Alexander Keith’s Historic Brewery

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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Horton Ridge, Foghorn, Petit-Sault, Big Tide, Good Robot, Grimross, TrailWay, Maybee, and more.

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-02-17
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Alexander Keith's Historic Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Foghorn Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Maybee Brewing, Nine Locks Brewery, North Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, TrailWay Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday everyone! What a week of weather for our region! Snow and power outages and cancellations have plagued the region for the past while, but thankfully our local brewers haven’t rested to get us the great beer we all crave. Check out the latest news, and stay warm!

• Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, responsible for producing malt used in breweries across the province, has announced that they will begin operating a small brewery onsite, slated to open this summer. The 120 litre (1 BBL) system would serve as a testing ground for the different malt varieties they have on offer, in order to give commercial brewers and visitors to the Malt House the chance to taste the different characteristics of their offerings. The beers would be available on-site only, in their tasting room and facility outside of Wolfville, along with other breweries’ offerings showcasing their malts. We’ll have much more on the details of the brewery closer to launch in July. You can learn more in person yourself with a visit to the Malt House for an Open House tomorrow, 2:30-4:00pm.

• Rothesay’s Foghorn recently hosted Patrick Dionne, head brewer at Petit-Sault, for a collaboration brew on their system. Well, that beer is now available on tap, and we’ve got some details to share! Epic Fume is a 5.7% ABV Smoked Porter, featuring beech-smoked malt in the grist to give gentle smoke characteristics in both the aroma and flavour. It’s currently pouring at the Foghorn taproom, and is on tap at the Five and Dime in Saint John. For those of you in the Edmundston area, look for it to start pouring at Petit-Sault sometime next week.

• Sticking with Petit-Sault, they’ll be brewing this year’s Big Boots Brew tomorrow, an annual event sponsored by the Pink Boots Society. This one will actually be a collaboration brew, as Wendy Papadopoulos, head brewer at Big Tide, will be participating, along with four other women from the area. The theme for this year’s international brew is Ancient/Historical Beer, with Petit-Sault and Big Tide deciding on a Gruit for their brew, an un-hopped style of beer that relies on the use of herbs for flavouring and bittering. The collaboration beer will be named Malobiannah Gruit, after a local legend involving a young Malecite woman who sacrified herself to save her people during an Iroquois invasion in the Grand Falls area. The grist will feature 2-row, Pilsner, and Honey malt, and a carefully-chosen mix of herbs that includes yarrow, goldenrod, sweet gale, bayberry and lavender. Some local maple syrup will also be added to the brew, which should come in at 5.2% ABV. The beer will be released on International Women’s Day on March 8th, and we can confirm that it will be making an appearance at this year’s Fredericton Craft Beer Festival on March 11th.

• Although they don’t have anything truly new for us this week, we’re told that Good Robot in Halifax has a batch of their Burban Legend APA coming to the taps, this one of the v2.0 variety (that’s the one dry hopped with citrussy Cascade and stone fruit Amarillo). Knowing they’d have to sweeten the pot to get us to mention that, they also spilled the beans on a special batch brewed up just yesterday with their staff. Red Moon Rising was brewed for their Women’s Day event, FemmeBot, coming up in March. It’s a Red IPA leaning heavily on Bestmalz Red X, a base malt known for imparting a deep red color. Also in the malt bill are Vienna for some toasty/biscuity notes and flaked barley for mouthfeel and body. Hops include their own “GR Blend” (think Falconer’s Flight 7C’s Good Robot-style) at bittering time and Equinox during whirlpool and the planned dry-hop for a tropical and fruity presence. It’s fermenting now on the classic Cal Ale yeast. Look for release details in the coming weeks (we’d bet somewhere around March 8th…).

