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Friday Wrap-Up for November 10, 2023 – News from Tanner, Maybee, Landwash, Lone Oak, Big Spruce, Truro Brewing, Bannerman, North, Tata, Unfiltered, and More!!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2023-11-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Benjamin Bridge, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Spruce Home Brew Challenge, Breton Brewing, Candid Brewing, Compass Distillers, Escarpment Laboratories, Gahan Atlantic Home Brew Challenge, Gahan House, Gahan House (Halifax), Lake City Cider, Lakeview Hops, Landwash Brewery, Lone Oak Brewing, Maybee Brewing, Mosaic.Wit, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Rough Waters Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Church Brewing Company, TrailWay Brewing, Truro Brewing Company, Unfiltered Brewing. Leave a Comment

The rumours of our demise were greatly exaggerated! What rumours , you ask? Well apparently we’re shit at starting rumours too, so nevermind. We’ve probably said this before, but it bears repeating: while there are four of us here at ACBB, we all have lives and jobs and responsibilities and plans, and sometimes we get to Thursday night and we realize that nobody remembered we blog and, well, it ain’t looking so good for tomorrow. Sometimes we manage to pull a post out of our collective arse on Friday morning anyway, but the last two weeks it was simply not to be. Many apologies, full refunds available in the alley out back (mind the rats). This week we’ll try to get you caught up on a little of what we missed previously, but mostly just try to get through this week’s new stuff. Be warned, though, three-quarters of the team is on the road and while you’re left with the wordy fucker (free one-year subscription to whoever guesses successfully), even he has his limits, so pardon the soul of brevity and don’t hold your breath for much wit. 

We’ll also remind you that this weekend Remembrance Day falls on Saturday, so your favorite brewery or taproom may elect to close for some or all of Saturday, on Monday, or not at all. So be sure to check socials before you make your plans. 

We’ll start this week on the South Shore of NS where Tanner & Co. Brewing has two new IPAs on the go, but ironically, “new” may not be the best descriptor for either of them. Though many know that the IPA style began in the UK over a century ago and that extra hops were generally used as a preservative for the long sea voyage to India, there have been few English IPAs of late to even try, not only locally, but around the world. So Tanner has taken up the cause of rectifying that with their aptly-named English IPA, a beer that keeps the classic British herbal and earthy hops moderate, while balancing with a prominent malt presence featuring notes of biscuit, caramel, and toffee. A rich amber colour completes the picture in this 6.5% ABV beer. Meanwhile, Tanner has also taken a much more modern IPA, one featuring Citra, Simcoe, Chinook, and Amarillo hops, local malts, and a yeast strain from Le Labo yeast lab in Quebec and then aged it for several months in oak barrels from Grand Pré Wines. The result is Barrel Aged IPA, a big beer, at 8.1%, that presents a “harmonious blend of hops and oak.” Look for both of these beers in cans from the brewery and the taproom in Chester where you’ll also stand a pretty good chance of finding them on tap. 

Fredericton’s Maybee Brewing has a new IPA this week as well, this one in the modern hazy NEIPA vein, but with a name that’s a callback to the 1970s. While some of you are wondering why anyone would refer to such ancient history, the old farts among us will no doubt have a snicker at The Knights Who Say NEIPA (and its spot-on label). Bursting with citrus, pineapple, mango, and bright orange juice aromas and flavors, they’re calling this one, “a tropical paradise in a glass.” The perfect companion to hunting for a shrubbery (one that looks nice… and not too expensive) or estimating the wingspeed of an unladen sparrow, no doubt. Find this 6.5% and 30 IBU juice bomb in cans at the brewery.

Like many breweries, we suspect even moreso in this region than in others, Mount Pearl, NL’s Landwash Brewery has long fielded questions about why they haven’t had a Red Ale available. Well now the questions can stop, at least for a while. Kicking Leaves is a perfect fall beer, deep amber in color, with notes of caramel, toffee, and a hint of rye. With an ABV of only 4%, it’s also extremely sessionable and you can pack a few for your hike in the crisp and cool fall air. This one is packaged and available only at the brewery this weekend, but headed out to all the usual spots in the coming weeks.

On another Island, Prince Edward that is, Lone Oak has released a brand new American Pale Ale. Although it contains the three most OG “C” hops from the Pacific Northwest of the US, Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook, all of the hops in this brew were local, from Lakeview Hops. Paired with a grist of Pilsner and Vienna malt, though these hop varieties are known more for citrus, pine, and dank notes, the combination, the beer, and no doubt the terroir, have come together to yield a very melony character with some grapefruit and pineapple overtones. Find this smooth and refreshing 5.2% pale ale on tap and in cans to go at the brewery in Borden-Carleton and the Brewpub at Milky Way.

