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Friday Wrap-Up – News from TrailWay, PEIBC, Big Axe, Pump House, Tatamagouche, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-10-31
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beerthief, Big Axe Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Meander River Farm and Brewery, Moosehead, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery, Railcar Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Rogues Roost Brewpub, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 4 comments

Happy Halloween! There’s a whole lot of Atlantic Canadian beer news this week, so let’s get at it…

• There’s another new brewery in New Brunswick on the horizon… the people behind TrailWay Brewing recently broke through on social media when they announced on their Twitter account that they would be opening soon in Fredericton. Dan Mason and Jake Saunders are two homebrewers that have decided to go pro, and plan on bringing a variety of beer styles (including APAs, IPAs, and Stouts) to the area. Brewery construction is currently under way; they have received their Federal Excise License, and hope to be producing beer before Christmas. Stay tuned for a profile on New Brunswick’s newest brewery in the near future!

• The rumours have been confirmed in a recent CBC story – Rogues Roost in Halifax has been sold to the PEI Brewing Co. The second acquisition of a brewpub by PEIBC in the last several months (the first being the Hart & Thistle waterfront property, now the location of the Halifax Gahan Pub), it has been confirmed that all 15 staff members of Rogue’s Roost – including brewmaster Lorne Romano – will stay on. At the moment, there is no intention on changing the Rogue’s brand, as all of their beers will continue to be brewed, according to former owner Doug Johnson and PEI Brewing Co. COO Ben Murphy. With this acquisition comes the possibility that some of the Rogue’s beers will be bottled/canned in the future.

• Big Axe has a new beer available for growler fills at the brewery in Nackawic – Partridgeberry Belgian is a Belgian Witbier-style brewed with a combination of ingredients, including coriander, oranges, and partridgeberries (a tart berry found in regions of Newfoundland) that were added to the boil. Hopped with Saaz, and fermented with a Belgian yeast, it weighs in at 5.6% ABV. Owner/brewer Peter Cole describes the beer as having “a mild but complex tartness, and a mild berry, clove, and cinnamon aroma”. It’s also available on tap at 540 Kitchen & Bar in Fredericton.

• Pump House has just released their Glenn’s Barley Wine, which recently won Beer of the Year at the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards earlier this month. Brewed in the style of an English Barleywine, this copper-colored beer is “full-bodied with a high residual malty sweetness”, with “noticeable alcohol, fruity esters, and sherry-like aromas and flavors”, according to the brewery. In true Barleywine fashion, it has a high ABV, clocking in at 9.9%. It’s available now for a very limited time, only on tap at the brewpub on Orange Lane.

• In other Pump House news, Stonefire Ale – the beer brewed for their 15th Anniversary in early September – should now be available! This Stein Beer was brewed by immersing hot stones (~700 degrees Celsius) into the wort, quickly bringing the liquid to a boil and caramelizing sugars in the process. With a dark-amber color, the beer has notes of “apricot, grapefruit, and toasted bread” in the aroma, according to the brewery. Full-bodied, with “lots of caramel flavors, combined with the taste of roasted sugar and a background smokiness”, the beer has a low bitterness (~7 IBUs) and 6.5% ABV. Look for it in numbered, limited edition bottles only, at the brewpub now; it will follow shortly in short numbers at ANBL, NSLC and PEILCC stores.

• Tatamagouche Brewing has just released a new beer, Dreadnot. A 7% ABV India Black Ale (aka Black IPA) named after a boat built in Tatamagouche in 1877, the beer was brewed using debittered black malt to provide hints of roastiness without the acrid character from other husked, dark malts. Hopped with “generous amounts” of Waimea, El Dorado, and their own Malagash-grown Cascade to provide “pronounced citrus and floral hop aromas, and subtle pine characteristics”. There’s only a very limited amount available at the moment; look for it at the brewery for growler fills, and on tap at The Stirling Room in Tatamagouche, and at Stillwell, The Stubborn Goat, Obladee and Lion & Bright in Halifax. Luckily, they hope to brew it again in the near future!

