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2021 Canadian Brewing Awards Results for Atlantic Canadian Breweries

Posted by acbbdamian on 2021-09-20

Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News. Tagged: Brasseux d'la Cote, Canadian Brewing Awards, Copper Bottom Brewing, Four Rivers Brewing Co., Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Modern Brewer's Village Green, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Rough Waters Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. Leave a Comment

On Saturday September 18, 2021, the Canadian Brewing Awards and Conference got back to business with their 19th annual ceremony. This year’s event was held in Quebec City and breweries from all across Canada were represented. While we congratulate all breweries from across our great nation (and look forward to visiting many of the winners), we’re going to highlight our medalists from our Atlantic Region. Below is a summary of categories and winning beers from our Atlantic Canadian friends:

Wheat Beer – North American Style

GOLD – Barram – Brasseux d’la Cote

SILVER – Selkie – Rough Waters Brewing

North American Style Pale Ale

GOLD – Broadside – Copper Bottom Brewing

American Style Imperial IPA

GOLD – Parkman Ave – Copper Bottom Brewing

Smoked Beer

GOLD – Smoked Porter – Uncle Leo’s Brewery

German-Style Sour Ale

SILVER – Sou’Wester – Rough Waters Brewing

Sweet or Cream Stout

SILVER – Deja Moo! – Garrison Brewing Company

Gluten-Free Beer

SILVER – Gluten-Free Porter – Port Rexton Brewing

New England Style IPA

SILVER – Galaxy IPA – Propeller Brewing

Oatmeal Stout

BRONZE – Ken’s Stout – Copper Bottom Brewing

North American Style Amber/Red Ale

BRONZE – Havre St-Pierre – Four Rivers Brewing Co

Baltic Porter

BRONZE – Baltic Porter – Grimross Brewing

French and Belgian Style Saison

BRONZE – Cheval D’or – Grimross Brewing

Cream Ale

BRONZE – Maritime Cream Ale – Grimross Brewing

Belgian-Style Tripel

BRONZE – Tripel – Modern Brewer’s Village Green

Imperial Stout

BRONZE – Russian Imperial Stout – Quidi Vidi Brewery

Barley Wine-Style Ale

BRONZE – Giantess Barley Wine – Tatamagouche Brewing

What a showing! We are proud of our region and encourage you to get out to try any of these if and when possible. For those keeping track, that’s 5 medals (1 Gold and 4 Bronze) for New Brunswick breweries, 4 medals (2 Gold and 2 Bronze) for Prince Edward Island Breweries, 4 medals (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze) for Nova Scotian breweries, and 4 medals (3 Silver and 1 Bronze) for Newfoundland and Labrador breweries.

If you want to check out a full event livestream (Runtime: 80min, hosted by Garrison Brewing’s own Daniel Girard), check out the link here.

Also be sure to check out the CBA website for all the winners from years past as well. The full list of 2021 Winners has not yet been published as of the timing of this post, but we expect them any minute.

In 2022, the CBAs will return to their regular May timing with Calgary as the host city.

Fall is nearly here, so that means a few things are here with certainty: Oktoberfest (!), Pumpkin Ales and rising COVID-19 cases. As we get excited for new releases and events currently going on, we see rising cases and lockdowns in Alberta. Make sure to enjoy what you can safely for yourself, friends and family and remember to check out all of the latest restrictions as part of your never-ending beer journey. Now, onto the fun stuff!

Let’s kick things off with a brewery that hasn’t graced these pages in a while. Digby/Kingston’s Roof Hound Brewing has released Aurora Haze, a 4% ABV session IPA. The beer gets its name from the Aurora aircraft that frequent the CFB Greenwood, near Roof Hound’s Kingston location. This hazy SIPA exclusively features Amarillo hops, which were only added during the dry hopping phase, keeping the bitterness low while pulling out all of those great hop aromas. Bottles and pints are available now at the Kingston location.

In lovely Port Rexton, Newfoundland, their hometown brewery continues to release new and returning favourite beers, with a pair of collaborations out in the last couple of weeks. Celebrating the BonRexton GranFondo, which took place in Hurricane Larry’s wake last Saturday, they released Headwind Pale Ale. This 4.8% easy drinking ale is the right balance of citrus and stone fruit, with a touch of bitterness too. Still on tap at the brewery, as well as in cans at their St. John’s Retail Shop. And returning in cans is Shoreline, a Salted Stout, featuring salt from the Newfoundland Salt Company, headquartered in nearby Bonavista. Big roast and chocolate notes are complemented by the light minerality and mouthfeel in the 6.5% beer.