Completing the island trifecta, we have Big Spruce Brewing on Cape Breton Island, who push it to a quadfecta with the name of their new release! Who doesn’t love a brewery collaboration? We know that we sure do; fortunately we have breweries like Big Spruce around who may love a collab even more than most and this week they’ve got a brand new beer that they put together in concert with Truro Brewing. Isle of Lesbos is an ode to lager, and they’re classifying it as a “Greek Pilsner” coming in at 4.2% ABV. While we’re not so much familiar with that particular style, we figure those with a knowledge of Ancient Greek were able to cull it from urns and pottery shards. Regardless, as the weather in this part of the world gets colder and damper, this beer could easily put you in the mind of the sunny and warm Mediterranean. So maybe throw on a toga, grab your lyre, get yourself a 4-pack of this tasty treat from wherever you get your Big Spruce or Truro Brewing, and head down to the Symposium to wax eloquent on your love of beer and Sapphic poetry.

Back to the Rock, where Bannerman Brewing of St. John’s is amongst those breweries embracing the cooler season with darker beers. Ghost Town is a milk stout, which means it’s been dosed with lactose sugar, yielding a creamier mouthfeel and sweeter presentation to balance the usual roasty flavors and aromas of chocolate and other roasty things. Add some hints of caramel and some malt sweetness as well, and you have a smooth sipper that packs a bit of a punch at 6.0% ABV. Look for it pouring on tap or in cans to go from their spot on Duckworth Street.

If you’ve been a craft beer lover in Nova Scotia for a while, you know that each fall, North Brewing partners up with Benjamin Bridge winery to produce a special beer in the saison style that showcases the magic that can happen when beer and wine collide. This year’s base beer began life as a light saison in the fall of 2022 that was co-fermented with freshly-pressed Chardonnay grape juice from BB using the Cerebus yeast strain from Escarpment Labs. It then spent the winter months into 2023 in the tank to age, after which it was naturally carbonated before packaging, which, for the first time, was done in 473ml cans instead of big ol’ 750ml bottles. Why the change? Because the bottles, especially at that size, can be intimidating and a bit of a commitment to someone who doesn’t necessarily know if they’re going to like a saison, let alone a saison/wine hybrid. Hopefully this inspires some folks to try something new! Tasting notes include aromas of lemon, lime, and orange marmalade, with a little bit of saison character and a vinous character from the grapes. Still full-bodied while finishing dry, the bitterness is quite low and it lands at 7.5% ABV. Grab it at any of the North locations you frequent!

Continuing on the long term beer project train are two new entries from Tatamagouche Brewing. First up is Rosaly, a rose hip and lychee sour. After initial fermentation this golden sour was fed into an Italian red wine foeder where it hung out for nearly two years, taking on fruity notes to complement its sour base. Six more months of aging took place on rose hips and lychee fruit, which added berry, citrus and melon notes along with a subtle floral hint. Packaged in short (341ml) cans, you’ll find this 6.1% flavorful sour at the brewery, including online ordering, and no doubt some other places that stock Tata brews. Also recently released is Carmine, the “other” beer that began as that golden sour in the red wine foeder, only instead of lychee and rose hips, this one went onto dragonfruit puree for six months. Picking up more colour than flavour from the fruit, Carmine is closer to its original golden sour character, but you can safely expect some vinous character from the barrel along with a touch of melon and stone fruit. Lighter than the Rosaly at 5.6% ABV, this one has been packaged in a bigger format, 750ml bottles, for convenient sharing. Available at the brewery directly and for online ordering.

Let’s keep the train rolling on barrel aged beers, but this time up the ante. How high? NASH high. Five whole years ago, Unfiltered Brewing’s Greg Nash made an Imperial Brown Ale that was distilled by North End Halifax neighbours Compass Distillers and matured in oak barrels until earlier this year. Unfiltered then took possession of those barrels and filled them with their Twelve Years to Zion DIPA, which matured for eight full months. They then unbunged the barrels and canned the results, which they’ve named Whiskey Beer, a delightful tipple at a hefty 10% ABV, bearing the character of the DIPA, the barrels, and possibly some of that brown ale concoction as well. Find out for yourself as they’ve just packaged a second (and final, we believe) run this week. If you’re wondering what happened to the brown ale distillate, you might check in at Compass, where we’re told they’ve got a new product called Beer Whiskey! If you’re looking for something lighter for balance, you should also know that Unfiltered’s 4% ABV Belinerweiße is back today in cans and on tap at Charm School.

What could be more different than a huge spirit barrel aged DIPA? If you guessed a non-alcoholic (0.4% ABV) cider you win! Lake City Cider in Dartmouth has spun up a lighter alternative to their long-running Christmas-spiced seasonal so that those who are refraining can still drink something with bells on. Non-alcoholic Spice Up Your Life still brings the merry with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and dried orange peel; you’ll find it bottled in 750ml bottles just like its booze-bearing sibling (which is also available now). If you’re not ready for THAT season yet though, fear not. Lake City also has a brand new Peach Cider available with plenty of soft and round peach flavor complementing the familiar apple side of the proceedings. Fairly light, at 5.5%, this one has been packaged in cans.

Candid Brewing in Antigonish has released a new American Pale Ale called Schadenfreude, one of those amazing words from the German language that has both a complex meaning and is terribly fun to say in an over-the-top Teutonic accent. Meaning, “a feeling of pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune,” we’ll let you scope out the branding on your own to get an idea of who they’re poking at. Featuring some modern banger hops in Citra, Loral, and recent belle of the hop ball HBC 586, you’ll find this 5.5% ABV number in cans and most likely on tap at the brewery.

