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Friday Wrap-Up for April 8, 2022 – News from Battery Park, TAPestry, Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month, Propeller, Delta Force, Lake City Cider, Unfiltered, Spindrift, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2022-04-08
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Brew For Ukraine, Candid Brewing, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Delta Force Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Island Folk Cider House, Lake City Cider, Lone Oak Brewing, Make Peace Not War Beer Project, Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Serpent Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Tapestry Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, Truro Brewing Company, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 1 comment

What a difference a week makes! While last week’s post was a quick aperitif to your weekend of cider and beer fun, today’s edition is looking like the 200+ producers in our region are awakening from their winter hibernation, and ready to roll with dozens of new releases. We’ve done our best to grab the info you’re looking for, and as always, hit us up on our Socials to ping us if there’s a great new spot or beer release you’d like us to highlight.

Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month is picking up speed, so let’s start you off with some news from Scotia, with details on some events you’ll want to be sure to check out over the next few weekends!

Tomorrow, Saturday April 9, Dartmouth’s Battery Park is hosting a New Kids tap takeover. Featuring those Nova Scotian breweries who have opened in the last 2 years, this is the first time seeing many of these breweries on tap in Dartmouth. Candid Brewing in Antigonish, Half Cocked Brewing from North Grant, Ol’ Biddy’s Brew House of Lower Sackville, Serpent Brewing hailing from Spryfield, Truro Brewing out of Truro, as well as Island Folk Cider from Sydney, may not have had the chance to ever have a full “Grand Opening” experience due to the pandemic, so this is your chance to try their beer, and maybe even chat with the owners or brewers. The kegs hit the taps at 11:30 AM opening tomorrow, and will pour all day. There will be three different offerings from each producer, so there will definitely be something right up your alley!

Mark your calendar for next Friday, April 15, as Battery Park will be hosting the release of the 2022 edition of Cerberus, the annual All-Organic American IPA release. Always bitter, unlike the breweries who produce it, this year’s three-way conspiracy saw host brewery Big Spruce welcome perennial partner Tatamagouche, and for the first time, 2 Crows Brewing. To make this a three-headed day of fun, each of the trio will also be bringing another few beers to fill out the taps, so if IPAs aren’t your thing, fear not! Again, the fun kicks off at 11:30 AM and lasts all day.

The following day, Saturday, April 16, Battery Park Beer Guru Marc Wilson tapped more than a dozen Brewmasters and Head Brewers of Nova Scotia to think about the singular beer they wanted to share, representing any combination of “what they want to drink after work”, “what represents their brewery”, “what was their first brew ever”. We’ve heard there will be quite a wide selection on the board, so again, make plans to head in there!

The following Saturday, April 23, Class of ‘97 Alumni Garrison Brewing and Propeller Brewing are teaming up for a look back, and forward, as they celebrate 25 years of slinging beer in Nova Scotia. Each brewery will be taking over half the taps with some blast from the past, current beauties, several new-beer-debuts, with a Battery Park X Garrison X Propeller special collaboration brewed just for the event completing the line-up.

And sneaking in just before the end of NS Beer Month, is the annual Halifax Burger Bash (previously known as Burger Week). Running April 28 – May 7, this is a fundraiser for Feed Nova Scotia presented by The Coast. As Saturday April 30th falls right in line with both Beer Month and Burger Bash, Battery Park is hosting a Burgers ‘N Lagers event, with nine different lagers from across the province pouring, so you’ll be sure to find a beer that pairs with their Green Chili Cheeseburger.

Doing the Good Work out in Lower Sackville, TAPestry Beer Bar is celebrating NS Craft Beer Month with plenty of great things on the go. All month long, visit their spot at 833 Sackville Drive on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday, and receive a ballot to win a mixed 24-pack of Nova Scotia Craft Beer. 2 drink minimum on this, but we’re sure there’ll be plenty of great choices enticing you! 

And why wait for Sunday if you’re thirsty tonight, right?! As if you need another reason to visit, Bryan, the Head Brewer from Antigonish’s Candid Brewing will be slinging beer and telling stories this evening at TAPestry, the first in a series guest bartenders from across the NS Beer industry to be dropping in and holding events this month. Keep your eyes peeled on their Facebook and IG page for the latest news, where you’ll be the first to peep their “Meet the Brewers” series, short videos on the history, present, and future of breweries in the province being released this month.