• Speaking of Black IPAs, it looks like Moosehead has brewed a beer exclusively for the Saint John Ale House. A cask-conditioned Black IPA with a “rich roasted malt backbone”, it has been dry-hopped with Styrian Goldings “for a crisp finish”, according to the description at the SJAH. It comes in a bit lower than your typical Black IPA, at 5.6% ABV. And in other Moosehead news, their Cold Beer Store in Dartmouth is now offering growler fills of their brands.

• Chris Long, brewmaster at PEI Brewing Co., hasn’t wasted any time brewing a new beer now that the ABV-restriction has been lifted in the province – he’s mashing in a celebratory DIPA today! 8 Cord Double IPA has a grist of 2-row, Munich, and Honey malt, and is hopped with Warrior, Amarillo, Columbus, Cascade, and Centennial… and then dry-hopped (of course!), twice, with more Amarillo, Columbus, and Cascade. With about 80 IBUs and an ABV of 8.5%, it should be a terrific entry into the new range of beers available on the Island! Look for it on PEI by late November/early December, on tap and in cans.

• Picaroons has confirmed the details on their official Winter Warmer Launch Party which will be held next Wednesday, November 5th, from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the ANBL Train Station. There will be live music from local singer Josh Bravener, a variety of tasty pies from the Chess Piece Pâtisserie & Cafe, and of course, samples of the star of the hour, Winter Warmer. In addition, representatives of the Shivering Songs Festival will be on hand to announce the line-up of music for this year’s event. It’s all free, so make sure to drop by!

• Meander River Farm and Brewery has released a new beer this week, Smokey Chipotle Porter. The malt bill features Cherrywood Smoked Malt, to lend a smokey character on top of the rich dark chocolate notes. Chipotle peppers were added close to the end of fermentation for a bit more smoke, and a slight spicy kick, while maintaining a nice hop balance. It is available today at the Brewhouse 4-7pm, tomorrow and Sunday 11-5pm, and on tap in Halifax at Tom’s Little Havana and Lion & Bright.

• Schoolhouse Brewery in Falmouth, NS is coming to Stillwell for the first time tomorrow, and they’re arriving in a big way! Owner Cam Hartley will be on hand to share their six handcrafted ales with the thirsty Halifax drinkers. Their two flagship beers will be on tap, as well as all four of the Hants County Hop Series beers. The Principal Ale is an unfiltered, dry hopped 4.5% ABV, 20 IBU Pale Ale made with Maritime barley and organic specialty malts. The dry hopping with Cascade leaves this beer with a citrusy aroma. The Chequers Ale is a 4.5% ABV Robust Porter made with Goldings hops. This dark ale is a tribute to Cameron’s Great Grandfather’s brewpub in Kent England with the same name. The Hants County Hop Series beers are just about as local as a beer can get, using Maritime malt and hops grown in Hants County. Each beer features just one or two local hops, to allow imbibers to taste the characteristics each hop lends to the final product. The four beers are: Hants County Goldings, Hants County Galena, Hants County Zeus, and Hants County Zeus & Galena. The base beer style is a 5%ABV Pale Ale, with most of the hops being used in a hop back, between the kettle, through the chiller, and to the fermenter. This technique proved to be tricky, but worth the effort to grab tons of aroma from the hops without a lot of bitterness. The hops were grown on the Schoolhouse grounds, another of their hop yards at Castle Frederick Farm, as well as from Wentworth Creek Farm. Cam dried them himself, turning his garage into a temporary oast house. Cam had this to say about the Hop Series, ” I always wanted to make a beer that would be close to what the first settlers would have drank (with the exception of using modern sanitization techniques). It also allowed me to meet and work with some wonderful local hop growers at Wentworth Farm. We hope this annual series grows. This will mean an expanding hop industry in Hants County.” Meet Cam, and drink the labour of love for this brewery and farmers Saturday, starting at noon. No tickets necessary, come on by!