Back up to Newfoundland, we have a three-way collaboration that has produced a brand new and rather interesting beer. Baccalieu Trail Brewing in Bay Roberts put their heads together with Rough Waters Brewing in Deer Lake and then they all collectively smashed skulls with homebrewers and beer lovers @mosaic.wit (who have done other collaborations with Rough Waters and Dildo Brewing as well) to produce Tree Way, a fruited sour IPA. Low on bitterness thanks to no hops at the start of the boil, and with a very restrained dry hop, this one saw the bulk of its dose of Mosaic hops late in the whirlpool, providing big hop notes to interact with açai and curuba (a species of passionfruit) to produce an “explosion of orangey-passionfruit, and a subtle touch of nostalgic fruit roll-up vibes.” This one has been canned, and you should be able to find it at select retail  locations around the Avalon Peninsula. (and, we expect, but have not confirmed, both breweries too!)

Continuing to take advantage of the foeders on hand at their facility in downtown Halifax, Gahan Nova Centre has a new small batch release available this week. Taking a portion of last year’s Foeder Aged Winter Warmer, they added red plums and continued to age the result an additional six months. Still with notes of cherry and sweet desserts, along with some tannins from the barrel, you’ll now find some tartness and plum flavors going on. Packaged in 375ml bottles, Red Plum Winter Warmer is 5.5% and is available not just in Halifax, but around the region from the to-go fridges at Gahan locations in Charlottetown, Fredericton, Saint John, and Moncton.

Speaking of Gahan, you may remember this past spring when we announced the winner of the 4th annual Atlantic Homebrew Challenge presented by Gahan House. That beer, Herr Durstig, a German Pils, was brewed at Gahan Port City in Saint John with winner Al McLeod back in August. It’s being released in cans today across the region at all Gahan locations (the abovementioned plus Gahan Harbourview in St. John’s) and also at the PEI Brewing Company taproom. A sessionable lager at 4.8% ABV, it’s golden in color and crystal clear. With a malt backbone of 100% German Pilsner malt, it features local PEI-grown Tettnang hops, for a primarily floral hop nose with hints of citrus. Grab it in cans at your local Gahan location.

As always, the release of last year’s winning beer coincides with the announcement of this year’s competition. The 5th Annual Atlantic Home Brew Challenge will once again allow for entries under two BJCP styles: 11B Best Bitter and 30A Spice, Herb, and Vegetable. The style guidelines are available on the competition website for perusal and planning purposes; competitors can enter once per style if they’re feeling particularly ambitious. Cash prizes will be awarded for the top 5 in each style as well as for the overall winning beer, which will be brewed for canned release with the team at the winner’s local Gahan location. Entries are due for drop-off by March 2nd, 2024, with judging slated and announcement of the winners slated to take place later in March. If you’ve got other questions, definitely scroll to the bottom of the competition website for the FAQ and, if your question still isn’t answered, send an email to the competition team per the last FAQ entry. Good luck to all who compete!

Would you believe that there’s TWO homebrew competitions to announce this week? What a world we live in!! Big Spruce has announced the latest iteration of what is now the longest-running homebrew competition in the region, the 11th Annual Home Brew Challenge: Pomona vs Elysium. What are Pomona and Elysium, you might ask? Well, one is a city in California, and the other is the afterlife as conceptualized by the ancient Greeks, of course! But seriously, the real answer is even nerdier: they’re new yeast strains from Escarpment Labs. Both are targeted at IPAs, especially those of the hazy variety, with slightly different characteristics. Big Spruce has secured 25 pitches of each strain for a maximum number of entries this year of 50. Entrants may submit ONE beer this year, and may submit their preference for one or the other strain, but once one runs out allocation will be what’s left. Judging and the traditional entrants’ gala will take place at the Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth on February 4th, 2024. This year there will be two winners: the top beer made with each strain will be produced on the Big Spruce 7BBL pilot system and packaged for retail. Check out the link to the official Facebook page for the competition above for more information.

Here’s a few last quick tidbits to send you on your way for the weekend:

Trailway Brewing in Fredericton has a trio of returning favorites available now. Hu Jon Heavy is Hu Jon Hops, only MOAR. DIPA, 8%, fuller, hoppier. Then there’s a couple darker beers for the season. Beans is on the sweeter side, a 6.8% Oatmeal Coffee Stout featuring freshly roasted beans from Mill Town Roasters. Black Hops (back after a long hiatus) is a black IPA at 7% that balances zesty grapefruit with roasty character. All are available at Trailway locations and for online ordering.

Sydney’s Breton Brewing has a dark number of their own pouring again, Milk & Cookies is a smooth and slightly sweet milk stout with a “tasty hint of chocolate chip cookies.” Packaged in cans at 5.0% for sale at select NSLC locations across the province, it’s also on tap for fills and pints at the brewery.

