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All posts for the month April, 2018

Happy Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week! The 41 Bluenoser breweries part of the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia are putting their best beers forward, and hosting a slew of events and launching a ton of new beers over the next 10 days. For those of you in the province, or coming for a visit, check out the Calendar and Map we put together, and read below for a small tease of what all you’ll be enjoying.

• Looks like our friends at Propeller are dropping a new beer for the masses today. Common is, as you may expect, their take on the California Common, a lager/ale hybrid that is typically fermented somewhere between warm and cool with a unique yeast strain. Hopped with Northern Brewer, a “woodsy” hop variety quite typical for this beer style, the beer was designed to be approachable for seasoned beer geeks and novices alike. Described by the brewery as having “subtle herbal notes, along with roasted and caramel malt characters and a crisp, refreshing finish”, this isn’t just a one-off, as the beer will be available year-round in six packs of 355 mL cans. You’ll be able to find it starting today at the brewery retail stores, private stores, and the NSLC. In addition, at tonight’s Cask Night, an iteration of Common dry-hopped with even more Northern Brewer will be pouring. Naturally, you’ll be able to find it at various Propeller tap accounts across the city as well. And finally, for those of you who are fans of the brewery’s Organic Blonde Ale and Honey Wheat, we have some sad news – both brands are being dropped from the Propeller line-up. Best stock up if you can get your hands on any that happen to be left!

• Coupla new, small to smaller releases coming out of 2 Crows tomorrow, which simply means you’re going to have to get down there quicker than normal to give them both a try! First off is Field Hand, a Wild Ale brewed in collaboration with PEI’s Shoreline Malting. Brewed with Shoreline’s Pale malt, as well as a touch of raw wheat, it was lightly hopped at flameout with Galaxy and Hallertau Blanc, to the tune of 12 IBUs. Head Brewer Jeremy Taylor fermented the beer with yeast harvested from a bottle of Forward, a Saison from British Columbia’s Coalesce Brewing. Dry-hopped afterwards with more Galaxy and Hallertau Blanc, the beer is “super light, delicate, and easy-drinking; pithy grapefruit, earthy and bright, with the malt performing beautifully”. There are only 600 cans of this beauty available, and they’ll go on sale at the taproom tomorrow; expect to see a few keg-conditioned kegs at your favourite beer-centric spot in the HRM as well. And we hope to share more information about Shoreline Malting in the next couple of weeks.

• These beers sound so delightful, we just have to split them up with a paragraph break. Next up is the smaller batch, brewed on 2C’s pilot system by Assistant Brewer Miles Bishop and a special guest. A close friend of the brewery staff recently found out that his son, Jude, was diagnosed with cancer. In support, an auction in the community was held to raise money for the family, with 2C donating some merch and a brew day at the brewery. Jude’s grandfather Gord was the highest bidder, and joined Miles to help develop the recipe and brew Little Hero. Described as a kinda-mixture of Pollyanna and Bonanza! (Gord’s two favourite 2C beers), this NEIPA was brewed with Pale malt, Wheat, Malted Oats, and a little bit of Crystal 15 L. Hopped in the boil with Columbus, Galaxy, Centennial, and Simcoe, it was fermented with white wine yeast, and finished off with Sacch Trois. Coming in at 6% ABV and 58 IBUs, the beer turned out “mega juicy, with notes of peach, pineapple, passion fruit, and stone fruit; slightly sweet, and a touch funky”. Little Hero will be launched tomorrow, by-the-glass only, in the taproom. And if you don’t make it to 2C for a pint, those of us outside NS will be shaking our collective fists in your general direction.

• Halifax’s Good Robot has a stacked social calendar for NSCBW and they’ve also got some fresh beers hitting the taps at the same time, starting tomorrow with a beer they brewed with longtime metro sugar bears Freak Lunchbox for their Freak Lunchbot event. Look for the brand new I Fink You Freaky Sour Cherry to be pouring along with a variety of candies designed to pair with other brews from the Good Robot stable and a bunch of other candy you’re welcome to try to pair on your own! Next up, on Tuesday, May 1st, GRBC fan Mallory signed up for the Beta Brew program looking to do up a hoppy hefeweizen, and sure enough, a Hopfenweizen was produced! With an ABV of 4.8% and an IBU level in the 45 – 48 range, this beer was based on a pretty traditional hefe grist of wheat, Pilsner and Vienna along with a classic yeast. The hops, on the other hand, took a left (right?) turn, heading south of the equator for fruity tropical goodness from Australian varieties Galaxy, Ella, and Vic Secret. Look for a soft mouthfeel and almost creamy presence to meet a big hop character as you marvel over the brilliance of the beer’s name: Weiß Grips. And on Thursday, May 3, comes yet another new brew out of the GR brewhouse, cutting straight to the heart of the summer with an unapologetic lawnmower beer they’re calling, aptly, Light Beer. At 4.6% ABV and a practically gentle 15 – 18 IBU, this beer is designed for refreshment and relaxation. Toast the season to come by closing your eyes and picturing that warm summer breeze and that hammock you’re swaying in after a long hot day in the yard.

• Bridgewater’s FirkinStein Brewing has a brand new beer flowing at their taproom on King Street these days, a beer that owners Adam and Devin swore they would never brew: a lager. The aptly-named Hypocrite Lager weighs in at 5.1% ABV, and though is fairly pale and light in colour, there is plenty of Firkin Flavour and character to the beer. Currently only available on-site, grab a sample or pint, plus a growler to enjoy at home.