Phew! So, that’s every weekend sorted for the next month, how about today, what should you be ordering or picking up for the weekend ahead? Here are a few more ideas for you…

Speaking of Propeller Brewing, their Wild IPA is back on the shelves and taps today. This 6.2% funky friend is a blend of Brettanomyces-fermented IPA that has been hanging out in oak barrels for months, plus a freshly-brewed IPA chock-full of Nelson Sauvin hops. The resulting hybrid is overflowing with white wine and gooseberry notes thanks to the hops, with plenty of funky hay notes from the Brett-aged beer. On tap and in cans at all three Propeller locations (Gottingen, Windmill, and Quinpool), online for delivery and Canada-wide shipping, as well as at the private beer stores in the province, and even to some better ANBL locations. Score!

Proving that there are no size restrictions on trying to do some good in the world, one of the region’s smallest breweries, Delta Force Brewing in Greenwich, NS, a highly confidential location, is gearing up to participate in the Make Peace Not War Beer Project, an initiative where breweries pledge to share (at least) 10% of the proceeds of the sales of a given beer to charity and in return they get to use the super spiffy label provided. In this case, the folks at ∂F have elected to share 40% of the proceeds with the Ukrainian Red Cross. Since this is a no-recipe collaboration project, the brewery gets to brew what they want. In this case, it’s a dry hopped farmshed sour, coming in at 4.2% ABV and 5 IBU. Order it online and drink now for the hoppiest possible experience, or, better yet, order a couple (or a few!) and let one sit for a little while (up to two years, they say) and see how the Brett develops! Available now from the ∂F webstore for delivery. 

Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider has two new releases this week for cider fans. First up is Vanilla, a 6% ABV cider using all Nova Scotia apples, that includes an addition of steeped vanilla beans. This one features notes of cream soda and a lingering vanilla flavour. Next up is Black Currant, weighing in at the same ABV, but this time featuring pressed and fermented black currants. Expect more tannic notes from this full bodied cider that pours a delicate pink colour thanks to the fruit. Check out the taproom on Portland Street for both of these newbies.

On North Street in Halifax, Unfiltered Brewing is totally getting into the spirit of things by making sure to release a batch of their tropically delicious Inducement DIPA in time for you to enjoy during Craft Beer Month. Nobody’s going to pay you to drink it, and no, they’re not even going to give you any Airmiles for buying it (that sounds soooorta like a bit of an…inducement to us, how about you?). They’re just going to give you delicious hoppy as hell beer in return for your hard earned cash (or filthy lucre, if that’s all you’ve got). If you’re going to celebrate something about craft beer, that’s probably as good a place to start as any. Available today at noon at the brewery and for pints at Charm School.

Dartmouth’s Spindrift Brewing has queued up a new release for both their shelves at the Brewery and tasting room in Burnside as well as their taproom in Antigonish. Seeker Vanilla Stout is pretty self-descriptive, taking the coffee and chocolate notes of their Seeker Espresso Stout and upping the ante with a “massive” dose of vanilla, yielding a, “smooth, cozy, and incredibly drinkable treat.” Built on a base of Pilsner malt, with chocolate malt, Carafa III, CaraMunich, Amber, and Double-roasted Caramel specialty malts providing deep colour, richness, and roastiness, it was hopped with classic German varieties Magnum and Perle. Coming in at 6.3% ABV, it’s got some bite, but we’ll warrant that the vanilla smooths it right out. We believe this one’s been canned, so you’ll be able to grab some to go!

And just so you don’t think that all the beery fun is going down in Nova Scotia this week, here’s a smattering from at least two of the other three Atlantic Provinces!