Not to be outdone in the stout department, Wolfville’s Church Brewing Co has their Forgive Me Father American stout pouting again. Rich and chocolatey, with plenty of roasted malt flavor, it also features cold-steeped coffee from TAN Coffee. Looks like this one hasn’t been packaged (at least not yet) so you’ll have to hit the brewery for a pint.

And rounding things out this week is the biggest of the returning dark beers, Propeller’s Nanaimo Imperial Dessert Stout. Featuring all the flavors of the classic Canadian dessert, it’s a big’un at 10% ABV and in 473ml tall cans, so maybe plan your evening around that. Available at all the Prop shops and scheduled to be part of the NSLC holiday display.

Friday Wrap-Up for September 22, 2023 – News from Stillwell, Breton, Trailway, O’Creek, Tatamagouche, Boxing Rock, Rackhouse, Baccalieu Trail, Boomstick, Shipwright, Lone Oak, Copper Bottom, Big Spruce, and a ton more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2023-09-22
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Banished Brewing, Boomstick Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Breton Brewing, Candid Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, Escarpment Laboratories, Lone Oak Brewing, North Brewing, O'Creek Brewing, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Rackhouse Brewing Co, Shipwright Brewing, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. 1 comment

The storm is past us and Oktoberfest events and releases are in full swing. With *that* storm past us, our country saw another storm of hate against our non-binary, queer and trans friends and community. We had a number of breweries and establishments offer support, safe-spaces and community gatherings, so with your likes, with your dollars, your time and effort, be conscious of who you’re supporting. We’ve got a full plate ahead of us this week so let’s get right into it!!

Your Friends in Foam™ at Stillwell Brewing are at it again, bringing you another beer you very well might not have realized was missing from your life. You may recall way back in the early-ish days of Stillwell Beer Bar, they worked with Greg Nash and Bad Apple Brewing (RIP) to work up a house batch of hoppy pale ale for the bar. Intended to be an evolution of what was then known as East Coast IPA (malty, very bitter, not so much with the hops), That’s Falcon Teamwork was paler and more hop-forward, with a balanced bitterness. Fittingly for the Stilly gang, this was ahead of the curve, and the world started seeing a pale ale and IPA trend away from the malt sweetness and the tongue-curling bitterness and towards presenting a fairly neutral slate on top of which all the newest hop cultivars from the Pacific Northwest and the Southern Hemisphere could shine. Fast forward a few years and we saw the rise of the hazies, where bitterness and maltiness dropped to barely perceptible levels and sweetness and mouthfeel went through the roof. 

Although it doesn’t feel like we’re in any danger of a decline in hazy hoppy juice bombs, Stillwell is coming full circle back to a style they themselves moved away from nearly a decade ago. Continuing with their, “what’s on the tin is what’s in the tin,” naming scheme, Stillwell Pale Ale has arrived. Based on a grist of predominantly UK Maris Otter, known for bringing a maltier character than North American two-row varieties, with a soupçon of Crystal 60 to round it out a touch more, it was, of course, decocted (CPR: DECOCTOR OF ALL THINGS) and treated with classic American hops Chinook, Cascade, and Simcoe. The result is a typically quaffable 5.3% ABV beer with some sweetness, balancing bitterness, and a citrusy and slightly dank hop character that’s reminiscent of many beers you may not have had in a long time but you’d probably love if you tried them again. And since you probably can’t get those ones in Atlantic Canada, we encourage you to try this one. On draught only for now at the taproom and Stillwell properties, expect them to put it in cans for wider sale later in the fall. Speaking of cans, if you’ve been missing Stilly Pils, more cans should be available at the brewery by mid-next-week (although many NSLC locations still seem to have decent stock). And lastly, speaking of the brewery/taproom, they’ve really started to hit their stride on events over the past month and if you’re looking for a really fun and chill space with cool things going on, you could do worse than to keep an eye on their Ig feed!

Now we’ll get into the Oktoberfest news, starting in God’s Country (does every island call their homeland God’s Country?), but specifically Sydney, Cape Breton. Breton Brewing has their Oktoberfest Lager out now in a classic Festbier style lager in a 5.8% malty German flavour, yet dry and crisp with enough balancing hop character. This is a new release for Breton, but they have done Marzen style under the same name in the past. The beer is available now from the brewery in pints and cans, and delivery in CBRM and HRM today. They’re closed on September 23rd and 24th, so stock up beforehand if you need to!

Although they’re known more for (very) hoppy things, Fredericton’s Trailway Brewing has been celebrating Oktoberfest for a few years now, and each year with the release of their Festbier. First brewed a couple of years ago, it features a German-style grist comprised of local ingredients and a classic German lager yeast, leaning into the bread dough character and light toasty notes, while leaving a touch of honey-ish sweetness. Rounded out with an herbal hop character and a light bitterness as befits the style, we expect that like all classic examples it very much tastes like another, just maybe be a bit cautious, as it’s 6.3% ABV! You’ll have plenty of opportunity to try it if you head down to the brewery and taproom for their Oktoberfest celebration tomorrow, Saturday, September 23rd, from 11am – 11pm. Beer garden, live music, an appropriately-themed menu from The Kitchen by Trailway, games, giveaways, and, of course, more. 