Boxing Rock and Trider’s Craft Beer recently teamed up for their first collaboration, Headstrong. Described as a “Nova Scotian Ale”, the grist was made up simply of Pale malts, with a blend of Noble and Canadian-grown hops used in the boil. Fermented cool with that now-kinda-famous wild yeast isolated from a Cape Breton pin cherry (courtesy of Big Spruce and Escarpment Labs), it was brewed to “embody the spirit of Nova Scotian camaraderie”, and is described as “bright, crisp, clean and dry”. It weighs in at 5.2% ABV and 17 IBUs, you can find it in the typical-for-Boxing Rock 650 mL bottles at their retail store, Seaport and Alderney Farmers Markets, and Harvest Wines locations in the HRM.

• Were you a fan of Cloud Shadow, the Hopfenweisse released by Tidehouse back in November? Well, good news, everyone! The 4.6% ABV brew is making a return today at the taproom, and it’s better than ever… well, according to them, anyway! Still featuring a 50/50 grist of 2-row and Wheat malt, it was fermented with a blend of Hefeweizen and American yeast strains. This time around, however, they increased the Ahtanum and Mandarina Bavaria hop amounts, allowing even more juicy, citrusy, spicy character to come through. In addition to kegs, some of the batch was packaged in 640 mL bottles (for sale at the taproom only); this portion was also dry-hopped with Amarillo. Drop by today for a growler and some bottles, for an in-depth comparison.

• Dartmouth’s Spindrift Brewing is continuing their Seventh Wave Series with a tidal wave of two new releases this week. Red Sky At Night is another in their foray to Ales, namely an Irish Red. Featuring a full body and clean finish, specialty malts in the form of Double Roasted Crystal from Simpsons and Chocolate Rye Malt (paging TonyW) lend some toasty/sweet notes to the beer. This beer weighs in at 5.7% ABV and a light 21 IBU. Also pouring this week is Piece of Gear, a 5.1% ABV Blonde Ale. Featuring Lemondrop hops (18 IBUs), it’s a crisp and refreshing beer with a nice citrus kick. As with all of their Seventh Waves, these are only available for growler fills at the brewery, so drop by today before they sell out.

• Port Williams’ Sea Level Brewing has brought back their seasonal The Acadian Cross, but made some major changes to the recipe. This Extra Pale Ale weighs in at 5.5% ABV, built from 100% Floor-Malted Maris Otter malt, and hopped in the kettle with Idaho 7. After fermentation, they hopped it further, but with Ahhhroma Hopzoil, a purified hop oil from Montana, made from freshly-harvested cones, for intense aroma and flavour with no bitterness. The Ahhhroma hop is described as having an aroma of Pina Colada, which blends with the Idaho 7 character for a citrus and tropical beer.

• Bedford’s Off Track Brewing has dropped a new beer this week, Jonny-A-Go-Go. Featuring a Wheat Ale base, the addition of mango to the beer brings it up a few tropical notches to be a perfect summer sipper (the 4.5% ABV doesn’t hurt either!). As always, the best place to grab your Off Track fix is at the brewery on Rocky Lake Drive.

• Switching gears away from Nova Scotia, Saint John’s Big Tide has a brand new beer on tap, their first non-collaborative kettle sour, and very positive customer feedback has already ensured it won’t be their last! OH Blackberry Sour was brewed with 2-row, Pale malt, Wheat malt, and a little Carared, and hopped in the boil with Crystal from Darlings Island Farm to just 15 IBUs. When primary fermentation began to slow down, blackberry purée from Oregon Fruit was added to give the beer a light purple hue, and notes of blackberry that pair nicely with the pine, citrus, and spicy elements from the hops, according to the brewery. Easy-drinking at just 4.5% ABV, you can grab some at the brewpub right now (pints and growlers), but it likely won’t last long! Also, a big congrats to Big Tide for winning Gold in the People’s Choice at the Saint John Beer Fest earlier this month, with their Tool Shed Root Porter (also still on tap at the moment).

• And speaking of kettle sours from New Brunswick, Hanwell’s Niche Brewing has one to share as well. Also featuring a fruit addition from Oregon Fruit, Pineapple Persuasion started with lactose powder added in the boil, providing a base sweetness to the wort. It was then fermented with the familiar Amalgamation Brettanomyces blend that has graced several of the brewery’s offerings so far and which is sure to have imparted some tartness and a bit of funk. Once the beer was cooled, Madagascar vanilla bean and pineapple puree were added, yielding an easy-drinking brew that features subtle hints of vanilla and lots of pineapple character in a 4.7% ABV package. Look for it on tap at accounts in Fredericton and Saint John, and maybe, just maybe, showing up in Halifax at some point in the next month or so…

• We told you about the goings on in St. John’s last weekend at the BrewFest, this week we’re reminding you that the Western side of the island cannot be ignored as Corner Brook’s Bootleg Brew Co is continuing to bring it, starting with a new one available for your enjoyment. Dubbed F*#% Off Winter! they’re calling it a Spring Belgian Wheat that’s lemony, grassy, zesty and refreshing. With an ABV of 6.7% and 25 IBUs, this isn’t a light summer quaffer, but a bigger, bolder kiss off to a Winter that just doesn’t seem to want to go away. Featuring the fairly uncommon hop Sorachi Ace that’s known for its ability to impart a distinct lemon character with herbal overtones, but also for occasionally making beers with a distinct dill note, it’s available now in the Bootleg taproom. They’ve got some more new beers planned as well, including an oaty session ale, a series of SMaSH beers, and some more summery light beers in the works. We’ll have more details on those as they become available!

