Atlantic Canada Beer Festivals

The third annual Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week is nearly upon us! It is presented by the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, whose member base includes 34 breweries from across the province. With events scheduled May 5-14 and from Sydney to Yarmouth, we thought it would be helpful to put them into a Calendar that can be added to your favourite app/phone, and a Map to help plan out your travels for the week.

As always, if we’ve missed an event, please hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, 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 Aaron or Chris (or both, on Wednesday at The AXEcellent Trivia at Timber Lounge!). Cheers to Local Beers!

NS Craft Beer Week Calendar

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

Add this to Outlook or iCal.

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 would like).

Click the top-right button to embiggen the map in a new window.

FCBF

The third annual Fredericton Craft Beer Festival (FCBF) will be taking place on Saturday, March 7th at the Fredericton Convention Centre downtown. This year’s festival promises to somehow improve on last year’s event, featuring new breweries and new beers, while continuing to focus strongly on those represented by the Maritimes. The festival has many sponsors: event sponsors include Massive Graphics and the King Street Ale House; hotel sponsor is the Crowne Plaza-Lord Beaverbrook Hotel; and supporting sponsors Investors Group and Atlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers.

This year’s FCBF sold out even faster than last year’s… all 1,050 tickets were spoken for more than two weeks ago, with the 250 VIP tickets selling out within hours of going on sale. The festival will run from 7:30-10:00 pm, and features 4 oz pours of a large variety of craft beers, ciders and mead. VIP ticket-holders get early access to the festival at 6:30 pm, as well as a custom tasting glass.

There will be several food options available during the festival; the full list hasn’t been confirmed yet, but we can confirm that Johnny 5’s Burger and Fries will have sliders and potato wedges available for purchase, and Magzy’s Kettle Korn will be there for the third year in a row.

For those visiting from out of town (or Frederictonians who want to make a full night of it!), the Crowne Plaza – located across the street from the Convention Centre – is once again offering their festival rate of $109/night for both Friday and Saturday (March 6th and 7th); that discounted rate is available here. There will be lots of craft beer available before and after the festival in the city – the King Street Ale House has been named as the Official Beer Bar of the festival, and always has plenty of options on tap and in bottles. Also, the James Joyce Irish Pub, located in the Crowne Plaza, has been steadily increasing their selection of draught craft beer lately, and they’re hoping to have at least one beer from almost every craft brewery in New Brunswick.

Last year’s festival saw a significant increase over the inaugural event in 2013, with 28 brewers and distributors pouring over 150 different beers, ciders and meads. This year, there will be even more: about 45 breweries and 190 different beers will be available! With the exception of Acadie-Broue, every brewery in New Brunswick will be attending this year. Both breweries from PEI will be there, along with seven breweries from Nova Scotia, making a large showing from the Atlantic provinces – more than half of the booths will feature local beers! As well, thanks to importers Good Pallets and ASWL, ticket-holders will see many new breweries from outside Atlantic Canada attending for the first time, such as Quebec’s Dieu du Ciel!, Trou du Diable, and Trois Mousquetaires, and Ontario’s Flying Monkeys and Grand River Brewing, to name a few.

While many favorites will be pouring from breweries attending FCBF, there are lots of one-offs that will be available for tasting, and several breweries are even bringing new beers brewed specifically for the festival! Fredericton’s own TrailWay Brewing will have three new beers (an APA, IPA, and Imperial Coffee Milk Stout); Big Tide is bringing a traditional Bavarian lager, Bucht Bock; Boxing Rock’s collaboration Rye IPA (The Next Chapter) brewed with Andrew “Esty” Estabrooks will be making it’s awaited debut; and Big Spruce will have UnRYEvaled Chocolate Rye IPA. As well, Petit-Sault will have their new beer brewed earlier this month for International Women’s Day, Phémie-la-Bootlegger.

All of the local breweries will have a brewer and/or brewery representative on hand to answer questions about their products. As well, Good Pallets will have several volunteers on hand; these volunteers have many decades of combined experience in the industry. So, feel free to discuss beer at the festival, instead of just consuming it! In addition, many breweries will have swag on hand for purchase.

Finally, two breweries planning to open in the near future will have brewers in the crowd: Riverview, NB’s A.W.O.L. Brewery will be represented by owner/brewer Robert Black, and the crew from Wrought Iron Brewing in Halifax will also be at the festival. If you can find them, be sure to stop and say hi!

