Hart and Thistle

All posts tagged Hart and Thistle

Welcome to the last Friday of the summer of 2013. It seems like just yesterday that we were kicking off the beer festival season, and announcing the patios opening. But fear not, fearless Atlantic Canadian reader, there is plenty of great beer news and information to guide us into the fall of 2013!

• Details are few, but this week Yellowbelly Brewpub in St. John’s brewed up another batch of their Republic Pale Ale using locally-grown hops. If it’s anything like previous year’s beer, it will be about 6% ABV, and feature a big citrus and pine nose from the hearty Newfoundland hops.

Shiretown Beer in Charlo has also brewed up a beer with fresh hops, these being some wild hops from Charlo. They brewed up “Runnin’ Down the Road” Amber Ale, and the local hops will give it a spicy aroma, and plenty of bitterness. It will be available in a few weeks. Their Big Brown Ale and Buckwheat Honey Ale are both currently available at the brewery, as well as their flagship Blonde du Quai. And their expansion into bars and ANBLs across the province continues, with more and more stores being added all of the time.  Fredericton, Moncton, Sackville, the list continues to grow.

BarNone Brewing in PEI will soon be releasing their first IPA since a brief appearance at the PEI Beer Festival two years ago. An unfiltered American IPA, it comes in at 6.5% ABV and is heavily-hopped, both in the kettle and with multiple dry-hop additions, according to brewer/owner Don Campbell. Showcasing several “sought-after” hop varieties, the beer should be available for growler fills at the brewery (every Thursday from 6-8 pm) soon. To keep updated on its release, follow Barnone on their Twitter account.

• BarNone will also be taking part in this weekend’s Kegs, Corks & Oysters event at Credit Union Place (511 Notre Dame St) in Summerside. Their beer will be used to cook and pair with famous Malpeque Oysters as part of this Fall Flavours Festival event. Tickets are $35 (+fees), available at BoxOfficePEI.

• We now have some details on this year’s Harvest Ale from Picaroons, which will be officially launched on Thursday, Sept. 26th. A Pale Ale that uses two-row base malt grown in New Brunswick, it also has a small percentage of Crystal malt which should add some caramel sweetness to the beer. As mentioned before, there will be different locally-grown hops used in each batch, coming from different farmers in Atlantic Canada; this should give each batch separate flavor and aroma profiles. According to Dennis Goodwin, Marketing Director at Picaroons, the farms providing the hops will be Happy Hopyard in Cornhill, NB (showcasing Nugget, Centennial, Cascade, Goldings, and more),  Southern Farms in Wicklow, NB, Wysmykal Farm in Chapman Settlement, NS, and possibly more to be added later. By going to picaroons.ca/myharvest (the site will be active upon the beer’s launch), you will be able to enter the batch number on your bottle’s label to find out more information regarding your beer.
• The newest beer on tap at the Hart and Thistle in Halifax is the Statutory IPA. Weighing in at 7.2% ABV and 52 IBUs, this is a juicy and malty IPA, brewed with Centennial, Cascade, and Columbus hops. It contrasts the TubberRoe Robust Porter nicely, whose flavours are reminiscent of dark chocolate and dark fruit.
• For fans of the Rockbottom Brewpub, and in beer in general, Brewmaster Greg Nash posted a video of a recent brewday for the Broken Down Special Old Bitter. It’s a behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to get from grain to glass at the Rockbottom. And remember that every Saturday at 1pm, Nash taps a special cask of beer, sometimes a different take on a current beer (blackened Fathom IPA), or a completely new one (last week’s was the Deadwood Wheat refermented with 8oz of fresh ginger).
• This coming Wednesday, the 25th, Mike Buhler (Certified Cicerone and co-director of the Beerthief Newfoundland Craft Beer Order Club) will be doing a guided tasting of six beers from the Wychwood Brewery. The event is at 7PM at Bitters Restaurant and Lounge on the MUN campus (216 Prince Philip Drive). For $24, you will receive 100mL of each Wychwood beer, an appertif of Quidi Vidi or Yellowbelly beer, a burger, and chocolate brownie. Mike is a fount of beer knowledge, and lots of fun, so I’m sure the evening will be great. To take part, please reserve your seat by emailing Tom Beckett.
Finally this week, big news from Propeller Brewing! They brewed their first batch of beer at their new Dartmouth location yesterday (617 Windmill Rd, their cold beer store has been open for a few months). It was, not surprisingly given Halifax’s lust for hops, an IPA. We hope to get a look at the new digs soon, and will certainly do a full profile on their expanded system and location. In the meantime, be sure to look for their Nocturne Dark Lager out today, released in collaboration with the Nocturne Art at Night event, taking place October 19th, 6pm-midnight around the HRM.

Howdy, craft beer drinkers! Here’s some beer-related news to cool you off at the end of the week…

– It’s been a long-time coming, but after a soft launch at the PEI Beer Festival in September of 2011, Barnone Brewery (located in Rose Valley, PEI) finally has their beer available for the public! They have two beers  currently on tap at The Landing Oyster House and Pub in Tyne Valley. Their “Pale Ale” is an American Pale Ale, and “Summer Sessions” could be described as an American Wheat. Both beers should be on tap at other locations on PEI soon, and the brewery should hopefully be filling growlers in the not-too-distant future. Head over to the full story on the PEIBeerGuy blog for more info.

