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Friday Wrap-Up: Picaroons’ Easter Keg Hunt, Big Spruce Brewing Opening, and more

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-03-29
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News, Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Picaroons cat contest, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Saint John Beer Festival, Shiretown Beer. 1 comment

Hello beer fans! Another busy week in Atlantic Canadian Beer News.

  • Picaroons‘ Easter Keg Hunt is on now! Search around downtown Fredericton, NB for the 4 painted kegs and snap a picture of yourself to win a prize. Check their Facebook Page for more details.
  • Also, with their upcoming Melonhead release, they are looking for a photogenic kitty to grace the label. Email them a picture of your favourite cat, and it could be famous!
  • Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza, NS is ready to open, and is having a pair of parties to mark the occasion. Saturday April 6th 4-8pm at the Bras d’Or Yacht Club in Baddeck, and Saturday April 20th 7pm at The Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth (upstairs at the Alderney Ferry Terminal). Come out to support the Atlantic Provinces’ newest brewery!
  • Last week, Propeller Brewing Co released a new 1L flip-top Growler, for when you only want one litre of your favourite beer. Fill it with their Double IPA or current One Hit Wonder Black IPA (only available in growlers at the Prop Shoppe on Gottingen in Halifax for a limited time).
  • Not to be outdone, Garrison Brewing Co released their own version, a 1L “Growlito” this week. Think of these as a three-pack of beer, for when you have to be up early the next morning 🙂
  • Garrison has released their 2013 Ol’ Fog Burner, as well the 2012 Barrel-Aged version, which spent 9 months in Glenora Distillery barrels. Only 1000 bottles of these available, so make your way to the brewery to pick them up.
  • Following up on a recent post, Mike Buhler has launched Beerthief.ca, complete with forums for chatting about the beer scene in Newfoundland, as well as homebrewing and everything else. Keep up to date with the next offerings from the Newfoundland Beer Club.
  • The Saint John Beer Fest (April 13 at Market Square in Saint John) VIP tickets are sold out, but there are still regular tickets available through the Harbour Station. We are eagerly awaiting the brewery and beer list, and will release our interview with them next week.
  • Shiretown Beer‘s Blonde du Quai is now available in 500mL bottles. Since their move to Charlo in January, they’ve been busy, including “Best of the Fest” at the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. Congratulations and keep up the great work, Derek and Tim! You’re helping folks in Northern New Brunswick drink great beer.

Stay tuned for more news and profiles as we keep our eyes and ears open. If you’ve got any news or events we should cover, please leave us a note.

Friday Wrap-Up: Garrison Home Brew-Off Results, 2012 Winning Rye IPA Released

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-03-22
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News, Homebrewing. Tagged: Garrison 2013 Home Brew-Off Challenge, Garrison Brewing, homebrewing. 1 comment

Another full week of Atlantic Canadian Beer News, and we’ll focus on the Garrison Brewing Home Brew-Off, whose results were announced last night at a great gala.

Kellye

Kellye Robertson, with some of her 2012 Home Brew-Off winning beer, Kellye R’s Wild Rye’d IPA

Last year’s Brew-Off winner, Kellye Robertson, was in attendance to help launch “Kellye R’s Wild Rye’d IPA”. The beer was on tap, and the double-dose of Citra she and Brewmaster Daniel Girard used really comes through, and it’s great! I can see this beer selling out quickly, so be sure to pick it up soon, where better beer is sold. Brian Titus also announced that after she finishes her diploma at the Niagara College in the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program, she will be returning to work at Garrison. Welcome aboard!

Daniel

Garrison Brewmaster Daniel Girard

Daniel spoke about the challenges of scoring and picking winners from 69 entries. They had to change their plan this year to taste and evaluate the beer in groups of 8, with several folks helping to whittle it down to a final four. The final four were judged the day of the gala, by three BJCP-certified judges, and from them, the winner was chosen. And the winner is… Peter Welton!

