Halifax Oktoberfest

All posts tagged Halifax Oktoberfest

Happy Friday, everyone! Here’s hoping that you’re all fully recovered from the beautiful Labour Day weekend we just had; as usual, the local beer news just keeps on truckin’…

• There’s a new beer on tap at Nine LocksCream Ale is a special one-off brewed just in time for the end of summer. This amber-coloured brew is “smooth and full-bodied”, according to the brewery, featuring caramel notes and a “subtle hop finish” provided by the two English varieties, East Kent Goldings and Fuggles. At 15 IBUs, the beer finishes only mildly bitter, and is quite easy-drinking at 5.2% ABV. No cans for this one – it’s available only on tap at the brewery for growler fills, until it’s gone!

Propeller has released their latest One Hit Wonder, Tea Rex Ale. Described as an unfiltered Black Tea-Infused Ale, the beer was infused with organic Assam black tea from DAVIDsTEA, and then further dry-hopped (dry-tead?) with it. Black in colour, with a creamy brown head, the beer was hopped with Ahtanum to 47 IBUs; the hop also provides “bright, distinct notes” in the flavour, to go with the molasses undertones. At 6% ABV, the brewery is describing it as “smooth and approachable”; they also recommend drinking this beer from a tea cup! As with all OHW beers, it’s available on tap at both Prop Shop locations for growler fills, and it will likely appear at select beer establishments in the HRM.

Red Rover has a brand new cider that will be released next Wednesday, created specifically for local restaurant/bar The Snooty Fox. Made with wild blueberries and tart cherry juice, this 7% ABV cider will be on tap exclusively at the Snooty in celebration of the annual Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival beginning next week in Fredericton. They need your help in naming it, however, and are holding a contest with the Snooty, so send in your best name to win some great prizes! The winner will be chosen on Tuesday. And in other Harvest-related cider news, Red Rover will also be re-releasing The Blues, a 7% ABV cider made with wild blueberries. This one will be available for flagon fills at the Cider House, and on tap throughout the city; if the response is good (which it definitely was last year), The Blues could be bottled and sold at ANBL stores in the near future.

• As they gear up for the revelry of the Halifax Oktoberfest events later in the month, Garrison brings us two fall beers this week: a return engagement and an all new twist on a classic style, both featuring rye. First brewed with Beau’s All Natural Brewing in 2014, the Sweet Rye’d Harvest Wheat Ale features both wheat and rye malts along with Munich and pale in a 6.0% ABV copper-coloured brew. Hopped to 40 IBUs with CascadeCitra, and Columbus, it also features bog myrtle (Myrica gale) provided by Beau’s. It is available for purchase in six-packs now at the NSLC, and shortly at the ANBL.

• New to Garrison’s lineup is a familiar concept to those who appreciate well shots at dive bars. A brew conceived of during this year’s Seaport Beer Fest, Rye & Ginger IPA takes on a Canadian favourite mixed drink in a beer-centric way. Featuring the grainy spiciness of rye malt, the body yields light caramel, toffee, dark fruit and a kick of ginger. The lemon slice on the rim is provided by the citrus punch of Centennial hops, which also provide a touch of earthy balance. At 6.4% ABV and 56 IBU, it’s solidly in the sweetspot for modern IPAs. Light-amber and hazy in colour, it has a dry, warming finish that should be perfect for crisp fall evenings. Even better, it provides a chance to toast your university days in a more grown-up and refined way. Find it in 650 mL bombers at NSLC and private NS stores, as well as through the ANBL growler program this weekend.

•  Digby’s Roof Hound Brewing has been open for a month, and now fans from both near and far can enjoy their beer in a few more venues. This week they launched growler fills at the brewery, allowing patrons to grab a 0.95 or 1.89 L fill of their Little Pup Pale Ale, Rooftop Rye-It Rye Amber, Wasted Days Peanut Butter Chocolate Wheat, and newly launched Big Brown Roof Hound, the 7.0% ABV Brown Ale with raisins and brown sugar, after which the brewery is named (full story here). And for those not able to make a visit to the taproom to enjoy the beer, food, and ambiance, owner Les Barr has delivered a few kegs of beer outside of town. Look out for the tapping of BBRH at Dartmouth’s Battery Park, Halifax’s Stillwell Beer Bar, as well as the Capital Pub in Middleton in the coming days.

TrailWay is doing some experimenting at the brewery, as they recently began brewing their first go at a kettle-soured beer. Details are slim at the moment, but we can confirm they pitched a strain of Lactobacillus from Escarpment labs, with the goal being to sour the wort to the desired level, before boiling and fermenting the beer afterwards. Expect this one to come in at about 5% ABV; we’ll release more specifics as they become available.

