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All posts for the month January, 2013

Bridge Brewing Co. Opens in Halifax

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-01-25
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News. 3 comments

After months of waiting and wading through red tape, Bridge Brewing is finally open!

Wednesday at 3pm marked the first day of business for the brewery at 2576 Agricola Street in Halifax, and it got off to a roaring start. A few die-hards waited in the -15C weather to be among the first to buy the beer (yours truly was among them). We even got to witness the wonderful sign being mounted.

The Bridge Brewing sign mounted, minutes before opening

The Bridge Brewing sign mounted, minutes before opening

After opening, the first dozen customers huddled inside, while owner Peter Burbridge and brewer Josh Herbin spoke about their two Belgian-inspired beers: Farmhouse Ale and Gus’ 65m Blonde Ale. The Farmhouse has a solid malt sweetness balanced out with a refreshing tartness from the yeast and hop bitterness;  Big, Complex and refreshing. Candied Fruit Aroma (7.5% abv). The Gus’ 65m Blonde has light fruit nose up front, citrus, background spice and a dry finish; a very refreshing session beer (6.5%).

Store backdrop

Store backdrop, Peter at work selling growlers

The beer was so popular that they sold out of their pre-filled growlers within 3 hours! Since then, they’ve been busy filling growlers and selling them at break-neck speed. In fact, after today’s 3-7pm opening, they will be closed until Wednesday (Jan 30) to refill the tanks, so go there right now! If you get thirsty on the weekend, Gus’ 65m is curently on tap at Gus’ Pub (2605 Agricola), only 65 metres North of Bridge (hence the name).

They also have glasses and t-shirts for the beer-swag-minded.

bridge_bottles

Cheers to a great opening, and continued success! We look forward to following Bridge as they continue to help expand the beer scene in the Atlantic Provinces.

Friday Wrap-Up: Big News for NS Breweries, Fredericton Beer Info (Good and Bad), and more

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-01-11
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Leave a Comment

We’ve had a busy week in Atlantic Canada, here’s the quick summary. Check the attached links for more details:

  • Propeller Brewing Co in Halifax will be expanding to a second location. Having visited their Gottingen Street location many times, I can say that they outgrew it years ago, so I’m very happy to hear that there are solid plans in the works.
  • Garrison Brewing Co in Halifax has released their Comet IPA, the first in a series of Single Hop beers. It is available at the brewery, private beer stores, and select NSLC locations (sorry NB, PEI and NL readers!).
  • Good news from the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival (March 9 at the Delta Fredericton): they are beginning to release their list of breweries who will be attending. So far  Gahan House/PEI Brewing Co, Garrison Brewing Co, McClelland Imports (reps for Affligem, Delerium Tremens and others) have been announced, but there will be plenty more!
  • Bad news from the Garrison District Ale House: the damage was more extensive than first thought, and the road to recovery will take several months.
  • The first of many fundraisers for the GDAH staff was held last night at Marky’s Laundromat Expresso Bar in Moncton. Check our Calendar page to keep to up date with the next ones planned in Fredericton and afar.
  • Speaking of the Calendar: if you have any events you would like to have featured, please let us know (either in the comments or via the Contact page).
  • This past Tuesday was the monthly Brewnosers meeting. There was a solid turnout of 15 members, and we tasted ~25 homebrewed and commercial beers. If you live in the HRM, consider coming out for them to share some great food and drink, on the second Tuesday of the month.
  • The Aleanders (PEI’s homebrew and beer appreciation club) also met on Tuesday, with about 10 people in attendance.

Garrison District Ale House in Fredericton damaged by fire

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-01-07
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News. Tagged: Fredericton Beer. 1 comment

GDAH Front, from Fundraiser for Garrison Staff Facebook page

Friday January 4th at around 10pm, good friend of good beer The Garrison District Ale House (and sister bar Up Wine Bar) in Fredericton, NB was severely damaged by fire. It appears that it was caused by an electrical issue in a wall. The Fredericton Fire Department spent 6 hours working to contain and extinguish it, and thankfully all patrons and staff made it out safely.

For those that don’t know, The Garrison District Ale House is a great advocate for craft beer from around the Atlantic Provinces, as well as country- and world-wide. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet the co-owners Doug and Shane on several occasions while travelling to Fredericton, as well as their very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Fredericton will be without a stellar watering hole for the next couple of months as the GDAH gets back up and running.

To assist with staff that are now suddenly out-of-work, there has been a Facebook group created by friends of the GDAH. Fundraiser for Garrison Staff already has over one thousand followers, and will have events in the coming weeks to help those affected. One of these will be at the Laundromat Expresso Bar in Moncton this coming Thursday (January 10th). Keep your eyes peeled here, on Facebook, or at their Twitter page for more details. We hope to do a profile of the GDAH once they are on their road to recovery.

The Picaroon’s Brewtique is located immediately beside the Ale House, but was able to open after a clean up from water and smoke.

From all of us at the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog, we hope for a speedy re-opening to the Garrison District Ale House!

GDAH inside, from Fundraiser for Garrison Staff Facebook page

Pictures are from the Fundraiser for Garrison Staff Facebook Page.