2 Crows Brewing

All posts tagged 2 Crows Brewing

Second week of August already??!! Time flies when you’re drinking on the patio, and soaking up every ray of sunshine you can! Thankfully our local cider and beer makers have been working overtime to keep your glasses and mugs full, so let’s get you up to speed on what’s new and coming soon to our Atlantic region, starting with a few releases from last weekend, but still available for purchase at their respective breweries/taprooms around town.

2 Crows Brewing have teamed up once again with the fine folks at Lightfoot & Wolfville, to the bring together the 2021 Harvest Scheurebe Piquette. This 6.2% drink uses freshly pressed Scheurebe grape skins, soaking them in cold water to extract out the residual sugar and tannic acids that remain after the first pressing that Lightfoot used for their wine. After this soaking, the skins were separated from the sugary liquid and allowed to ferment out extremely dry (no complex sugars that are common in beer brewing), and received a light dry-hopping of Eclipse before canning and forming a bright natural carbonation in that package. Tropical, fresh, and dry, cans are available to enjoy onsite at Lightfoot and 2 Crows now! Joining it is the latest in 2 Crows’ Hop Water series, canned yesterday. Cans of Tangerine Hop Water are ready to grab and go with you wherever your travels take you, when you need a break from the booze but are looking for a locally made fizzy drink! Citra hops enhance the bold citrus character, living up to its name.

Coming out of Spindrift Brewing is a vertically integrated special! Kristi White from their team is their quality manager and a production brewer and she’s done everything from recipe creation, brewing and label design for Lavandula. This is a Honey Lavender Saison with additions of blueberry blossom honey, dried lavender buds, paired with a delicate blend of hops to keep it light, bright, sweet and floral. This is 6.2% and available in cans from the Dartmouth and Antigonish locations. 

For months now, fans of Stillwell Brewing have been eagerly anticipating the first releases to start rolling out of the tanks of their new production brewery on Kempt Road. Well, the wait is over with their Best Bitter Special hitting the hand pumps at the Freehouse, Stillwell HQ and The Narrows. As a few of your favourite bloggers can attest, expect a very cozy drinking experience with a pleasant carbonation, low ABV, plenty of malt complexity and some earthy hop notes from the Fuggles dry hop. If you can’t make it to any of these Halifax pubs, fear not. Cans and kegs will start rolling out of the brewery by September 1st. The initial line up will include Stilly Pils, their German-style Pilsner, with an updated receipt featuring a single decoction, their Kolsch-style ale Kompakt, and the aforementioned Best Bitter. On top of that, plans are in place to open up the retail space later in the fall, along with an event space that will feature Stillwell Brewing events but will also be open for community bookings. We’ll be sure to share more info in the weeks ahead, along with a feature profile on the brewery.

Off to Newfoundland for the first time this week, as the small town (with a big heart) of Port Rexton is celebrating Port Rexton Pride this weekend! And of course, Port Rexton Brewing is getting in on the fun! They are hosting a whole bunch of crafting, food, and pop-up shopping at the brewery tomorrow, followed by Music and Brews in the evening (more info on Instagram). But what’s Pride without a celebratory beer?? Teaming up yet again with the Queer Beer NL crew, they have released Cascading Pride, a White IPA. The whole crew was onsite to zest kilos and kilos of lemon and lime for a bright zippy and citrusy nose, enhancing the sweet orange peel and touch of coriander spicing. Cascading Pride is available on the Give Back Tap at the brewery now ($1 per pint going to support Port Rexton Pride for the month of August), and cans will be available at the St. John’s Retail Shop and other shops next week! Get on out to PRBC this weekend and show your Pride!

If you’ve got a ticket to Paradise, be sure to check out Banished Brewing anytime, but they’ve got some news this week with a new beer, retail and updates on the taproom and beer garden. First up, the new beer! They’ve got Groundskeeper’s Best Bitter coming out this week and this is a 4.7% classic style with a nod to cask ales. This is available now in their retail shop and will be headed out across stores across the province of Newfoundland.

