PEI Beer Guy

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It’s the last Friday in May in Atlantic Canada and after a short week thanks to Victoria Day, it’s time to start thinking about the weekend. Somewhat sadly, with the pandemic still upon us, that’s not going to include much in the way of in-person socializing or even, for many, trips to the cabin or cottage or camp or whatever you call it. But there have certainly been some rays of hope this week, with Nova Scotia’s case numbers continuing to drop, recoveries increasing, and vaccinations now open to everyone 12 years of age and older throughout the entire region. And our breweries definitely seem to be getting into a more summery mood as they hope for easing of intra- and inter-province restrictions in time to be slinging suds in person and on premise before our all-too-short warm season is over. Read below for all the news we could find and type up about this week’s releases. We also encourage our Nova Scotia readers in particular to check out the information that’s come out this week regarding the Auditor General’s report on the operations of the NSLC. If you’re a fan of the smaller independent breweries in NS, consider lending your voice to the crowd that’s calling for action by the Provincial Government. We already knew that these folks have been facing an uphill battle with largely antiquated liquor laws and COVID restrictions destroying many business models, but the AG’s report seems to suggest that the operating model of the NSLC does almost nothing to help our region’s local producers, folks who have been entrepreneurial in their communities, generating employment opportunities and keeping cash local. We’d love to see more folks out there amplifying their voices as they lobby the NS Government for change to support our community breweries before we start seeing them have to close up shop.

After contract brewing for the past couple of years, Hampton Brewing Company now has a place to call their own. Located at 64 Robertson Road just outside of town, HBC has set up at Fire Fly Forest Recreation. The taproom and patio are open seven days a week, Mon – Wed 4 – 8 PM, Thurs 4 – 10 PM, today and Sat 12 PM – 12 AM, and Sun 12 – 8 PM. Brewing on a 500 litre (4 BBL) Blichmann Hybrid system, they are currently pouring 5 beers for onsite enjoyment (or to take away), Crush Session IPA, Big Shoes American Pale Ale, Black Door Porter, Chameleon Blackberry Lime Sour, and just tapped for the weekend, Misty Mountain Hops NEIPA. Make the trip out, maybe even stay the night, and support the newest brewery in our region! Congratulations Hampton Brewing Crew!

Our friends at Landwash Brewery have handed over control of their brewhouse – temporarily – to their Packaging Manager, Nardia, to create a one-off beer of her very own. After no doubt hours of deliberation, she desired to brew something inspired by her home country of Australia. April 25th was the annual Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance originally designed to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. This reminded Nardia of the biscuits that have been produced by ANZAC, which are made with coconut, rolled oats, and golden syrup. So… where were we going with this? Oh right, so the beer, Caribou Hill, was brewed to represent these biscuits! Named after the battle of Caribou Hill in World War I, where ANZAC and Newfoundland troops fought alongside each other, the beer is a 5% “Coconut Biscuit Brown Ale”. We’re betting you can already taste it in your minds (is that a thing?), but rest assured it’s a dark brown brew with notes of coconut, and plenty of biscuity malt character throughout. Cans are available now at the brewery, and if you get there REALLY fast, you may be lucky enough to purchase some of the cookies that inspired the beer! All money raised from cookie sales will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association – Newfoundland.

Candid Brewing in Antigonish opened their doors last week for the first of their “retail pop-ups”, and are back at it again this weekend for even more of the same. Joining their Humdinger West Coast IPA are two more of their core beers, namely the No Brainer and Party Line. No Brainer is a 5.2% ABV Pale Ale, with blood orange juice added for an extra citrus blast on the palate. Party Line is a 6.2% ABV Northeast IPA, featuring plenty of tropical and bright citrus character from loads of hops added late in the process, for a smooth and low bitterness beer. All three beers are available at their pop-up shop at 88 College Street today 3 – 6 PM, and again tomorrow 1 – 4 PM. And keep an eye on their and neighbour The Townhouse’s Social Media (IG) for the details on a food and beer pairing take-away bundle available tomorrow and Sunday.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been bringing you news about more and more breweries embracing lower ABV styles in smaller packages, mainly 355ml cans. Trailway is the latest to embrace this trend with the release of Fetch Pale Ale. Let’s start with the packaging. For the first time, Trailway will be offering 12 packs of 355 ml cans. Starting off, you can find them at the brewery, but in a few weeks it will see province-wide distribution through ANBL. Now, onto the beer. Fetch is made using Canadian pilsner malt and hops sourced exclusively from New Brunswick producers. In another first, Trailway is saying goodbye to its trademark haze, and filtering the beer to a high degree of clarity. Expect notes of honey from the malt with floral hope notes and a mild bitterness.