Over to Borden-Carleton PEI for a new release that hit the taps and shelves late last week. Lone Oak Brewing plugged into Czech inspiration to create Cervene, an Amber Lager. Brewed with malt from Shoreline Malting just down the road from them, and hopped with Saaz grown by Lakeview Hop Farm of Harvey Station, New Brunswick, Cervene is Amber in appearance with a lovely Noble hop character and a floral finish, on a moderately bitter base. The beer was lagered for 6 weeks and naturally carbonated, sealing in that precious carbon dioxide for a smooth and crisp take. Available on tap and in cans at the brewery, and on draught at beer beer bars on and off the island soon.
Lone Oak has a full weekend of events, including Family Feud tonight, Live Music tomorrow, and a Sunday Brunch with live music. More details here. And for those wondering, the Milky Way Brewpub in town renovations are moving along nicely, and they are aiming for an opening in about 6 weeks. Keep an eye open here and on their SM account for the exact details, and there may even be a special cross-Confed Collab release hitting the shelves at the same time! 😉

Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewing is continuing to brew up new and interesting beers to complement their standard lineup. This week’s example is Concord Grape Sour, which they hope proves that grapes aren’t just for wine. Look for notes of that nostalgically familiar “grapiness” that you know and love from Grape Crush, Grape Freezies, and Grape Popsicles (or, as Homer Simpson so eloquently put it, “Mmmmmmm…..Puuuuurple.”) Available both in cans and on tap, you can sit at the taproom and have a pint or grab some to go. Also, if you’ll remember last week we told you that Tire Shack is expanding and are consequently looking for additional staff. They’ve let us know they are accepting resumes until the end of the month and to keep ‘em coming folks!!

Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing has a new version of a previously released beer for you this week, their Major Tom Watermelon Sour. Still 5% ABV and 12ish IBU, the change might not be immediately noticeable to the drinking public, but we’re pretty sure it’s quite a change for the brew team! Instead of souring the beer in a traditional way, brewing a wort and then letting it sour over a period of hours before running it off or introducing Lactobacillus-producing bacteria before or after regular fermentation, this beer leverages a new yeast that produces both lactic acid and alcohol at the same time! With watermelon concentrate providing a fruity and summery feel, this 5% ABV and 12 IBU beer should have you in mind of a Jolly Rancher with a little bit of malt presence from plenty of 2-row malt and Centennial hops to remind you it’s a beer. Grab it at the Brewery, CBC, Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse in Burnsdie, and, we presume, other places where you find Upstreet products.

Next month will see the 2022 edition of the annual East Coast Music Awards taking place in Fredericton from May 4th to 8th, and for the second year running, a special beer will be brewed to both celebrate and slake the thirst of attendees. This year’s beer is once again a collaboration between a consortium of breweries, with each Atlantic province represented: Garrison Brewing and Breton Brewing from NS, Quidi Vidi from NL, Upstreet in PE, and this year’s “host” brewery, Grimross from NB, who brewed the beer. Dubbed ECMAle Track 2: Fredericton, it’s a delightful light Pale Ale, from which proceeds will help to grow and promote our amazing music scene in this end of the country. Look for it to appear region-wide as the festival nears.

 

Friday Wrap-Up for March 18, 2022 – News from Port Rexton, Bannerman, Tatamagouche, Unfiltered, Garrison, Half Cocked, 2 Crows, and Maritime Spirits

Posted by acbbdamian on 2022-03-18
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Beerocracy, Garrison Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Maritime Spirits TV Show, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Tatamagouche Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing. 1 comment

Hey folks, it’s the morning after Paddy’s Day and we’re not sure about other places, but in Halifax that means it’s time for everyone’s favourite once-a-year-sport, “dodge the green puddles on your morning walk downtown.” We trust that those young and…er…enthusiastic about St. Patrick and his synonymous day had a good time and nobody was (permanently) injured. We have to admit that despite not partaking of the partying ourselves, between day jobs (that for some of us were night jobs too), travel (business for one, pleasure for another), and small humans in the house, we are a little shy on content this week. That said, it is March break in two provinces and we didn’t see a tonne of new releases out there. So enjoy what we’ve found and trust that, as always, we’ll try to do a little better next week!

Let’s start off in beautiful Port Rexton, where we have a release from last week to update you on and a fresh new collab rolling out this week. Up first is Wild Ale, brewed using Brettanomyces from Escarpment Labs. Along with loads of hops, this one also saw the addition of Sea Buckthorn puree and a hint of lactose, leading to aromas of stone fruit and a hint of Brett funk. The 5% ABV Wild Ale is currently available in cans at the taproom and the St. John’s retail location. Up next is Level Up, a collaboration with the fine folks at Bannerman Brewing. This one features some exciting new ingredients, including Escarpment’s Thiol Libre yeast and Phantasm powder, made from Sauvignon Blanc grape skins. The powder contains something called Thiol precursors, which when added during active fermentation can lead to enhanced aromas of tropical fruit. Combine that with a yeast specifically designed to also amp up the tropical notes from hops and malt, and you can expect a beer that seriously delivers on fruit aromas and flavour. Late hop additions keep the bitterness down in this hazy IPA, which comes in at 5% ABV. Cans are available now at Port Rexton’s St. John’s retail location, and on tap and in cans at Bannerman’s taproom on Duckworth Street as well as in Port Rexton proper.