Their retail shop is open with new devlieres of merch and some glassware on the way, and in the next few months they’ll have their beer garden up and running, as they make their way through the necessary red tape. Keep an eye out for this awesome brewery as they’ll have some new releases in the next few months and more updates about the brewery!

We’ve got a new beer from North Grant’s Half Cocked Brewing to tell you about this week! Looking for big bold tropical flavours of a New England IPA, but in a tiny beer, we’ve got the right beer for you! Lil’ Hug is a light and sessionable 3.2% ABV, but the heavy late hop additions concentrating on papaya and citrus notes that we love in a NEIPA. Grab it on tap and in cans at the brewery on Highway 245 just 5 minutes outside of Antigonish.

Nova Scotia’s most mysterious and elusive brewery continues to pile up the good deeds with its fifth release under the Make Peace Not War beer project. Delta Force Brewing is releasing a Belgian Pale Ale, available now through their online store. 40% of proceeds will be donated to the Ukraine Red Cross. And while you’re buying some of this new release, be sure to check out the rest of their brands to take advantage of their August sale of $1 off per bottle. 

Over in Spryfield, Serpent Brewing is releasing Sunspot, a Sour Tropical IPA that comes in at 5.1% ABV. Named after the good boy/pup Sunspot, who liked to laze around in the sunny spots all day, it uses Philly Sour yeast to create a refreshing tart finish, along with some stonefruit esters. The combination of Simcoe and Citra hops also provides a mix of tropical and citrusy fruit notes. Flaked Wheat was added to the base Pilsner malt to provide a rounder mouthfeel that stands up to the hops and tartness. This one is only available on tap, so you’ll need to make a pilgrimage to Spryfield to try it on tap or to fill up your growler. 

The fine folks out of Sydney, Nova Scotia are bringing a nice summertime release to the masses this week, with Breton Brewing’s Wee’ Smidgen, a Tiny IPA. A lower ABV release, this is a 3.6% IPA packed with tasty hops. Citra and Mosaic lead the way with big citrus flavours and a base of Ebbegarden yeast brings notes of mango and pineapple. Cans and pints are in the taproom and also available for home delivery in Cape Breton and HRM. This is a seasonal release, so get this while you can.

Staying in Cape Breton, Big Spruce has a new release available now. Irrational Optimist is an Apricot Sour coming in at 5.4%. Packed with stone-fruit aroma and flavour, there is a nice balance of pucker and tartness. This is available now online for free shipping and at the brewery in Nyanza. 

A few updates from Tire Shack out of Moncton, with a new beer and a facility update. As always, we start with the beer. Dragonfruit-Watermelon Sour is a very fruity sour with pear, kiwi and watermelon Jolly Rancher flavours. A tasty patio sour (soured with lactobacillus) is 5.5% and is available on tap now and will be in cans any day now. 

This award winning brewery also has some expansion plans in the works with construction underway now. They’ll look to complete this in early 2023, but we are excited for Jerica, Alan, and their team, along with the entire Maritime region!

Everyone’s favorite beer bar conglomerate (haha!)  sure has you covered for things to do this weekend:.

Your faves (and ours!) at Stillwell are for sure makin’ a weekend of it. We told you last week about the Bar Volo takeover happening today at both Stilly HQ and the Freehouse (a reminder that all the deets can be found in this Ig post), but right after that was announced, another announcement came about what’s happening the rest of the weekend. And the something that’s happening is CIDERAMA

Not since 2018 has the Stillwell gang brought this much juice to the city. Starting tomorrow, Saturday, August 13th, at HQ, where longtime friends of Stillwell, Guelph’s Revel Cider will be taking over all 12 taps on the wall. Meanwhile, at the Freehouse will be “Cellar Unleashed” where twenty of the best American, Canadian, and English bottled ciders will be poured by the glass all day. Look for stuff from Absolem Cider, Cidrerie Chemin des Sept, Olivers Cider & Perry, Cidre Sauvageon, Son of Man, Sourwood Cider, Twin Island Cider, and maybe more! Following that, on Sunday, August 14th, look for the fun to continue at the BeerGarden, with “The Clam Jam” where Joe Martini and friends will be slinging molluscs off the charcoal grill to accompany cans and taps from Chain Yard Cider, Anxo Cider, Son of Man, Absolem Cider, and Revel. So if you’re anti-beer, gluten-free, or just love you some fermented fruit juice beverages, this is your chance to try some local faves as well as some true treats from all over the world. 