Rough Waters Brewing, up in Deer Lake, NL, has released a new beer in their Neighbeerly series of beers that each support a local charity. This time, they’re benefiting the Islaview Foundation, with $1 from each bottle sold going to that organization. You’ll also find it for sale at Marie’s Mini Mart locations on the East Coast, Ultramar Corner Stores in Deer Lake and on West Street in Corner Brook, and Rudy’s Pub & Grub in Gros Morne. The swank new beer bar in St. John’s, Brewdock, also has it on tap and will also be donating proceeds. So what is the beer, you ask? It’s a fairly self-describing Strawberry Mango Milkshake India Session Ale, of course! At only 4% ABV you should be able to go through a couple of them as you decide whether it’s the Strawberry, Mango, or hops that you like the best.

Continuing to fly under the radar (at least, in our opinion) Nova Scotia bright spot and future destination once things open back up, Lunn’s Mill has a new release this week. Sour Batch Kveiks is a Sour IPA clocking in at 7% on the ABV scale and this style is always a fun one to try. Citrus and stone fruit complement a ripe orange with lime sour taste, reminiscent of Sour Patch Kids. Bringing some bitterness to the finish, this uses El Dorado for the hops and a Kveik yeast from Escarpment Labs. Available now for growler fills and pints at the brewery, cans will be available in the coming weeks at the private stores around HRM. 

Cornwall’s Village Green continues to churn out interesting styles, with two new releases over the last two weeks. First up is Centennial Black Ale. This 7.5% ale features bready notes, chocolate and orange flavours, with enough bitterness from Centennial to keep things balanced. Find this one on tap or for fills at the brewery, as well as cans to go. And brand new this week is West Coast IPA. Coming it at 7.9%, expect more malt character and bitterness than Village Green’s previous IPAs that leaned more into tropical hop notes, thanks to Columbus, Cascade, Amarillo, and Mosaic in the boil, and then a double dry-hopping from a combo of Motueka, Amarillo, and Citra, and later Idaho 7. Hops lovers will want to get out to Cornwall this weekend to snag this before it’s gone!

Chester’s Tanner & Co continues to dip their toes in the mead pool, offering more choices for fans of fermented beverages, especially those seeking a gluten-free option. Their newest release is Oak Aged Raspberry Mead. This one starts with local honey from Cosman & Whidden. Towards the end of fermentation, it was transferred to an oak barrel from Ironworks Distillery, where it finished fermentation with some raspberry purée. This 8% ABV mead has made its way into bottles that are available now at the Duke. St taproom and through Tanner’s online store. 

Spryfield’s Serpent Brewing has a stated goal of focusing on Belgian-inspired beers, and Saison certainly qualifies. Originally brewed on the farms of Wallonia in the winter months with leftover ingredients, and then conditioned for summer consumption, there has always been a wide range of characteristics to what we know as Saison. Of late, and certainly in our region, when most people think of the style they think of a fairly light-bodied spritzy beer with plenty of yeast character, including pepperiness and even some tartness. Those who experienced Serpent’s first iteration of Sprytown Saison back in March know that it was more on another part of the spectrum, with rustic malt character and some deep caramel undertones. Why are we telling you all this? Because there’s a new version available, their Summer Edition, and it’s not so much like the first one. Drier, lighter, and with some definite tart and fruit character, this new 5.5% ABV edition should be an excellent refresher on hot summer days. You can find both versions, Spring and Summer, available from the brewery, just make sure you ask for the one you want. Grabbing one of each would be an excellent way to introduce yourself to the breadth of the Saison style, while giving you something to look forward to, as they plan to brew a different version of this beer for each of the seasons of the year. Pop out to their spot behind Canadian Tire on Dentith this weekend to pick some up, and complete your visit by grabbing something from Jamdouns Food Truck, specializing in Jamaican cuisine, who are onsite 2 – 8 PM Saturday and 2 – 6 PM Sunday.

