Archives

All posts for the month February, 2023

Friday Wrap-Up for February 24, 2023 – News from Banished, Iron Rock, Propeller, Tusket Falls, Tire Shack, Port Rexton, Landwash, Gahan, Eventide, Unfiltered, Boomstick, and more!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2023-02-24
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Banished Brewing, Boomstick Brewing, Canadian Brewing Awards, Eventide Mead, Gahan House (Halifax), Iron Rock Brewing Co., Landwash Brewery, Newfermenters Homebrew Club, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Saint-Pancrace, Shipwright Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Stillwell Freehouse, Tire Shack Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing. Leave a Comment

Here we are at the tag end of February and for much of the region we’re just now seeing a real tangible bit of winter. With messy weather today throughout much of NB/NS/PE and cold temperatures forecast throughout the weekend, it seems like a perfect weekend to stock up on some bigger brews and hunker down for some fireside sipping. And we’re in luck on that front, with the region’s breweries stepping up with a bunch of new beers on the go this week. So read on, plan your purchases, and be sure to check socials and brewery websites for changes to brewery hours or closures due to weather!! Our next post will be firmly in the warm(er) embrace of March with Spring just around the corner. Right? Right?!!?!

Kicking off the blog this week with two exciting news pieces from Paradise, Newfoundland’s Banished Brewing. Banished Imperial Stout is a brand new 9.0% ABV release, and chock-full of chocolate and coffee notes thanks to the dark and roast malts used in the mash. Full mouthfeel and plenty on the go to fuel your evenings hunkered down in front of the fire. Available at their retail shop on Maverick Place in Paradise, and heading out to retailers this coming week. Otherwise, grab it from Canada-wide shipping on their website.

And making their Mainland debut, Banished has sent over a pallet of kegs and cans to the fine folks at Bar Stillwell and the Stillwell Freehouse. Between the two locations, you’ll find An Elaborate Series of Mirrors American Lager, Groundskeeper’s Best Bitter, Crosstown Cooldown Coffee Porter, Space Puffin NEIPA, and Out the Gate Belgian Single on draught, and cans of Liquorsauce Lager, Paradise Town Tangerine Sour, No No No Yes No Pale Ale, Space Puffin and Intergalactic Puffin NEIPA and Triple NEIPA, Tall Trees WC IPA, and Jim Time DIPA. These debuted yesterday, so get your butt down there soon to avoid disappointment!

Lab City’s Iron Rock Brewing has teamed up with Microbrasserie St-Pancrace, as part of the Quebec Brewery’s 10th Anniversary celebration. While not exactly “close”, Baie-Comeau is only an 8 hour drive from Iron Rock, so that’s about as close as things get in that neck of the woods! Their collaboration is a 6.4% Maibock, a malt-forward lager, with notes of brown sugar and dried fruit with a lovely bready aroma. Available to enjoy at the Iron Rock taproom now! And joining it is the first of IRBC’s Pilot Brews, Peanut Butter Porter. It is what it says it is. 🙂 Enjoy on draught in the taproom or by growler to take away. Check their IG for this weekend’s goings ons!

Halifax’s Propeller has made quite a habit of new and interesting releases over the past couple of years and this week sees another. Lykos is a dry-hopped lager coming in at 5.2% ABV. Crisp and dry, as an easy-drinking lager should be, but with the added interest of a dry hop regimen that provides aromas of orange and apricot and a finish reminiscent of black tea. You won’t have to blow any houses down to find this one, it’s available from the Prop shops, for online ordering and home delivery, and will be at all the private stores in the city in short order.

Speaking of lagers, and sticking in Nova Scotia, Tusket Falls is releasing one of their own. Slow by Nature references the 60-day lagering period that helped bring this German-style Helles Lager to its crispy best. Featuring a balanced palate of honey and malt sweetness paired with dried floral notes, it has the characteristic German Noble hop finish provided by Hallertauer Mittelfrüh. And at only 4.8% ABV it’s very likely to taste like another. Look for it at the brewery down in Tusket or in the city on Gottingen Street; and don’t forget that Tusket does online ordering and country-wide shipping so you can try it wherever you might be.

