Antigonish Townhouse

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Friday Wrap-Up – New Beer from Bridge Brewing, Pump House Releases New Seasonal, and more…

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-12-20
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Bridge Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Red Rover Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar. Leave a Comment

Good morning, lovers of craft beer! Time to dig yourself out of that snowbank and catch up on a bit of Atlantic Canada Beer news…

• Bridge Brewing released a new, limited-edition beer yesterday for growler fills at the brewery. Glenora Barrel-Aged Strong Dark Belgian comes in at a hefty 11% ABV; the aging of the beer in the Glenora barrel adds “some vanilla, a greater depth of complexity, and whiskey on the finish”, according to owner Peter Burbridge. Only about 170 L of the beer was brewed, so get some now, as it won’t last long! Available at their Agricola Street brewery, or at the Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market this weekend.

• Pump House has announced their latest seasonal release for winter – their Muddy River Stout, an Oatmeal Stout, has been available on tap for years at their brewpub and Barnyard BBQ locations in Moncton, and in select bars and restaurants in the Maritimes. This full-bodied, dark beer is described by the brewery as having flavors and aromas of “roasty malts, espresso and chocolate”, with a “big and lightly acidic finish”; it clocks in at 4.5% ABV. It is currently available in 6-packs at certain ANBL locations, and should be reaching all stores soon. For those of you in Nova Scotia, the beer should also be arriving at NSLC stores shortly after Christmas.

• If you’re trying to think of what to do for New Year’s Eve (yes, it’s only a week and a half away), the new and already extremely popular Halifax beer bar Stillwell has an idea for you! They’re holding a “Mortal Sin” event, featuring the highly-rated Quebec brewery Dieu du Ciel! Cost of entry will be $20, and includes snacks from chef Graeme Ruppel, as well as a 5 oz glass of Dieu du Ciel!’s Bourbon Barrel-Aged Péché Mortel. The event begins at 9 pm, and seating is first-come, first-served. “Formal(ish) dress encouraged”.

• If you’re closer to the Antigonish area, the Townhouse Brewpub and Eatery is hosting their own NYE event, a “Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration”. There will be three food courses from chef Jacob Buckley featuring locally-sourced food, and four beers from four of Nova Scotia’s newest breweries in 2013: Big Spruce, Uncle Leo’s, Boxing Rock, and, of course, the Townhouse. Beer trivia will also be included. It all starts at 6:30 pm; tickets are $60 and can be purchased in advance at the Townhouse. Following the dinner at 9 pm, there will be karaoke and an “open-mic confessional”.

• And for the day after, PEI Brewing Company will be holding a Levée Celebration from 12-2 on January 1st. Featuring live entertainment and plenty of great beer flowing, they are keeping this tradition alive in their own special way.

• We announced last month that Red Rover Brewing had their location confirmed, and were receiving lots of equipment and apples to start brewing their first batches of cider. At the time, they had planned on having their retail store open before Christmas so they could start selling merchandise and other swag; however, that opening has been delayed until after Christmas. On the bright side, they have started brewing cider, so we should be seeing their product in the area in the not-too-distant future!

• We also mentioned last month that Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault had started looking for two brewers for when they begin producing beer in 2014. This is just a friendly reminder that the application deadline for resumes is this Sunday, December 22nd. The official job posting can be found here; if you’re considering applying, don’t wait any longer! Also, they’ve confirmed that all their equipment has now been ordered – great to see that they’re one step closer to production!

• And one more reminder, if you’re still looking for some last-minute Christmas gift ideas, check out the gift guide we posted on earlier this week.

That’s it for this week; we at the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog hope that you all have a safe, fantastic, happy, beer-filled holiday! Merry Christmas!