• There’s a new brew about to appear at Maybee Brewing, after a slightly-early debut a few days ago on cask only. Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza is the brewery’s first Black IPA. Hopped entirely with Cascade and Chinook from NB’s Moose Mountain Hops, the beer has “pronounced chocolate, coffee, and a toasted malt profile, with a resinous, piney, and slight citrus hop accompaniment”, according to the brewery. At 7% ABV, this batch will be available in kegs only, for purchase by the pint at select licensees, as well as pints and growlers at Maybee’s taproom in Fredericton.

TrailWay Brewing‘s weekly Friday release for this week is More Better, an American IPA showcasing the wonderful Simcoe hop, the first time the brewery has used this unique, piney, citrusy American varietal. Coming in at 6.5% ABV, they’re describing the beer as having “a pleasant pine front, with a soft, tropical finish”. You can find it in cans and on tap at the brewery only, starting today.

• After a several month hiatus, Half Cut Brewing is back on the New Brunswick scene, with their Tickle Fight IPA flowing once again. Previously brewed at the Picaroons Brewtique on Queen Street (where the initial batches of Grimross were brewed), owner Matt Corey has struck up an agreement with Petit-Sault in Edmundston to brew and package his beer. In addition to the 6.1% IPA, look for his Alter Ego Altbier to be available in the province in the coming weeks. Currently only available in kegged format, Half Cut kegs are now at several bars and restaurants in Fredericton, including 540, James Joyce, King Street Alehouse, and Snooty Fox.

We’ve got plenty of events to the go this weekend, as part of the NS Craft Beer Week, which kicks off today with the Cape Breton Full House, NS Craft Beer Week Pub, and Highway 101 Tap Takeover at Schoolhouse Brewing, as well as the continuation of the Cape Breton Double Header Tap Takeover at Jamieson’s. Tomorrow is the Rotary Pizza Fest and TAPPED! Beer Fest in Truro. Hopefully we’ll see you at Sunday’s Stillwell Open, and again at our Beer Trivia Night May 2nd at The Auction House (Prizes! Fame! Beer! Drawing for tickets to Full House!), and head back up to Schoolhouse for the May 3rd airing of Sociable!. Be sure to check out the stand-alone post for the full details.

• After the dust of Craft Beer Week settles, the folks at Horton Ridge have a series of events on the go in May. On four subsequent Mondays, beginning with the May 14th, will see the Malted malt-focused dinner being held at the Malt House. After a tour of the facility, Chef Christine Fancy of Yesteryear Baking will be serving up several different preparations of Horton Ridge’s malt (hey, it’s not just for beer!), including sweet and savoury items, and malted drinks. Advance ticket purchase is required, and you can learn more on their FB Event and own pages.

• Horton Ridge is also hosting a series of talks on Wednesdays, beginning May 23rd. Dubbed Meet Your Brewer, drop by at 7PM to learn from brewers in the Annapolis Valley to hear their stories and taste their beers. On May 23rd, Cam Hartley from Schoolhouse will be on site, May 30th will have Randy Lawrence from Sea Level, and June 6th will see Horton Ridge’s own brewer Steven Mastroianni join head maltster Alan Stewart for the evening. A few more details are on their FB page, and tickets should still be available here.

• Nova Scotia can’t have all the fun with the events, New Brunswick is certainly pulling their weight! Tickets for the May 25 and 26 Atlantic Beer Festival in Moncton are now available, with more than 150 beers from 70 breweries across the country available for your enjoyment.

• Saturday, June 2nd will be the 2018 edition of Northumbeerfest at Pictou Lodge. Celebrating its Fifth year, beers and brewers from Backstage, Big Spruce, Sober Island, Tatamagouche, and Uncle Leo’s will be on hand and available, along with live music and the Lodge’s own food all evening long. Your $50 ticket pays for your first 12 ounce pour from each of the vendors, with more available after you do the tour. Pictou Lodge is also offering a $115 accomodation package that includes a night’s stay and ticket to the event, based on double occupancy. Check June 2nd rates online for that option. You can also email or call in your request.

And a few last quick mentions before you go get yourself a(nother) beer:

