Archives

All posts by acbbchris

Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week, April 27-May 6, 2018

Posted by acbbchris on 2018-04-26
Posted in: Beer Events. 1 comment

The 2018 Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week is April 27-May 6, 2018. Hosted by the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, events from their 41 member breweries can be found across the province in this 12 day celebration of our favourite beverage. Many breweries are hosting their own events, as well as partnering with local restaurants, bars, and locations, with two Full House Events in Sydney on April 27 and Halifax on May 5, book-ending the week.

Rather than simply copy/paste the full event list from the CBANS website, we wanted to put it into a couple of formats that we think will be a little more useful on the fly.

As always, if we’ve missed an Official (or unofficial but still relevant) event, please hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, we are @ACBeerBlog on all of them, and we’ll add it to our list. Use #NSCraftBeerWeek to stay on top of the latest goings ons. Be sure to say Hi! if you see us out at any of the events (including our Beer Trivia Night May 2nd at The Auction House). Cheers to Local Beers!

NS Craft Beer Week Calendar

Click the top-right to switch views between Week/Month/Agenda.

Add to Outlook or iCal by downloading this file. That should allow you to add to your mobile Calendar too.

NS Craft Beer Week Map

Click the top-left button to see the legend (there’s a layer for each day, can select only those days you’e interested in).

Full-sized map on a separate page.

The full list of NS Craft Beer Week Events can be found at the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia website, in case of late additions, we’ll update the map and calendar.

Friday Wrap-Up for April 13, 2018 – News from Stillwell Brewing, Brightwood, Coastliner, Saint John Beerfest, St. John’s Brewfest, Tidehouse, Good Robot, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2018-04-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Brightwood Brewery, Coastliner Craft Cider, Good Robot Brewing, Heritage Brewing, Long Bay Brewery, Mikkeller, Niche Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, PEI Brewing Co., Port Rexton Brewing Co., Quidi Vidi Brewery, Saint John Beerfest, Schoolhouse Brewery, Scudrunner Brewing, Sober Island Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Split Rock Brewing, St John's BrewFest, Stillwell Brewing, Storm Brewing in Newfoundland, Tide & Boar Gastropub, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Western Newfoundland Brewing. 1 comment

We are mid-way through April, which means the first signs of life are being spotted on our local hop farms. These ambitious little sprouts will grow to more than 6 metres in height, and produce enough cones to make any beer a little hoppier (and happier). Plenty to tell you about today, so let’s go!

• It seems like it’s been a while since Stillwell Brewing has had any of their tasty, tasty new releases, but fear not! Their latest beer, Glou, will be available for purchase this weekend. A blend of barrel-aged Saison and a sour, foedre-aged beer (both of which were originally brewed in May of 2017), Glou then had New York muscat grape skins from Blomidon Estate added, to the whopping tune of 200 g/L. The final 6.3% ABV beer is being described as “hugely aromatic, floral, woodsy and bright, with a great acidity and tannic structure”. Sounds great to us! Bottles of Glou (along with Dang, and maybe even another brand or two!) can be purchased at the rear entrance behind 2015 Gottingen St. from 12 – 3 PM both tomorrow and Sunday; if you can’t wait till then (we get it!), drop by Stillwell (the beer bar) today if you’d like, where you can try Glou on-site. And keep it locked here for more info on another new release, plus fan faves, in the coming weeks.

• Dartmouth’s Brightwood Brewing has a new beer available this weekend, a collaboration with local kombucha producer Pop Culture. Starting with the malt bill of a Wheat Ale, Brightwood used the Scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) from Pop Culture to start the process of souring. After this first wave of fermentation was complete, the beer was boiled, with grapefruit and Palisade hops added during that process, and fermentation completed with a clean yeast. A further addition of Palisade during a dry-hopping step complements and increases the grapefruit character from the citrus fruit. The resulting RadBucha is available at their Alderney Farmers’ Market stall tomorrow, and will be part of the “Evolution” Tap Takeover at Battery Park Thursday (more details below).

