Archives

All posts by acbbchris

Devour Craft Beer Film Festival Taking Place Nov 13-17 at Paddys Irish Brewpub in Wolfville

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-11-07
Posted in: Beer Events. Tagged: Paddys Irish Brewpub. Leave a Comment

FilmFestivalBanner

Paddys Irish Brewpub in Wolfville is hosting the Devour Craft Beer Film Festival, November 13-17. Over the course of five days, they will be showing three great beer films at the Brewpub. I spoke with General Manager John Fitzgerald about the Festival, and what attendees can expect.

ACBB: Please tell us about the films being screened at the Devour Craft Beer Film Festival.

John: The three films are: How Beer Saved the World, The American Brew and American Beer, and all three will play during every screening.

How Beer Saved the World – This show traces the important role that beer has played in human history from the probable origins of the first beer at the dawn of history to the development of a special beer for use in zero gravity space missions.

The American Brew – American Brew is a celebration of beer culture and history in North America. From European immigrants bringing brewers over with early settlers, through the prohibition and up to the sophisticated micro brewing industries of today, it’s enlightening, fun and goes well with a warm flagon of your local mash. Not likely to turn your Chardonnay sipping mother-in-law into a growler guzzling curmudgeon, but just about as interesting as it can get for us, the converted masses. Sit back, feet up and get educated on the cold stuff.

American Beer: a bockumentary – This movie is half roadtrip, half educationally hilarious jaunt through 38 of America’s craft breweries with five friends on a mission. That mission is to learn about beer, the craft brewing industry, and what makes it tick. Along the way they are educated and of course run into several mishaps. The film is a true testament to the American Craft brewing industry and the struggles that all the brewers and breweries go up against trying to educate the public and fight corporate America for their piece of the pie.

ACBB: How much is admission to the Festival?

John: Tickets to each screening are $10+HST, and are available at the Brewpub. That price includes a pint of beer, finger food buffet, a tour of the brewery, and of course the film! More drinks and food from the kitchen will be available during the screenings.

ACBB: When and where will the films be shown?

John: Showtimes are Wednesday Nov 13 and Thursday Nov 14 @ 6pm, Friday Nov 15 @ 9pm, Saturday Nov 16 @ 1pm and 9pm, and Sunday Nov 17 @ 1pm. The films will be shown in the Brewer’s Room on the second floor of the Brewpub. The Brewpub and kitchen will be open throughout, for those not attending the screenings.

Thanks to John for the great information. You can buy tickets in person at Paddys Irish Brewpub at 460 Main St, Wolfville, or by calling 902-542-0059. They are giving away a pair of tickets to the Festival on Facebook, so click to win!

Full Details on Ladies Beer League Cask Beer Event at The Stubborn Goat Gastropub, November 17th

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-11-06
Posted in: Beer Events. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Ladies Beer League, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Stubborn Goat. 3 comments

LBL Cask Beer Fest

On Sunday, November 17th, the Ladies Beer League will be hosting a Cask Beer Event at The Stubborn Goat in Halifax. Consisting of afternoon (1-4pm) and evening (5-8pm) sessions, attendees will be able to sample special one-off casks from seven Maritime breweries, while chatting with the brewers and plenty of local beer fans.

An overview of the event can be found on the Facebook page, but we reached out to Tracy and Pam of the LBL with a few questions on this exciting event, to go into more detail:

ACBB: Why choose cask-conditioned beer as a focus? What are the interesting characteristics that drew the group to it?

Tracy:  Well, great question! The LBL knew that we wanted to help foster Cask Beer in Nova Scotia (like in other Canadian provinces, where it has taken off), but first we realized that if we were to play an important role, we needed to do two things: 1) Help Craft Beer drinkers understand & appreciate Cask-conditioned beer, and 2) Encourage breweries to produce beer in this way. Of course, established breweries Garrison, Propeller, and Picaroons have been dabbling in Cask for years, Kevin Keefe at Granite Brewery is the Cask God Father, and Greg Nash creates Cask-conditioned ales at Rockbottom weekly. However, for the newer brewers in Nova Scotia, we knew that if we helped create the market demand, they’d be super keen to experiment. Also, now that we have craft beer bars like The Stubborn Goat & Bar StillWell, there will be licensees willing to buy, promote, & dispense their casks. Now is the time! This particular event really got going after the Stubborn Goat reached out to us, and wanted to plan an event together. From the beginning, they were very intrigued by cask-conditioned ale, so it seemed like the perfect venue to plan our most ambitious event yet. We’re thrilled to be the first public event at The Goat, and help develop their customer base of cask-beer lovers!

