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Friday Wrap-Up for April 26, 2024, The Final One – News from Around Atlantic Canada

Posted by acbbaaron on 2024-04-26
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Banished Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Breton Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, Foghorn Brewing, Godspeed Brewery, Landwash Brewery, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Stillwell Freehouse, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 5 comments

We’ve known you all of our lives, at least that’s how it seems… Since Canadian Beer News had their last post in December, the fellows here at ACBeerBlog have been hemming and hawing around how much longer we can do these Friday Wrap-ups. With so many breweries in the region and ourselves with kids, family, and life, we needed four people to keep this going the last few years and recently we’ve gone back down to three. We all love beer (still!) and we all love the friends, memories, trips, and community we’ve found thanks to beer across Atlantic Canada and beyond. From reading this blog, to writing for this blog, our families probably still have no idea what we’re talking about, but we are grateful for our readership and the ability to be part of this community.

Our thanks to everyone who helped us in one way or another over the last decade. Greg Delaney for starting this mess, Shawn Meek for his years of writing (even when he had a day job and a brewery side hustle), and Devon Gillis for his couple of years of contributions. All of the brewery staff who we bugged over the years for “the nerdy info”, often at inopportune times, and especially those who probably didn’t have “marketing and communications” in their job description. But especially the readers, of course; although we honestly have no idea how many people actually were reading, we had to assume there were at least a few, and that’s why we kept doing it.

What will we do now, at least on Thursday nights and Friday mornings? Probably a lot less typing. And frantically scanning social media. And complaining about how many beers 2 Crows released that week (Happy Birthday Jeremy, you made us quit! 😘). And telling Chris to, “stop looking now, we’ve got enough dammit!” The blog site isn’t going away, but you’ll probably find it gets a bit of an overhaul in the coming weeks. At the very least we’d like it to remain a record and a resource for folks going forward. We’ve also talked a bit about writing some of the pieces we never found the time to write; things about the industry, trends, opinions, brewery profiles (‘member those?!), etc. We make no commitments whatsoever, though, of course. Our social media accounts will remain, at least Instagram anyway, so if you’re looking for us, that’s probably the best way to go. Now, on to the news!

When Tatamagouche Brewing takes on a style they haven’t done before you can generally rest assured that they’re going to do it well, and we have every reason to suspect that such will be the case with their latest foray into Continental beer styles with Altbier. A classic German style, “alt” in fact translates to “old” as in, “this is the beer we used to make (before we started making lager).” Consistent with the style, you should find Tata’s version to have plenty of malty character, with biscuit and graham cracker leading the way thanks to generous use of German malts, balanced with enough hop bitterness and character from local Styrian Goldings hops to keep it from being cloying. Cold-conditioned to ensure a crisp finish, this 4.9% mahogany beauty is available in cans and will no doubt make an appearance on tap at better beer bars. Couple that with a “fresh” release of their Solitude Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, and you’ve got a full meal of Tata to enjoy this weekend!

Copper Bottom Brewing, hailing from Montague, PEI, also has a beer this week based on a traditional style that will hopefully usher in the warmer weather. Pursuit is a 4.0% Kolsch, a style that hails from Cologne Germany, and is the basis for many “Lagered Ales”. In a time that the concept of lagering and bottom-fermenting yeast was taking hold in the country’s breweries, those in Cologne were made to swear an oath to stick with the traditional ale yeast, which is top-fermenting. To compete with the crisp and clean lager beers available, however, the resourceful breweries would ferment with ale yeast, but then lager, or “keep”, the beer to keep the fruity ale character in check. Much like in 17th Century Cologne, Copper Bottom’s is also supremely drinkable, light, refreshing, and crisp. The Hallertau Mittelfruh and Saaz hops lend a touch of Old World character to the clean base of Pilsner and Vienna malts. On draught and in cans at the brewery now, and making its way across the province this weekend!