2013winner_PeterWelton

2013 Home Brew-Off Winner, Peter Welton. pic courtesy of @NobleGrape

The judges loved the carbonation level and clarity of his beer, and thought it was a great example of the Belgian Blonde style. Peter will be brewing his beer with Daniel in the spring. Congratulations, Peter! Also congratulations to Andrew, Gerald and Dewi for top four finishes. We were fortunate to try all of the beer, and they were all great. Well done!

former_winners

Former Home Brew-Off winners Brian Harvey, Adam Comeau and Scott Tilford

I was also lucky enough to snap a picture of the 3 previous Brew-Off Winners in front of the trophy now on display at Garrison (only 4 years late). Brian Harvey (2009, Harvey’s Bitter), Adam Comeau (2011, Adam Und Eric’s Neuschottland Schwarz Black Lager), Scott Tilford (2010, Nit-Wit Belgian Wit).

In other important news, next year’s Home Brew-Off style was announced (after much poking and torturing of Mr. Titus), and it is BJCP Style 15A: Weizen/Weissbier. So start your kettles now, homebrewers! This is one of my favourite styles of beer, so I’m looking forward to brewing up a few test batches to perfect a recipe for submission.

In other Garrison news, their next One Hop beer will be released soon, and it will be showcasing the Citra hop. I’ve got word that there might be more than one batch of this made, which means we won’t run into a sold-out situation like we did with the Comet release. As I mentioned above, I’m a big fan of Citra, so I can’t wait!

Friday Wrap-Up: Fredericton Craft Beer Fest, Saint John Beer Fest, New Releases from Propeller, Sea Level and Garrison

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-03-15
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer Festivals, Atlantic Canada Beer News. Tagged: Brewnosers, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, homebrewing, Propeller Brewing, Saint John Beer Fest, Sea Level Brewing. Leave a Comment

Hello again beer fans!

A few updates since last week:

  • We had a great time at the Fredericton Craft Beer Fest at the Delta Fredericton Saturday. There were over 100 beers available from lots of local and farther afield favourite breweries, as well as  representatives from some new breweries that will be coming on the scene very soon. We’ll have a full report shortly. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers for a wonderful event! Looking forward to next year (they’ve already got some breweries signed up to return!).
  • Speaking of New Brunswick Beer Fests, the Saint John Beer Fest will be taking place April 13th at the Market Square in Saint John. Their VIP tickets are selling fast, so jump on them now. We’ll have a full write-up, with brewery and beer list, next week.
  • Also in Saint John, taking place at the Saint John Alehouse is Maple Mania, March 23rd. Picaroons Maple Cream Ale on cask along with lots of food cooked with or pairing with maple syrup. Sweet! Get your tickets at the Alehouse.
  • Attention Hop Heads: The Double IPA is back again from Propeller Brewing Co in Halifax. It is at the PropShoppe now, and will be in the private beer stores and NSLCs shortly. Sorry, not available in NB, PEI or NL.
  • It’s been on tap in Port Williams for a week, and Sea Level‘s  Dussel-port Altbier is now available for sale in cans at the brewery in Port Williams, and  Bishop’s Cellar, Harvest Wines, and Cristall Wine Merchants in Halifax.
  • The gala for Garrison Brewing Co‘s Home Brew-Off is next Thursday, when they will announce this year’s winning Blonde beer. We hear that there are at least two Brewnosers in the final four! It also means that last year’s winning beer, Kellye Robertson’s Rye IPA (name TBA at the gala), will be released the same night. We’ll be there for a full report, this event never disappoints!
  • The Coast’s annual Beer Guide is out this week, with lots of good articles on homebrewing for the Garrison Brew-Off, our friends at Bridge Brewing, NS cider and the weekly firkins at Rockbottom Brew Pub. Pick it up across Halifax, or read the digital flip version here.

Finally, you will be seeing another new handle posting articles and profiles soon. Shawn is a homebrewer and lover of all things beer, living in Fredericton. I managed to corner him at the Fredericton Craft Beer Fest, and he has graciously agreed to help Nick and I to keep the info flowing. There’s plenty of beer news in Atlantic Canada to keep us all busy, and only signs of it ramping up further! Thanks Shawn!