• Fredericton’s Coastliner Cider will soon be releasing their fourth cider, Full Steam Ahead. This entry definitely takes your typical cider in a completely new direction, thanks to the addition of coffee beans roasted by local Whitney Coffee Company. Quite drinkable at 5.4% ABV, this semi-dry cider has notes of coffee in the aroma and flavour, but still retains its complementary cider character. It will be officially released this Saturday for the Saint John Beer Fest, and will follow shortly thereafter in kegs at select accounts on Monday. If you can’t make it out to try it, fear not – it will eventually be packaged in bottles, hopefully sometime in the not-too-distant future.

• The folks at Tidehouse continue to come up with new beer ideas, with their latest brew, Grisette Jungle, available on tap now. Brewed with Horton Ridge Pale and Wheat malt, the wort was bittered to ~30 IBUs with Warrior, with some Belma also being throw in at the end of the boil for a touch of fruit character. Fermented with a blend of Belgian and French Saison yeasts, it comes in at just 4.3% ABV and pours a light-straw colour with a bit of haziness. Coming across as “floral, fruity, with a nice grainy note and a little spicy zing”, you can find it at the Tidehouse taproom for growlers and small pours; look for it to pop up on tap at Stillwell in the near future.

• Over at Good Robot, you can soon expect the return of last year’s Falstaff, an American Pale Ale, next Thursday. Just-about-sessionable (always a debatable subject!) at 4.4% ABV, this one was brewed with plenty of Pilsner malt, and a bit of Red X, Rye, and Flaked Barley throwing in for good measure. It was dry-hopped with Azacca and Jarrylo to add some notes of tropical fruit, and at 30-35 IBUs, should have a moderately-bitter finish. And for this week’s Beta Brew, they bring us the winning entry in their successful FemmeBrew, an all-female homebrew competition. I Love My Dog was brewed by Drella Green-Simony, and is a “Liquorice Stout” that features a grist of Pilsner, Belgian 2-row, and Black malt. It was hopped in the boil with Willamette to the tune of ~50 IBUs, with star anise thrown in the kettle as well, giving it a mild but present liquorice character. You’ll be able to grab this 5.1% ABV Stout on tap at GR next Tuesday.

• Looks like Spindrift Brewing has a new entry in their Seventh Wave series on tap right now at the brewery. White Whale Wheat Pale Ale is a light-and-hazy brew hopped with Hallertau Blanc, a wonderful hop variety that lends “citrus overtones of grapefruit and lemongrass” in this particular beer. With a smooth mouthfeel thanks to the generous addition of Wheat in the grist, this is an easy-drinking, 4.5% ABV beer that blends perfectly with the slowly-but-surely-getting-better weather out there. Limited amounts only, of course, so grab a growler before it’s gone!

• TrailWay Brewing in Fredericton is dropping another juicy and hazy Double IPA at their taproom today, All is Well. Featuring some super-fresh Amarillo hops, along with Idaho 7, it all comes together for a blast of tropical and orange notes, in an 8.0% ABV package. This release is only available at the brewery, enjoyed at their bar or in cans to go.

• PEI Brewing Company has released a pair of new beers in their After Hours series, just in time for last evening’s launch event. Earlier in the week they released Mango Smoothie IPA, a 6.5% ABV featuring loads of vanilla fruit puree for a hazy and lovely bright orange appearance. The hops used complement the fruit character as well. And yesterday saw the release of Raspberry Sour, a 5.0% Sour Wheat Ale (using the kettle sour technique) with raspberries added. Both beers are still available at the brewery, but won’t be around forever, given the nature of the styles, and batch size.

