Friday Wrap-Up

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Hammond River, Trider’s, Loyalist City, Annapolis Cider, Foghorn, Big Tide, Unfiltered, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-01-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Annapolis Cider Company, Big Tide Brewing, Bogtrotter Craft Brewery, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Brathair Brewing, Brightwood Brewery, Celtic Knot Brewing, Craig Pinhey, Foghorn Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Ladies Beer League, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Mama's Brew Pub, Moosehead Breweries, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons General Store, RockBottom Brewpub, Trider's Craft Beer, Unfiltered Brewing. 1 comment

Welcome to the first ACBB post of 2017! Today’s post marks the start of our sixth year writing the blog, keeping you up to date with all of the craft beer goings-ons in the region. When we started in 2012, there were fewer than 20 breweries in Atlantic Canada; in 2017 we may surpass 100! It just goes to show the level of interest in great beer has exploded in our region, and drinking and supporting local breweries, brewpubs, and cider houses by enjoying their products and visiting their premises is becoming a popular pastime, while also supporting local economies. Hopefully 2017 will see the continuation of some of the trends we’ve seen in the past twelve months: breweries opening in small communities to serve their local population, wider range of styles and experimentation to broadening our horizons, a measurable impact on tourism by the craft beer sector, expansions to larger brewhouses as small breweries realize financial success, and continued reform by provincial governments. Now on to today’s news!

• Shane Steeves, owner/brewer of Hammond River Brewing, is once again harkening back to his homebrew days, as he just recently brewed up a batch of S’mores Graham Cracker Imperial Stout. This is a big beer with plenty of ingredients: six types of malt, a hefty amount of crushed graham crackers in the mash, plus honey, molasses, cacao nibs, and cinnamon in the boil. Nope, we’re not done yet – toasted marshmallows and vanilla bean were also added to the beer (in primary and secondary, respectively) to boost the aroma and flavour even more. Bittered to ~50 IBUs with Willamette, this very dark beer should come in at about 8.3% ABV; expect it to hit taps by the end of the month. Also, HR’s new Russian Imperial Stout, Quicksand Jesus, is now available (with the barrel-aged version coming out in about a month), as well as their Java Moose Coffee Porter (after a several-month hiatus) and Too Hop to Handle (with this batch featuring Hop Hash from Southan Farms).

• Amherst’s Trider’s Craft Beer has some great news for their thirsty fans: now that their 8 hl (7 BBL) brew system from Charlottetown’s DME is up and running, they’ve been able to better keep up with demand, and fully opened their retail location at 46 Anson Avenue (Unit 3). Hours are Wed 4-8pm, Thurs and Fri 4-9pm, and Sat 12-9. If you can’t make it in then, fear not! They are now on tap full-time in the region, including Duncan’s Pub in Amherst, and Sociables Pub in Springhill, and that list will continue to expand this winter. Keep an eye out for the Rod’s Red (Irish Red Ale that took Silver at the ACBAs), Scotian Pale Ale (an English Golden Ale), and brand new Justin Brew-deau, a Canadian Cream Ale. Their Yellow Beer’d Blonde Ale will be returning at the end of the month, along with some seasonals.

• After the highly-successful launch of their first beer, Lupulus Interruptus, Saint John’s Loyalist City has brewed their second beer, which will be released at tap accounts within the next couple of weeks. Parrtown Pale Ale is best described as an English Bitter, a malt-forward style also known as an English Pale Ale. With a grist that includes Simpson’s Maris Otter malt (imported from England), expect the beer to have a “rich, full-bodied, biscuity malt flavour characteristic to the style”. The malt is balanced with a “firm bitterness” from the addition of East Kent Golding, a popular U.K. hop variety that exhibits spicy, herbal aromas and flavours. This beer holds a special place in the heart of brewer/co-owner Mark McGraw, as it was the first recipe he entered in a competition as a homebrewer in 2013, and consequently his first medal… with many to follow!

• Annapolis Cider Company has a new release in their “Something Different” series, Cranberry Clementine. This is an unfiltered, sparkling beverage that combines a dry cider with fresh-pressed, local cranberry and apple juices. This blend was then infused with clementine zest, giving a 6.3% ABV cider with a deep-blush hue and a “freshing cranberry tartness augmented with aromatic notes of citrus”. It’s available now in refillable bottles at the cidery; as always with this series, $0.50 from each sale is donated to a local charity. This time, the recipient is SMILE, a Wolfville-based volunteer-driven program “that provides persons with varying disabilities a unique physical activity experience in order to improve their total development”.