YellowBelly has the third iteration of their East Coast Cream Ale currently pouring at the brewpub in St. John’s. Originally a collaboration beer created with Australia’s Top Shed, the latest beer is “slightly lighter in body”, and was allowed to spend a longer amount of time in secondary, to smooth out the flavours even more than the two previous brews. It comes in at 5% ABV, and should be available in bottles by next Wednesday. In addition, bottles of their Southern Shore Foggy Porter are now available at the brewery, and select St. John’s NLC locations.

Picaroons has brewed up a new beer at their General Store location in Saint John – Hippie IPA is a 6.3% ABV SMaSH beer featuring Maritime Malt, and Nugget hops grown and harvested at Lunahops in Cornhill, NB. Fermented with an American Ale yeast strain, this small batch will be tapped this Sunday, September 11th at 3 pm at the General Store (where it will likely be available exclusively, for pints and growler fills); live music from Earthbound Trio will accompany the release. And keep your eyes open for a unique beer brewed with BioNB for their Sept 30th “Innovation at the Station” event at the York Street Train Station, celebrating 20 years of operation. Tickets are free, but advance registration is suggested.

• We also have all the details on this year’s release of Picaroons’ Harvest Ale. A 5.5% ABV “golden amber ale” (British Pale Ale) brewed every year, there are usually three or more batches brewed, each featuring a different hop variety or varieties that is/are grown in Atlantic Canada. For this season, there will be three larger batches: one using all Mt. Hood hops from Wallace Ridge Farm (Nova Scotia); one using all Willamette from My Father’s Farm (PEI); and one using all “wild hops” from Moose Mountain Hops (New Brunswick). As always, all the details on the farm and hops used can be found by checking the four-digit code on your bottle, and looking it up online. The beer should be released sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Spindrift is bringing back The Abyss, their Schwarzbier, which will be available in cans next week. The gravity is bumped up slightly to 4.8% ABV after a light tweak to the recipe, and fans of the black and lightly roasted lager will be happy to be able to grab it again. It launches at the brewery Thursday; private stores and NSLC outlets will follow in the near future.

We’ve got a few events to tell you about this week, and don’t forget to check out our Calendar Page, as we keep it as up-to-date as possible with all of the events going on in the region, including next weekend’s Halifax Oktoberfest fun.

• A reminder that the launch of Trider’s Craft Beer is happening tomorrow, September 10th at Sociables Pub in Springhill. Tickets are still available in advance, or pay on entry at 8pm. Meet the folks behind Trider’s, and your first pint is included in the ticket price. Trider’s storefront at 46 Anson Avenue will be opening September 16th, and they will be taking part in the Rocktoberfest at the Amherst Fire Hall October 1st.

September 10th also marks the last Urban Beer Hike lead by the Moncton Beer League for a while. Meet at the Laundromat Espresso Bar at 1:45, and visit five spots for food and beer along the way. Tickets are still available, so be sure to check it out!

• For those in PEI (or up for a little drive), be sure to drop by Upstreet Brewing tomorrow for the launch of a brand new beer. Lager Quest came about when an Upstreet fan won a silent auction supporting the Red Cross’ efforts in Fort McMurray. Winner Gavin Hall helped pick the style of the brew, was put to work making it with Brewmaster Mike Hogan, and will have the honour of the first pour in the taproom Saturday at 3pm. Drop by for the fun, and there are more details here.

• The next Moncton Beer League event is September 24th, Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Oktoberfest, being held at the Lions Club on Mark Avenue. Close to 20 breweries from around the Maritimes will be in attendance, pouring their wares to benefit the United Way. Tickets are still available!

New Brunswick Beer Tours has their next event planned, and it’s set up in true festive fashion! The Christmas Brewery Tour is scheduled for Saturday, December 17th; it will follow a similar format as in previous tours, with four brewery visits. Each stop includes a minimum of four 4 oz beer samples, as well as the chance to meet and chat with the people behind your favourite Fredericton beers. The fun starts at 11:30 am at Grimross, followed by stops at TrailWay, Mama’s Brewpub, and another soon-to-be-determined location, before finishing off at the King Street Ale House for one final beer (or more!) at 4:30 pm. Tickets are available now, and are $67.50 each.