If easy drinking lagers and lederhosen aren’t your thing though, rest assured that Tw still has you covered with their other release this week, with a beer that’s probably about as far as you can get from that style (at least in one direction), the latest iteration in their series of smoothie sours they call The Blend. This time 5.3% and featuring cherry and raspberry, every can contains nearly 200g of pure fruit. This means a few things: it’s fruity as hell, you’ve got to keep it cold and drink it fresh, and you might want to roll the can around a little before you open it. Possibly for breakfast.

Not to be outdone by the uplanders in Fredericton, Moncton’s O’Creek also has two beers and an Oktoberfest party to tell you about this week. The first beer is, of course, a suitably festy one, their Amber Lager at 5% ABV. Medium-bodied, you can expect some toasty malt notes and caramel sweetness that should pair well with grilled meats (sausages, maybe?) and sharp cheese. You will be able to drink your fill of this one if you grab yourself one of the few remaining tickets to their Oktoberfest party tomorrow, Saturday, September 23rd, from 1 – 5pm. With full Bavarian immersion, your $60ish ticket gets you live music, a t-shirt, a stein, 32oz of beer, and plenty of fun. You can also look for their other new beer, Dry-hopped Saison, to be pouring now and available in cans: this one is suitably dry, with some lovely hop notes from a dry hopping of Citra and Motueka.

The last of our Oktoberfest celebrations to talk about this week is a three-day bash scheduled for Friday, September 29th to Sunday, October 1st at Tatamagouche Brewing on Nova Scotia’s North Shore. With on-site food by Moth and Moon on Friday evening from 4 – 8pm (happy hour from 5 – 7!), fresh pretzels on Saturday from Connie’s Bakery, and more Moth and Moon on Sunday from 2 – 6pm, your need for nibbles will be satisfied as you sip from a weekend-long Oktoberfest-themed tap list. Of course that tap list will feature Tata’s long-running fall seasonal, Lagerhosen. At 4.5% ABV, this is a thirst-quenching lager brewed with Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops for spicy and floral hints. Whether you can make the party or not, this one has also been packaged in cans for your enjoyment at home.

Rolling down to the other end of Nova Scotia, Boxing Rock brings us the last (of this week!) Oktoberfest release, this time featuring the aforementioned Märzen-style classic Bavarian lager. Equinox is their long-running take on the traditional style with a lot of pilsner malt, herbal German hops and bringing together the bready, malty, sweet flavours with a touch of spiciness in a 5% package. An annual release from the Shelburne brewery, you can pick up cans of this one at both locations and online. 

Back to New Brunswick where Rackhouse Brewing continues to release their barrel-aged and -inspired beers. Barrel-Aged Blonde is a flavourful and complex Blonde that spent time in a Brandy barrel, where it picked up notes of the spirit, as well as yeast notes from the Brettanomyces that has made its home in the wood. At 7.1% ABV, it shows both fruity and bitter notes married together. Available at CAVOK Brewing’s taproom in Dieppe, so though in the area should definitely take flight!

Heading up to Newfoundland, we find Baccalieu Trail has a new beer out, albeit a variation on a previous release, but one with a great story behind it. Ediacaran Fuse was a hazy IPA released a couple years ago that celebrated, “the multitudinous fossil discoveries in Newfoundland and Labrador.” Since that time, and somewhat oxymoronically, new fossils have been found in Conception Bay North that have revealed organisms completely new to science. What better excuse than to iterate on that previous beer than in celebration of what is literally a once-in-a-lifetime discovery? Ediacaran Fuse: Origins Edition sounds like it could be a tabletop RPG or a multiplatform video game, but it’s definitely a beer, a beer featuring all kinds of Australian and New Zealand hops, particularly Eclipse, Riwaka, and Strata, this beer offers, “a unique flavour that reflects early life’s journey across continents and epochs,” but also a whole lot of juicy hop character. Packaged in cans, look for this 6.0% beauty at the brewery in Bay Roberts.

Going very much west to Corner Brook, NL, we find Boomstick Brewing with their own variation on a previous release. Strawberry Rhubarb Lone Flamingo pretty much tells you what you need to know, with Boomstick’s version taking the same sour base they’ve used for previous Lone Flamingo batches and treating it to a heavy fruiting with strawberries and rhubarb. They’re pretty pleased with the way the base beer shines through this time, giving a light and bright character to support the ample fruit. It’s on draught in their taproom now, and packaged in cans to go, with further distribution likely in coming weeks.

Down on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, in Lunenburg, Shipwright Brewing has a new beer on the go. Wheels Are Turning is an American Wheat Ale that was treated to a dry hop. Built on a grist of wheat, pale, and Munich malts, it saw Hallertau Blanc and Lemondrop hops in the kettle along with orange peel before fermentation with Vermont Ale yeast from Escarpment Labs. A further dry hop with more Lemondrop tied it all together at the end with a final burst of citrus character. With a creamy mouthfeel balanced by a refreshing bitterness, this is a lovely beer for late summer (please nobody point out that it’s fall!) as you enjoy some cooler and drier air, especially in the evenings. Grab it for pints or crowlers/fills to go at Shipright locations, and also packaged in cans to go from the brewery.

