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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Off Grid Ales and Think Brewing, North and Stillwell, Boxing Rock, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-05-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Tide Brewing, Bore City Brewing, Bourbon Quarter, Cask and Kettle Irish Pub, Celtic Knot Brewing, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Flying Boats Brewing, Fredericton Beer Run, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, James Joyce Irish Pub, Maybee Brewing, North Brewing, Off Grid Ales, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons, Stillwell Beer Bar, Think Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery.

Happy Friday! We hope that those of you in Nova Scotia have been participating in the many excellent events this past week for Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week, with more scheduled for the coming weekend (Brews Cruise tonight, Full House tomorrow, Cape Breton Kitchen Party Sunday)! Once we get our act in gear, we’ll post some pictures and thoughts on the week. In the meantime, it’s time to get caught up with beer news in our area, including the announcement of more breweries for New Brunswick…

• Attention, residents of Harvey, NB… there’s not just one, but two new breweries planning to open in your area in the near future! Longtime homebrewers Scott MacLean and Randy Rowe have been brewing weekly 1/2 BBL (~60 L) batches together for the past two years, and work is underway on both sides to open small-batch breweries at their homes in Harvey:

Randy Rowe and his wife, Denise, plan to open Off Grid Ales sometime this coming summer. Specializing in “full-bodied ales”, including a Honey-infused Double IPA, the 3 BBL (~360 L) brewery will be solar- and wind-powered, and housed in a barn located on the couples’ property. The brewhouse equipment from Stout Tanks and Kettles arrived last week, with work progressing on set-up for commercial production. The brewery now has an active Twitter account, and will be launching their official website soon.

Scott and Denise MacLean’s 1 BBL (~120 L) brewery, Think Brewing, will also be housed within a barn (over 100 years old) on his property. Scott recently purchased the brewhouse equipment from TrailWay (who have now moved to a 10 BBL system). Hoping to open sometime mid-summer, the brewery will initially focus on English and American style ales. Stay tuned to Think’s Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates; of course, we’ll also be providing more info on both breweries as they progress further!

• North Brewing and Stillwell have teamed up to release their latest collaboration beer, Gose. The Gose style is growing ever-more-popular… tart and refreshing, the North/Stillwell take was brewed with a grist of Pilsner, Wheat, and Acid malt, it was kettle-soured with Lactobacillus to provide a slight acidic character, with “wet hay and lemon aromas”.  Hand-harvested Black Whale Salt from PEI and toasted coriander were also added. Hopped with the new New Zealand variety, Wai-Iti (which reportedly provides “fresh peach and apricot character”), and Mandarina Bavaria, it’s easy-drinking at 4.5% ABV and 10 IBUs. Just released yesterday, it’s available for growler fills at North, and is on tap at Stillwell and other better beer establishments across the HRM.

• North is also releasing another new beer, Grisette. Historically brewed for the mining class in Belgium, it’s another low-ABV style (but not sour/tart), intended on being light and crisp, and able to be consumed in quantity. Similar to the Gose grist, and hopped again with Wai-Iti, as well as the Australian Summer variety, it weighs in at a supremely-sessionable 3.5% ABV and 15 IBUs. Dry and citrusy, with a light peppery finish, according to the brewery. Available today in growlers at both North locations (Agricola and Ochterloney), it will also be out in the wild very shortly.

• Continuing the new beer releases for #NSCBW, Boxing Rock has released 4 (four!) new beers this week, and we’ve got the scoop direct from the brewery:

Mutiny! (Subversive Amber Ale, 5% ABV). This amber ale is a collaboration with Garrison, Hell Bay, Propeller, and Schoolhouse and forms the base for the Grog raced to Gahan House for Race the Kegs on May 8. This is an English style Pale Ale, amber in colour with a bold malt backbone and moderate hoppiness… lots of spicy and citrus hop aroma and very smooth and drinkable.