Want more tiny beers in tiny cans? Check out Tatamagouche Brewing’s newest taste of summer, Dekorum Lime. Tata has added organic lime to its 2.9% light lager for a super sessionable sipper, available in 355 ml cans. If you’re not feeling the lime, check out Arvo, their 4.6% Helles Lager, also back in stock this week. In other Tata news, the brewery’s retail store has reopened for in-person takeaway, with capacity limits in place. Pair that with a 15% discount of Tata clothing (in person and online), and your weekend is set!

Although not specifically mentioned in government reopening plans, the gradual return to normal times means that we’ll surely be seeing more beer events across the Atlantic region. Craft breweries on PEI are kicking off the summer season with PEI Craft Beer week. Running from June 5-12, the celebration of local beer features daily events that include tastings, musical entertainment and food pairings. Check out https://www.peicraftbeerweek.com/ for all of the details, and if you’re on FB, their Events pages. And while you wait for the weekend’s festivities to begin, check out Beer Trivia with the PEI Beer Guy at the Upstreet taproom on Thursday night. Trivia runs from 7-9 PM and you can call the taproom to book your team of 4-6 people.

A couple of brewery job listings for you to peruse before signing off this week.

If you’re looking for an industry job in the Moncton/Dieppe area, check out the jobs page for Flying Boats Brewing. They are currently looking for a Sales Representative to join their team.  The ideal candidate will have an outgoing attitude and a passion for craft beer. Applications for the position close on June 6.

Landwash Brewery in Mount Pearl is hiring a cellarperson to join their team. Mostly working on the “cold side” of the brewhouse, that is, everything after the brewing, tasks include cleaning, transferring, cleaning, packaging (kegs and cans), cleaning, and more cleaning. 😉 But in all seriousness, the position is open to anyone enthusiastic to get into the beer world, but does not require brewing experience, so this could be just the perfect way in for you! Check the job posting on Indeed, and give them a shout before June 1.

 

Welcome to another early-post week! Things have slowed down, understandably, over the last week, but there’s still some action in the beer world that we wanted to be sure you were all updated on…

• Moncton’s newest brewery, Bore City Brewing, has announced that they have received their license to brew, and hope to have beer flowing by mid-to-late January, 2016. Founders Jamie Melanson, Stéphane Cormier (head brewer), and Denis Babineau (assistant brewer) plan on releasing three initial beers: Mondo, a 6.8% ABV American IPA; Spacetime Odyssey, a 6% ABV American Porter brewed with Galaxy hops; and Marécage, a 7% ABV Belgian-style Saison that features clove and pepper in the aroma and flavour. We’ll be talking with them soon for a Q&A; in the meantime, follow them on their Facebook and Twitter pages for more updates!

Boxing Rock welcomed some of the crew from Upstreet to their home in Shelburne on Tuesday for a special storm-day brew. The second collaboration beer for these two breweries, Rumble in the Alley: Round II, is described as a SMaSH (single-malt and single-hop) Extra Special Bitter. The grist was made up entirely of Munich malt (one of the very few “specialty malts” that can be used on its own, it provides an enjoyable bready character to beer), with the Santiam hop being featured. Chosen for the floral and lemon qualities it imparts, according to Upstreet brewer Mike Hogan, it should nicely complement the fruity esters that will likely be found in the beer as well, thanks to the English yeast strain chosen for fermentation. Round II should come in at about 6% ABV and 45 IBUs; this one will be released by Boxing Rock, and should hit regular tap accounts in the near future (with the possibility of a bottle release as well).

• Sticking with news from Shelburne, Boxing Rock has released Porter this week, Sunken Ledge. Named after a shoal in Shelburne Harbour, this 5% ABV, 21 IBUs beer’s grain bill uses a Scottish Golden Promise base with darker malts for colour and flavour of chocolate, coffee and molasses. The beer features a medium body, smooth mouthfeel, and light carbonation for a truly inviting drink. It is available on tap and in bottles at the brewery now, at the Seaport and Alderney Landing Farmers’ Markets this weekend (including today’s NYE market), and at the NSLC and private stores next week.