• In other Schoolhouse news, they will soon be offering growler fills! While they are not open to the public, they will be attending the Wolfville Farmers Market as soon as their capacity allows. And, in a region first, they will be offering a weekly growler delivery service to customers in the Windsor and Falmouth area. The truck will head out Thursday evening to collect empties and drop off filled growlers. Be sure to place your order in advance via email. Due to alcohol restrictions, ID will be checked, so no re-purposing the milkman’s “Milk/No Milk” sign!

• Yellowbelly Brewery in St. John’s, NL has their newest creation on tap now, named Root Cellar. After being charged to create a parsnip beer, brewmaster Liam McKenna admitted that he was stumped. However, not to give up on a challenge, he came up with the idea of using parsnips in a fall seasonal. While many of our favourite breweries opt for Pumpkin Spice beers, they are very divisive in the beer community, and McKenna is not a fan, due to the spices used. Instead of using nutmeg or allspice, he chose other spices and seasonings for a different beer altogether, complementing the earthy nature with hints of licorice found in parsnips. Marris Otter was the base grain, with 60 kg of baked and pureed parsnips added. The beer was hopped with the earthy East Kent Goldings to about 16 IBU, and then given a double dry-hop dose of Topaz, lending a citrus rind character. McKenna also used fresh grated ginger and Thai basil, and dried Star Anise to round out the rich spicing characteristics of the beer. The final product is a 6% straw coloured brew with a slight haze, and light in body. And, most importantly, McKenna is pleased with the results! Grab a pint at the Yellowbelly today.

• nuqneH! Garrison Brewing will be releasing a new beer next week, in celebration of Hal-Con, the Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Gaming Convention being held Nov 7-9. Klingon Warnog Roggen Dunkel is a dark rye beer, a hybrid of the Dunkelweizen and Roggenbier styles. It was brewed using Munich, Dark Crystal, Wheat and Rye malts, hopped with Cascade, and fermented with a German Weizen yeast, for a rich blend of aromas and flavours. Aromas of banana, clove and chocolate lead to rye, caramel and chocolate, with a balancing bitterness. Available in very short supply at the brewery and private stores beginning Nov 7, and they will be announcing their favourite fan slogan today on twitter. ‘IwlIj jachjaj!

• Railcar Brewing officially opens tomorrow, and in addition to two of their flagship beers (Railcar Red and Artisan Brown), they’ll have a SMaSH IPA that’s hopped exclusively with Cascade, from Southan Farms. It clocks in at 5.5% ABV and 70 IBUs. They also have a Peanut Butter Porter on the brew schedule for next week… we’ll keep you updated on that one! Be sure to drop in at the brewery/retail store in Florenceville tomorrow if you’re in the area, and pick up some growlers and swag (10% off opening day)!

• Over at Rockbottom, they released a new beer on Wednesday for their weekly firkin. A Smoked Lager (Classic Rauchbier) with a grist containing a whopping 82% of beechwood-smoked malt, and Munich malt, and hopped with Saaz, it comes in at 5.3% ABV and 21 IBUs. Think of this as a preview for the main batch, which should be on tap at the brewpub soon.

• Hammond River Brewing is has announced that they’re hosting a homebrew competition! Open to all New Brunswick homebrewers, the style to brew will be Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer. A total of four bottles of beer will be required; the due date for sample submission is January 9th, so you have lots of time to get brewing! Local BJCP-certified judges will be joined by a local sommelier to find the best in show. The winner will brew their recipe with HR owner/brewer Shane Steeves on his brew system, and the beer will be released on tap in the Saint John area. In addition, the top three finalists will receive prizes from the Saint John Ale House.

• In other homebrew competition news, the Beerthief crew is hosting a competition for Newfoundland and Labrador homebrewers. Focusing on two styles (Dry Stout and  American IPA), the competition closes mid-December, so get brewing now! Check out the forums for more details. Good luck!

• And for NS Homebrewers, don’t forget that the Big Spruce American Wheat/Rye competition closes Nov 27, so brew now or forever hold your peace. Details are available in our previous writeup.

• A final reminder that the second annual Fredericton Poutine Festival is next Saturday, Nov. 8th, and tickets are almost gone! The brewery list has expanded, with 12 breweries pouring up to 25 different beers. And, of course there will be lots of food: five establishments will have a total of 10 different types of poutine for you to sample! Get your tickets now before they’re sold out. For more info on the festival, check out our previous post.