Over the Top (Sour Mash Cranberry Wheat Ale, 4% ABV). This beer is a collaboration with Karen Allen from Gahan House and we believe it is the first sour mash beer to be brewed and packaged in NS. Refreshingly tart and awesomely sessionable, this beer began with a 48-hour sour mash, in which our lactobacillus friends thrived, partied and arm wrestled. A late hop addition imparts a fruity aroma to balance the sour malt base. Nova Scotia cranberries dry out the finish and add a subtle depth of flavour and give it an amazing colour.

Carbon-14 (Strong Dark Belgian Ale, 8.2% ABV). Runner-up in our Homebrew Competition, the Black Box Challenge, this beer is as rare as the C-14 isotope. A strong, dark, Belgian ale made in the classic style, this beer is altogether perfectly balanced with that unmistakable Belgian character. It will have a very short half-life, so get it while you can. Carbon-14 was brewed in collaboration with Professor Jason McDougall.

Where There’s Smoke (Smoked Pale Ale, 6.5% ABV). Winner of the Black Box Challenge, our first homebrew competition. This beer is made with copious quantities of beech smoked malt, hops and steeped on cinnamon. The result is a beer that is bold, unexpected, in your face, and totally crushable. Brewed in collaboration with Black Box Challenge winner, Brian Harvey.

Try many of these, and several more (including a few past favourite from the archives) at Lion & Bright tonight, when the Boxing Rock crew drop by for a Tap Takeover starting at 5pm. And be sure to try many (all?) of what’s available, as $1 from each pint sold will be going to Red Cross Canada, in support of people affected by the fires in Fort McMurray.

• Another NS launch is a new/old beer from Good Robot. Awesome Beer, Great Job! is their own take on a Fall Saison, featuring darker malt CaraMunich 120 and Rye, spicing up the underlying Wheat and Pilsner malts. Lightly hopped with Mt Hood, it was fermented with Old World Blend from new yeast producer Escarpment Labs. The resulting beer is a hazy orange, with notes of plum, banana, and phenolic spice from both the rye and yeast character. Originally to be released in Fall 2015, due to difficulties with the beer, it was re-brewed, then re-re-brewed, and is now on tap! Check out their honest reporting of the ordeal. And keep an eye out for the launch of their American Wheat, Pryor Offences, this weekend, featuring lots of Amarillo and Mandarina Bavaria hops. And a new version of Burban Legend APA, dry-hopped with Cascade and Citra.

• There’s a new beer hitting taps from Riverview’s Celtic Knot Brewing – Monkeytown Mango Ale is a 4.5% ABV “light-drinking ale” that features the addition of real, frozen mangoes to the beer after primary fermentation was completed. Lightly-hopped with Cascade to add a bit more fruit character, kegs were delivered earlier this week to Plan B and Ducky’s. Look for Celtic Knot’s other accounts to be pouring this beer in the near future.

• YellowBelly has a brand new seasonal on tap at the brewpub, Tilt Cove Golden Nugget Ale. This APA was brewed with a mix of Canadian and West Yorkshire Pale Ale malts, along with some Scottish Carastan. Hopped entirely with the Nugget variety (including two dry-hop additions), the resulting “earthy, herbal, leafy character” comes through nicely. Clocking in at 6% ABV and 50 IBUs, this slightly-hazy beer will also be pouring at NLC Beer Expo this weekend, with a limited supply of bottles following shortly at the brewpub. In other YB news, they’ve rebrewed their East Coast Cream Ale, which should be available in about three weeks, and plan on brewing a “Summer Wheat Ale” dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace in the near future. As always, we’ll keep you updated!

• Sad news in Saint John this week, as it has been announced that Bourbon Quarter Restaurant, a true friend to local craft beer, is closing. On the bright side, BQ owner Shawn Verner is teaming up with Mike McPartland to open the Cask and Kettle Irish Pub, which they assure us will continue the BQ tradition of supporting craft beer. Located in the same space on Prince William, construction is underway now, with an opening expected in the next 4-6 weeks.

