Friday Wrap-Up

Friday Wrap-Up – PEI Brewing Co. Expands Distribution to Alberta, New Beers from Celtic Knot and Hell Bay, Seaport Beerfest Thoughts, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-08-16
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Granite Brewery, Hell Bay Brewing, PEI BeerFest, PEI Brewing. 1 comment

Howdy, everyone… here’s a bit of Atlantic craft beer news for your weekend…

• It’s been a long time in the making, but it looks like the PEI Brewing Company is starting to expand to Western Canada. Last week, their Gahan beers (Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, Iron Bridge Brown, Island Red, and 1772 IPA) and Beach Chair Lager officially became available in Alberta. The brewery partnered with Thirsty Cellar Imports, a sales agency in Calgary, to make the beers available in 39 Sobeys Liquor stores throughout the province, as well as some select private beer/liquor stores. For a full list of locations where the beer is available in Alberta, check out the links here.

• While a separate post on the upcoming PEI Beer Festival is coming soon, keep your eyes on our Twitter account for a contest in the near future that will give away two VIP tickets to the festival. We can’t give full details now, but it will involve two things: photos, and… beer!

• While waiting for his Black IPA, “Loki”, to be released at Marky’s Laundromat in Moncton, Bruce Barton of Celtic Knot Brewing has brewed another pilot batch of a new beer that will hopefully be available in the near future. We don’t have many details on the “Dark Passage Oatmeal Stout” yet, but keep it in mind if you’re in the Moncton area and are keen on some new Celtic Knot beer! And remember to ask for Celtic Knot at your local watering hole, as customer demand is what keeps Celtic Knot going.

• The India Brown Ale from Hell Bay Brewing Company that we had mentioned in a previous post is finally available! Described by the brewery as “sweet and malty upfront, lending way to hints of rum and molasses, and finishing slightly dry”, it comes in at 6.8% ABV. Available in growlers at the brewery, it won’t be around for long, so hurry in if you’re in the area. Brewer Mark Baillie is making good use of his expanded brewhouse!

• We had a great time at the Halifax Seaport Beerfest last weekend. The indoor venue had plenty of room (and restrooms), and there were hundreds of stellar beers available. Very strong showing from new NS breweries Uncle Leo’s, Boxing Rock, Big Spruce, and Bridge Brewing, as well as “old” favourites Hell Bay, Rockbottom Brewpub, Rogue’s Roost, Sea Level and Garrison. Great to chat with all of you brewers onsite! Other standouts were Malédiction Stout from Saint-Bock (served with a mini marshmallow), Maine Is. Trail Ale from Rising Tide and Sour in the Rye from The Bruery (still available at Premier Wines).  The Ladies Beer League had a strong showing for their VIP tasting, giving the women a primer on beer styles and it even got them early for the fest.

• With the different regulations and practices of growler filling in Nova Scotia (brewpubs cannot fill growlers during operating hours, some breweries will only sell pre-filled growlers, etc), buying a growler of beer can mean spending a lot of money on glassware, thus reducing the economics and increasing the clutter in your cupboards. Big Spruce in Nyanza and Granite Brewery in Halifax are partnering to make life a little simpler: you can now bring in an empty 1.89L growler from either brewery, to either brewery, and the growler fee is waived. This is handy for folks who travel between Halifax and Cape Breton, but don’t want to worry about having several different growlers with them. We’re really hoping for an NS (or Atlantic Province) Craft Beer Growler, but cooperation between breweries like this is excellent!

Looks like some nice weather coming for this weekend… get out there and enjoy it, along with some of your favorite craft brews!

Friday Wrap-Up – Garrison Brewing To Hold 5th-Annual Oktoberfest, Grimross Brewing Releases New Beer, PEI Beer Festival Scheduled For September, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-08-09
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hart & Thistle, Oktoberfest, PEI BeerFest, RockBottom Brewpub, Sea Level Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. Leave a Comment

Good morning, fellow craft beer lovers!

• This September 21st, Garrison Brewing Co., in collaboration with the German Canadian Association, will be holding their 5th annual Halifax Oktoberfest. There will be lots of German food, live music, and Garrison beer and Stutz cider available. The celebrations will be spread out over the day in two sessions: a free, market-wide afternoon session, and a 19+ evening session beginning at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the evening event will be $12 ($11 for students/military), and can be purchased at the Garrison retail store, or the day-of at the location at Pavilion 20 downtown. We’ll have a more-thorough post on this soon!

• The number of beers available from Grimross Brewing in Fredericton continues to grow. Joining the Cheval D’Or and Destrier Farmhouse Stout is Ben’s Bitter Pale Ale, a Belgian Pale Ale with slightly more bittering hops, according to owner/brewer Stephen Dixon. With healthy doses of Cascade hops for bittering and flavor, and Saaz hops for aroma, Ben’s Bitter will come across as quite floral, with earthy and citrus-fruit tones, and a lasting bitterness in the finish. Currently available in refillable growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique, and hopefully on tap in the area soon.

• With the Seaport Beer Festival happening this weekend in Halifax, it’s time to start planning for the next beer fest… the Prince Edward Island Beer Festival will occur the first full weekend in September, Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th. Last year, there were two beer festivals in PEI within a month of one another; the province decided in the spring to allow only one festival this year. Details are a bit slim right now, but we’ll do a post on the event as soon as we learn more. We can report that there will be over 75 different beers available, from breweries such as Amsterdam, Garrison, McAuslan, Hop City, and Erdinger. There are several tasting sessions planned; ticket prices range from $20-$120, depending on the session. You can follow the event on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-date notifications.