Big Spruce has pulled out all of the stops for the Craft Beer Week, and will have all 5 variants of the 2018 edition of Ra Ra Rasputin Russian Imperial Coffee Stout available for sale at Bishop’s Cellar tomorrow. Drop by at 3PM to grab a taste of the Glenora, American Bourbon, California Cabernet Sauvignon, Cognac, and Nicaraguan Rum barrel-aged expressions, and pick up a bottle or two of your favourites. You’ll also be able to grab cans of The Silver Tart Raspberry Sour, as it has officially landed for the season. And for more fun, head to Battery Park Sunday at 5PM for the launch of the beers on draft, with at least a couple special kegs you’ll only be able to enjoy that afternoon. More details here.
– Speaking of Bishop’s Cellar, you may as well camp out there, at Lucas Mader is holding his latest Brews with Lou Saturday from 1PM, where Mader will share some of the latest beers to hit their shelves. And if you ask nicely, he may even crack open something else you’ve been eyeing up, but wanted a taste before committing to a full bottle. Be sure to tell him ACBB sent ya!
– Our beer-podcast-compadres Kyle, Phil, and Tony from the 902 BrewCast did a full tasting of the Ra Ra Rasputin, including bottles from 2016 and 2017. Sharing the “burden” of the tasting was local beer guru Jeff Pinhey, along with our very own acbbaaron (hey, now we’ve all been on the podcast. Next stop, Hollywood!). Tune in to get their take on the difference a little wood can make, the history of the Brewnosers, and Beer Judge Certification Program in the region. If after listening you’re interested in learning more, hit us or them up on social media, we can help you out!
Breton Brewing has brought back their Imperial IPA Crazy Angus, the big brother to one of their flagships, Black Angus. The malt bills are very similar between the two (albeit it larger for Crazy Angus, bringing it to 7.4% ABV), but the IIPA has higher citrusy hop characteristics. It’s pouring right now at the Breton taproom while supplies last.
Grimross Brewing has released a brand new beer yesterday, featuring maple syrup from Tree Hugger Maple in New Denmark. At 5.5% ABV Tree Hugger Maple Ale is available at the taproom for pints and fills and also in kegs. Act fast, they don’t expect this one to last long.
– The folks at Port Rexton were, luckily for us, slightly ahead of the return of nicer weather, and brewed up a new batch of their orange peel-infused kettle sour, Blue Steel (4.7% ABV), which is ready just in time to enjoy in the warmth! You can drop by the brewery to pick up some cans, along with their T-Rex Porter and Chasing Sun NEIPA.
– Today at noon, Unfiltered will once again be re-releasing their Front Line Rocker, an 8.5% ABV, super juicy DIPA, on tap for growler fills and pints at the brewery.

The 2018 Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week is April 27-May 6, 2018. Hosted by the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, events from their 41 member breweries can be found across the province in this 12 day celebration of our favourite beverage. Many breweries are hosting their own events, as well as partnering with local restaurants, bars, and locations, with two Full House Events in Sydney on April 27 and Halifax on May 5, book-ending the week.

Rather than simply copy/paste the full event list from the CBANS website, we wanted to put it into a couple of formats that we think will be a little more useful on the fly.

As always, if we’ve missed an Official (or unofficial but still relevant) event, please hit us up on TwitterFacebook, or Instagram, we are @ACBeerBlog on all of them, and we’ll add it to our list. Use #NSCraftBeerWeek to stay on top of the latest goings ons. Be sure to say Hi! if you see us out at any of the events (including our Beer Trivia Night May 2nd at The Auction House). Cheers to Local Beers!

NS Craft Beer Week Calendar

Click the top-right to switch views between Week/Month/Agenda.

Add to Outlook or iCal by downloading this file. That should allow you to add to your mobile Calendar too.

NS Craft Beer Week Map

Click the top-left button to see the legend (there’s a layer for each day, can select only those days you’e interested in).

Full-sized map on a separate page.

The full list of NS Craft Beer Week Events can be found at the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia website, in case of late additions, we’ll update the map and calendar.

In honour of this weekend’s St John’s BrewFest, we wanted to lead this week’s post with the great beery news from The Rock. While the number and reach of locally-owned breweries in Newfoundland and Labrador was lacking for many years, the past few years have seen an explosion in number and variety of offerings available to the public. For a more thorough overview of that history, as well as the present and future of beer in Newfoundland (and soon Labrador), check out the Newfoundland Beer History site, and the latest post from writer Chris Conway (himself part of the opening-late-2018 Landwash Brewery in Mount Pearl). The local alt-paper The Overcast also keeps an eye on the latest Nfld Beer News, and has summarized the history in The Overcast’s Guide to Beers of Newfoundland, out this month. After reading those and getting excited for the rest of 2018, here what’s new this week:

• Port Rexton‘s retail shop on Torbay Rd is open again this weekend (Friday 4-8pm, Saturday 12-6pm), and will have 3 varieties in cans: Chasing Sun New England IPA, T-Rex Porter, and the return of Mixed Opportunity, their 5.6% ABV mixed fermentation Saison, employing multiple strains of Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces yeasts to ferment, giving funky farmhouse flavours and aromas. On growler fills are Baycation Blonde and T-Rex Porter. With their brewery taproom opening May 4th, they will continue to operate the retail location in town, concentrating on growler fills and merchandise sales, as they will be winding down their canning offerings.

• Also keep an eye open this weekend for Port Rexton’s Barrel-aged Brett Porter, which was a collaboration brewed back in September with Jana of Motion Bay Brewing (coming soon to Petty Harbour), and our own acbbchris. This beer was fermented in a freshly-emptied red wine barrel with Brett D (a specific strain of Brettanomyces bruxellensis), where it sat for several months before conditioning and packaging (sorry, kegs only!). The lovely wine notes complement the funky nose and flavour from the Brett fermentation, with the dark malt providing a pleasant base. It debuted at the Melee in the Market Port Rexton x 2 Crows Tap Takeover last night, and should be available this weekend.

• YellowBelly Brewery launched a new beer earlier this week, Patridgeberry Wheat. The Wheat Ale base was enhanced by the addition of local partridgeberries, known for their tart kick and full flavour, for a true taste of the Island. At 5.0% ABV, and quite quaffable, you could certainly be forgiven for going back for a second. It is on tap at the brewery and Takeaway (down the street at 264 Water) now, and in 1 litre bottles at the Takeaway and select NLC locations this weekend.

