TrailWay Brewing

All posts tagged TrailWay Brewing

[ed. Once again we’re posting our Friday wrap-up on Saturday. Real Life™ is a thing; whatchagonnado?]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day weekend! There are a lot of events going on at your local bars, pubs, and breweries, so make sure you show them some love instead of just going to the provincial liquor store and grabbing some Guinness! We won’t be listing all of the events and parties for Paddy’s Day (then we would never get out of here!) but be sure to check your local spots on social media to see if they have anything on the go. Let’s dive in!

We’ll start this week in Nova Scotia where the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia has released their annual fundraising collaboration beer, Together We Brew. This year representatives from member breweries gathered at Stillwell Brewing on Kempt Road in Halifax to brew a Dortmunder-style export lager. Using all-Canadian ingredients from Brew Culture, Shoreline Malting, and Escarpment Labs, it was brewed back in January before being given eight solid weeks of lagering time. Coming in at a comfortable 5.8% ABV, it’s got plenty of malt character, floral hop aroma, and a soft balancing bitterness, and it’s an excellent everyday beer and a great one to share with friends and show off the quality of NS craft beer. It’s available now in 473ml cans at NSLC locations and select breweries around NS.

If you’re the sort who keeps track of these things, or just a long time craft beer drinker in NS, you no doubt know what’s coming next. The release of the Together We Brew beer always heralds the coming of CBANS’ signature event, also called Together We Brew. This year taking place at Pavillion 22 at the Halifax Seaport you’ll find some 40 Nova Scotia craft breweries pouring their wares. Even better, they’re doing away with the tyranny of sample tickets, so maybe you won’t have to pick and choose quite as much (although you’ll still be expected to drink responsibly). Two sessions will be held on April 6th, one in the afternoon from 2 – 4:30pm, and one in the evening from 7 – 9:00pm. As always, VIP tickets are available that allow an extra hour of early tasting and a special souvenir tasting glass, and Designated Driver tickets are also available. All the relevant information and links to ticket purchase can be found on the event page at the CBANS website. Hope to see you there!

In 2022, an open-ended collaboration called Black Is Beautiful was created to support the efforts of the National Black Brewers Association in growing Black brewers across the US (and hopefully beyond). A recipe for an imperial stout was provided to breweries who wished to participate along with additional assets (label design, collateral). Each brewery pledged $1 (or more) from every can sold to the cause. This year it’s happening again, with Weathered Souls Brewing providing the recipe for a hazy IPA, Stout Collective providing the label design, and Blue Label Packaging Co even fronting the labels (breweries need only pay shipping). Nyanza’s Big Spruce Brewing is the first Atlantic Canadian brewery (that we’re aware of) to sign up and take part. Their version of Black Is Beautiful Volume 2 was released this week, following the published recipe pretty closely on the malt side, with 2-row malted barley, white wheat, Vienna malt, oats, and barley flakes (all organic, natch) building a solid base. Veering a little bit from the spec, the Spruce team went 50/50 with modern classics Galaxy and Mosaic for the hops, all of them added in a post-temperature reduction whirlpool and dry hop. The result is described as, “courage, bravery, and allyship wrapped in an unbelievably badass beer.” True to the spirit of the collaboration, Big Spruce will be spreading the proceeds between NBBA and longtime Big Spruce partner the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent Coalition (ANSDPAD). Grab it in cans at the brewery and, we’d imagine, other places you’ve historically found Big Spruce beer.

Missed in last week’s round-up of beers brewed for International Women’s Day was an entry from Breton Brewing in Sydney, NS. Bearing the same name as previous IWD beers brewed at Breton, Waves Rise, it is in the champagne IPA (a.k.a. brut IPA) style, which generally describes a hoppy beer with a rather light body. Leveraging the Pink Boots hop blend from Yakima Chief, it boasts aromas of peach and stone fruit and aims to please both hop lovers and lighter beer lovers alike. Find this 5.8% gem on tap and in cans at the taproom, as well as other fine drinking establishments around the province (we spotted it at The Narrows in Halifax ourselves earlier this week!).

Another IWD beer we missed last weekend is a collab between Truro Brewing and Cole Harbour’s Hardisty Brewing. Wicked Roots is a dark ale that features root beer-inspired herbs and spices, including sarsaparilla, licorice root, star anise, and wintergreen. Hardisty even went so far as to serve it with vanilla ice cream as a float last weekend for their IWD celebration! We’re not sure if that’s still available, but this 5% beer was pouring at both breweries’ taprooms and a  portion was also canned (although we’re not sure if cans went to Hardisty).

