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Friday Wrap-Up for May 5, 2023 – News from Shipwright, Lone Oak Fox Meadow, Burnside Brewing, Breton, Tire Shack, Pump House, Maybee, Mauzy, Sourwood, Good Robot, Timber Ship, and much more!

Posted by acbbdevon on 2023-05-05
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Breton Brewing, Burnside Brewing Company, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Discovery Centre, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Lone Oak Brewing, Lone Oak Fox Meadow, Long Bay Brewery, Mauzy Cidery, Maybee Brewing, Ninepenny Brewing, Off Grid Ales, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Shipwright Brewing, Sourwood Cidery, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tide & Boar Brewing, Timber Ship Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy May, everyone! Flowers are pushing through the dirt and winter debris, migrating birds are returning (hello cardinals!), and patios are opening! As we shed the winter coats (and work towards shedding the winter pounds), there are plenty of new beers and events to encourage us out from hibernation! Let’s get you up to speed with what you could be imbibing this weekend…

Congratulations to the Shipwright Brewing team, as they celebrate the opening of their brand new Taproom + Pizza location at 80 Montague Street in Lunenburg. Located right next door to their original brewery and bar, the Taproom features 25 beers on tap, and a full menu with appetizers, bao buns, and both Detroit and New York style pizzas. For visitors to the OG taproom spot, they will be impressed with the 10-fold increase in the seating, so no more waiting for a spot at the bar or patio during busy summer evenings. The retail fridge is full of beer options to take away, during their 11 AM – 10 PM (or later), seven days a week, opening hours. Just a note that they are only doing dine-in during the first week of operation, and great news for those looking for a more intimate Shipwright experience, the original taproom in the brewery at 82 Montague remains open and ready to serve all visitors!

News from our PEI friends Lone Oak brings the announcement of their new restaurant, Lone Oak Fox Meadow! Opening today (Friday May 5th), this is a full-service, year-round restaurant and events centre at the Fox Meadow Golf Course in Stratford, PEI. They’ll be open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner and drinks and will offer a brunch on the weekends. The full website will launch next week, so for now, keep an eye on Lone Oak’s main socials for any updates, or just go check it out from 11am-10pm any day of the week (open for brunch at 9 AM on the weekends)! Congratulations to the LO Crew!

And in the spirit of new beginnings, we have news on changes to a brewery who has been around since 2015… Same brewery, new name! Spindrift Brewing is no more and now Burnside Brewing Company rises from its ashes. Keeping all of the same lineup of beers like Toller and Killick, some of you may be familiar with Spindrift in the US and their beverage products. Our local Spindrift took an enquiry from the unaffiliated RTD brand as a chance to ground where they are and go through a rebranding process. They’re trying to make beer in Burnside that isn’t fancy, is about the beer first, and celebrates working hard, having fun, and making great beer; hence they chose the name of the area in which they feel most at home. Both the Antigonish and Dartmouth locations will remain unchanged and things will continue as normal, except for the new branding and packaging. Their new website is expected to go live shortly, and their socials have changed over to the new moniker.

The Cabot Trail Relay’s newest beer sponsor, Breton Brewing, has lots on the go this week, with a few new releases and a lot of calls for hiring. Let’s start with the beer. First up, Grapefruit IPA is an American IPA with big grapefruit flavours of pine and citrus but also with real grapefruit juice added. It’s bitter, as you’d expect, with a nice punch of that grapefruit kick; it is 6% ABV and 45 IBU. 

Next up is a new member of the Let’s Jam series of sours; Let’s Jam: Raspberry Lemon Sour was brewed with big batches of real raspberry and lemon to mix up the sweet and sour flavours. A nice pink hue captures the eye and the refreshing 4% ABV will leave you wanting more. Both of these are available now at the brewery on tap and in cans, along with their website online. They will also be hitting the shelves of certain NSLC locations across the province. On the HR side of things, Breton has multiple positions for students and full-time work in Halifax and Cape Breton, so head over to their careers page if you’re interested. 

