"This is way better than going to a bar," Allagash Brewing Company brewmaster Jason Perkins says as we pop open another bottle on my porch.
It's a sunny, high-40s day in Atlanta, a nice break from the unseasonably warm winter streak we've been having, but I worry it will be too cold for the brewery's three-man team that's making the rounds in the ATL this week. Those worries are dissuaded when a) they laugh at me, and b) I remember they live in Maine.
We chat over some Hoppy Table Beer, Saison, Curieux, St. Klippenstein, Coolship Resurgam, and Mattina Rossa. Which is to say: we make the most of a Thursday afternoon. All the while, the guys share stories from the road and back home, including the fact that some consumers call the brewery (!!!) to share feedback on beers.
"The number one thing we hear about Curieux is that it doesn't have enough bourbon character," Perkins says of the calls. "The number two thing we hear is that it has too much bourbon character."
—Austin L. Ray