As a favourite university professor of mine always used to say – that’s it, that’s all, there ain’t no more! Ok, maybe a couple more short things…

– Bad Apple Brewhouse‘s latest release is Son of a Pitch, a 7.1% ABV Double IPA. It is available exclusively at the brewery and Stubborn Goat. And congratulations to Jeff and Kari on getting hitched in Vegas this week!
Maybee Brewing‘s Long Carry Brett Red, their Roseway Red aged on Brettanomyces, is now available in 750 mL, cork and cage bottles, exclusively at the brewery for now.
Port Rexton Brewing has announced their new hours for September, which will see them closed on Wednesdays, and remain open all other days 2-10pm. And they will be gearing down for the season on Saturday, October 29th, so be sure to drop by the brewery in the next 8 weeks to grab a taste of the Bonavista Peninsula!
Uncle Leo’s is releasing their Harvest Ale today, brewed with malt from Horton Ridge Malt and hops from Bramble Hill Farm. It will be available at the brewery, their table at the New Glasgow Farmer’s Market tomorrow, and on tap at better beer bars in the province.

Happy Friday everyone! Lots of news this week, so let’s get right to it…

• Leading us off today is a story from Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing: they have filed suit against the NSLC, arguing that the “Retail Mark-Up Sales Allocation” the Crown Corporation is unconstitutional. When Unfiltered’s lawyers consulted the legislation to learn more about the mark-up, none could be found, and the NSLC has been unable to provide documents outlining the details. The $0.50/litre mark-up is applied to all NS-made beer that is sold or given away, whether or not it hits any NSLC retail stores. Unfiltered is claiming that the mark-up is in fact a tax, and that the NSLC is not legislated to collect it. They are requesting reimbursement for the more than $25,000 paid to the NSLC over the last 13 months, and that the mark-up be declared unconstitutional. This case has wide-reaching implications, as all of the more than 35 breweries in the province have been paying this fee for years, and would amount to many millions of dollars that could be at dispute. From the NSLC’s own spokesperson, $954,000 was collected in 2015, of which $50,000 was provided to the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia (the association of 25 member breweries, but Unfiltered is not one of them). The scheduling of the suit is to be decided in early September, and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date with all of the news. The CBC has a good summary of the details of the suit.

• In new beer news, Fredericton’s TrailWay Brewing has dropped a new take on their fruit wheat beer this week: Haskap Wheat. With a similar base as their Raspberry Wheat, this beer features 40 kilos of locally-grown Haskap berries added after fermentation. The resultant beer is a hazy purple colour, with notes of blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry, on a pleasant wheat base. A very drinkable 4.3% ABV and 20 IBUs Wheat beer. And speaking of drinkable, their South Pacific-hopped Pale Ale D’under is back again, weighing in at 5.5% ABV and approximately 40 IBUs from late addition hops. Lots of tropical aromas come through from the hops, without a big bitter blast.

Propeller Brewing has released their latest One Hit Wonder this week, and their Brewmaster apparently had a one-track mind when it came to this recipe! 1 Hop IPA is a 6.6% ABV and 56 IBUs beer, featuring nothing but Mandarina Bavaria for the hopping. As the name implies, this hop was developed in Germany, at the Hop Research Institute in Hüll, and is among the recent wave of aromatic hops (higher oil content) coming from Europe. The orange and citrus notes of the hop shine through on top of the robust body and significant bitterness. As with all of their OHW releases, this is only available in draft, or for growler fills at their two brewery locations. And while you’re at the brewery, be sure to check out Prop’s first can release. They have started with their flagship IPA, with cans now available at their retail locations, and will soon be rolling out to the private stores and NSLC shelves.

 • Gahan House Halifax has a few new beers on tap currently, and a brand new beer hitting the taps next week. Now on tap are: Maritime Brine, a 3.8% Gose with a light acidity and salt character, along with pleasant lemon character, with just enough hops (less than 10 IBUs) to keep it balanced; The Barberrian (which made its cask debut at the Seaport Beer Festival), a 5.0% ABV Red Ale aged on dried barberries and cherries, for a bright fruit flavour and aroma; Summer House Beer, a 4.0% Hefeweizen dry-hopped with Mt Hood for a hoppy-aromatic take on the style; and Crosscurrent, their 5.5% ABV American Pale Ale with El Dorado and Simcoe. On tap for next week is Night Vision, a 6.2% American Porter, using Magnum and Mt Hood hops (to about 30 IBUs), featuring “chocolate and graham cracker notes” as a nice contrast to their roast-forward Stout, according to Brewmaster Kyle Jeppesen. Be sure to follow along with his adventures on Instagram, to keep up-to-date on his brew days and what’s coming up on the waterfront. In fact, Jeppesen just brewed a Sahti, his take on the traditional Finnish brew, featuring locally-harvest juniper branches used in the mash, and a large percentage of rye malt.