• Renovations continue at Quidi Vidi Brewing, as they expand their retail shop and transform their event space into a full-time taproom, which will offer visitors great views of the gut, and a fine pint to pair it with. The recent additions to their beer line-up, Calm Tom’s Double IPA and Mad Mike’s Big Belgian, will be around for the summer months, and complemented by beers brewed on their 350 litre pilot brewing system. We’ll let you know when the renos are done and the beer is pouring once again.

A few NL events for you this week, too:

• Believe it or not, a few tickets for tonight’s St John’s BrewFest are still available, and if you don’t already have yours, you’re best served to grab one now. In addition to beers from Mill Street, Port Rexton, Quidi Vidi, Split Rock, Storm, Western Newfoundland, and YellowBelly, there is a good showing from the rest of the Atlantic Provinces, including New Brunswick’s Hammond River, Loyalist City, Maybee, TrailWay, and Yip Cider; PEI’s Gahan and Upstreet; Nova Scotia’s 2 Crows, Bad Apple, Big Spruce, Garrison, No Boats on Sunday, and Spindrift. Plus from (further) away, Blindman, Flying Monkeys, Half Hours on Earth, and Other Half. The full list is available here. And all attendees receive a code for the pre-sale for the St John’s Cider Fest, which is June 22nd and 23rd.

• For those wanting to meet up with other beer fans in the area, The Brewnettes Beer Appreciation Club are holding a bottle share next Thursday, April 26th at 7pm, at Common Ground on Harvey Rd. This is a BYOB event, where you can share your latest homebrew or a cool bottle you picked up while traveling or your current fave from around town, and talk with friendly folks who love beer as much as you!

• If this weekend’s BrewFest isn’t enough, the NLC’s Beer Expo is happening May 11 and 12th at the Delta Hotel. As it is an NLC event, most of the beer will be those currently available at the stores and/or available after the event, though Quidi Vidi will be debuting several small batch beers at the event. The full list is available here, to plan your attack. The ticket includes pub grub, and a $10 Taxi Voucher to get home safe. There is also a separate Saturday afternoon Tasting Panel from 5:30-7pm, with speakers tasting and discussing 9 products in a more relaxed setting. Tickets are available online, or at the Mile One Box Office.

Let’s jump into the rest of our region now. Not surprisingly, with the weather warming up, we’re seeing a steady increase in the beer release frequency, the patios of the region are being set up and enjoying a beer outside seems like a fine plan, and not the crazy idea my neighbour yelled at me for last week.

• Starting a ferry ride from Newfoundland in Nyanza on Cape Breton Island, we mentioned last week that Big Spruce had some big releases coming up and we weren’t kidding. They’ve clearly been busy preparing to make a splash for NS Craft Beer Week. As we mentioned (late) in our Friday Wrap-up last week, The Gose of Christmas Past is already pouring at the Sprucetique and tap accounts around the Province. This is a 3.8% ABV beer in the Gose style, of course, brewed with Indian Coriander and French Sea Salt back in December with Merit Brewing of Hamilton before being racked into Tequila barrels for 2 months of aging. Also released this week, to strong reactions of every stripe, is The Real McNeil a Red IPA that was brewed with our Province’s Premier, Stephen McNeil. Weighing in at 6.8% ABV and 48 IBUs, however bitter the beer actually tastes, it’s almost certainly not nearly as bitter as some of the public response to it. Seemingly forgotten is the open letter to the province owner Jeremy White penned last year, detailing many of the frustrating laws in place holding back the flourishing of small business, and is still actively pushing for changes in those. While some progress has been made on these issues, further improvements aren’t likely to come without education and engagement, which is the stated point of this exercise. And if it also yielded tasty beer? Well, that’s surely a bonus. If you can stomach it, you’ll find it in red cans featuring a typically masterful caricature of the Premier by Bruce MacKinnon at the private stores in Halifax and coming on April 30th to 35 select NSLC stores around the province. Probably only in Liberal ridings, wha? Meanwhile, those who’ve pledged never to buy Big Spruce beer again surely won’t care that the first batch of their incredibly popular Silver Tart Raspberry Kettle Sour is ready and will be available at the Sprucetique this coming Wednesday, April 24, before hitting the private stores in Halifax next Saturday.

• Speaking of next Saturday, fans of Big Spruce’s Ra Ra Rasputin Barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout are probably feeling the itch, knowing that it’s traditionally released around this time each year. But this year Jeremy White and the gang have upped the ante considerably. Yes, you’ll be able to buy the Ra Ra you know and love, aged in Whiskey Barrels from Glenora Distillery in Cape Breton. But you’ll also see a version aged in French Cognac barrels. And another in California Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. And another in good ol’ American Bourbon Barrels. And finally one that spent time in Nicaraguan Rum barrels. Yes, that’s five, count ’em FIVE different variations of Ra Ra Rasputin available for your dilection. Whether you’re an existing fan of Ra Ra Rasputin, a fan of big beers in general, or just BA-curious, we can vouch for all five of the variations. Have you ever done a bottle share? It’s a great way to try several beers without a serious financial commitment. Consider getting some friends together to split a set of 2018 Ra Ras and figure out which are your favorites before going back for more. Tasting the same beer with 5 different treatments can also be an excellent beer education experience that shows just how much influence a single variable (barrel type in this case) can influence otherwise identical base beer. These will be available a week from tomorrow, Saturday, April 28th, at the brewery and in private stores in Halifax! Some bottles of the 2017 vintage are still around if you want to do a comparison and some tap accounts may see the 2017 version on tap to open craft beer week!