• After a year of construction and many test batches, Horton Ridge Malt is now open for business in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. Specializing in floor-malted organic malts, their first product deliveries were made earlier this week, and Cape Breton’s Big Spruce brewed up a batch of the Kitchen Party Pale Ale with the 2-Row pale malt. Look for more breweries to use the local malt very soon, including Tatamagouche Brewing. In addition to selling to breweries, Horton Ridge will also be available to home brewers looking for a local organic product. As locally-grown organic grain suitable for malting is not yet available in large enough quantity, HR has sourced the initial deliveries from outside of the province, but hopes to achieve a truly Nova Scotian-grown and -produced malt very soon. In addition to lighter barley-based malts, look for specialty and rye malts to be available in the future. For those commercial and amateur brewers attending tomorrow’s Full House beer fest, be sure to drop by their table for samples and to learn more.

A few more events worth checking out in the next little while:

• Tonight, the PEI Brewing Co. is holding Fortnight: Fundraiser for Fort McMurray at the brewery. Starting at 7 pm, it will feature “music, fun, and fundraising”, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross (and being matched by the Federal Government). One of the items up for auction is a chance to brew a full-size batch of beer with Upstreet‘s Mike “Hogie” Hogan, on the Upstreet system. Homebrewer or not, the lucky winner will be able to pick the beer style, help develop the recipe and take part in the brewing, name the beer, and ever pour the first pint at the Upstreet taproom! This is for a great cause, so get out your wallets and dig deep!

• Tom’s Little Havana is hosting a Tap Takeover today (and all weekend) by friends Bad Apple Brewhouse and Unfiltered Brewing. Featuring seven beers between the two breweries, look for some old favourites, as well as some new … well, favourites too! Look for a new collaboration American Wheat, and a pair of iterations of the Tom’s Smoked Porter, including a barrel-aged version, today through Sunday.

• A reminder from last week, tonight‘s Meet Your Maker event at the James Joyce will feature Big Tide; four BT beers will be available on tap, and brewmaster Wendy Papadopoulos will be on hand to chat about our favourite beverage!

• This year’s Inspire Arts Festival (June 15th-19th, in Moncton) will be holding their first beer-themed event, the Picaroons Craft Beer Village, on Saturday, June 18th. Taking place at the Riverfront Park in downtown Moncton, it will all start at 12 pm with the opening of the Picaroons Beer Tent; later in the afternoon, at 4 pm, the rest of the craft beer village will open, with NB breweries Bore City, Celtic Knot, Flying Boats, and Maybee also pouring their beers. Entrance is free, just pay for your beer as you go, and enjoy the live music, circus performances, fire spinning, and more that’s going on during the festival!

• The Fredericton Beer Run is returning on Monday, August 1st (New Brunswick Day)! The fourth year for the event, it will once again feature three options of either a 4, 6, or 12 km distance. Your ticket will get you much more than just another run, however! Including a custom-designed beer glass and 14 x 4 oz beer tickets, there will be over 20 breweries present with plenty of beer to choose from! This year’s run will start at the Lighthouse on the Green, at 10 am, with the beer sampling occurring afterwards at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Tickets are $60 (tax included) and are available now.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Sober Island, Gahan House, PEI Brew, Big Tide, Meander River, Propeller, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-05-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Fest, Big Tide Brewing, Breton Brewing, Downeast Beer Factory, Gahan House (Charlottetown), James Joyce Irish Pub, Maybee Brewing, Meander River Farm and Brewery, NS Craft Beer Week, PEI Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Sober Island Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Unfiltered Brewing. 1 comment

Happy Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week! We hope those of you in the province, or nearby, will make it out to one or more of the events happening all week, including the Cape Breton Kitchen Party in Sydney, or the Beer & Beethoven in Halifax. Check out the #NSCBW Guide we published yesterday for the scoop on the next 10 days of beer fun! And keep your eyes open for plenty of new beer alerts throughout the week; we’ll do our best to retweet and FB-share them so you won’t miss out!