Tatamagouche Brewing has a new Coffee Porter out this week with the release of Warm Winds. The beer is named after the warm winds that nurture the highland coffee growing region of Guatemala, where the coffee for this beer was grown. The Huehuetenango beans from Aroma Maya Coffee Roasters were selected for their low acidity and flavours of almond, chocolate and caramel, which complement the flavour profile of the base beer. The beer, drawing inspiration from Tata’s Baltic Porter, uses a combo of pale, German Munich, Vienna, caramel and chocolate malts. A small addition of Celeia hops was also added, prior to the beer conditioning directly on the whole beans. The final product is a smooth drinking experience, with a rich malt profile and tons of coffee flavour. Cans are available now at the brewery and for delivery/shipping via their online store. 

We previously blogged about Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing releasing a barrel-aged DIPAto benefit Ukraine relief through the Red Cross. We are happy to report that the release was a massive success, selling out within hours and raising $1345 (supplemented by breaking their “no musical requests” stance to collect donations for the cause). Unfiltered is back at it this week, this time offering a big discount on the stock of 2018 Mise en Garde Barleywine that they’ve been carefully cellaring. Normally retailing for $16/bottle, the brewery has discounted the price down to $10, with half of what you pay going directly to the Red Cross’ efforts in Ukraine. Grab one for your cellar, one for your glass this weekend and contribute to a great cause while you’re at it. Win, win, win. 

Speaking of breweries and support for the Ukraine, Halifax’s Garrison Brewing has stepped up to the Brew For Ukraine initiative in collaboration with Pravda Brewery & Beer Theatre out of Lviv. Growing from the brewing community’s desire to help the embattled country through the illegal invasion by the Russian military, and inspired by Pravda’s pivot from producing beer to producing Molotov Cocktails, over 100 breweries worldwide have signed up for the initiative. Garrison’s participation will see them releasing a limited run of their version of Pravda’s own Putin Huylo Strong Golden Ale, a 7% ABV beer (the name translates roughly to, “Putin is a dickhead,” a sentiment we’re quite firmly behind). Brewed with European and North American malts and hops, it has a medium body and a balanced hop flavour. With a label adapted from Pravda’s own Ukrainian version to fit Garrison’s 600mL bottles, this one will appear at the end of the month at the Seaport and Oxford Taproom location. Only 2,000 bottles will be packaged, and they’ll cost $10 a pop, with all profits going directly to supporting humanitarian efforts in the Ukraine through recognized charities.

Up in Antigonish, NS, or, more specifically North Grant (we can’t pick on Hanwell, NB, anymore so…), Half Cocked Brewing has a brand new beer pouring. Big Hug is both the name of the beer and a lovely sentiment as some of our provinces approach a return to almost zero COVID-related restrictions. We know lots of people who are very much looking forward to being with family in a way that they haven’t been able to in two years. The beer itself is an NEIPA boasting big juicy fruit notes on the nose, with sharp citrus leading on the palate, followed by orange and tangerine. Like many NEIPAs, this one has a slight sweetness on the finish and a smooth, silky mouthfeel. At 7% you might want to be a touch careful because we’re willing to bet it goes down like a beer with a much lower ABV. Look for it at the brewery, but on-tap only as it hasn’t been packaged! We’ll ping you if we see it in the wild across the province!

Our friends (and yours!) at 2 Crows in Halifax don’t have any new beers this week, but they’ve got a new flavour of their refreshing non-alcoholic Hop Water, Cucumber + Mint. Obviously containing cucumber and mint, but also a touch of lemon, the hop in this one is the modern German variety Hüll Melon (also known as Huell Melon) which is known for aromas of honeydew melon and strawberry. Sounds like a lovely pairing to us! And although this is a non-alcoholic beverage and that’s awesome, we can’t help but suspect it might make a nice mixer for a bit of gin. Grab some next time you’re stocking up at 2 Crows and find out!