One job posting on the go this week, this one in PEI:

The fine folks at Lone Oak continue to grow their operations and team, with positions currently available at their original Borden-Carleton taproom and the new Milky Way Brewpub outside of Charlottetown. A variety of bartender, server and kitchen positions are available. Reach out to careers@loneoakbrew.com for more.

A couple final things to send you on your way to a weekend of beery bliss:

Antigonish’s Candid Brewing has teamed up with the upcoming Antigonight Art Festival to release Antigonight Czech Dark Lager this week. Light and crisp in body and flavour, with just a touch of roast malt on the palate. Cans were released yesterday in time for last night’s Art Battle, and will be on tap and in that format to go when you head there this weekend!

After spending the last few months focusing on opening their new Elmsdale production brewery and beergarden, Good Robot is back to rolling out the new releases, with the third release from their Tropical Storm single hop series. Tropical Storm Nectaron is a NEIPA featuring the eponymous hop from New Zealand. The rare hop is akin to the more popular Galaxy, and showcases notes of peach, pineapple and grapefruit. Coming in at 7.0% ABV, cans are available now through Good Robots online store and at their two retail locations.

Closing out the blog today with a returning favourite from TrailWay Brewing on Fredericton’s North Side. Imagination IPA is a 6.0% hazy and dank IPA, with this release amped up with a DDH (Double Dry Hop) treatment. Southern Tropic, Sultana, and Citra Lupomax were used in massive quantities late in the process in order to maximize hop aroma and flavour without the corresponding bitterness. Look for great guava, citrus, stone fruit, and pine in the can, which is available now at the brewery and for online ordering.

Hello! Is anyone out there? Is everyone on vacation, enjoying time with friends, family or whatever brings them joy? Well, if you are, and you’re still reading this, or you really just like us so much, we’ll keep the local news flowing. There are a lot of new beers and updates to come this week, so let’s hop right into the latest news.

Propeller Brewing is continuing their 25th Anniversary Celebration with the release of a funky and tart beer in bottles today. Brewed in the before times (2019), the Lambic Style is an ode to the spontaneously-fermented and multi-year blended beers from the Senne Valley in Belgium, for hundreds of years. While Prop’s version was not fermented by the wild yeast in Burnside, they did even better, by using the yeast left in the bottom of some freshly-emptied Belgian lambic beers as the starting point, keeping them in several oak barrels for a couple of years. This permeable vessel allows some oxygen in, and excessive carbon dioxide out, keeping the yeasties happy and chewing away on the complex sugars and starches in the low-hopped wort. After they finished their main fermentation, a few barrels were tapped (with an eye to a different fate for the others left full) and the 6.5% ABV beer was transferred to bottle, where it conditioned further, leading to a lively final product that is ready to drink now, or can be held onto for years to come. It’s available at all of Propeller’s three locations, as well as their online store, as well as Bishop’s Cellar and other private stores in HRM.

Warm up your way-back machine, and point it to Summer 2014 and Spring 2015, and you’ll have a reminder that this is not the first time Propeller has delved into the Lambic-inspired beer, as they have previously released Raspberry, Blackberry, and non-fruited versions of these funky and tart beers. And in case you haven’t already taken our advice, be sure to listen to the 902 BrewCast episode with Cam and Pat from Propeller to learn even more about this release, and some hints as to what is coming for Propeller as they celebrate 25 years, and look to (at least) 25 more! And if you act now, you may be able to snag one of the last tickers for the Propeller Arcade-hosted screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, happening in the parking lot of their Gottingen Street location, Sunday, July 24th. And those looking to nerd out at their Windmill location can sign up for a VIP tour of the brewery for Friday, July 29th.

