Allagash Brewing Company has agreed to purchase a 7-acre plot of land in Scarborough, Maine which will house a new tasting room, opening in 2024, the brewery announced today.
The tasting room – which will replace Allagash’s existing taproom in Portland, Maine – will be within The Downs, a 524-acre “mixed use, live-work-play community,” located about a 15-minute drive away from Allagash’s Portland operations, according to a press release. All Allagash production and packaging will remain in Portland.
“Our expanded presence at The Downs is a continuation of our measured and sustainable growth, and directly in line with our B Corp values dedicated to serving our community and our employees,” Allagash founder Rob Tod said in the release. “This is a great opportunity to continue to evolve with new ideas and initiatives in a way that is uniquely us.”
Allagash did not share how much would be invested in the new tasting room project, as “the deal to purchase the land to build the tasting room hasn’t closed yet,” a Allagash spokesperson told Brewbound.
Tasting room operations in Portland will remain open until the Scarborough project is complete, which will be “earliest, 2024.” Once the transition is made, “the intent is to gradually make use of that space to help expand production,” according to the spokesperson. A small “intimate” space will designated within the Portland brewery offering a limited selection of beers.
“Regarding tours, given the layout and realities of the current brewing and production setup, for the time being, Allagash has decided to refrain from restarting public tours,” the spokesperson said.
“Portland has been and will always be our home,” Tod said. “It’s where we brew all of the beer that made us what we are today, where we employ a team of over 140 people, and that’s not changing. Our core goal at Allagash has been to give people new experiences and create community through beer, and this future space in Scarborough will achieve that and so much more.”
Allagash increased production +24% in 2021 to a record 117,798 barrels, after dipping below the 100,000 barrel threshold to 87,986 barrels in 2020, according to the Brewers Association (BA). The company is now the 23rd largest BA-defined craft brewery by volume, and 32nd largest brewery in the U.S. overall.
Allagash’s growth has been driven by the success of its flagship Belgian-style witbier Allagash White, which is up +9% year-to-date in IRI-tracked channels, with draft up +27%, director of sales Naomi Neville said during a virtual tasting event with media members last month. In 2023, the company will release Hop Reach IPA, the first IPA to join the brewery’s core lineup. Allagash expects Hop Reach to become the company’s No. 2 offering after Allagash White.