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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Shiretown, Big Tide, Boxing Rock, Hammond River, Railcar, Sunset Heights, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-10-17
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Cask Days, Ducky's Bar, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Railcar Brewing, Red Rover Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Shiretown Beer, Sunset Heights Meadery. 2 comments

Happy Friday folks! Another busy week in our region, with plenty of new beers, and new news to share. Grab a pint of bitter or mug of coffee, and let’s dive right in!

• Shiretown has a new beer available exclusively for growler fills at the brewery. Runnin’ Down the Road Amber Ale comes in at 5% ABV and 30-35 IBUs, and was hopped entirely with an unknown variety grown at the brewery. Featuring “a beauty grapefruit aftertaste” according to the brewery, the beer was brewed as a small batch only, so won’t last long.

• Big Tide also has a new beer, currently on tap at the brewpub. The Darkening Imperial Stout is a big beer, clocking in at 8.2% ABV and 70 IBUs. Brewed with a grist containing both 2-row and Pale Ale malt, along with lots of Chocolate malt and some Caramunich, the brewery describes the beer as “rich and malty, sure to warm you up” with the high alcohol.

• We have more details on the new Amber Ale brewed by Boxing Rock – Unobtainium is a 5% ABV beer with a dark-mahogany color, full-bodied mouthfeel, and a “malty-rich backbone supporting some unexpected hop flavors”. The hops used for this brew include Simcoe, Centennial, Amarillo, and the hard-to-find Nelson Sauvin variety from New Zealand. Known for its strong fruity flavors and aromas that resemble white wine, or gooseberries, the brewery was able to get their hands on some whole-leaf Nelson… and won’t be able to again anytime soon. So, grab your chance to try this heavily-dry hopped beer! Look for it on tap around Halifax soon, and in 650 mL bottles at all four private liquor stores in the city, and at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market.

• Boxing Rock also hosted some special visitors this week for a big brew day… the crew from Stillwell Beer Bar in Halifax made a visit to the Shelburne brewery to brew up a special collaboration beer, to be released in celebration of their First Anniversary. Details are being guarded closely, but we do know that Merci Biere is an 8.4% ABV Ale, and Smoked Malt was used in the mash. We’ll keep you up-to-date with this and other developments ahead of the Nov. 16th Anniversary party, where it will be launched, and then available in bottles shortly thereafter.

• Last month, we mentioned that Hammond River was brewing up a new beer, Imperial Vanilla Porter. Well, that 8.1% ABV beer is now ready, and pouring at The Barrel’s Head, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and the Saint John Ale House, alongside the version that has Maker’s Mark Bourbon added (exclusive to the SJAH).  Look for it to follow soon at Ducky’s in Sackville.

• Speaking of Hammond River, they’re planning another couple of new beers to be brewed in the near future. One will be an American Brown Ale; this style was chosen by popular vote on their Facebook page, beating out Black IPA and Coffee Porter. Owner/brewer Shane Steeves admits the beer will be “a fair bit bolder than other Browns here, and will no doubt be slightly out of style”. Sounds good to us! Not to disappoint Black IPA lovers, Hammond River has also confirmed that they will be brewing this style as a collaboration beer with newly-opened Railcar Brewing. Stay tuned for more news on these two beers soon.

• And while on the topic of Railcar Brewing, they’ve just announced that their retail location will be officially open for growler fills on Saturday, November 1st. Their Railcar Red and Artisan Brown Ale will be available that day; fill prices will be $5 for 1 litre growlers, and $10 for 1.89 litre, and they will happily fill any growler from any brewery!

• The first kegs of mead produced by newly-opened Sunset Heights Meadery has been delivered to Isaac’s Way in Fredericton! Queen’s Nectar is the 7.5% ABV base mead; it can be consumed as-is, or added to a variety of “mixers” to make different flavors of mead (all coming in at 5% ABV), such as Naughtea (Iced Green Tea), Shipwrecked (India Pale Mead), and Tart’n (Cranberry Pollen Angels). They’ll also be serving up some MeadMosa, which is, of course, a mixture of base mead and orange juice.