Keeping with some Dartmouth ties, we’ll move to Spindrift Brewing next, as they go with a brand new release in a fun and unique style. Available now is Otto, a Hemp IPA, named after a certain animated bus driver, dude. We’ll run through the grain bill here and some nerdy details to get you a sense of what’s going on. The malt bill uses pilsner malt, carapils, wheat malt and hemp seed flour. The hops is a dank blend of Simcoe, Columbus and HS Sitiva used in the boil and dry hopping. American Ale Yeast is chosen as the vessel here to carry the two terpene-intensive plants of hops and hemp. Some natural hemp flavours were added to to add some more pungency to this 5.5% IPA. There is no THC or CBD in this beer and it’s available in cans, pints and growlers at both Spindrift locations (Dartmouth and Antigonish). 

Shipping over to Sheet Harbour, Sober Island is releasing Lil’ Skipper, a light summer ale that is 4.3% with a nice dose of flavour. Lower in bitterness, but big in flavour, you’ll find lots of mango and tropical flavour along with a nice dry-hopping of Mosaic to bump up that aroma. This is 23 IBU and will be a staple throughout the summer directly from the brewery or the private stores in HRM.

Plus they’ve got events happening throughout the summer, including a Kitchen Party July 30th in their Beer Garden in Sheet Harbour, and a Boil-up August 3rd. And The Stanfields are lighting up the Beer Garden August 27th. Check their website and social media for tickets and more details.

Going over to Port-au-port, Newfoundland, we’ve got a pair of releases coming out of Secret Cove Brewing. First up is a twist on an existing beer. They’ve turned their flagship Apricot Wheat beer (they’ve dubbed the unofficial “Come Home Beer”) into a sour!  Come Home Beer, an Apricot Mango Sour (now with Mango!) is still 5% but is slightly tart and easily drinkable and refreshing for the summer. This is available at the taproom now and will be canned and ready for distribution across the Island in the coming weeks

Next up from Secret Cove is The Newfie Bullet. This is a lagered ale, Kolsch-inspired, that is easy drinking with a nice touch of fruity esters. It’s 4.5%  and being canned for availability across the island. It’s available now in the taproom

Once in Newfoundland, you might as well stay! Sticking with the island double-release theme, Quidi Vidi Brewing has a new release with the name of My Neighbours’ Helles. This is the 4th year of a collaboration between Newfermenters (Newfoundland homebrewing club) and QV.  This is a traditional Munich Helles with spicy German hop bite and bready, doughy malt flavour. This is a limited release, so get it while you can. It’s available now at the brewery, but will be shipped to the usual stores and NLC across the island.

The second release is a part of a series from the brewery, with Arts & IPAs 07. This one is a Junior IPA that is low on ABV and high on flavour coming in at 2.9%, this is packed with Sabro, Sultana and Mosaic hops. They call it a little juice bomb with a big punch of hops. On the Arts side, Maggie Rex’s wonderful artwork graces the label of this 473ml can available directly from the brewery and their locations

Elmsdale’s newest brewery, Good Robot, has teamed up with a new charitable group this month for the release of Goodwill Beer – Blood Orange and Field Strawberry Blonde. At 4.4% ABV, the beer description is kinda-sorta right in the name, eh? That means we can skip right to their partner in this endeavour, Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia. $0.50 from the sale of each can is going to support their raison d’etre of supporting LGBTQI+ who are displaced, escaping persecution or violence, as well as creating safer communities throughout Atlantic Canada through advocacy, education, and sponsorship. And a heads up for those in the Elmsdale area, they will be opening their Beer Garden July 30th. Open Fri, Sat, and Sun from noon until 11 PM (10 PM Sundays), there will soon be retail sales Wed-Sun when that opens mid-August. Food from their pals at Beefy Weiner.

We’ve got a few returning beers from Paradise, NL’s Banished Brewing. Paradise Town is back, but adding Passionfruit to the Mango, making it a Mango and Passionfruit Sour! It’s 5.5% and a bit more sour than their original recipe, which was more on the fruited sour end. This is available at their retail space and will be headed out to other locations throughout the week.