• Rothesay’s Foghorn Brewing has released their first collaboration beer, with Big Tide Brewpub’s Head Brewer Wendy Papadopoulos (and consulting assistance from local beer, wine, and spirits writer, Craig Pinhey). Humbuggery Best Bitter is a 5.1% ABV English Ale, hopped with Golding and Jester, a little-known UK hop with tropical fruit and citrus notes, distinguishing it from most other in that region. It is available at both the Foghorn and Big Tide brewery spaces, as well as Uptown Saint John’s Cask & Kettle Irish Gastropub. But be sure to drop by soon, as there’s not much of the 8hl batch left!

• For the first time in a year, Unfiltered has brewed up a batch of their Hyper-Galactic SMaSH (single malt and single hop) India Pale Lager. With specs spot-on with NASH’s other SMaSH beers (7.5% ABV, 100+ IBU and a color of 4.1 SRM) this beer features Topaz hops, a variety from Australia known for bringing a palette of tropical flavours including lychee and passionfruit along with some spicy and resiny notes. The use of a bottom-fermenting lager yeast and, no doubt, a low-temperature lagering period, should make for a crisp and clean finish to compliment a huge hop flavor. Available for fills and pints today at noon, you are encouraged, as always, to get on it!

• Mama’s Brew Pub has brewed up a couple of batches of their first stout served on nitrogen. Fittingly named Nitro Stout, the grist is made up of Maris Otter, Crystal 70 L, Carafa III, and Chocolate and Wheat malt, giving lots of roasted flavours and aromas. Hopped with Golding and Cascade (both sourced from Southan Farms) to 22 IBUs, this sessionable ale (4.4% ABV) fermented with a neutral British Ale yeast, before being slowly nitrogenated over 5 days.

• Yesterday saw the release of a collaboration between the fine folks at Good Robot and the gentlemen of Sickboy Podcast, a media company that promotes and celebrates open and honest discussion of sickness and disability. Cystic Fibrewsis is described as a Strong American Bitter, essentially an ESB, the favourite style of Sickboy, but more highly attenuated and brewed with American breeds of European hop varieties (Perle, Tettnang and the Fuggle-descended Willamette). The grist is based on the classic British malt Maris Otter, but there’s also some Simpson’s DRC (double-roasted crystal) for caramel flavor and body, a touch of smoked malt and some demerara sugar to encourage a drier finish. It carries some weight at 5.8% ABV, supported by roughly 30 IBU. Good Robot will be donating $10 for each keg sold to Cystic Fibrosis Canada, an organization near and dear to Sickboy’s Jeremie. The guys recorded a live podcast at the Good Robot taproom last night; look for it to be posted to their usual podcast sites (SoundCloud and the iTunes) in the near future.

• PEI Brewing Co. has a new variation on an existing beer coming next week to the ANBL’s growler program and a few select tap accounts: Mango Lassi DIPA takes PEIBC’s 8 Cord to North India with fermentation having taken place on ripe mango and green cardamom pods. This will give the beer a big mango flavor along with the distinctive spicy aroma of cardamom. The hops used – Azacca, Mosaic and Simcoe – should complement the fresh mango flavor with citrus, piney and dank notes. The bitterness is a solid 70 IBU and the ABV gets a boost from the fresh fruit to a hefty 9.3%. If you’re craving the original, 8 Cord will also be available in cans (in New Brunswick and PEI) and kegs (maritime-wide) in a couple of weeks.

• Halifax’s Rockbottom Brewpub released a new lager yesterday, Dortmunder Export Helles. At 5.3% ABV and 27 IBUs, this pale-coloured lager features light Noble bittering to complement the faint grain aromatics, with a medium body and crisp finish. Grab a pint today, or in a growler to go (let’s be honest, it’s best to do both!).

• Dartmouth’s Brightwood Brewery will be debuting a brand new beer at the Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market tomorrow morning. Portland Porter is a 5.3% ABV, 31 IBU Porter, featuring Roast, Chocolate, and Honey Malts, along with a small percentage of Smoked Malt, culminating in a rich coffee aroma and flavour. Drop by 8am – 1pm to try a sample, and get a fill of your growler to enjoy more at home. Keep your eyes peeled for possible tap accounts in the near future.