• When you drop by Port Rexton’s Retail Shop on Torbay Road today, you’ll be greeted by a brand new beer in the fridge. Though the beer started out with the same malt bill as their Chasing Sun NEIPA, through a series of “weird and wonderful events” (we can only imagine!) on brewday, it didn’t end up that way! Enter DiscomHOPulated, still in the New England IPA style, weighing in at 6.0% ABV, generously dry-hopped with Amarillo, El Dorado, Mandarina Bavaria, and Mosaic, and still just as delicious as its original direction. The beer is available at the Shop for growler fills only, joined by Baycation Blonde for growler fills, with cans of T-Rex Porter and Blazing Sun also available to go, today 4 – 8 PM and tomorrow 12 – 6 PM.

• Rothesay’s Long Bay Brewery is releasing Amplified Kölsch in celebration of Record Store Day on April 21st. Using authentic yeast imported from a brewpub in Cologne, this 5.0% ABV beer features a malt bill of primarily Pilsner, for a bright yellow appearance. The bitterness of the beer is quite light, at less than 20 IBUs, but features a large whirlpool addition of Mandarina Bavaria after the boil was finished, in order to extract some lovely citrus aromatics. Teaming up with Backstreet Records, there will be live music by Christina Martin in store at 2PM, plus t-shirts of the beer logo available for purchase. You can also drop by the brewery to get your fix, and keep an eye out at local ANBL locations as well. Turn it up to 11!

Here’s what we’ll be trying to squeeze into our calendars in the next week or two:

• As we mentioned last week, if you’re in the environs of Lower Sackville tomorrow, give a thought to heading down to Freeman’s to celebrate Sackvegas’ own nanobrewery, Ol’ Biddy’s. Eight of Keith Forbes’ brews will be on tap, including the much loved Sackvegas Sour. Look for the rest of the taplist to be posted on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram); the event starts at 10 AM and runs until close. Come celebrate the belated grand opening of Ol’ Biddy’s and show your support for Freeman’s, who continue to show their dedication to local beer on tap!

• Dartmouth’s Battery Park will be hosting a “small batch brewery” takeover next Thursday, April 19, from 11:30 AM until close. Dubbed “Evolution Part II”, it follows on from last year’s event, which was the last opportunity to try Sober Island and Schoolhouse before their respective evolutions out of the small batch market space. This year the taps will be populated by Halifax’s Tidehouse, Yarmouth’s Heritage, and Dartmouth’s Brightwood, who are the brewery undergoing an expansion this year. You’ll find the Facebook event page here, which will no doubt be updated with tap info as the day approaches. Head on down and remind yourself that great beer can be brewed on any size system.

• Also taking place April 19 is the first event of the #weekendofbeer in St John’s, courtesy of the folks behind the St John’s BrewFest. Featuring local favourite Port Rexton Brewing going head to head against Come From Aways 2 Crows, the taps at the Sundance SunDeck Bar will be flowing with 14 great AtlCan beers. Kicking off at 6:30 PM, a $5 cover charge gets you in the door, and started on your way to a great evening. The full taplist is available on the FB Event page, and we can tell you that both breweries are bringing their A-game, with at least one brand new release debuting, and plenty of new-to-the-region beers available. To keep you going round after round, there will be live music and food available as well.

• Friday evening (April 20th) tickets are still available for the St John’s BrewFest at Club One. In addition to the slew of great beer being brought to the Island (updated beer list here), there will be a strong showing from Newfoundland breweries, including Port Rexton, Quidi Vidi, Split Rock, Storm, Western Newfoundland, with Scudrunner on site with their merchandise for sale. Grab your tickets today to avoid missing out!

• Good news, New Brunswick (especially those of you in the Moncton area)! If you’re still sore over missing the Mikkeller takeover at Halifax’s Stillwell last January, the people behind the Tide & Boar have the perfect “analgesic” for you. Yes, Denmark’s most famous brewery will be pouring six of their delicious creations at a Mikkeller Tap Takeover at T&B Saturday, April 28th, from open till close (or the beers run out!). If you’re lucky enough to be able to attend, expect to see the following on tap: Jackie Brown, Citra IPA, Mosaic IPA, Black, Monk’s Brew, and Green Gold. But that’s not all – several other beers will be available in bottles, including Spontanbeetroot, Spontanlingonberry, Spontanyuzu (all three of which are funky, sour offerings), and their French Oak barrel-aged Barleywine, Foret Limousine. There’s no charge to attend, just make sure you’re there bright and early when they open at 11 AM, if you want to “Maximize Your Mikkeller” (™ pending)!