Phew! Lots of new, local beers to look for this weekend! Celtic Knot Brewing has also expanded distribution – they now have a rotating tap at the Old Triangle in Moncton. If you are on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, be sure to drop by Boxing Rock for a Hallowe’en party Saturday. From 12-3pm at the brewery, they will be having a BBQ, free tours and samples (best to call 902-494-9233 first to ensure your spot), face painting, apple bobbing, and Pumpkin Slinging with their trebuchet!

Friday Wrap-Up – News and New Beers from Railcar, Big Spruce, PEI Brewing Co., Boxing Rock, Shiretown, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-10-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Canadian Brewing Awards, Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Celtic Oktoberfest, East Coast Beer Tours, Garrison Brewing, Local Connections Halifax, North Brewing, PEI Brewing, Railcar Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer. 1 comment

Happy long-weekend Friday, everyone! After several weeks absolutely chock-full of beer news, it looks like things have slowed down – slightly – as everyone gets ready for Thanksgiving…

• The long wait is almost over… Railcar Brewing should be supplying beer to the thirsty public very soon! They’ve hired their first full-time assistant brewer, and their first commercial brew day will occur this weekend – they’ll be brewing up a batch of their Artisan Brown Ale, a traditional English Brown with an ABV of 5% and 22 IBUs. For every growler of this beer that is sold, Railcar will donate $0.50 to the Andrew and Laura McCain Art Gallery to support art programs for youth in the community. Their Railcar Red (5% ABV, 23 IBUs) will be brewed several days later; look for their beers to be available for growler fills at the brewery soon, and hitting local restaurants/pubs on tap. They’re also expanding into a space behind the brewery, where they’ll be opening a spin-off company named Brew Offs, where they’ll be selling products made with beer ingredients – e.g. spent grain granola, beer soap, beer barbecue sauce, etc. – to avoid wastage as much as possible.

• Railcar will be at the NB Nano Takeover at Stillwell (with their Railcar Red), being held next Saturday, October 18th. During the two sessions (12-3, 4-7), some of the smallest and most innovative breweries in New Brunswick will be pouring their beers and ciders, most for the first time outside of NB. Acadie-Broue, Big Axe, Grimross, Hammond River, Red Rover, and Petit-Sault will also be pouring that day. Tickets are still available for either session, and your $15 entry will snag you a t-shirt and your first pour. If you haven’t booked them by now, you *may* not get the correct sized t-shirt (be sure to specify in your request), but at least you’ll get in the door! And you definitely don’t want to miss out on this very special day.

• Big Spruce will be holding their Second Annual Home Brew Competition shortly, so NS homebrewers, fire up your kettles! This year’s style is 6D – American Wheat or Rye. Full registration details will open very shortly, however we can tell you that entries will be due November 26th, and the judging will take place November 29th. Once again, the winning brewer will be invited to step up their homebrew recipe on Big Spruce’s 7 bbl system, and the beer will be launched at the Local Connections Halifax Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration, January 15, at the Halifax Club. With over 6 weeks of lead time, we can look forward to some great beers being submitted (maybe even a chance for a test brew to fine tune the recipe?). As in last year’s, entry is open to all NS homebrewers, and please email Big Spruce for the registration form.

• Speaking of Big Spruce, they have two new beers in the pipeline; the first one is Das Sprucebier, an Oktoberfest (aka Märzen) brewed with 100% imported German malt, including Vienna, Pilsner, Munich I, and CaraMunich. It clocks in at 5.9% ABV and 23 IBUs, and is hopped with both Magnum and Challenger, the latter of which is grown on-site at the Big Spruce farm. The second beer, Smoking Jack, is their first seasonal Pumpkin ale. Featuring their own farm-grown, organic pumpkins that have been smoked for 5 hours outside the brewery  and added to the mash, the beer was then conditioned on cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg… that had been soaked for 72 hours in Flor de Caña Centenario dark rum. And, of course, the rum itself was then added to the beer for good measure! This one weighs in at 5.4% ABV and 22 IBUs. Das Sprucebier is available now, and the Smoking Jack will be released just in time for the Celtic Oktoberfest, being held October 25th in Port Hawkesbury, NS (more on that later in the post). Both beers will be available for growler fills at the brewery, and at select bars/restaurants in the Halifax area as well.