And congratulations to co-owner and Head Brewer Alicia MacDonald who will be in the keynote “Women in Beer – Equity, Inclusion and Solidarity” during this weekend’s Canadian Brewing Awards and Conference. Joined by other women in the beer biz, she’ll be joined by other female brewers and those selling beer, to talk on their experiences and what needs to be done to include more in the beer world. Still awaiting details if it can be streamed or watched later, but keep your eyes on the front page for the streaming of the Awards Saturday night…

Speaking of hometown breweries, Tatamagouche Brewing has released the latest in their Intertidal Series this week, their foray into hop-forward beers. Building on the Ekuanot Rye IPA and Idaho Gem, comes Intertidal Tiny. Living up to its name, this is a 3.5% Session IPA, which Brewer Chad Ellis built to impress from the ground up. Starting with Horton Ridge Pale and Vienna as the base malts, Malted Wheat, Malted Oats, and Chit malt rounded out the grains. Walking the tightrope of low alcohol without being too thin, a hotter mash was used to enhance the mouthfeel. Hops-wise, the fun started with mash additions, followed by big whirlpool and then dry hops after brew day. Focusing on Sabro and Mosaic, with a touch of Citra, the tropical, stone fruit, and citrus are strong with this one, complementing the coconut and lime. On tap at the brewery now, with cans dropping in store and on their webstore any minute now.

Propeller Brewing’s Flat White is back in stock as of yesterday. This white stout features many of the aromas and flavours you’d expect in its darker cousin, but in a format that tricks the eye with its golden colour. Prop’s version uses cold-brewed Java Blend coffee and cocoa nibs, that compliment a creamy mouthfeel and medium body, helped out by the use of flaked oats in the malt bill. Expect lots of coffee and chocolate notes in this 5% ABV take on the style, which also features 30 IBUs to keep those sweeter flavours in balance. Cans are available now at Propellor’s three HRM locations and online for delivery and shipping.

Montague PEI’s Copper Bottom continues their barrel-aged sour program with its latest release this week. Like Bramble and Thicket before it, Empire is a mixed ferm beer that was fermented then aged in oak for six, before being transferred to stainless and hit with loads of peaches before packaging and bottle conditioning. Fruit and funk shine through in this 5.1% beer, which is available in bottles at the brewery and their online shop for delivery Island-wide.

Downtown Dartmouth’s New Scotland Brewing is having some friendly in-house competition between 3 members of their brewing staff. “The Battle of the Brewhouse” is a draught-only competition at their taproom and patio on Alderney Drive. First up, from Lucas, is Rye Not?, a Roggenbier spiced with mace and Kashmiri chili. Roggenbier translates exactly to “Rye Beer”, which typically has a malt profile of at least 50% malted Rye, but can vary as brewers see fit. Lucas’ version uses 50% and comes in at 5% ABV with balanced sweetness and forward nuttiness, and a slight slickness also characteristic of the rye malt. The Kashmiri chili builds slowly for some pepper heat.

Next up from Chris is SORRY DAD, an American Pale Ale hopped with Chinook, Simcoe and Mandarina Bavaria. It has lovely aromas of pine and orange, well balanced with some finishing orange flavours and full bodied maltiness; a 5.6% and 41 IBU offering that might just please everyone.

The last beer in the Battle is from head brewer Mike, with New Wave, a Gose featuring local smoked sea salt and lemon grass additions. A twist on a traditional gose, this one was done using a sour mash technique with added salt and coriander as tradition would go, but also with lemongrass and smoked sea salt from Dartmouth’s own Maritime Salt. A very fragrant beer with citrus note and slight salinity and smoke from the sea salt, it comes in at 5.2%.

We’re not sure exactly how the competition works or what spoils go to the winner, but we’re sure that in order to participate you’ll need to head down and drink some beer and you’ll be sure to find out the details if you do!!

Port-au-Port’s own Secret Cove (that’s not too far from Stephenville, Newfoundland) has a new canned release available today that should be fairly widely available on the eastern side of Newfoundland for more to enjoy. Pee-Wee German is a Berliner Weiße with lime and is sure to be a refreshing and tasty release. A style that we enjoy all year around, this 3.5% offering should be easy-drinking, with slight sourness with a kick of lime. It is available in 473 mL cans immediately from the brewery, but also look for this in St. John’s at Marie’s Mini Mart, along with a few other offerings from Secret Cove.

We started with the Oktoberfest info last week (or was it the week before?), but it’s coming hot and heavy now folks!