And a couple more little bits before we let you get on with your Friday:

– We have it on fairly good authority that Niche Brewing’s extremely popular Orange Creamsicle Milkshake IPA will be back early next week. Look for it to appear at the James Joyce for sure and, as other craft beer pubs savvy up, there too!
– The Gose of Christmas Past that Big Spruce brewed up with Hamilton’s Merit Brewing back in December is just now being seen in the wild. A gose brewed with Indian coriander and French Sea Salt before being aged in Tequila Barrels, look for it to appear at the Sprucetique and at tap accounts around the province this week. And keep your eyes out over the next couple weeks for some other big releases from Jeremy and the gang!

Friday Wrap-Up March 23, 2018 – News from Lunn’s Mill, Good Robot, TrailWay, Niche, Annapolis Brewing, TideHouse, Trider’s and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2018-03-23
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Annapolis Cider Company, Good Robot Brewing, King Street Ale House, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Niche Brewing, St John's BrewFest, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tide & Boar Gastropub, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Trider's Craft Beer. 1 comment

While it may not exactly look it today, we marked the end of Winter, and beginning of Spring, this week. Apparently no one told the meteorologists! Let’s hope these are the last throes of the white stuff for another 9 months, and the weather can turn a bit warmer, with all of those great local hop and grain crops beginning their journey up from the soil, and (eventually) into our glasses. Cheers!

• Yesterday, Lunn’s Mill introduced two new one-offs to their taproom line-up in Lawrencetown. The first is You Can Call Miel, a Saison brewed with Pilsner malt and hopped with Hallertau. When fermentation with French Saison yeast was about complete, they added some locally-produced honey from Sophie’s Bees to allow the beer to dry out even further. After a long aging period (3 months) the beer was finally packaged, exhibiting “delicate honey aromatics and a soft, funky finish” to go with it’s 7.5% ABV package. Next up is 2×4, the brewery’s 100th batch, and their first Double IPA. Incorporated in the grist was some Rye malt from Horton Ridge, to add just a touch of spiciness to the flavour. The beer was double-dry hopped with four different varieties – Azacca, Ekuanot, Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria – giving “bold notes of resin, orange pith, tropical fruit, and pine”. This is another big beer, at 8.6% ABV and 100+ IBUs, and both one-offs have very limited availability, with samples and pints only pouring at the taproom (no growlers, sorry). Those of you in Halifax just may see a keg or two pop up, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

• There’s a whole lot of Good Robot beer flowing at the brewery’s popular taproom on Robie St., with ten different brews pouring as we speak (read?)! And in new beer news, they’ve got one in Alpha, and one in Beta. Let’s start with Alpha, which is Into the Warmth, their latest collaboration with the gents behind the Sickboy Podcast. Falling loosely in the English IPA category, the grist is made up of Maris Otter and Flaked Barley, with a wide variety of hops (some not-so-traditional for an English IPA) being added, such as Belma, Centennial, and Fusion. Fermented with the classic London ESB yeast, it comes in at 6.1% ABV and approximately 60 IBUs; proceeds will benefit Out of the Cold, an emergency winter shelter in Halifax. In Beta news, The Mac was brewed with local homebrewer John MacPhail. Loosely (again?!) based on a White IPA, the beer was brewed with 2-row, Wheat malt, Flaked Corn, and a touch of Vienna, and hopped with El Dorado, Wai-Iti, Mandarina Bavaria, and Zythos. They also took the “why not?” approach for a change (it’s about time!) and threw in some orange peel and Grains of Paradise, and fermented the whole thing with California Ale yeast. Easy-drinking, dry, and crisp at 4.4% ABV and 60 IBUs.