• The PEI Brewing Co. is holding their annual Oktoberfest celebration next weekend on Saturday, October 18th. Like last year, the event will be held throughout the day, with an artisan market, music, and lots of sausages and beer for purchase. Included in the beer offerings is a new cask brewed for the occasion: Big Jimmy Brown is their Iron Bridge Brown Ale aged on bourbon-soaked oak chips, “primed” with Creme de Cacao; it clocks in at 6% ABV and ~30 IBUs. Their popular Growler Challenge (where contestants compete to see who can hold a full growler of beer at arm’s length for the longest period) begins at 2:00 pm, and later in the evening, starting at 8:00 pm, their first Art Battle of the season will be held. This will be followed by live music starting at 10:30 pm, featuring Rich Aucoin and PS I Love You. Entry is free during the afternoon; tickets for the Art Battle and after party are $10 and can be purchased online.

• And while on the topic of the PEI Brewing Co., their popular Sydney Street Stout is now back in liquor stores across the Maritimes, and on tap at select locations.

• Boxing Rock has just brewed a new beer, an Amber Ale fall seasonal hopped with “a very special hop, believed to be unobtainable”. They’re keeping details under wraps for now, but we’ll have more info for you next week! For now, look forward to a beer featuring a hop that “really makes it a special brew”, according to owner/brewer Emily Tipton. They hope to have the beer released before the end of this month. And we see that they are brewing up another batch of U-889 today, which is their ACBA Gold-Medal winning Russian Imperial Stout.

• Shiretown recently brewed a revised batch of their Siren’s T’ale; this one was brewed with a new hop variety, Goldings, from Southan Farms. Owner/brewer Derek Leslie has confirmed that this variety may become a permanent substitute in future brews of this particular beer. In the meantime, when the beer becomes available, if you’d like to try it to compare to previous batches, look for bottles with batch #146 indicated on the label.

• We have some more details on the North Brewing Winter Saison. Their popular Saison will now be a year-round beer (weighing in at 5.5% ABV), however the orange and coriander from the Summer brew is being swapped out for Winter’s ginger and black pepper. We had a chance to try it on the weekend, and quite enjoyed it!

• Sea Level Brewing has released their latest seasonal,  Punkin Grinner Ale. Brewed for the first time last year, this beer features local produce, including baby pam pie pumpkins grown on the Sea Level farm. It weighs in at 5% ABV, and features local honey and Annapolis Valley hops. We can also confirm that it’s available now at the Port Pub and brewery, and will be in the Halifax Private Stores this weekend.

• A reminder that the Beerthief Special Brew Label Contest closes today. Be sure to send your entry along to Mike to be entered. Garrison Brewing’s special brew will be released in January, to Beerthief members in Newfoundland and Labrador only.

• Toot toot! Final call for East Coast Beer Tour’s Valley Tour! Check out their bus tour to the Annapolis Valley, scheduled for tomorrow, October 11th. Tickets are now only $25, and include transport, three brewery tours complete with beer tastings, snacks and lunch. Now’s your chance to visit Meander River, Paddys Irish Brewpub, and Bad Apple Brewhouse, and leave the driving to someone else!

