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Friday Wrap-Up for June 21, 2019 – News from Bad Apple, Gridiron (formerly Matchstick), CAVOK, Unfiltered, Big Spruce, Niche, Bogside, and More!!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2019-06-21
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bogside Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseux d'la Cote, CAVOK Brewing, Dildo Brewing, East Coast Craft Beer Festival, Good Robot Brewing, Gridiron Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Matchstick Beer Factory, New Scotland Brewing, Niche Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Shipwright Brewing, The Coast, The Core by Bad Apple, The Curated Guide, The Yeast Bay, Toslow, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 3 comments

Check it, we’ve got MORE RAIN coming this weekend. Whodathunkit? So grab your bee costume, queue up some Blind Melon (yes, we’re old) and grab some beer from your favorite Atlantic Canada producers. And if you’re looking for some suggestions, well, read on!

Somerset’s Bad Apple Brewhouse has a brand new beer out this week. Citronella is a 6.5% ABV amping up of the hazy New England IPA style with the essence of a bitter & resinous West Coast IPA. A base of light malts, with lots of Citra and Summit hops throughout, the beer was fermented with a blend of the Conan and Coastal Haze yeasts for an easy drinking beer with a big nose of citronella. Grab cans of this brand new killer beer at Bad Apple’s brewery in Somerset, or at their taproom in Wolfville, The Core, at 3 Elm Avenue, open from noon daily.

Hampton New Brunswick’s Matchstick Beer Factory is undergoing a name change today, so we wanted to be sure we get you up to speed. Their name is an ode to the Flewelling Saw Mill & Match Factory that used to operate in Hampton, but it being a significant landmark in town means that other businesses in the area can take inspiration from the historical building. In order to reduce confusion, the brewery is changing their name. And so, Gridiron Brewing is born! Named after the Gridiron, a small set of rapids located on the Tusket River inYarmouth County, NS, and located near the old family homestead of Head Brewer Luke MacGregor. So be sure to update your links to include their new addresses on the web and social media (Web / Fb / Ig / Tw ), as they are going live today. And be sure to follow them on social media, as they are running a contest for tickets to the Beer on the Bridge Festival in Fredericton, July 6th. Plus another exciting development coming later this month that will definitely having you pop in to Hampton for a visit!

And while we have you, let’s talk about a brand new beer that Match…. Gridiron debuted at last week’s Sussex Rotary Brew Festival. Luckily for those of us unable to attend, they’ve sent some kegs of it out in the wild to local licensees. Moose Draw Session is a Session IPA, featuring hops from nearby Moose Mountain Hops in the Upper Saint John River Valley, and grain from Island Malt House in New Glasgow, PEI. Weighing in at 4.5% ABV and a hefty 70 IBU, you can/soon find it on tap at Cask and Kettle, Peddlers Creek, Sussex Ale Works, and the Match Factory in Hampton.

Let’s head up the Number 1 Highway to Dieppe, where CAVOK Brewing calls home. They have debuted a brand new light summer sipper this week in the taproom, Soleil d’Ete. Dubbed a “New England Summer Ale”, this 4.5% ABV beer was fermented with an iconic yeast often used in NEIPAs to keep it juicy, which is only enhanced by the generous use of Mosaic and New Zealand Wakatu late in the brewing process to reduce bitterness and enhance aromatics, to the tune of about 15 IBU. The best place to grab a sample or pint is at the brewery, though we’re sure there will be kegs of it on tap at CAVOK’s accounts across NB soon.

As almost everyone knows, Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing largely makes their bones with big and bold beers, usually featuring irresponsible hopping levels. But lest you think that limits them to IPAs and West Coast Stouts, they’ve got a new beer this week that should disabuse you of that notion. Helles Bock, or Maibock, is a German style traditionally brewed in the Spring as a shift from the very malt-forward “bread-in-a-bottle” beers that dominate the winter months. Enter Hellevator, brewer Greg Nash’s take on the style. Consistent with the tradition of the style being pretty big (and perfect for Unfiltered), it comes in at 7.0% ABV and was brewed with malt, yeast and noble hops all sourced from Germany. We don’t reckon that many German brewers have ever described a Helles Bock as “juicy” but this one is, while still having a malt-forward character befitting a Maibock. Look for this one at the brewery starting today at noon, with pints, fills and cans all on offer.

Our buddies at Big Spruce have a new barrel-aged bottle release for us, and it’s one that sounds perfect for enjoying with a little hot, sunny weather. Wild Wild Wheat is a light-bodied wheat beer that was fermented with the brewery’s Farmhouse yeast (specifically, Pin Cherry 2 of their Scotia Sauvage), and aged in Chardonnay barrels for five months. Expect plenty of floral and peppery characteristics in this 4.9% ABV beer, along with some nice oak character. It’s currently available only at the Sprucetique in Nyanza, in 650 mL bottles. And while you’re there grabbing yours, Sublime – their double-dry-hopped-with-Mosaic 5% Session IPA, conditioned on organic lime juice – is back, so you might as well pick up some of that one as well!