• Meanwhile in Fredericton, Grimross has already released the second entry in their new Scratch series, Scratch #2: Belgian IPA. This 6.7% ABV, 65 IBUs brew was hopped with Cascade, Columbus, Herkules and Amarillo, most of which were grown in New Brunswick. The brewery describes it as having “a pleasant, citrus hop profile on the nose and palate, and finishes clean and dry”. Fermented, of course, with a Belgian yeast strain to add some classic fruity esters and spicy phenolics to blend with the hop characteristics, it’s on tap at the brewery now for pints and growler fills; you may see it pop up around the city, as well. Grimross has also just brewed a collaboration with Dumfries Maples, featuring a large addition of maple syrup from the Dumfries, NB sugarbush. Details on Dumfries Maples Brown Ale are being kept a secret for now… stay tuned!

• Speaking of beers brewed with maple syrup, TrailWay also has one fermenting right now. No, this isn’t actually a coincidence – the New Brunswick government has been encouraging breweries in the province to collaborate with local maple producers to brew these beers. While we’re not sure of the exact details of this arrangement, we’ve been told there are benefits provided to breweries who do so. TW has brewed an Imperial Stout with maple syrup from Briggs Maples; expect it to come in around 9% ABV. TW has also confirmed that the beer will be packaged in cans, as well as kegs.

• The new DIPA from Maybee Brewing that we teased about a couple of weeks ago is officially being released today. Look Off DIPA is a big beer at 9% ABV, and was hopped mainly with Amarillo and Chinook (to 105 calculated IBUs). Described by the brewery as “super juicy”, it’ll be available at the brewery for pints and growler fills, and at better beer establishments in Fredericton (including the James Joyce and 540 Kitchen & Bar later today). Look for it to also be released in cans sometime next week, and be sure to take note of the updated label designs for Maybee cans at the same time.

• Spindrift teased a new beer on Instagram that they’ve just brewed, based on popular casks they have brought to beer festivals in the past: Blueberry Chai Pilsner (featuring Rooibus Chai tea from World Tea House). They’re keeping quiet on the exact specs and details for now, but don’t worry, we’ll have more, soon! In the meantime, they’re taking their Abyss Schwarzbier to the next level, and bottling a batch of it that sat in barrels, on cherries, next week. It should be available for purchase sometime in mid-March.

• The taps at Gahan Harbourfront in Halifax will see a special brew this week as Erebos Porter makes its debut. Starting its life as a batch of Night Vision American Porter, it was aged extensively on figs in Hungarian oak barrels that formerly held Merlot at Bear River Vineyards. According to brewmaster Kyle, the wood and the fruit have rounded out the beer, which is normally quite dry, providing a nice dark fruit character without astringency. With only two barrels (110 litres each) available, this one’s not likely to be available for fills, so plan to hang around the pub and enjoy a pint. And this is the last call for homebrewers interested in taking part in the Home Brewer’s Challenge must contact Kyle to sign up.

• Garrison Brewing has released the latest in their test batch series, with Test Batch – Code Name: Juicy 2 today. This hazy East Coast Double IPA comes in at 8.0% ABV and 65 IBU, featuring loads of late hopping featuring Citra, Comet, Ekuanot, and Mosaic, for citrus, pineapple and tropical aromatics and flavour, resulting in a, you guessed it, juicy beer. Compared to the first test batch, this one features a softer mouthfeel, suitable for an extended session of enjoyment. Juicy 2 is available now for growler fills and bottles at the brewery, on tap at select bars around town this weekend, and early next week in bottles at the private stores.

• As was reported this week by a legitimate news source (as opposed to three guys with a blog), Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyon’s Brook is the latest brewery in the region to purchase a canning line. Citing their existing bottling setup as a source of inefficiency in their system, the line from Calgary (no doubt from the fine folks at Cask Brewing Systems) is expected to help them output an additional 1,000 litres per week and take the packaging process from 2-3 days down to a couple of hours. The installation of the line in May will allow them to meet orders for two new listings with the NSLC in addition to their IPA, namely their Sunburst Pale Ale and a rotating slot. One item in the article of particular note is the comment by co-owner Rebecca Whiffen that the funds to lease the line are to some extent coming from the savings seen in the reduction of the RSMA this year by the Provincial government. While the overall validity of the RSMA can still be debated (or serve as the basis for a lawsuit), it is certainly telling to see how quickly its reduction has made a positive difference to at least one brewery in the province.​ We won’t be surprised if it’s not the only one.