• And lastly in Big Spruce news is the release of another annual spring tradition, Cerberus Double IPA. Brewed this year with Tatamagouche Brewing and Port Williams’ Sea Level Brewing, this is an organic beer whose recipe has been rejigged for 2018. Weighing in at 7.5% ABV, it’s described as “abundantly bitter and deeply aromatic,” with late-addition hops in “lip-smacking” quantities that produce a complex, yet balanced beer. Also new for this year is availability in cans. You’ll find them as of today at the private stores in Halifax and, we believe, at each of the participating breweries.

• Continuing with Tatamagouche Brewing, after more than a year’s hiatus, they’ve brought back Square One, their 6.2% ABV dry-hopped Saison. With a fairly simple grist made up mostly of Pilsner malt, with some Oats, Spelt, and Rye in there as well, it was bittered with Chinook to 32 IBUs, and dry-hopped with a blend of Citra, Hallertau Blanc and Amarillo, giving tons of fruity, citrusy goodness. Fermented with the New World Saison blend – which includes both Sacch and Brett – from Escarpment Labs, this year’s bottles have been bottle-conditioned to let the Brett funk develop further with time… so, buy some now to enjoy the hops, and cellar some to compare over the coming months! Don’t want to wait? Stillwell has a keg of this year’s batch AND one from the last batch, both of which will be tapped alongside one another today. For bottles, pick up yours at Tatabrew now, and at the private stores in the HRM next week.

• Halifax’s Garrison Brewing was among several breweries in the region to brew a beer with Angus Ross from Canadian Yeast producer Escarpment Labs and theirs is, we believe, the first to come ready. Country Road Farmhouse Ale was brewed with Honey from Wolfville’s Cosman & Whidden Honey and dry-hopped with modern German variety Huell Melon hops. Slightly funky from the use of the Brettanomyces-esque Saccharomyces strain known as Sacch Trois provided by Escarpment, and deliciously hoppy from the healthy dry hop, this is a refreshing beer at 6% ABV. In other Garrison news, their traditional spring seasonal maple beer has undergone a metamorphosis this year as Sugar Moon Maple Ale is now Sugar Moon Maple Porter! Featuring a base grist of Maritime Pale Ale, with Crystal,Chocolate and Amber Malts for color and character, it was hopped to 28 IBUs with Polaris. But the key ingredient, as always, is Maple Syrup from Sugar Moon Maple Farm in Earltown, NS. With dark and sweet flavors and an ABV of 6.3%, this is one to sip under a cold sugar moon as you anticipate the turn of Spring that will almost certainly happen any month now…

• Earlier this week, 2 Crows released another of their one-off, taproom-only beers, created by Assistant Brewer Miles Bishop on the brewery’s pilot system. Great Plains is a 6.2% ABV, 22 IBUs American Wheat Ale brewed with a high percentage of Wheat malt to help boost the mouthfeel, as well as provide a dough-like character to the beer. Hopped with Falconer’s Flight and Mandarina Bavaria to give a burst of citrus, it was fermented with wine yeast and Brett C, lending “subtle grape and pineapple notes, as well as a small amount of funk”. If there’s any left, it’ll be available for by-the-glass only at 2 Crows; stop in today to give it a try before it’s gone!

• Not too far away, at Good Robot, you can expect the return of Awesome Beer, Great Job!, an “Autumn Saison” originally released by the brewery back in 2016, next Thursday. At 6.4% ABV and in the low-20s for IBUs, it has notes of plum, banana, and burnt sugar. For next week’s Beta Brew, Frank Robb from the Lion’s Head helped design Clifford the Big Red Brew, an American Amber Ale. Aiming to have lots of malt character and low bitterness, they went with Pale malt, Red X, Vienna, Crystal 60 L, and a “secret malt” in the grist, and threw in a little Green Bullet to get to about 18 IBUs. It should come in at about 4.5% ABV, and will be available on tap next Tuesday.

• It’s another second Friday (arguably, isn’t it always?), which means it’s time for another entry in Upstreet‘s Neon Friday, a series of hoppy beers. This week gives us West Coast Session IPA, a 5.5% ABV, 65 IBUs golden-coloured brew that was hopped solely with Falconer’s Flight. Some Melanoidin was included in the mash to provide a “nice, round malt finish”, complemented by the citrus character from the FF. You can find this one today at Upstreet and the Craft Beer Corner, and a couple of kegs may even be heading to Halifax. Upstreet is also releasing a limited number of bottles of Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy with Spruce Tips, the next beer in their barrel-aged series, Million Acres. Head brewer Hogie made a concentrated spruce tip tea, which he blended with the 9.5% ABV beer at bottling, to help balance that massive malt character from the base beer. Bottles are available at both Upstreet and the CBC (the beer CBC, not the other one), and a small amount will also turn up in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

• If you live near/in, or are passing through Chester, Nova Scotia, drop by Tanner & Co. Brewing to give their new Saison a try. The grist was made up of Pilsner, Vienna, Munich and Wheat malt, with the wort being hopped in several stages with East Kent Goldings (a dry-hop addition was made with the same hop as well). Fermented with the lovely French Saison yeast, giving aromatics of pepper and lemon, the EKG additions also lend some earthy, spicy notes to the beer. The brewery describes the entire experience as having “flavours of lemon, honey, cereal, and roasted pear, with a dry finish”, which is definitely more eloquent than we would may have come up with! It’s available right now, and weighs in at 6.8% ABV and 34 IBUs.