• The latest Local Connections Halifax Magazine is on its way to the printers, but the digital version is now available for reading. In it, there is an extensive Craft Beer section, featuring Garrison Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Schoolhouse, the Atlantic Canada Beer Awards, and much more.
• Tickets are still available for this month’s Celtic Oktoberfest, being held in Port Hawkesbury on Saturday, Oct 25th. A nice write-up in the Chronicle Herald highlights many of the local food and beer vendors whose products will be offered that evening. Remember that your ticket includes beer AND food, as well as great local entertainment. And be sure to check out the Pumpkin Launch that afternoon on the Port Hawkesbury marina. If you’ve got a team of like-minded designers and builders, sign up to take part!
• Barley, Hops and Mash, a workshop for Craft Brewers, is taking place October 24th at Acadia University in Wolfville. The brainchild of Springboard Atlantic, it seeks to pair brewers with scientific researchers, for mutual benefit. Perhaps a brewery has a question about hops utilization in their system, a lab or research group is available with the tools to perform the experiments and analyze the results. Gary McMullen (President and Founder of Muskoka Brewery) and Joel Alex (Founder and President of Blue Ox Malt House) will give Keynote talks, and then brewers and researchers will give short 3 minute/1 slide presentations on their research needs and abilities, respectively. The seminar is free, and is aimed at established or in-development breweries.
• What a weekend! Chris was thrilled to have been one of the organizers for the inaugural Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards held last weekend. Saturday was a long day of judging, with the 18 judges tackling over 170 different beers, submitted by 28 different breweries. The hard working stewards kept the beer moving and the judges busy, going quite late into the night. Once the dust settled, the results were tallied, and announced at the Stubborn Goat, Sunday evening.
Here are the results, and we offer our sincere congratulations to all entrants. What a great celebration of our brewing community!
Brewery of the Year*: Bad Apple Brewhouse
Brewpub of the Year*: Rockbottom Brewpub
Beer of the Year: Pump House Barleywine
Stillwell‘s People’s Choice Award: Big Spruce Cereal Killer Stout
Category Gold Silver Bronze
North American & European Style Lagers Hop City Brewing Co. Barking Squirrel Tatamagouche Brewing Co. Lagerhosen Propeller Brewing Co. Bohemian Style Pilsner
German Specialty Beers Uncle Leo’s Vohs Weizenbier Paddys Irish Brewpub Dom Arthur
UK Specialty Beers PEI Brewing Co. Iron Bridge Brown Gahan House Iron Bridge Brown Paddys Irish Brewpub Raven Ale
North American Specialty Ales Barnone Black Eye Pale Ale Boxing Rock Hunky Dory Pale Ale Barnone Sessions Ale
Belgian Style Specialty Ales Pump House Pompiers à Vos Garde North Brewing Summer Saison Grimross Chantelope
North American Amber & Red Ales Boxing Rock Tempation Red Barnone Substanchel Garrison/Beau’s Sweet Rye’d Harvest Wheat Ale
Fruit & Field Beers Rare Bird Pumpkin Ale Rogues Roost Raspberry Wheat Bad Apple Brewhouse Operation Green Ring
Pale Ales Bad Apple Brewhouse American Pale Ale Moosehead Boundary Ale Garrison Brewing Hop Yard Pale Ale
Stout & Porter Rogues Roost Oatmeal Stout Big Axe Shakesbeer Chocolate Oatmeal Stout Pump House Muddy River Stout
Strong Stout & Porter Propeller Brewing Co. Revolution Russian Imperial Stout Bad Apple Brewhouse Black & Tackle Rogues Roost Imperial Stout
India Pale Ale Rockbottom Brewpub Fathom IPA Big Spruce Tim’s Dirty American IPA Barnone IPA
Imperial IPA Bad Apple Brewhouse Mosaic Double IPA Boxing Rock The Vicar’s Cross Double IPA Garrison Brewing Imperial IPA
Strong Ale Pump House Barleywine North Brewing Strong Belgian Dark Petit-Sault Bob Le Boeuf
Experimental Beers Boxing Rock U-889 Russian Imperial Stout Garrison Brewing Honey Lavendar Ale Big Spruce Hoppuccino Coffee IPA
Wood & Barrel Aged Beers Propeller Brewing Co. Lambic Garrison Brewing Barrel-Aged Grand Baltic Porter Bad Apple Brewhouse Barrel-Aged Black & Tackle
* Brewery and Brewpub of the year were determined by the number of points earned by four pre-assigned beers (as chosen by the brewery). Both categories were hotly contested!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Big Axe, Picaroons, Big Tide, Garrison Brewing, Beau’s, Schoolhouse, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-09-26
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Canadian Brewing Awards, BarNone Brewing, Beau's Brewing Co, Beerthief, Big Axe Brewery, Big Tide Brewing, Burgers n' Beer, Garrison Brewing, New Brunswick Beer Tours, North Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Premier Wines, Schoolhouse Brewery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat, Uncorked Tours. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday, folks! We are now officially into fall, and as such, we have plenty more autumn and harvest-themed beer news this week.

