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Friday Wrap-Up – News from 2 Crows, Lazy Bear, Mill Street Brewpub, Port Rexton, Graystone, TrailWay, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2017-04-07
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Acadie-Broue, ANBL, Flying Boats Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Graystone Brewing, Lazy Bear Brewing, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Maybee Brewing, Mill Street Brewpub, Picaroons, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Red Rover Craft Cider, Saint John Beer Fest, Saltbox Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good morning, and welcome to another Friday… as usual, chock-full of news on beer releases, events, and more! Let’s skip the chit chat and dive right in:

• It’s another week, which means at least one new 2 Crows beer is being released! Tomorrow at noon, they’ll be tapping Sunny Days, a “Sunflower seed Brett Saison”. Brewed with home-malted sunflower seeds (which made up 20% of the grist) as well as Pilsner, Vienna, Acid, and Wheat malts, the beer was fermented with a combination of Brettanomyces bruxellensis and a “funky Saison yeast”, bringing it to 7.1% ABV (and hopped to 27 IBUs). We’re not sure what exactly to expect with this one, but as usual for many 2 Crows special releases, you can’t deny that it sounds interesting! There’ll only be one keg of this beauty pouring, so get down to the taproom to give it a try. In addition, two kegs of a new, “slightly spicier” batch of Lil’ Miguel Aztec Stout will be tapped next Friday (April 14th), followed by a keg of Crosswired – a beer fermented with a mixture of a “wild” yeast strain and a wine yeast strain – on Thursday, April 20th; look for some Crosswired to also appear at the 2 Crows Battery Park Tap Takeover on April 13th.

• This week in Smith’s Cove, Lazy Bear Brewing made two new brews available. The Folly IPA with wild yeast that we wrote about two weeks ago has finally meandered its way through the system and was released last night at the brewery during their weekly growler night. This tropical fruity delight may not make it to the city so you’ll have to head down to the brewery or catch it at the Annapolis Farmers and Traders Market or one of the brewery’s regular tap accounts. Earlier in the week, as they waited for the Folly to finish, The Once-Over was released. This is a version of their Bear Bones IPA that was different enough to justify a new moniker. Still brewed with Wild Turkey hops from Ontario, this 5.9% ABV brew was dry-hopped with that variety along with classic American Cascade and Chinook that are sure to bring citrus and pine to the aroma. Like the Folly, this one is available in the usual places, but some apparently also made its way to Battery Park in Dartmouth, so keep your eyes out for it to appear there.

• Mill Street Brewpub in St. John’s has been busy, with a few new beers on tap now, or coming very soon. Lukey’s Bock is a traditional-style German Helles/Mai Bock, meaning light in colour with Munich malt-derived sweetness and aromatics. Named after the ship in the harbour of the same name, the 6.5% ABV Bock is on tap at their Mill Street/Bier Markt location only. Coming very soon from them is Right Off the Hop, a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) featuring El Dorado hops. This Double IPA took more than 6 kilograms of hops in their 8 hL system, for big bitterness and a massive pineapple aroma and flavour.

• Debuting next Wednesday, April 12, is a collaboration that Mill Street did with the Port Rexton Brewing Crew. Planned months ago during a trip to Port Rexton, and brewed in mid-March when PR made the return trip, the cross-province Dunkelweizen will be launched in a big way. At 5.2% ABV, 22 IBUs, the Dark German Wheat beer features the iconic banans and clove aromatics, reminiscent of banana bread. The debut is a ticketed event, which gets you a pint of Port Rexton new IPA, a pint of Mill Street’s Black Bart’s, plus a celebratory pint of their collaboration. A Mac & Cheese bar, featuring the wares of St. John’s own Five Brothers Cheese, will be set up to keep your stomach from growling, and going all night. Tickets are available by phone (709-383-7070), and are selling quickly, so be sure to grab them today!

• Fredericton’s Graystone Brewing recently launched their second Lager, an India Pale Lager named Alpen IPL. Described by the brewery as an “earthy, amber IPL with amble bitterness and a clean, soft mouthfeel”, the grist contains Crystal and Munich malt to achieve the beer’s colour and malt character. Hopped with Columbus and Centennial to 70 IBUs, it was fermented with a dry German Lager yeast, and then lagered at cool temperatures for 5 weeks before packaging. Coming in at 6% ABV, it’s on tap now at the brewery for pints and growlers/crowlers, and is likely showing up at licensees across the city.