North Brewing is releasing a special beer collaboration brew today, Lawrencetown Blonde. This 4.5% ABV beer features 2-Row and Wheat malts, and lightly hopped with Cascade and Saaz to about 20 IBUs. Surfing friends of the brewery, Ian Jackson and Dean Petty (of Anchored Coffee) were also part of the brewday, label design, and recipe development. Ten litres of Ethiopian Yukro cold brew was added to the final beer, courtesy of Anchored, for a light roastiness to complement the peach, citrus, and light ginger aromas. And a nod to the surfers was a little but of Lawrencetown Beach sea water too! Ian’s wife Jill (of Jill+Jack Paper) designed the label, on the bottles which are available on both Agricola and Ochterloney today.

Yellowbelly Brewpub in St John’s has released a new beer this week, Southern Shore Foggy Porter. This deep-ruby-coloured porter features a big roast character, notes of toast and smoke, and dry finish, thanks to the large percentage of roasted barley used in the recipe. Dry-hopped with Brewer’s GoldCascade, and Mosaic to enhance the nose with a touch of spice and fruit. This beer is Brewmaster Liam Mckenna’s tribute to “the finest sort of folks down the Shore who endure weather like no others, [and] will warm the cockles.” The 5.8% ABV, 45 IBUs, beer is on tap at the brewpub now, and may not make it into bottles, so best to drop by for a pint today!

• Garrison Brewing has brought back their popular Honey Lavender Ale today. The 6.5% ABV beer features lavender harvested from Meander River Farms, and its aroma is a pleasant partner to the malt and light honey character. Honey from Shubenacadie’s G.G. Smeltzer & Son helped to bump up the alcohol a bit, aiding the Maritime Malt and Wheat, and does offer a sweet aftertaste. A small dose of Citra hops helps to offset the beer at a light 16 IBUs. Bottles are now available at the brewery and private stores in HRM.

• Nyanza’s Big Spruce has brought back their kettle-soured IPA this week, JAC the SIPA. Featuring loads of AmarilloCitra, and Simcoe hops added during a whirlpool after flame-out, this 6.0% ABV beer features a big aromatic blast of hops with a medium 54 IBUs. The acidic nature of the beer gives a pleasant refreshing sharp character, on a hot afternoon.

Picaroons will be pouring a special beer this weekend, to celebrate The Tragically Hip‘s final concert (and Canada-wide phenomenon). The Tragically Hop’d Pale Ale is a 4.5% ABV Pale Ale with “silly” amounts of some special hops: Galaxy, Saphir, Summit, TopazVic Secret, and Warrior, to 40 IBUs. The beer will be pouring exclusively at the “Fully Completely in the Square” event in Fredericton’s Officer Square, at the Brewtique, and at the General Store in Saint John tomorrow, August 20th.

Speaking of events, there are a whole bunch of them on our radar in the coming weeks. You can check out our Calendar of Events Page for the full listing, and subscribe to it by clicking here. And feel free to let us know about the neat events that we may have missed! We love to hear from you at ACBeerBlog@gmail.com.

• Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing will be opening their retail location August 20 for growler and merchandise sales, 10-4. They will be selling their Dark Cream Ale, a flavourful 4.7% golden orange ale featuring notes of biscuit and toast and their IPA, a 5.4% dry-hopped hoppy ale, featuring notes of melon and strawberry. As they are still awaiting their 12 hl brewhouse to come online (much of it was delivered this week!), they will be concentrating on to-go sales, in both their own, or customer-provided (clean), grunters and growlers. Their current schedule is to be open for take away sales for the next few Saturdays until their launch at the end of September.

• The Upstreet Block Party is returning for its second year on Saturday, August 20th. Featuring plenty of activities, live music, food, and tours at the brewery from 12 pm on, they’ll also be unveiling a new “super-sized beer garden”! As the sun goes down, the party will move into the taproom at about 8 pm for more music (from two local DJs), food, and beer. Admission is free, just drop in anytime to join in the fun!

• On August 26th Quebec Belgian-inspired brewery Unibroue is sending their Beer Sommelier (and Certified Cicerone®) Sylvain Bouchard to The Port, NSLC’s new flagship location at 5485 Clyde Street. He will be helping to launch the release of the 6-litre 17 Grand Reserve Belgian Strong, with a food and beer tasting with several of their products (including Éphémère Apple, Blonde de Chambly, La Fin du Monde, Maudite, in addition to the 17) . There are only 32 bottles of this special beer, in a format best suited for sharing at a wedding or other celebration, and those in attendance will have the first chance at trying and purchasing them. There are only 30 tickets available to the 7-8:30pm event (on sale at The Port now), and we are holding a contest for your chance to win a pair of them! Post a picture to our Facebook page, and/or tag us and @Unibroue on Twitter or Instagram, with a picture your favourite beer and food pairing, and we will announce the winner in our Weekly Wrap-Up next Friday morning.