• After a sneak peek at this year’s Saltscapes Expo, Sober Island is officially open, and serving beer! Their current home in Sheet Harbour, Henley House, opened yesterday for the season, so Eastern Shore fans will now have access to a steady supply of their beers. Drop by for a pint of their Oyster Stout, English Golden Rye Ale, or their very own Henley House Private Ale. This 4.8%, 34 IBUs Ordinary Bitter features all late-addition East Kent Goldings hops, and is fermented with an English yeast for a taste of the UK. Sober Island will also have a brew on at this weekend’s Stillwell Open, and is gearing up for festival season, with plans to attend the Cold Waters Seafood Festival June 4-5, and NorthumBeerFest at Pictou Lodge June 11. They are also in the process of finding a Farmers Market location for the summer, so stay tuned for that. While set up at the market, instead of growlers, they will be using Crowlers, the can-on-demand system popular in the US. These 950mL cans are great for taking on the boat, camping, hiking, or to the beach, where glass can be dangerous/forbidden. They will be installing the system in their rolling beer trailer, and will eventually institute Crowler Delivery runs to town.

• Turning now to another Island, there’s a couple of new beers on tap at the Gahan House Brewpub in Charlottetown, PEI. First up is ESB, an Extra Special Bitter that comes in at 6.5% ABV and 65 IBUs. Featuring late hop additions of East Kent Goldings and Fuggles to boost the herbal and earthy aroma, this classic British style has been pouring for awhile now. More recent is Belgium Blue, a strong (7.6% ABV) Belgian style that was fermented with a blend of yeasts, giving it a “spicy banana” aroma and flavour, according to brewmaster Trent Hayes. Be sure to stop by the brewpub soon to give both a try! And swing by the PEI Brewing Co. taproom for a taste of their newest cask, Chocolate Cherry Lager, a 4.5% ABV beer that has cocoa nibs and organic tart cherry juice added in-cask.

• In other brewpub news, Big Tide also has a new beer pouring at their location in Saint John. Cascade SMaSH IPA features a grist of German Pilsner malt, and lots of late- and dry-hop additions of the well-loved Cascade hop variety, sourced from local Darlings Island Farm. Weighing in at 5.25% ABV and 39 IBUs, this “very drinkable” beer has a “beautiful citrusy flavour and aroma”, according to the brewery. It’s available now at the brewpub for pints and growler fills. And coming soon from Big Tide is their Wild Weed Summer Ale, a 4.9% ABV, 15 IBUs Wheat ale enhanced with sweet gale, yarrow, lemongrass, cardamom, and coriander.

• Back to Nova Scotia now, Meander River has re-released their Summer Solstice Session IPA, a hoppy and sessionable beer perfect for when the warmer weather decides to stay for good! Hopped with Amarillo and Citra in the boil, it was further dry-hopped with Cascade to provide even more fruit and citrus characteristics in the aroma and flavour. This 4.5% ale is available at the brewery and Forum Farmers’ Market while it lasts. Meander River has also brought back their Scotch Ale, Surf & Turf, just in time for Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week. A silver medal winner at the 2015 Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards, it was brewed with peated malt and seaweed to give it a “smooth, savoury taste with an earthy scotch finish”; it weighs in at 6.2% ABV.

• Propeller Brewing has released their newest One Hit Wonder this week. Lil’ SIPA is a 4.4% Session IPA, with 27 theoretical IBUs, but as is often the case in beer, the numbers do not tell the whole story! Massive late hopping favours aroma and flavour over bitterness, so this small package packs a massive taste wallop. As always, the OHW beers are ONLY available for growler fills at their Gottingen and Windmill locations, with select kegs sometimes sneaking out to local bars.