• If you live in Fredericton, your options for craft cider continue to grow! Red Rover Brewing has paired up with Real Food Connections (a local-foods grocery store) to make their ciders available to order online, to be either picked up at a later date, or delivered to your door (within the Fredericton/Oromocto area). Order by Tuesday to pick it up any time from Thursday  to Saturday.

• Grimross has updated us on the progress of their ongoing expansion. Owner/brewer Stephen Dixon is travelling to British Columbia this weekend to check on the progress of the 10 bbl brewing system being built by Newlands Systems, that will soon be shipped to the new location of the brewery at Bishop Dr. in Fredericton. They hope to begin brewing on the new system sometime in November, and open their tasting room the following month, where they will have growlers and cans of beer for purchase, as well as space to enjoy a pint or two. We’ll continue to keep you updated!

• After almost 10 years brewing for Picaroons (with about 4 years as the official Head Brewer), Andrew “Esty” Estabrooks has decided to leave the brewery to spend more time with his family. His position has been filled by one of Picaroons other brewers, Myles MacKenzie, who has been with the brewery now for several years. We wish Esty the best in his future endeavours!

• Ducky’s Bar in Sackville is celebrating their 25th Anniversary, and they have lots scheduled for the event! Starting last night and continuing through the weekend, they have several bands providing live music, as well as special cask offerings each night. The cask beers include Picaroons Best Bitter, dry-hopped with Chinook, Gahan Tall Poppy (Sir John A’s Honey Wheat with New Zealand Motueka hops), and a new beer from Garrison, Unfiltered Wheat, a slightly hazy, sweet and malty American Wheat Ale with ~13 IBUs and 5.4% ABV. There will also be lots of other local beers pouring (as usual), including Garrison Double Jack (it’s first appearance outside of NS) and Hammond River Harvest Ale and Imperial Vanilla Porter. Congratulations to Ducky’s on 25 great years!

• Rockbottom Brewpub is bringing back their Ultimate White IPA. Brewed in collaboration with Halifax Ultimate, this beer is a hybrid of a Witbier (Belgian Wheat Ale) and IPA (hoppy, hoppy goodness). Brewed with 2-row, Crystal 15, wheat and rolled oats, along with bitter orange peel and coriander, plus a blast of Comet, NZ Cascade, and Magnum hops, this beer features orange and citrus flavours, along with a low, but balancing, bitterness. The beer weighs in at 5.7% ABV and 8 IBUs (calc). To celebrate the new beer, a launch party is taking place tomorrow (Oct 18th), beginning at 4pm at the ‘bottom. In addition to the new beer, Halifax Ultimate member Cyra Belbin will be on hand with her award-winning Mexi Mac n Cheese Bites (as seen on CBC’s Recipe to Riches), raising money for Children’s Charities. We’ll see you there!

• Hell Bay Brewing has brought back another batch of their R.I.P.(A.) this week. Available only in growlers and kegs, look for this on tap at better beer bars around the South Shore and HRM shortly. They’ve also released a Honey Blonde recently, available in kegs, growlers and bottles.

• Cask Days is a three-day celebration of cask-conditioned beer, held annually in Toronto. Run by the folks behind Bar Volo, breweries from across Canada, and the US and UK, share their best cask beer. For the second year in a row, several Maritime Breweries will be sending up their best wares to take part, with the crew from Bar Stillwell there to serve and show off the great beers from our part of the world. We know many local brewers and good beer fans from the Maritimes will be in attendance, so if you’re free Oct 24-26, it would be worth a trip! Tickets are now sold out for the Fri and Sat sessions, however you can still drop by the Sunday “Last Call for Cask” session, to bat cleanup and grab some tasty beer.

Here are the beers the local breweries are sending up. The full list of beer from the rest of Canada, California, and the UK is also available. The list is subject to change, we know that cask beer can be temperamental!

