G’day, beer friends! Time to end another beautiful week with some Atlantic Canada craft beer news…
• Stephen Dixon of Grimross Brewing recently brewed another Belgian-style Stout which should be pouring in Fredericton in the near future. Different from the previously-released Destrier Stout, the new beer has, “a little less roast, and a little more chocolate”, according to Dixon. The beer was brewed with hops from Southan Farms in Wicklow, and Maritime Malt, a malt variety from Canada Malting made exclusively from Maritime-grown barley. Remember to look for Grimross beers at the Picaroons Brewtique on Queen Street, and on tap soon at the King Street Ale House.
• As mentioned last week, the PEI Brewing Company has released their Pumpkin Ale across the Island; luckily, it has already made its way to several select ANBL stores in New Brunswick! Currently available in a few Moncton outlets, it should also be popping up soon in Fredericton and Saint John. Still no word if it will make it to Nova Scotia; we’ll be sure to let you know if it heads that way!
• Over in Newfoundland, we have some more information regarding Yellowbelly Brewery‘s soon-to-be-released seasonal beer. Revisiting their Republic Pale Ale from last year, the beer is brewed with Pale Ale, Munich, and Carastan as the base malts. A “hop bomb” brewed with locally-grown hops, it also features dry-hopping with the Australian Topaz variety, known for providing “resinous and grassy” qualities when used in this way. Coming in at 5.3% ABV, the beer should be released late next week, according to the brewery. It’ll be on tap at the brewery, and hopefully available for growler fills.
• Something very interesting from Liam McKenna, head brewer at Yellowbelly: TODAY, he will be giving a talk on beer’s role in our civilization. It is being held at Memorial University, Biochem room SN-4015 at 1pm. Beer has been much more important than most of us think, as recent articles and documentaries have shown. Essentially, you can thank your great-great-great-great-(…)-great grandfather for liking his wife’s beer enough to want to plant barley. Cheers to all you Brewsters out there!
• Sea Level Brewing‘s newest beer, the wet-hopped Hopfazupa IPA, is already available in cans despite just being released in draught form recently. Featuring fresh Cascade hops from Sea Level’s own hop farm, it has an ABV of 6.5%. If you live in Halifax, head on over to Harvest Wines, Bishop’s Cellar, or Cristall Wine Merchants to snatch some up while you can!
• With the City Harvest (cool map of the events here) happening in Halifax this Saturday, several breweries in the city have some events planned. First off, Garrison Brewing will be serving some special micheladas, a traditional drink originating in Mexico that features beer, lime juice, and various sauces, spices and peppers. For this concoction, Garrison will be mixing in a cask of their Harvest Wheat that has been infused with jalapenos. Getaway Farms will be on site selling some freshly-made tacos to go with the beer.
• Over at Propeller Brewing on Gottingen St., Chez Tess will be there for a collaboration… spiced pumpkin wraps with beer-marinated roasted vegetables. Great timing for this, as Propeller just released their Pumpkin Ale, which is now available in bottles and for growler fills at both brewery locations.
• And, lastly from City Harvest, Bridge Brewing is pairing up with Highland Drive Storehouse for a harvest vegetable and beer tasting event Saturday evening. Bridge’s new Saison will be pouring for the first time; they will also have their Many Hands Wet-Hopped Imperial Pale Ale. The 5.5% Saison is a new addition to their year-round offering, and is similar to the Summer Ale that was very popular over the past few months, but with more hops for bitterness and aroma and Candi sugar for dryness, and they’ve dropped the orange peel.
• Bridge will also be taking part in a Beer Dinner at harbourstone sea grill & pour house on Monday the 7th. Their four beers will be paired with four courses of fresh and interesting cuisine all evening. The flyer with course and beer details can be seen here, and reservations can be made by calling 902-428-7852.
• In other Garrison news, their 3 Fields Harvest Ale has made it into some NSLC and ANBL locations, so those of us not in Halifax can enjoy this wet-hopped beer. Also, keep an eye out next week for the release of their third One Hop Beer (à la Comet and Citra). Sorry for jumping the gun last week. 🙂 It will also be available at the NSLC and ANBL stores
• There’s a new beer on tap at Rockbottom Brewpub, The Rookie. Brewmaster Greg Nash has worked with the recipe since its first release in June, and this low-alcohol (3.1%) but high hops (3.2 pounds/barrel) beer is even better. The idea behind his “American Mild” style is to pack a lot of flavour into a small beer, just like Milds in the UK, but with his own signature twist. For those of us who appreciate full flavour and aroma in a beer, and the alcohol content is a happy byproduct, this is a must-try.
• Also out this weekend, Uncle Leo’s Smoked Porter. Using a variety of malts (the base is Pale, with flavour, body and aroma from Chocolate, Smoked, Crystal, and Roasted), this beer will have a lot going on, with a great malty body and smoky aroma. It weighs in at 6.8% ABV, and hopped to 31 IBUs. It will be available in bottles and growlers at the brewery starting tomorrow (weekend hours are Friday and Saturday 2-7pm), and will make it to Bishop’s Cellar and Premier Wines mid next week.