Grimross brewed up a new experimental beer earlier this week. This currently unnamed “Rye Session Ale” was an excuse for brewmaster/owner Stephen Dixon to use two boxes of recently-purchased Tangelos. Similar in taste to a tangerine, the juice was added to the wort at the end of the boil, with the zest added during secondary fermentation for extra aroma and flavour. With a light grist containing a percentage of Rye malt, the beer was fermented with two yeast strains, a neutral American strain and a Belgian Saison strain. Hopped lightly to 23 IBUs with Waimea (a New Zealand variety chosen by Dixon due to its rumoured Tangelo character that it adds), the beer should come in at a sessionable 4.5% ABV. We’ll keep you updated on its release over the next few weeks.

• PEI Brewing Co. has a few re-brews coming down the pipeline this winter. They recently brewed up another batch of their Black Banks Cascadian Dark Ale which should be available on tap and in cans by late January; this batch was hopped with AmarilloNelson Sauvin, and Galaxy, all of which provide plenty of tropical aromas and flavours. The very popular ReAnimator Doppelbock will be brewed very soon, and available after an appropriate lagering phase. This beer is also the base to the Hell Street Barrel-Aged Doppelbock, so good news for lovers of that seasonal, which will return in the fall. Late winter/early spring will see the next release of their large-scale barrel program, currently aging in Jack Daniels barrels in the brewery. All of these (and many more!) are part of PEIBC’s ambitious goal of releasing a new beer every month at the brewery and Gahan House in Charlottetown. Some will be test brews for future wide-release and packaged beers, so be sure to follow along on their Social Media pages for those details, and give them feedback as to which you would like to see again in wider release.

• And staying on the Island, Murphy’s Community Centre at 200 Richmond St has recently totally renovated their lounge and bowling centre. Now called The Alley – 200 Richmond, is now serving up craft beer from all three island craft breweries; BarNone, PEI Brewing, and Upstreet. To celebrate, they will be hosting a Brewer’s Ball: Balls Unleashed on January 30th. Beginning at 8pm, brewers, owners, supporters, and employees from each of the three breweries will be competing in a friendly tournament. The professionals will also be joined by members of the PEI Aleanders, the PEI homebrewing and beer appreciation group. There is room for the public to join in the fun as well, as all three local breweries’ beers will be flowing, food service available, with entertainment that evening. Be sure to drop by 200 Richmond Street for a great night of bowling and brews!

• Another friend of PEI beers and breweries is Baba’s Lounge. Beginning Jan 3, PEIBeerGuy will be hosting a Sunday Trivia night at the lounge, from 8-10pm. Enjoy specials on pints, beer (and other) trivia, and the trivia-exclusive $10 Shawarma Nachos, perfect for sharing. There are prizes for the weekly winners, with possibly some giveaways from the breweries for all attendees. A great excuse to shake off the New Year’s hangover, and enjoy some (more) Island craft beer! As we previously mentioned, don’t forget to pick up tickets for their BarNone beer dinner, January 24th at 6pm. Four courses of food and beer pairing, plus a glass to keep, for only $49 (includes tax and tip). And then stick around for that evening’s trivia!

• The experimental beers keep coming from Good Robot. Released this week is a Smoked Molasses Port’r, available only at their Tap Room. Brewed on their Sabco Brew-Magic system, these guest and experimental brews are perfect for testing out new recipes, techniques, and having a bit of fun. Stop by today for a pint!

A reminder that several breweries and bars in the region are holding special events tonight and tomorrow, check last week’s post for more details (and you will want to double check that places are open before going for a drink or to fill your growler). That’s all of the news for this week, and this year! Thanks to all of you for following along and reading this year. The beer scene in our region shows no sign of slowing down, with at least a dozen new breweries and brewpubs opening in 2016. Cheers!

Here’s an overview of Atlantic Canadian beer news and reading from this past week:

Excellent article from Craig Pinhey:  Libations: Brewtopian dining

Brewnoser BPA is available on tap at Rockbottom Brewpub starting today.  So is Blackness, which is a “West Coast-style Robust Porter”, at Hart & Thistle.

Here’s what’s currently available at the Picaroons Brewtique.  Don’t forget about their Easter Keg Hunt and to send them a picture of your cat.

Sample some Propeller Bitter, IPA and Porter as part of this week’s Three Course Thursday at the Foggy Goggle.

The PEI Beer Guy has recently sampled Alchemist Heady Topper and Saint Bernardus’ Grottenbier Bruin.

The guys from Darkside Brewing have tasting notes for the winner of Garrison’s 2011 Ultimate Brew Off, Garrison Schwarz.

Here are tasting notes from Old Brown Shoe from Meek Brewing.