Now, on to the brewery/beer list!  Keep in mind these products are subject to change, and some have not been announced yet. We will continue to update this list as we find out more information:

Atlantic Spirits & Wines (Dartmouth, NS) – Somersby Cider, Kronenbourg 1664, Holsten Festbock, Holsten Maibock,

Authentic Seacoast Brewing Co. (Guysborough, NS) – Rare Bird Pale Ale, Rare Bird Full Steam Stout, Rare Bird Red Ale

Bad Apple Brewhouse (Berwick, NS) – Black and Tackle RIS, Mosaic DIPA

Barnone Brewing (Rose Valley, PEI) – IPA, Pale Ale, Summer Sessions, American Wheat Ale

Big Axe Brewing (Nackawic, NB) – Big Axe Blonde, Shakesbeer Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Wrath of Putin Imperial Pale Ale, Red Ale

Big Spruce Brewing (Nyanza, NS) – Tim’s Dirty American IPA, Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout, Coade Word: Snowmageddon, UnRYEvaled Chocolate Rye IPA

Big Tide Brewing Company (Saint John, NB) – Fogbound Hemp Pale Ale, Bucht Bock

Black Oak Brewing (Etobicoke, ON) – 10 Bitter Years

Boxing Rock Brewing (Shelburne, NS) – Temptation Red Ale, Hunky Dory Pale Ale, The Vicar’s Cross Double IPA, The Next Chapter (Rye IPA)

Brasseurs du Petit-Sault (Edmundston, NB) – Tante Blanche, Bob LeBouef, Louis XVII, Canon Franchetti, Phémie-la-Bootlegger

Celtic Knot (Riverview, NB) – Dubh Loki Black IPA, Éire (Irish Red Ale)

Central City Brewing (Surrey, BC) – Red Racer IPA, Red Racer Copper Ale

Churchill Cellars (Toronto, ON) – Bavaria 8.6 (Original), Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse, Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse, Amsterdam Natural Blonde, Amsterdam Boneshaker IPA, Amsterdam Orange Weisse

Creemore Springs Brewery (Creemore, ON) – Creemore Springs Premium Lager, Mad & Noisy Hops & Bolts, Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale

Dieu du Ciel! (St-Jerome, QC) – Péché Mortel, Moralité, Chemin de Croix

Double Trouble Brewing (ON) – Hops and Robbers Extra Delicious IPA, Prison Break, Fire in the Rye, Revenge of the Ginger, French Press Vanilla Stout

Flying Monkeys (Barrie, ON) – Hoptical Illusion, Smashbomb Atomic IPA, The Matador Version 2.0 El Toro Bravo, Genius of Suburbia, The Chocolate Manifesto

Garrison Brewing Co. (Halifax, NS) – Tall Ship Amber, Irish Red, Raspberry Wheat, IPA, Imperial IPA, Glutenberg American Pale Ale, Glutenberg Blonde, Glutenberg Red

Grand River Brewing (Cambridge, ON) – Plowman’s Ale, Mill Race Mild, Pugnacious Pale Ale, Curmudgeon IPA

Grimross Brewing Company (Fredericton, NB) – Cheval D’Or, Ben’s Bitter Pale Ale

Hammond River Brewing (Quispamsis, NB) – Too Hop to Handle DIPA, Breakfast Stout, Imperial Vanilla Porter (Bourbon version)

Lake of Bays Brewing (Baysville, ON) – 10 Point IPA, Top Shelf Lager, Old North Mocha Porter, Rock Cut Lager, Spark House Red Ale, Crosswind Pale Ale

McAuslan Brewery (Montreal, QC) – St. Ambroise Pale Ale, St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat, St. Ambroise IPA

McClelland Premium Imports (Mississauga, ON) – Erdinger Weissbier, Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel, Fruli Strawberry, Stiegl Lager, Stiegl Radler, Mort Subite Kriek, Mort Subite Framboise, Mongozo Premium Pilsner, Palm Amber Ale, Delirium Tremens, Delirium Tremens Christmas

Mill St. Brewery (Scarborough, ON) – Belgian Wit, Belgian Tank House, Belgian Organic

Moosehead (Saint John, NB) – Moosehead Boundary Ale, Moosehead Pale Ale, Clancy’s, Moosehead Radler, Hop City Barking Squirrel, Hop City HopBot, Hop City Big Mouth Pale Ale, Hop City 8th Sin Black Lager, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Sam Adams Rebel IPA, Sam Adams Cold Snap

Muskoka Brewery (Bracebridge, ON) – Mad Tom IPA, Detour Session IPA

Le Naufrageur (Carleton-sur-mer, QC) – Raccoon, Corte-Real, Saint-Barnabe, Swordfish, Carrick, Penelope, Ale Amerindienne, Ale Amerindienne Double Blanche (Tanaisie), Ale Amerindienne Myrique Beaumier

Northampton Brewing Company/Picaroons (Fredericton, NB) – Maple Cream Ale, Yippee IPA, and four casks: Winter Warmer, Scotch Ale, a Brown Ale, and one TBA

PEI Brewing Company (Charlottetown, PEI) – Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, Sydney Street Stout, 1772 IPA, Island Red, Iron Bridge Brown, Beach Chair Lager, Blueberry Ale, and a TBD cask