• After a brief hiatus, Spindrift‘s Seventh Wave Series returns this weekend. These smaller, pilot batches allow the creative minds at the brewery to run a bit wild, and brew up beers that would otherwise be impractical, or not feasible. The series continues Saturday during Open Brewery Day, with Raspberry Session Saison, a 5% beer with 6 kilograms of raspberries added to the batch. And if that wasn’t enough, it was dry-hopped with whole leaf Citra hops. Grab this beer starting at 11am tomorrow. And Spindrift will keep the Seventh Wave going all week, with a new one debuting every day (or whenever the previous beer empties). Next up is India Session Lager, a 4.4% light lager with massive amounts of Citra and Simcoe at flameout and whirlpool (while the beer chills), for a seemingly-low 25 IBUs, but with plenty of flavour and aroma from the volatile hop oils that would otherwise be boiled off if added earlier in the process. They have several 7W beers locked and loaded to release during NS Craft Beer Week, so be sure to follow their Twitter feed for the announcements.

• Fresh off the great announcement of $436,000 of ACOA funds destined for Cape Breton, Sydney’s Breton Brewing took delivery of a Cask canning machine this week, and will be packaging their core brands of beer in the coming weeks. Look for their cans to hit the shelves of the NSLC, and private stores in the first week of June. And be sure to drop by Breton tomorrow during Open Brewery Day, as they will be launching Crazy Angus DIPA. With the malt bill being an amped-up version of their Black Angus IPA, this 7.4% ABV beer features a massive citrus punch from 85 IBUs worth of hops, including the always-lovely Australian Galaxy.

• With little fanfare, Downeast Beer Factory opened Sunday. Located in the former Brewdebakers location at 612 Windmill Road, the bar and grill is currently serving product from across the province, with 14 beers and ciders on tap. In the coming weeks, they will be adding their own house-brewed beers to the lineup, including Mylde Wylde Blonde, Fiddler’s Irish Red and Game Changer IPA. Their unique building location features a drive-thru beer shop, which will allow them to sell beer to go from other Nova Scotia breweries, when it opens later in the spring.

• Speaking of openings, Stillwell has announced the new location of their mobile Beergarden: the vacant lot at 5688 Spring Garden Rd. Nestled between Bookmark and Eastlink and across the corner from the Public Gardens, it will feature their iconic converted shipping container slinging local and imported beer (upgraded to 10 taps) and handheld “Summertime BBQ” food. Their friends from Manual Food & Drink will be joining them in the space, for some sweet relief from the hot weather (think ice cream and pastries). Construction has already begun at the location, and they look to launch the space in early June.

In addition to NS Craft Beer Week, here are a few more beer events worthy of your attention in the next little while:

• Tomorrow, May 8th, Stillwell is holding the second of their Rare American Beer Series, with several bottles from Mystic Brewery in Massachusetts popping all day. The En Garde, Connards! Biere de Garde, Flor Ventus Barrel-aged Wild Beer, Saison Renaud Saison (also available on tap), and Table Beer will be available by the full bottle, or 5-7oz pours. Look for some special accompanying beers on tap, and, as always, great food from the kitchen.

• The next Meet Your Maker event at the James Joyce will feature Big Tide, and has been scheduled for next Friday, May 13th at 7:30 pm. As always, there is no charge to attend, just show up for some Big Tide beers (there will likely be four different ones on tap) and have a chat with brewer Wendy Papadopoulus!

• As part of this year’s Festival Inspire in Moncton, they will be holding a Craft Beer Village June 18th. We are still getting all of the ticket details, but we do know that Bore City, Celtic Knot, Flying Boats, Maybee, and Picaroons will all be in attendance.

• The date for the second annual Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Oktoberfest has been set for Saturday, September 24th at the Lion’s Club in Moncton. Featuring many local breweries pouring beer alongside local food stations, the 7:30-10 pm session (tickets $58+fee) will allow unlimited beer samples and a custom take-home glass; VIP tickets ($68+fee) will get you in at 6 pm, along with a special glass, guided beer tasting, and access to an industry panel discussion; a portion of the proceeds will go to the United Way. Keep your eyes on the event page, as tickets will go on sale sometime in July.

