Beer Events

It’s a little hard to believe for some of us, mostly because we realize it’s further evidence we’re getting old, but it’s now been a decade since word spread through the craft beer-loving community in Halifax that we were getting a “Beer Bar.” Not that everyone knew what that meant, given that such a thing didn’t really exist in the Atlantic region at the time. Sure we had some brewpubs, a few brewery taprooms, and a couple of places (RIP Tom’s Little Havana) that were known to take beer more seriously than, say, the Dome or the Lower Deck, but this was going to be a place where beer was going to be the focus. A wall of taps; ten or a dozen. Special attention for local brews. Given that there were fewer than 30 craft breweries in the region at the time we weren’t even sure how that was going to work. A bottle list. A what now?! Hand pumps and casks. Whaaaaat??! We heard it was being run by some folks who’d worked at Bar Volo in Toronto, which gave locals who’d been there some clues. But in the great tradition of, “Do we really want Toronto things in Halifax?” that also caused some consternation. So did, “bar service only,” at least until we learned to appreciate the efficiency.

Opening in November, 2013, Stillwell proceeded to be a big part of changing the landscape of craft beer enjoyment in our region. They hired friendly staff that knew beer and/or were willing to learn and share their knowledge. Even though the kitchen was small, they found staff who made the most of it. They introduced many of us to tap takeovers, Belgian beers, themed events (The Stillwell Open!), and great beers from New England, Ontario, Quebec, BC, the UK, other parts of Atlantic Canada, and more. They pioneered a beer garden; twice. They opened a British-style Pub, the Freehouse. They survived the pandemic. Now the empire has extended to producing beer of their own at Stillwell Brewing Co. We figure the only mistake they made along the way was not calling it “Stillwell’s” because, frankly, way too many people still call it that.

But it all started at HQ on Barrington Street in November, 2013, and that’s where they’ll be celebrating this weekend. Friday and Saturday, from noon until late, there’s going to be a party. We’d like to say a big congratulations to the team and all who have helped in their success over the past 10 years. Stop in and raise a glass with friends old and new as we enter the second decade of Stilly.

Here’s the opening taplist for Friday at noon:

  • Stillwell Brewing Co – Stilly Pils
  • Stillwell Brewing Co – Czech 10º Lager
  • Stillwell Brewing Co – Czech 13º Dark Lager
  • Boon – Gueuze
  • North – Saison de Chardonnay
  • Tatamagouche – Carmine
  • Trailway – Seeing Citra
  • 2 Crows – Unnamed New IPA
  • Burdock – Ducks IPA
  • Unfiltered – Exile on North Street
  • Unfiltered – RSMA
  • Stillwell Brewing Co – Auld
  • Blood Brothers – Under a House in Northern Italy

When those kegs kick, there are plenty more waiting in the wings, including: 

  • Stillwell Brewing Co – Preach
  • Oud Beersel – Rozenlambiek
  • 2 Crows – Alright Alright Alright
  • Burdock – Good Grapes Fredonia
  • Tusket – Only NEAPA
  • Saint Andrews – Southbound IPA
  • Tatamagouche – Deception Bay
  • Trailway – HuJon Hops
  • Lone Oak x Banished – Mustard Pickles TIPA
  • Tanner – Altbier
  • Blood Brothers – Unify or Die

There will also be delightful things pouring by the glass whether you like special beers, cider, or natural wine, and something from Revel will also be on tap, although what, exactly, is yet to be determined. Of course there will also be tasty treats to snack on, as Joe and his team load up a “Best Of” from their years in the kitchen. There will be a full contingent from the blog both days, we hope to see you there!

This past weekend was a big one in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as breweries and brewing industry folks descended into town bringing welcome gifts in liquid form, not unlike the rain pouring down to quell the nearby wildfires. It was a weekend that people could get together within the industry to celebrate, learn, and grow against a backdrop of some good ol’ East Coast hospitality, for the second time in 5 years. 

While we celebrate all the winners across the 59 categories of the Canadian Brewing Awards, your pals here at the ACBB are here to bring you the AC summary of the CBAs. Last year, we had 19 Atlantic Canadian award-winners across all categories and this year we’ve added eight more on top of last year’s tally. In total, 18 different breweries from our region brought home accolades.

Here’s a breakdown by province of the 2023 award winners:

Starting at the top of the table, New Brunswick hit big with three gold winners in the following categories:

The other gold on the board came from a big weekend winner out of Newfoundland:

Secret Cove, specifically out of Port au Port, also brought home another 2 awards, to complete the trifecta.

  • Irish And Scotch Ales – Red Vinyl , Secret Cove Brewing – SILVER
  • American Style Imperial India Pale Ale – The Great Auk, Secret Cove Brewing – BRONZE

Two other Nova Scotia breweries also scored a treble, interestingly enough, these two just released the Twin Shores collaboration beer together. 

  • Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Barrel Aged Lambic Style Ale, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
  • English Style India Pale Ale – India Pale Ale, Propeller Brewing  – BRONZE
  • American-style Brett Beer – Wilder Brett IPA, Propeller Brewing  – BRONZE
  • Baltic Porter – Two Rivers Baltic Porter, Tatamagouche Brewing – SILVER
  • Cream Ale – Apres, Tatamagouche Brewing – BRONZE
  • Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Tempest, Tatamagouche Brewing – HON. MENTION

We had a few breweries bring home a pair of awards as well and one of them has a Gold listed above, so we’ll list the rest of those doubles below:

  • Oatmeal Stout – Boat Traffic, Lone Oak Brewing – HON. MENTION
  • Low Alcohol Beer – Noble, Lone Oak Brewing – SILVER
  • Barley Wine-Style Ale – Ol’ Fog Burner, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE
  • Historic/Regional Beers – Spruce Beer, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE

Here is the full list of winners broken down by Province for the Atlantic Canadian winners:

New Brunswick

  • English Style Pale Ale – Golden Grover, Foghorn Brewing – SILVER
  • French and Belgian Style Saison – Cheval D’or, Grimross Brewing – GOLD
  • Porter – Black Door, Hampton Brewing – BRONZE
  • European Style Lager (Pilsner) – Operation Feed Pilsner, Long Bay Brewery – BRONZE
  • Cream Ale – 8 Secondes, Novum Boreas – GOLD
  • Belgian-Style Brett Beer – Into the Wild, O’Creek Brewing – BRONZE
  • Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Pretty Please, Trailway Brewing – SILVER
  • Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Event Horizon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, Trailway Brewing – GOLD

Newfoundland & Labrador

  • Session Ale – Liquid Sunshine, Boomstick Brewing – HON. MENTION
  • Gluten Free Beer – Gluten Free Lager, Port Rexton Brewing  – BRONZE
  • Irish And Scotch Ales – Red Vinyl, Secret Cove Brewing – SILVER
  • North American Style Blonde or Golden Ale – James Blonde 00709, Secret Cove Brewing – GOLD
  • American Style Imperial India Pale Ale – The Great Auk, Secret Cove Brewing – BRONZE

Nova Scotia

  • Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – Bière de Coupage, 2 Crows Brewing – SILVER
  • North American Style Amber/Dark Lager – Toller Red, Burnside Brewing – BRONZE
  • Barley Wine-Style Ale – Ol’ Fog Burner, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE
  • Historic/Regional Beers – Spruce Beer, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE
  • German-Style Sour Ale – Girl, Hold My Earrings, Lunn’s Mill Beer Company – BRONZE
  • North American Style Amber/Red Ale – Right Some Red, Nine Locks Brewing – BRONZE
  • Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Barrel Aged Lambic Style Ale, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
  • English Style India Pale Ale – India Pale Ale, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
  • American-style Brett Beer – Wilder Brett IPA, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
  • Baltic Porter – Two Rivers Baltic Porter, Tatamagouche Brewing – SILVER
  • Cream Ale – Apres, Tatamagouche Brewing – BRONZE
  • Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Tempest, Tatamagouche Brewing – HON. MENTION

PEI

  • Oatmeal Stout – Boat Traffic, Lone Oak Brewing – HON. MENTION
  • Low Alcohol Beer – Noble, Lone Oak Brewing – SILVER

Congratulations to all of our winners and we hope all who visited Halifax for the awards and conference enjoyed our part of Canada; we hope that our readers can mark these breweries and beers for further exploration during their travels!

For the full gamut of winners from coast to coast, head on over to the Canadian Brewing Awards

The 2019 Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week is upon us! Running April 25 – May 5, the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia and its 46 member breweries are hosting events all across the province. Partnering with bars, restaurants, and retail shops, there will be something for everyone to celebrate locally-made beer. There are several signature events during the 11 day “week”, including the Inaugural Brewster Fest on Saturday April 27th, featuring beers and ciders brewed by female brewers (historically called brewsters) across the province (and guest female-owned brewery Port Rexton from Newfoundland!) at the Mayflower Curling Club. Also on that Saturday is TAPPED, the Third Annual Truro Craft Beer Fest, featuring 15 breweries from across the province bringing their best to the Hub of Nova Scotia. And closing out the week on May 4th is Full House, where more than 40 breweries will be taking over the Halifax Forum to sharing their beer with an emphasis on What’s New, and so many will be debuting new beers for the lucky attendees. Tickets for all of those events are still available, so we encourage you to grab a friend and get out to share in the fun!

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. Look below for the Calendar and Map that you can use to plan your beery week!

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. If you see us out at any of the events (including our Beer Trivia Night May 2nd at The Auction House) be sure to say, “Hi!” 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.