• Sticking with Fredericton beers, TrailWay released their Porter a couple nights ago, a one-off that will only be available on tap at the brewery’s tasting room for the first week. Sessionable at only 4.7% ABV, it shows off some roast and chocolate character, with a medium-bodied mouthfeel and a dry, slightly bitter finish from the use of dark malts. Look for it to pop up around New Brunswick for next weekend’s ANBL growler program. And be sure to grab some cans of Luster, which has just returned and is as fresh as you can get it right now!

• And not to be left out, Maybee Brewing also has a new beer available! Tailwind is a “New England Session IPA” (read: cloudy/hazy with big hop aromas and flavours, but not big bitterness) that was hopped heavily with Mosaic, as well as additions of Amarillo, Cascade, and Chinook. Fermented with a Vermont Ale strain from Escarpment Labs to give even more tropical, citrusy, stone fruit characteristics, it all comes together in a highly drinkable 4.8% ABV, 45 IBUs package. And speaking of packaging, it’s available now in 16 oz cans at the brewery (and soon at other brewery stores in NB), and on tap at Maybee accounts.

• And even more Fredericton news, as Red Rover is releasing a very special cider next week. They’ve “carefully chosen the best apples New Brunswick has to offer,” including their favourite heritage Russet and Crab apples, to bring a very limited, 400 bottle production of Orchard Reserve 2016. An English Extra Dry cider that clocks in at 7.2% ABV, this one involved a slow fermentation process, followed by an additional 6 months of aging, enhancing the “subtle spice and delicate honey notes”. These 750 mL bottles ($16.50 each) will be sold only at the Ciderhouse and participating Farmers’ Markets, so be sure to grab a couple before they’re gone! They’ll be officially released next Wednesday at noon.

• Halifax’s Tidehouse Brewing should have a brand new one-off popping up today or through the weekend, a Saison named Pied de Lapin. Described by the brewery as a dry, “French/Belgian Saison”, it was hopped predominantly with Wakatu (WHACK-a-tu? wah-KA-tu?), a New Zealand variety, as well as some Centennial. The Wakatu comes through with “prominent notes of lime zest, backed by subtle melon”. Highly drinkable at 5.6% ABV, look for it on tap at Stillwell and Battery Park, as well as available for growler fills at the brewery retail store, and Halifax Forum Farmers Market.

• In Saint John, Loyalist City is bringing out a new beer in their One Hop Series, but let us know there’s been some changes to the recipe for that series. First, they’ve found a supplier for the yeast made famous by John Kimmich’s Alchemist Brewery in Vermont and have decided to ferment all their One Hop beers with it. Known in brewing circles as Conan, this yeast is known for producing an ester profile featuring stone fruit and light citrus notes that is very complimentary to modern American and New World hop varieties. It’s also known for producing a hazy final product consistent with the New England IPA style. Second, they’ve tweaked the recipe to give the beer a little more body and increased hop flavour and aroma. The first beer to be made with the new recipe is Summer named, as always, after the single hop used in producing it. Summer hops are an Australian variety known for imparting citrus and stone fruit flavours and aromas. Look for melon and apricot on the nose and for the hops and yeast to complement each other nicely. Summer comes in at 5.5% ABV and 65 IBU. It will be available at the Cask & Kettle and other local tap accounts this week.

• Loyalist City has also released another new brew, Württemberg Weissbier. A classic German Hefeweizen, this cloudy, light golden, refreshing ale was brewed with 100% German malt, hops, and yeast. The Wheat and Pilsner malt enjoyed a three-part step mash (three temperature rests) to increase the development of banana and clove flavours expected in the style, which are also produced during fermentation from the Weizen yeast strain. Brewed with soft water in an attempt to replicate the low-mineral-content water of Plzeň, Germany, the resulting 5% ABV beer features a “pleasing banana-clove aroma that is complemented by a moderate bready malt flavour”. And for you history buffs, the beer is named after Württemberg, the historical German territory that was home to the majority of the German-Canadian settlers that helped to colonize the Atlantic Canadian provinces. This highly-carbonated beer should be available now at your favourite LC tap account, and is also at select ANBL growler stations this weekend (check out which ones here).