Straight outta Rothesay, Foghorn has a brand new release to satisfy your need for a summertime thirst quenching hazy IPA. Sundog is a New England-style IPA that brings all the hazy and tropical vibes you want for the summer. The malt bill for this is a blend of 2 row and Pilsner along with some oats for a smooth and beefed up body. The hops are a mix of Citra, Eclipse and HBC 1019 and the New England Ale yeast brings it all together. The beer will be available in 473ml cans on the shelves at ANBL for the next few months but they already have plans to brew it again as spring turns to summer. It’s 6% and 20 IBU, so look for it if you’re in New Brunswick for the summer!

Terp alert! With April 20th in the not so distant past, Landwash has a new dank beer called Best Buds. That could describe your blog boys, too 🙂 This beer is a very dank west coast IPA with some earthy and pine notes from CTZ, Cascade and Bru-1 hops. This beer features an addition of Pineapple Express terpenes which have a tropical, pungent, pine and fruit aroma. There are no THC or CBD products in this beer, but the flavour and aroma should be right on point! The beer is 6% and available in cans from the brewery. 

In Charlottetown, PEI, Upstreet Brewing has a new beer from their Staff Brew series of beers that are conceived by members of their staff. This time it’s Ace who’s responsible, a friendly face at both the taproom and Craft Beer Corner. Described as, “jam in a can,” the simply named Raspberry Beer is a 5.0% light pale ale dosed with raspberries for an ideal sunny summer afternoon tipple. Find this one pouring at both Upstreet Island locations and also available in cans to go.

Bannerman Brewing, of Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s has a brand new dark beer with a twist for us this week. Nine Lives is a porter that was brewed with the cats of the Bannerman staff. (Those of us who have cats know that their contribution was probably watching in disinterest and occasionally knocking something off something else) Starting with oats for mouthfeel and chocolate malts for roastiness on top of a traditional barley malt base, this one saw some aging time on blueberry and dark currant purées that contributed notes of dark fruit and berries to complement the chocolate and biscuit malty notes. Find this 4.8% gem in cans and on tap for pints and fills at the brewery and taproom.

Across Conception Bay from St. John’s we find Bay Roberts and Baccalieu Trail Brewing Co, who have a new malty one of their own to mention. Clock Tower Munich Dunkel is, well, a Munich dunkel. For those unfamiliar, it’s a dark lager style, built on a base of largely Munich malt, lightly hopped, and generally fermented cool with a Saccharomyces pastorianus strain of yeast. In this case the team at BT added a single decoction mash to bring a little extra magic to the proceedings. Named for the clocktower bells to which historic brewers would sync their mash times, this one provides the yin to the yang of Baccalieu Trail’s lighter Helles or High Water Munich helles. At 5% you’ll find there’s plenty of opportunity to consider the malty flavors, low bitterness, and crisp finish. Grab it in cans from the brewery and, we expect, anywhere else you find Baccalieu Trail beers.

North Sydney’s Breton Brewing is back with another fruited sour beer in their Let’s Jam series. Let’s Jam Cherry Lime Sour is… well… a 4.0% sour that pours a lovely pink hue, and is bursting with flavours of cherry and lime. Tart, light, and refreshing, cans and draught of LJCLS are in the taproom now, with home delivery an shipping province-wide from their website.

If you’re out and about in Halifax’s North End tomorrow, you will definitely want to pop in to the Stillwell Freehouse to check out their tap feature from Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery. This excellent Japanese- and Czech-inspired brewery rarely makes it this far east, so you should take advantage when the opportunity presents itself! Open from noon, there will be seven Godspeed beers pouring, including the debut of their Kiri, a 5.1% Belgian Witbier. 