Friday Wrap-up – Big Spruce Holding Homebrew Comp, New Beers from Celtic Knot, Grimross and Paddy’s Brewpub, and lots more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-11-01
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, homebrewing, Ladies Beer League, Local Connections, McAuslan Brewery, Paddys Irish Brewpub, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery, Shiretown Beer, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat Gastropub. 1 comment
Welcome to November! I hope all of last night’s tricks were fun, and your treats were Atlantic Canadian Craft Beer.
• Big Spruce Brewing is holding a homebrew competition as part of their contribution to the Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration event, put on by Local Connections in January (we’ll have a full post on it soon). The full information is available on their Facebook event, but the important details are: The competition is open to all Nova Scotian homebrewers. The style of beer is an American IPA, BJCP style 14B, one entry per brewer. Registration of intent closes November 7th, and beers are due at the brewery by December 2nd. Registration is $25, and that includes a Big Spruce t-shirt. The brewer of the winning beer, as chosen by the judging panel, will brew their beer on the 7 barrel system at Big Spruce, and be released at the event in January. So, homebrewers, start your kettles, and be sure to email Big Spruce to receive and complete the registration form.
• Celtic Knot Brewing has a new beer in the pipeline – an English Barleywine, “Toque and Mitts” was brewed with Maris Otter, Chocolate Malt, Wheat Malt, and Crystal 120 L. A dark and malty beer coming in at about 7.5% ABV, it has approximately 33 IBUs and is brewed with Willamette, East Kent Golding, and Belma hops. We’ll keep you updated as to when this beer is available; it should be out around the beginning of December, available where other Celtic Knot beers can be found, The Tide & Boar and Marky’s Laundromat.
• Details for the beers being poured at the Fredericton Poutine Festival next weekend are now available on the event’s ticket site. Grimross Brewing will be serving their recently-released Belgian Rye IPA, as well as a new beer, their Belgian Porter (details below). Picaroons will be pouring their Yippee IPA, Blonde Ale, Winter Warmer, and 104th Regiment. McAuslan Brewery will have their Pale Ale, Apricot Wheat, and Oatmeal Stout, and McClelland Premium Imports will be bringing Steigl, Erdinger Dunkelweizen, Affligem Blond, and Fruli. Unfortunately, there’s no word yet as to what beers Pump House will have at the event. There’s still some tickets to the festival available; remember, the regular ticket gets your four 4 oz beer samples, while the “Beer Experience” gives you twelve samples.
• Back to Grimross Brewing, their Belgian Porter is just about finished and ready for release. A dark brown beer best thought of as a Brown Porter fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, it is described by owner/brewer Stephen Dixon as having a roasted aroma with hints of chocolate and dark candy, and flavours that start with roast and finish with chocolate and syrup. As mentioned, it should be pouring at the Fredericton Poutine Festival, and will likely be available in growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique soon!
• And in even more Grimross news, their beers are starting to make their way to Moncton! The Belgian Rye IPA has recently been available on tap at the Tide & Boar, and has reportedly been selling very well. Dixon has confirmed that this beer will continue to be sold at the T&B for the time-being, so if you’re in Moncton and haven’t tried it yet, now’s your chance! Check out their latest blog post for more thoughts from the Grimross Team.
• Continuing with new-beer news, Hell Bay Brewing has released their new seasonal beer, Wee Heavy. A Strong Scotch Ale brewed with six different malts, it’s described by the brewer Mark Baillie as “a slightly sweet, rich and malty beer with caramel flavours and hints of smoke”. Coming it at 8% ABV and just under 20 IBUs, it’s currently available in bottles at the brewery, and should be arriving at Premier Wine & Spirits in Halifax this weekend.
• Paddy’s Pub in Wolfville has released their newest seasonal beer, S’Mashed Pumpkin Ale. Weighing in at 5.2% ABV, the beer features a bright orange colour and hints of pumpkin pie spice, backed up by clean malt flavours of pilsner, Vienna and crystal malts. Like their Acadian Cream, Raven Scottish Ale, Annapolis Valley Ale and Blueberry Ale, the S’Mashed is also available in growlers at the pub. Unfortunately, their Chimney Swift Stout is not available in growlers, as it is served on nitrogen, and this technique does not fare well in bottles.
• Meanwhile, it looks like the Gahan House Pub plans on having a new beer to release soon. Details are extremely slim, but it appears to be brewed with locally-grown hops; where exactly the hops are from, however, remains to be revealed. It appears that the beer has been brewed at the pub, and not at the PEI Brewing Co.
• If you’ve been itching to get your hands on one of those hand-crafted Shiretown Beer steins, they’re available again! This is the third release of the mugs, which are made by Monique (Bujold) Brown of Barlicoco Pottery. Only 15 were made; at $35 each, they’re going fast. They can be purchased at the brewery, or check out their Facebook page for availability.
• A reminder that Garrison Brewing is serving up some special beers as part of their King’s Wardroom Wednesday Firkin events. This week’s beer was “Jack’O’Dubbel”, a Belgian Dubbel style Pumpkin Ale. If you are a King’s student, alumni or friend of one, don’t miss out on these special one-off releases, tapped promptly at 4:30pm.
• The Antigonish Townhouse is catching up with the great demand for their in-house brewed beer, and Terry’s Best Bitter is in steady supply these days. The beer is treated like a traditional Real Ale and is cask conditioned and on hand-pump, so best drunk fresh, right at the bar, we figure. 🙂 We’ve not had a chance to try it yet, but reports are very favourable.
• Stillwell Beer Bar is hiring a couple more people for their soon-to-be-open location. They are looking for both kitchen and front-of-house folks to round out their excellent team. Check their Kijiji ad for more details. Number one requirement: must love beer! There’s been a ton of work done at Stillwell since our visit last month; we’re looking forward to sitting down for a great pint soon!
• Finally this week, tomorrow is Learn to Homebrew Day. Organized by the American Homebrewers Association, this event is aimed at new (or soon-to-be-new) homebrewers looking to learn a bit more about their hobby, but all are welcome to take part. Despite its name, the AHA is an international organization, and there are events taking place in Atlantic Canada. Support your local homebrew shop and ask if they’ll be putting on an event. If not, why not offer to do one to share the great hobby with your friends and family? Sure, they always appreciate that bottle of homebrew you bring to the party/wedding/wake, wouldn’t they like to know how you made it? In Nova Scotia, Noble Grape is showing off a partial mash brewday at their Burnside store beginning at noon, and the Brewnosers are hosting a full mash brewday in Halifax, beginning at 10am (yes, it does take a bit longer to do a full mash, but the results speak for themselves!). Come on by if you are interested in learning more.
And stay tuned early next week, as we’ve got a great interview with a couple of members of the Ladies Beer League regarding the Cask Event taking place at the Stubborn Goat Gastropub November 17th.