• In Dartmouth, Spindrift released their highly anticipated Barrel O’ Cherries this week. Winner of the Gold Medal at the DownEast Brewing Awards in Fredericton last month in the Experimental Beer category, this is their Abyss dark lager that was aged in red wine barrels for 12 months and then racked onto sour cherries for further aging before being bottled with help from North Brewing and their bottler. Those who tasted it at the Fredericton Craft Beer Fest or the Savour Food & Wine Festival Craft Beer Cottage Party in Halifax have the inside scoop on this one. At 4.5% ABV it’s not a heavy hitter, but flavour wise you’ll taste big cherry notes married to bold chocolatey and roasty dark malt flavours. Some have likened the overall character to that of a Black Forest Cake. This is a limited edition beer with only 78 cases produced, and you can only get it at the brewery in Burnside.

• Acadie-Broue has brought back a blast-from-the-past, recently releasing La Boloxée, best described as a dark Saison. Brewer Patrice Godin took the base of his Tintamarre Saison and darkened it by steeping a large amount of Midnight Wheat malt, to “stain” the wort. This gives a minimal roast character in the finish, while preserving the Farmhouse flavours of orange and pepper. Expect this beer to finish extremely dry, as a longer-than-usual fermentation brought the final gravity all the way down to 1.000, a reading usually reserved for ciders! The final numbers are 6.6% ABV and 30 IBUs. It’s currently on tap at Le Coude, James Joyce, and should pop up at Marky’s Laundromat, if it isn’t on already.

As always, there’s plenty of beer-related events going on in our region; here’s a few you should be paying particular attention to:

• The annual Saint John Beer Fest is tomorrow, April 8th; while tickets are sold out, you can add your name to the waiting list here, just in case! In the meantime, those of you lucky enough to currently have tickets can check out the full beer list here, and plan your attack! Plenty of beer and cider will be pouring, including a few special releases.

• Leading into the Saint John Beer Fest tomorrow, PEI Brewing Company will be taking over the taps this evening starting at 5:00 pm at McGill’s. Pints will be $5 all night, with 8 PEIBC brews on the go, including some new ones. Look for Big Don Belgian Coffee Blonde, Tasman Pale Ale and Black Lager in particular along with some Gahan faves. And if you miss that, rest assured that PEIBC will be in full effect at the beer fest on Saturday.​

• Since opening their doors in July of 2016, Port Rexton Brewing Co. has been inundated with emails and calls asking, “How do I start a brewery in Newfoundland?” In response, they’ve decided to take the amazingly forthcoming step of hosting an open house/open books event on April 14th and 15th. On Friday night there will be a social at the brewery from 1800 – 2200h. Saturday will feature a brewday, with mash in commencing promptly at 0700h after which Port Rexton will open their books and their database to answer as many questions as they can from the group, likely ending around 1400h. On the table are questions about the NLC, suppliers, equipment, funding opportunities, regulatory considerations and provincial requirements. It’s no secret that Newfoundland is a very difficult place to open a brewery and this outreach to the brewing community by Port Rexton less than a year into their operations is commendable. So if you’re very serious about opening a brewery in NL and actively working towards that goal, and you’re interested in hearing from some folks who’ve managed to do it, you can email beer@portrextonbrewing.com to register. Space is limited.

• The Brewnettes, a Ladies Beer League in Newfoundland, has scheduled their April event, a Pizza Party on Thursday, April 20th. The event will take place at Quidi Vidi Brewery in St. John’s and will consist of a brewery tour at 1830h, a tasting at 1900h and finally pizza at 2000h. It’s $15 to attend, and you’ll want to check in on the event’s Facebook page to show your interest. After the highly successful axe-throwing event in March, this is sure to be a blast for everyone involved.

• Not content to limit themselves to the Dark Side of the harbour with their tap takeover at Battery Park next week, 2 Crows will aim for total HRM domination by following that up with another takeover a week later at the Stubborn Goat! On Friday, April 21st, starting at 1900h, you’ll find 8-10 2 Crows beers on tap at the Goat with samples and a special price on flights. No cover and live music round out the package. Buy a flight and you’ll receive a ballot to win tickets to the 2 Crows Brewer’s Brunch. “Brewer’s Brunch?” you ask? Yes, the very next day, Saturday, April 22, from 1300-1500h, you’ll find another 2 Crows event at the Goat where Jeremy Taylor will prove he’s not actually chained to his mash tun by making an appearance. Tickets are $39 per person and entitle you to four 12oz beers, each a 2 Crows offering that’s been paired with a course from the kitchen. You can see which beers and the food they’ve each been paired with on the event’s Facebook page. Space is limited, so if you’re interested you’ll want to email tyler@stubborngoat.ca.