After recently opening ticket sales for the Newfoundland Craft Beer Festival, Banished Brewing has also announced that they will be hosting Banished Fest in July. On July 12th and 13th, the taps will be featuring breweries from across North America on the go, with beers from Badlands, Dunham, Lone Oak, 2 Crows, Trailway, Stillwell, Other Half, and half a dozen more. Each brewery will have a dedicated tap or two during the event, and as one keg kicks, it will be replaced by another beer from the same brewery, and will be rotated between sessions, so that there will be a new roster each time. Those in the Golden Growler club will have the opportunity to fill up on any leftover beer at the end of the weekend (should there be any!). Tickets for the three sessions are now available, grab them quickly before they disappear!

Though they’re still probably best known for their hoppy stuff, Trailway Brewing in Fredericton has very much diversified their offering in the last few years and their Czech Pilsner Yada Yada has been a big part of that. Those who love it can rejoice as it’s back in the fridges and back on the taps, with biscuit-y malt, lively carbonation, and a balancing bitterness in a 5.0% ABV package.

Big Spruce has three…Three…THREE beers returning for your enjoyment this week. Canadian Tuxedo is their 6% haskap berry-infused sour ale, this time with some additional funk from some swimming time with Brettanomyces. Blursday is a favorite hazy IPA of many, coming in at 6.6% and bursting with mango, papaya, and lychee. Wrapping things up is What Could Possibly Go Wrong, an organic double IPA at 8% based around the relatively new Nectaron hop known for imparting passion fruit, stone fruit, and pineapple characters. These are all available in cans from the source and elsewhere you get your Spruce fix.

On Nova Scotia’s South Shore, Tanner & Co. Brewing is re-releasing their Kuitbier, a traditional Dutch style of beer from the 16th century. Made with oats, wheat, and barley, much of it local, it’s got a smooth malt character paired with subtle herbal notes. Canned and ready to go from Tanner retail, it’s 4.7% ABV.

A business lasting fifty years is something to be celebrated, and Port Rexton is doing just that with their release this week. Their 5.0% Golden Ale, released seasonally, is sporting a new label designed by the folks at St. Michael’s Printshop, an artist-first print studio in St. John’s, celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. Their facilities include studio and exhibition spaces, printing and lithography services, for both established and emerging artists. Support two local businesses that support their community, with one tasty beer! Available now in Port Rexton and at their St. John’s Retail Shop, with cans and draught further afield real soon!

Thanks for reading this far, and for following along over the last twelve years of near-weekly posts! Remember, this isn’t goodbye, it’s, “We have confidence you can find a great locally-made beer near you, now go out and grab it!”. We’ll still be coming to your inbox, and the blog site, with brewery Profiles and other news on occasion, so “See You Later” until then! Aaron, Chris, and Damian

Friday Wrap-Up for April 12, 2024 – News from Bishop’s Cellar, Banished, Bannerman, Iron Rock, Landwash, Boomstick, Bootleg, Libra, Nomad, 2 Crows, and NL Craft Beer Festival

Posted by acbbchris on 2024-04-12
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 2 Crows Oxford, Banished Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Boomstick Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Enjoy Nomad, Iron Rock Brewing Co., Landwash Brewery, Libra Non-Alcoholic Beer, Newfoundland Craft Beer Festival. Leave a Comment

We hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the Eclipse Monday, whether you were in a part of the region to experience totality, or at least carefully observed the partial eclipse. If you’re anything like us, we’re already looking forward to the next ones occurring across the world, and figuring out how the heck you’re getting to Iceland or Australia

You’ll notice a lot of Newfoundland and Labrador content this week, but we want to let our Nova Scotian readers know that you don’t need to be envious, as our pals at Bishop’s Cellar have received a shipment of eight different beers from four different breweries. Two each from Banished Brewing (Space Puffin NE IPA and Imperial Stout), Bannerman Brewing (All Hands Helles and Eclipse NE IPA), Iron Rock Brewing (Happy Valley Hefeweizen and Lawn Sweeper Cream Ale), and Landwash Brewing (Tidepool German Pilsner and Spyhop Sour IPA). You can head down to Bishop’s Landing now (plan to be there between 2 – 4 PM for a free tasting by Beer Category Manager Lucas Mader), or order a few of each to get yourself some free delivery across the province! 