In the Burnside Industrial Park area of Dartmouth we find the pseudonymous Burnside Brewing has a new one pouring this week, the latest in their Brew Lab series of smaller batch experimental beers. This time around the Burnside team experimented with a traditional Czech brewing process, namely single decoction, to produce a traditional Czech Pilsner. Also boasting malt from Czechia, Czech Pilsner #1 comes in at 4.6% ABV and is hopped with traditional Saaz, retro Sládek, and new school Bohemie, yielding a spicy, herbaceous, and citrus-tinged hop aroma to pair with its rich maltiness and balancing bitterness. Find this unfiltered and golden beer on tap and in cans at all three Burnside properties.

Village Green in Cornwall, PEI, released a new IPA this week, one that harkens back to the IPAs of yesteryear, with a chewy malt body, plenty of bitterness, and of course, big hop flavour and aroma courtesy of large additions of Citra in the kettle and for dry hop. Dubbed Undead IPA, you shouldn’t find it scary, but you might find it has notes of marmalade, candied citrus, and ripe stone fruit in this 6.8% beer. Find it at the brewery now on tap, and hopefully in cans to go.

Up in Newfoundland, two of the Rock’s best beer spots have teamed up for a collaboration. Bar Brewdock of East Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s grabbed themselves some tickets to Paradise and visited Banished Brewing. On their mind was brewing up a big ol’ juice bomb to remind themselves of the summer days they hope aren’t too far away. If you’re familiar with the Banished oeuvre, this one started with a similar base to Makes Sense, but amped up to reach double IPA proportions. To that was added Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Cascade hops, including all three in a double dry hop. Finishing at 8.5% ABV, it’s truly hazy, with bitterness on the low end, a deep orange color, and plenty of citrus character that’s maybe even a little reminiscent of Five Alive™. Find it on tap at the brewery and at Brewdock, of course, and it’s going out to retailers in cans as well.

Staying in Newfoundland, but out to Quidi Vidi, where Quidi Vidi Brewery has a light new hoppy brew available. Glad Hands is the product of the sixth annual collaboration between the QV and Newfermenters Homebrew Club. Starting with a beer competition, it turns into a bottle share where all comers can sample eachother’s wares. Jamie Osborne provided the recipe for this one and it’s an easy drinking session IPA. Smooth and refreshing, it’s got plenty of citrusy aromas from the hops in a, “it’s quite alright to have another,” 3.9% package. It’s a limited edition, so grab it on tap at the QV taproom or pick up some cans to go while you can.

Over to New Brunswick where, in Fredericton, Trailway Brewing has a beer returning that hasn’t been seen in well nigh two whole years. You may remember the moment in the sun of the milkshake IPA, which generally marries the hazy IPA style with fruit and lactose to produce something not quite beer-like, but also definitely beer-like. Not the kind of style you’d find yourself banging four of in an evening, but certainly something that can scratch a (possibly weird) itch. This iteration of Velvet Fog is 6% and features cherry and mango flavors along with the sweetness of lactose and plenty of hops; it’s soft and round, and almost smoothie-like on the finish. Available in cans at the taproom in Fredericton and Union House in Saint John, you’ll also be able to pick this up at ANBL locations in coming weeks as well.

Only one event this weekend, but it’s a doozy and it’s already started!

If you’re in Halifax, you may have seen the news of the triple tap takeover between Tatamagouche Brewing, 2 Crows Brewing, and Lone Oak Brewing a few weeks ago and have been jealous of all that great beer in one place. Well today you get your chance. Starting today at open and running all the way to close, those three breweries will be doing it all again at Battery Park in Dartmouth. Will you find green beer? Probably not. Will you find a selection of fresh and delicious beer from some of the region’s best breweries? You sure will. Maybe we’ll see you there!

And a couple more things afore we go:

You down with P-O-G? Yeah, you know me! [ed. Alrighty there, Milhouse] 2 Crows Brewing has a new version of the Jamboree Sour Series, but this one features passionfruit, orange, and guava additions. Using a puree of passion fruit, pureed mango, orange puree along with the orange zest and juice, this is really just for summer.  It’s 4.8% and canned now, available at both 2 Crows locations and with certain NSLCs will be carrying this as well. 

Moncton’s O’Creek Brewing isn’t taking their foot off the pedal any time soon: they’ve got three new beers pouring this week. Czech Affair is a returning favorite, a Czech pale lager, Kozak Lager, brewed in partnership with the Ukrainian Club of Moncton (some proceeds contributed to the Ukrainian cause), and Sunny Brae Coffee Stout, which was brewed with coffee from local roastery Sunny Brae Coffee. All three are pouring at their taproom, but if you’re in Halifax with no plans to be in Moncton this weekend, you may still be able to sample some O’Creek, as Stillwell HQ has been pouring some of their wares of late.