Let’s hop (get it?!) over to PEI where we’ll start with the multi-locationed Lone Oak brewing who are introducing a brand new collaboration with Toronto’s Indie Ale House. Hang Your Hat! is an American style Brett Pale Ale coming in at 5.3%. This beer has additions of fresh Orange zest and peel in the whirlpool, along with orange concentrate during the fermentation with Thiol Libre (a thiol-unbinding yeast blend from Escarpment Labs that can enhance tropical flavours) and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis (a strain of Brett yeast derived from Lambic beers from Brussels, Belgium). The grain bill is Golden Promise along with some oats, and in the kettle, there were Amarillo hops and Phantasm powder (to bring out those Thiols!). There’s a lot going on in this one, and it’s a must try; it’s available while quantities last at all of their locations on tap and in cans to go at the Borden brewery and the cold beer store at their Milky Way location. And a heads up that their Cavendish location is now closed for the season. 

Sliding over to the Eastern part of the Island, Montague’s Copper Bottom is re-releasing the 70 Mile Yard Ale. Brewed in support of the annual 70 Mile Yard Sale, this beer is a celebration of the yard sale and their strong community. A refreshing hazy wheat beer with orange citrus flavour, it was hopped with old school American variety Cascade and is 5.0% and 15 IBU. It’s available only directly from the brewery, grab it right from the source in Montague today!

With some of the fake news that was going around the protests earlier this week, Nyanza’s Big Spruce has re-released their pale ale, Fake News, just in time. This is a bright, juicy pale ale showcasing the tropical and citrus flavours of a single hop, El Dorado! Find this 5.7% release available on tap and in cans at the brewery and also online to order for delivery. 

As the weather turns a little colder each year, Cole Harbour’s North Brewing thinks to bring back their Headline Milk Stout for a smooth, creamy and highly drinkable nightcap. This returning ale has been around since 2016 and is still 5.5% and features three different chocolate malts (including debittered chocolate malt), complemented with toasted nut and coffee notes. The addition of lactose lends a creamy and lightly sweet finish to the beer and it comes in at 30 IBU. Grab it on tap or in cans from all three of North’s locations. 

Sticking with the dark and creamy, Port Rexton Brewing has a similar theme with a truly seasonal release. Having been released in Fall and Spring editions, we see the return of their Fall edition of Shoulder Season, which is a dark cream ale. The beer is big on bready, malty flavour, but still features a crisp finish. Even at 5.5% it still gives some warmth with some toffee and dark fruit characters and a dark ruby red colour. This is available at the taproom this weekend in cans and will be available everywhere you can buy craft beer in Newfoundland in the coming weeks!

Next in this quadrilogy of deep dark returning beers is Propeller’s Nocturne dark lager. Brewed every year in support of the Nocturne: Art at Night festival that takes place in Halifax every fall, this jet black beer with a tan head carries notes of toasted bread, milk chocolate, and coffee, all of which are malt-driven. A lager yeast keeps those characters while ensuring that the beer finishes crisp, dry, and clean. At 5% ABV and 25 IBU, it’s a beer you can savor a few of without worry. Look for it at Prop Shops around the HRM and maybe check out the Nocturne website to plan some (free!) art appreciation in downtown Halifax, October 12 – 15th!

And finally in this group of dark beers this week is Candid’s Antigonight Dark Berry Sour. Brewed to celebrate the ongoing celebration of Art After Dark in Antigonish, this 5.0% ABV sour beer is full of raspberries and dark cherries, for a refreshing and tart beer. Enjoy it any night of the week, or prepare yourself for the celebrations to come later this fall and winter!

We’ll finish the week back in Newfoundland where Banished Brewing in Paradise has a couple of returning beers to tell you about. First up is Jim Time, named for the father of one of the owners, the real life Jim played a big part in getting the brewery up and running, and what better way to celebrate the man than to name a beer (in his favorite style) after him?! Generously hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Cascade in the boil before being even more generously dry hopped with more Citra and Mosaic, this very popular 8% double IPA is in its third, and hopefully best iteration. Joining it for sale this weekend is Portage Pilsner, a beer originally brewed in collaboration with the much-acclaimed Portage Restaurant. A 12º Czech-style Pilsner (so figure somewhere around 5% ABV), it’s an ideal beer for cracking on a cool evening around the campfire. Cleaner than ever, you can grab this one at the brewery, with further distribution to retail locations to come next week.