Hub City’s Tire Shack Brewing has a pair of new releases for us this week. First up is a small experimental release, a Coffee Belgian Quadrupel. Starting with the iconic Strong Dark Belgian beer, which featured some Candi Syrup made by their very own Brewmaster Henry Soares. Complementing and enhancing the already flavourful dark and sweet dried fruit character, coffee from Down East Coffee was added after the fact. At 9.0%, this seems like a beer to either start, or end, your day with! You can pair that with the previously-debuted Mango IPA. Juicy as all get out, the mango further bumps up the tropical notes from a generous dry-hopping of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe. On tap and in cans at the brewery today. And for those who are looking to spread love and generosity, the Tire Shack Crew are taking part in a 5k charity walk, raising money for Coldest Night of the Year through Youth Impact Moncton. Check out their team page here!

Getting a head start on this year’s International Women’s Day (coming March 8), Port Rexton Brewing has Violet Femmes on the shelves and on draught now. This returning favourite is a 4.6% dry-hopped sour, featuring butterfly pea flower, which is a lovely shade of purple in the glass. As always, the beer is not only a celebration of woman, but also a fundraiser for community groups, and this year is no different. For 2023, PRBC is teaming up with the SaltWater Community Association, with all proceeds of the beer going to their Women’s Shelter in Bonavista. VF is available now at their St. John’s Retail Shop and the Brewery in Port Rexton, with further distro happening shortly! Keep your eyes open for t-shirts with this year’s can design, coming soon. We hope this is the first in many releases to celebrate and contribute to important Women’s causes, as they are important causes for all.

Speaking of PRBC, and looping in Landwash in Mount Pearl, we’ve got another beer to tell you about from the Rock this week and it’s (obviously) a collaboration between the two. Continuing in the Landwash tradition of collab beers with portmanteau names (cf. Dream Time with Bannerman), Blazing Waves is what you might expect to get if Port Rexton’s Blazing Sun and Landwash’s One Wave had an itty bitty barley baby and then raised it on a steady diet of hops. It’s actually not so itty bitty though, stomping through the playroom at a beefy 10% and positively reeking of citrus, stone fruit, and a slight dankness. Very large quantities of Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe are to thank for that. This one is only available at Landwash (cans and draught) for now and the quantities are limited while the wheels of distribution turn ever so slowly, but you should start to see it in your usual haunts in the coming week or two.

Back in downtown Halifax, Gahan Nova Centre is releasing a new beer, but an old beer. How does that work? Through the magic of long-term aging in barrels, of course! Originally brewed almost two years ago, Winter Warmer has been quietly maturing in one of Gahan NC’s oaken foedres since then, copping some mild tannic notes from the wood and developing deeper notes of cherry and sweet malt. Not a huge beer by any means at 5.5%, it’s been packaged in 375ml bottles, perfect for a nightcap by the fire on a cold winter weekend. It’s also been shared around the region, so whether you’re in Halifax, Charlottetown, Saint John, Fredericton, or Moncton, you can grab some at your local Gahan location.

Sticking with the winter warmer theme, but flipping the script a little from beer to mead, Eventide Mead has a new one available this week. Winter Warmer is a sparkling mead pumped up a touch with cinnamon for a decidedly spicy presentation that will warm you from inside out. Coming in at 5.7%, it’s been packaged in 500ml bottles which are available at the meadery as well as their stalls at Alderney Landing Market and Seaport Market on the Halifax side.

Always ones to keep things short and sweet (maybe not…), Unfiltered Brewing has announced that this year’s version of their big, bold, brash, and boozy Russian Imperial Stout is available now. Commissar 2023 spent some time aging in oak, is definitely not rum-fortified, and is a whopping 11.5%. 500ml bottles are available for purchase now at the North Street brewery, and available to enjoy in person at Charm School next door.