Unfortunately this week we again need to finish with some sadder news. Off Track Brewing in Bedford announced this week that they will be closing on April 28th (or when they run out of beer). Bedford’s only brewery, they built themselves a taproom on Rocky Lake Drive that fostered a vibrant community spirit. Additionally, The Harbour Brewing Company in Musquodoboit Harbour has announced that they are for sale and will be ceasing current operations once they run out of beer. We raise a glass to the teams at both locations wish them all the best, whatever their futures may bring.

Here we are, we’ve leapt into March, and with March Break, Easter, and March Madness, it’s a month that flies right on by. But, today is International Women’s Day and while we want to say “why do we need this day? Isn’t everything equitable and fair across all humanity?” Nope! But we would love to see more Brave Noise, Pink Boots and women-supported and-led initiatives all year round, not just for the day. In other news, there’s a time change this weekend, just in time for March Break, so does that mean we get one hour less of drinking time? No way! We’ll keep this short and sweet, but we do want to start the news with the results from a recent homebrew competition from last week.

As they have been doing since 2013, Big Spruce has once again held their Home Brew Challenge, giving the chance for Maritime homebrewers to put their skills to the test for a chance to win bragging rights, and see a commercial batch of their homebrew recipe brewed for public consumption. This year’s competition was a chance to get an early crack at two yeasts developed by Guelph’s Escarpment Labs, Elysium and Pomona. We’ll leave the nerdy details to Escarpment, and just tell you that the competition was fierce, with 34 entries in the two categories, and the brewers taking home top honours a mix of both experienced and new to the craft. “Any Given Sunday”, as they say! Top marks go to Joël Imbeau for his 124 Conch Street fermented with Pomona and Daniel Matheson & David Morgan for their West Coast Paradise produced using Elysium. Look for these to hit the local market in the coming months, once the winners have made their way up to Nyanza for a heck of a good time!

As mentioned above, Friday, March 8th, marks International Women’s Day (IWD) and we have a few releases to highlight.

In Halifax, Propeller Brewing has two new releases from the women of Propeller. First up is the Pink Boots Dry Hopped Sour. At 4.8% this is a limited edition sour with big citrus and tropical, and a sour candy apple finish. It uses this year’s Yakima Chief Pink Boots Hop Blend to prop up the nose, which boasts beautiful aromatics from the dry hopping.

Second from Propeller is Pink Books Hazy Pale Ale. At 5% this release intends to showcase the same Pink Boots Hop Blend in an approachable style and ABV. This one uses a lot of flaked wheat and pilsner malt, along with a double dry-hop of Pink Boots.  Both of these releases are on tap only at the taprooms and Propeller Arcade. 

Also with two releases this week, Tatamagouche Brewing has their own IWD beer to kick off their duo. Yolande is an India Session Ale at 4.6% brewed by the women of the brewery. Yolande means “violet flower” and is also the namesake of a ship built in Tatamagouche in the late 19th century. This beer also uses the same Yakima Chief x Pink Boots Society 7th annual Hop Blend, which brings sweet melon, orange and mango flavours. Team Tata, like Propeller’s crew, elected to use them in an approachable style to try and highlight the hops in a light and drinkable package. A portion of all sales will be donated to the Third Place Transition House in Truro, Nova Scotia. and the Pink Boots Society Canadian Chapter.

Second up from TataBrew is the returning Collusion Double IPA. It is packed with the combination of Citra and Mosaic hops to bring flavours of tangerine, pineapple and watermelon. It is juicy, very drinkable and has light bitterness in a 7.9% package. Both of these releases are canned and available from the brewery and Bishop’s Cellar (in store or delivery for both!). 

Over to Fredericton, where Trailway has their own pair of new beers. Both are timely releases, with one being re-released for IWD and the other one for St. Patrick’s Day. Starting with the returning Physica, this is a “raspberry cream IPA” brewed with proceeds of sales being donated to Sexual Violence New Brunswick and Hestia House, local organizations supporting women subject to domestic or sexual violence.  The beer itself uses raspberry puree and El Dorado and Mosaic hops for a soft and sweet impression in a 5.6% package.

Also from Trailway is Dry Irish Stout.  At 4.8% this is a traditional creamy, balanced, and roasty stout just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Canned and available from the brewery, there will be some special kegs of this released for Paddy’s Day weekend. This is the first of the style for Trailway, so make sure to grab it in cans or on tap if you can! 