• In Stillwell news, they’ve got another premium European tap takeover in the works for April 22 that’s got fans of forward-thinking beers all a-titter. To Øl is a gypsy brewery from Denmark. Started by students of Mikkel Borg Bjergsø of Mikkeller (not just beer-wise, he taught them in high school!), Tobias Emil Jensen and Tore Gynther started brewing with their Bjergsø in their school’s kitchen (high school is different in Europe, apparently) in 2005. While he moved on to start Mikkeller, they continued to hone their brewing craft before opening their own brewery in 2010. In addition to their beer, they’ve got Scandinavian brewpubs BRUS in Copenhagen, the recently-opened BRUS Bar Oslo, and, with Mikkeller, are part of the group behind the lambic-focused Koelschip. To quote the gang at Stillwell, “Quality is guaranteed, mind-expansion highly likely.” From Brett-aged Table Beer, Dry-hopped Sours, Gose, to Barrel-Aged Saison and Imperial Coffee Stouts, there is something for everyone pouring on the 22nd. If you liked the Mikkeller takeovers in December and January or are sad you missed them, this is another chance to drink on the leading edge of beermaking.

• It’s too late if you don’t already have a ticket, but Stillwell is hosting a Tastes of the World event on Sunday, April 23. Hosted by Stephen Beaumont, author or co-author of ten books, including The World Atlas of Beer, two editions of The Great Canadian Beer Guide, and The Beer & Food Companion, it will be a guided tasting of eight of the world’s best beers, several of which have never been available in NS. Four of the beers will be paired with thoughtfully selected cheeses. As you sip and munch, Mr. Beaumont will provide tasting notes, some history about the beers, and details on how they were made. Tickets are were $36.50 each – they sold out extremely quickly. If you didn’t get one, but wish you had, maybe let the fine folks at Stillwell know; perhaps if enough additional interest is shown we’ll see another such event scheduled (can you tell none of us acted quickly enough to get tickets?). The good news for those who are missing out on the tasting is that some of the beers that will be served (including Stilly’s last keg of Nectarous from Four Winds Brewing) will be available after the event. And a few new-to-the-province bottles will hit the fridge that day, Blond d’Esquelbeq from Brasserie Thiriez and Brasserie de la Senne Taras Boulba, classics in the Saison style.

• Garrison will be co-hosting a Brew and Bites Dinner with Harbourstone Sea Grill & Pour House on Thursday, April 27. It will feature an IPA tasting menu that pairs 5 courses from Executive Chef Trevor Simms with beers from Brewmaster Daniel Girard. Tickets are $55 and can be reserved by calling 902.428.7852 or emailing harbourstone@marriott.com. You can see details on the food and beers in this post on Garrison’s Instagram.

A few more things today:

– The ANBL has expanded their Growler Program further recently. When opening their new location at Corbett Centre in Fredericton (after closing the Prospect Street location), they upraded to 4 taps. The ANBL in Newcastle now features a growler station as well.
– Flying Boats is releasing their Stagecoach Amber Ale just in time for this weekend’s Saint John Beer Fest. This collaboration with Craig Pinhey features strong caramel and raisin/dark fruit characteristics from the malts, and was bittered using NB-grown Cascade. The 5.5% ABV and 29 IBUs brew is available at the Shediac Beach brewery’s local accounts as well as at the Fest.
– Picaroons is looking for the cutest, smartest, or most distinct cat to once again grace the label of their MelonHead Watermelon Wheat beer. Submissions are open until May 2nd, with all of the details available here.
– Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing released The Loyalist, a beer they are describing as a “Yorkshire Olde Ale”. At 6.7% ABV, it has notes of biscuit and light herbaceous qualities from the traditional Fuggles hops used in the boil. Fermented with Nottingham for a dry finish.

Friday Wrap-Up – News From Firkenstein, Bootleg Brew Co, Nine Locks, Moth Lane, Grimross, and a whole lot more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2017-02-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Acadie-Broue, Annapolis Cider Company, Bootleg Brew Company, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Cask and Kettle Irish Pub, Craft Beer Cottage Party, FirkinStein Brewing, Flying Boats Brewing, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Gore Farm Brewery, Graystone Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Maybee Brewing, Nine Locks Brewery, North Brewing, Picaroons, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Roof Hound Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tide & Boar Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, TrailWay Homebrew Challenge, Unfiltered Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday folks, we hope that digging out wasn’t too much of an ordeal for those of you who got snowed on last night. We’ll warn you now that this is a ridiculously long post; you may want to plan a second lunch to finish reading it. Possibly one that includes a beer. We’ve got some suggestions below as to how you might make that happen along with some new brewery news and some options for those who might want to center their Valentine’s Day around their love for beer. Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er.

