Archives

All posts for the month October, 2013

Atlantic Canadian Breweries Representing at Cask Days in Toronto

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-10-17
Posted in: Beer Events. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Granite Brewery, Hell Bay Brewing, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, RockBottom Brewpub, Uncle Leo's Brewery. 1 comment

caskdays2013-posterweb

This Saturday and Sunday, October 19th and 20th, the people behind barVolo in Toronto will be hosting the 9th Annual Cask Days, a beer event that involves 230 cask-conditioned beers and ciders from 124 breweries in Canada and the United Kingdom. Often referred to as “real ale”, cask-conditioned beers have their fermentation completed in the cask, which acts as the serving vessel. The beer is often served warmer and less-carbonated than your typical draught beer, and give the brewers plenty of opporunity to try new ingredients and techniques with their beer. Several breweries from Atlantic Canada will be featured at the festival; here’s what they’ll be serving up to those lucky enough to attend the event in Toronto:

Big Spruce Brewing – Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout

Boxing Rock – Wet Willie Harvest Ale

Bridge Brewing Co. – Strong Dark Belgian

Garrison Brewing Co. – East Kent Golding IPA (from their One-Hop series)

Granite Brewery – Old Peculiar

Hell Bay Brewing Co. – English Ale

PEI Brewing Co. – Pumpkin Porter

Picaroons – Mildred Irish Red – this is their Irish Red that has been dry-hopped with local Goldings hops from Southan Farms in Wicklow, NB.

Propeller Brewery – E.S.B., dry-hopped with Fuggles

Pump House – Premium Lager

Rockbottom – Greg Nash IPA – we’re not sure if this is something new for Cask Days, or if they just named it after Nash by accident… unfortunately we weren’t able to get further details in time. However, rest assured it has a fair amount of hops!

Uncle Leo’s – Smoked Porter

If you’re going to be in the area (or are reading this from Ontario), there are still tickets available for several of the sessions, here. Cheers to our breweries showing what we’re capable of brewing here in Atlantic Canada!

Friday Wrap-Up – New beers from Sea Level, Shiretown, Garrison, Rockbottom, Quidi Vidi, and Grimross, and more…

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-10-11
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Ladies Beer League, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Uncle Leo's Brewery. 2 comments

Happy Friday! There’s a whole whack of new beers being released in Atlantic Canada this week, just in time for the long weekend. Here’s some info on them, and what else is going on in the region for beer news…

• Sea Level Brewing has released the third beer in their wet-hopped series. Hoptoberfest is a medium-bodied, Oktoberfest-style beer with a subtle hop flavor and aroma, according to the brewery. Brewed and wet-hopped with locally-grown hops, it has approximately 40 IBUs and an ABV of 5.5%. Currently on tap at The Port Pub, it may follow soon in cans and growlers. This one won’t last long; their Hopfazupa has already sold out at the brewery and at private stores in Halifax. Get it while you can (pun intended)!

• Due to some hop harvesting problems, Shiretown’s Runnin’ Down the Road IPA will unfortunately not be brewed this season. However, they do have another couple of new beers to make up for it! Available this week, Five Rivers is a golden ale that is unfiltered and has no fining agents added. Coming in at 5% ABV with approximately 25 IBUs, it is brewed with a variety of malts and hops and is “naturally clear”, according to the brewery. Soon-to-follow is the return of the popular Black Currant Wheat, a beer brewed with a high amount of wheat malt, and local black currants. With a 4.6% ABV and 17 IBUs, the beer has a “beautiful fuchsia color and smooth mouthfeel”. Both beers will be available for growler fills only, at the brewery.

• Meanwhile, Garrison Brewing has released the third beer in their One-Hop series. East Kent Golding (also known as EKG) is a hop variety that has been available commercially for over a century, and is well-known as one of the classic British hops. Following along the lines of your typical British Pale Ale, the beer’s hop presence won’t be as aggressive as North American IPAs (such as its predecessor, Citra One-Hop IPA). Described by the brewery as having “floral and fruity flavors, and an earthy nose”, East Kent Golding has 40 IBUs and an ABV of 6.5%; it is available now at the brewery and at NSLC and private stores in the province.

• Over at the Rockbottom Brewpub, brewer Greg Nash whipped up something different for the Ladies Beer League Spring Garden Take-Over last night. Synaptic Illusion is being billed as a “sour Saison”. The wort (the sugary liquid that will eventually become beer) is first soured with the bacteria Lactobacillus, boiled, and is then fermented with a Saison strain of yeast to produce a sour, tart, and slightly-funky ale. Get it on tap at the brewpub before it’s gone!

• And in yet some more new-beer news, Quidi Vidi Brewing has just released their Oktoberfest Lager. A malty, light-amber beer, it is currently available at the brewery, and appears to have reached various NLC locations as well. Oktoberfest (the event) may have just ended, but this is a great beer style, especially for this time of year, so drink it while it’s available!

• Finally, Grimross Brewing should be releasing their Belgian Rye IPA sometime this weekend. While we don’t have any details on the beer yet, owner/brewer Stephen Dixon has indicated that the beer will be available in growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique soon; the beer will likely also be on tap at the King Street Ale House when they open later in the month.