– Missed the Picaroons Brewer’s Bash last Saturday in Fredericton? Well, your chances to try some of the 300 beers featured may not be completely gone – apparently the ANBL will be selling the “leftovers” from the festival at four of their stores (York St. and Prospect St. in Fredericton, Vaughan Harvery Blvd. in Moncton, and the Quispamsis location). Details aren’t great yet, but stay tuned to the ANBL website and Brewer’s Bash Facebook page… beers should hopefully be in stores by early next week.

– Looking for another tasty Greg Nash creation? The Hart & Thistle tapped Hoplessness yesterday – a hybrid Witbier/IPA (aka White IPA) that is low in bitterness (5 IBUs), but high in hop aroma due to a large addition at the end of the boil. Clocking in at 6% ABV, and brewed with curacao orange peel and coriander spices in the traditional Witbier fashion, it sounds like a great summer beer!

– If you’re in the Moncton/Dieppe area and were hoping to find some more Celtic Knot beer, Marky’s has recently tapped another keg of the Hopicide. The Not Joe Average Pale Ale should also be on tap again sometime in the near future.

– For those of you in PEI needing some local craft beer in large amounts, PEI Brewing Company is now renting kegs of all their beers. Kegs are available in one of three sizes: 19 L, 30 L, and 50 L, and can be picked up at their new retail space on Kensington Rd, in Charlottetown. Call ahead to make your order.

Boxing Rock Brewing continues to expand, as their beers will become available in Halifax starting this weekend. Their Temptation Red Ale will be the first beer out for purchase; Haligonians should expect to see the Hunky Dory Pale Ale the following week, and then the Vicar’s Cross DIPA another week later. Look for their beers at Premier Wine & Spirits, Harvest Wines, Bishop’s Landing, and Cristall Wine, with the NSLC following soon.

Bridge Brewing Company has announced that they will be selling their beer in 750 mL growlers at the Historic Farmers’ Market in Halifax every Saturday. Which beer(s) will be available will depend on what is leftover from the previous day’s sales at the brewery; T-shirts and glasses will also be available for purchase.

That’s all for this week. ACBBChris is away on vacation for several weeks, so don’t be surprised if the quantity (and quality!) of posts drops during that period. Have fun, Chris!

It’s been a hectic week at the ACBB “offices”, here’s the important news you need to know about beer in our area:

• Tonight, Picaroons continues their Plaid to the Bone launch in Perth-Andover. Featuring their Heather Ale, the “Picaroons Castle Ceilidh” will be held at the Castle Inn. The festivities begin at 7 pm, and will include the Southern Victoria Pipe Band and Fredericton’s Highland Dancers, followed by PEI’s Ten Strings and a Goat Skin (who continue to tour New Brunswick for this beer’s launch). There will be a large “Picaroons-infused” pub menu, with food items ranging from Best Bitter-battered onion rings to grilled salmon with Simeon Jones garlic cream. The launch continues Saturday night in Moncton at Plan B (after the beer festival), where Ten Strings will be performing at 10 pm.

Mirella Amato is in New Brunswick this week, taking part in events surrounding the Atlantic Beer Festival. She is hosting two events at The Station in Fredericton today: from 1-3pm, she will be running a mock beer competition, where participants will be able to taste some winning beers from the recent Canadian Brewing Awards, learn how to judge beers, and even do some judging themselves. This event is free and open to the public. Later in the evening (6:30-8:30), Mirella will be leading a five-course tasting, highlighting the style range of beers, and how they can pair with food in some exciting and fascinating ways. Tickets are $25. As mentioned in our previous post, she will also be leading a VIP tour of the Atlantic Beer Festival, including appetizers at Pump House, limo ride to the fest, and a guided tasting of a handful of the best beers on tap at the fest.

• Last Saturday’s grand opening of the new location for the PEI Brewing Company was a great success, with approximately 600 people attending the day’s events, despite less-than-desirable weather. Two new beers were introduced, a Blueberry Ale, and a Mango Wheat. While both beers will continue to be available on tap at the PEI Brewing Company (the Mango Wheat for a limited time only), the Blueberry Ale will also be pouring at some bars/restaurants on the Island, and can also be found in bottles at the brewery and at PEILCC locations.

• Halifax’s The Coast website has published its annual readers’ poll results, and Garrison Brewing Company has been selected as Best Craft Brewery! Runners-up were silver and bronze medal-winners, Propeller Brewing and Bridge Brewing, respectively. As for Best Brew Pub, Rockbottom unseated previous 9-time winner Rogues Roost to win the top prize. Rogues Roost finished second, followed by Hart and Thistle. Congratulations to the winners!

• Speaking of Rockbottom, their Insidious IBA (India Black Ale) is now on tap. This beer won a bronze medal in the American Style Black Ale (also known as Black IPA, Cascadian Dark Ale, etc) category at the recent Canadian Brewing Awards. Get it while it’s … cold!

• For those of you looking forward to getting a taste of one of the new Grimross beers tonight in Fredericton, there’s some bad news… the Love Your Balls event has been cancelled. We originally reported on this charity event last Friday. Looks like we’ll all have to wait another few weeks until Grimross is available commercially.