• A blast from the not-so-distant past is back at Spindrift Brewing in Dartmouth’s Burnside Industrial Park. After brewing stints at Gahan Harbourside in Halifax and consulting to help get The Good Word Brewing up and running in Atlanta, Georgia, Kyle Jeppesen is back where he spent time as Quality Manager and Assistant Brewer earlier in his career. With a new brewer in the fold there are bound to be some changes and we’ve been advised that though Spindrift will remain a primarily lager brewery, some ales are definitely going to creep into full production. If you’re in attendance at the NS Craft Beer Week Full House event you’ll have a chance at a first taste of two new brews, the core Hurricane IPA and the seasonal Wheel House Radler. Look for more info on those in coming weeks. We’ll keep an ear to the ground for any other new brews or tweaks to existing brews as time goes on.

• Meanwhile, Steve Crane, Spindrift’s Assistant Brewer and Admiral of the Seventh Wave Pilot Batch Fleet has a new brew available today that he’s calling Fill Yer Boots. Born of a deal with Mother Nature to hasten the arrival of Spring (we think you might’ve been played there, Steve), it’s a lovely and light 4.0% ABV wheat-based beer bittered to a barely-there-but-you’d-miss-it-if-it-wasn’t 6.6 IBU and backed with a serious Blood Orange kick. As with all entries in the Seventh Wave series, this one is available for fills only at the brewery.

• The PEI Brewing Co. has brought us their latest IPA and After Hours entry, Snowbird Juicy IPA (just in time for most of Canada’s “snowbirds” to arrive back to give it a taste). This 6% ABV, light-coloured beer was brewed with the type of grist – Pale malt, Wheat, and Oats – that you just know will allow the hops to be the star of the show. The hops chosen for this one were El Dorado and Ella, giving big aromas of tropical fruit and floral/spice, with low bitterness in the finish. It’s available on tap at all the Gahan House locations (including Gahan House – Riverside, which just opened in downtown Fredericton earlier this week), and in cans in PEI and New Brunswick.

• And speaking of Gahan, we managed to track down the very busy Spencer Gallant, who has been splitting his time brewing at the Gahan locations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to find our what’s on next on tap at each location. Let’s start in Fredericton at the Riverside, with the first two beers brewed on their 5 BBL (600 litre) DME system debuting next week. The first is a 5.2% hoppy lager, with a malt bill of Belgian Pilsner malt and Oats, and features loads of Mosaic, Citra, and Columbus for hopping to about 30 IBUs, and plenty of flavour and character. The second beer is a 6.0% ABV mixed-grain IPA, with barley, oats, rye, and rice, featuring Azacca and Simcoe for a 45 IBU bitterness and flavour. Down Highway 7, you’ll find Gahan Port City, where Gallant brewed up a New England-style IPA, featuring Pale Ale and Wheat malts, and oats for a creamy and smooth mouthfeel, and iconic haziness. Using Vermont Ale from Escarpment, and generously hopped with Amarillo, Vic Secret and Palisade. This 6.8% ABV beer will be debuting next week as well.

• Looks like Loyalist City is giving us their first new beer in some time, after weeks of brewing and packaging several of their core brands. Refraction is a Session IPA, a style that head brewer Mark McGraw has been working on tirelessly to pack in plenty of flavour and aroma, while keeping the mouthfeel from becoming too thin, always an issue with low-ABV beers. Well, low-ABV this beer is (4%), and with Perle and Citra used in the boil, and two dry-hop additions of Vic Secret, expect “an intense aroma of tropical fruit, with some awesome pineapple and passion fruit notes that are accompanied by moderate citrus aromas of grapefruit and tangerine”. Yellow and hazy, with a medium-light body, you can find it on tap only, at your favourite Loyalist City account.

• We’ve got the details on the latest release in the Something Different series from Annapolis Cider Company, which is coming out today. Mixed Berry & Pear is a 7% ABV sparkling cider that features a blend of strawberry, black currant, and Bosc pear juices with their signature dry cider. The black currants help darken the colour of the cider, as well as add tannins, resulting in a medium-bodied cider with a rose colour, and “vibrant notes of ripe strawberries and subtle hints of aromatic pear”. Drop by to get your fill, where $0.50 from each will help support The Ross Creek Centre for the Arts.

• Fredericton’s TrailWay is taking a breather from the hoppy beers – for a moment, at least – with the release of Beans, their latest Coffee Stout. Returning to their earlier days by brewing what they describe as basically the same recipe as their Whitney Coffee Stout from 2014, Whitney Coffee is still featured in the brew, with a “slightly-adjusted technique of adding the coffee” to create a stronger coffee aroma. It comes in at 6.3% ABV and is available as of today, at the brewery, on tap and in cans. And look for their hugely popular Hu Jon Hops in the fridges of the four private stores in HRM in the next few days.

• Back to Nova Scotia, Annapolis Brewing Company has been brewing up a storm on their new 5 BBL (600 litre) system, preparing themselves for the warmer months, and the opening of their taproom next month. A 1500 square foot location, it will have seating for 60 people, and feature 20 taps (including 4 for nitro beers!), for a showcase of their own lineup, plus guest beers. They will be offering growler fills, 355mL stubby bottles (their first packaged product), and kegs to go, as well as merchandise. They are currently looking for craft beer and hospitality fans to join their taproom team on both a full- and part-time basis, so email them today! And look to their social media (Tw, FB, IG) Sunday for the fun as they join with the crew from Horton Ridge for a collaborative brew day, with all Maritime-grown malt and hops, to be released in time for the Craft Beer Farmers Market in Annapolis Royal, which opens for the season May 13th. We’ll have lots more details on the Market, and the beer, next month.