Thursday Wrap-Up for June 1, 2023 – News from Propeller, Tatamagouche, 2 Crows, Brew Culture, Candid, North, Garrison, Stillwell, Landwash, Trailway and More

Posted by acbbdevon on 2023-06-01
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Banished Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Brew Culture, Burdock Brewery, Canadian Brewing Awards Conference, Candid Brewing, Escarpment Laboratories, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Indie Alehouse, Island Folk Cider House, Landwash Brewery, Lightfoot & Wolfville, Lone Oak Brewing, Merit Brewing, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tide & Boar Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. Leave a Comment

The Canadian Brewing Awards and Conference kicks off in Halifax today, and unfortunately, does so under the shadow of the immense forest fires affecting thousands of Nova Scotians. Like many of you, we have friends and family affected by the fires and emergency evacuations, and understand beer is much lower on the priority list for many! If you are able to assist through donations to Red Cross and United Way, who are assisting those seeking food and shelter and other necessities, and when it is time to rebuild. North Brewing is donating 15% of draught sales until Sunday, as well as a drop point for necessary items for displaced people. Read more here. You can also do your part by doing nothing… Now is not the time to get out and enjoy a hike and a beer in our forested lands! Pause those activities until it is safe to do so. Let’s get you up to speed with the events and new beers that those in Halifax, and beyond, can enjoy in the days to come.

As mentioned, the Canadian Brewing Awards are taking place in downtown Halifax today until Saturday, and while a ticket is required to attend talks, check out the Exhibition Floor, or attend the Awards Gala Saturday night, there are plenty of events happening around Halifax to celebrate the increased eyes on the region’s beer scene. Here are but a few events that we know about, but you’ll be doing yourself a favour by checking Social Media to avoid disappointment, just in case your favourite taproom is closed for an event! 

Propeller Brewing and Tatamagouche got together for a pair of home-and-home collaborations at their respective breweries in May, and are releasing them today in a big bash at Prop’s Gottingen Street tap room. When the Tata crew came to the big city, they brewed Twin Shores Collaboration Ale, a 4.5% Pale Ale featuring Nectaron and Vic Secret hops, for a double dose of passion fruit, peach, and pineapple. Using a cold fermentation temp kept the beer crisp and clean. In addition to the draught for today’s event, cans of Twin Shores are also available now. Prop will have a half-dozen more beer on tap, a collection of newer releases, complemented by seven from TataBrew, who will be offering a sneak peak of the soon-to-come Kudos.

When the Propeller Team visited Main Street Tatamagouche, they opted to get a little funky, using Sacc Brux Trois to ferment the Nectaron-hopped Pale Ale. The yeast itself gives off plenty of fruity aromas, only enhancing the hop choice. While visitors today (like, right now!) will be able to try Kudos in advance of its full can release in the coming weeks. Also on tap from Tata is the Bishops Cellar collab Cellar Slammer, Dekorum Lime, Apres Cream Ale, Saltwater Cowboy Gose, Deception Bay IPA, and Baltic Porter. And if you time it just right, you’ll be able to enjoy food from Humble Pie Kitchen, who are on-site from 3 PM until sell out. 

Not on tap at Propeller today, but available wherever Tata beer is sold, is the newest entry to their Dekorum line, Dekorum Gold. After Brewer Chad Ellis tasted Horton Ridge Malt’s Vienna malt recently, he knew that it would make a great base for a “maltier light lager”, and pictured it as the next Dekorum. Using that Vienna malt, with just a touch of Dextrin for a bit more body, malt, and “oomph”, it was lightly hopped in the mash and then whirlpool with Strisselspalt and Spalter Select, respectively, before fermentation with Isar Lager from Escarpment Labs (plenty from them later in the blog!). After several weeks of cool fermentation and conditioning, small cans of this super crispy beer with a light toasty note are available now at Tata’s shop and taproom on Main Street, as well as select retailers in the province, including their online shop.

Another event is being hosted today by BrewCulture at the Gahan House Nova Centre location, adjacent to the CBAC, and is sure to appeal to the yeast nerds in the audience. Dr. Chris White, of White Labs, will be in attendance 4 – 6 PM to chat all things yeast, and to toast the release of Thiol City IPA, a collaboration brew featuring WLP077 Tropicale Yeast Blend. And after the Conference tomorrow, BrewCulture is hosting a party at the Propeller Gottingen Street taproom and Arcade, learn more and RSVP here.

Among the collaborations Stefan Gagliardi of BrewCulture undertook recently is Born to be Mild, with Antigonish’s Candid Brewing. This lower alcohol Mild Ale was fermented with White Labs’ London Ale Yeast, expressing some subtle esters of oak, and enhancing the light toast and coffee notes from the malts. Available now on draught and in cans wherever you enjoy being Candid.

And for those folks in town to attend the Conference, the fine folks at Anton-Paar are in attendance, and will have some working instruments at Booth 117 on the Exhibition floor. So if you’re looking for information on Dissolved Oxygen (bad!), Alcohol testing (good!), and CO2/Carbonation level (depends!), bring in your cans and bottles, and Tim and Co will let you know what you’ve got on the go!