Breaking their tradition of ping ponging between styles from release to release, Niche Brewing’s followup to last week’s Paradox is another ultralight offering coming in at an extremely sessionable 2.9% ABV. But lest you think the guys have lost their flair for changing things up, Living Reflection isn’t another Session IPA, no, it’s a fruited Brettanomyces beer that trades hops for funk. Leveraging a Niche favorite, the Amalgamation blend of 6 Brett strains from The Yeast Bay, you can absolutely expect plenty of varied Brett character from this one. Managing to avoid a too-thin body for the weight with a grist largely composed of Pilsner and wheat malt, tangerine puree was added in the secondary for a delightful citrusy and fruity kick along with a touch of tartness. This one is on its way to Niche tap accounts in New Brunswick, with a chance of an appearance at Stillwell (HQ and/or BG) in Halifax.

Over in Montague, PEI, newly-opened Bogside Brewing has a new one-off that they’ve added to their taplist, to go with their flaships. Named after the salty, sour, German style that we all know and love, Gose is a 4% ABV salty, sour… oh wait, I guess you probably figured that out from the first part of this sentence. But it is! Coriander is also typically added to this style of beer, but in Bogside’s case, the coriander presence is minimal. Easy-drinking with “some nice grainy notes”, you can grab it at the brewery’s restaurant/taproom (along with some BBQ!) over the weekend, in sample, pint, or growler form.

Halifax’s Propeller Brewing continues to surprise and delight with their willingness to bring new beers to their seasonal lineup with their summer lineup of NE IPA, Galaxy, Session IPA, Azacca, and Summer Fruit Beer, Stone Fruit, all winning plenty of fans in the region. This week, though, they’ve upped the ante even a little more with a special limited release of a beer that’s been quite a while in the making. Brett IPA doesn’t have a fancy name, but it’s sure to be a complex beer. Coming in at 6.0% ABV, with some wheat in the grist and plenty of Mosaic and Azacca, as befits the IPA aspect, it was also aged for more than 8 months in red wine barrels with Brettanomyces bruxellensis. Look for plenty of hop character, with notes of tangerine, papaya and passionfruit, some complex barnyard funk, and no doubt some further complexity and tannins from the barrel. Bottle conditioned in 750 mL bottles with cork and cage and a gorgeous label courtesy of Densley Design, only 200 of these are available in total starting tomorrow at both Propeller locations. The question is, do you drink it now and get the full effect of the hops, or do you cellar it for a year or two and let the Brett develop even further? Let’s be honest, the answer is probably to buy two and do both!! A quick warning from the brewery, though, the corks used for this bottling were somewhat sub-optimal and will likely require a corkscrew to remove; they’re addressing this issue with different corks on future limited releases. And if you’re considering hitting up Propeller (or the Propeller Arcade) tonight for a pint or two, we think that knowing that tonight’s cask is their Rye IPA with Grapefruit might help you make your decision.

Bannerman Brewing, located in St. John’s, has been up and running for a couple months now, and while they’re still working at ramping up production to keep up with demand, they DO have two brand new beer releases for us all this weekend. Let’s start with Hard Yes, a dry-hopped kettle sour. Brewed with a good percentage of wheat, this tart beer was dry-hopped with heavy amount of Citra and Galaxy, which, as you can probably imagine if you’re familiar at all with hops, results in a lot of citrus and tropical character, all supported by a biscuity finish. At 5.2% ABV, you’re probably ok to enjoy one or two of these without going overboard (results may vary)! Next up is Medium Cool, a malt-forward American IPA brewed with Golden Promise, Pilsner, and Crystal malts. Dry-hopped with large amounts of Mosaic, Simcoe and Columbus, the 7% ABV beer has “notes of honey, with a rounded bitterness and a resinous, earthy hop profile”. Both of these beers should be available at the brewery right now, for pints and growler fills. And if it happens to be nice out while you’re there, take a minute and enjoy a beer on their newly-opened deck!

New beer coming out from TrailWay today, a beer they’re referring to as an “Oatmeal IPA”. Overnight was brewed with “near maxed-out recommended dosages of both malted and flaked oats”, according to the brewery. Hopped – likely intensely with, being TrailWay and all! – with El Dorado and Citra, two American varieties that TW has used with many of their other hoppy offerings, expect “melon, berries and cantaloupe” in the aroma/flavour. The oaty grist comes through in spades in the mouthfeel, lending a creamy, soft body to the beer, without being cloyingly sweet. And as with most TW beers, there’s very little bitterness in the finish of this 6% ABV brew. It’s available right now (because there’s no way this post is published before noon… NO WAY) at the brewery on tap and in cans. While there, you can also grab some Good Weather, another of their popular summer American IPAs.

If you’re around the Corner Brook area of Newfoundland this weekend, you might just want to head over to Bootleg Brew Co. They have released a special collaboration beer they cooked up with St. John’s beer bar Toslow, kinda-sorta in time for their first anniversary. Starting from a Berliner Weisse (sour wheat beer) base, the piece de resistance was a whole whack of Newfoundland berries, donated by Toslow co-owner Chris Scott’s grandmother, with partridgeberries, blueberries, marshberries and cranberries. Hence the name, A Nan Jam, seems quite fitting to thank her! 🙂 Tart from the berries as well as the souring technique, plus aromatic from the fruits as well as a generous Galaxy dry hopping, this is a complex and beautiful pink beer that we’re sure won’t last long. It’s available right now at Bootleg’s taproom, and very soon on the other side of the province at Toslow, hopefully this weekend.