• Cunning schemers that they are, those crazy kids at Stillwell are already planning for Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week in May. As they announced on twitter Valentine’s Day (feel the love, people), they’re committing to pouring the best NS Craft Beer Taplist possible all week long during Craft Beer Week. What’s “the best NS Craft Beer Taplist” you ask? Why, it’s the one assembled from YOUR votes! Fling your interweeb device over to this page right here and cast your votes in the four categories provided. Stillwell will apply patented algorithms and serious business to generate a top 12 which will grace the wall at the start of the week. From there cult favourites will rotate in. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing what that wall looks like come May.

For those of you fully shovelled out, we’ve got a few events on the go that are worthwhile checking out:

• This Sunday, February 19th, up in Nyanza, Big Spruce will be hosting an information session for FarmWorks, an Investment Co-operative founded in 2011 that operates as a Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF). The time has come for another round of investment and this is a chance for you to learn how the organization works to support food-related businesses in the region. Meanwhile, beer samples and snacks will be served and you’ll have the opportunity to tour the new Big Spruce Brewery! More information is available here.

• The Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection has scheduled their next event for Wednesday, March 8th. This one will be held at Grimross Brewing from 6:30-8 pm, and will feature a brewery tour, a discussion on Grimross and the beers they brew, and of course a tasting flight, with additional pours available for purchase afterwards. It only costs $8.75 to attend; send an email to freddyladiesbeerconnection@gmail.com to hold your spot.

• Good Robot has a couple events on the go this week. Thursday, February 23rd sees the latest in the Good Robot Tiny Pub Concerts series, with Villages, Kim Harris, and Daniel Walker (of Owen Meany’s Batting Stance) coming out to give you an intimate night of Celtic, folk, soul and banter. “Less of a kitchen party and more of a Saturday night at home with friends.” Then on Saturday, February 25th, look for the GR gang at the Craft Beer Cottage Party and consider heading down to the taproom afterwards for their luau after-party with the fine folks from Upstreet Brewing and the dulcet tones of Hawaiian-influenced steel guitar swing band Kokonut Kings.

And before we head out for the weekend…
– There is a new beer from Alexander Keith’s Historic Brewery, Nor’Easter Cascadian Dark Ale. At 7.7% ABV and 100 IBUs, it features Cascade and Chinook hops from Moose Mountain and Columbus from Southan Farms, both located along the Saint John River in New Brunswick. It is available at the brewery on Lower Water Street. And look out for a Nitro version of their Lunenburg Coffee & Cacao Stout, available at Lower Deck locations across the province.
– Although we reported on the release of Fathom from Nine Locks last week, it only showed up on tap and for growler fills, not in the promised cans. But keen eyes noticed the good word on Facebook this week that Fathom hit the canning line. Look for it at the private liquor stores around HRM in the near future.
– We previously mentioned a new blackberry Milk Stout from North Brewing being released for Zuppa Theatre’s Pop-up Love Party that started last night and goes until Sunday. The 5.7% ABV beer was aged in the tank at Battery Park and will be available in 650ml bottles at both North bottle shops and the private stores in Halifax. Look for in on tap as well at Battery Park, including two nitro kegs.