For those in Newfoundland, however, we do have plenty of new beers to shout about this week. Landwash Brewery in Mount Pearl has had their pals from Johnny and Mae’s slinging burger and fries from their taproom for quite a while, and are celebrating with a collaboration beer. Smash Daddy is a SMaSH beer (Single Malt and Single Hop), brewed with Pilsner malt as the entire grain bill, and Citra used for hopping throughout. This 5.0% ABV Pale Ale is light, bright, and full of citrus goodness in a crisp package, perfect for pairing with any and all from the food truck offerings. The beer is available now in Mount Pearl and in the wild, too!

Also in the wild from Landwash is a brand new release, and Tim’s first recipe at Landwash, a Dark Rice Lager named Kuro. Chocolate and roasted barley malts complement the rice, and are enhanced by the Sorachi Ace and Saaz hops, for multiple layers of flavour and aromatics. This 4.5% ABV beauty is streaming from the LUKR side pour at the brewery taproom, and beautifully designed cans are available in Mount Pearl and at Landwash’s retail partners as well.

We’ve also got a pair of releases for you out of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, as both Boomstick and Bootleg are pushing pale ales this week. Up first is Boomstick, with their Pack Out pale, designed as both the perfect accompaniment to some time in the woods and on the trails, and also as a reminder that you’d best be packing out what you packed in. Bright, with citrus and fruity hop flavors taking center stage, it still has plenty of body and a hazy appearance. Find this 5.3% beauty on tap for draught pours in the taproom and also in cans at Boomstick retail and across the island this weekend.

Bootleg’s version of a pale, staidly-named Pale Ale, is actually the second iteration of the beer. Originally intending to dial back the caramel malt a titch, they ended up swapping it entirely for honey malt, which also provides sweetness, but a “lighter” sort without deeper sugar flavors. The end result is a less malty, more crisp beer that’s easy to drink at 5% ABV. Where this batch was also brewed up the road at Western Newfoundland Brewing, it afforded Bootleg the opportunity to package a big batch of this in 355ml cans for easy transport. Grab some from the brewery next time you’re in town!

Let’s finish off with a one-two Non-Alcoholic punch this week. Libra, by Upstreet Brewing, has a new offering, launching across Atlantic Canada. Lemon Ginger Saison could be the first NA Saison in the country, and they were thrilled to do so with malt from Shoreline Malting, and yeast from Escarpment Labs. Quite dry, with notes of lemongrass and ginger, this saison is also quite low in calories and sugar (20 kCal and 1 gram), for those who are looking to minimize both while still drinking something flavourful. In addition to Upstreet’s retail locations, LGS will be available at Sobeys locations across Atlantic Canada, NB Liquor, and online at Well.ca and their own site. 

In further NA news, the other local sensation in the non-alcoholic beer scene is Tatamagouche’s Nomad who this week are also pushing the boundaries of NA beer by releasing an IPA. We don’t know about you, but we find hoppier low-to-no alcohol offerings pretty hit or miss, so we’ve got high hopes for the Nomad gang on this one. Using old school Crystal for bittering (and from locals Island Hop Company, no less), the flavor and aroma hops are the classic citrus bomb Citra, pineapple-y El Dorado, and melon-y modern Continental variety Huell Melon. Paired with Horton Ridge pale malt for even more local cred, you’ll hopefully find this bright beer bursting with juicy and citrusy flavors. Clean and classic, they kept the bitterness low to encourage drinkability. Grab it wherever you normally find Nomad or Tatamagouche products. Keep an eye out for the re-release of their Sunrise Trail ISA in a great new can, too!