Propeller Brewing (Halifax, NS) – Pale Ale, IPA, London Style Porter, Double IPA, RIS, Irish Red Ale

Pump House Brewery (Moncton, NB) – Biere de Garde, Premium Pilsner, IPA, Blueberry, 4 Alarm IPA (on cask)

Railcar Brewing (Florenceville-Bristol, NB) – Artisan Brown Ale, Cafe Buzz Coffee Porter

Red Rover Brewing (Fredericton, NB) – Spring Cider, Summer Cider, Fall Cider, TBA Seasonal

Shiretown Beer (Rover Charlo, NB) – Blonde du Quai, Big Brown Ale, Siren’s T’Ale, TBA Special-release

Sleeman Breweries Ltd (Guelph, ON) – Sleeman Cream Ale, Sleeman Silver Clear, Sleeman Honey Brown, Sleeman Original Draught, Unibroue Maudite, Okanagan Mild Winter Ale, Sapporo, Dos Equis Special Lager, Old Milwaukee

Sunset Heights Meadery (Fredericton, NB) – Queen’s Nectar, Denim (Blueberry), Tart’n (Cranberry), Naughtea (Iced Green Tea), Shipwreck (India Pale Mead), Meadmosa, Bee Mine, A Peel

Tatamagouche Brewing (Tatamagouche, NS) – North Shore Lagered Ale, Dreadnot India Black Ale

TrailWay Brewing (Fredericton, NB) – a new APA, Imperial IPA, and Imperial Coffee Milk Stout

Les Trois Mousquetaires (Brossard, QC) – Porter Baltique, Hopfenweisse, Maibock, Sticke Alt, Kellerbier, Pale Ale Americaine

Trou du Diable (Shawinigan, QC) – La Pitoune, Morsure, MacTavish in Memorium, Dubaï Pillée, Le Sang D’Encre, Saison du Tracteur

Windward Imports (Halifax, NS) – Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale, Shipyard Export Ale, Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA

It’s always been a great time at the FCBF, and this year won’t disappoint! As the FCBF tagline states, “It’s all about the beer. Pure. Simple.” Both Shawn and Chris will be attending; we hope to see you there!

peibeerfest

This year’s Prince Edward Island Beer Festival, produced by the PEI Brewing Co., will be held on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5th and 6th. We recently chatted with Alex Douglas, Director of Branding and Community Engagement with the PEI Brewing Co., to find out a few more details on the festival.

This is the first year that the festival will be held indoors, at the Delta Prince Edward Hotel. According to Douglas, this was a natural decision due to the unpredictability of weather and consequent protection from the elements. Also, the new ballroom where the festival will be held has a patio overlooking Peakes Quay, which should provide an enjoyable atmosphere for festival attendees.

There will be three tasting sessions over the weekend; two evening sessions, Friday and Saturday, from 6:30 – 9:30 pm, and a slightly shorter afternoon session on Saturday from 2:00 – 4:30 pm. Evening tickets are $40 (+tax and fee), and the afternoon tickets are $30 (+tax and fee). Tickets are still available; they can be purchased online, or in-person at the PEI Brewing Co. There are also discounted hotel & ticket packages available through the Delta; call to inquire (1-877-450-7752). We’ve been assured that Designated Driver tickets will also become available soon, for $15 online.

What does your ticket get you?

• Unlimited beer samples

• Live entertainment at each session (featuring several local bands; check out the beer fest web page for details)

• Voting in the Cask Contest

• Access to several on-site games

In regards to the Cask Contest, attending breweries have been invited to create a cask beer for the festival; festival goers will have the chance to try all cask offerings and vote on their favorite of the festival. Participating breweries in the contest will include PEI Brewing Co., Garrison, Picaroons, and possibly more. As for the games, we don’t have full details as to what they will entail, but Douglas said to expect “some classic East Coast-style party games to be played”.

There will be food available for purchase from several vendors at the festival. No word as to which vendors will be participating yet, however, details should follow on the festival’s website and social media links soon.

As for the beer, the mostly-completed brewery and beer list has been released on the festival’s website. Atlantic Canadian breweries attending include PEI Brewing Co., Garrison, Picaroons, and Pump House. Like last year, there will be over 75 different beers pouring, so attendees should have plenty to choose from.

Starting tonight, we’ll be holding a contest to give away two tickets to the festival; any session, winner’s choice! It’s easy to enter… take a picture of any of the beers that will be at the festival, and Tweet it or share it to our Facebook page, with the hashtag #PEIBeerFest. Only one entry per person; the contest will begin immediately and continue until next Thursday, August 28th at 11:59 pm. That gives you a whole week, so don’t miss out on your chance to win!

And remember, stay tuned to the festival’s Facebook page and Twitter account for more updates on food, entertainment, and beer over the next couple of weeks!