 

ACBB: How were the breweries selected to take part in the event?

Tracy: This was really easy – Part of our agreement with The Goat was that we would only approach craft breweries that the gastropub had already developed a relationship. Luckily for us, all 7 breweries we approached were super keen! Unfortunately, this left out a few great new/old breweries in NS, but we hope in upcoming months we can organize events with breweries who were not involved in Cask Fest.

Pam: The breweries we partner with for our events are currently limited to accounts the venue is already dealing with under their liquor license. We chose the Stubborn Goat for our Cask Fest with this in mind, as they are working to make a larger variety of local microbrews available under one roof.

 

ACBB: Did you give the breweries any guidelines for what to send, or how to prepare/treat the beer?

Tracy: As I mentioned earlier, some breweries had expertise making casks & others were completely new to the concept. We wanted to give the breweries the space to learn & experiment without limitations. That being said, there is an assumption that breweries will comply with the general practices of making casks in North America. That is, fermenting the beer to a designated level, then cask-conditioning a specific volume in a stainless steel vessel by adding fermentable primer, yeast and additional wacky ingredients. Secondary fermentation results in a smooth, unique and naturally carbonated-ale that is sooooo easy to drink when dispensed directly from the cask. I understand this is not how Real Ale is necessarily brewed in the UK, but this is the technique that is generally practiced at comparable breweries across Canada & the USA.

On that note, the industry came together to make this event a reality. Kellye Robertson (Ladies Beer League Member) provided guidance to Emily Tipton at Boxing Rock, Greg Nash lent cask & supplies to Bridge so they could participate. Mike Grieg from Garrison will be on hand to help tap the casks on the 17th. It’s really neat to see.

Pam: We gave the breweries full creative control in the making of their casks. Knowing that given the time of year, they would naturally be in the throws of crafting some of their more unique one-offs and seasonals, we didn’t feel the need to set any guidelines. We are thrilled with the selection of brews they are bringing to the table.

 

ACBB: I believe your previous events were women-only. Why have you opened this event up to all genders?

Tracy: After we realized that this was going to involve 7 breweries and be Halifax’s first Cask Beer fest, we knew we could not exclude the guys. It’s too great of an event! The LBL’s mandate is to even-the-playing field, introduce women to craft beer AND hopefully have future beer events consist of 50% men and 50% women. Over the past few months we have held 6 sold-out events for women who are now craft beer converts, and many LBL members are thrilled to bring the men in their lives to Cask Fest.

The Ladies Beer League has grown organically over the past several months, and if we start to take the role of “event organizer” for the local craft beer community, we will likely continue to host a handful of events for men & women… And, if we achieve our goal, these events will indeed be attended equally by men and women.

Pam: Given that this is the first Cask festival in Halifax open to public attendance, we felt it would be unfair to limit attendance to ladies only. That said, we’ve never stipulated that any of our events were specifically ‘ladies only’. If a man walked into one of our regular events, no doubt he’d have a lot of fun!

 

ACBB: Will the brewers (or someone from the breweries involved) be there, pouring their beer and able to chat with attendees?

Tracy: Most of the breweries will have either a brewer or marketing/sales rep on-site to talk about their beer. For a few, like Picaroons, it’s a little more difficult. In that case, LBL organizers or The Goat staff will step-up and help pour the casks. The only thing that worries me is the actual tapping of the casks… with 7 casks, at least a few are bound to go crazy. That’s part of the fun!

Pam: The breweries will be sending a representative, in most cases the brewer of the cask. A board member from the LBL will be around to pour and answer questions on behalf of any brewery should they be unable to do so.

 

ACBB: Can you explain the cask sampling itself? I understand attendees will be given a passport, in order to try each of the seven casks…

Tracy: This is the FUN part! After attendees have filled their passport, they have the opportunity to go back for an 8th sample glass and cast a vote for their favourite cask! The brewery who collects the most 8th samples will be named “Ladies Choice for 2013”.

Pam: Again, the 8th sample is a chance to ‘double-up’ on a brew you want to experience again. We plan to keep track of these last samples as a means of voting for a sort of people’s choice, giving the winning brewery a bit of bragging rights.

 

ACBB: Anything else to add?

Tracy: The day session is selling quickly, get your tickets now! LBLCaskFest.EventBrite.ca

Also, if you are curious about cask beer, OR you just really appreciate trying new styles of beer, this is the perfect event for you! Each cask will be something you’ve never experienced before. It’s also a really great opportunity to talk to the people who make your favourite craft beer & see Halifax’s new gastropub!

 

Thanks very much to Tracy and Pam for all of the great info, it’s going to be a great time!