After two thefts from them this week (a Midnight Oil Birds of Nova Scotia print was lifted from their Oxford location & cash till, camera, and beer from their brewery location on Brunswick), it’s time to show 2 Crows Brewing your love! Over and above visiting and enjoying some great beer and pizza (Yeah Yeahs Pizza shares their space on Oxford), you should think about signing up for their Ceramic Smoking Accessories Workshop, being held on April 20th. Teaching you how to make pipes and ashtrays, you’ll also be the first to try their latest release, CUSHY. A super tiny batch, available on draught only that day, it is a Pale Ale with Lemons and terpenes added. As you probably know, terpenes are the very aromatic compounds that are shared by both cannabis and hop plants, and influence the experience of both plants products significantly. An appropriate beer for an appropriate workshop, on an appropriate day! Grab your tickets from Eventbrite today!

Get ready Newfoundlanders, the NL Craft Beer Festival is coming back August 24th! Held once again at Banished Brewing, this one-session-only beerfest is a Saturday night in Paradise, with plenty of new Newfoundland and Labrador breweries and beers in attendance, with tons more coming from the mainland across Canada. There will be food from Banished’s kitchen, and live music to keep the party going. You can buy Regular and VIP tickets now, to secure your spot! There will probably be info on transport to/from Paradise coming soon, too.

Friday Wrap-Up for March 15, 2024 – News from CBANS, Big Spruce, Breton, Hardisty, Truro, Burnside, Village Green, Banished, Trailway, and more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2024-03-16
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Banished Brewing, Bar Brewdock, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Black is Beautiful, Breton Brewing, Brew Culture, Burnside Brewing Company, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Escarpment Laboratories, Hardisty Brewing, Lone Oak Brewing, Modern Brewer's Village Green, O'Creek Brewing, Off Track Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Shoreline Malting, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Harbour Brewing Company, TrailWay Brewing, Truro Brewing Company. Leave a Comment

[ed. Once again we’re posting our Friday wrap-up on Saturday. Real Life™ is a thing; whatchagonnado?]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day weekend! There are a lot of events going on at your local bars, pubs, and breweries, so make sure you show them some love instead of just going to the provincial liquor store and grabbing some Guinness! We won’t be listing all of the events and parties for Paddy’s Day (then we would never get out of here!) but be sure to check your local spots on social media to see if they have anything on the go. Let’s dive in!

We’ll start this week in Nova Scotia where the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia has released their annual fundraising collaboration beer, Together We Brew. This year representatives from member breweries gathered at Stillwell Brewing on Kempt Road in Halifax to brew a Dortmunder-style export lager. Using all-Canadian ingredients from Brew Culture, Shoreline Malting, and Escarpment Labs, it was brewed back in January before being given eight solid weeks of lagering time. Coming in at a comfortable 5.8% ABV, it’s got plenty of malt character, floral hop aroma, and a soft balancing bitterness, and it’s an excellent everyday beer and a great one to share with friends and show off the quality of NS craft beer. It’s available now in 473ml cans at NSLC locations and select breweries around NS.

If you’re the sort who keeps track of these things, or just a long time craft beer drinker in NS, you no doubt know what’s coming next. The release of the Together We Brew beer always heralds the coming of CBANS’ signature event, also called Together We Brew. This year taking place at Pavillion 22 at the Halifax Seaport you’ll find some 40 Nova Scotia craft breweries pouring their wares. Even better, they’re doing away with the tyranny of sample tickets, so maybe you won’t have to pick and choose quite as much (although you’ll still be expected to drink responsibly). Two sessions will be held on April 6th, one in the afternoon from 2 – 4:30pm, and one in the evening from 7 – 9:00pm. As always, VIP tickets are available that allow an extra hour of early tasting and a special souvenir tasting glass, and Designated Driver tickets are also available. All the relevant information and links to ticket purchase can be found on the event page at the CBANS website. Hope to see you there!