And in closing this week:

– Congratulations to Red Rover for winning medals at this year’s Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition! Their Blues, Fall, Fire, and White Witch all took home bronze medals at this competition. In celebration, they have (or had!) all these award winners available at their Cider House on Queen Street.
– Maybee Brewing has released their new Birdseye Pale Ale and recent Elevensies Espresso Stout in cans; a currently-ongoing issue with ANBL’s ordering system has prevented cans from hitting ANBL stores this week, but there’s still lots available at the brewery’s location on Wilsey Rd, so drop in to pick some up this weekend!
– The James Joyce recently registered their venue on the popular beer app/website Untappd, which means their entire draught list, event schedule, and more is available and updated in real time! Check it out here.
– Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing is releasing a new batch of the Double Orange Ale (DOA) today. This batch of the 7.5% ABV SMaSH was fermented with a famous Vermont yeast for even more juicy goodness. Grab a growler when the brewey opens at noon, or a glass at Charm School from 4pm.

That’s it for this week; have a great weekend!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Petit-Sault, Acadie-Broue, Breton, Upstreet, Maybee, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-04-15
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, Annapolis Cider Company, Big Tide Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Breton Brewing, Flying Boats Brewing, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Good Robot Brewing, James Joyce Irish Pub, Lazy Bear Brewing, Liquid Assets, Maybee Brewing, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Saint John Beer Fest, Spindrift Brewing, Sunset Heights Meadery, Tatamagouche Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday! Plenty going on in the local beer world this week, so let’s dive right in…

• Petit-Sault has released their collaboration with Acadie-Broue‘s Patrice Godin, a Doppelbock named La Renous. Brewed in the traditional German style, using German hops and a base of Munich and 2-Row malts and a touch of chocolate malt for colouring. Lagered for a full four months since the brew on a chilly January weekend, it is supremely drinkable, with a full mouthfeel and balancing bitterness to its 7.5% ABV content. In addition to Petit-Sault’s shop, it is available on tap at Le Coude, Université de Moncton’s student bar, where Acadie-Broue’s brewhouse is now set up. The beer can also be found at ANBL locations across the province, in bottles, and at the five ANBL growler stations this weekend.

• Just in time for this week’s East Coast Music Week, Sydney’s Breton Brewing and Charlottetown’s Upstreet have released a collaboration brew, Island Jams: Vol. 1. This music-themed 5.3% Blonde ale debuted at Breton’s tasting room last night, and will see wider release this weekend. Also tying in with the music theme, there is a downloadable EP of CB- and PE- Island tunes to accompany your drinking. As well, a live showcase of PEI bands will be playing (and beer will be flowing) at Daniel’s in Sydney tonight; more information here. And for visitors to the East Coast Music Week, all four Breton beers will be available at Flavor on the Water’s after parties all weekend.

• Upstreet has brewed up another collab, Top Stamp Honey Brown Lager, with the crew from the PEI comedy series Just Passing Through. An easy-drinking beer at 5% ABV and 15 IBUs, it was brewed with Maritime Malt and New Brunswick-grown Golding hops. A beer that has a sweet beginning and dry finish, it’s like “drizzling honey over lightly-browned toast”, according to the brewery. Scheduled for a release party on Thursday, April 21st at the Upstreet taproom beginning at 6:30, the beer will be bottled and sold at PEILCC locations across the Island by next weekend. Check out the Facebook page for more details on next week’s launch events.

• There’s a new beer fermenting over at Maybee Brewing, Birdseye Pale Ale. A 5.5% ABV American Pale Ale, it was hopped with Cluster and Columbus. Brewed with the intention of being crisp and refreshing for the upcoming summer months, it features floral and spicy notes from the Cluster, which “brightens up the dank, juicy flavours from the Columbus”, according to owner/brewer Paul Maybee. Look for this one to be available in a couple of weeks; it’s going to be canned right out of the gate, and will also be available for growler fills at the brewery. Also, Maybee’s Elevensies Espresso Stout should be available in cans shortly.