In last week’s news and following up from Big Spruce above, they are one of a pair of Atlantic Canadian breweries taking part in the grassroots International Tripel Day, which was celebrated Sunday, March 3rd. Highlighting this traditional Belgian style of beer known for being malt forward, and extremely drinkable, despite often topping 9% ABV, the Spruce’s entry is one they have brewed previously, named simply Tripel – Belgian Pale Ale. At 9.3% ABV, it has some ester-y goodness from the yeast, coming through as banana bread, light spiciness, and some sunny citrus. On the palate, it is an incredibly smooth beer with a hint of sweetness.

And just a hop, skip, and a jump (aka, ferry or plane) away is Dildo, Newfoundland, where the namesake brewery released Barrel Aged Belgian Style Tripel, a beer more than a year in the making! Brewed with a simple malt bill, the traditional monastic yeast has created some great fruity esters along with touches of pepper and clove on the nose. Twelve months of aging in oak white wine barrels allowed those characteristics come through in spades, while also providing the beer extra time to ferment completely and finish drier than others in the style. Available now exclusively at their Dildo taproom and Water Street (St. John’s) Bottle Shop, in limited quantities!

We’ve got a big collaboration brew out now for Fredericton’s three-week Burger Battle bonanza! With a brand new beer called Want Fries With That? This is a Hazy IPA that is packed with Galaxy and HBC 1019, it brings big flavours of coconut, peaches and citrus. This beer was brewed at Foghorn but in collaboration with Big Spruce, Lone Oak and Hops Connect, who together designed and produced a 6.5% and 30 IBU hazy brew. You can only get this one in New Brunswick so keep an eye out at your burger places all around Fredericton. 

Continuing in the collaboration department, we’ve got a Newfoundland East meets West release. Port Rexton hosted Deer Lake’s Rough Waters to brew up a big hoppy West Coast Double IPA. Let’s Make It Weird is 8.5% and is classically West Coast with its clear, light copper colour, citrus aroma, and some pine and woodsy notes as well. This is available at the Port Rexton taproom and in cans at their St. John’s Retail shop. 

Space Jam friends unite (no not the new one, Lebron fans) and check out the latest brew from Maybee Brewing. If you look at the label you’ll understand, but Slam Dunkel is a brand new dark lager in the classic Dunkel style with a base of Munich malt from the Fredericton brewery. With its highly drinkable notes of coffee and chocolate, it’s smooth and balanced at 4.5% and 25 IBU. This is canned and kegged, so look for this from the brewery and anywhere else you find Maybee products! 

And a few last mentions to see you on your way for the weekend:

Does Tanner put out a new beer every week? It seems like it! Pilsner is back from the brewery, using an exclusive Pilsner malt from Horton Ridge, who are continuing to expand their oeuvre to serve the local market. The malt is currently just for Tanner and is featured in this traditional German-style pilsner. It’s crisp and dry with a slightly spicy floral finish. It’s 4.8% and 35 IBU, canned and available from the brewery. 

Wolfville’s Annapolis Cider has a new Something Different on tap that is available now. Robuste is a more traditional cider, fermented in French Oak and split up and aged for another year in rum barrels and two other grades of French Oak. The apples for this were entirely heirloom varieties (like Golden Russet, no that’s not a potato!) and English cider varieties (like Dabinette) and the result is funky and strong, with a clean finish at 11%. Only available for pints and fills at the cidery, fifty cents of each refill of Something Different supports the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Halifax. Swing by to try this complex wonder!

Fusion is back from Burnside Brewing, as this big dry-hopped beer uses a mix of hops in the hazy IPA style. Fermented and dry-hopped with Callista, Ariana,and Hallertau Blanc. It’s 6.9% and unchanged from the previous recipe. It’s back for a limited time and is canned and available at all the Burnside locations.

Hello! This is an introduction to a weekly post about the craft beer industry in the Atlantic provinces. Below you’ll read about new beers, events, news and anything your loyal beer bloggers get their hands on through the week. Read below, share with a friend and we hope you get to partake in some of the new happenings in your area. 

We kick off the week on PEI, as Village Green has a brand new release. NZ Haze is a azy IPA from the Cornwall crafter. At 6% it’s soft and pillowy, backed by Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. Adding Citra and Mosaic hops to the mix brings in fruity, tropical, and citrus flavours. This is available in cans and on tap now. 

Staying on the Island, Gahan has a new Vienna Lager out now. Ripple Effect Brew is brewed in the traditional style of the malty, sweet, caramel lager. This beer is brewed in support of the PEI Watershed Alliance with contributions from every sale going directly to the environmental group. The 5.2% beer is available in cans and on tap from Gahan Beer Stores and PEI Brewing Company’s taproom.