• South Shore’s FirkinStein Brewing has released their first foray into the Double IPA style, with Cut of Our Jib. Weighing in at 8.6% ABV, it was hopped exclusively with Cascade and Citra throughout the boil, and into the dry-hop, for a solid 100 IBU bitterness, but with plenty of citrus aroma and flavour. Grab the beer at their Farmers’ Market stall in Lunenburg on Thursdays, and by appointment at the brewery in the evenings (but be sure to reach out via Facebook or Twitter first). It may even make it on tap on the South Shore or HRM; keep an eye on their social media feeds for the latest information.

• Heads up west-island Newfoundland beer drinkers: a pair of fellow beer fans are looking to open a brewery this summer, and would love to get you involved! Bootleg Brew Co has announced that they are in the process of getting their licensing and brewing system, with the plan to open a location in Corner Brook in the next six months. While working in the food industry, Matt Tilley and Morgan Turner tried their hand at homebrewing, and were extremely pleased with the results, and after encouragement from family and friends, are looking to turn it into a business. Planning on a 3.5 hl (3BBL) system, they have turned to crowdfunding to assist with some of the costs. Check out more details in a recent CBC article, and check out their IGG campaign, on until March 1st. We’ll share updates as they progress in their transition to professional beer producers.

• Dartmouth’s Nine Locks Brewing is releasing a brand new beer today, Fathom Double IPA. The name may sound a bit familiar, but it is a brand new beer, based loosely on Rockbottom Brewpub Fathom IPA, winner of the Gold Medal at the 2016 ACBAs in the IPA category. The hazy orange Double IPA clocks in at 8.0% ABV, and has a hefty 90 IBU, derived from Centennial, Citra, El Dorado, and Summit added throughout the brewing and conditioning, for notes of citrus and melon on the nose, and orange and stone fruit flavour. Grab it in growlers and cans at the brewery at noon, and in cans at the private stores, including at Cristall Wine, where they will be pouring samples of it today from 4-6pm.

• Moth Lane Brewing, in Ellerslie, PEI, has recently released a Hefeweizen, the iconic unfiltered wheat beer, originating in the Bavarian region of Germany. Refreshing and juicy thanks to the yeast clove and banana characteristics, Weizen Up B’ye is 5.0% ABV, with a light 11 IBU bitterness. Grab a pint or growler this weekend at the brewery, including tomorrow evening, when The Galley Food Truck will be set up slinging food, and there will be an open mic/jam session in the brewery taproom.

• There’s a new Belgian Dubbel available from Petit-Sault, Colonel John Baker. This is a different beer altogether from their first Dubbel, Simone Hébert, which was originally released in the fall of 2015. Brewed with lots of Dark Belgian Candi Syrup to give the classic-Dubbel notes of “dark fruit and mild chocolate”, some Chocolate malt was also used in the grist to accentuate these characteristics. Described as “rich, malty, and fruity, with a surprisingly-dry finish”, it weighs in at 6.8% ABV. It’s available for pints and growler fills at the brewery in Edmundston, and should be available at all ANBL growler stations this weekend. Look for it to pop up in bottles, soon!

• Fredericton’s Grimross has just released the first beer in their new Scratch series, which will be a realm for the brewery to experiment with new recipes and one-offs. Scratch #1: Lager is the brewery’s first venture into Lager territory, with a “simple, clean-yet-flavourful Lager”. With all-Pilsner malt in the grist, it was hopped with Magnum, Saaz, and New Brunswick-grown Cascade, and fermented cool with a Lager yeast strain. It pours with a pale straw colour, and a “slightly grainy and honey aroma with a crisp, dry finish”, according to owner/brewer Stephen Dixon. Supremely drinkable at 4.7% ABV, it’s available on tap now at the brewery taproom. Expect to see their next release in this series, Scratch #2: Belgian IPA, soon!