• Not satisfied with only growler fills of Bridge Brewing beer? Looking to get more than pint pours at Halifax bars? Well, you’re in luck… they are now offering 19.5 L party kegs for sale, for all beers that are available at the time. There is a $100 refundable keg deposit, and pricing will be $105 for the Gus or Summer Ale, $110 for the Farmhouse, and $120 for the Strong Dark (taxes not included). Call ahead to order yours!

• Greg Nash is tapping a few special beers at Rockbottom Brewpub in Halifax today, starting at 4:00 p.m. Accompanying a few of their regular-release beers will be “X”, an Imperial Brown Ale aged 18 months on cedar wood (11% ABV); “Vintage Wreckoning”, a Russian Imperial Stout on nitro, fortified with Macallan single malt whiskey (11% ABV); the regular “Wreckoning” RIS (10.5% ABV); the popular “Oaked-Aged Double Hoppelganger” DIPA (10% ABV); and “Barrel-Aged Desecration”, an Imperial Red Ale (11% ABV). Some nice sessionable (!) beers for your weekend! Get down to the Rockbottom ASAP – these beers will only be on tap until Sunday close.

• And, in case that’s not enough big beers for you, the Hart & Thistle will be putting on Nashfest again, with several OTHER Greg Nash beers for you to enjoy! These include “Columbus DIPA”, single-hopped with Columbus (9.1% ABV); “Commissar”, a Russian Imperial Stout, this time fortified with Bulleit bourbon (11% ABV); “Hop Mess Monster v3.0”, another DIPA single-hopped with Columbus (10% ABV); “Old 87”, an American IPA with lots of Columbus and Falconer’s Flight hops (7% ABV); and “Kneecapper”, an India Red Ale, or “Red IPA” with plenty of… yep, hops (6.1% ABV). It all starts at 4:00 p.m. today, and ends at close on Sunday.

• Uncle Leo’s Brewery may have just opened not too long ago in Pictou, NS, but their beers have already made it to Halifax! Both their Red Ale and IPA became available in 650 mL bombers at Premier Wine & Spirits earlier this week. Premier doesn’t expect them to last long, so get in while you can.

• Looks like Barnone Brewing in PEI has started filling growlers. You can drop by the brewery in Rose Valley every Thursday between 6:00 and 8:00 pm; both their Pale Ale and Summer Sessions will be available for fills.

• Sea Level Brewing has extended the hours of their retail store, where you can stock up on their canned beer, as well as 1-L refillable growlers. Their official hours are now Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm, Saturday 10 am-5 pm, and Sunday 12 pm-5 pm.

That’s it for this week… have a safe and beery weekend!

Friday Wrap-Up – Garrison District Ale House to Reopen in New Location, Hell Bay Releasing New Beer, Seaport Beer Fest Offerings Increase By 40%, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-08-02
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Fredericton Beer Run, Halifax Seaport Beerfest, Hell Bay Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales. 1 comment

Good morning and end-of-week, fellow beer fans!

• For those of you in the Fredericton area (and beyond), you’ve likely been waiting – and waiting – for the Garrison District Ale House to re-open after they were forced to close due to a fire in early January. Progress has been slow due to circumstances beyond their control, but co-owner Doug Williams has confirmed that they will be moving to a new location. In approximately eight weeks, they’ll be opening at the old Mexicali Rosa’s / Back Nine location on King St. With a larger space and larger menu (looks like they’ll be offering more BBQ), we’re extremely happy that things are finally looking up, and we’re eagerly awaiting their grand re-opening!

• Hell Bay Brewing in Liverpool, NS will have a new beer available (albeit in limited amounts) very soon. Being described as an “Indian Brown Ale” (think: American Brown Ale), it will have an ABV of 6.7% and 45 IBUs. According to the brewery, this hoppy beer will also accentuate the malt flavors, along with chocolate and molasses. The beer will be pouring at the Seaport Beer Festival in Halifax next weekend, and should be on tap at select locations in the area.

• As for the Seaport Beer Fest, we’ll be having a separate post on the August 9th-10th event soon. In the meantime, a full list of breweries and beers can be found on the event’s website; with 110 breweries and 267 different beers, there’s approximately a 40% increase over last year’s numbers! Tickets are still available.

• There’s a new beer in the works from Celtic Knot Brewing. Loki, a Black IPA, will have about 70 IBUs and an ABV of 6%. Brewed with three of the ‘C’ hops – Chinook, Centennial, and Citra – it should be available sometime in the not-too-distant future. Keep an eye out for it at Marky’s Laundromat in Moncton.

• As mentioned yesterday, some of the breweries in Atlantic Canada cooked up special beers for National IPA Day. They should still have some leftovers, so be sure to seek these out if you weren’t able to partake yesterday!

• And, just in time for IPA Day, Boxing Rock Brewing’s DIPA, Vicar’s Cross, was released yesterday. According to the brewery, it should be making its way to Halifax today. Look for it in 650 mL “bombers” at the same four specialty stores mentioned in the Friday Wrap-Up from two weeks ago. It will also be available at the Seaport Farmer’s Market, and the NSLC within a couple of weeks.

• Picaroons has been hinting that they will release a special beer in honor of New Brunswick Day (Monday, August 5th). So far, they haven’t provided any information on the beer, but stay tuned to their Facebook and Twitter accounts over the weekend… something will likely be posted soon. Rumors indicate that it may be a re-release of their 506 Logger, a quasi-Kolsch that was originally released last year.

• In other New Brunswick Day news, the Fredericton Beer Run that we reported on will be held on Monday. Tickets have recently sold out; looks to be a great event for those participating!

That’s it for this week! Enjoy your weekend!