It wouldn’t be a big week of beer in Halifax if 2 Crows didn’t torture us at ACBeerBlog with more of everything. True to form, they’re kicking off the CBAC weekend tomorrow, June 2nd, from 4pm ‘til close with a special tap takeover. Featuring beers made in collaboration with PEI’s Shoreline Malting and Guelph’s Escarpment Labs, 10 new tipples are slated to be on tap at the 2C taproom on Brunswick Street. We told you last week about 2C’s new Green World DIPA, which features 100% Maritime-grown ingredients including the aforementioned Shoreline malt and hops from Lakeview Hops in Harvey Station, NB. Also from the home brewery is Guv, an English mild that started with Shoreline Pale, with some amber and black malts capping the mash for color and a bit of toasty bread crust and drying roast, respectively, and some brewer’s caramel. It was hopped in the boil with Goldings from Southan Farms and fermented with Escarpment’s House strain. Bready and creamy, they’ll have it on the nitro tap as well for a real treat in terms of mouthfeel. Rounding out the 2C contribution is Racy, which is part beer, part kekfrancos piquette. The kekfrancos skins came from frequent 2C collaborators Lightfoot & Wolfville and the beer side is essentially AC Light Lager, but you probably wouldn’t recognize it as such, as it’s got plenty of winey depth and spritz from the piquette side. You’ll also find Saison du Chardonnay from North Brewing pouring from bottles, Shore, a pseudo-lager from Lone Oak that leverages the Escarpment Krispy Kveik strain, and If you Don’t Stop, a hazy NE-style IPA from Tide & Boar. Given the capricious nature of our provincial regulatory overlords at NSLC, the realities of shipping beer across the country in a post-pandemic world, and the added complications of our local wildfire problem, the rest of the beers are a little bit tentative, but we can tell you that you might run into additional offerings from Burdock, Indie Alehouse, Merit Brewing, Banished Brewing, and Escarpment themselves! The only way to find out for sure is to head over on Friday evening!

For those who are thirsty now and don’t want to wait until tomorrow, 2 Crows has brought back their collaborative and charitable radler, The Agenda. Version 2.0 features a light lager base, with the addition of tangerine and peach puree. Using a touch of agave nectar for a hint of sweetness, this juicy hybrid is fresh, easy drinking, and just 2.0% ABV! This is only available on tap during the month of June, and will see 100% of the sales donated to Halifax Sexual Health Centre, a non-judgemental non-profit giving back to folkx in the Halifax region since 1970, especially embracing the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Back in Halifax, Garrison has two new releases this week starting off with the newest version of their Pucker Up! Series, Citrus. This 4.9% ABV kettle sour starts of with 2-row and wheat malt before seeing additions of flavoured green tea and stevia. Expect notes of orange, lemon, grapefruit and lime, with a hint of vanilla, and a tart finish. Next up is this year’s version of SMASH, a beer made with one type of malt and one variety of hops, in this case 2-row malt and Sasquatch hops. Coming in at 5% ABV, and brewed in the American Pale Ale style, expect \ woodsy and citrusy notes from the hops along with some dankness. They’re both available now at both Garrison locations, on tap and in cans, with SMASH also seeing distribution at the private stores in HRM.

This week’s last release comes to you from Sydney, where Island Folk is rolling out Blowing Raspberries, featuring notes of raspberry and rose water. Bottles of the 5.4% ABV cider are available now at the cider house and through their online store. The name for this one stemmed from a partnership with the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia, that saw Island Folk run a competition for short stories or poems that reflect the unique personality of the cidery and the flavours of this new cider. Hannah Vincent, a writer from Truro, took the prize with a poem titled Blowing Raspberries and a new cider name was born.

Not all of the fun is in Halifax this weekend, as Landwash in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland is holding a Cask Festival Saturday at noon. Inviting in breweries and cideries from across the island (Banished, Bannerman, Bootleg, Dildo, Port Rexton, Rough Waters, and Mauzy Cider), they will have plenty of tasty and unique casks a-pouring this weekend, including something a bit crazy with Skittles! You’ll have to pop by to check it out!

And for those in Fredericton, TrailWay Brewing is celebrating their Seventh Anniversary on Main Street with their annual Block Party! Live music, Food Trucks, face painting for the kids (and adults, we hope!), and of course great beer (look out for some tasty beer slushies)! The party kicks off at 11 AM and runs all afternoon and evening, with live music kicking off at noon. More details on the line-up here!

We’ll leave you with a few final newsbites, starting in Fredericton where Grimross is releasing its cult-favourite Praha bohemian lager for another summer run. This one packs lots of herbal hop character and bitterness into a sessional 3.8% ABV package. Short cans are available now at the brewery. 

Sticking with short cans, Halifax’s Bishop Cellar is stocking an exclusive 6-pack of Tatamagouche Brewing’s Dekorum lager, featuring 2 each of the lime, mandarin and unfruited versions. And while you’re there, be sure to grab some cans of the aforementioned Twin Shores Pale Ale collab with Propeller and this year’s edition of Cellar Slammer. 

Unfortunately, as we began the post today, we must also end with sad news of the fires currently burning in Nova Scotia. While not in the most affected area of the province, The Harbour Brewing in Musquodoboit Harbour shared some video and pictures of their storage and expansion gear affected by a fire a couple of days ago. As they sift through the debris, we can help them by purchasing their beer where available, and maybe even making a trip to their taproom/retail spot on Highway 7, to purchase their beer and merch.