Last week we teased some details about the Oktoberfest festivities at Lwr Sackville’s TAPestry Beer Bar. The fun kicks off this weekend, with a mystery flight of German style beers for Flight School Friday and the beginning of the official two week celebration tomorrow. Circle Saturday the 25th on your calendar for Celebration Day which will feature a wide selection of German style beers from Nova Scotian breweries, a German inspired food menu and free prizes throughout the day. The festivities wrap up with Closing Ceremonies on Saturday, October 3. Check out TAPestry’s social channels (Fb/Ig) for more details.

Hot off the heels of their big US competition wins we mentioned last week, Moncton’s Tire Shack is starting their three weekend long Oktoberfest celebration tomorrow. Euston Park will be popping up a kitchen to serve some authentic German foodstuffs and, of course, there will be a special brew on the go, a Munich Helles they’ve dubbed Helles Yeah! Each weekend, $20 will get you a 1 L stein you can take home after all is said and done, plus your first fill up. Also, the beer has been packaged, so you’ll be able to grab some cans to fill it up again at home!

Montague’s Bogside Brewing is doing an Oktoberfest celebration with a salty, briny twist on Saturday, October 2nd, when they have their OYSToberfest. Two ticketed events are on the slate that day, the first being a Beer School VIP Brewery Tour and Tasting ($25 – tickets here) from 12:30 – 1:30 PM and the second a Shuck ‘U’ demonstration with John Petcoff ($70 – tickets here) from 2:00 – 3:30 PM. From there you can stick around for the Oyster Bar that runs from 4 – 8 PM and two live music events (Keira Loane from 3 – 6 PM and The Broad Cove Boys from 7 – 10 PM). Meanwhile, the brewery is also running a promo on some of their summer products: 20% off purchases of $75 or more on the following products: six-packs of Radler and singles of Sun of a Beach Hopped Sour, Cranberry Wheat, Spirit of Georgetown Gose, Strawberry Sour. Head down to the brewery or place your online order here.

Also on the Island, and last up (for this week, anyway) on the march to Bavarian bliss, is PEI Brewing Company, who are doing their OktoberFEAST on the weekend of October 8th. Starting Friday night at 4 PM with German-inspired food stations along with some not-so-German games (washer toss, cornhole, axe-throwing, and more), there will also be an old school re-release of Gahan Harvest Gold Pale Ale available on draught. On Saturday, things get underway at noon, with all the same games as Friday (except the axe-throwing), plus some game tournaments and other competitions where you can win some PEIBC gift cards. All ticket holders will also receive a 20oz beer stein and their first fill. Tickets are for Friday and Saturday are separate, and for Saturday there’s also the option to tag on an additional ticket for a post-OktoberFEAST album release show by Andrew Waite starting at 8:30 PM.

And here’s your last few quick hits to help inform your weekend beer purchases:

Earlier this summer, the folks at Breton put together a proper French saison they called Île Royale Saison with the folks from Fortress Louisbourg Association to be served at La Taverne Storehouse. With the season winding down, they’ve packaged what was remaining in cans so folks closer to town can enjoy it. We’ll warn you, though, a very small amount is available, so get yourself to the brewery (or put your online order in) in a hurry if you want to try it!

Lastly, if you missed the previous release, there’s a fresh batch of DOA available today at Unfiltered Brewing on North Street. Grab it in cans to go or find it on tap next door at Charm School now.

And if you’re a big fan of Citra hops but are closer to Fredericton than Halifax, Trailway has got you covered for a citrus hoppy kick, as their Seeing Citra is also back this week. Sit down in the taproom for a pint, have a growler filled, or grab some cans to go!

Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider has a lovely new liquid out that’s thoroughly Nova Scotia and shows what can happen when producers get together and try new things. Lake City married their classic Darkside Dry cider with Caldera Whisky from River John, NS, to produce Apple Jack, an 8.0% ABV concoction that brings notes of oak and spicy rye with plenty of apple presence. Available now in cans from the cidery.

And finishing up today on the Rock, where Landwash has a new “quick little lager” they produced with the KRISPY kveik lager-targeted yeast blend from Escarpment Labs. Coming in at 4.5% ABV and featuring German Saphir hops, look for a bit of spice and even some candied orange; a nice little beer to see out the summer! Look for it at the brewery now and elsewhere (hopefully) soon.