• Last September, we reported that Moosehead was not only planning on opening a new small-batch brewery to coincide with their 150th Anniversary, but that they had also settled on the location on Water St. in downtown Saint John. However, this week they confirmed that they will not be proceeding with these plans, due to costs being “more than anticipated”, according to the announcement on their website. They do insist that developing a location to brew small batches of beer, and “build [their] relationship with [their] customers in a more personal way” is still something they intend on doing.

• Just one event to remind you about this week, but it’s a big one! On Thursday, January 12th, Local Connections Halifax is presenting their Fourth Annual Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration at the Marriott Halifax Harbourside. Sixteen breweries (and two cider houses) from across the province are teaming up with sixteen restaurants for an epic showcase of our province’s offerings. It also serves as the release of several special beers in our region, some of which we are able to share with you today:
– Big Spruce Brewing is debuting two beers at the event: Risky Biscuits Dark Mild, the 4.4% ABV winning beer from the Home Brew Challenge held in November, brewed by David Pepper; Liquid James Brown, a 6.1% ABV Milkshake IPA (the first in the province), featuring loads of late hop additions of El Dorado and Mosaic, along with oats, lactose, and vanilla beans, for a smooth mouthfeel bursting with tropical and citrus flavour.
– Good Robot is pouring Daughter of Sin, a Red Double IPA brewed with homebrew collective Brathair Brewing. The 8.1% ABV beer clocks in with 74 IBUs, all introduced post-boil (during the whirlpool while the beer chills) for a flavourful and smooth (but robust!) bitterness with fruitiness from Mosaic hops. This is a CB&LFC exclusive, so be sure to seek it out!
– Propeller Brewing will be pouring Vanilla Porter, their next One Hit Wonder, scheduled to hit the brewery’s taps in the next few days. It will be joined by their IPA or ESB, and Krave Lager, as they are paired up with Krave Burger, who are serving Burger Bombs.
– Spindrift will be debuting Duplicitous Imperial Pilsner, which was mentioned on the latest 902 BrewCast (shoutout). From Kellye Robertson, “Blend of Canadian and German Pilsner malts make this is a deceivingly light looking lager packing a punch of 8.0% ABV and 70 IBU. Aromatics of melon, citrus and passionfruit are led by generous amounts of Hallertau Blanc, El Dorado and Citra hops. ” After next week’s debut, it will be available at the brewery for growler fills, and around town next weekend.
– Tatamagouche will be debuting their Mrs. Magouche American IPA, a collaboration beer brewed the fine people of the Ladies Beer League. They will also be pouring Smorter, their S’mores Porter, and have given a keg of that beer to their partner Primal Kitchen for some epic S’more tarts with beer reduction.
In addition to those mentioned above, check here for the (mostly) full line-up of beer and food. For those who want to enjoy the partying after the event is over, Local Connections has negotiated a rate of $139 at the Marriott, just mention that when booking. There are fewer than 20 tickets remained for the all-inclusive event, so grab your today!

And finally this week:

– Tipsy Toad, the 5% Pale Ale from Fredericton’s Bogtrotter, is available now in 500 mL bottles at both the Oromocto and York St. ANBL locations.
– If you live in Fredericton and have been craving some Toque and Mitts (7.8% ABV), Celtic Knot‘s annual-release Barleywine, it’s now on tap at the James Joyce.
– Today, Garrison is re-releasing their Dirty Ol’ Town Black IPA (6.2% ABV, 52 IBUs) at their retail store; this Canadian Brewing Award Gold Winner is “dark, deep, toasty and hop-forward”. It will be available in six packs onsite, and at the NSLC and your local private beer store in the near future. And for our New Brunswick readers, look for it to hit the shelves of the ANBL shortly.
– Petit-Sault‘s Canon Franchetti, a “Cappucino Stout” is back; you can find it in bottles and growlers at the brewery in Edmundston, as well as the Picaroons General Store in Saint John. Look for it to be on tap at ANBL Growler stations January 19th (who may also be receiving bottles this month as well).
– Picaroons released a new beer at their Saint John General Store location, a Baltic Porter named The Teleporter. It’s just about gone already, but this 6.5% ABV beer was lagered for close to 6 weeks, to allow the alcohol and roasted characteristics to further blend together. And keep your eyes peeled here for details on a collaboration the SJ Picaroons folks did at Big Tide, which will be released mid-month.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Moth Lane, Graystone, Lazy Bear, Hammond River, Tide & Boar, and Upstreet