Friday Wrap-Up – News and Brews from Big Spruce, Propeller, Tatamagouche, Upstreet, Tide and Boar, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-10-21
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Alexander Keith's Historic Brewery, Battery Park, Beerocracy, Benjamin Bridge, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bulwark Cider, Celtic Oktoberfest, Christmas Brewery Tour, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Graystone Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Lazy Bear Brewing, Maybee Brewing, New Brunswick Beer Tours, North Brewing, Picaroons, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Railcar Brewing, Roof Hound Brewing, Rudder's Brewpub, Saltbox Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Sober Island Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tide & Boar Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, TrailWay Homebrew Challenge, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good morning, and welcome to a rainy weekend! We can’t really complain too much, considering the beautiful weather we’ve had over the last several months… but if you’d like something to take your mind off the all the wet, why not dive into some of the latest beer news?

• Big Spruce is releasing a very special beer this week, fermented using yeast harvested from a Pin Cherry on the brewery’s property. Big Grandma’s Wild uses Horton Ridge malt for the grain bill, and the yeast was isolated, investigated and propagated by the folks at Escarpment Labs out of Guelph, Ontario. Featuring some spicy phenolic notes, thanks to both the malt and yeast choices, this is a big step in creating a true “beer from here”. The 7.4% ABV, 24 IBU beer is named in celebration of Thelma MacLellan of St. Patrick’s Channel, one of Big Spruce’s earliest supporters, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Congratulations to both Big Grandma and Big Spruce on their important accomplishments! Look for the beer at the brewery now, with bars around HRM tapping it this weekend. Also keep your eyes open for Craig Goes Yard, their own Harvest Beer, featuring hops grown right at the brewery. It is on tap at the brewery now, and will be pouring around the province very soon, including Battery Park, Stillwell, and growler fills at Bishop’s Cellar.

• Celebrating the advancement of Canada’s Team to the AL Finals, Halifax’s Propeller Brewing released a new One Hit Wonder brew late last week. Mahogany in colour, it is best described as a maltly Fest-style beer. A hybrid fermentation technique was used, employing both ale and lager yeast strains, for an easy-drinking beer. Using NB-grown Cascade from Moose Mountain Hop Farm, as well as Northern Brewer, the . At 6.0% ABV and 16 IBUs, this malt-forward beer is still around, although the Jays are not. 🙁 Formerly known as Go Jays Go, it has been renamed to Maybe Next Year, and is available for growler fills at both the Gottingen and Windmill brewery locations now, and will be found on tap at select spots around HRM. And we’ve gotten word that they’ve brewed up a brand new winter seasonal yesterday.

• Tatamagouche Brewery has released another in their Giant Beer Series this week, Russian Imperial Stout with Cherries. This 8.5% ABV beer spent a month in an Ironworks Distillery barrel, on top of a healthy assortment of dark cherries. After some conditioning and carbonating, it made its way into their large-format 650 ml bottles. As with their other recent GBS beers, these are in short supply and high demand, so be sure to drop by the brewery today to avoid disappointment. And while at the brewery, be sure to grab batch number 3 of Tata’s collab with Bishop’s Cellar, Cellar Slammer India Session Ale, their 4.4% ABV ode to hops. And keep an eye out for the return of Blue Bales Blueberry Wheat next week, this time brewed with berries from the end of the season, lending a juicier and sweeter profile than the tart character of the early harvest berries.

• Tide and Boar Brewing is releasing their small batch beers at a break-neck pace. Late last week they tapped a new version of their Sour Otis Sour Beer series, brewed with Field Grapes and Lemon Zest. While still available, it’s sure to sell out quickly, and will be replaced with Sour Otis Plum, featuring local plums from Memramcook, probably on the weekend. In hoppy beer news, keep an eye out for Amarillo, Citra, and Summit Pale Ale to hit the taps any minute now, with a return of their JEENYUS IPA next week.

• Garrison Brewing is releasing a new beer today, New Ross Sucker Punch IPA. This 6.9% ABV brew features loads of Cascade and Willamette hops grown at Ross Farm Museum (plus some whole leaf Amarillo and Columbus), to the tune of 65 IBUs. The grain bill builds on a base of Maritime Malt, with some Wheat Malt for additional foam retention. This beer is only available at the brewery for tasters and growler fills, so be sure to drop by for a taste. They will be celebrating City Harvest tomorrow at the brewery with some special visitors. In addition to the new beer, they are inviting Halifax Press to their space to serve up some inspired grilled cheeses, 11-3.