Let’s head to Moncton, where Tire Shack Brewing has a few new releases and fun events they’re hyped about. This week, they have a new experimental sour release on draught, based around the Soursop fruit, also known as guanábana or Brazilian paw paw. Imparting citrus, banana, coconut, and mango to the base sour beer, given the difficulty in sourcing the fruit in our region, there are only a few kegs, and no cans, of this one. And coming later this weekend is another sour beer, this one showcasing Pink Guava, bringing a total of 5 sours on tap, including the recent return of Sun-Kissed Mimosa Sour. 

Rounding out the recent Tire Shack releases is the return of their Gold medal winning Killed By Death, a 10.0% Triple IPA, chock-full of Citra, Mosaic, and Vic Secret late in the process for tons of great aromatics. Pop by the brewery today, or better yet, in celebration of Moncton Taco Week, Tire Shack is welcoming back Birria Dave’s in the taproom both Saturday and Sunday from noon until sell-out, as he is featuring The 3D Birria Taco. Best not to hesitate, as these always go quick!

It’s been a long time since we’ve had one of NB’s oldest craft breweries, Moncton’s own Pump House, on the blog and we’ve been hoping for some fresh drops from them to share with everyone. Uncommon Kölsch is a low-carb and low-calorie release that is crisp and refreshing. It is 4% and available in 355ml 8 packs at the ANBL, on tap at PH accounts and directly from the brewery. Sort through the dark and light stuff and pick out something clean and new to enjoy from this brewery, as this is available now!

Heading west to Fredericton, Maybee Brew has a new beer to celebrate a big milestone at the brewery. Batch 500 is a brand new IPA celebrating exactly what you think! A New England IPA, this milestone brew is big on tropical, mango, citrus, and grapefruit flavours and is juicy and enjoyable. It’s 6.2% ABV and 30 IBU and available today on tap and in cans from the brewery. Grab one of those cans as the design is gorgeous and true to the milestone celebration! 

Mauzy, the cidery operating adjacent to Banished Brewing in Paradise, NL, has their first release of 2022 fermentations this week with Point Towards Heaven, a spontaneously fermented blend of feral Mcintosh and feral crab apple juices. Transparent yellow, with no finings, filtering, or added sulphites, this one represents their first Pet Nat-style cider. Only 20 cases have been produced, so you’ll want to act quickly to get yourself a bottle. Look for this 5.6% ABV delight only at Banished.

In other cider news, Sourwood may not be slinging cider at their old spot on Cornwallis St. in Halifax but they’re still putting out tasty treats. And wouldn’t you know it, they’ve got a Pet Nat on the go as well! Starting with a base of handpicked L’Acadie Blanc grapes, they bolstered it with Russet apple juice from their secret sheep orchard. Capping the fermentation to preserve the natural carbonation, they have not disgorged the bottles, so you can expect some sediment. You can also expect flavors of elderflower, geranium, and pithy grapefruit. Marked with a vintage of 2021, this one has been sitting and improving for quite some time. Look for L’Acadie + Russet in their online shop for delivery or pickup (note that pickup is now at 115 Chain Lake Drive, Unit 12C), at Ramblers (formerly Sourwood’s own in-town location), and potentially at other fine watering holes.

Those jolly androids from Good Robot are back with their latest Goodwill beer and this one is partnered with the Ecology Action Centre. Dark Saison is the style for this release and it features an addition of cranberries to bring a bit of sweetness and tart flavour to the beer, balancing spice and cocoa notes from the malt and yeast. Each can of Goodwill Saison sold from the brewery or online will contribute 50 cents directly to the environmental charity. This beer comes in at 5.3% and is for an excellent cause, supporting climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice. 

Miramichi’s Timber Ship is back with a new release this week, one in the “perfect for enjoying with a group of buds” vein, aka, crushable. They looked to Germany for inspiration, and honed in on the Kölsch style from Cologne. Light in body, clean Pils malt backbone with Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops, with a crisp and clean finish. Named in celebration of Harley & Hank, find this 4.5% beer on tap at Three Dog Distilling at 279 Newcastle Blvd, or in cans to go from Timber Ship’s Below Deck location on the King George Highway.