Posted by acbbaaron on 2016-12-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bad Apple Brewhouse, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Gore Farm Brewery, Graystone Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, HopYard, King Street Ale House, Lazy Bear Brewing, Mama's Brew Pub, Moth Lane Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tide & Boar Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 1 comment

Although it was a short work week due to the holidays, the yeast never sleep, so we’ve got a few new beers to introduce; and with New Year’s coming up this weekend, there’s also some events we think you’ll want to know about. We’ll start off this week, however, with news of a new brewery that launched late last week:

• It was a Christmas Beer-acle! Moth Lane Brewing, on PEI’s Prince County, opened December 24th to satisfy the thirsty folks in the Western region of the island. The 800 litre (7 BBL) brewhouse offers flights and pints in their tap room onsite, and sells growler fills to go. There are three beers available currently: Motorboat’r Blonde Ale, a refreshing and easy drinking 6.5% ABV light ale; The Answer Imperial IPA, a 7.0% ABV, 70 IBU bitter beer with plenty of pine character; and, Oyster Thief Stout, a 5.5% ABV dry stout, featuring local oysters added in the boil. The brewery, located at 101 Mickie Allen Shore Rd in Ellerslie, is open Mon-Wed 12-5, and Thurs-Sat 5-10pm, including live music Saturday evening. For those not able to get West, Charlottetown’s HopYard has all three beers available. Stay tuned to the blog, as we’ll have a full profile next week. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Moth Lane!

• Fredericton’s Graystone Brewing has two new beers on the go this week. The Crown Winter Warmer was released on Boxing Day and is described as a big-bodied holiday ale with seasonal spices. Built on a base of Maris Otter and Vienna malts for a solid backbone, chocolate and crystal malts are included to provide deep colour and chocolatey and caramel flavours. It also features a portion of Simpsons relatively new DRC (double-roasted crystal) malt, known for enhancing the body of dark beers and bringing complex dark caramel and dark fruit flavours without the bitterness or astringency of traditional heavily roasted malts. At 7.4% ABV you’ll almost certainly feel some alcohol warmth, while an addition of allspice and 30 IBUs worth of NB Goldings round out the flavour profile. It’s available at the taproom for pints, as well as growler and crowler fills.

• And hitting Graystone’s taps today will be a Belgian White IPA that they’re calling Mont Blanc, a collaboration with the in-the-works Gore Farm Brewery of St. Stephen, NB. A simple malt bill of Pilsner and wheat provide a canvas for some “cool” West Coast hops that bring 50 IBUs worth of bitterness and no doubt some citrus flavours. And judging by the name, expect to find some Belgian yeast flavours as well. More on Gore Farm in the near future!

• The folks at Lazy Bear have let us know that they’ll be pouring pints at a New Year’s Eve Dance Party hosted by local musician David Chamberland at the Rebekah Music Hall in Bear River. This will give them the opportunity to bring their regular lineup and also hopefully a brand new California Common-style beer. The as-yet unnamed brew eschews the Northern Brewer hops traditional to the style for Nugget from Ontario and Chinook from New Brunswick. Although the grapefruit aspects of the Chinook flavour profile might be viewed as crossing a stylistic boundary, there’s also every chance it will make for a tasty brew. There’s only one way to find out; grab a pint if you can!

• Also in the works from Lazy Bear is an Irish Red that will feature potatoes in the mash. Obvious jokes aside, care will definitely need to be taken to convert the sugars from the potatoes and to lauter the wort from what will no doubt be an exceptionally sticky grist, but the result should be very unique. We’re definitely looking forward to hearing more about this one as further information becomes available. Lastly, we’re told that LB will be featuring a percentage of Horton Ridge malts in all of their beers for 2017; the celebration of local ingredients continues!

• Hammond River has released another iteration in their The Vegas SMaSH series, a Single-Malt and Single-Hop beer that has had four versions prior to this release. The newest beer features Mosaic, a very popular and delicious variety that features plenty of berry character, resulting in a truly fruity-tasting beer. As with previous takes, this one weighs in at 6.5% ABV and 60 IBUs; you can find it on tap now at The Barrel’s Head, and it should be popping up at other HR tap accounts in the near future.

• Moncton’s Tide & Boar Brewing has released a brand new beer in their Hop Series. Lemondrop IPA is a 7.5% ABV IPA featuring the eponymous Lemondrop hop, an experimental hop featuring big notes of lemon citrus, and keeping in the hazy tradition of T&B’s other IPAs. Grab a pint now, and enjoy it at their Waterfront Craft Beer Garden event tomorrow (details below).