The team at Halifax’s Good Robot has certainly been enjoying the sunnier weather this week, and given the glorious space that is the Gastroturf (with more taps added this week care of Beer Tech), why wouldn’t they? They’ve got a new beer out this week that’s just right for enjoying some sun, assuming we get more at some point, and they’re calling it Viking Holiday. Fermented with a kveik yeast strain, a great choice for this time of year when temperature control gets more difficult and a quick turnaround is paramount, it was built on a grist of two-row barley and wheat and gets a delightful zing from an addition of pineapple. Reminiscent of the ever so rare Pineapple Creamsicle™, it aims to be light and refreshing at 4.2% ABV and a gentle 15 IBUs and with a fairly spritzy carbonation. Look for it on tap at the brewery for pints and fills.

Charlottetown’s Upstreet is continuing their “Do Good Resident Artist” program with the release of their newest beer, Orange Mandarin Gose. Brewed with their current RA, Peter Christenson (hailing from the state of Washington), the grist is simply made up of 2-row and malted wheat, and hopped very lightly to 5 IBUs with Herkules. While this kettle sour features the normal-for-a-Gose additions of sea salt and coriander, they’ve also added orange peel and mandarin, which contributes some nice citrus notes to go along with the tart, salty flavours of the beer. And at just 4% ABV, the refreshment factor increases even higher! If you’d like to check out Peter’s artwork, they’ll be holding an Artist Talk/Beer Release this Sunday at 2 pm, in the white building adjacent to Upstreet’s taproom, which will be followed by a trot over to the taproom to try the beer!

A couple of things to tell you about in terms of beery events coming up:

If you’re beer-motivated and looking for something to do on the evening of Saturday, June 29th, consider grabbing one of the remaining tickets for Curated Magazine’s East Coast Craft Beer Festival in the Multipurpose Room at the Halifax Forum. Tickets are $35 (plus taxes and a $1 fee) and will get you 12 tickets, each good for a 4 oz pour from 18 Nova Scotia breweries plus two out-of-province guests: Cask & Kettle Irish Gastropub from Saint John and Dominion City from Ottawa. There will also be local food on offer (cash only), live music, and taxi service. Designated Driver tickets are available for $10 at the door.

Dartmouth’s New Scotland Brewing Company is pleased to announce that they’ve partnered up with the team from Murphy’s on the Water to bring a weekly Brews Cruise on the Tall Ship Silva every Thursday night this summer from 9 – 11 PM featuring live music and New Scotland beer. Tickets are $15 and are available from Ambassatours. Meanwhile, keep an eye on Social Media to see who’s playing each week!

And a few last mentions of new releases, re-releases, and openings to help you figure out where you’re going to buy the beer you’re likely to be drinking inside this weekend:

In case you missed it during your morning commute, fellow beer-crazy cats 902 BrewCast have dropped their June Tasting Episode today. Highlighting their choices for their Nova Scotia Summer Slammers as published in The Coast, they once again curate and fawn over their favourite brews, wines, and news going around our little piece of the beer world. Check into your fave podcast app for the latest episode.

Boxing Rock has brought back Bravo!, their 6% ABV single-hopped American IPA featuring, you guessed it, the Bravo variety. It’s available in six-packs for those of you who enjoy this “perfectly bitter” beer and need more than one. They’ve also revealed that they’re currently building a taproom in Shelburne; stay tuned for more info on that project.

Tracadie, NB’s Brasseux d’la Cote is releasing their Barram Witbier this week, a silver medal winner at this year’s Down East Brewing Awards. Now packaged in cans, it’s a 4.5% ABV Witbier available at the brewery (where we guess you can also grab it on tap).

Congratulations are in order as Dildo Brewing Company has opened their St. John’s retail location today. Located at 332 Water Street, next door to good friend of good beer The Adelaide Oyster House, the retail location will be open from noon today, with sales of growlers, cans, and their deadly popular merchandise. No onsite samples or pints are available, but look as close as next door, or further down the street, to imbibe.

Up on the North Shore of Nova Scotia, in Grant (near Antigonish), Half Cocked Brewing has announced their summer hours and the opening of their patio. In addition to their usual Thursday Growler nights, check them out Fridays from 5 – 8 PM and Saturdays from 2 – 7 PM for fills, pints and flights. Hey, pop in today after you sign off for the work, why dontcha? Bring your own umbrellas if you dare sit on the patio!

Hell Bay has released their own take on a Gose, The Salty Piper (5% ABV). Brewed in collaboration with the White Point Beach Resort, the sea salt used in the brew was actually harvested from the resort. Drop by the brewery and resort for a taste of the final product.

Shipwright’s newest beer, released this week, is an Australian Pale Ale named Aussie Rules (5.5% ABV). Hopped with Galaxy and Enigma, expect aromas of “peach, pineapple, and cantaloupe”, with a touch of malt sweetness. Find it on tap at the brewery, or downstairs at the Grand Banker, both located at 82 Montague Street in downtown Lunenburg.