•  On August 26 & 27, Stillwell Beer Bar is hosting a tap takeover from Portland Maine’s Liquid Riot Bottling Co. Owned by the awesome beer-focused team behind Novare Res Bier Cafe, Liquid Riot brews a wide variety of beers and spirits on the Portland waterfront, and is bringing a great selection to Halifax. The fun starts Friday night at 6pm on Barrington, with a dozen sours, porters, wheats, and IPAs taking over the taps at the Mothership, and continues Saturday from noon at the Beer Garden on Spring Garden, with ten taps of LR goodness (five of which are exclusive to the BG). There are no tickets required for the fun, and there are only single kegs of many of the beers, so be sure and drop by early to avoid disappointment! Check out their Facebook Event page for the full line-up, because it’s too long and awesome to post it all here.

• On September 16th, Garrison and Local Connections Halifax are hosting Hops ‘n’ Brats, as part of Halifax Oktoberfest. From 6:30 to 11, they will be hosting a handful of NS breweries at the Salter Street parking lot, slinging beers and pairing them with a ton of locally-produced sausages. Your entry fee includes your first 8 samples, a token to take part in the beer-centric games, and a souvenir glass. New this year is the ability to trade 3 tickets for a full pour of your favourite brew. There will be a dozen breweries in attendance, including: Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Garrison, Meander River, and Spindrift. Tickets are just $24+tax, and are available now.

• September 17th is the main event for Halifax Oktoberfest, with the party kicking off at 11am with traditional German food, music and games, with the evening session kicking off at 6pm with more food, dancing, and Garrison beer a-plenty. The Swell Guys and Die Brew-misters Oompah Bands will be providing music, and Scanway Catering will be serving up lots of sausages, spaetzle and schnitzel, as well as two whole roasted pigs. From 11AM to 5PM the event will be all-ages, admission is $5/adults and free for children. In the evening, the fun continues as a 19+ event with dancing, food, and games. An evening pass can be purchased for $16 which includes entry and one Garrison beer, or a $20 entry that also includes a commemorative Oktoberfest Halifax Stein. Full details are available here, and tickets are on sale now.

Wow, another big week! A few more notes that came in after our deadline:

Gahan Pub Charlottetown have brought back Summer in New Zealand, the NZ-hopped beer with grains of paradise and a touch of lemon and lime zest, the winning recipe by Ryan Palmer in last year’s Gahan Homebrew Challenge.
– Congratulations to Breton Brewing on brewing their 100th batch of beer! They celebrated by…. brewing! More Stirling Hefeweizen coming soon.
Hell Bay has brought a pair of favourites this week, with the O.P.A Oat Pale Ale and R.I.P. (A) IPA.
– After last weekend’s very successful launch, Beckwith Road Brewery has delivered their Campfire Amber at the Tide & Boar in Moncton, and will be going on tap very shortly.
– You can once again pick up Shiretown Beer at the ANBL! Drop by the Dalhousie and Charlo locations to grab bottles of their Blonde Du Quai, Siren’s T’ale and Big Brown Ale.

Apologies for the late posting this week, *someone* decided to take the week off, again! 😉

Hello, and welcome to an early edition of our weekly Friday Wrap-Up! Tomorrow is Canada Day, so we wanted to be sure to catch all of you – and keep you updated on beer info – before the long weekend hits and the beer-enjoying begins!

• Earlier this week, Gahan Halifax released Berliner Weisse, named after the iconic German style known for being lightly sour, refreshing, and easy-drinking. Brewed with a grist of 60% Pilsner malt and 40% Wheat malt, a sour mash was performed to give a light acidity. During the boil, there was a small hop addition of Magnum for a low bitterness (5 IBUs), as befits the style. Described by the brewery as “slightly hazy with a thick white head that dissipates quite quickly”, it exhibits “lemony, citrus notes” to go along with the tartness from the sour mash. In addition, they’ve made a raspberry simple syrup that can be added to the beer (a practice still in use in Berlin today), for those who prefer to cut the acidity a tad. A supremely sessionable 4% ABV, it’s a perfect style for drinking during the summer! Look for more summer-themed seasonals coming soon, all of which are fermented with either their house American yeast strain, or a German Hefeweizen strain. Speaking of which, their summer Beer Bar (extra patio location) is now open, where all Gahan core brands and two Halifax seasonals are available on tap, as well as a limited food menu. As its opening is weather-dependent, be sure to check their social media for the latest news.