• We teased last week about Upstreet starting a barrel-aging program, with the recent delivery of a set of barrels from Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Distillery. Well, the barrels have been filled with six different beers, which are now undergoing the first of many days of aging, before being bottled and released to the public next fall. Sorry, we can’t share what these beers are yet, but – as always – we’ll be sure to release that info as soon as we can!

Be sure to check the hours of your local brewery and beer store before heading there tomorrow, as some are on reduced hours. Here are some events guaranteed to help you say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017 while enjoying great beer:

• If you’re in the Moncton area, what better way to ring in the New Year than with the NYE Waterfront Craft Beer Garden? Starting at 4 pm on Saturday, December 31st, the Tide & Boar will be hosting seven local breweries, including Acadie-Broue, Beckwith Road, Bore City, Celtic Knot, Flying Boats, Scow Cider, and, of course, their own T&B Brewery. The beer garden will run until 9 pm, and have a view of the concert on the waterfront, which will feature several live bands.

• And what about Fredericton? Well, those behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival will be hosting their own NYE Craft Beer Garden on Saturday. Held downtown at Officer’s Square and starting at 4 pm, there will be lots pouring from both Maybee and Sunset Heights Meadery until midnight. As well, select products from Bogtrotter, Graystone, Grimross, Picaroons, Red Rover, and TrailWay will be available. A food truck will be on-site, live music will be playing, and there will be two firework shows (8 pm and midnight). Can’t get away from the family? No worries – kids are allowed in the beer garden with their parents. No charge to attend, just pay by the beverage… and be sure to dress warm!

• Somerset’s Bad Apple Brewhouse is celebrating its third anniversary Saturday from 10-6 and will have a small run of bottles of their APA, Mosaic DIPA, and Black and Tackle Russian Imperial Stout available, and will no doubt have some other treats for those who drop by for the fun.

• Although Stillwell probably shouldn’t be part of your plans for New Year’s Eve (owing to them being closed), you should think hard about making them a destination for your hangover on New Year’s Day. They’ll be opening at noon for their New Year’s Day Levée with some brunchy menu options (Smoked Striped Bass Fishcakes, Triple-threat Breakfast Sandwich, Smoked Meat Hash or Toutons with Lonzino and Molasses, anyone?) and a pretty intense wall’s worth of goodies. Do you like stout served on nitrogen? Sure you do! They’ll have three: Granite Keefe’s Irish Stout, Unfiltered Flat Black Jesus and Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodisiaque. How about one of the three existing kegs of Acadie Broue Zirable, the Geueze-style we waxed poetic about in last week’s wrap-up? You know you want to try that. There’s also taps from Les Trois Mousquetaires , Brasserie Dunham , Trailway , Mikkeller and Bad Apple Brewhouse and the bottle list you know and love.

• Don’t worry, PEI, there’s a local New Year’s Day celebration going on for you, too! Upstreet will be starting their 2017 Kick-Off Sunday at 10 am, and it’ll be continuing all day long! A total of six different bands will be playing live, with the first starting at noon; the music will continue through the celebrations until roughly 10 pm. Beer cocktails, brewery tours, $4 pints, and a special brunch menu will also be available. Last year’s event was the biggest party of the year for the Upstreet taproom, so be sure you don’t miss out! Check out the link above the full details on the bands that will be performing.

• The 5th Annual Fredericton Craft Beer Festival is fast-approaching, and several events have been announced. Returning is ACBB Trivia, alongside a Nova Scotia Tap Takeover, at the King Street Ale House on Thursday, March 9th from 6-9 pm. All 24 taps at the KSAH will be dedicated to a variety of NS breweries; your $25 ticket gets you a special glass to take home, as well as ten 5 oz samples to start off. Trivia starts at 7 pm, and we promise this time the questions will be easier (no drawings of chemical structures, please Chris?)! And for those that haven’t yet grabbed tickets to the main event on Saturday the 11th, there are still a few tickets available for the afternoon (1:30-4:00) session.

A few more notes before you head out today:

– You can celebrate NYE with your very own keg of Garrison beer, and on the cheap, as they are offering a 10% discount on all rentals, and they’ll even include a sleeve of cups. Drop by today or tomorrow, as the sale ends after that.
– It looks like Mama’s Brew Pub has finally got their Crowler machine up and running, meaning that 1-L cans to go of their in-house-brewed beers are now available for purchase.
– The canning continues at TrailWay Brewing, with the latest release being their American Pale Ale, Rype, a 5% ABV hazy hop bomb. As of right now, this one is available only at the brewery, but look for ANBL stores to receive shipments, soon.