• Staying with Fredericton, there’s a couple of new beers out from Graystone this week, and we have a few details on both of them. First up is Bushwhack Bitter, their take on the sessionable English style, Ordinary Bitter (aka Standard Bitter). Ordinary in name only, this is meant to be an easy-drinking, fairly-bitter beer with some pleasant malt complexity. Bushwhack Bitter was hopped to 30 IBUs with U.K. Fuggles and New Brunswick Goldings, and comes in at 3.9% ABV. Next is their Single Track Pale Ale, a 5.2% ABV, 30 IBUs American Pale Ale hopped primarily with Citra, an American variety well known to beer geeks everywhere. Described by the brewery as “light, refreshing, and flavourful with citrus and peach flavours”, it’s available at the brewery for pints, growlers, and crowlers, along with the new Bitter.

• Graystone is also re-releasing their White IPA, Mont Blanc, today. This collaboration with soon-to-open Gore Farm Brewery (out of St. Stephen), was originally released in late December, and is returning due to popular demand. Check out our previous post here for more details on the beer, and the Gore Farm link above for a Q&A we published with the brewery, yesterday.

• Over in Moncton, Tide & Boar Brewing continues to experiment with new beers. They have just tapped Mute Saison, their first take on the classic Saison, a wonderful Belgian style that is open for multiple interpretations by brewers. Hopped with New Zealand Wakatu and U.S. Lemondrop, it finishes very dry, with “floral and lemon notes”, and at 6.8% ABV may sneak up on you, so sip wisely! T&B have also released version 2 of their Lemondrop IPA, an American IPA hopped entirely with, yes, Lemondrop. Look for both on tap at the brewpub. And if you’re in Saint John and are aching to try some T&B beer, good news – the Cask & Kettle has a keg of their Forum Pale Ale, a new version fermented with a Vermont yeast strain.

• Meanwhile, at the Université de Moncton’s Bar Le Coude, Acadie-Broue has two beers that were just tapped last night. Let’s start with Tricole – a Belgian Tripel, it was named after the Acadian term to describe someone who staggers/stumbles from having too much alcohol. Fittingly, it’s a strong beer at 8% ABV, which is typical for the Tripel style. Made with all Pilsner malt (many Tripels are brewed with the addition of sugar) and hopped with German Hersbrucker, it was fermented with a high gravity Trappist yeast, resulting in a very dry beer with “candy-like and pepper” qualities, and is quite drinkable despite it’s high ABV.

• Next up from Acadie-Broue is another strong one, Kazakh, inspired by the Russian Imperial Stout style. Named after another Acadian expression, synonymous to “daredevil”, it was brewed with plenty of specialty malts, including Chocolate, Crystal 120 L, Victory, Midnight Wheat, and Oats, to give a dark, roasty beer that will leave you plenty warm, thanks to its 8% ABV. Hopped with Magnum for a bittering charge only (to 50 IBUs), it was fermented with a neutral American yeast strain. This is actually the 3rd batch for this beer, as demand has greatly exceeded the brewery’s expectations!

• Roof Hound Brewing and Tatamagouche Brewing have teamed up for their first collaboration brew, Chocolate Sauced, brewed at Roof Hound a couple of weeks ago. This is a big beer at 9% ABV, and was brewed with four different types of chocolate (!): dark Chocolate malt, Chocolate Rye, and Chocolate Wheat in the mash, and cocoa added in the kettle (along with some lactose powder and Dark Candi Sugar). Both RH and TataBrew will be releasing the beer at their breweries tomorrow, with both holding special launch parties featuring live music to celebrate this “Chocolate Imperial Stout”.

• Speaking of Tatamagouche, they released the latest of their Giant Beer Series this week, Quad.  Their take on the Belgian Quadrupel style, this 10.3% ABV beer features a base of Pilsner malt, with Vienna, CaraAroma, and Chocolate for some complexity, with Dark Candi Syrup for the iconic colour and dark fruit component to the aroma and flavour. A modest 35 IBU (for the ABV) is achieved using Saaz and Hallertau Mittelfruh, to partially offset the high alcohol and body. The beer was bottle conditioned in 650mL bottles, and is available exclusively at the brewery now (with a very small part of the batch available in kegs soon). They will be pouring a special casked version of the Quad, aged on Muscat grape skins Saturday, during the Chocolate Sauced launch event.

• Tata has also released Deadeye Double IPA, with a few tweaks since last year’s release. It now features Vermont Ale yeast, resulting in a slightly hazy beer. It still showcases lots of Hallertau Blanc hops, for a light grape and passionfruit and pineapple aromatics, with Cascade and Chinook lending their hand to the recipe. Kegs have been delivered to their HRM accounts, and the beer will be available on tap and in cans beginning today at the brewery, and at the private stores very shortly.