Flying Boats will be releasing a new beer over the long weekend, their first Session IPA. Hopped entirely with Galaxy – a delicious Australian variety with characteristics of passionfruit and citrus – it comes in at an easy-drinking 4.7% ABV, and 44 IBUs. Currently unnamed, it will be on tap this weekend at Marky’s Laundromat, and sometime next week at the Tide & Boar and James Joyce.

North Brewing is continuing with the interesting beer releases, this time with Wiley Boys, a Black Saison aged on currants that will be released tomorrow. Brewed with Pilsner, Munich, Chocolate, and Black malts, it was lightly-hopped with Galena and Willamette to 20 IBUs. Clocking in at 6% ABV, this one will first be available at North retail locations for growler fills, and on tap at Battery Park, until next week’s release to a few other lucky tap accounts in the HRM. The beer will be launched as North takes over the Battery Park patio at 11:30AM tomorrow, also pouring a pair of special casks of their Stillwell collaboration Gose, one batch aged on barberries, the other on mango, as well as blasts from the past Sauer Sagen Hat Sour and Belgian Milk Stout.

• The Big Tide / Boiling Point Podcast beer that we originally reported on last month is now on tap at the brewpub, and we have all the details. Brewed to celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast that stars Greg Hemmings and Dave Veale, Brewmaster Wendy Papadopoulos was charged by the voting public to brew a beer that was “golden, citrusy, sweet, potent, local, spicy, and sessionable”… not exactly an easy task! Not one to fail to rise to the challenge, however, Wendy settled on a Honey Ginger Ale, named Hemmingsway Vealey Great Ale. Brewed with Pale Ale and Wheat malts, and hopped with all NB-grown varieties (EKG from Southan Farms, and Cascade and Hallertau from Darlings Island Farm), fresh ginger was also added during the mash, boil, and fermentation. Lemon rind, lemongrass, and honey were all added to the boil as well, resulting in a 7.5% ABV, 38 IBUs beer. And good news for those of you attending next week’s Tasting NB in Fredericton – this one may just pop up at the event on Saturday!

• Also last month, Garrison put a call out for all patrons to bring in as much rhubarb as they could, to be used for a special beer, and to be exchanged for brewery credit. That beer – It’s Rhubarb Saison! – is now available as of today. A “refreshing wheat beer brewed in the Saison style”, over 500 lbs of fresh, local rhubarb were added to give a “clean, tart character” to the pale, hazy-orange brew. Available on tap only at the brewery for tasters and growler fills, it comes in at 5.7% ABV.

• Garrison has also released their ACBA Gold-medal-winning Rise n’ Stein Hefeweizen today. This 5.5% ABV classic German style features a significant amount of wheat in the malt bill, and is fermented using a traditional Hefe yeast for notes of clove and banana on the hazy beer with a pillowy white head. The beer is available at the brewery now on tap and in bottles, with bottles also at the private stores, and hitting NSLC shelves in a couple of weeks. The beer was first brewed in celebration of the Halifax Oktoberfest, with this year’s event taking place Sept 16 & 17, 2016. September 17th also marks the first time the Canada Beer Run will hit Halifax. The 11.4 km run starts at Garrison, and features a route that will take racers to Good Robot and Propeller Brewing for bevvies, as well as a “satellite” set up from Spindrift. The run finishes back at Garrison, to take part in the Oktoberfest-ivities.

• Big Spruce‘s “Wheat IPA”, You Spin me White Round, is back for the season. Originally brewed “in conspiracy” with Sawdust City Brewing (Gravenhurst, ON) in February, 2014, it features plenty of malted organic Wheat in a “traditional American-style IPA” grist. First-wort hopped with Magnum, with later additions of Chinook and Amarillo for plenty of citrusy, grapefruit aromas and flavours, it weighs in at 6.5% ABV.

• Halifax’s Good Robot has brought back their popular David Lynch-inspired beer, Damn Fine Coffee & Cherry Pie Pale Ale. While light amber in colour (thanks to a Pilsner base with Rye and Red X malts), the beer evokes thoughts of something darker, thanks to the generous addition of cold-brewed Java Blend Ethiopian Guji coffee. The use of Cascade and Falconer’s Flight hops (to 40 IBUs) and California Ale yeast lends a fruit and berry aroma to round out the beer. The 5.1% ABV beer is on tap at the brewery for pints and growler fills, and will be in the wild shortly.

• We have a bit more info on the Grimross expansion we briefly mentioned last week. They have taken over an additional 4000 sq. ft. of space adjacent to the brewery/taproom, doubling their area to a total of 8000 sq. ft. As they continue to add fermentors to allow them to brew more beer, as well as hosting more events in their taproom, the extra space will be a welcome addition to the brewery. Phase one, the expansion of the taproom and warehouse space, is currently underway, with phase two occurring in the near future, which will result in a greater fermentation capacity, addition of a canning ling, as well as an outdoor patio “overlooking a very scenic marshland”.