If you thought we were done with NFLD news today, you’re sorely mistaken; it seems like a boom week for beers up there this week. Across the island from where we last left you, all the way to Corner Brook, we’ve got Boomstick bringing a brand new pale ale they’re calling, Braaap! What the hell is, “braaap,” you ask? We’re just a bunch of mainland city slickers, but we’re pretty sure it’s a reference to dirt bikes, ATVs, and/or, more seasonally, snowmobiles! (Seriously, say it to yourself. Loudly. Again. We bet you just absentmindedly reached for a phantom throttle and said it again.) Anyways, Braaap! is a pale ale at 5.6% with a restrained bitterness but plenty of citrusy aroma and flavor from Citra and Mandarina Bavaria hops. A perfect après sled beer, the key word there is “après,” you dig? You can grab it at the brewery now.

If you’re not from around these parts, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the name of the new beer from Shipwright Brewing as a reference to the MacKay and MacDonald bridges across Halifax Harbour. But locals know that Shipwright is in Lunenburg and there’s no way they’re naming a beer after bridges in the city (and non-locals ain’t reading this blog, we’d wager). What bridges do they mean? Well, we don’t know either. We do know that Two Bridges is a double IPA with a bracing 80 IBU and 8.5% ABV. So if you’re curious about the name, maybe head on in and ask as you sample a pint or grab a crowler to go.

Let’s close out this week’s new beers with one more from the Rock. Continuing their 5-year collaboration with the Newfermenters homebrew club, Quidi Vidi Brewery has released Midnight Poacher Dark American Lager. Brewed by Mark Fitzpatrick, this 5.0% ABV brew has big roast and chocolate flavours, along with some dark fruit and an earthy hop note, with light bitterness. Available now Quidi Vidi’s retail locations, and soon across the Island in NLC and convenience stores. Look for more in that series to be released throughout the year!

OK, one last thing for real this week… In case you didn’t know, Halifax will be hosting the 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards and Conference, happening June 1-3. With thousands of attendees expected from hundreds of breweries across the country, there will be tons going on for the 21st installment of the event, whether as part of the conference, or as hosted by local breweries and good beer establishments around the HRM. To help keep the conference running smoothly, the organizers are looking for some volunteers to assist before and during the event. There are plenty of perks in helping out too, as you can imagine from a beer-centric event! If that sounds like something you’ll be able to assist with, please reach out to Megan and sign up! Let her know the ACBB sent ya!

Friday Wrap-Up for February 10, 2023 – News from News from Upstreet, Annapolis Brewing, Horton Ridge, Tatamagouche, Serpent, Garrison, Bannerman, and more!!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2023-02-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Black Cultural Society of PEI, Breton Brewing, CAVOK Brewing, CBANS, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Lake City Cider, Landwash Brewery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

As we roll through another mix of strange temperatures and precipitation in the Atlantic Provinces, our local breweries keep trucking along and bringing out the news and brews to serve the people. In more general beer news, one of the classic pairings of Beer and Football will be featured on this Sunday’s Superb Owl! If your chief priority is to get some beer stocked up for the weekend, then your eagle eyes should look no further than some of the new releases and news below. 

We’re kicking off this week with some beer-adjacent news and the importance of celebrating African Heritage Month. The PEI-based folks at Upstreet have been working since the fall with the Black Cultural Society of PEI on a collaborative drink to honor and raise funds for the organization. The theme of the month for PEI’s month-long programming of events is Sankofa, a Twi (primary language in Ghana) word, meaning, “to look back into the past to guide the future.” Sankofa Tropic Punch  is also the name of the resulting drink collaboration between Upstreet and BCS! This is a 5.5% ABV cocktail which brings in big flavours of banana, grenadine, and passionfruit. 10% of all sales of the cocktail will be donated to the Black Cultural Society. You can grab this sweet and juicy cocktail on tap at the Upstreet Taproom and Craft Beer Corner in Charlottetown. Be sure to check out all the events this month from the BCS of PEI and try to engage in-person or online if possible. And if you’re not on PEI, check out your own provincial or municipal events to celebrate African Heritage Month now or anytime throughout the year. 