• TrailWay has released their Black IPA in cans for the first time. Black Hops (yes, the “1” has been dropped from the name) has been changed slightly from its last release, with an adjustment to the grain bill to allow for a “softer chocolate flavour”, as well as… more hops! Lots of Citra and Mosaic were added to boost the citrus and tropical flavours and aromas, it comes in at 7% ABV. Available at the brewery now, and in select ANBL stores soon.

• And while on the topic of TrailWay, we forgot to mention the results of their 1st annual Homebrew Challenge last Friday… sorry ’bout that! Local homebrewer Pierre Gagnon took the top spot in the American IPA contest, with his Hoppy McHazy winning out among close to 30 entries. This 7% ABV IPA is hopped with Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe; Pierre will be brewing his beer on TW’s system next week. When released, a portion of the beer will be available in cans, so be prepared to stock up! Congrats, Pierre!

• Flying Boats will be releasing this year’s take on their Lover’s Quarrel IPA next week… a little later than planned, thanks to one of the lovely ice storms we’ve been receiving. With a grist that includes some Flaked Wheat to boost the mouthfeel of the beer, several late boil additions of both Galaxy and Citra hops provide a “floral, citrusy aroma”. This should come in at 6% ABV and close to 60 IBUs; look for it to be released late next week, with 16 kegs being sent to the Dieppe ANBL growler station for Thursday… just a couple of days after Valentine’s Day. With beer, as with love, better late than never!

• Today, Garrison is launching their newest Star Trek/CBS release at the brewery. Red Shirt Ale is an American Red brewed in honour of the many Star Trek crew members unlucky enough to be fitted in a red tunic… usually a good sign that they would be meeting an untimely, violent death. With a “deep copper colour and rich malt flavour”, the beer was hopped with Citra, El Dorado, and Millenium. You’ll be able to find Red Shirt Ale at Garrison and Halifax’s private liquor stores as of this weekend, and NSLC stores later this month. It will also be popping up at ANBL growler stations in two weeks’ time. And for our homebrewing readers, be sure to submit your Wee Heavy this weekend!

• Gahan House Harbourfront in Halifax put a new beer on tap this week. Captain Falcon’s IPA is a SMaSH brew that sees big citrus hop flavor from generous late boil and whirlpool additions of Falconer’s Flight meet the fruit flavor of real blackberries added in the secondary. It’s got a hazy, purplish pink color and is a very dry brew with a fairly light bitterness (for an IPA) at 40 IBU and a very reasonable 6% ABV – the Falcon Punch is in the flavor, not the weight.

• In the valley, a new cider in the Something Different series became available this week at Annapolis Cider Company. Muscat Infusion weds apples and grapes to produce a 7.1% ABV sparkling cider with a copper colour, apple tartness, and tropical and floral aromas from Nova Scotia’s most aromatic grape variety. The skins of Muscat grapes were added during active fermentation, and a technique known as “punching down” commonly used in red wine fermentations ensured flavor, color, aroma and tannin extraction. Finished with freshly-pressed apple juice to balance it before packaging, it is available at the cidery in Wolfville where $0.50 of each bottle fill will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Annapolis Valley.

• What do you do when one of your business neighbours leaves your street for a newer, bigger spot a few blocks away? If you’re North Brewing you celebrate your friend’s achievement with a special beer. White Lightning is the nickname of Renée Lavallée, chef of The Canteen, formerly a lunch counter on Ochterloney Street and now a restaurant on Portland Street in downtown Dartmouth. It is now also a kettle sour from North that’s been dry-hopped with Cascade and Amarillo, coming in at 4.8% ABV and 12 IBU. The label received North’s Artist Series treatment with Renée’s likeness rendered in comic book style by Rob Hansen. White Lightning is available in 650ml bottles from the North bottle shops and private liquor stores in HRM and you should expect to see kegs of it appear in bars and restaurants in the coming days and weeks.

• North is also joining with another neighbour this week, this time on the Halifax side, where they’ve lent their expertise with Belgian styles to a new Tripel from the gang at Good Robot. Moo Nay is a tribute to the farm that reuses Good Robot’s post-brewing spent grain, Moo Nay Farms near Shubenacadie. Although the body is well in line with the style, with Pale and Pilsner malts and some sugar to dry it out, the twist this time is the use of a very non-traditional hop, namely the New Zealand variety Nelson Sauvin, known for its fruity, white wine-like character. Big and boozy at 8.5% ABV, but not overly bitter at 30 IBU, late hop additions bring a New World aspect to a decidedly Old World beer. Moo Nay will be available at Good Robot as of today, both in the tap room and the store for growler fills.