Back with another tweaked recipe, Space Puffin, a New England IPA, has a new yeast to bring some more haze, closer to what they originally wanted. This is still 6.0% and is available now and going out to retailers this weekend!

Serpent Brewing in Spryfield has a new beer flowing this week, which will soon be available in cans. Ophidian is a Vermouth and Barrel-aged Black Tea infused English Bitter. That is a mouthful, let us explain… Phil Holman of Halifax’s World Tea House previously aged Kenya Oolong and Black Fusion teas in barrels sourced by 2 Crows Brewing. After grabbing all of the barrel goodness, those teas were blended with Earl Grey, and then steeped in Vermouth for even more boozy character. After three days, that infusion was added to the English Bitter to result in a 6.0% ABV beer. On draught only this weekend, cans will be available next week, and a barrel-aged version of Ophidian will be released in the future.

Our pal Chef Stephen Barrett of Seasoned Plate has started a Pints & Plates 2022 effort to highlight the great beer being produced in the province, and some suggested food pairings with which to enjoy it. You can expect to spot two of these per week over the next 3 months, with Breton Brewing and Big Spruce being the first hits this week. You can follow along on the Seasoned Plate Instagram, as well as the direct link above. Check out the website for Chef Barrett’s reviews of local restaurants and bars as well!

Speaking of Breton and Big Spruce, both have new/returning beers worth seeking out (or save yourself the trouble and just order through their online portals), with the Breton Ol’ Mick’s Grapefruit IPA back in cans and draught, while Big Spruce released a new 5.2% German Helles lager at their Nyanza brewery and taproom. Stop in for refreshment!

Launched last night at King Street Beer in Bridgewater, the folks at Saltbox/Lightship/King Street Beer have released Loud and Proud Beer this week in celebration of Lunenburg Pride. The 5.25% ABV beer is light in colour and full of citrus and fruity notes, with minimal bitterness. The Lunenburg Pride organization is an advocacy group, building a more inclusive community on the South Shore, welcoming for all orientations, identities, and expressions.

In case you’re looking for an event to attend this weekend, look no further!

Happy Second Birthday to Island Folk Cider Company! You can drop by their spot in Sydney tonight, from 7 – 10 PM, to enjoy a cask of their base cider infused with fresh strawberry and rhubarb, during their 90s DJ Party. Or tomorrow, pop by from 3 – 6 PM during Music Matinee, and you can enjoy a second cask with Cranberries harvested in Port Morien and Tamarack from Mira Gut. Congratulations!

Looking for some fresh and funky drinks tomorrow? The Stillwell Freehouse is hosting a tap takeover from Toronto’s Burdock Brewery. Known for both soft and understated fruited beers, as well as hoppy ales, there will be plenty of beers on draught, bottle, and in cans. A/C inside, sunshine outside, it’ll be up to you where to sit when they open at noon on Agricola.

Welcome to full-on summer here in Atlantic Canada where our region’s breweries, cideries, and meaderies are in the full swing of tourist season and are no doubt are all pulling back-to-back-to-back brewdays for the foreseeable. We don’t have a super long post this week, but there’s certainly a few new things around that a person who loves beer ought to be aware of. So read on and inform your beer buying for the weekend!

East Duckworth’s Bannerman Brewing has a new beer on tap this week, a special take on a traditional Blonde Ale. Starting with a grist of Pilsner and Wheat malts, it was dry hopped with the French Barbe Rouge hop, before spending some time on hibiscus flowers. Offering both a brilliant pink colour and floral notes, the hibiscus complements the fruity ester notes of candied orange and strawberry from the hops and yeast. At 4.5% ABV, it’s super refreshing and light, and is available for pints and growler fills only, due to the small batch size.

New beers and events at Port Rexton this month, located on the Bonavista Peninsula. First up, the return of some fruited seasonal favourites, Summer Anthem and Gluten-Free Kiwi Sour. Summer Anthem embraces the music program at their taproom, accessible via QR code on the cans. What’s in those cans is a Coconut and Lime Milkshake IPA, made with a whole bunch of the aforementioned fruit, as well as lactose and vanilla to complete the dessert-like qualities. Plus, with the hops and brewing technique, there’s a touch of bitterness along with a light acidity to balance the sweetness. 5.8%, perfect for an afternoon delight!