• Fredericton’s TrailWay has their latest American IPA, Good Weather, hitting taps today. If you’re angered by the name, settle down, it could hit any day now, right? As for the beer, this is another of their pale-coloured, easy-drinking hoppy beers, with some candied melon notes thanks to the addition of one of the brewery’s favourite hop varieties, El Dorado. A new experimental variety, BRU-1, was also thrown in; this Yakima Valley hop has been reported to give characteristics of pineapple and stone fruit, with a bit of spice in the background. Now’s your chance to see for yourself, with cans and growlers of this 6.5% ABV IPA available at the brewery starting today.

• The fine gentlemen at Niche Brewing are bringing out yet another new beer this week, marking four weeks in a row (and six of the last seven!) for Niche beer releases. And if you consider there’s been at least one two-release week in there, they’re averaging at least one new beer a week over that span; we’re starting to think just maybe they had a collection of tried and tested recipes all ready to go when they opened last Fall… This week’s new one, Chromatic by Design is in the Red IPA style, a solid 6% IPA beer that’s dark amber and lightly hazy with some toffee and light caramel notes. The body is balanced by a big, juicy tropical presence brought by Citra, Equanot, and Mosaic. Look for it where you usually find Niche beers, at tap accounts in Fredericton and other New Brunswick environs, but occasionally in Nova Scotia (and PEI soon maybe?) as well.

• Down at the far end of the Valley in Annapolis Royal, small batch specialists Annapolis Brewing have two new beers on the go. The first, M*A*S*H Valley Pale Ale, is sort of named for the old TV show but really for the Mosaic, Amarillo, Simcoe and Horizon hops that went into brewing it. The 5.7% ABV beer sports 41 IBU with a grain bill of mostly 2-row accented by a bit of Maris Otter and some medium crystal. A big addition of Mosaic at flameout defines this beer, giving a hoppy jolt on the nose and palate. The other new beer is a Black IPA they’re calling Big Shot. Weighing in at a hefty 7.1% ABV and 60 IBU, it’s a heavy hitter with Chinook, Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe and Cascade hops all bringing their own characters to the mix. The final hit, a dry hop of Amarillo, accentuates the hint of smoke. The team is confident enough in this beer that it’s been entered for judging in the Canadian Brewing Awards that will be hosted in Halifax in May.

• And not to be outdone, our downtown big city small batch brewery, Tidehouse, has two beers coming out this week as well. The first is an exclusive beer for Tidehouse’s regular tap account showcase, aFrite Restaurant, just in time to accompany their Apple Burger being served up for Halifax Burger Week. Belcher’s ESB was brewed with Maris Otter, Crystal Wheat and Flaked Corn with a touch of Pale Chocolate. Hops-wise, it’s flavoured with the American version of the classic British Fuggle strain, known as Willamette (for the river valley in Oregon in which it took hold) before fermentation with a blend of ester-y British yeast strains. We’re told that it’s “fruity, with a pleasant lightly roasty malt flavour” and that it comes in at a very quaffable 5.5% ABV. Also on the go is a second beer from Tidehouse in the Norwegian Farmhouse style. NORDWAVE is a simple beer, with only a base of 2-row pale malt, a touch of aromatic malt and Warrior hops creating a wort that was fermented by the Sigmund Voss Kveik strain. Super sessionable at 4.4% ABV, it’s got notes of sweet orange on a tart base with a hint of funkiness. This one’s available for tasters and fills at they #TinyTastyBeverageRoom on Salter Street.

• Trider’s has brought back one of their most popular beers, Maccan Maple, for the season. With fresh, Cumberland County maple sap replacing water in the brew process, the brewery describes this as an Amber Ale. A sweet-tasting Amber Ale, thanks in part to the addition of pure maple syrup during both fermentation and conditioning, it was hopped with English Fuggles to help complement the “intense earthiness” of the brew. Easy-drinking at just 5% ABV, they brewed twice as much this year compared to last, but it’s still expected to go fast. It’s available now in growlers and bottles, with some kegs being sent out to select tap accounts.