In 2022, an open-ended collaboration called Black Is Beautiful was created to support the efforts of the National Black Brewers Association in growing Black brewers across the US (and hopefully beyond). A recipe for an imperial stout was provided to breweries who wished to participate along with additional assets (label design, collateral). Each brewery pledged $1 (or more) from every can sold to the cause. This year it’s happening again, with Weathered Souls Brewing providing the recipe for a hazy IPA, Stout Collective providing the label design, and Blue Label Packaging Co even fronting the labels (breweries need only pay shipping). Nyanza’s Big Spruce Brewing is the first Atlantic Canadian brewery (that we’re aware of) to sign up and take part. Their version of Black Is Beautiful Volume 2 was released this week, following the published recipe pretty closely on the malt side, with 2-row malted barley, white wheat, Vienna malt, oats, and barley flakes (all organic, natch) building a solid base. Veering a little bit from the spec, the Spruce team went 50/50 with modern classics Galaxy and Mosaic for the hops, all of them added in a post-temperature reduction whirlpool and dry hop. The result is described as, “courage, bravery, and allyship wrapped in an unbelievably badass beer.” True to the spirit of the collaboration, Big Spruce will be spreading the proceeds between NBBA and longtime Big Spruce partner the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent Coalition (ANSDPAD). Grab it in cans at the brewery and, we’d imagine, other places you’ve historically found Big Spruce beer.

Missed in last week’s round-up of beers brewed for International Women’s Day was an entry from Breton Brewing in Sydney, NS. Bearing the same name as previous IWD beers brewed at Breton, Waves Rise, it is in the champagne IPA (a.k.a. brut IPA) style, which generally describes a hoppy beer with a rather light body. Leveraging the Pink Boots hop blend from Yakima Chief, it boasts aromas of peach and stone fruit and aims to please both hop lovers and lighter beer lovers alike. Find this 5.8% gem on tap and in cans at the taproom, as well as other fine drinking establishments around the province (we spotted it at The Narrows in Halifax ourselves earlier this week!).

Another IWD beer we missed last weekend is a collab between Truro Brewing and Cole Harbour’s Hardisty Brewing. Wicked Roots is a dark ale that features root beer-inspired herbs and spices, including sarsaparilla, licorice root, star anise, and wintergreen. Hardisty even went so far as to serve it with vanilla ice cream as a float last weekend for their IWD celebration! We’re not sure if that’s still available, but this 5% beer was pouring at both breweries’ taprooms and a  portion was also canned (although we’re not sure if cans went to Hardisty).

In the Burnside Industrial Park area of Dartmouth we find the pseudonymous Burnside Brewing has a new one pouring this week, the latest in their Brew Lab series of smaller batch experimental beers. This time around the Burnside team experimented with a traditional Czech brewing process, namely single decoction, to produce a traditional Czech Pilsner. Also boasting malt from Czechia, Czech Pilsner #1 comes in at 4.6% ABV and is hopped with traditional Saaz, retro Sládek, and new school Bohemie, yielding a spicy, herbaceous, and citrus-tinged hop aroma to pair with its rich maltiness and balancing bitterness. Find this unfiltered and golden beer on tap and in cans at all three Burnside properties.

Village Green in Cornwall, PEI, released a new IPA this week, one that harkens back to the IPAs of yesteryear, with a chewy malt body, plenty of bitterness, and of course, big hop flavour and aroma courtesy of large additions of Citra in the kettle and for dry hop. Dubbed Undead IPA, you shouldn’t find it scary, but you might find it has notes of marmalade, candied citrus, and ripe stone fruit in this 6.8% beer. Find it at the brewery now on tap, and hopefully in cans to go.