If you’re looking to travel the Maritime provinces for beer, wine, cider, or booze this spring, and looking for a way to get a head start, be sure to check out Maritime Spirits, which aired on Bell TV1. Brought to you by the same fine folks who brought you Beerocracy, the story of craft alcohol makers in New Brunswick. And those same generous producers have recently uploaded all 10 episodes of Maritime Spirits to YouTube, so we can all check them out, regardless of home TV provider. Visiting Brasseurs du Petit-Sault, New Scotland, Red Rover Cider, Upstreet, and many more from the comfort of your couch, it’s never been easier! Let’s hope we are seeing more episodes in the future! Ask your TV provider to include more local programming…

 

Friday Wrap-Up for March 11, 2022 – News from Upstreet, Tanner, Iron Rock, Unfiltered, Garrison, Gridiron, Tatamagouche, Propeller, Grimross, Annapolis, Serpent, Ol’ Biddy’s, 2 Crows, Novum Boreas, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2022-03-11
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Garrison Brewing, Gridiron Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Iron Rock Brewing Co., Novum Boreas Brasserie, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Propeller Brewing, Serpent Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Hey hey, fellow beer aficionados in Atlantic Canada, we’ve got a rip snorter of a day going through most of the region and if it weren’t for these pesky day jobs we’d have posted earlier and bagged off down the pub for a pint or four. Sadly, day jobs pay for our beer and without beer we’d have a much harder time ignoring terrifying world events, gas prices, and inflation. Wheeeee! Although March Break is coming to an end in New Brunswick, it’s just getting underway in Nova Scotia and PEI (sorry Newfoundlanders!!) so there’s likely to be plenty more traffic in travel corridors and lots of out of towners about. Be nice, drive safe, be safe, support local (wherever you happen to be) and enjoy the new and returning beers our producers have put out as we start to believe that Spring might be a thing.

We’ll start this week’s news on Prince Edward Island, where Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing has a couple of new things on the go this week, starting with the first entry in their Million Acres series of barrel- and foeder-aged beers that we’ve seen in quite a while. Million Acres Peach Witbier is a 6% ABV and 5 IBU witbier (surprise!) featuring 2-row and wheat malts from Island Malthouse and Island-grown peaches from Bearing Fruit Acres Farm. To complete the local connection, it was aged in a foeder from New World Foeders. Dark yellow in colour, with a light haze, there’s plenty of peach and sweet aromatics on the nose along with some oak. On the palate, look for a light body and low carbonation, with subtle sweetness. Packaged in 500mL bottles, it’s available now at the brewery and Craft Beer Corner, and it’s expected to make its way to Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse in HRM by next weekend.

For those on a low- or no-alcohol program can also look forward to the latest trial batch in Upstreet’s Libra line of ultra-low ABV beers, Libra Cherry Sour. Tangy and fruity, with some elements of pie crust, and spicy cherry character courtesy of Montmorency cherries, it’s only 0.4% ABV and 30 calories (6g carbs)! Look for this one at the brewery and CBC this weekend and again, BBQ Brewhouse next weekend. And a reminder that if you’re looking for a Paddy’s Day tipple that won’t leave you painting the town green, the award-winning Libra Non-alcoholic Stout is widely available at Sobeys locations in Atlantic Canada and select liquor stores and independent retailers across the country!

Down in Chester, Nova Scotia, Tanner & Co. have a new beer available featuring everyone’s favourite regionally native yeast, Escarpment Labs x Big Spruce Brewing Scotia Sauvage. Part of a series of beers Tanner has been making with that yeast, Sauvage Gose is what it says on the tin, er, bottle, a tart and slightly saline 4.8% brew with additional hints of coriander. Also featuring local malts in the mix, with Shoreline Pilsner and wheat, you’ll find it at the brewery, at the Tanner taproom in Chester proper, and tap accounts as well. And look for another Sauvage beer to be released in a couple weeks as well!