 

We also reached out to the breweries for some details on the beer they’ll be pouring, and thoughts on the event, so you can begin salivating now:

Big Spruce Brewing will be serving their Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout “Sideways”: infused with Glenora whisky and dry-hopped in the cask.

Boxing Rock: Emily Tipton, Founding Partner and Beer Engineer (I like the sound of that job!) tells us they will be serving a cask of their newest seasonal Crafty Jack English Ale, an English Brown Ale, and naturally primed in the cask. She will be there to pour the cask and chat with people. Their brewer’s assistant, Shelby Peters, will also be there. Emily says, “This beer is also our fall seasonal. We’re really looking forward to being part of this event, and to supporting the Ladies Beer League.  And we can’t wait to hang out at the Stubborn Goat!”

Bridge Brewing will be serving a Belgian Apricot IPA. Brewed with five different malts, three different hops, Blonde Belgian Candi sugar, and their own homemade apricot concentrate. It weighs in at 6.5%, 65 IBU, 7 SRM.

Garrison Brewing will be serving Cask-conditioned Winter Warmer. Brewmaster Daniel Girard is trying to reproduce his mom’s Raisin Pie with this year’s recipe of Winter Warmer. There are notes of orange, rosemary, rose hips and raisin that complement each other so well. Since this is already a very complex beer, he decided to not add additional ingredients. The priming agent for conditioning is rice sugar, to maintain a vegan product. Brewer Kellye Robertson will be pouring the beer.

Hell Bay Brewing will have their Dark Cream Ale fall seasonal pouring.*

Picaroons will have their new Smoked Porter at the Fest.*

Propeller will be serving a dry-hopped version of their IPA.*

*Unfortunately, we did not hear back from these breweries before today’s deadline, so are unable to provide more details.

Some final details on the fest: The event will be taking place on the upper floor of the Stubborn Goat, so their main floor will be open for plenty of post-Fest beer, and the kitchen will be open throughout to cure those grumbling tummies.

Breweries will be serving the same beer at both sessions, and to make sure both sessions will be able to sample, will be respecting a “one sample per cask per person” protocol (except for Ladies Choice).

Tickets are only available online (and I suspect will sell out today!), are priced at $38.09 (inc fee), and displaying your ticket from the Eventbrite app is sufficient for entry.