• The folks at Halifax’s 2 Crows brewing have a pair of releases set to launch tomorrow at their taproom. First teased at the Fredericton Craft Beer Fest earlier in the month, Maestro is set to make its full debut. This 4.0% ABV Gose was brewed with Pilsner and Wheat malts, along with a touch of raw wheat. Keeping in line with the tradition of the style, the hopping rate is very low, lightly dosed only in the mash tun. There were boil additions, however, consisting of sea salt and coriander. Transfered directly to one of their foedres (large volume wooden barrels), it was first soured with Lactobacillus Plantarum, and then further fermented with the “Amalgamaton” blend of Brettanomyces strains. After a few months of conditioning, allowing the Brett to express themselves, the beer is now ready for our enjoyment. Maestro will makes its debut tomorrow at noon, available on tap, and in cans to take home.

• 2C’s second beer release this weekend is a by-the-glass only release named Heartbreaker. At 5.2% ABV, this hoppy Brett beer features a malt bill of Pale malt, along with Flaked Oats and Barley. Hopped to 40 IBU with Belma, Citra, and Hallertau Blanc in the boil, it was dry-hopped with healthy dose (2kg/hl) of Galaxy and Simcoe before release. In between all of those hops, the fermentation profile was nothing to scoff at: First fermented with “Hothead” yeast from Omega Yeast Labs, and then conditioned for three months with “All The Bretts”. Originally destined for a canning run, the dry-hopping proved so aggressive that they lost more than anticipated to trub (hop matter), and decided to flip the script and release it on draught only, saving all of those hearts from being broken completely. Grab this tropical, funky, dank, yet dry brew from opening at noon tomorrow. And while you’re grabbing the two new releases, check out the pop-up restaurant, by friends Buttered Bliss, featuring several different grilled sandwiches on their menu.

• Annapolis Cider Company in Wolfville introduced their Cider Club to the general public earlier this week. Membership allows access to special releases selected by their cidermaker, Melanie Eelman, many in very limited quantity. Twice a year, there will be 6 different ciders made available, either exclusive to the Club, or a re-visit of previous “Something Different” releases. During those bottle pick-up events, a guided tasting of the ciders, as well as discussion and the sharing of ideas on what future releases may be. Open to members across the country, those unable to attend can have their bottles shipped to them. While the initial membership run has filled up, check out their page for further details and to sign up to the waitlist.

Just a few events to tell you about this week, so be sure and get out to support your local brewery and good beer bar!

• A reminder that tomorrow is Peche Mortel Day at Fredericton’s King Street Ale House, Halifax’s Stillwell, and Moncton’s Tide & Boar. Featuring a half-dozen different iterations of the Imperial Coffee Stout, including different coffee, hopping levels or alcohol content, there should be something for everyone looking for a solid pint of stout.

• Halifax’s Lion and Bright will be hosting a Boxing Rock Tap Takeover on March 29th, featuring eight different beers from the Shelburne brewery. While the taplist has not yet been released, we expect to see a wide variety of brew pouring, with the BR crew on hand to chat and share the latest news and views from the South Shore. Check the FB Event page for more details leading up to next Thursday.

 

• On March 31st, Stillwell is welcoming eight (*!) London breweries to their wall, the latest in their efforts to give the local good beers fans exposure to brews from around the world. New wave London breweries including Brixton, Canopy, and Partizan have sent over a slew of kegs for enjoyment from noon on Saturday, so be sure to drop by for a taste from across the pond. Check out the full brewery list here, with the taplist reveal expected next week.

• Due to overwhelming response, a second session of the St John’s BrewFest has been added. Coupling with the Saturday evening session is one from 6-10 PM Friday, April 20th, with all other details being the same. Your $30 ticket gets you in the door, your welcome beer and a couple of tokens to get you going on your next beer. Additional beers will require tokens, sold in books of ten. The beer list is still expanding, but take a gander at their site and Facebook for the latest updates.