• Big Axe Brewery has released their Seasonal Harvest Ale, Rusty Axe Amber Ale. Continuing Big Axe’s theme of using local ingredients in every beer, the Amber Ale was brewed with brown sugar glazed carrots, roasted squash and their own homemade brittle right in the boil. With these unique ingredients, the flavour and aroma is reminiscent of fall, with hints of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, built on top of a soft caramel base. It weighs in at 5.6% ABV and 28 IBUs, and is available at the brewery.

• Picaroons Brewery has brewed up a new beer recently, Page Turner Session Ale. The Amber Session beer weighs in at 3.7% ABV, and the recipe features Gooseberries. It was brewed to celebrate the upcoming 60th Anniversary of Goose Lane Edition, a local publishing house. Proceeds from the sale of the beer will be donated to Laubach Literacy New Brunswick. They will be holding a launch event at the James Joyce Pub on October 3rd to celebrate its release.

• Picaroons has yet another new beer that they are just releasing today. The Tabulator is described by the brewery as “a conservative Extra Special Bitter, that has been dry-hopped quite liberally with an uncountable amount of green hops”. It comes in at 5.5% ABV, and will be served almost-exclusively at the Brewtique for growler fills, with the possibility of being available on tap at a couple of bars/restaurants in Fredericton.

• Indian Beach Harvest Ale from Big Tide Brewpub is on tap now! This is one of their Fresh Hop beers, using hops they picked themselves (with help from friends and family) from local winery Dunhams Run, on the Kingston Peninsula. The malt base is 2 row and caramunich malts, and the hops used were Nugget and Cascade. This 4.8% ABV caramel-coloured beer has a fairly light body, with delicate fresh hopped flavors coming through nicely.

• We have some more details on the new beer, Sub_Stanchel Amber, brewed by BarNone a couple of weeks ago. This is a wet-hopped beer, with two varieties of fresh hops added to the boil: an unknown noble variety picked in Stanchel, PEI, and an equal amount of freshly-harvested Cascade from the BarNone farm. With more hops added as a dry-hop addition, this should be a fairly aromatic brew! It comes in at 5.5% ABV (exact calculated IBUs are unknown).  Look for it soon at bars/restaurants in Charlottetown, and at the weekly growler night (Thursdays) at the brewery.

• We mentioned the details behind the new collaboration beer between Garrison Brewing and Beau’s – Sweet Rye’d Harvest Wheat Ale – a couple of weeks ago. Well, that beer – brewed with three different hops and the Bog Myrtle herb – has been released today at the Garrison Brewery. Clocking in at 6% ABV and 40 IBUs, the beer is copper-colored and “ripe with aromas of herb and black pepper, melon and citrus fruit” according to Garrison. It should follow for a limited time only at select NSLC stores, all four private liquor stores in Halifax, and at some of the bars/restaurants in the area.

• Garrison will be taking part in City Harvest v3 on October 4th, and will be turning it into a Harvest Launch, as they will be pouring the Sweet Rye’d, as well as their new Double Jack Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and their 3 Fields Harvest. The Double Jack is on the darker side of the spectrum, and weighs in at 8% ABV, and we’ll have more details on both beers next week.

• Speaking of City Harvest, North Brewing will be getting in on the fun by offering discounts on growler fills and merchandise, Stubborn Goat will be selling Back Door Takeout Mac & Cheese and Cask Beer samples (no word yet on which beers), and Premier Wines will be doing beer tastings.

• Piez Bistro in Dartmouth is hosting Sociable for Prostates tomorrow, Sept 27th. During the event, you can purchase a tasting paddle of three different local craft beer, along with three paired pizza or other bites, for $10, with $5 of that donated to Prostate Cancer Canada. They are highlighting local craft beer, and should have a few special beers available. Check out their flyer.

