The state’s largest craft brewery, Allagash Brewing Co., used more than 2 million pounds of Maine-grown grain to produce its products in 2025, bolstering its commitment to local farmers and processors.

Allagash made a pledge in 2016 to use 1 million pounds of local grain annually within five years — an ambitious plan considering it could only source about 65,000 pounds in Maine at the time.

Now, it has more than doubled that goal.

“Allagash has steadily increased volume with Blue Ox Malthouse over the years,” Joel Alex, founder and maltster at Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon, said Tuesday, “and we expect that commitment and partnership to continue to grow this upcoming year and into the future.”

Blue Ox Malthouse is one of three processors in the state that supplied Allagash last year with 2,025,674 pounds of grain — a mix of malted barley, raw white wheat, and oats. Maine Malt House and Aurora Mills & Farm, both in Aroostook County, are the other two.

Prior to 2014, there was no malting operation in Maine, forcing brewers and distillers to import malted barley, and limiting access to the craft brewing market for Maine producers of small- and medium-sized grain, even though Maine is among the top producers of small grains in the Northeast.

Halfway through 2025, Jason Perkins, Allagash’s vice president and brewmaster, said the craft brewer expected to use 1.7 million pounds of Maine grains by the end of the year.

“Reaching more than 2 million pounds shows what’s possible when brewers, farmers and processors make, and keep, long-term commitments to grow together,” Perkins said.

Now, the brewer says what put them over the top was “working creatively with farmer partners to find ways to incorporate Maine-grown grain into more of our beers.”

To expand its use of local grains, Allagash said its team had to experiment with how to replace out-of-state grains with Maine grains in existing beer recipes, including its Allagash White, the company’s flagship beer. 

Allagash said that by running pilot batches and trials of different grains, they were able to ensure that their existing beers wouldn’t change in the slightest if they used local 2-row barley, or local wheat, versus sourcing from other suppliers. 

The result means more business for Alex in Lisbon as well as the Maine sources he relies on.

“We create award-winning, quality malt like our Yankee Pilsner from barley grown by Porter Farms in Washburn, Maine, and Allagash then takes that product and uses it in one of their fastest-growing brands, (Allagash) Lager,” Alex said.

He pointed out that Allagash Lager itself won gold in the 2025 Great American Brew Fest, showing that this partnership with Maine grains is elevating what is possible here in Maine for farmers, brewers and processors.

Allagash founder Rob Tod is credited with coming up with the pledge to incorporate Maine grains into their product.

“Thanks to our collective efforts, there’s now more high-quality grain that’s more affordable, coming right from our backyard in Maine,” Tod said. “It’s a win for us, it’s a win for our farmer partners, and it’s a win for beer fans and brewers across New England.”