Batten down the hatches! Grab your storm beers! We’re in for quite a weekend because of unwelcome visitor Dorian, who has already carved a path of destruction through the Caribbean Sea, hitting The Bahamas especially hard. If you are looking for a way to help out those affected the worst, instead of sending beer, partner with some legitimate charities with people on the ground assisting, such as the Red Cross. We don’t think the storm has anything to do with it, but this week is much-noticeably lighter on beer news for Atlantic Canada; we’re pretty sure brewers are taking a very slight break after the craziness of July and August. And we’re not complaining! There’s still some new beers to chat with you about, so take a break from prepping your home for Dorian and have a read…
(Editor’s Note: Despite their recent popularity, at least in Nova Scotia, this post contains zero spicy beer memes)
Hanwell’s Niche Brewing has a new release this week, focusing on family, community, and togetherness. Named Ohana, the Hawaiian word for family, this is a pale-coloured kettle sour featuring pineapple and toasted coconut, two fruits found throughout the Hawaiian islands. And in a unique twist, an addition of Hawaiian lava black salt lends a light salinity to the brew to help temper the tartness and increase its refreshing character. With the tropical fruit reminiscent of pina colada, this 5.4% ABV beer will help to extend those summer vibes. Grab a pint with your family, however you define them, across Fredericton, Saint John, Sussex, and Moncton, as well as Stillwell in Halifax.
Portland, Maine is home to many a fine brewery, and one of those is Lone Pine Brewing, in operation in the city since early 2016 (they also have a tasting room in Gorham, ME). They recently travelled up to Canada and teamed up with Halifax’s own Good Robot to brew S’Kettin’ Dark, a “summer stout” that weighs in at a very reasonable 5.2% ABV. While the beer has the expected roasted aromas and flavours, they also added a “restrained” amount of blueberry and cranberry, to take it in a slightly different direction from your normal stout. The result is a brew that tastes “like a dark chocolate bar, with a hint of dried fruit”. Grab it on tap at the GR taproom this weekend (or the beginning of next week, if you’re staying at home!).
Over in Newfoundland, the BonRexton Grandondo – a 133 km cycling route around the Bonavista Peninsula – is still scheduled for tomorrow (as of this posting). This year’s race will be ending at Port Rexton Brewing, which has naturally brewed up a special beer just for this event! Headwind is a hop-forward APA that features Galaxy, Mosaic, and Columbus, all in a 4.9% ABV package. With “dank stone fruit, pineapple, and subtle floral notes” in the aroma, backed up by all that goodness – plus a little pine – in the flavour, it’s the perfect, easy-drinking beer to enjoy after a long (and hopefully mostly dry) bicycle race. Don’t worry, you don’t have to bike in order to enjoy this one, as it’s currently on tap exclusively at the PR taproom as of yesterday (growler fills are also available). And while you’re in Port Rexton, keep an eye open for notices of the great events on the go for next weekend’s Port Rexton Pride! With events kicking off next Thursday, we heard from a little birdie (ok, it was Instagram!) that Queer Beer NL teamed up with the PRBC crew to put together a special beer for the weekend, to pair well with the karaoke, their Amazing Race competition, or bands playing Saturday evening.
Elsewhere in the province, Bootleg Brew Co. has a new beer of their own, Pils ‘N’ Acid. Brewed with a simple grist made up of Pilsner and Acidulated malt (hence the beer’s name), the beer was dry-hopped with Huell Melon, Enigma, and Mandarina Bavaria. Billed by the brewery as a “Session Ale” (it’s 5% ABV, so begin your arguments now!), the dry-hop addition provides a “delicate hop profile, with subtle notes of honey dew melon and a slight grassiness on the nose”. Basically a beer brewed for those looking for something light and easy-drinking – without delving into Lager territory – you can find it at the brewery right now for pints, growlers and grunters.