• Digby’s Roof Hound Brewing has been busy lately! Their beers are now available at several spots in HRM, including Battery Park and The Board Room Game Cafe (both pouring the Keltic Devil Pumpkin Spice Latte Strong Porter), as well as Rooftop Rye-It for growler fills at Bishop’s Cellar (they’ll be pouring the KDPSLSP when that’s through). Lunenburg’s Grand Banker will be pouring their beer very shortly, too. Look for a new version of their Little Pup Pale Ale to hit the taps very soon. Fermented with a different yeast, it finishes a little drier, with a lighter body to allow the hops to shine through. It weighs in at 4.8% ABV and 28 IBUs. And after a very successful Harvest Supper Club last night, tickets are on sale for a Festive Supper Club, being held December 1st. Tickets for the two seatings (5:00 and 7:30) are available now via email, and take a sneak peek at the menu here.

• Upstreet Brewing announced this week the beginning of their One Way Series, a chance for them to explore and experiment with new styles and recipes. The first release under the One Way banner comes this Friday in the form of the new Black IPA. Described as a middle ground where the dark and roasty chocolate and malt flavours of a porter meet with the resinous citrus blast of an American IPA, this burly brew comes in at 6.5% and a solid 60 IBU. It’s a departure from what Upstreet has released to date and they’re excited to know what folks think. It will be available at the brewery as of today, so if you’ve got a chance to get down and try it out, do so, and be sure to let Hogie and the gang know what you think.

• Great news from Picaroons Traditional Ales in Fredericton this week as they’ve not only got a new beer to share with us, they’re joining the ranks of breweries embracing the convenience of cans. The beer is the brewery’s first attempt at an Oktoberfest, and it comes in at 5% ABV… and a month or so late. 😉 Using a well-known true lager yeast strain from VLB Berlin and dosed with Mt Hood, Hallertau, and Saaz for a classic noble hop flavour and aroma, it will be available only while supplies last and only at Picaroons General Store in Saint John. On the canning front, after starting its life as an occasional summer seasonal, then going year-round earlier this summer and becoming the first Picaroons available in 6 packs, 506 Logger will now become the first Picaroons available in cans. It’s still a mix of German Pilsner and domestic 2-row malt that produces a golden coloured, dry and crisp easy-drinking 4.6% ABV beer, tempered with Amarillo hops. But now you can take it all the places that bottles are a pain to bring. As the brewery says – “IT’S JUST BEER. IN CANS.” You can expect to find it at the ANBL real soon now and you can also expect Picaroons to extend the canning to other beers in the lineup.

• As we continue through fall, more and more homebrew competitions are being announced. TrailWay is no exception, as they recently released the details for their 1st Homebrew Challenge! The style to be submitted is American IPA; your homebrew entry (3 x 450-750 mL bottles) can be dropped off/mailed to the brewery in Fredericton between January 11th-20th. Judging will take place between January 21st-25th, with the winner and runner-up being announced on Sunday, January 29th at the brewery. The entry fee is $20, which gets you a t-shirt and glass, a 12-oz pour of a new TW DIPA (at the January 29th event), as well as preferential drink pricing for the remainder of the event. The winning entry will receive a $100 gift card, and will get to brew their beer on the TW 10 BBL system for resale across Fredericton; the runner-up will receive a $50 gift card. For more details, check out their Facebook page. Good luck, homebrewers! And in other TW news, they’ve received their three new 30 BBL (35 hL) fermentors and 30 BBL brite tank, so expect to see more TW beer (and cans) soon!