Friday Wrap-Up for May 10, 2019 – News from the Stillwell Open, Big Spruce, Church Brewing, New Scotland, Breton, Shipwright, Propeller, Gahan House Hub City, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2019-05-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Breton Brewing, Crooked Feeder Brewing, Gahan House (Moncton), Good Robot Brewing, Landwash Brewery, Matchstick Beer Factory, Maybee Brewing, New Scotland Brewing, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Arcade, Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Shipwright Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Open 2019, The Church Brewing Company, The Core by Bad Apple, TrailWay Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday, Beer Fans! Well, you did it, you survived Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week! Hopefully you made it out to some of the events sponsored by the CBANS, and drank more than your share of the good stuff. Let’s keep the good vibes going to let you know what and where to enjoy some more tasty bevvies this weekend and beyond.

The final event of NS Craft Beer Week this year was the Stillwell Open, hosted by the long-time local-beer-boosters at Bar Stillwell. Four teams from across the province (North, South, Halifax, and Dartmouth) competed to create their best Single Hop beers in four categories (English, Session, Standard, and Double IPA). The drinking public voted on their favourite, and after the dust settled, First Place in the IPA category, and overall, went to the winning brew from Team North. Big Spruce Brewing teamed up with the soon-to-open Church Brewing Company and multi-award-winning homebrewer David Pepper. Named $$$$ (named after/sung to the first line of The O’Jays – For The Love of Money), due to the overwhelming amount of the very new, and not even named yet, HBC 692 hop. Pouring a hazy straw colour, with aromas and flavours of grapefruit and tangerine, it ticked all of the boxes for the crowd that day. Good news for those who missed out Sunday, this is a full release with the beer available at the breweries and better beer locations around the province.

Other finalists in their category were the Session IPA, Karate Lazer, brewed with Ekuanot by New Scotland Brewing, American IPA Shipwreck IPA brewed with Mosaic by Breton Brewing and Brathair Brothers homebrewing collective, and English IPA It’s a Boy! with Bramling Cross by homebrewer Glen O’Keefe. Both commercial brews mentioned are also available at their respective breweries and will see local distribution as well. Congratulations to these medal winners!

There were twelve other beers debuting on the wall Sunday, many of them also seeing distribution throughout the province. For the first time ever, Shipwright Brewing graced the chalkboard at Stillwell, with Secret HOPeration, a 4.6% ABV Session IPA featuring Vic Secret, which is also pouring at their taproom and Grand Banker. Hop notes of pineapple and grapefruit complement the light grain profile with a light bitterness. This entry was brewed with local homebrewers Matt and Isaac Hachey.

Propeller Brewing teamed up with own acbbchris to continue the love with another Gottingen Street Small Batch. This year’s effort was Sabro Double IPA, featuring a s**t-ton of newer hop Sabro added generously early, late, and after the boil (including during active fermentation), for a melding of coconut, pineapple, mango, and papaya, for a pina colada with a bit of a bitter kick. It is available now at both Propeller locations for growler fills, with pints also pouring at the Gottingen Street taproom. Drop by tomorrow during Open City to check out their brewery, and for the first time ever, the Propeller Arcade is open to all ages from noon to 4 PM.

Let’s skip provinces for a moment, where after months of delays (the most recent opening was planned for mid-October of 2018), the Gahan House has officially opened their Moncton location, Gahan House Hub City. The 160-seat restaurant (located at 55 Queen St. downtown) will also feature a 60-seat seasonal patio and a 5 bbl (~600 L) brewhouse, with three 5 bbl fermentors. As with other Gahan locations, you’ll find the standard PEI Brewing Co./Gahan line-up on tap, along with one-offs and seasonals brewed at the Hub City location, as well as other Gahan breweries in Atlantic Canada. Naturally, we’ll keep you updated on these beers, but we can give you a sneak preview of the first beer brewed at Hub City… it’s a 5.3% ABV American Pale Ale hopped with Cascade and Huell Melon.

And while on the subject of Gahan, we might as well take the opportunity to mention that the first beer from the Saint John Barrel Room series will be released at the Saint John and Fredericton Gahan locations on May 17th. Sour Saison was fermented initially with a Saison strain, the beer was then moved to Pinot Noir barrels with a blend of Brett, Lacto, and Pedio for six months. Bottle-conditioned for three months before its release next week, it finished off at 6.4% ABV.

If you’re into this new trend of hazy IPAs that all the kids are drinking (and who isn’t??), you may be interested to hear that Port Rexton Brewing has added a new rotating beer series, Continuum, to their line-up. This series of hazy IPAs will focus on different hops with each batch, and the first, Continuum w/ Vic Secret, was mainly hopped with the lovely Vic Secret variety from Australia. With large amounts thrown into the whirlpool and dry hop additions (along with some Azacca to complement), the beer has “bright tropical, stone fruit, and floral aromas and flavours, with undertones of piney bitterness”, all in a smooth, soft body with a dry finish. You’ll have to make a trip out to the brewery this weekend (now open 7 days a week, 12 – 10 PM) to grab this 5.6% ABV beer, but the trip will be worth it for the berg-watching, a walk along the Skerwink, and/or to attend their Mini Market tomorrow from noon until two, with crafts and goods by local entrepreneurs.