Bad Apple / Delta Force Operation Green Ring (Cucumber Mint Pale Ale)
Bad Apple Black & Tackle Wine Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout
Big Spruce Mr.IncREDible (Dry Hopped Irish Red Ale)
Big Spruce Cereal Killer (Oatmeal Stout)
Boxing Rock Temptation Red (American Red Ale)
Boxing Rock Crafty Jack (English Brown Ale)
Greg Nash/Bad Apple Terroir Wethop (Harvest IPA)
Grimross Chantelope (100% Brett Saison)
North Brewing Belgian IPA
North Brewing Winter Saison (Saison With Pepper and Ginger)
PEI Brewing Workshop (Wild Ale Barrel-Aged Saison)
PEI Brewing Blood Orange On The Tracks (India Pale Ale W/ Blood Orange)
Propeller Extra Special Bitter
Pumphouse 4 Alarm (American IPA)
Pumphouse Premium Lager (American Lager)
Uncle Leo’s Smoked Porter
Uncle Leo’s Dry Hopped IPA (American IPA)

Get on out for a pint or two this weekend; why not drop by the NBNano Takeover at Stillwell Saturday (tickets still available for the noon session), PEI Brewing Company to grab their re-release of Blood Orange On The Tracks IPA, The Stubborn Goat for their Nocturne Halifax kick-off party, or your other favourite local pub. Remember to drink local this weekend!

Friday Wrap-Up – New Brewery to Open in New Brunswick, Plus News from Hammond River, Rockbottom, Celtic Knot, Bad Apple, North, Schoolhouse and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-10-03
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Brewnosers, Celtic Knot Brewing, East Coast Beer Tours, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Meander River Farm and Brewery, Moosehead Breweries, North Brewing, Paddys Irish Brewpub, PEI Brewing, Propeller Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Schoolhouse Brewery. 1 comment

Good morning! Yet another week full of beer news in Atlantic Canada…

• There’s another new brewery gearing to start up in New Brunswick! Currently unnamed, the brewery’s origins began in the Grand Tracadie-Sheila area of the province; the brewery itself will be located somewhere in the Acadian peninsula. It will be owned under a joint co-op/private enterprise format, the first of its kind in the province. Money is being raised, boards are coming together, and they’re looking for brewery equipment; the goal is to be brewing somewhere in the range of 5-10 bbl (155-310 U.S. gallons, or roughly 6-11 hL). We plan on having a standalone post on the brewery up soon; in the meantime, they’re currently looking for more investors in the project. If you’re interested, contact Dean Roberts for more information.

• There’s a new variation of one of the favorite beers from Hammond River Brewing out on tap – it’s the Back in Black Oatmeal Stout, but brewed with some Smoked malt to give the beer a bit of smoke in the aroma and flavor. You can currently find it on tap at Bourbon Quarter in Saint John, The Barrel’s Head in Rothesay, and 540 Kitchen & Bar in Fredericton. And speaking of Fredericton, Hammond River beers are now available on tap at the King Street Ale House; currently pouring is the award-winning American IPA, Hop Flash. And, stop by the ANBL in Kennebecasis Valley to grab a growler of the Gammie California Common, tapped yesterday.

• Rockbottom Brewpub has tapped a pair of new beers this week. With the last drop of Thulsa Doom II pouring this week, the Insidious India Black Ale has made a triumphant return. Weighing in at 6.9% and 70 IBUs, this beer features 5.8 pounds of hops per barrel (!!), featuring Columbus, Citra, Simcoe, Summit, Centennial, and German Magnum, sure to keep the hop heads satisfied. Restitution Porter is a brand new brew at the ‘bottom this week, at 5.2% ABV, featuring some nice roast, chocolate and toffee and light caramel notes, and is lightly hopped to 30 IBUs with Centennial and German Magnum hops. A smaller batch, this special brew will only last a few weeks on tap. And be sure to drop by Wednesday afternoons for the latest firkin creation from Brewmaster Nash!