Happy Friday! Hoping you all stayed safe and dry over the past couple of days as Hurricane Ida’s last gasps were felt in the region. With Labour Day coming Monday, many of us will be enjoying the day off, which means your favourite brewery taproom could be on reduced hours as well, to give employees a break. So be sure to check in before making the trek out. The Nova Scotia and PEI Provincial Liquor stores will be closed, fyi, no tweets from ANBL for 4 months…

Let’s kick off this week’s news in Moncton, New Brunswick, where Tire Shack Brewery has brought back their US Open Beer Championship Gold Medal winning Tiki Bar Lime Margarita Gose. At 6.0% ABV, it features massive lime flavour and aroma, with a touch of salinity to keep it refreshing, all on a lovely tart base. Look for that on draught, and should be in cans to go as well. If you time your visit today after work just right, you’ll also be able to try two brand new casks that are hitting the bar top at 5 PM: The first is a Hazelnut Stout, think of Nutella with nice roast coffee accentuating the chocolate notes. The second cask is a Cream Ale, aged on Green Tea, which should lend some lovely floral notes without any tannins. These are both one-offs, so be sure to pop in if you like the sound of them!!

And on Sunday, Tire Shack is opening their kitchen space to Birria Dave’s, who is a frequent pop-up at Riverfront Market, and will be bringing some great Mexican street food options to John Street from 1 PM. While Birria is right in their name, other options include corn and mushroom, as well as other cool flavours. We can think of a few cool pairings to be done with Dave’s food and Tire Shack’s beer! Remember, Tire Shack’s taproom is Bring Your Own Food the rest of the time, so feel free to bring a meal from one of the many take-out spots nearby, or have something ordered in.

The great folks from the Change is Brewing Collective returned to Boxing Rock this week, to brew up the second version of their Back to Birchtown Stock Ale collaboration, in support of the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre, located in Birchtown, just outside of Shelburne. Look for that to be released in the coming weeks, and in the meantime, those who are interested in learning how to make your own beer should subscribe to Change is Brewing’s YouTube page, where they have posted the first in their Brew 101 series, helping you make some great beer at home. They are joined by Stefan of BrewCulture, a familiar face to those familiar with the NS Beer Scene 🙂 BrewCulture has donated a few kits that Change is Brewing is passing along to those members of the community. Contact them to start your journey into homebrewing!

Dartmouth’s New Scotland Brewing Company is bringing the hops this week with the release of Triple Threat, a 9.9% ABV triple dry-hopped TIPA (that’s Triple IPA!). This one starts off with Citivia hops in the boil and whirlpool. A newer hop on the Atlantic Canada brew scene, Citivia was bred specifically for use in hazy styles of IPA and features prominent stone fruit notes. The triple dry-hop comes from three separate additions of, in order, Talus, Centennial, and finally, Galaxy. This hazy Triple IPA is available today at the Downtown Dartmouth taproom and in cans to-go.

Down in the ‘other Lawrencetown’ Lunn’s Mill is releasing Au Bout Dah, their take on a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. Coming in at 8.0% ABV, expect floral hop notes and from the St. Lucifer yeast, some fruity banana esters This style is known for its scrubbing and effervescent carbonation which also makes it a great companion for richer, fattier foods. Cans of Au Bout Dah are available now at the taproom and through the brewery’s online store.

Jumping up to Newfoundland, Baccalieu Trail Brewing is releasing Undertow, its take on a Strong Dark Mild. Expect some cozy flavours of dark fruit, toffee and molasses, in a style that is made for enjoying as the evenings get colder. If a trip to the brewery in Bay Roberts is not in the cards, you can find cans of Undertow at Marie’s Mini Marts in the greater St. John’s area.

The Pride of Spryfield, Serpent Brewing, continues their Beer Creation Experience releases with Derailleur Helles. Dreamt up by avid cyclist and local Jon, who was looking for the perfect beer to enjoy after tackling the Sambro Loop on two wheels. This 4.6% German Lager is light and refreshing, with enough character to keep you coming back for more. Available on draught for pints and growlers, and in bottles very shortly. And don’t forget, the Mary Brown’s next door is now open, as Serpent’s taproom is perfect for a BYOF session.

Antigonish’s Candid Brewing Company is sharing a sentiment posed by this blog a few weeks ago – “would someone please tell all of these pumpkin beers that it is still summer?” Their ode to summer not being over is Glory Days, a 4% ale brewers with Pilsner malt from Shoreline Malting and hopped exclusively with Sabro, giving those signature notes of coconut and pineapple. Glory Days is a taproom only release and will be available just in time for their Sunday Celtic session, happening at the taproom from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, with onsite food also available from the Boneyard.

East Duck’s Bannerman Brewing has released a special beer this morning, partnering with Nevaeh’s Angel Foundation, releasing an adult version of Nevaeh’s Lemonade. A lemon and lime sour, with a wheat-heavy base, this 5.0% beer is available now on tap and in cans, and keep your eyes open for news on upcoming events to celebrate Nevaeh’s Lemonade Stand.