Keeping up with another collaboration, the Valley folks of Horton Ridge Malt House and Annapolis Brewing Company have teamed up to bring you Valley Helles. This is a Valley-based take on the German style Helles Lager but is made with local barley, of course. This crisp and refreshing lager brings classic notes of bread and crackers and a bit of malt sweetness with a very clean finish. It comes in at 4.3% and 16 IBU and is available in cans and on tap at both breweries. 

From the Fundy shores over to the Northumberland Strait of Nova Scotia, Tatamagouche Brewing has a new release to get your hands on. Zin Gin is a grapefruit and rosemary saison that’s been waiting to come out of the barrel for a while! The main brew started out in the kettle where Mistral and Chinook hops were joined by grapefruit peel and fresh rosemary. For fermentation, the wort was inoculated with a blended culture of French saison yeast and some Brettanomyces to bring out more herbal and citrus character. After primary fermentation, the beer went into gin-infused Zinfandel wine barrels for 8 months of maxing and relaxing, while making some botanical flavor friends along the way. After barrel-aging, it was blended with a neutral sour beer and then racked onto a dry hop of Saaz and more grapefruit peel. The beer was then can-conditioned and is available to you now. There is a dry and bitter profile to this one, but the sour component and racking really help balance this one out for a very complex and refreshing brew at 7% ABV. Find this one now in 355ml cans at the brewery or online. (and potentially on tap and in cans around Halifax). 

Another new release this week comes from Spryfield’s own Serpent Brewing. Available on Saturday, February 11th, Tanks but No Tanks is a Pale Ale that’s been boosted up with floral, citrus, and pine character while remaining well-balanced with toasty and sweet malt notes. Boasting a generous dry hop of Amarillo, this 4.4% beer is packed with flavour and should be a refreshing and juicy brew as we struggle with “will they or won’t they” Winter. This will be available in cans and on tap directly from the brewery.  

Someone’s been busy on Quinpool Road recently and that’s the Garrison brew team on their pilot system at their Oxford taproom. They’ve got not one, not two, but three small batches for you to sample and savor this week. Up first is Nuts about Honey, a peanut butter and honey (natch) ale. Starting with a base of Pilsner, with biscuity Victory and sweet crystal specialty malts, it was was bittered with Bravo and, we believe, saw additions of both peanut butter and honey, yielding a creamy smooth, sweet, and nutty final product at 6.3%. A variation on that theme arrives with the second beer, Nuts About Molasses. This one is 5.2%, and was largely Munich malt in the mash with a bit of Victory for character, Bravo again for bittering. This time to go with the peanut butter there was molasses, which gives some dark fruit, and some spices for clove and nutmeg notes. Lastly, we’ve got what they’re calling a “Red Hot IPA” that they’re calling Caliente. Pilsner, dark Munich, crystal, and chocolate malts come together in this one to provide a platform for hops and spice. Bravo was used here too, for bittering, but the stars of the hop show were Citra, Cascade, Mosaic, and Simcoe. To that very citrusy and no doubt dank base was added habanero, which bring characteristic flavors and, of course, a lingering heat. All three are available only at the Oxford taproom.

Never let it be said that Trailway is unwilling to experiment, even with the tried and true. After the rousing success of their Hu Jon Light variation of their OG Hu Jon Hops IPA, they decided to attempt a yin to that yang and are now releasing Hu Jon Heavy. Boasting the same hop varieties as its smaller siblings, you’ll get the same fresh tropical fruit, sticky pine, and kushy dankness, but with a fuller flavor and body. Probably no need to mention this one hits quite a bit harder as well at 8% ABV. You can grab it now at the brewery, and, we expect, this one will probably see some wider distro; you can also keep your eyes peeled as kegs have been released into the wild as well.