For those who are looking to avoid gluten, PRBC continues to expand their GF portfolio, and the return of the Gluten-free Kiwi Sour will have plenty of you smiling once again. It was brewed with gluten-free ingredients, rather than being treated with additives after the fact, ensuring those who really need to avoid gluten can do so safely. Tart, refreshing, and bursting with kiwi, it will definitely quench your thirst! The 4.5% beer joins the Summer Anthem on tap and in cans at the brewery, as well as their St. John’s Retail Shop.

Those who make the trip to the brewery in Port Rexton today will be able to take part in the “Get Out Of Town” Concert Series, as presented by Lawna Vawnya, with Andrew Smith and DJ Kitty Kells playing from 6 PM tonight. And keep your eyes peeled for more details on next weekend’s 6th Anniversary. On Saturday, July 23, from 12 PM, there will be new beers, old favourites, plenty of food options to complement the Oh My Cheeses! food truck, plus plenty of musical acts that will have you up and on your feet! Keep an eye on their Social Media for more!

Jumping down to PEI, Village Green continues to roll out the new releases with Kylefornia. This 8% DIPA, named for the California-residing brother of a Village Green regular, lives up to its west-coast billing with additions of Crystal and Victory malt added to the base of 2-row. The hops feature a combo of traditional and modern American varieties with additions of Columbus, Cascade, Citra, and Amarillo. Cans of Kylefornia are available at the brewery now, where you can also find it on tap for pours. 

Chester’s Tanner Brewing has a new version of their Tart Saison out this week. The tweaked recipe sees the ABV reduced down to 5.7% on their kettle soured and dry hopped take on a French Saison. Expect lots of tropical and citrusy notes with the dry hop featuring the ever popular combo of Citra and Mosaic. Bottles and ours of Tart Saison are available now at both Tanner locations.

Speaking of returning favourites, Unfiltered is releasing a fresh batch of their 7.5% Inducement DIPA today. Expect tons of tropical aroma and flavour from big additions of Mosaic and Simcoe. Cans and growler fills are available now at the brewery, along with pints next door at Charm School.

And in “pretty much open” news, the latest brewery in Nova Scotia is set to serve their first beers in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, The Brewery by Quinn’s has opened their doors at 6273 Quinpool Road in Halifax. Sister to the Quinn’s Arms Pub located a few doors down, the Brewery is currently serving both local and macro beer, while their first releases are finalised. Indoor and outdoor seating, with a full food menu to complement. We’ll have more on the beer and people behind it soon!

A few beery things going on this weekend in the region:

If you find yourself in Fredericton this evening (Friday), head on over to the Joyce for a Meet the Maker tap takeover with Halifax’s 2 Crows Brewing. The event will feature the Joyce’s first ever collab brew, Ode to Joyce. This one uses a similar base recipe to 2 Crow’s regulars Jamboree and Jubilee, which feature a combo of Pilsner malt, wheat malt and flaked wheat/oats, before being slowly soured with lacto and fermented with a kviek yeast.  From there, Ode to Joyce saw a conditioning stint with watermelon and kiwi puree and a dry hop with Galaxy. Instead of being forced carbed, the kegs heading to the Joyce were spunded for a gentler, natural carbonation. A small amount was also left behind at the brewery, where it is likely to see the slushie treatment on the recently added beer slushie machine. In addition to being able to grab a pint of this one-off collab, the event will also give you a chance to talk beer with 2C brewer Jeremy Taylor.

If you find yourself in downtown Halifax tomorrow for the Pride parade, why not stop in at Stillwell HQ (the parade route goes right along Barrington St.) for an Alberta tap takeover. From noon until close, the team at Stilly will be serving up beers from the Annex Ale Project, Establishment Brewing Company, Cabin Brewing and Blind Enthusiasm, with a special menu of prairie themed snacks.