And be sure to celebrate the New Year responsibly: with a local beer(s), and a safe ride home! As we close out 2016, we want to thank the breweries and readers that we get to connect with on a weekly basis, and we look forward to spreading the Good News about Great Beer in 2017. Cheers!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Loyalist City Brewing, Annapolis Cider, Upstreet, Acadie-Broue, TrailWay and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-12-23
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, Annapolis Cider Company, Bogtrotter Craft Brewery, Good Robot Brewing, Graystone Brewing, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Maybee Brewing, Mill Street Brewpub, North Brewing, NSLC, Saltbox Brewing, Savoie's Brewhouse, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tide & Boar Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good morning! As we enter the final couple of crazy days before Christmas, beer news is winding down (ever-so-slightly) as everyone rushes to fit in some last minute shopping, cooking, baking, and stressing. As an excuse to step away from it all, even for just a few minutes, let’s take some time to get caught up on what’s happening in the beer world this week…

• Just in time for Christmas, Saint John’s Loyalist City Brewing has launched their first beer, Lupulus Interruptus. This 7.5% American IPA features loads of late and whirlpool hops, for an assertive 90 IBU bitterness, enhanced by juicy notes of citrus and peach in both the flavour and aroma. This first batch is currently available at Uptown’s Cask & Kettle, as well as for growler fills at the Wellington Row ANBL. Drop in today for a fill/pint, as both spots are moving through the beer quickly! To learn more about Loyalist City, check out our Profile on them from the summer. Look for more LCBC beers to be available in early January, with their retail and taproom location on Water Street to open in the coming months. Keep an eye here, as well as on their social media pages.

• In cider news, Annapolis Cider Company in Wolfville has a brand new offering this week in the form of their Old-Fashioned Gravenstein, made with 100% hand-picked local Gravenstein apples, an heirloom variety that’s great for both eating and cooking, but which doesn’t store well on a long-term basis. The apples for this cider were harvested early and pressed soon after picking providing juice that was fermented dry. After fermentation, additional fresh-pressed Gravenstein juice was added for balance and it the cider was finished with a slight effervescence. The final product is pale in colour with a fresh apple aroma and crisp flavor. It comes in at 7.4% and is being sold in a refillable bottle for $19.95; it’s available either on its own or as part of a Holiday 3-Pack for a limited time.

• There’s a whole slew of special one-offs being released right now at Upstreet, and continuing on over the next several weeks. They’ve brewed up another iteration of their Berliner Weisse, with this batch tasting more sour than the first. Still a very-sessionable 4% ABV, four kegs of this one were made available: two plain, and two dry-hopped (one with Centennial, one with Sorachi Ace). They’re available for pints only at the taproom, and they’re going fast!

• Continuing with Upstreet, last week they released Into the Weeds, a “Seaweed Blonde Ale”. This beer was created by employee Jesse H, and featured a simple grist of 2-row and light Crystal malt, with both sea lettuce and dulse added late in the boil, and as a “dry-weed” addition after fermentation. With a blend of “sweet, salty, and umami” flavours, it was another sessionable brew, at 4% ABV. Unfortunately, the two kegs flew out of the taproom even faster than expected! Maybe they’ll brew it again sometime in the future…?

• Finally, expect to see many more one-offs released by Upstreet over the next couple of weeks, including a Vanilla Smoked Porter, Honey Pilsner, and more. And with a fresh delivery of barrels from Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Distillery, there will be some special beers coming in the New Year. As always, we’ll keep you updated!

• If you’re in the Moncton area, you’re in for a special treat – Acadie-Broue officially launched their Lambic-style beer, Zirable, at the Laundromat yesterday evening. Fermented in Hungarian medium-toasted oak barrels, this sour, complex, 5% ABV ale has been maturing for three years. It made a brief appearance at the 2014 Brewer’s Bash as a young release (where, we can attest, it was already tasting pretty fantastic), and at Stillwell in 2015, but the rest of it has been patiently awaiting it’s release to the public, allowing the Brettanomyces bruxellensis and Lactobacillus plenty of time to work their magic. Several batches were actually brewed over this time period, where they were meticulously blended by brewer Patrice Godin, until the perfect balance and blend was found. This award-winning beer (Silver in the 2015 ACBAs) is a very limited release, so don’t miss the chance to try the only Gueuze-style beer (blended lambics) brewed in the Maritimes (to our knowledge, anyway).