On the Avalon Peninsula, where we’ve been told you can spot some icebergs as well, you’ll find Landwash Brewery. And out in Mount Pearl, they’ve released a brand new take on their Brackish Gose, this release conditioned with some juicy Guava for an extra kick of acidity, and of course some bright tropical character. As always, sea salt from Newfoundland Salt Company plays an important role in mouthfeel and “zing”. On tap at the brewery for samples, pints, and growlers, as well as limited number of cans, pop in this weekend to enjoy this 4.8% ABV taste of the tropics. Their website is always up-to-date with their Availability, so be sure to keep an eye out there too. You’ll soon see yet another new beer hit the taps at the brewery, as well as the Admiralty House Museum, a hint of what’s to come can be found here.

On Newfoundland’s West Coast, pop into Bootleg BrewCo in Corner Brook for a taste of their Hawai’i Four-O American Session Ale. Full of fresh pineapple added to the conditioning tank, plus juicy tropical hops to complement, this 4.0% ABV refresher of a beer is light, smooth, and perfect for the warmer days sure to arrive any week now…

And speaking of Corner Brook, there will soon be another local brewery location in the city. Crooked Feeder Brewing, located in Cormack, will be taking over the Gitanos’ restaurant space in the Millbrook Mall, and opening Crooked Feeder Gastropub. While keeping their brewing operations in the former mill just north of Deer Lake, they will be bringing the look and feel of their quiet brewery location to CB. We expect that will feature plenty of work by The Tin Man, the local fabricators who have worked with Crooked Feeder to manufacture their brewhouse and fermentation vessels. With an expected seating capacity of over 100, the food menu will feature both meal and small-bite options, for those just coming in for a flight or pint, or staying a while to enjoy the live music and entertainment. They will also have a retail counter where growlers and merchandise to show off your Crooked Feeder pride. The Gastropub will be opening next month, but they’ve got plenty of beer to share with us in the meantime. Their Ohh Baby Brut IPA debuted at the Newfoundland Craft Beer Festival last month, and they are filling growlers in Cormack currently, and keep an eye out for a late-May release of their Best Coast Bitter, a Best Bitter in the traditional English style.

In Fredericton, TrailWay has been busy with the upcoming warm weather, meaning patio season, and more beer drinking! This week, they’ve got a new beer and two returning ones to suit those thirsty days. First up is their latest American IPA, Inception, a 6.5% ABV brew hopped entirely with Falconer’s Flight, an ever-changing blend of American ‘C’ hops. Plenty of citrus and tropical fruit abounds, no doubt, and if you’re at the brewery to have a pint or pick up some cans, bonus points if you do so with your totem in hand… but remember, don’t let anyone else touch it! (No, we’re not being dirty, sickos… watch the movie for cryin’ out loud!)

As for returning favourites, their seasonal Beyond Reality, a 4.6% ABV dry-hopped Raspberry Wheat, is back on tap and in cans, for those of you who need a hop break (homebrewers, see what I did there?). But if you love the hops (and if you’re going to TrailWay, we’re pretty sure you do), they’ve also brought back DDH Green Island, the double-dry hopped version of their standard Green Island IPA. This one is also available on tap and in cans, albeit at a very limited supply.

Out in Hampton, New Brunswick, Matchstick Beer Factory has launched a new beer. Darlin’ of an Amber is being touted as a heavily-hopped American Amber Ale that features a simple grist of Maritime Malt and Crystal 40, with the hops being split between Liberty and Newport (added to the tune of about 40 IBUs) sourced from local Darlings Island Farm. Fermented with a neutral American Ale yeast strain, the hop flavours are complemented by the maltiness of the beer. Coming in at 6% ABV, look for kegs to be pouring at Sussex Ale Works, the Cask and Kettle, Saint John Ale House, and Match Factory Restaurant.

Drop by 2 Crows this Saturday at noon if you’d like to get your bottle fix, as they’ll be releasing Five Petals, the latest in their ever-expanding lineup of barrel-aged sours. Brewed with Pilsner, Spelt, and Wheat, no hops were added to the wort before it made its way to the wonderful world of oak. Fermented with a blend of the brewery’s Lacto, Brett and Saccharomyces cultures, it spent about 4 months in Sauvingon Blanc barrels, where it was then transferred back to stainless. Here, it was further conditioned on fresh lemon zest and juice, along with an addition of elderflowers, before bottling. Tasting “very bright, fun, lively and fresh, with a strong lemon presence, firm minerality, and a delicate touch of elderflowers’ floral/lychee presence”, it weighs in at 5.9% ABV.

YellowBelly in St. John’s, Newfoundland has a new beer coming this week, their version of a collaboration with Five Boroughs Brewing Co. in New York City to celebrate the success of the hit musical now playing in New York (on Broadway, even!), Toronto, Melbourne, London and on tour as well, Come From Away. Unfiltered and unfined, this pale ale’s is augmented by oats and wheat in the grist for a silky mouthfeel, with a soft bitterness rated at 40 IBU and a maybe-not-quite-sessionable-but-maybe-have-another-one-anyway 6.0% ABV. The blend of Cashmere, Cascade, and Amarillo hops lends tropical, citrus, and stone fruit notes in both the aroma and on the palate. Expect it to pair well with spicy foods and creamy cheese. You can find it on tap at YellowBelly’s Pub, with growler fills expected to be available by Sunday, May 19th at the Takeaway. You can also expect to find it on guest taps around the city and possibly the rest of the province, and the NLC will have bottles within the next week! A lovely tribute to a great story of folks going out of their way to help others during an event that truly shook the world.