Whether you’re way down in the Southwestern Nova Scotia, or in the HRM, you have the chance to try a new one from Tusket Falls. An American Porter (think English Porter with a higher ABV and more hop character), Original Experience comes in at 6% and brings with it a full body and rich mouthfeel along with a creamy head. Old school c-hop Columbus adds a firm bitterness along with some earthy and citrus character that balance the malty, roasty, nutty, and chocolatey flavors provided by the specialty malts used, namely roasted barley, chocolate malt, Golden Naked Oats, and crystal malts. Grab it now in cans or on tap at either of their locations, in Tusket or on Gottingen Street in Halifax.

Let’s jump up to Newfoundland for the first time this week, starting with Bannerman who are releasing a new lager, Aces High.  Coming in at 4.5%, it’s essentially a light lager, aided by the addition of toasted rice. A Sorachi Ace dry-hop provides notes of peach, lemongrass and tea to keep things interesting. It’s on tap and in cans now at the brewery on Duckworth St., with cans also hitting NLC locations today (Friday) and Bannerman’s other retail spots later this weekend. 

You already knew that Moncton’s Tire Shack can bang out the dessert stouts, with their toasted marshmallow stout, Society, being a mainstay in their core offerings. They’re doubling down on those credentials this week with the release of Peanut Butter and Chocolate MIlkshake Stout. This one takes its chocolate notes from substantial quantities of dark malts, sees an addition of over 25 kilos of peanut butter, and also incorporates Lactose for added sweetness and mouthfeel. 

But if boffo big sweet stouts aren’t your thing, and you like to play more on the lighter side, or perhaps you’re more of a beer curious cocktail lover, Tire Shack also has you covered for that. Previously done as a pilot batch that was so popular it had to be scaled up and banged out in quantity, Cosmopolitan Sour is what it says on the tin: a beer version of the classic citrus and cranberry cocktail. You’ll find this one and the Society both now available in the tap room for pints and growler fills and also in cans to go.

Staying in the Moncton region of NB, but just down the road in Dieppe, CAVOK has a long-term project coming to light this week. Vega is named for the brightest star in the constellation Lyra (“the Lyre,” of course), a once (14,000 years ago) and future (in another 14,000 years or so) pole star, fifth-brightest star in the night sky, and one corner of the famed Summer Triangle asterism. But enough about the name, what about the beer? A raspberry pale ale that was fermented with Brettanomyces and aged in an oak foedre, at 5.3% you should find it a light and refreshing variation on an aged beer, which are most often bigger beers. You can confirm or deny this by visiting the brewery and grabbing one or more, either on tap or in 750ml bottles to go.

One of the region’s longest-running Homebrew Competitions, the Big Spruce Homebrew Challenge wrapped up this past weekend, as always at the Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth. This year’s event harkened back to the first edition of the competition, with a single wide-open IPA category where anything goes, and if you thought that an open IPA competition in 2023 would see a podium full of hazybois you’d be (⅔) wrong. In third place was Leo Arsenault and Jonathan Gavel of Antigonish with a British IPA, a rarer than hen’s teeth style in this day and age, but a very interesting and satisfying one. In second was Ryan Swinamer of Hammonds Plains, who had the requisite Hazy IPA. And coming in first place was Alex Hunt of Halifax, with another rather rare style (although familiar to longtime Spruceheads), a Cascadian Dark Ale, better known to many as a Black IPA. Congrats to all who placed and indeed, all those who entered, and thanks to Jeremy White, the team at Big Spruce, and the judging crew for putting on another great competition. Look for Alex’s winning beer with be scaled up and brewed for inclusion in the BS 10th Birthday Beer Box for April 1st!

We’ve only got one event for you this week, and it’s a ways away, but the sweet cheap tickets are on sale this weekend only!