Over to Fredericton where Trailway has two new smoking hot releases. First up is Smoke and Mirrors, an 11.1% Barrel Aged Imperial Stout that is on tap only at the brewery. The barrel itself housed a peated Whiskey, whichl brings a rich and smoky flavour to this robust stout.

New to cans is Lagerfeuer, a 5.6% rauchbier (which is a smoked märzen). This lager is brewed with beechwood smoked malt, which adds to the caramel and biscuity flavour of a märzen, bringing a gentle bit of smoke to the palate. This is canned and available at both Trailway locations. 

Over to the West Coast of Newfoundland Deer Lake’s Rough Waters has two brand new releases to keep you warm in the winter months. First up is Grounded, a Coffee Stout that is 5% and canned and ready to roll out across NLCs next week. Second up is their belgian Tripel. This is a big release for the brewery as they’ve been wanting to brew and bottle this style of beer for a long time. Brewed in collaboration with Escarpment Labs, using their West Abbey yeast strain for an authentic flavour that is true to the style. Using a blend of malts and European hops, it was bottle conditioned before release. This one will also ship out over the weekend and should be around NLCs and Marie’s over the next week. 

A few bits of news out of Stillwell Brewing, the Halifax brewery who have had a busy start to the year. First up, Saturday February 24th, they’re hosting Big Speaker Freakout 8, a daytime dance for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Tickets are available here.

On the beer side, Czech-heads will be happy to hear that 10° Czech-Style Pale Lager is back in cans and on tap at the brewery. It will be back at Barrington HQ and the Freehouse soon, if not already by the time you’re reading this!

The team at North Brewing is adding to their back of house with a line and prep cook to work primarily out of Timberlea, but who will need to work shifts in Cole Harbour as well. As we can speak first hand to the culture and inclusion at the brewery, we encourage any and everyone to apply if possible. Check this link for more details, including pay, benefits and how to apply. 

A few more things before we let you go this week…

The Libra brand keeps pumping out the volume as they have a new entry coming out to their low alc lineup. Lemongrass Ginger Saison is their newest release, with the characteristics of a dry-finishing saison but with lemongrass and ginger to bring some more flavour. This will be available on March 1st for general distribution and is 0.4% ABV and packaged in the same 355ml format as their other offerings. 

Lawrencetown’s Lunn’s Mill Beer has a full-bodied and smooth beer out this week, Repaired Wee Heavy. At 7.2%, this is sure to warm you up as you enjoy it, and features just a hint of smoke for a lovely complement to the caramel and raisin notes. Available on tap and in cans at their taproom, and check out their stall at this weekend’s Wolfville Farmers’ Market if you are in the area.

New Maritime Beer in Miramichi is going dark for their latest release this week, with Golden Ticket Chocolate Brown. Dark malt is enhanced with the use of chocolate in the beer, and at 6.0% ABV, is good for one entry to good times! Available now at their spot at 55 Newcastle Boulevard, and coming to select ANBL and BAS locations across the province.

In Bay Roberts, Baccalieu Trail Brewing is welcoming back their Wintermen’s ESB. Harkening back to their opening in 2018, this “Extra Special Bitter” is light, has a touch of caramel on the palate, and despite the name, uses hops judiciously and is not very bitter at all. It is extra special, though! This 5.3% quaffer is available now at their taproom and in St. John’s, with cans (yay! after some delays with a breakdown in the canning machine) heading across the island before too long.

In the Gut, Quidi Vidi has a returning favourite of their own this week, their Imperial Coconut Porter. This 9.0% beaut is full of nutty, toasty, and dark caramel flavours, with the added benefit of toasted coconut to complete the package. Look for it at their taproom and Hops Shop location, as well as convenience stores and NLCs.

Finally this week, we wanted to share the news of the sale and ownership change of Dieppe’s Flying Boats Brewing. First started by Marc Melanson in his Shediac Bay garage in 2015 (learn more about the history in our Profile with Melanson), he expanded into a much larger space in Dieppe three years later, operating on a 1,500 litre system, serving an on-site taproom and retailers across the province (and Alberta). JALT Beverage Co was founded in 2023, with three of its four principals being the group that acquired Pump House in December 2020 (more on that sale here, here, and here). With JALT’s acquisition of Flying Boats, CEO Alex Noel says that they will continue the brand as previously, including retaining staff, with an eye to expand into the non-alcoholic market. We are excited to follow along and see what Flying Boats and JALT continue to do in the local craft beer and beverage scene. The full press release is here.