• Celtic Knot Brewing has just brewed a new beer, and it’s a style that you don’t usually see in our area: a Scottish Heavy (or 70/), a Scottish session beer that is amber-colored and normally malty with a dry finish, with an optional peaty or earthy character. Owner/brewer Bruce Barton has confirmed that his take on the beer (which he brewed for years as a homebrewer) is brewed with a Maris Otter malt base, several varieties of Crystal malt, and “a wee bit of Chocolate malt”. Named Caledonia, the beer should come in at a very sessionable 3.8% ABV… it should be a great beer to drink several pints of! We’ll let you know when it’s available, which should be later this month.

• Bad Apple Brewhouse is releasing two new beers this weekend: Operation Green Ring is a 5.0% ABV Cucumber Mint beer, brewed with two members of the Brewnosers Homebrew Club, aka Delta Force Brewery. Terroir is Bad Apple/Greg Nash collaboration Wet-hop beer, weighing in at 7.0% ABV, featuring well over 100 kilos of wet hops used throughout the brew (10 hl). Unique brewing practices have given this beer a very smooth and subtle, yet delicious hoppiness. Kegs will be delivered to Tom’s Little Havana and Stillwell this weekend. It will also be available at the Brewhouse starting today for Growler fills. The Black & Tackle Russian Imperial Stout is back on tap for a limited time, and they’ve filled two red wine barrels with the beer! Look for this unique combination around Christmas.

• North Brewing is once again aging some of their Strong Dark Belgian in Glenora barrels. This beer was a big hit when it was first released; subsequent releases also sold out very quickly. Luckily for all of us, they’ve managed to get their hands on more barrels… four times as many! Look for the beer to be released in December, after an appropriate aging period.

• We have more details on the Hants County Hops Series beers from Schoolhouse Brewery. All of the batches will feature Maritime Malt and English yeast, brewed using open primary fermenters. Batch #1 made its debut last weekend, and featured mostly Golding, with some Cascade hops. Batch #2 features mostly Galena, and will be released shortly. Batch #3 will feature Zeus, and Batch #4 features Zeus and Galena. Check out their Twitter and Facebook pages for information on when/where to grab a pint, we understand that they will all be on tap at Bar Stillwell for an event early November. Also keep an eye out for growler sales in the near future.

• Rudder’s Brew Pub in Yarmouth is holding their 9th Annual Brewer’s Dinner tonight. It will feature a four-course meal, prepared with some of their beer, and of course paired with beer to drink. The event kicks off at 7pm, and reservations are required (902-742-7311).

• Paddys Irish Brewpub has released their Oktoberfest beer this week. Orange in colour with a medium body and balanced hop bitterness, it was brewed using German malt, hops and yeast. It weighs in at 7% ABV, and is very drinkable, thanks to a month of lagering. It is currently available on tap and in growlers in Wolfville, and will be on shortly at the Kentville location.

• Propeller Brewing has released a favourite seasonal beer in the past week, the Nocturne Dark Lager. Weighing in at 4.8%, this Munich Style Dark Lager it is available now at both the Halifax and Dartmouth breweries, as well as the private stores. Rich and malty flavours are balanced with traditional German Noble hops to balance. It is brewed in support of Nocturne: Art at Night, taking place October 18th. This is a popular event, which sees the Halifax area turn into an indoor and outdoor art gallery for all styles. If you are interested in volunteering, please check here for more details.

• Garrison Brewing is releasing two beers this weekend: Their annual harvest beer, 3 Fields Harvest Ale, is returning, featuring wet hops from Ross Farm, Meander River, and Fiddle Hop Farm. This beer weighs in at 6.3% ABV. They are also releasing a brand new beer, the Double Jack Imperial Pumpkin, a 8.0% ABV darker brew featuring loads of local pumpkins. Both will be available at the brewery and private stores this weekend, and will be pouring at their stop at City Harvest tomorrow.