No events to announce for this weekend, but we want to share some exciting news about an April event whose tickets are going on sale today. Together We Brew NS will take place on April 1 at Pavillion 22 at the Halifax Seaport. The event is being hosted by CBANS (replacing the Full House event from previous years), and will see over 50 CBANS members proffering their beers and ciders for sampling. Expect more than 250 locally produced beverages, live music, fun & games, and a bunch of different food options. Early bird tickets are available this weekend (only Sunday at midnight), with VIP tickets also available that will earn you extra samples and facetime with the brewery crews. Check out their website for more details on what is sure to be one of the highlights of the craft beer calendar this year. 

Looking for a little work in the beer industry? See below.

The gang at Stillwell Brewing is looking for a little hand with their retail, with casual Saturday morning market hours and other retail/taproom hours coming available in the near future. If you love beer and love sharing your love for beer with the public at large, why not get paid for it? You can reach out to nikki@stillwellbrewing.com for more information.

…aaaaand we finish with a couple of quick newsbites you can wash down with your first beer of the weekend.

Fans of Good Robot may have noticed a distinct lack of some of their favorite GR brews in the last little while. The truth is, they’ve been focused on volume lately, what with their big shiny new brewhouse and plenty of orders to fill for their core brands. But this week sees the first of what they’re intending to be a trend in their offerings, the return of Tom Waits Imperial Stout. Still big, still dark, still dangerous. Only on tap at the GR Robie Street taproom.

As mentioned in our intro above, fans of American football know what weekend it is, and unless you’ve got your head in the sand you know Tuesday is also everybody’s most favorite* Hallmark Holiday, Valentine’s Day! Both of these events, tending to occur in the deep of winter, often see breweries offer special products, special deals, or special events and this year is no exception. Check out your favorite brewery’s or bar’s socials and websites and see whether they might be offering a bundle deal like 2 Crows with their AC Light Lager flat of 24 for $50 or a Valentines package like Breton Brewing’s Valentine’s Day Beergram Package, or an event like Bar Stillwell’s Loner’s Valentine. We’ve seen some offerings in these veins from Lake City Cider, Landwash, and Garrison as well. Now is probably also a good time to remind you that the easiest way to find out about these sorts of things is by signing up for your favorite producers’ email list, which will often get you access to early and/or special purchases, occasional discounts, and more (always MOAR!).

* “nobody’s most favorite” and “everybody’s least favorite” are also possible.

Friday Wrap-Up for February 3, 2023 – News from Trailway, Tire Shack, Propeller, Unfiltered, North, Rough Waters, BrewHQ, and more!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2023-02-03
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: BrewHQ, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Rough Waters Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing. Leave a Comment

We’re rolling into another weekend and it’s going to be a deep freeze across the whole region. First and foremost, prepare for that Saturday cold and keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Once that’s sorted, you won’t have any trouble keeping your beer cold. With most people bundled up Friday night into Saturday night, make sure you’ve got some treats for yourself tucked away, or grab some craft bevvies before the cold plunge hits!

This week we are starting in Fredericton where IPA legend, Trailway Brewing, is back with a few updates for us. Starting out with a new (you guessed it) IPA, Work Flow is a juicy IPA packed with aromatic and tropical fruity hops, inspired by the sick flow co-owner Jakes has been sporting recently. This 6% IPA is loaded with Eclipse, Topaz, Idaho 7 and Sabro hops, this is backed with a British-style yeast to keep some malty sweetness for balance. This is available now in cans and on tap.

Next up is a new release that should be available early next week. Some Fun is an Oat Cream IPA. This style typically takes an American IPA with oats and lactose to make a hazy, sweet, smooth and creamy body. This is a brand new style for Trailway and it will be canned this week for wide distribution across ANBL locations.

We’ve got one more release from Trailway, and it’s a new twist on The Blend, their Smoothie Sour. This release is jammed with peach, mango and banana, and should have roughly 200 grams of pure fruit in each can! This is 5.3% and in cans at the brewery now. This is thick, thick, thicc and we advise you to keep it cold and drink it fresh! You may want to give it a few rolls to mix it all together and be careful opening as well.