Late last fall, Maybee Brewing released Brut IPA, their take on the hoppy, effervescent, bone-dry style. This beer will be the focus of the first release in their barrel-aged program with Brut: Aged in Pinot Noir Barrels. Aged in Pinot Noir barrels for four months, the final product is the result of a blend of two of these barrels, plus a small amount of the Brut IPA base. Refermented in 750 mL cork-and-cage bottles with fresh yeast for about 6 weeks, the bottles are now ready and will be released exclusively at the taproom next Wednesday. The 6% ABV beer is displaying aromas of “tropical fruit, pineapple, white wine grape notes, wood vanillins, earth, and spice”, with flavours of the same, along with some barrel character, according to the brewery. They’ve also kegged a small amount, which will be available for pints only, also at the brewery.

What to do this weekend? We’ve got one suggestion for you today!

Our good friends at Stillwell are holding their very first Newfoundland Tap Takeover tomorrow, May 11th, from noon until closing. They’ll be hosting three breweries from the Rock, including Landwash (pouring That Much Ocean, Hazures Rock, One Wave, Brackish, and Home and Away), Quidi Vidi (Iceberg, Bog & Barrens Imperial Bakeapple Gose, and Dayboil), and Port Rexton (T-Rex Porter, Some Day on Hops, Azacca NEIPA, and Drifter). And it wouldn’t be a Newfoundland anything if there weren’t some tasty home-inspired treats on hand, so they’ll be serving up fried bologna and fishcakes on the menu. No entry fee, of course, so drop by and sample some delicious beers and food!

Just a couple more before you head out for lunch…

Bad Apple Brewhouse has been experimenting with English beers lately, as an excuse to find use for their new hand pump. If you’re in Wolfville, drop by The Core (just off of Main Street) to try the new, unnamed Extra Special Bitter (4.9% ABV), which has a “balanced hop bitterness with a slight, fruity ester-like finish”.

For next Thursday’s Alpha Brew, Good Robot is bringing back Creature Feature I (6% ABV, 68 IBUs), the first iteration in their biotransformation IPA series. Hopped with a selection of North American varieties, expect a “mild honey flavour and a subtle orchard fruit aroma”.

Friday Wrap-Up for March 22, 2019 – News from Petit-Sault and Big Tide, Hampton Brewing, Lazy Bear, Niche, Boxing Rock, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2019-03-22
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Agricola Street Brasserie, Annapolis Cider Company, Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Tide Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Dieu du Ciel, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Geaghan Bros Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hampton Brewing Company, Holy Whale Brewing, Landwash Brewery, Lazy Bear Brewing, Limestone Group, Local Source, Newfoundland Cider Company, Niche Brewing, NSLC, O'Creek Brewing, Oh My Cheeses, Paddys Irish Brewpub, Péché Day, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Roof Hound Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Split Rock Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Church Brewing Company, The Core by Bad Apple, Tide & Boar Gastropub, Town of Wolfville, Unfiltered Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Happy Spring Everyone! Now we just need to tell Mother Nature that! But it will be nice to see the snow eventually receding so that you have a big more time to dodge the potholes. A handful of new beers and events this week, so grab that coffee, or coffee stout, and get up to speed on the beer news. As always, if you have beer info you’d like us to share, please don’t hesitate to send it along! We’re always happy to spread the word about the great beer in our region.

News concerning collaboration beers brewed for International Women’s Day keeps trickling in; this week, we can fill you in on the one released by Petit-Sault and Big Tide. Brewed at the Petit-Sault brewery in Edmundston, Brighid is an 8.8% abv “Strawberry Brut IPA”. Hopped with Mosaic and Lemondrop, enzymes were added to help the beer dry out as much as possible, as is typical for the Brut IPA style. During fermentation, strawberry puree was added (to the tune of 300 lbs), giving the beer a hazy, pinkish hue. Tropical, juicy, and super-dry (as expected), it’s currently available on tap only, at both breweries. Look for 750 mL bottles to appear at both locations next week, as well.

One of New Brunswick’s newest breweries (for a little while longer, anyway), Hampton Brewing, dropped a new beer release in time for St. Patrick’s Day last weekend. Ol’Marley is a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, brewed with a mixture of Roasted Barley and Chocolate malts to impart plenty of roasted, coffee-like character in the aroma and flavour. The beer also features the addition of rum-soaked, organic cacao nibs, adding even more chocolatey goodness to the finished product. Weighing in at 5.5% ABV and 32 IBUs, it has a medium body and moderate bitterness in the finish. Look for it on tap at your favourite Hampton Brewing account.

Let’s move back to Brut IPA territory; specifically to Smiths Cove, NS, where Lazy Bear Brewing has released their very own. Simply named Brut IPA, it was dry-hopped with Ariana, Callista, and El Dorado; we’re going to assume no hops were added during the boil, as the brewery lists the IBUs as “very low to none”. The beer comes in at 7% ABV and finishes very dry (again, thanks in part to the addition of enzymes); it’s available on tap at the brewery during the Thursday Growler Evenings and the Annapolis Royal Farmers Market, with kegs possibly being sent elsewhere soon.