Way (way!) up in the Big Land, Lab City’s own Iron Rock Brewing has a brand new concoction they’re calling Hyperbole and it’s no exaggeration that this one is chock full of stuff: it’s billed as a double dry hopped passion fruit milkshake IPA at 6.2% ABV. Featuring plenty of mouthfeel and creaminess from flaked oats and lactose, Citra was added in the kettle and tropical El Dorado and Sabro at dry hop, with plenty of passion fruit puree bumping up the fruity component and vanilla bean smoothing it all out. Sounds like quite a ride for your tastebuds. Degree of difficulty? This one’s only available on tap at the brewery, so only local palates need apply.

Continuing their long tradition of partnering up with local sports teams and organisations, Halifax’s Garrison Brewing has a new beer out in association with the newest league in town, the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association and also in celebration of International Women’s Day. Introduced at Garrison’s Seaport location on IWD, Courtside ISA is an India Session Ale described as a “sip of sunshine.” Built on a base of 2-row and Carapils malts, and hopped with Azacca, Topaz, and Idaho 7 varieties, it comes in with low bitterness and a lovely and light 4.3% ABV. And with $0.50 from every can sold going to the MWBA, you can doubly justify having a few! Look for it at the brewery and wherever else you get your Garrison brews.

Although you’ve already missed your chance to get it, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing brought out a very special beer yesterday with a very special cause. Free Ukraine! is/was a small-batch of 9% barrel-aged DIPA designed to be consumed both now, in solidarity, and later to celebrate the end of the conflict. Selling for $10/can, half of that was donated to Red Cross Ukraine Relief. If you didn’t get your hands on some, there’s more good news, however, as we’ve got a new batch of a single-hop DIPA from Unfiltered to tell you about as well. Featuring Idaho 7 hops, known for very tangerine-like character, slightly sweeter and more round than Citra, but still with some bite, Positively Shocking is almost certainly in the vicinity of 7.5% ABV and also no doubt a worthy entry in the series. And if you did miss the Free Ukraine!, maybe grab some Positively Shocking and throw a few bucks at Red Cross Ukraine Relief anyway!

Heading over to New Brunswick, where Gridiron Brewing in the Kennebecasis Valley has a new beer pouring. Midterm is just in time to celebrate the end of NB’s March Break, although it sounds like it’s going to be a regular brew on the roster. Tropical and hazy, it’s an NEIPA at 6.8% ABV and 36 IBU, just enough bite to keep from being cloying. You’ll find it already pouring at the brewery and it appears there are cans to go as well; look for it to also start appearing at Gridiron tap accounts in the region.

Back to NS and the North Shore of the province, where Tatamagouche Brewing has another new lager for us to enjoy. Kyral Maibock is a little early for Spring, when the Maibock style was traditionally ready after a winter of lagering, but we’re not complaining. Bigger, darker, maltier, and hoppier than most of the lagers North Americans are generally used to, it’s a burly 6.6% ABV built on German Pilsner malt with a bit of Munich and Pale malts to add some depth and then hopped for balance with Hallertauer Hersbrücker and Saaz. Fermented low and slow using a Czech yeast strain from Escarpment Labs, it’s a bright amber colour with tasting notes of cereal and honey, finishing with a restrained malty sweetness. Look for it in cans from the brewery or wherever you get your Tata, and don’t be surprised to see it on tap at your favourite Tata tap account as Spring arrives in earnest.

You may recall a few months ago that Propeller dipped its toes into the Cold IPA style with the release of Talus. This take on IPA uses a cooler fermentation temperature to mimic the crispy drinking experience more commonly associated with lagers or lagered ales. Their next iteration of the style is out today with Eclipse Cold IPA. Look for lots of citrus notes, including mandarin, and a hint of fresh pine from the Eclipse hops. Coming in at 6.1% ABV, it’s available now at all three Prop Shops, for shipping/delivery through their online store, and will also be at Bishop’s Cellar next weekend. 

Up in Fredericton, NB, Grimross Brewing has put together their first full-time IPA after several years of business. Keeping ingredients as local as possible, they’re calling it an “East Coast IPA with a Maritime and Grimross twist.” At 6.5% ABV and 60 IBU, they focused on drinkability with this one, as you’d expect for a beer they’re planning to keep available year round. Look for Maritime IPA to appear any day now at the brewery on tap and in cans to go.