Sticking in New Brunswick, we take a short trip over to Moncton where we have another trio of new beer news from Tire Shack. First up, it is stout season and they’re bringing you Peanut Butter and Chocolate Milkshake Stout. This is highly flavourful and drinkable, as the beer got to condition on 25 kilograms of peanut butter, which imparted some nice peanut flavour. A mix of dark malts brings the chocolate flavour and lactose brings the milkshake. All together, you get some bitter chocolate, sweet, creamy and nutty flavours and mouthfeel. If you like peanut butter cups, this should be right up your alley. This is only 5% and available in cans, pints and growlers from the brewery. 

Next up, a Cosmopolitan Sour and this is a full release of the beer following a small batch sell out last month. Think just like the Cosmo cocktail and flavours of cranberry, lime and Cointreau to bring some bitter orange. This is a big batch and a wide release, so it is available in cans, pints and growlers, coming in at 5% for your sour cocktail needs.

Going back to their pilot system, Tire Shack has a Guarana Black Lager available on tap. Starring the Guarana fruit from Brazil, it’s high on coffee and antioxidants and has a bit of cola flavour. Darker malts are used here for a slight dark bitterness to balance the refreshingly light fruity flavour. Sounds like a fun one to try, and just the latest by Head Brewer Henrique Soares to use ingredients from his native Brazil. And just like the other two beer releases above, this is 5% on tap only since it is a pilot batch. If it sells out like the Cosmopolitan Sour, you may see it in cans later on, but don’t wait to try it.

For those looking to extend their dry January, or a safe bet in the fridge after an evening of full-bodied stouts, the locally-produced Non-Alcoholic options keep expanding. Building on their NA Lager released previously, new from Propeller Brewing is NA Hazy IPA. A full flavoured and aromatic New England-style IPA, featuring all of the tropical and juicy character you would expect, with 0.5% ABV. No side-eyes if enjoying on the ski/snowshoe trails this weekend! Available now at their three Prop Shops, online for local delivery or Canada-wide shipping, as well as some of the local private beer and wine shops.

At the other end of the (alcohol) spectrum, you’ll find Unfiltered Brewing’s Double Orange Ale. More commonly known as DOA, this all-Citra hop bomb Double IPA is citrus all over, in a very tasty 7.5% ABV package. Fresh batch out now on tap and in cans!

The 10th Anniversary celebrations continue for North Brewing, as they have a fresh release of their Belgian Blonde beer. Named Gus 65m, for the distance between the doors of Gus’ Pub and then-known-as Bridge Brewing on Agricola, the North family decided it needed a little bit of updating. As their main facility is now across the bridge in Cole Harbour, a slight adjustment was needed, hence today’s release of Gus 8600m. Fermented with the same strain of yeast they used 10 years ago, the wheat-heavy grist has an ever-so-slight sweet side to it, complemented by Noble hop varieties and the aromatics of banana and clove from the yeast. Available on tap and in cans at their taproom and retail locations now (and for home delivery too)!

New beer release from the West Coast of Newfoundland, namely Deer Lake’s Rough Waters Brewing. Wannabe is a Grapefruit Blonde that you’d swear is a radler, given the sheer juiciness and great refreshing character. And at 4.2%, you’re probably gonna wanna drink a few of these! Available at RWBC’s usual retail outlets on the West Coast now, and heading East early next week!

For our homebrewing (or homebrew-curious) readers, Burnside’s BrewHQ is offering up Wort Wednesday on February 8. Using their on-site brewing system (normally available on tap as Arcade Brewing), they will be brewing up 400 litres of British IPA wort. And using their aseptic packaging system, they will be selling the fresh wort the those looking to ferment and enjoy a batch of their own. For $55, you’ll get the wort, a pint of beer and a few tokens to enjoy their pinball machines while you wait! Contact them on IG, via phone, or drop in to 80 Thornhill Drive to secure your spot!