• East Coast Beer Tours has adjusted their Valley tour departing next Saturday, Oct 11th: they have downsized the bus slightly, and as such are able to pass along the savings to you! The price of a ticket is now only $50+HST, and still includes all of the great beer and food visits: Meander River in Ashdale, Paddys Irish Brewpub in Wolfville, and Bad Apple Brewhouse in Somerset. At each stop you’ll be treated to a brewery tour and beer samples, and you’ll also have some appetizers at Paddys and a BBQ featuring sausages from Meadowbrook Meat Market at Bad Apple. There will also be local musician CDs and other goodies given away during the trip. Tickets are still available, and you could win a pair of tickets by retweeting this post. Give the tour a try, we think you’ll have a great time!

• Rogues Roost has released their Oatmeal Stout this week. Available on tap and in growlers, it weighs in at 5.6% ABV and 40 IBUs, and features toasted oats, chocolate and dark crystal malt, and roasted barley.

• Following the release of the Indian Beach Harvest Ale last week, Big Tide has just released another fresh-hopped beer. Indian Beach Pumpkin Ale was brewed with pumpkins grown at Fullerton Farms; they were hand-prepared and roasted for the brew. With a grist featuring Pale, Munich and Carared malts, it is hopped with fresh, local hops from Dunhams Run, similar to the Harvest Ale. Clocking in at about 5.5% ABV, the beer also has cinnamon, orange peel, ginger, nutmeg, clove, molasses and local honey added for more flavor and aroma. It should be on tap at the brewpub now, and won’t last long!

• Gahan House Halifax is putting the final touches on their Peach Wit today, for release in the next couple of weeks. Two bushels of peaches from Elderkin’s Farm in Wolfville are being peeled and pitted, and added to the conditioning tank today. To keep you satisfied until then, the Pleasures and Treasures Maple Whiskey Porter and Baby Steps Belgian Ale are still on, and tasting great! Be sure to drop by Tuesday night for their special casks. This week’s will be a Double Dry-hopped IPA, so drop by and chat over a pint with Brewer Karen Allen. And don’t forget that Tuesday is Industry night, where brewery and brewpub staff get a nice discount.

• Congratulations to Big Spruce Brewing who were awarded an Impact Award from Cape Breton Partnership, thanks to their significant impact on the local economy through improvements to local businesses! And speaking of Big Spruce, they are helping to organize the Celtic Oktoberfest, being held Oct 25th. In conjunction with the evening of fun, food and beer, there will be a Pumpkin Launch at the Port Hawkesbury Marina. It’s not too late to sign up your team’s trebuchet or catapult to launch a pumpkin into the Strait!

• In large brewery news, Moosehead has announced that they will be laying off about 70 workers – almost half of their hourly production employees – from their brewery in Saint John at the end of June, 2015. The brewery cites “the loss of a major brewing and packaging contract”, according to a recent story from the CBC, as the reason for the lay-offs.

• A reminder that the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards are this weekend in Halifax, and there are still tickets to take part in the fun, and to meet the special guest, Mirella Amato. She is leading a beer and cheese pairing seminar taking place 2pm Saturday afternoon at the Westin. The Gala Awards are open to everyone on Sunday at 6pm at the Stubborn Goat, followed immediately by a Beer Dinner featuring local food and beer (from North Brewing, Bad Apple and Garrison). Monday night, the Ladies Beer League is hosting a meet and greet with Mirella at Lion & Bright. Purchasing a ticket will get you a copy of her Beerology book and entry at 6pm, and the event is open to all at 7pm. And don’t forget to vote in the Stillwell People’s Choice Award, closing Saturday.

While you’re out and about this weekend, be sure to grab a pint or growler of something local: Meander River Farms has released their Homegrown harvest beer and 540 Kitchen and Bar is pouring Big Axe Rusty Axe Amber Ale.

And just a “behind-the-scenes” note: we expect to be updating the blog address to ACBeerBlog.ca this week. We hope the change will be of minimum impact to our faithful readers, and you can even update your bookmarks to the new address now (currently redirects to the wordpress.com site). Our email subscriber list should follow with us as well. Have a great weekend!

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!