• Along with the first can releases of their Good Aura and Rascal earlier this week, TrailWay has a new beer (of sorts) newly available for the holiday. Christmas Rascal is a new take on their Imperial Stout; inspired by Mexican Chocolate, they infused the base beer with Lactose powder, and then aged it (briefly) on cacoa nibs, cinnamon, cayenne, cardamom and vanilla. The result? A rich, full-bodied, and full-flavoured 8% ABV beer, with just the right amount of spice and heat. A small amount of this one is on tap for pints and growlers at the brewery’s taproom, with the rest available this weekend at all ANBL growler stations (except Fredericton and Dieppe).

• River Charlo, New Brunswick’s Savoie’s Brewhouse has settled nicely into their new digs next to Heron’s Nest Pub; they tell us it’s great being right next door to the only craft and imported beer pub in the area, with their own beer exclusively on tap and a variety of alternatives in the fridge. This week they’ll be serving up their Holiday Peppermint Blonde, a 5% ABV beer with both peppermint and vanilla added to the secondary for a seasonal flavour kick.​

• Fredericton’s Bogtrotter has their first Stout appearing in ANBL stores this week. Snapping Turtle has a fairly standard grist with darker malts, as well as some Rye malt and oatmeal, all weighing in at only 4.8% ABV. Hopped entirely with Chinook to 25 IBUs, expect to see 500 mL bottles at the Oromocto, York St., and Prospect St. ANBL stores; it’s also currently on tap at the Cask & Kettle. Also, Bogtrotter launched Snowy Spruce last week, which is their Muddy Mayhem IPA with a Christmas twist – spruce buds (harvested from owner/brewer Rod Croucher’s property) were added to boost the beer’s aroma. This one is available on tap only, at better beer establishments in Fredericton.

• In St. John’s, Mill Street pub’s head brewer Dan Boldrini has come up with a new beer that celebrates a native Newfoundland foodstuff, the touton, a pancake of sorts often made with leftover bread dough and traditionally cooked in rendered pork fatback (although more often in canola oil or olive oil and clarified butter these days). Touton Topper is an Imperial Stout infused with Crosby’s Molasses, a favourite go-with for toutons. The beer has a bit of a smoky nose and brings blackstrap molasses flavours with dark chocolate, roasted coffee and 25 or so IBUs providing balance. At a hefty 9.1% ABV it’s not for the faint of heart.​

• Starting yesterday, and continuing today until 4 pm, Moncton’s Tide & Boar Brewing began selling growlers to go of their beer for the first time. Set up in the adjoining Duo Cafe, a limited supply of kegs have been pouring several beers, including the recently-released Peach Ale Shake and Sour Otis Cranberry, as well as two brand new beers, Herbie’s Oatmeal for Breakfast Stout, and Simcoe IPA. ANBL-branded growlers will be on-hand for purchase, but they will also fill any (clean) 32 oz or 64 oz growler. In addition, branded men and women’s t-shirts will be available, just in case you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for the beer lover in your life (or yourself)!

• Graystone has a couple of new beers on tap, bringing the grand total of their beers at their taproom to 10, a new high. Summit IPA (6.9% ABV, 74 IBUs) is not a single-hopped beer, but does feature plenty of Summit for a “subtle, earthy sweetness and clean finish”, according to the brewery. They’re also now pouring their Holiday Stout, which is their Pitch Stout infused with cranberries and cocoa nibs; this one weighs in at an easy-drinking 4% ABV, and 38 IBUs. Both beers are available now for growler and crowler fills, as well as pints, and have been spotted at other beer bars/restaurants in Fredericton.

• Earlier this month we told you about Ask & Embla, the first beer in North Brewing’s “Finite Series” of experimental beers, when it was released to local taps. That beer is now available in 650mL bombers at both North bottle shops. It’s the same beer at 5.2% ABV and 16 or so IBU, with 20% oats in the grist, Timothy hay added to the mash, a yeast pitch collected from Saison de Pinot and 3 weeks of aging on driftwood collected from Cow Bay, but now it’s been conditioning in the bottle for an extra month. Given the mixed strain nature of the yeast, the extra fermentables used to bottle carbonate could definitely make some differences to the finished product and make it a candidate for cellar aging as well.