Hanwell, New Brunswick’s Niche Brewing has a new beer out this week that hopefully will put you in mind of warmer days to come. A grisette, In Limbo was brewed with primarily Pilsner malt, with plenty of spelt and both flaked and malted wheat rounding out the grist, and it was hopped lightly with classic noble Saaz before being fermented with Niche’s house culture. The result is a beer with a light body and a pleasant lemon presence that’s definitely on the funkier side of the style, but which certainly doesn’t bash you over the head with yeast character. Easy-drinking and refreshing, at 4.2% ABV you can have a few and without worrying you might dart out in front of an oxcart during the festival of the vernal equinox! Look for it at Niche tap accounts around NB and, if the folks in Halifax are lucky again, maybe some will come to that city as well.

We warned you a month ago to keep your eyes out for a beer featuring carrots, and sure enough, it has come to pass as those crazy kids at Boxing Rock in Shelburne, NS, have pushed the boundaries yet again with 14 Carrot Gold. This beer is a collaboration with Square Roots, a brand that encompasses a pair of projects under the aegis of Enactus SMU that aim to help reduce food waste and eliminate food insecurity in our communities. One way to address the former is to find uses for the less pretty produce that might not be sold if it were put on the shelf. So this beer isn’t just full of carrots, it’s full of ugly carrots, carrots that might roll a rabbit in a dark alley, carrots that you wouldn’t bring home to meet your Mom, but carrots that taste just fine. The juice of these carrots was added to the mash, joining a grist that included some honey malt to encourage some balancing malt sweetness. Into the kettle the wort went, to be hopped up (sorry*) with Calypso, Magnum, and Hallertauer Mittelfruh. The overall result is a clean and refreshing rather orange pale ale that is herbal and slightly spicy, but which also definitely tastes of carrots. You can find it already in 650 mL bottles at the brewery, Boxing Rock Bottle Shop at Local Source and private liquor stores in Halifax, and it will also be on the shelves at NSLC locations starting April 1st. Maybe grab an extra to put out for the Easter Bunny to enjoy? And speaking of the bottle shop, thanks to the associated Test Kitchen, they’ve also got a brand new one on the taps: FLEX IPA clocks in at a hefty 7.3% ABV and sports plenty of Falconer’s Flight, Centennial, and Simcoe hops. Stop by to grab a growler if you’re in the North End.

* totally not sorry

Spindrift Brewing has their latest entry in their Out of the Hold series bottled and available for sale, FIKA. This one is a 10% ABV Imperial Stout that was fermented in stainless, and then transferred to a French oak barrel for months of aging. Once it was ready to be packaged (in 500 mL bottles), the beer was infused with espresso beans, vanilla, and cardamom (in essence, now making it an Imperial Coffee Stout). Wondering about the beer’s name? Well, “fika” is apparently the Swedish word for “coffee break”, and the espresso beans were bought from IKEA (which we’re sure we do not have to explain to you what that is). You can pick up your bottles at the brewery’s taproom right now; check out the HRM’s private liquor stores in the near future as well. Note that this beer was brewed with lactose, just in case you’re intolerant of such things!

Halifax’s Garrison brewed up a special collaboration with the staff of Agricola Street Brasserie that made its debut last week at their beer dinner at that restaurant. How Dairy?! is a one off draft-only release available for now at the brewery for samples, pints, and growler fills, although it’s expected to be sent out to a few tap accounts as well. A stout weighing in at 4.7% ABV, it was built on pale ale and Munich malts, with oats, crystal malt and roasted barley rounding out the grist. Hopped to 32 IBU with Millennium, it also contains lactose, which very well might take it into the sweet stout or milk stout category. You can make that determination for yourself if you head down and give this smooth and full-bodied beer with notes of coffee and chocolate a try.

Bryan Carver, certified Cicerone, former Brewmaster at PEIBC, and former employee in the technical services department at DME Brewing, will be opening his own brewery – Modern Brewer’s Village Green – in Cornwall, PEI, this summer. Located at 1 Cornwall Rd, the building currently houses a dentist’s office which is relocating at the end of this month. While his equipment has not been ordered yet, as he’s waiting for the building to be rezoned, Carver plans to brew on a 2 bbl (240 L) system, to concentrate primarily on serving the 25-seat taproom. Locals can expect to try beers that they may not have tried before, as Carver plans to focus on styles that may not be easily-accessible to the area. We will have much more with Carver on Village Green as the project progresses.

We’ve got a few events to tell you about this week, definitely worth leaving the March Madness behind for a few hours, we reckon!

We mentioned it a few weeks ago, but here’s your reminder that this year’s Péché Day will be happening tomorrow and folks in our region are lucky enough to have two options available: Stillwell in Halifax and Tide & Boar in Moncton. Péché Day celebrates Péché Mortel, a Imperial Coffee Stout from Dieu du Ciel! that continues to be one of the finest beers in the country year after year. There will be seven variants on offer this year, all boasting an ABV of 9.5%:

  • Péché Mortel – the original
  • Péché Mortel Bourbon 2018 and 2019 – two different vintages aged in bourbon barrels
  • Péché Mortel Cerise – brewed with cherries
  • Péché Mortel Coconut – matured on toasted coconut
  • Péché Mortel Islay 2019 – aged in Islay Scotch barrels
  • Péché Mortel Moka – brewed with cacao

If you’re at all a fan of big, dark boozy beers, especially those featuring wood aging or other additions, you might want to find a way to check it out. You might also want to strongly consider 5 oz tasting glasses if you want to run to try them all!!