• Sober Island Brewing continues to spread their offerings across HRM, now appearing on tap at The Press Gang, Primal Kitchen, and Battery Park (on rotation), with a few more spots scheduled. Their Kickstarter campaign rolls on, with just two weeks left to get in on helping to build their brewery in Sheet Harbour. The rewards range from stickers, to insulated backpacks (perfect for picnics on the go), to taking part in a brewday at SIBC. Be sure to check it out. Keep an eye out for new brews from Sober Island to launch in the coming weeks, including a British IPA. Next weekend, be sure to drop by the New Glasgow Farmers Market (Saturday) and/or Musquodoboit Farmers Market (Sunday) to grab crowlers and merchandise from their beer trailer.

• This week, Lazy Bear Brewing in Smiths Cove has released a new brew, Braunbär, a medium-bodied honey brown ale. Honey was added to the fermentor in order to maintain some of the honey aromatics that would tend to be lost in the boil. For hops, they’ve chosen the Santiam variety, an American hop which brings some classic noble characteristics. The flowery and peppery spice aromas from the hops should play nicely with the roasted and caramel malt flavours, while an undertone of sweetness from some residual sugars from the honey completes the palate. You can find this 5% ABV brew at the brewery, or potentially in Halifax this weekend.

• Newfoundland’s newest brewery, Port Rexton Brewing, tapped a new beer late last week, Sweater Weather Double IPA. This SMaSH beer was brewed entirely with Canadian 2-row malt, and single-hopped quite heavily with Simcoe, a very popular variety well known for its characteristics of citrus, berries, and pine. Very hoppy, but well-balanced, this 7.6% beer is available now at the brewery, and may make an appearance on tap in Town, but why risk it?? And if you’re dropping by the brewery tomorrow (Saturday, October 22nd), they’re hosting a “Yoga, Lunch, Hike & Beer” from 9:30 am – 3 pm; it’s $45 to take part, and you can register by emailing here.

• Alexander Keith’s Historic Brewery has launched a brand new beer, hitting the taps this weekend. Hants County Hop on Harvest Ale was brewed using more than 45kg of wet hops from Hill Top Hops in Scotchville, NS.  Centennial, Chinook, and Columbus were added late in the boil, to preserve the piney and green notes these fresh hops deliver. The grain bill of Golden Promise, Caramunich III, Vienna and Toasted Wheat lend a golden colour to this Fest/Marzen beer, with biscuit and bready character on a medium-low body. 6.0% ABV and a moderate 35 IBUs. It is on tap now at Stubborn Goat, Red Stag Tavern, and The Lower Deck.

As usual, there are plenty of beer-related events happening in our region; here are some of the bigger ones to take note of:

• Yarmouth’s Rudder’s Brewpub is holding their 11th Annual Brewers Dinner tomorrow evening at 6pm. Featuring 4 courses, each paired with a Rudder’s beer, it with be a filling – and fulfilling – evening. Reservations are required, and tickets for the dinner are available at the brewery, or by phone (902-742-7311). More details on the menu and beers on their Facebook page.

• For those on the other end of the province, the Celtic Oktoberfest is being held in Port Hawkesbury this Saturday. Featuring unlimited sampling from nine Nova Scotia breweries, one winery, and ten local restaurants, along with live music all evening, it’s sure to be a great evening out.

• Now that Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing is releasing full-size batches from their 10hL DME system (Holy Mackerel, their Pale Ale was released this week, with Nun on the Run Cream Ale to be released next week) they are now also sending kegs of beer out into the wild. Some of the first have gone to Grand Banker in Lunenburg, who will be hosting a Tap Takeover next Friday, October 28th. Featuring their full lineup, and some beer-steamed mussels, the evening is sure to be a fun time. Learn more about Saltbox’s offerings here, and the Tap Takeover here.

• Railcar Brewing will officially have been open for two years on November 1st; to celebrate, they’re holding an Open Brewery Day next Saturday, October 29th. Drop by the brewery’s taproom in Florenceville-Bristol for free samples and brewery tours, and enjoy two-for-one growler fills all day. Happy birthday, Railcar!

