer, check out Memphis Taproom on June 5 from 7-10pm.

Watch out for a new blog post tomorrow all about Philly Beer Week and where I will be heading for the best beers and exciting events!

Cheers,
Megan

Best Of Philly Beer Scene Awards Quickie

Just a real quickie here.  On the coattails of every other blogger in Philly who attended the Best of Philly Beer Scene Awards, I just wanted to send a huge THANK YOU to Mat Falco and his team of awesome beer loving friends.  What a fantastic event, where we as beer fans, could all come together, dress up all fancy like (well, most of us), and imbibe to our passion - craft beer.  Plus, a walk down the red carpet.  My 13-year-old-self was screaming like a little girl who always wanted to be a famous actress.  So what is my first red carpet was for booze instead of acting? 

Also, thanks go to Steve Lyfords for his photography, seen here.

Want to see all his pictures?  Check them out here.

For the list of winners, along with other awesome beer stuff, check out Best of Philly Beer Scene.

Cheers,
Megan

Anniversary Trip - Hill Farmstead

Part 2 : Hill Farmstead

First and foremost - getting there.  I had read reviews on Yelp and other sites about people going to the actual brewery and 2 things kept recurring : 1) do NOT rely on any kind of internet maps program and 2) you will feel totally lost, and that means you're on the right track.  I did have a paper map (who uses those anymore?) of Vermont handy, but I disregarded the first rule.  Hence, I had my Google maps in hand and had directions ready to go.  Once we were about 25 minutes away, everything came to a hault.  No reception, no navigation, nothing.  Panicked, we stopped at a general store, where no one knew what we were talking about.  Thankfully, a mailman stopped by and gave us the scoop.  "Stay straight until you see a Y in the road, then take the next left, then right, then left."  Sounded easy, right?  There had to be 6 different "Y" roads and we had no idea which one was correct!  We tried about 3 and found ourselves going vertically straight up a rocky road into pastures, dirt roads that I thought we were going to slide down (we drove our Honda, not exactly off roading material), and found not one person in civilization.  We did, however, see many animals, including a turkey!

Finally, while on said dirt road, we passed a small shanty of a house, where 2 men were working on their pick up and drinking beer.  They knew exactly where we needed to go, and proceeded to tell us that once we were on the "pavement," we would find our destination.  They were right.  Once I saw the Hill Farmstead logo, Steve and I both were relieved and excited. 

Once we pulled up and got out of the light rain we had been battling all day, it was glorious.  There was 2 others inside filling growlers, and quickly we saw Shaun working on his beer.  We started qith the samplers, trying Society & Solitude #2 & #3, Anna, Edward, Everett, & What is Enlightenment?

We did, however, read reviews on the cash only statement and brought lots, with enough to tip our awesome bartender.

I ventured outside to take some more photos and came upon Shaun.  I introduced myself and asked if he was the brewer.  "I am A brewer...."  Quite the humble man and we chatted about the upcoming Philly Beer Week, where my husband and I were headed after Hill Farmstead, and his beers.  We unfortunately came a day early (the next day they were releasing the highly anticipated E, as well as Art and others), but since he found out it was our anniversary, hooked us up with some of the aforementioned bottles.  Score!

The place itself is very laid back, with Shaun playing music from his iPhone in the backround.  Steve and I had 3 samplers, not wanting to leave or give up anymore beers.  The Everett, their porter, was my personal favorite.  Dark, complex flavors of chocolate, cocoa, & malts, it was one of the best porters I have ever tasted.  I also really enjoyed Anna, which is their saison brewed with Vermont honey.

After 2 hours of incredible tastings and filling of growlers, we had to depart.  One of my favorite breweries was tackled and I couldn't be happier.  The only sad thing was leaving, but no fear; Shaun will be making appearances during Philly Beer Week at Theresa's Next Door, The Boilermaker, & Tria, among others.

Up next, Allagash brewing.  But first, those of you in the Philly area and beyond, Steve & I are planning a trip to HF for their 2012 Festival of Farmhouse Ales Saturday, August 11.  We were told they are planning a VIP session the night before and you can camp out for the weekend for $10.  Interested?  Email me justanotherword@hotmail.com and when the event gets closer, we will make further plans.  Also, look here.

Cheers,
Megan

Hello Blogsphere, Anniversary Trip - The Alchemist

Ordinary : "normal"

Extraordinary : "unusually great"

 

Sounds about right.  Welcome to my very first blog!  I've been thinking about starting one of these for a while, and finally got the time (and courage) to begin.  I'm just the ordinary girl who has a passion and love for all things beer.  For my first post, I would like to take you all on the journey that was my 1 year wedding anniversary celebration : The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, & Allagash.  Pretty awesome trip, right?  It was incredible.  Originally, the plan was to go out west to breweries such as Founders, Bells, 3 Flloyds, Jolly Pumpkin, etc.  The drive, however, was about 4 hours longer, and we wanted to relax at least some of the vacation.  Thus, we began our 7 hour trek to Vermont.  First stop, The Alchemist

I am obsessed with Heady Topper (thanks to Mat Falco), and was very excited to check out the cannery.  Upon walking inside, there isn't much to explore.  The tasting room and "self guided tour" was about as big as my living room and kitchen combined.  Still, the smell of hops and malts enticed me.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about tasting Heady on tap, since it is clearly made for drinking right out of the can.  Once I tasted, it was pure joy on my tongue.  Even BETTER than in the can, and obviously because it was the freshest I've ever tasted it.  Bright, floral, hoppy, citrus, malt undertones, long finish, MMMMMMM.

As if the tasting room and cannery wasn't enough to wet my appetite, they had a Ms. Pac Man machine.  How cool is that?

Look at all those cans....doesn't it make your mouth water?!  We had a great time chatting it up with the staff and cannery folks and they were so welcoming and thankful that we came all the way from Philly just for their beer.

I just realized that just this one stop has become quite the long blog post.  Next stop, Hill Farmstead! 

PS - 8 days until Philly Beer Week!!

Cheers,
Megan