Last week we gave you the full rundown on the Flavabot: Rake ‘n Scrape event being thrown down on Sunday by the Lime Stone Group at Good Robot in Halifax, but we thought it prudent to give you a little reminder that there will be four brand new beers available, all with a Caribbean influence:

  • Rake ‘n Scrape – 6.9% ABV Tropical IIPA with mangoes & pomegranate, 70 IBU
  • Blackbeard’s Amber Ale – 4.5% ABV, Blackberry Amber Ale, 30 IBU
  • Pineapples & Coconut … Bro – 5.6% ABV, Pina colada Wheat Ale, 27 IBU
  • Passion Bliss – 5.5% ABV, Passion fruit Pale Ale, 50 IBU

Brunch starts at 10 AM but the party goes ALL DAY. That said, only the Rake ‘n Scrape is a full-size Alpha batch, so if you want to increase your chances of tasting the other three best get there early.

Digby’s Roof Hound Brewing is celebrating the release of a brand new beer Sunday, a collaboration with the Hopped Up Gaming East (HUGE) podcast. Button Masher is a 7.0% Cherry IPA, featuring loads of Citra hops for a hazy, aromatic and bitter IPA, that was then “juiced up” with black cherries. Keeping with the mutual love of video games and beer, the teammates will be launching the beer at the Board Room Cafe on Barrington Street in Halifax. From 7 – 9 PM, there will be Video Game Trivia, with the beer pouring all evening. Drop by to grab the first pints and take part in the fun, and then look for it on tap around Halifax, with bottles of Button Masher coming next week.

Next Saturday, March 30, White Hills Resort in Clarenville, NL, will be celebrating BrewSKI 2019! With Beer Yoga kicking off the day at 10 AM, to a fun ski & snowboard race at 12 PM, to the BrewSKI Craft Beer Fest starting at 7 PM, there is a whole day of fun to be had on the ski hills. The evening’s festival will feature beer from 8 Newfoundland breweries and cideries: Baccalieu Trail Brewing Co (Conception Bay), Bootleg Brewery (Corner Brook), Landwash Brewery (Mt Pearl), Port Rexton Brewing Co (Port Rexton), Quidi Vidi Brewery (Quidi Vidi), Split Rock Brewery (Twillingate), YellowBelly Brewery (St. John’s), plus the Newfoundland Cider Company (Milton). There will be live music by 3 Shades of Grey and The Dimaggios, and food from Oh My Cheeses. Tickets for the day’s events are available now, grab them and find your best retro snowsuit to fit right in with the crowd.

Just a few more notes to pass along this week!

We mentioned it briefly in yesterday’s post with His Excellency Pavel Hrnčíř, the Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Canada, but wanted to remind you that the 902 BrewCast has dropped their March Tasting Episode today, and it covers all things Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. In addition to that interview, they spoke with Geaghan Brothers, Holy Whale, and O’Creek Brewing. Listen in!

Mount Pearl’s Landwash Brewery has brought back their Brackish, a 4.8% ABV Sour Ale that features Newfoundland Sea Salt, their take on a German Gose. With draught, growlers, and cans available at the brewery now, we suggest popping by to grab some. And to celebrate its return, the folks at Landwash have a couple of fun things on the go. They actually brewed a second full-sized batch, and added mango puree to it, and so Mango Brackish is pouring (and available to go in growlers) at the brewery now. And, also, too, they’ve cask conditioned 20 litres of the unfruited Brackish, and swapped out the standard sea salt for Newfoundland Salt Company’s Juniper Smoked Salt, for a floral and herbal cousin of the original. This one is in short supply (and we’re not even positive it’s still available!), so if that sounds like something you’d like, be sure to pop by the brewery today when they open at 4 PM.

Propeller Brewing has brought back a favourite from the fall, their Galaxy IPA. This 6.5% hoppy, hazy, and juicy IPA feature a ton of the great Aussie hop Galaxy added in the kettle and fermenter, for tropical, citrus, and stonefruit character. Back now on tap and in cans, with four-packs available at the NSLC for the first time next week.

Unfiltered is bringing back their Fist of God DIPA again, a “fruity, tropical, soft, and delicious” 7.5% ABV hop bomb. Available today at the brewery in pints, growlers, and cans. So is their Citra bomb DOA which came back last week. If you love some hops, you know where to go.

In a case of a community doing the right thing, the Town of Wolfville agreed Tuesday to amend their Land Use Bylaws and Municipal Planning Strategy to explicitly allow breweries to operate and sell beer off-site. This is great news for Church Brewing, who continue construction of their on-premise brewery at 329 Main Street in the town, to complement the already thriving restaurant. If struck down, it would have severely handcuffed them from the start, and had the unintended consequence of hurting other craft alcohol producers in the same zone, including Annapolis Cider Company, Bad Apple Brewhouse, and Paddy’s Pub.