• In a recent article, the Huffington Post has named Uncle Leo’s Brewery one of the best 11 new breweries in Canada! Rebecca Whiffen, co-owner of the brewery, had this to say: “We were very grateful to be recognized. It is a great time to be part of the craft brewing community in Nova Scotia. The camaraderie makes it fun and provides a built-in support system for new breweries like us, contributing greatly to our success. I don’t know how many other industries you could say that about”. Congratulations, guys!

• The Ladies Beer League continues to impress with their scheduled events in Halifax: on November 17th, they’ll be hosting the city’s first Cask Beer Festival at the soon-to-open Stubborn Goat gastropub on Grafton St. There will be two sessions (1pm – 4pm and 5pm-8pm), and both genders are welcome! Tickets are $35 and go on sale online this Sunday, October 13th at 12pm. We’ll have a separate post on this event sometime next week to provide more info!

• If you’re looking to get into all-grain brewing, the CCNB is holding a Brewing Workshop on November 2nd and 3rd in Grand Falls, New Brunswick. The two days will involve a series of workshops and brewing demonstrations, as well as a tasting session after supper. Local brewers will be involved: Patrice Godin of Acadie-Broue will be hosting the tasting session and “Ingredients & Types of Beer” workshop, and Sean Dunbar of Picaroons will be there to talk about starting a microbrewery. Tickets for the event are $60 and can be purchased here; email Josée Landry (josee.landry@ccnb.ca) for more details.

That’s it for this week… enjoy your beer and turkey this weekend!

Profile of Stillwell Beer Bar – A Craft Beer Bar Opening Soon in Halifax

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-10-09
Posted in: Beer Bars/Restaurants. Tagged: Stillwell Beer Bar. 3 comments

Stillwell Logo

I recently had the chance to sit down with Laura and Andrew, who, along with Laura’s brother Chris, will be opening Stillwell Beer Bar soon in Halifax. Located at 1672 Barrington Street, the bar will focus on local craft beer (to steal a line from Rattle N Hum in New York, “No Crap On Tap!”), paired with fresh, local, seasonal food. I had read lots about the bar and owners Andrew, Laura and Chris from a few articles published in the summer (from The Chronicle Herald and The Coast, to name but a couple), but I wanted to delve into the beer side of things (that’s what we’re all about here, after all).

I first asked Laura to tell me a bit about her history with beer: how did they get into craft beer?

Andrew and I met working at The White Horse on Parson’s Green, a pretty famous London beer bar with critical acclaim. (Andrew: Imagine discovering beer at a bar with 8 English casks, St Bernardus and co. on tap and a yearly American Beer Festival featuring Stone on draft). A job working there meant weekly training, typically on beer though sometimes wine and spirits – brewers and reps would come and give a breakdown and tasting on their brands and it really opened our eyes to the beer world. We also had the opportunity to do staff training in Brussels, touring local bars with reps tasting their wares, and touring Cantillon. We also attended Oktoberfest – one of the best times I’ve had in my entire life.
Chris states an interest in beer sparking in his early twenties when buying growlers of Propeller and noting that, hey, this stuff is way better than Faxe (ha!).
Stillwell Bar

Work goes on preparing the bar, future home of 12 taps and 3 casks

I then asked about the impetus behind Stillwell: What brought you (back) to Halifax, and why open a beer bar?

Laura: Chris and I are originally from Halifax, though have been living away for a few years – we’ve seen the craft beer scene growing and growing every time we came home, but hadn’t yet seen the type of bar we would see in other cities – a beer bar to celebrate the best of local brews, and fantastic beers in general. Halifax has such a rich history in beer, and I think every city like that needs a home to showcase great products – we’re really excited to be setting up a place that brings together our favourite elements in a bar, and our favourite beer.
Stillwell Beer Bar, with stairs leading below and the kitchen in the background

Stillwell Beer Bar, with stairs leading below and the kitchen in the background

When I visited mid-September, lots of work was still taking place, including building the bar top. It will feature 12 rotating taps, and 3 beers on cask. They will be highlighting the best of beer from the Maritimes, with a strong focus on the non-mainstream and one-off experimental beers that brewers are putting out. They hope to expand their reach further West and South as well, with great beers from great breweries in Quebec and Ontario, and maybe even Maine. With so many new and upcoming small breweries in the area, I’m sure they will be well stocked with a great variety of interesting and exciting beers not available elsewhere. In addition to the casks and kegs, they will stock about 30 different bottles, again from local and further afield, to complement the draft selection. From Andrew’s experience working at barVolo in Toronto, they will be sure to have something for beer lovers of all stripes and persuasions.

Food-wise, the focus will be on small bites, rather than large format meals, and will be prepared, or paired, with the beer currently pouring, and made with an eye for local and seasonal ingredients. This will allow patrons to try several different tastes and food experiences while they enjoy their beer. The layout of the bar will have a couple of large communal tables, and plenty of stools and ledges, encouraging the community aspect of enjoying a pint with friends, old and new. They’ve got a sound system in place, being fed by a vinyl player right by the bar, going for good, not loud, music.

To stay up-to-date with the bar’s progress, follow them on Twitter and Facebook, and check back here, as we’ll be sure to let you know when they open. Welcome to our neck of the woods, Stillwell, we’re excited to have a seat at that bar soon!