• As we mentioned last week, Mill Street Brewpub in St. John’s has released their second beer, Capelin Hound Session IPA. The 4.0% ABV beer features loads of Cascade and Mosaic in the dry-hop to complement the 50 IBUs. Featuring a melon and citrus aroma, with fruit flavour and a light lingering bitterness that keeps you coming back for the next sip. The low ABV is perfect for those who want to enjoy a few while waiting for the Capelin to roll.

• The Murphy Hospitality Group has confirmed in a recent story by The Guardian that they will be opening a new hotel in downtown Moncton, The Wesley Hotel, in late 2017/early 2018 on the corner of Wesley and Queen streets. In addition, the hotel will house another location for the Gahan House Restaurant and Brewery, making it the third brewpub for the company, joining its sister properties in Charlottetown and Halifax. Featuring a 6 bbl (700 litre) DME brewhouse, the brewpub will have indoor seating for 160 patrons, plus an additional 60-seat seasonal patio. We’ll be sure to update with more information as the brewery nears completion.

• For our homebrewing/small commercial brewery readers in the Saint John region, a new brewing store is opening today to meet your expanding needs. The NB Craft Brewers Market is located in Rothesay, and will be carrying grain, hops, and yeast from White Labs. Owner Michael Hebert is very open to bringing in ingredients for the local community, so be sure to reach out to put in your requests. While not a brick and mortar shop, the online store will be launching this afternoon at 6, and orders are available for pickup within a couple of hours of submission.

• The NSLC released their annual report this week, and local beer sales continue to show excellent growth. Small Nova Scotian breweries’ sales rose by more than 25% to $7.6M, significantly outpacing the overall beer growth of 2.1%. The news is heartening, but small local producers still account for just 4% of the NS beer market, indicating that there is lots of room for continued growth in the years to come. Any worry that the market for small and locally-owned breweries is becoming saturated seems unfounded given these numbers. What is frustrating is that by the NSLC’s own report, there are just “more than 40” listings of NS craft beer at NSLC stores, where most packaged product is sold. Improving the number to capture the dozens more styles and offerings from around the province would see local product continue to increase, employing more in the province.

With tomorrow’s holiday a great excuse to grab a local beer, we reached out to the breweries in our region to see what they have planned. We didn’t hear from everyone, so be sure to check social media for their hours of operation:

New Brunswick

ANBL stores will be closed Friday July 1, while some agency stores may be open (contact your local one for the scoop).

– Big Tide will be open Friday.

– Grimross will be open Friday.

– Picaroons’ stores in Fredericton and Saint John will be open regular hours Friday.

– York County Cider will be open Friday, extending their hours to open at noon for growler fills. Stocks of their Sidra, a Spanish-style sour cider, are getting low, so drop by for a growler fill before it runs out.

Newfoundland and Labrador

NLC stores will be closed Friday July 1.

– Mill Street Brewpub will be open regular hours, and have their Long Shore Porter and Capelin Hound Session IPA available for purchase (in addition to the standard Mill Street offerings). They will be celebrating Canada Day with a special offer: 1.89l growler fill and Canada Day t-shirt for $30.

– Quidi Vidi will be open at 11:30 Friday, with tours starting at noon, and a Kitchen Party kicking off at 5:30pm.

Nova Scotia

NSLC stores will be closed Friday July 1. The private wine and beer stores will be open.

– Annapolis Cider in Wolfville will be open regular hours all weekend (10am – 7pm).

– Big Spruce will be open Friday (and the rest of the weekend) 12 to 7pm. Featuring the Cruisin’ Cuisine Food Truck all weekend, there will also be music each day: Friday, fiddle/guitar duo Rosie MacKenzie and Patrick Gillis at 1pm to 3pm and Asaph Deuce from 3pm to 5pm; Saturday is Jordan Musycyn (singer/songwriter, folk/rock) 1pm to 3pm; Sunday is Maxime Cormier (Acadian guitar) 1pm to 3pm.

– Boxing Rock will be open 12-6pm for brewery tours and retail purchases. Call (902) 494 9233 to set up a tour.

– Downeast Beer Factory in Burnside will be open from noon for growler fills of their Lachlan’s Lushious Red and CML IPA beers.

– Garrison will be open for the day, and expanding their taps to more than 15 different brews, including some special one-offs and blasts from the past, including their Cider. They will be expanding their patio seating, and have Maple Bacon Cupcakes from Blue Bird Bakery (plus easy access to the Seaport Market next door).