We tend to focus on ale, lager and cider in our weekly posts, but there’s a fourth variety of fermented beverage that ACBB is also happy to see occasionally hit the tap lines of the Atlantic provinces. That beverage is mead, and Annapolis Brewing Company is releasing their first take on the category this weekend. Royal Mead is a sparkling standard mead that uses locally sourced honey. Drinking more like a wine, meads are often higher in alcohol than beer or cider, and this one is no exception, coming in at 9% ABV. Many meads are also served still, but this one has been well carbonated to give it that sparkling quality. Expect notes of honey, flowers, lemon and melon, and a slightly tart finish. Royal Mead is on tap now in Downtown Annapolis Royal and has also been bottled to take home with you.

Spryfield’s Serpent Brewing has a new release out this weekend from its Beer Creation experience. Mannenknot (Dutch for man bun) is their take on the Dutch style of Lentebock. A style that we can’t recall seeing released in the Maritimes before, originally quaffed for nutrition by monks during their lenten fast, Lentebock most closely resembles a Maibock, but finishes with a more pronounced bitterness. Serpent’s version comes in at 6.4%, pouring a dark caramel colour and featuring light notes of roasted malt. Find it on tap and in to-go bottles today. If you’re thinking of grabbing a pint, the Hodadds will be playing tonight (Friday) at 8:00 PM. Dominic’s food truck, serving up awesome pizza, will be there for lunch Saturday at noon, and to top it off, Sunday night will feature music trivia, beginning at 6:30 PM.

Just in time for Paddy’s Day, Ol Biddy’s is re-releasing Molly Johnson, their Dry Irish Stout. Coming in at a sessionable 4.3% ABV, look for notes of chocolate and coffee, with enough bitterness at 33 IBUs to keep things nicely balanced. Sticking with the Irish theme (and naming scheme), Patrick O’Neil Irish Red will also be returning to the taproom. Finally, keep an eye out for Biddy Light, which will soon be available at NSLC locations across HRM. 

Only one event to chat up this week, but it’s a fun-looking one!

Although we’re not quite in Phase 3 yet here in Nova Scotia, 2 Crows Brewing can’t help themselves but start bringing people together again; and what better reason to do so than to drink beer? Está bien, they’ve come up with a super novel and fun way to enable some quality beer drinking: enter The Tube Gala! Having acquired for themselves some delightful 9¼ oz (275-ish ml) glassware with a distinctive tube shape, along with some jaunty wooden carriers, their staff is ready to “keep ‘em coming.” If you’re up for participation, let your bartender know and you’ll be issued a coaster with a green crow side and a red crow side. Simply keep your green crow facing up as long as you’d like them to continue to replace your empty tube with a fresh full one and flip it over (red side up) when you’d like the tube train to stop. Your bartender will keep track of how many you’ve had and at the end of your session you’ll pay $3.50 per tube consumed. Sounds like efficient beer delivery to us!! What will be in those tubes, you might ask? Why AC Light Lager, of course! This first edition of what we expect will be many Tube Galas will take place tomorrow, Saturday, March 12th, starting at noon and running until close at 10 PM. To top it all off, Luke’s Fried Chicken (of Luke’s Small Goods fame) will be popping up to provide you with some of the finest fried chicken the city has to offer along with a few other select menu items. Running during the Tube Gala from 12 noon, they’ll stop when they sell out, which based on experience is likely to be earlier rather than later. Beer (in TUBES!!) Fried Chicken!! What more could you ask for?!

Let’s end this week’s news with word of a brewery that has opened recently, serving the thirsty folks in Saint Quentin, New Brunswick. Novum Boreas opened its doors in late February, welcoming locals and visitors alike to their taproom and retail spot at 249 Rue Canada. Launching with Feelin’ Light, a 5.0% ABV Blonde featuring all New Brunswick grown and processed at the nearby La Maison Fils du Roy malt house, and Igniferous Double-Dry Hopped 6.5% American IPA (brewed with Idaho 7, Mosaic, and Citra, and fermented with new fave Verdant yeast. And launched this week is a New England IPA Kombucha Radler, a NEIPA blended with GreenWhale Raspberry and Mint Kombucha. Also on tap currently is Petit-Sault’s Saison. Novum Boreas’ taproom is open from 4 PM Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 PM Fridays and Saturday from noon, so pop by and wish a warm welcome to the newest brewery in our region!