Up on The Rock, Port Rexton Brewing has a new collab brew out, this one done with the folks from Ninepenny Brewing in Conception Bay South (you may have heard of this place recently, as it’s iceberg season…). Small Game is a “Tiny” IPA coming in at a paltry 2.6% ABV, but still boasting plenty of aroma and flavor, with gummy candy and tropical fruit on the nose and more fruit and melon undertones on the palate. Perfect for games night, when you want to let loose a little, but still keep your wits about you, you’ll find this one at the taproom, at the PR St. John’s retail shop, and at Ninepenny’s taproom as well.

For those in Halifax, and wanting to delve a bit deeper into what goes into designing and crafting the beer they enjoy, The Discovery Centre is hosting Science of Beer next Saturday, May 13. From 7 – 10:30 PM, ten breweries from the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia will chat up style characteristics, ingredients, processes and more, along with science demonstrations from the DC team, with live music from The Fine Tuners, all while sipping on beer. This 19+ event requires tickets, find out more and grab yours here! 

Let’s do some quick hits for some craft beer jobs around the region!

Stillwell Beer Bar is looking for a full-time server for the summer with a very likely chance for part-time work in the fall. Email here if interested.

Garrison Brewing is looking for a Head Brewer and this could be a dream job at a big craft brewery for a lot of people. Permanent, full-time, big job! Check out the link here for all the details. 

In other Head Brewer news, Long Bay Brewing in Fredericton is looking for a Head Brewer (with professional experience) or an Assistant Brewer (with all-grain homebrewing experience). With a 15bbl brewhouse and 3.5bbl test batch system, there is room to grow and learn. Send your resume here if you’re interested!

Off Grid (or OG Ales) is hiring a bunch of positions for taproom, grounds keeping and housekeeping. Part-time and full-time positions are available, for summer students as well, with pay around $15/hr. Application deadline is May 19th. Please send your resume here

Plenty more beer to let you know about, let’s get some newsbites in front of you.

Halifax’s own Propeller Brewing has a fun 12 pack featuring some summer crushers all at 5% ABV or less in a 355ml format. The Propeller Patio Pack Craft Beer Mixer is this year’s latest mix of 4 beers to grab and go for the summer. Featuring 3 each of: Tango Lagered Ale (4.8%), Tropic Haze Summer Ale (5.0%), Yutopia Summer Ale (5.0%) and Lime Lite Lager (4.5%), you can get this starting today from the 3 Propeller shops (4 if you include the online store!) and the private stores in Halifax. This will be coming to certain NSLCs as well. And a reminder that the patio at their Gottingen Street taproom is now open, so get out and enjoy some beer!

In Tatamagouche they’re getting all ready for summer sipping with the release of this season’s fruited Dekorum variations. Lime, Mandarin, and Blood Orange are all available in 355ml cans as of today, all coming in at a very sessionable 2.9% ABV. Grab them in any combination (potentially including the non-fruited OG version) from their web shop, with delivery available to all Canadian Provinces!

Moncton’s Tide & Boar Brewing has a new IPA in the fridge and on tap these days. Dinosaur Food is a big 7.0% Hazy IPA, hopped heavily with Motueka and Sabro, resulting in massive notes of ripe mango, fruit cocktail, and a coconutty pina colada vibe. Grab it from either of their Brewery or Gastropub locations on tap or in cans to enjoy outdoors.

It’s that time of year again when Big Spruce brings out their She’s Maibock, a German lager on the heavier side at 6.5% ABV. Brewed with modern Continental hop variety Huëll Melon, look for aromas of strawberries, honeydew melon, and stone fruit that complement malty notes of bread crust and candied orange. May a little reminiscent of toast and jam!

And finally this week, Grimross has brought back their Juicy IPA, and this 6.5% ABV can is available now from them and coming to ANBL and other shops shortly.

Thursday Wrap-Up for April 6, 2023 – News from Good Robot, Port Rexton, Banished, Quidi Vidi, Bannerman, Lake City, Propeller, 2 Crows, and much more!