Tusket Falls Brewing, way down the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Tusket, of all places, has a brand new beer and some big news to boot this week. First, the beer. The name Creamsicle Sour is pretty self-explanatory, we think, but for those who didn’t have a childhood (or don’t remember it), it’s a sour that gets a distinct orange citrus and slightly tropical vibe from generous dry hopping with Citra and El Dorado hops and a sweet and creamy vanilla presence from lactose and vanilla beans. Sound like a cream-filled orange frozen treat to you? This one is far less likely to drip down your hands, and we wouldn’t advise putting a popsicle stick in it, but by all means enjoy it on a hot day! It’s available at the brewery on tap and in cans to go.

As for the big news, keep your eyes on their Socials (Fb/Ig), as they’re mere hours away from announcing the opening of their North End Halifax Taproom and retail location, at 2220 Gottingen Street. Like, any second now, we figure! With a dozen taps, retail and merch to go, this will give fans of Tusket Falls in HRM somewhere to call home, without needing to make the 2.5 hour drive!

Events continue to slowly spring up around the region; here’s hoping that trend is able to continue throughout September!

Just when you thought you didn’t need another excuse to drink some delicious 2 Crows beers this weekend, the brewery has decided to throw a thank you to all of its thirsty customers with a sale on flats of 24 cans. For this weekend only, flats of Dos Cuervos (their take on a Mexican Lager), Tiny Dancer (hoppy table beer), and Matinee (tiny pale ale) are $50 each. Take advantage by dropping by the taproom on Brunswick Street or ordering online for home delivery.

Speaking of 2 Crows, a reminder that they will be skipping across the water to St. John’s in a couple of weeks, when they take over the taps at Bar Brewdock in East Duck, St. John’s Sept 17. With 24 taps a-flowin’, including at least 2 one-offs only available that evening, and a great menu to pair, it’s sure to be a great time. As space is limited with COVID and all that, this will be a ticketed event, and those tickets are on sale now! Head to Brewdock to grab your tickets, which include the first pour in your own glass to take home at the end of the evening.

Lunenburg’s Lightship Brewery, with arguably the best view of the iconic South Shore town, is continuing their series of live concerts with a massive long weekend of outdoor shows, including Matt Mays, Jenn Grant, and Tim Baker, so scoop up the remaining tickets or ask to be added to the waitlist… And just announced is the September 24 Ashley MacIsaac show, which is sure to be a crowd pleaser, given his high intensity performances. Open for Ashley is Steve MacIntyre, a songwriter and storyteller from Cape Breton. Grab those tickets here!

Is it just us or are our quick hits never really that quick? Oh well, here’s this week’s lone entry:

Halifax’s Garrison Brewing has brought back their Lucky Punk Sour IPA, and is giving it a wider distribution than ever! This tart, hazy, golden IPA features loads of Amarillo, Mosaic, and Bru-1 hops on a sour base, for a cool melding of tropical and citrus hop character with a zippy finish. Available at Garrison’s Seaport and Oxford retail shops, it is also on the shelves at the NSLC and private stores in town, and in ANBL locations from Saint John to Miramichi!

And we finish up the week with a single brewery job to tell you about, but it’s a juicy one!

Are you an experienced commercial brewer in the Atlantic Region (or willing to relocate here) who’s always wondered what it would be like to frolic, Scrooge McDuck-like, in a vault full of hops? Well you might be in luck. Trailway Brewing, who have been growing consistently since they opened in 2014, are known above all for their wide array of hop bombs, and they’re also looking for a new Lead Brewer. Based on the published job description, the job won’t be limited to brewing hoppy styles though: this position will be in charge of managing the funky and sour side of the house as well! If smashing out hoppy bangers while slowly developing well-cultured beers on the side sounds like your jam, you can indicate your interest by emailing your resume and cover letter to info@trailwaybrewing.com or dropping it off at the tasting room in Fredericton.

Atlantic Canada Beer Blog

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All posts for the month September, 2021

2021 Canadian Brewing Awards Results for Atlantic Canadian Breweries

Friday Wrap-Up for September 17, 2021 – News from Roof Hound, Port Rexton, Tatamagouche, Propeller, Copper Bottom, New Scotland, Secret Cove, and much more!

Friday Wrap-Up for September 3, 2021 – News from Tire Shack, Change is Brewing, New Scotland, Lunn’s Mill, Baccalieu Trail, Serpent, Candid, Bannerman, Tusket Falls, 2 Crows and more!

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