Friday Wrap-up – Bridge Brewing & Boxing Rock Release Collaboration Brew, Big Spruce Harvest Ale, Hell Bay Dark Cream Ale and more

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-09-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Hell Bay Brewing, Ladies Beer League, PEI Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday, folks! Hopefully you are staying dry despite the poor weather, courtesy of Gabrielle. Maybe a nice weekend to grab a growler of your favourite local beer and stay inside?

  • The Many Hands Imperial Pale Ale, brewed as a collaboration between Boxing Rock and Bridge Brewing will be available Saturday. In Halifax, Bridge will have the beer available in growlers at the shop, as well as on tap at The Brooklyn Warehouse. Boxing Rock will also be at the Halifax Seaport Market with their 1L growlers, and it will also be available at their retail store in Shelburne,  Shelburne Farmer’s Market and the Yarmouth Farmer’s Market. Here are some pictures and a video from the brew day. They added 2/3 of the 110lb (!!) of wet hops in the last 15min to let the aroma shine through without creating an overly bitter beer. Looks like fun brew day, can’t wait to taste it!
  • Another Harvest Beer, Big Spruce’s Hoppily Married, is also available now. Pick up a growler at the brewery, or find it on tap at the Antigonish Townhouse. This beer features tons of their on-farm-grown hops at all points during the beer, for a full hop bitterness, flavour, and aroma profile. They will also be brewing up a new batch of Kitchen Party Pale Ale with Centennial and Cascade hops from this year’s harvest at Southan Farm in NB. Keeping it nice and local!
  • Speaking of the Townhouse, they had their house-brewed beer, Terry’s Bitter, on for the first time this week. They blew through 4 kegs in a short time, and are now busy brewing to get it back on. Check their Twitter or Facebook page for the announcement, as I’m sure it won’t last long next time, either!
  • Hell Bay Brewing has released their Dark Cream Ale in bottles again. It is available at the brewery, and soon at Premier Wines & Spirits and Bishop’s Cellar in Halifax. Their India Brown Ale was a big seller, so they’ve brewed up a second batch of that beer, which will be available soon. They also have expanded their brite tank arsenal, which will further expand their production and beer line-up.
  • The Ladies Beer League has announced their next event: in October, they will be featuring Spring Garden’s Brew Pubs – Rockbottom and Rogues Roost. On October 10 from 7-10 pm, they are hitting up Rockbottom. There will be drink & food specials, and a guest appearance from brewmaster Greg Nash. Then, one week later, they will be repeating the fun at Rogues Roost.  Both events will be pay-as-you-go, and can accommodate up to 40 attendees. Please RSVP to LadiesBeerLeague@gmail.com to get your name on the list for either or both socials.
  • Next Thursday, Sept 19, the PEI Brewing Company will be holding a Brewmasters Dinner at the Gahan House Pub, as part of the Fall Flavours Festival. Attendees will be able to enjoy a unique three course meal at the Gahan House Pub and Brewery and then be transported to the PEI Brewery for a tour. Your evening starts at the Gahan House Pub where chefs will incorporate their local fine handcrafted ales into three courses, giving you a culinary sampling of the “local” flavour of the Gahan beer. After your meal, you will be transported to the PEI Brewing Company where the beer is brewed and bottled, for a tour. The tour will include the story of the Gahan beers and the PEI Brewing Company, along with a chance to sample the beers firsthand. Transportation is provided. There are two sessions (5pm and 7:30pm), and tickets are available here.