• North Brewing has just released their newest beer, Golden Stout. Golden-coloured as advertised, it was brewed with 2-row, flaked oats, and Pale Chocolate malt. Despite the lack of dark, roasted malts, it features plenty of chocolate and roasted character thanks to the addition of Sumatran Dark from local Java Blend Coffee Roasters, and cocoa nibs from Rousseau Chocolatier. It weighs in at 6.7% ABV and is available now at the brewery for growler fills, and should be on tap at North accounts as we speak.

• Gahan Halifax released a new beer yesterday at the brewpub; Session IPA is a low-alcohol (3.7% ABV), 65 IBUs hop bomb that showcases a “big floral, fruity aroma” from plenty of late-addition Saphir hops. It joins the Kellerbier which was tapped late last week; weighing in at 5% ABV and 36 IBUs, featuring an “oaky, vanilla aroma and flavour”, balanced with a large addition of Hersbrucker hops, a floral and spicy German variety. And though there is just a little bit of their Cranberry Sour left, fear not, this sour-mashed tart beer will return during NS Craft Beer Week with wider distribution under the name Over the Top, a collaboration between Gahan’s Karen Allen and Boxing Rock’s Emily Tipton.

• In other new beer news, Tatamagouche released their newest ale yesterday, Tweed Wolf Brown IPA. This is their second “employee beer”, brewed by cellarman Alex Martin. Featuring a malty backbone and “chocolate-covered strawberries” in the flavour, it was hopped mainly with Simcoe, along with a bit of Cascade and Huell Melon. Available now at the brewery for growlers, kegs have already been delivered to several accounts in Halifax, including Bishop’s Cellar and Harvest Wines for growler fills, so be sure to give it a try when it pops up! And while on the topic of Tatabrew cellar hands, they’re currently looking for someone to fill the role in a part-time capacity, with the possibility of a full-time position in the future. For more details, send an email here.

• Wolfville’s Annapolis Cider Company officially opens today! Their storefront at 388 Main Street will be open seven days a week from 10 am-7 pm. There are several ciders available now in refillable 750 mL bottles at the cidery: Crisp & Dry (7.7% ABV), Juicy & Sweet (5.6% ABV), and Something Different, an unfiltered cider that is described as “very hazy and yeasty”; it comes in at 6% ABV. There is a tasting bar onsite, where customers can order a small flight of all three ciders, 3 oz each, for $5. Tours will be offered in the near future, and their products should be popping up on tap at various accounts within the next couple of months. For more information on this new cidery, check out our post from last month.

• Liquid Assets, the Nova Scotian beer, wine, and spirits store located at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, will be opening this Monday, April 18th. Located at the departures level of the HIAA, they will be selling products from eight craft breweries to start: Bad Apple, Boxing Rock, Garrison, Nine Locks, North, Propeller, Spindrift, and Tatamagouche. They will be selling cans in 4- and 6-packs, and single 500 mL and 650 mL bottles. As they are located past the security checkpoint, you can carry your purchases with you on your flight (provided you do not have to go through security again); they will have boxes for multiple purchases. The store will be open 7am-9pm, daily, and will be launching an online store in the near future, so that customers may pre-order beers for a quick pick-up, and plans for shipping of products within Canada are in the works.

• This weekend’s Saint John Beerfest may be sold out, but several breweries are releasing special brews in celebration of the event, and will be making them available to a wider audience. Among them, Big Tide Brewpub has released a Hard Root Beer, Tool Shed Root Porter. Brewed with 2-row, CaraMunich, and Chocolate Wheat malt, it was bittered lightly with Southan Farms hop hash. Freshly-cut white birch bark was added to the boil, along with sassafras, sarsaparilla, vanilla beans and sweet gale. It should come in at ~6.3% ABV, and will be released tomorrow at the Beer Fest (joining their Karnival Kolsch and Valley View Farmhouse Ale), and on tap at the brewpub.