Friday Wrap-up – Big Spruce Holding Homebrew Comp, New Beers from Celtic Knot, Grimross and Paddy’s Brewpub, and lots more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-11-01
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, homebrewing, Ladies Beer League, Local Connections, McAuslan Brewery, Paddys Irish Brewpub, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery, Shiretown Beer, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat Gastropub. 1 comment
Welcome to November! I hope all of last night’s tricks were fun, and your treats were Atlantic Canadian Craft Beer.
• Big Spruce Brewing is holding a homebrew competition as part of their contribution to the Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration event, put on by Local Connections in January (we’ll have a full post on it soon). The full information is available on their Facebook event, but the important details are: The competition is open to all Nova Scotian homebrewers. The style of beer is an American IPA, BJCP style 14B, one entry per brewer. Registration of intent closes November 7th, and beers are due at the brewery by December 2nd. Registration is $25, and that includes a Big Spruce t-shirt. The brewer of the winning beer, as chosen by the judging panel, will brew their beer on the 7 barrel system at Big Spruce, and be released at the event in January. So, homebrewers, start your kettles, and be sure to email Big Spruce to receive and complete the registration form.
• Celtic Knot Brewing has a new beer in the pipeline – an English Barleywine, “Toque and Mitts” was brewed with Maris Otter, Chocolate Malt, Wheat Malt, and Crystal 120 L. A dark and malty beer coming in at about 7.5% ABV, it has approximately 33 IBUs and is brewed with Willamette, East Kent Golding, and Belma hops. We’ll keep you updated as to when this beer is available; it should be out around the beginning of December, available where other Celtic Knot beers can be found, The Tide & Boar and Marky’s Laundromat.
• Details for the beers being poured at the Fredericton Poutine Festival next weekend are now available on the event’s ticket site. Grimross Brewing will be serving their recently-released Belgian Rye IPA, as well as a new beer, their Belgian Porter (details below). Picaroons will be pouring their Yippee IPA, Blonde Ale, Winter Warmer, and 104th Regiment. McAuslan Brewery will have their Pale Ale, Apricot Wheat, and Oatmeal Stout, and McClelland Premium Imports will be bringing Steigl, Erdinger Dunkelweizen, Affligem Blond, and Fruli. Unfortunately, there’s no word yet as to what beers Pump House will have at the event. There’s still some tickets to the festival available; remember, the regular ticket gets your four 4 oz beer samples, while the “Beer Experience” gives you twelve samples.
• Back to Grimross Brewing, their Belgian Porter is just about finished and ready for release. A dark brown beer best thought of as a Brown Porter fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, it is described by owner/brewer Stephen Dixon as having a roasted aroma with hints of chocolate and dark candy, and flavours that start with roast and finish with chocolate and syrup. As mentioned, it should be pouring at the Fredericton Poutine Festival, and will likely be available in growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique soon!
• And in even more Grimross news, their beers are starting to make their way to Moncton! The Belgian Rye IPA has recently been available on tap at the Tide & Boar, and has reportedly been selling very well. Dixon has confirmed that this beer will continue to be sold at the T&B for the time-being, so if you’re in Moncton and haven’t tried it yet, now’s your chance! Check out their latest blog post for more thoughts from the Grimross Team.
• Continuing with new-beer news, Hell Bay Brewing has released their new seasonal beer, Wee Heavy. A Strong Scotch Ale brewed with six different malts, it’s described by the brewer Mark Baillie as “a slightly sweet, rich and malty beer with caramel flavours and hints of smoke”. Coming it at 8% ABV and just under 20 IBUs, it’s currently available in bottles at the brewery, and should be arriving at Premier Wine & Spirits in Halifax this weekend.
• Paddy’s Pub in Wolfville has released their newest seasonal beer, S’Mashed Pumpkin Ale. Weighing in at 5.2% ABV, the beer features a bright orange colour and hints of pumpkin pie spice, backed up by clean malt flavours of pilsner, Vienna and crystal malts. Like their Acadian Cream, Raven Scottish Ale, Annapolis Valley Ale and Blueberry Ale, the S’Mashed is also available in growlers at the pub. Unfortunately, their Chimney Swift Stout is not available in growlers, as it is served on nitrogen, and this technique does not fare well in bottles.
• Meanwhile, it looks like the Gahan House Pub plans on having a new beer to release soon. Details are extremely slim, but it appears to be brewed with locally-grown hops; where exactly the hops are from, however, remains to be revealed. It appears that the beer has been brewed at the pub, and not at the PEI Brewing Co.
• If you’ve been itching to get your hands on one of those hand-crafted Shiretown Beer steins, they’re available again! This is the third release of the mugs, which are made by Monique (Bujold) Brown of Barlicoco Pottery. Only 15 were made; at $35 each, they’re going fast. They can be purchased at the brewery, or check out their Facebook page for availability.
• A reminder that Garrison Brewing is serving up some special beers as part of their King’s Wardroom Wednesday Firkin events. This week’s beer was “Jack’O’Dubbel”, a Belgian Dubbel style Pumpkin Ale. If you are a King’s student, alumni or friend of one, don’t miss out on these special one-off releases, tapped promptly at 4:30pm.
• The Antigonish Townhouse is catching up with the great demand for their in-house brewed beer, and Terry’s Best Bitter is in steady supply these days. The beer is treated like a traditional Real Ale and is cask conditioned and on hand-pump, so best drunk fresh, right at the bar, we figure. 🙂 We’ve not had a chance to try it yet, but reports are very favourable.
• Stillwell Beer Bar is hiring a couple more people for their soon-to-be-open location. They are looking for both kitchen and front-of-house folks to round out their excellent team. Check their Kijiji ad for more details. Number one requirement: must love beer! There’s been a ton of work done at Stillwell since our visit last month; we’re looking forward to sitting down for a great pint soon!
• Finally this week, tomorrow is Learn to Homebrew Day. Organized by the American Homebrewers Association, this event is aimed at new (or soon-to-be-new) homebrewers looking to learn a bit more about their hobby, but all are welcome to take part. Despite its name, the AHA is an international organization, and there are events taking place in Atlantic Canada. Support your local homebrew shop and ask if they’ll be putting on an event. If not, why not offer to do one to share the great hobby with your friends and family? Sure, they always appreciate that bottle of homebrew you bring to the party/wedding/wake, wouldn’t they like to know how you made it? In Nova Scotia, Noble Grape is showing off a partial mash brewday at their Burnside store beginning at noon, and the Brewnosers are hosting a full mash brewday in Halifax, beginning at 10am (yes, it does take a bit longer to do a full mash, but the results speak for themselves!). Come on by if you are interested in learning more.
And stay tuned early next week, as we’ve got a great interview with a couple of members of the Ladies Beer League regarding the Cask Event taking place at the Stubborn Goat Gastropub November 17th.