Posted by acbbdevon on 2023-04-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Ayawan, Banished Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, HopYard, L'Apothicaire, Lake City Cider, Les Grand Bois, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Mellon, Messorem, Poincaré Chinatown, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Silo, Stillwell Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Thursday y’all! We hope you’ve had a great week, and will be able to enjoy a long weekend. For those in the service industry/front line workers, we wish you a not-too-busy yet bountiful weekend. As always, be sure to check the Social Media for the breweries, taprooms, private shops you will be visiting this weekend, just to check that they are open. Enjoy!

Good Robot is leveraging their new facilities in Elmsdale to keep the new releases coming for Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month. Released last weekend was Raspberry Radler, a 4.0% pale beer chock-full of raspberry juice, a bit of a twist on the historic radlers made with lemon or grapefruit. Available now at their retail shops in Halifax (Robie Street) and Elmsdale, and coming to the NSLC. And debuting tomorrow is the first in their Tropical Storm series. This quartet of IPAs, all showcase tropical citrus and stone fruit flavours, across the ABV spectrum. Coming tomorrow is Tropical Storm Category 4. As the name implies, this is just 4.0% ABV, and features hops that lend a ripe citrus, guava, peach, and grape character, all in a tidy package. Available in cans and on tap Friday, look for three more Tropical Storm releases this month!

Port Rexton Brewing is having a full weekend of celebrations, with new beers, live music, and a pizza pop-up in their taproom. Let’s get you up to speed… As they have done since 2018, the Port Rexton crew invited the breweries who have opened over the past 12 months to join them in releasing a celebration of the New Wave of beer, with Next Generation. Next Generation 2023 is a collaboration with Banished Brewing who opened their doors in June 2022. Flexing their funky muscles, this is a Brett IPA, with plenty of citrus and floral notes from both the yeast and hops chosen in the brew. Medium bitterness, a dry finish, and 6.0% ABV. Cans and draught at both their taproom and St. John’s Retail Shop, as well as at Bar Brewdock and the Banished taproom (more on that in a second).

An exclusive for the Port Rexton taproom is a pair of Extra Special Bitters that are pouring right now. Why two ESBs, you ask? Well, one is Gluten Free! Yup! Always expanding their line of GF beers, having the same base recipe is a great way to check them out. PRBC is running a discount where you can try a 12 oz pour of both ESBs for one low price! (Or both the GF Bitter and the GF Porter on Nitro, if you are avoiding gluten altogether) And for those concerned, despite the name, these English-originating beers are not overly bitter, balancing malt and hops well. And if you time your visit to the taproom properly, you can enjoy a pop-up by Prohibition Pizza from 2 PM, and live music from Colin Harris from 7 PM.

Speaking of Banished Brewing, in addition to their retail and merchandise storefront, they have opened their Taproom this week! Open Wed and Thurs: 3 – 11 PM, Fri and Sat: 12 PM – 12 AM, and Sun: 11 AM – 7 PM. You can now grab a pint or flight of their offerings, fill a growler, and watch as the Brewing Team (aka Duncan) makes the magic happen! No kitchen onsite, but the head cheese tells us that food ordered in, or brought with you, is totally OK. Normal hours for this holiday weekend, so you can fill up before, and again after, family dinner!

Up in the Gut, Quidi Vidi has a new sour out with Peach Pineapple Ice Cream Sofa. Expect tons of tropical fruit flavour from additions of peach and pineapple, and some sweetness and a creamy mouthfeel (giving vanilla ice cream vibes) from a lactose addition.  You can find it now at the Hops Shop at the brewery and in Quidi Vidi’s online store. It will see wider distribution at NLC and other convenience stores soon.

Our final Newfoundland release of the week comes from Bannerman, who have a new blonde ale on the go. Minor Detail is a 4.5% ABV take on the style that starts with a grain bill of Pilsner and wheat malt. It then saw a dry-hop with a blend of German hops, before a final conditioning on green team, leading to notes of citrus and fresh herbs. Drop by the brewery on Duckworth Street to try Minor Detail now.