Lots of events coming up, as usual…

• Other events accompanying this weekend’s Saint John Beerfest are several pop-ups and events around the area today:
– Drop by Lemongrass for leftover pours from Garrison’s 14 line tap takeover held last night.
– Saint John Ale House is hosting a “Spindrift Social” 4-6pm, with Kellye and Matt from Spindrift pouring their Coastal Lager, Riptide IPL and the new Knotty Buoy Pils.
– PEI Brewing Co is taking over the taps at McGill’s Restaurant this afternoon at 5pm, featuring $5 pints.

• On April 20th, Good Robot will be releasing another of their “Beta Brew” pilot batch beers at the Taproom. The Pusha Man is a Belgian saison brewed with hemp. To celebrate, there will be dank tunes and special munchies.

• Halifax’s Stillwell Beer Bar has announced a series of Rare Beer events, occurring in subsequent weekends in May. Each weekend will feature bottles (and some will also feature kegs) of beers from outstanding American breweries, not available in the Atlantic provinces. Individual pours will be available for bottled beers, with any bottles not selling out during that weekend available for purchase going forward (by the full bottle).
– April 30 & May 1: Anchorage Brewing, Anchorage, Alaska
– May 7: Mystic Brewing, Chelsea, Massachusetts
– May 14 & 15: Pretty Things, Somerville, Massachusetts
– May 21 & 22: Saint Somewhere, Tarpon Springs, Florida
– May 27 & 28: Upright Brewing, Portland, Oregon

• Fredericton’s James Joyce Irish Pub is pairing up with Sunset Heights Meadery for their next event, Wenches and Mead, on Saturday, April 23rd. Details are still being ironed out, but we can confirm that they will be offering flights of the three medal-winning meads from the recent Mazer Cup, as well as the 2015 edition of Crowne Jewel, made with honey raised on the roof of the Crowne Plaza hotel. And stay tuned for more details on the Joyce’s next Meet Your Maker event, featuring Big Tide, scheduled for Friday, May 13th.

• Lazy Bear Brewing in Smith’s Cove, NS, has announced that they will be attending the Annapolis Royal Farmers’ Market, when they launch for the year on May 21st. Concentrating on the market at first, they will expand their beers to local bars and restaurants, and open their storefront. Speaking of beers, they have announced one of their launch beers, Gut View Amber Ale. A 4.9% English Amber, it features Canadian-grown English varietal hops for a balancing bitterness, and subtle aromas.

Have a great weekend! Just a few closing notes…

– Boxing Rock has brought back their popular Sessionista “Bold Session Ale”, a beer with the big hop character of an IPA, in a small 4.0% ABV package. It is available province-wide in the NSLC now, and on tap at various beer bars as well.
– Flying Boats is once again pouring at ANBL growler stations this weekend, with all five locations offering their Empress Irish Red Ale, while supplies last. Joining them at all 5 locations is PEI Brewing’s Setting Day, a 3.5% ABV Saison.
– In other ANBL growler news, Pump House will be participating in a tap takeover in Saint John this weekend, at the KV location today from 4-7 pm, and the new East Point location tomorrow from 11 am-2 pm. The brewery’s 4 Alarm IPA and various seasonals will be featured.
– Spindrift is releasing their Riptide IPL in cans early next week; as a result, there will be no 7th Wave Series release today. However, look for the Riptide cans to be available at the brewery by no later than next Friday.
– Propeller Brewing has released their wildly popular Hefeweizen this week, and it is available in bottles for the first time in a while. And be sure to grab tickets for their next Prop’r Cask Event, April 29th, with Krave Burger taking care of the food at their Gottingen space.
– There have been no major updates in last week’s story concerning policy changes for breweries in New Brunswick by ANBL; they are still communicating with NBCAPA. We will be sure to provide an update once one is announced.