Happy Thursday, friendos! We wanted to hit you with the blog a day early, to help you plan your drinking for this long weekend. Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates enough to make imbibing on a patio a part of all of our weekends and make sure to check the long weekend opening hours at your favourite producers and tippling locations before you go out and about! No more dilly-dallying, let’s get right to the news!
We’re starting out with a pair of collaborations based out of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, featuring Landwash Brewery. First up is one with the Charlottetown-, St. John’s-, and Halifax-based Gahan. The Bridge and Ferry is a classic Extra Special Bitter, using Simpsons Maris Otter malt and a variety of IREKS Bavarian malts to bring a full bodied, caramel sweetness pairing with UK Admiral and Godiva hops for a bit of fruit and bitterness. This one came out last week and is available in cans at the Landwash brewery and on tap at Gahan Harbourview and Landwash.
The next collaboration is Anarchy in the MP! a release with Admiralty House Communications Museum and their new Punk Rock Pearl exhibit. The beer is an English-style IPA with a Golden Promise and Caramalt malt bill pairing with two newer English hops (courtesy of Charles Faram), Jester and Harlequin, all coming together for a lovely, balanced ale with plenty of malt character, notes of marmalade, grapefruit, and a perfectly bitter finish. This one is 6.5% ABV and is available today in cans and on tap at the brewery. Check out the launch party for this at the exhibit Saturday July 2nd at the museum from 7 – 9 PM with Karaoke, BBQ and beer
Staying in collab-land, we’ve got an all-Dartmouth release with Lake City Cider teaming up with Spindrift for a Black Currant Snakebite Rosé. A classic snakebite is a British pub classic, with equal parts lager and cider, but here, our friends are mixing the lovely Killick lager from Spindrift and Lake City’s Darkside Dry, topped off with a bit of house-fermented black currant wine. At 6.5%, it brings a crisp, tart, and dry finish in a beautiful package. This is available in 473ml cans and on tap directly from both breweries!
If you’re a fan of consistent naming and delicious IPAs, 2 Crows Brewing has another in their series of juicy, saturated New England IPA series. Coming today is Mystic Incantation. Joining the ranks of the past releases Perfect Situation, Second Situation, Another Iteration, Cause for Celebration, Vivid Imagination, Perfect Saturation, (we think that’s all of them) this version features a new, magical, mystical and delicious combination of El Dorado and HBC 630 hops. Still super smooth, creamy, and tropical, it features flavours and aromas of pear, pineapple, raspberry, and green papaya. Out today, so there will surely be some left for you, but make sure to sign up for their newsletter, where they’ve consistently been putting out pre-orders and early deliveries for their loyal subscribers. At 6.1% and 44 IBU, find this one on tap and in cans at the brewery and online! Pop in today for one of those, and stick around for their AC Lager Tube Night!
Flying southwest from Halifax, we head to Tanner Brewing next, who have a new release in their Hive series of beverages that feature honey, which is used to make mead! (cut to 902Brewcast’s Kyle uncomfortably shuffling his feet and averting his gaze) Raspberry Rhubarb Sparkling Mead is a new release available now which leverages their house sparkling mead but with additions of raspberry purée and fresh rhubarb prior to fermentation. A touch more honey was also added before the mead was carbonated to add some more sweetness to this 5.5% refreshing and dry beverage. It’s available in 500ml bottles from both of their physical locations and their online store.
We’re staying on the honey theme, as PEI’s Village Green has a Spruce Honey Saison on tap and in cans. This is a 5.8% Saison with spruce tips that were picked in Spring of 2021 and then aged in honey (from Canoe Cove Honey) for a whole year. This aged spruce honey was then added to the whirlpool with some fresh picked spruce tips from this season. Pick this one up today directly from the brewery.
In Rose Valley, PEI, Barnone Brewery has announced their Summer Hours, which kick off this week! Open Wednesday 11 – 4 PM, Thursday and Friday 4 – 10 PM (yes, even tomorrow!), Saturday 12 – 10 PM, and Sunday 12 – 7 PM. At Barn One (that joke never gets old, right?!), you’ll be able to grab pints and explore their large seating area while checking out the view of the nearby rolling hills. And maybe even catch an impromptu show! So, what can you enjoy while there? How about two beers released in the past couple of weeks, including Back Forty IPA. At 6.5% ABV, balanced and battle tested, much like the doors of the barn, enduring many years of wind and snow but remaining rock solid. Or, how about their new Riptide Lager, 4.5% ABV, super-drinkable and crisp. They are holding a little contest to name their mascot (the one sunning themselves on the can), check this post to take part in the fun!
If you find yourself in Cape Breton this long weekend, Big Spruce is featuring a new release and the return of a previous Homebrew challenge winner. First up is Thirst Trap, a 6.7% ABV Apricot Milkshake IPA. Expect lots of fresh apricot flavour and some sweetness from the lactose addition. This weekend also sees the return of Heffalump, originally concocted by Halifax homebrewer extraordinaire, Ian Wheatley, during the 2018 Battle of the Wits homebrew challenge. You can expect traditional hefeweizen notes of banana and bubblegum in this 5.2% take on the style. Both releases are available in cans at the Sprucetique and for delivery through their online store
Down in the Gut, Quidi Vidi is releasing Pop’s Pale Ale. An homage to Quidi Vidi founder (and Pop to Justin Fong) David Fong, Pop’s features Magnum, Cascade, Falconer’s Flight, and Calypso hops, leading to lots of floral, citrusy and tropical notes. Cans of this 5.2% ale are available now at the Hops Shop and will see wider distribution at the NLC and convenience stores on Monday. The can design alone is worth the price of the tin!
Serpent has two re-releases with a twist this week, with both being can-conditioned for the first time. Can-conditioning (like bottle-conditioning, natch) is a process that involves unfermented sugars and live yeast doing their thing after packaging to give the beverage a natural carbonation. The first one to see this treatment is 33 their 8.75% Belgian tripel. Expect notes of sourdough bread and some candied sweetness. Next up is The Bite, their 5.2% cider featuring Annapolis Valley apples. Both beverages are available for can pours or to-go from the taproom now.
Breweries across the region are hiring, here are two more jobs that popped up on our radar.
Landwash is looking to grow their team with the addition of a Distribution Assistant. Doubling as a delivery driver, the role will entail working with Landwash’s various retail partners across the Avalon and greater Newfoundland. Check out Indeed for the posting and details on how to apply.
Jumping islands, PEI’s Barnone Brewery is getting their on-site hospitality operations fired up for the summer and are looking for a Bartender to join their team. If the thought of interacting with happy beer drinkers at a beautiful farm brewery for 25-30 hours/week sounds like a job for you, you can apply by submitting your resume to info@barnonebrewery.com.
Just a couple of newsbites before we let you go this week. Enjoy your weekend, responsibly!
In case you missed the news, New Scotland Brewing has joined their sibling New Scotland Clothing at their new location just around the corner at 16 Portland Street. The larger location will give them the opportunity to expand production, as well as taproom and performance space, as they continue to support local music. Running an on-site kitchen is Root Down Scullery, with the Timber Lounge Axe Throwing operating in the same building. Sounds like a perfect way to spend an evening in downtown Dartmouth!
With Halifax Pride approaching in a couple of weeks, Garrison Brewing has this week released their official (craft) beer of the festival, Queer Summer Brew. This “Proud Hazy Ale” is 5.0%, light, and bright, with citrus notes throughout. It’s available now at Garrison’s locations at Halifax Seaport and Oxford Taproom, as well as at Bishop’s Cellar.