• One of the new beers pouring at the event will be from Schoolhouse Brewery, with a harvest beer, the first in their Hants County Hop Series. Brewed with Maritime Malt, and local hops, this series will highlight the diverse hop varieties available here. Unfortunately, hop and farmer details were not available before publishing time. We can tell you that they’ve been using a hopback at the brewery to get the most aromatics from the hops. This piece sits between the kettle and the wort chiller, and is filled with hops, so the hot wort will extract lots of aromatic compounds, but then be chilled, dissolving them into the liquid before they can volatilize. As the whole leaf hops used are not as concentrated as pellet hops, they may not have very high bitterness, but the beers will be quite aromatic. They also will look to launch growler sales at the Wolfville Farmers Market soon, stay tuned for details.

• Uncorked Tours will be holding their last beer-tasting cruise for the year on Saturday, October 4th on the Saint John River, from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. Taking place once again on the Mississippi river boat Voyageur II, the cruise will be Oktoberfest-themed, featuring seasonal and Harvest ales from Picaroons, Big Tide, Hammond River Brewing, and Pump House (brewery list is subject to change), as well as Oktoberfest fare such as pretzels and sausages. Guests will be entitled to a 9-oz pour of each beer (after a short description), along with a refill of their favorite beer after all have been sampled. In between tastings, guests can socialize, enjoy the scenery, and sample the different foods available. Most breweries will have representatives present to answer questions about their beers. Tickets are $75 + HST, and can be purchased online.

• Tickets for the inaugural trip of New Brunswick Beer Tours are now available! We initially reported on the tour last week and it looks like the schedule has been finalized. The all-day bus tour, River Valley Beer Tour, will be held Saturday, November 1st, and will include stops at Brasseurs du Petit-Sault, Railcar, and Big Axe (subject to change), as well as in-trip sampling of ciders from Red Rover; the tour will wrap up at 6:30 pm with more beer sampling at the King Street Ale House. Ticket prices have been confirmed at $75 + fee, and are available online. Fredericton Tourism is currently holding an online contest for two tickets; if you’re over nineteen, make sure you enter to win!

• A final reminder that the next Burgers n’ Beer event in Fredericton will be held soon, and your chance to buy tickets is almost gone! Originally scheduled for September 30th, the event has been bumped a week to Tuesday, October 7th. Pairing six different sliders with six different beers/ciders, it’s held at reLiSH’s uptown location. Tickets are almost sold-out; they’re $45 each and can be purchased online. For more info on the event, check out last month’s post.

• Since publishing our story on the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards this week, another event related to the weekend has been announced: a Local Cheese & Beer Pairing Seminar run by Master Cicerone® Mirella Amato, and Mark DeWolf of By The Glass Tours. Being held Oct 4th from 2-3pm at Westin Halifax, attendees will have the chance to sample pairings of five beers with five cheeses, all from our region. Tickets are $15+fee, and are available online.

• In other ACBA news, keep an eye on Stillwell’s Twitter and Facebook pages today as they open the People’s Choice voting. This is your chance to vote for your favourite Atlantic Canadian Beer (from those submitted to the ACBA).

• Big news from our friends in Newfoundland! The Beerthief Special Order Beer Club are having a custom batch of beer brewed for them by Garrison Brewing. The beer will not be released until January 2015, but it will be available uniquely to the Beerthief members through their normal ordering process. In celebration of this upcoming brew, they are holding a naming and label contest, open to all members, until October 10th. Details, and a template for the label, are available here. This is just another in a series of great offerings and events that the Beerthief Mike Buhler and Tom Beckett are bringing to Newfoundland and Labrador. At almost 3000 members, the club is going (and growing) strong! Check out the latest newsletter for more exciting news. Joining the Beerthief Club is free to anyone over 19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, and will allow access to beers not otherwise available in the province.

Another busy week! Be sure to drink local this weekend. Grab a pint of the newly-released Tatamagouche Lagerhosen at Lion & Bright and Stubborn Goat in Halifax, and some of the many other craft beers available in your area!