• We also told you a few weeks ago about North’s new Artist Series of labels. One beer in particular, the Farmhouse Red Bière de Garde, isn’t just sporting a new label by Nicole G. (who you may know from the Halifax bottle shop), it’s also rocking a slightly new formulation: although the recipe is essentially the same as their Farmhouse, the new batches of this beer contain malt from Horton Ridge for additional local cred.

• The gang at Good Robot is laying fairly low this week in terms of releases and events, but it sounds like this is the calm before the storm and they’ll be revving back up to full speed in the new year. This week does see the re-release of Whackity Shmackity Brew, a 5.8% ABV and 25 IBU American wheat beer featuring orange zest added to the fermenter and Magnum, Amarillo and Mandarina Bavaria hops, brewed in tribute to comedian Patton Oswalt.

• Coming early in the new year, with more info to come, are three new beers: Sickbot Epidemic ESB, a collaboration with Sickboy Podcast, a collaborative brew with North Brewing that might be named 220 Volts, but then again might not be, and an as-yet totally unnamed Barleywine. We’ll have more details as the release dates approach.

• If you’re looking for a place to have a beer on one of the days most bars are closed over the holidays, remember that Good Robot is looking out for you. They’ll be open Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, “at the staff’s request.” (Tune in this summer when the staff “requests” the honour of digging a defensive trench around the Gastroturf.) And on New Year’s Eve the GR gang will also be celebrating a No Frills New Year’s with nothing but beer, glasses to serve it in and some finger foods from Rinaldo’s.​

• Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing has a pair of new beers pouring at their taproom on Main Street these days. Irish Red is a 4.8% ABV malt-forward Red Ale, light and easy drinking, with some pleasant fruity hop and light roasted notes. Due to its popularity, it will be joining their flagship lineup. Also drop by for a pint or growler of Batch 56, a light-bodied lager with a nice malt character and light fruity hops. Weighing in at 5.4% ABV, it hits all of the right buttons. Their taproom is open Christmas Eve until 6pm, and will re-open December 27 for a Family Pot-Luck event from noon, bring your leftovers and share with the local beer community.

• Be sure to drop by Schoolhouse Brewing‘s new location at 40 Water Street in Windsor today, as Class is in Session! Grab flights and growlers of their core lineup noon to 8pm, as well as a brand new brew, Vice Principal Pale Ale. The 5.2% ABV American Pale Ale is a bigger take on the Principal Pale Ale, with a crisp finish and lighter aromatics. Look for it to be pouring at the Local Connections Craft Beer and Local Food Event January 12th.

• Fredericton’s Maybee Brewing has a new English Ale out now, Slanty Shanty Best Bitter, which we mentioned briefly last week. A higher-proof Bitter at 5.0% ABV, it features authentic Noble spicy hop notes (ending up at 35 IBUs), with a touch of honey and grain in the glass. It is available at the brewery for growler fills, and making its way to better beer bars around the province.

• Nova Scotia’s breweries received some good news earlier this week, with an announcement that there are changes coming to the controversial Retail Sales Markup Allocation. The RSMA is collected by the NSLC on all beer that breweries sell directly to customers and licensees (i.e., not through the NSLC). Promoted as an ostensible means to track the volume of beer sold outside the Corporation, the $0.50/litre tax is charged in addition to excise and other taxes required by legislation. Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing launched a lawsuit against the NSLC in August characterizing the RSMA as a tax and calling its validity into question based on the further question of whether the NSLC has a mandate to tax producers in this way. Unfiltered raised awareness in October with the release of their RSMA Double IPA and has seen support from Big Spruce’s open letter to Nova Scotia as well as a donation of malt from Horton Ridge that they used to brew their most recent batch of DOA. The province says that as of April 1, 2017, the RSMA will be reduced to 5% of wholesale costs, which should lead to a reduction of the overall amount collected from brewers in Nova Scotia to one-third of current levels. While a noble start, and the first time breweries will be treated in the same was as other alcohol producers, many breweries (including Unfiltered) would prefer to see this fee eliminated completely. Credit is certainly due for the inclusion in the press release of Craft Brewer’s Association of NS president Emily Tipton’s comments regarding the extended economic impact of craft beer and brewing in Nova Scotia. The province’s press release can be read here.

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That’s all the news fit to print this week, folks! Have a safe and happy holiday, and we’ll see you back here next week with the final Wrap-Up of the year!