– Gahan Halifax Harbourfront will be open regular hours Friday, offering a great view of the evening’s fireworks.

– Good Robot will be open regular hours, and will be joined by Rinaldo’s Italian American sandwiches from noon.

– Hell Bay Brewing will be open regular hours, so be sure to drop by and enjoy a pint on their newly-opened patio. They will be serving up Woolly Mountain Farms sausages made with their own English Ale beer, as well as pigs that are fed their spent grain. A beer and sausage will be $10.

– North Brewing will be open and taking over Battery Park’s patio (details above), joined by an Ace Burger pop-up menu, and their Agricola location will be open 12-6pm.

– Propeller’s stores in Dartmouth and Halifax will be open Friday.

– Rudder’s Brewery & Pub in Yarmouth will be open standard hours Friday, and all weekend long. Check out their “Rudder’s Express” train car for some lighter fare and ice cream, now open for the season. And if you are traveling to/from Yarmouth by Ferry, their Blonde Rock Ale is now on tap aboard the Cat Ferry, with plans to increase the variety of offerings in the near future, maybe including the newest batch of their Sweet Georgia Brown Double Chocolate Oatmeal Sweet Stout, brewed this week.

– Spindrift Brewing will be closed Friday through Sunday, so drop by their location today for your liquid refreshment. Their current batch of Abyss Schwartzbier is almost gone, so grab some before it fades to black.

– Tatamagouche Brewing will be open regular hours Friday.

– The Townhouse in Antigonish will be open regular hours Friday, and celebrating with Happy Hour all day.

– Unfiltered’s Charm School will be open from noon for pints and growler fills.

Wayfarers’ Ale Society in Port Williams will be open for business Friday, with the Hellene Blonde Ale on tap for samples to enjoy on their deck, and to take in growlers, with their The Ruby Irish Red Ale available early this weekend. They will also be open Saturday, and Mon-Sat going forward (11-6 Mon-Wed, 11-8 Thu-Sat).

Prince Edward Island

PEILC stores will be open standard hours, as will the breweries and brewpubs.

More events this weekend:

• Tonight, Lazy Bear in Smiths Cove, NS is throwing open the doors of their retail location for their first Growler Night. From 5-8pm this evening, and future Thursdays, grab refills of their Gut View Amber, and Bear Bones IPA right from the source! They can also be found at the Annapolis Royal Farmers Market Saturday mornings, and have expanded their tap accounts to include Battery Park, where they expect to launch this weekend.

• Also Tonight, Upstreet is launching the first of their Thursday Nights Live, a weekly event featuring live music in the taproom from 8pm-10pm. There’s no charge to attend, just keep checking the brewery’s Facebook page for updated schedules on performing bands.

• The Townhouse in Antigonish is celebrating their Fourth Anniversary this weekend. After Friday’s Canada Day Festivities, Saturday from 4-6pm they will be holding tours of Terry’s Tiny Brewery upstairs, as he puts together the latest brew. Downstairs, they will be holding ‘Appy Hour!, featuring an oyster bar with tastings of three stouts and three Tidal Bay wines. Samples of Terry’s Dry Irish Stout, Granite Brewery Keefe’s Irish Stout, Sober Island’s Oyster Stout, plus 3 oysters, and a pint of your favourite stout, is only $13. The same tasting can be done with the Tidal Bay wines, for those so inclined. And if oysters aren’t your thing, there will be Pulled Pork buns, Lani’s Filipino Ceviché, and plenty of Stout & Ginger birthday cake. After the afternoon events, drop by for $5 pints of craft beer and glasses of Tidal Bay, and celebrate with Vinyl Night. Sunday after 4pm, come back for more birthday cake and Happy Hour, and stick around for the Traditional Irish Music Session and Sunday Roast, starting at 6:30pm. Looks like a fantastic weekend at the Townhouse!

And a few more parting shots before we sign off for a break!

Pump House has re-released their Weizen for the summer, a 5.2% ABV unfiltered Hefeweizen. Fermented with Weihenstephan yeast, it displays characteristic notes of clove and banana; look for it on tap now at the brewpub in Moncton.
Upstreet‘s Scottish Export Ale, Eighty Bob, is back after a brief hiatus; a malty brew exhibiting flavours of coffee, caramel, raisins, and a slight nuttiness, it’s smooth and easy-drinking at 4.5% ABV. And in a sign of becoming environmentally conscious, they have partnered with Bullfrog Power, offeting Upstreet’s usage with 100% clean energy.
– Grimross Brewing is looking for a full-time brewer to join their team. Drop off or email a resume today to join the expanding brewery!

Happy Canada Day, and have a great weekend!