Up in Newfoundland, two of the Rock’s best beer spots have teamed up for a collaboration. Bar Brewdock of East Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s grabbed themselves some tickets to Paradise and visited Banished Brewing. On their mind was brewing up a big ol’ juice bomb to remind themselves of the summer days they hope aren’t too far away. If you’re familiar with the Banished oeuvre, this one started with a similar base to Makes Sense, but amped up to reach double IPA proportions. To that was added Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Cascade hops, including all three in a double dry hop. Finishing at 8.5% ABV, it’s truly hazy, with bitterness on the low end, a deep orange color, and plenty of citrus character that’s maybe even a little reminiscent of Five Alive™. Find it on tap at the brewery and at Brewdock, of course, and it’s going out to retailers in cans as well.

Staying in Newfoundland, but out to Quidi Vidi, where Quidi Vidi Brewery has a light new hoppy brew available. Glad Hands is the product of the sixth annual collaboration between the QV and Newfermenters Homebrew Club. Starting with a beer competition, it turns into a bottle share where all comers can sample eachother’s wares. Jamie Osborne provided the recipe for this one and it’s an easy drinking session IPA. Smooth and refreshing, it’s got plenty of citrusy aromas from the hops in a, “it’s quite alright to have another,” 3.9% package. It’s a limited edition, so grab it on tap at the QV taproom or pick up some cans to go while you can.

Over to New Brunswick where, in Fredericton, Trailway Brewing has a beer returning that hasn’t been seen in well nigh two whole years. You may remember the moment in the sun of the milkshake IPA, which generally marries the hazy IPA style with fruit and lactose to produce something not quite beer-like, but also definitely beer-like. Not the kind of style you’d find yourself banging four of in an evening, but certainly something that can scratch a (possibly weird) itch. This iteration of Velvet Fog is 6% and features cherry and mango flavors along with the sweetness of lactose and plenty of hops; it’s soft and round, and almost smoothie-like on the finish. Available in cans at the taproom in Fredericton and Union House in Saint John, you’ll also be able to pick this up at ANBL locations in coming weeks as well.

Only one event this weekend, but it’s a doozy and it’s already started!

If you’re in Halifax, you may have seen the news of the triple tap takeover between Tatamagouche Brewing, 2 Crows Brewing, and Lone Oak Brewing a few weeks ago and have been jealous of all that great beer in one place. Well today you get your chance. Starting today at open and running all the way to close, those three breweries will be doing it all again at Battery Park in Dartmouth. Will you find green beer? Probably not. Will you find a selection of fresh and delicious beer from some of the region’s best breweries? You sure will. Maybe we’ll see you there!

And a couple more things afore we go:

You down with P-O-G? Yeah, you know me! [ed. Alrighty there, Milhouse] 2 Crows Brewing has a new version of the Jamboree Sour Series, but this one features passionfruit, orange, and guava additions. Using a puree of passion fruit, pureed mango, orange puree along with the orange zest and juice, this is really just for summer.  It’s 4.8% and canned now, available at both 2 Crows locations and with certain NSLCs will be carrying this as well. 

Moncton’s O’Creek Brewing isn’t taking their foot off the pedal any time soon: they’ve got three new beers pouring this week. Czech Affair is a returning favorite, a Czech pale lager, Kozak Lager, brewed in partnership with the Ukrainian Club of Moncton (some proceeds contributed to the Ukrainian cause), and Sunny Brae Coffee Stout, which was brewed with coffee from local roastery Sunny Brae Coffee. All three are pouring at their taproom, but if you’re in Halifax with no plans to be in Moncton this weekend, you may still be able to sample some O’Creek, as Stillwell HQ has been pouring some of their wares of late.

Unfortunately this week we again need to finish with some sadder news. Off Track Brewing in Bedford announced this week that they will be closing on April 28th (or when they run out of beer). Bedford’s only brewery, they built themselves a taproom on Rocky Lake Drive that fostered a vibrant community spirit. Additionally, The Harbour Brewing Company in Musquodoboit Harbour has announced that they are for sale and will be ceasing current operations once they run out of beer. We raise a glass to the teams at both locations wish them all the best, whatever their futures may bring.