• Dartmouth’s Spindrift Brewing Co has released a new beer in celebration of the Devour! Film Festival (running November 2-6 in Wolfville). Kinobier is a 4.7% Munich Helles, a German-style light blonde lager, brewed with 100% German Heidelberg Malt. Lightly hopped to 16 IBUs, it features Herkules and Huell Melon German varieties, for a citrus highlight to the grain profile. The beer will be pouring around Wolfville during the festival, with some spots in the Valley, and HRM, pouring it now, including the brewery.

• Beerocracy will be debuting at the Silver Wave Film Festival, at 7pm November 3rd. Passes for the entire festival are only $40 ($20 for students), which get you into every screening and event, and are available now. For those looking to only attend Beerocracy, there will be limited first-come, first-serve tickets available at the door (cash only). There will be a reception at the James Joyce following the film, for the chance to enjoy beer from the breweries profiled in the film. And look for details after the festival regarding the official opening screening of Beerocracy, and how VIP backers can take advantage of that perk. Congratulations to Shauna and Alex!

• For those in Halifax, there will be an equally beery event to keep you happy on November 3rd: Battery Park is hosting the second in their Nova Scotia Tap Takeover series, featuring more than a baker’s dozen of beers from Shelburne’s Boxing Rock. It will be a mixture of core favourites, blasts from the past, and at least a couple of brand new beers, one of which is the collab between BP and BR, an India Brown Ale, as well as the recently re-released Hop Springs Eternal White IPA. We’ll have more on the beers pouring closer to the date, but in the meantime, book Friday the 4th off so you can full enjoy the evening before.

• Due to quick sales on tickets for their Christmas Brewery Tour this December, New Brunswick Beer Tours have added two additional tours for the month: one on Saturday, December 3rd, and a second tour on Saturday, December 17th. Both events will go from 11:30 am – 4 pm, and feature stops and samples at four different Fredericton breweries. Tickets for both go on sale this weekend. For more details, check out their Facebook page (link above).

That’s it for this week, have a great weekend! And before we go…

– Bulwark‘s Winter Cider has been bottled and has started to make its appearance in stores; this 7% ABV cider is infused with cinnamon and nutmeg, perfect for those nights by a fire (which aren’t too far off).
– A small batch of Toasted Coconut Porter is now available at Gahan House Harbourfront – Halifax, available on cask into the weekend.
– Graystone recently released their Ridgeback IPA, a 5.5% ABV, 94 IBU West Coast IPA that they have described as “full-bodied, with notes of citrus and pine”. This is the first time this beer has been brewed on their new, large system; it’s available now for pints and growlers at the brewery, and like several of their other brands now, should be on tap across Fredericton.
– Hammond River has re-brewed their Black IPA, Two Rivers India Black Ale (7% ABV, 77 IBUs), which should be available on tap by the end of the month. Stay tuned next week, as we’ll have details on their third annual Homebrew Competition, which will feature three different styles this year: Imperial IPA, Sweet Stout, and English Porter.
– The Forage Rye IPA (7% ABV, 70 IBUs) from Maybee that we talked about a few weeks ago is now available; brewed with Crystal Rye Malt and hopped with Cascade, Centennial, and Columbus, you can find it in growlers and cans at the brewery.
– Shiretown Hops On For Nowhere I.P.A is now available for purchase at the brewery in Charlo, marking the first time in over a year that it’s been available. Due to the small batch size, it will only be available in bottles from the source.
– With temperatures cooling, TrailWay has re-released their Black IPA, Black Hops One (7% ABV, 70 IBUs). Hopped with Comet, Mosaic, and Galaxy, it’s got a great balance between fruity, citrusy hops, and dark roasted malt character.
– Details are very slim right now, but we’ll be sure to keep you up to date with a special hybrid wine/beer in the works by North Brewing. They visited Benjamin Bridge this week, and managed to leave with a few hundred litres of grape must, and a barrel. We’ll be sure to share the info when available!