• Those who don’t remember the days before NASH started slinging hop bombs at Unfiltered might not be aware that he’s got a full slate of styles at his disposal, but this week’s release should make that abundantly clear to all and sundry. Play with Fire is a Smoked Imperial Schwarzbier, featuring tons of dark fruit, roasted malt and smokey phenols. At only 34 IBU, it’s not a bitter bomb, but it will certainly pack a wallop at 8% ABV. Growler fills and pints will be available as of noon today at the brewery and Charm School Pub, respectively. As they say down on North Street, get on it!

• The latest episode of the 902 BrewCast went live earlier this week, where the beer chums sat down with Schoolhouse Brewery‘s Cam Hartley. They went into the history of Schoolhouse, where it is now, and where it’s heading next. Learn all about it by downloading and listening to the episode today!

• Port Rexton Brewing on Newfoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula will be releasing their first bottled offering next week. Named the Ten Eighty Series, the annual small run of bottles will make their debut in winter, and lean toward higher ABV, perfect for warming you up from the inside out. The inaugural release is Belgian Tripel, an 8.2% ABV beer featuring the iconic clove aromatics and light spiciness, with a dry finish. This run of only 800 bottles will be available exclusively at the brewery, so reach out to them today to pre-order and get yourself on the list!

Check out these events for the weekend…

• As mentioned above, both Roof Hound and Tatamagouche are celebrating the release of their collaboration Chocolate Sauced tomorrow, February 11th. In Digby, drop by at 9pm for the first pours of the new beer, and at 10pm, enjoy live music by singer/songwriter Elizabeth Wright and Tide and Timbre ($6 cover). In Tatamagouche, the fun kicks off at 7pm, with Eric Fresia playing while you enjoy the new beers they are featuring, with chocolates paired with CS, shucking oysters to pair with Oyster Cloister, and that special cask of Quad. Your $5 cover gets you your first sample of Chocolate Sauced for free.

• Good Robot has a fairly full slate planned for the taproom next week, with three events in the works. Monday will see another Goodwill Bot event, where $1 of every beer sold goes to a local non-profit cause. This week it will be Halifax Cycling Coalition, who will be celebrating Winter Bike Week and crafting Valentine’s Day cards. On Tuesday you’ll find Blue Valentine , “a sad and sexy Valentine’s Day event.” Get there before 6:30pm and enjoy $5 pints and a Tom Waits playlist. After that, enjoy local artists and businesses as they take the floor to talk about sex. Look for participation from Ballonicorns , Turn Me On Podcast , Venus Envy and The Coast. And on Wednesday grab a book, head on down to Good Robot, grab a beer and shut the hell up for the return of Silent Reading. As always, no phones, no talking.

• Next Thursday, February 16th, the Cask & Kettle will be hosting a Maybee Brewing Tap Takeover, with all of their taps being turned over to the Fredericton brewery from 4 pm-close, including Maybee’s newest, currently unreleased beer, a DIPA (more on that next week). There will be, of course, food and Irish music to accompany the many beers pouring, with no charge to attend; just show up and pay by the pint!

• The Craft Beer Cottage Party returns to Halifax’s Seaport Farmers’ Market February 25th. With 30 breweries from the Maritimes in attendance, it is sure to be a blast of summer in the dead of winter. Washer Toss, live music, and plenty of chairs to lounge on, the summer vibes will be strong during the event. Tickets are $60 +fees ($75++ for VIP access), and are available now. Check out our Calendar for more details, including the full brewery list.

A few more things this week…

– Mil Street St John’s brewed North American Brown Ale earlier this week, featuring El Dorado hops. The 5.5% ABV and 35 IBU beer is named after Black Bart, a pirate who terrorized Newfoundland, starting in the 17th century. Look for the beer to be released at the end of the month, or early March.
– Picaroons has re-released their Valentine-themed Afterglow Aphrodisiac Ale, a 5.2% ABV dark beer brewed with chocolate, chili peppers, ginseng, and licorice root. Look for it at all Picaroons locations, and select establishments throughout NB.
– TideHouse Brewing invited in local home brewer Ian Wheatley to brew on their system last week, to be released next month. The brew was a kettle sour, low in ABV, but with plenty of lactic bite. We’ll have much more on the beer closer to its release, around March 10th.

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!