Propeller’s experimental brews have taken them into the “White Stout” territory with their release of Flat White, hitting taps today. As you undoubtedly know by now (or may have even guessed, if you hadn’t already tried this style), a White Stout is a pale beer that manages to exhibit aromas and flavours that would normally go hand-in-hand with a darker beer… namely, roasted and chocolate characteristics. Flat White was brewed with lots of flaked oats to boost that body, and with the addition of fresh, cold-brewed Java Blend coffee (and cocoa nibs), the chocolate and mocha flavours abound. It comes in at 5% ABV and 30 IBUs; check it out at one of the Prop shop locations (and likely at a few licensees). And good news for those lovers of Prop’s Stone Fruit, it is back now, and returns as a full-time part of the lineup. Cans will continue to be available in the Prop Shops as well as private stores and NSLC. And today’s cask is their Galaxy IPA, with an addition of Black currant, lactose, and vanilla. That, and pies from Humble Pies, are available from 5 PM.
Although Jeremy has run to the other end of the country, no doubt to avoid Dorian, Big Spruce is still putting out new beer. Of course they are, they don’t seem to stop! This week’s release is a Hawaiian-themed number they’re calling Tiki Freak, no doubt after the idol that nearly killed off the Brady Bunch (we’re showing our collective age with that one, aren’t we?). A mixed-fermentation pineapple sour bearing a fairly hefty 6.3% ABV, it’s highly carbonated and refreshing, with a dry finish, a little bit of funk, plenty of tartness, and lots of pineapple flavor. If the gang won’t let you put pineapple on your pizza, this would be a fine workaround. Available for pints at the Spruce-tique, of course, and possibly on tap in the city; if single-serve packaging has taken place you’ll no doubt find it at the places where you usually find Big Spruce’s beers.
If you’re a fan of very bitter DIPAs, Heritage Brewing has the beer for you. Golden Horse is an Imperial IPA brewed with a blend of three hop varieties high in the alpha acid department (no specifics on which three, sorry!). All three were used in early boil additions to impart plenty of bitterness (130 calculated IBUs for this brew), as well as lots more at the end of the boil, and in the dry hop, to give dank, pine, and citrus flavours in the final product. Light, hazy, and 7.6% ABV, look for this one at the source in Yarmouth.
Between keeping up with a busy summer schedule, and launching their new taproom in downtown Shelburne, the fine folks at Boxing Rock have still found time to continue their small-batch brews at their Test Kitchen location in Halifax. Partnering with Local Source Market on Agricola, these batches are all about innovating and pushing the limits. To that end, the latest release on tap is White Hot Whitbier, a 4.8% ABV Belgian-style wheat beer featuring habanero peppers and using the cooling citrus of lime to help put out the fire. As with all of their Test Kitchen releases, this is only available for growler fills, so you’ll want to act quickly to grab it before it is done. And keep an eye out for their next small batch release, a lemon verbena tea-infused IPA, pairing tea and lemon notes with a hazy NEIPA style brew. Peep their social media for the latest news!
Summer is wrapping up, which is bad news for those of you in Dieppe who have been enjoying the beer and atmosphere at the town’s newest beergarden, Le BarBu. On the bright side, however, they are now set up just outside of Moncton at Belliveau Orchard (makers of Scow cider). They’ll have nine taps, four dedicated to Belliveau, and five rotating, and featuring craft breweries in the area. Keep an eye on their social media for their taplist, which will be updated before each weekend. They’ll be at this location until the end of October, when they’ll finally have to take a break until next summer.
Just one upcoming event to mention this week:
The Rotary Club of Hampton, New Brunswick is hosting the Hampton Hops Festival next Saturday, September 14th. Featuring breweries and cider from across the province, the concentration will be on local, with Foghorn, Gridiron, Hammond River, Hampton Brewing, Long Bay, Loyalist City, Sussex Ale Works, Yip Cider, as well as the Moosehead Small Batch Brewery taking part. Your $45 ticket gets you in the door and sampling the products, along with some snacks. Beer Daddy BBQ will also be onsite, for those needing a little more sustenance to keep them going. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Rotary Club on Facebook, and/or via email.
And lastly, a one bite brownie of a newsbites section:
TrailWay has two returning favourites this week, both of ‘em American IPAs. Ellipse (6.5%), one of their “oldest” recipes, is hopped with lots of Amarillo, giving lots of orange juice notes; available at the brewery on tap and in cans, and cans will also be showing up at ANBL stores across NB. Urban Sabrero (6%), one of their newer beers, features the pretty-new Sabro hop, already well-known for providing beers with interesting coconut flavours and aromas. In cans at the brewery only, and on tap there and at a few bars in the area.