Allagash Brewing Company Releases Pastiche Blended Barrel-Aged Ale

PORTLAND, Maine — On January 8th, Allagash Brewing Company is releasing its first non-wild, blended, barrel-aged beer. Pastiche, a limited release, will ship to the brewery’s full distribution footprint. The beer will be available in 750 mL bottles and on draft at select locations.

Pastiche starts out as four different beers, all created by senior Allagash brewers. The beers, made with various local malts, were brewed specifically to blend well together after a brief stay in barrels. In flavor, Pastiche is a complex, yet approachable, amber beer with notes of caramel, dried fruit, spirits, and oak. Its creation was equally complex.

“We’ve been wanting to experiment with blending non-wild, spirit-aged beers for a long time,” said Zach Bodah, head Allagash’s Quality Control team. “Since each [of the four] base beer[s] in Pastiche was split and aged into at least two varieties of spirit barrels, it was a terrific logistical challenge in cellar management. We’re really happy with how all that hard work turned out.”

Barrels included in the aging process were: rye whiskey, vermouth, port, rum, bourbon, red wine, gin, and brandy. After aging the beers between three and four months, the brewers got together and blended them all into a single, unified whole.

About Allagash Brewing

Founded in Portland, Maine, by Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company is dedicated to crafting the best Belgian-inspired beers in the world. Since 1995, Allagash has focused on giving back to the community—and state—that has supported them along the way.