In cider news this week, Lake City has a brand new thang on the go that’s not quite a cider and not quite a wine. Riesling Sparkling Cider is a 9% ABV “vinous cider” where cider and wine were blended post-fermentation to produce a product with elements of both. It features floral aromas and citrus notes and a subtle green hue. Find it at the cidery where this weekend they’re also doing a special on flats: 20% off at $100 for 24 cans. Note that this is a pre-mixed flat containing 4 x Field of Dreams, 4 x Cranberry, 4 x Darkside Rose, 4 x Crisp Apple, 4 x Vanilla, and 4 x Darkside Dry. Free local delivery and Canada-wide shipping on this deal, too!

Halifax’s Propeller has a new twist on a previous beer this week with the release of Arcane X dry hopped sour. Like its older sibling, Arcane dry hopped sour, it’s a kettle soured beer where “hoppy and sour collide” in a tart and juicy beer. This time, however, it’s been hit with a “new and elusive” hop combination that should bring big notes of tropical fruit, peaches, and orange citrus. Find this 4.8% ABV thirst quencher at Prop shops, non-Bishop’s private stores in Halifax, and for online delivery. Also note that Propeller is open regular hours all weekend long for your beer-buying needs!

Around the corner, you’ll find 2 Crows Brewing on Brunswick Street. They have a pair of small batch beers to highlight this week. The first is Peel Out, a Weissbier (aka Hefeweizen), the original German wheat beer, brewed with an iconic yeast that is very banana-forward, with a hint of clove. Dreamed up by new-to-2C’s-Brew-Crew Everett, the mash went through a triple decoction to bring out melanoidin and caramel notes, with the wheat and yeast keeping the body crisp yet a hazy golden colour. As this was brewed on their pilot system, this 5.3% beaut is on tap only, and may not make it to the end of the weekend! 

And coming next Friday, April 14, is a fun beer that was initiated and brewed by the Front-Of-House crew Emily, Emily, Tessa, and Max back in early March. Gorgeous Gorgeous Beer is a lemon and lime Hopfenweisse, a hoppy and zesty take on a German Wheat. Using Citra and Motueka hops, and fresh lemon and lime juice and zest after the fact. As the bartenders had kicked the brewers out of the shop for the day, it’s only fair that they take over the serving, so 6 – 8 PM on the 14th, Jeremy and Miles will be slinging pints of GGB for all of you. Be sure to pop down to check out the fun!

A reminder that Big Spruce has taken over the taps at Battery Park today, with more than a dozen new beers on the go all day and night! Free cake for those there this evening at 7 PM. Check last week’s post for more info on what is pouring!

Next Thursday, April 13, Bar Stillwell is hosting the fine folks from Poincaré Chinatown, a good beer, wine, and food restaurant in Montreal. As they’ve done previously for fellow beer bar pals visiting from away, they’ve asked them to curate the tap and bottle list for the day. From 4 PM, look for taps from Ayawan, L’Apothicaire, Les Grand Bois, Mellon, Messorem, and Silo. If most of those are new to you (too), then you’ll definitely want to pop down!

A few quick hits and job posting to close out today’s post. Happy Easter, y’all!

Lunns Mill Beer is embracing Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month with free delivery to the HRM, and Annapolis and Kings Counties for all of April. Just be sure to submit your order before 10 PM Wednesday to receive your beer that week. Hopefully more breweries will keep up the NSCBM celebrations!

Fridays usually mean the release of one of your favourite IPAs or DIPAs at Unfiltered, but this week they are delving back into the German styles with a new batch of Hellevator. This 7% ABV Helles Bock, showcasing German malts and noble hops, is available now in cans and on-tap next door at Charm School.

Capping off the week is a new version of Upstreet’s Neon Friday. This 6.5% ABV New England IPA is full of lovely tropical, citrus, and pine, thanks to the generous additions of Citra, Idaho 7, Mosaic, and Strata hops. Available now at their taproom as well as Craft Beer Corner in downtown Charlottetown, it may be hitting the shelves and taps elsewhere before too long. And good news, normal hours of operation at both of their spots all holiday weekend long!

If you’re in the Charlottetown region and are interested in a beer-adjacent career change, drop by Hopyard’s downtown location this Saturday from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, with resume in hand. Team members will be onsite to talk about opportunities to join their team.

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 acbbdevon 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!