• As yet another school year starts to wind to an end, it’s the perfect time for some news from Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewing. First, Schoolhouse is the latest brewery to bring in mobile canning company Craft Coast Canning to fill 5 pallets worth of cans with their Principal Ale. You’ll see these in NSLC locations across the province by the end of the month with a pre-release event scheduled at the brewery for this coming Tuesday, April 24th. Brewer Leigh Davison has also been working on some tweaks to a couple of beers, with both Skratch Plaskett and Vice Principal IPA getting recipe re-works. The Skratch Plaskett now features organic Horton Ridge Wheat and Pilsner malts and is heavily hopped with Galena and New Zealand Summer hops; you’ll be able to try the new formulation of this “slightly hazy, subtly fruity, refreshing and easy drinking ‘Festival Ale'” in early May. And already on the market, and quickly becoming the brewery’s best seller, the latest batch of Vice Principal IPA has twice the hops of previous batches, with a heavy dose of Simcoe leading the way and Amarillo also in the mix yielding a piney and juicy hop character with “just the right amount” of bitterness. At 5.6% ABV it comes in a bit higher than previous batches, no longer fitting the Session IPA label. Regardless of classification, if it sounds like the kind of IPA you like to drink we recommend looking for it at the brewery.

• Last year, British Columbia’s Central City Brewing celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday by releasing Across the Nation, a variety of collaboration beers brewed with all ten provinces and two territories, each represented by one of their local breweries. Released as a 12-pack, it was extremely popular and the beers sold out quickly, and as a result, they’ve – luckily for us! – decided to do it all again for 2018! With this year’s 12-pack (which will be in 355 mL cans this time around) scheduled to be released in May, let’s get into what our regional breweries who were selected to participate have brewed up!

• New Brunswick (TrailWay) – Keeping true to form, the TrailWay folks brewed up something pale and hoppy with Central City, an American IPA named Three Beasts. The name refers to three of TW’s favourite hops to brew with, Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy, all of which were used in copious amounts. As with most of their beers, expect one with low bitterness, yet plenty of tropical fruit in the aroma and taste. And don’t worry if you’re anxious to try this one and don’t get to purchase a 12-pack… TW has assured us they will be brewing the same beer on their own system in the future, to be released sometime in June.

• Newfoundland (YellowBelly) – Brewmaster Liam McKenna of YellowBelly made the long trip West to Central City, and brewed up Me Ol’ Trout, a Cream Ale. Partially based on a previous collaboration McKenna had brewed with Australia’s Top Shed Brewery, this version is a new take on the style, with plenty of Mosaic hops used to keep you excited. At 4.8% ABV, 18 IBU, the Newfoundland-brewed release is currently available at the brewery and Takeaway shop, and in 1 litre bottles at select NLCs.

• Nova Scotia (2 Crows) – Jeremy Taylor travelled to Central City to brew Coast 2 Coast, an “Ancient Grain Rustic Saison”. Borrowing off an idea from one of his earliest small batch beers at 2 Crows, Sunny Days – a Brett Saison brewed with sunflower seeds – Jeremy concocted the recipe, taking a grist that included Flaked Rye and Spelt, and added a pretty-healthy percentage of malted sunflower seeds. It wasn’t long before everyone involved regretted that decision, however, as we can now confirm that sunflower seeds are a b**** to brew with. Let’s just leave it at that, emotions are still too high to get into details. Regardless, the resulting wort was fermented with Wallonian Farmhouse II (from The Yeast Bay), with Sacch Trois being pitched at roughly 60% attenuation as well. The goal is a 6.6% ABV beer with an “earthy, restrained ester profile, and a touch of rustic fruitiness”.

• PEI (Upstreet) – Moving from hops to Belgian to Lager, Upstreet certainly didn’t go with what most people think of when they hear the “L” word, with their collaboration, Singing Sands, being entirely different. Described as a “Salted Caramel Lager”, a high amount of Medium Crystal malt was used in the mash, with brown sugar and lactose added to the beer to up the sweetness even further. But they didn’t stop there! Salt, vanilla, and Cholaca (a pure liquid cacao) were also added, post-fermentation, giving you an idea of the flavours and aromas you can expect to experience with this beer. Upstreet plans on brewing their own batch of Singing Sands for a mid-May, draft-only release in Charlottetown.

If you’re wondering when and where all the Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week events will be, look for a separate post on those this coming week. Until then, here’s what’s happening in the next few days:

• This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day, and Picaroons is celebrating with the release of likely their most popular seasonal, Dooryard. Rather than just making this 4.5% ABV American Wheat Ale available to the masses, however, they’re holding a special Launch Party that involves more than just drinking beer. Starting at 11 am, you’ll be taking part in Clean Up Fredericton, where you’re encouraged to pick up trash around the city, before returning to the Picaroons Roundhouse for lunch. Then, at 2 pm, there’ll be plenty of live music thanks to the Flourish Festival, which will continue until the Roundhouse closes up shop for the day at 6 pm. Of course, beer will be available throughout the day, and Monks & Jonesie Gastro Truck will be on hand if you get hungry again. Your entry fee is by donation.