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Friday Wrap-up – King Street Ale House to Open Soon in Fredericton, Big Tide Brewpub Releases Their First Harvest Beer, and much more

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-09-27
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: BarNone Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, King Street Ale House, Ladies Beer League, PEI Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Sea Level Brewing. 1 comment

Happy Friday, everyone! Lots of new beers and other news this week, so let’s dive right in!

• Those living in Fredericton will soon be seeing a new restaurant that will place a heavy emphasis on serving craft beer. Co-owner Doug Williams says that the King Street Ale House, which will be located at 546 King St., will be providing Frederictonians with “a whole bunch of craft beer that they haven’t seen in months”, as well as a large menu that will also feature barbecued cuisine. Look for the King Street Ale House to open by Thanksgiving. They’re also on Facebook and Twitter.

• The first “fresh-hopped” beer from Big Tide Brewing is now on tap at the brewpub in Saint John. Indian Beach Harvest Ale is brewed with Cascade, Hallertau and Nugget hops that were harvested at Dunham’s Run Winery. According to brewer Wendy Papadopoulos, it’s disappearing quickly, so get in there quickly to give it a try! Locals will also likely see their new fresh-hopped Pumpkin Ale – brewed with real pumpkins grown on the Kingston Peninsula – on tap by Tuesday.

• At this weekend’s Hoptoberfest, Big Spruce Brewing will be debuting their “Bitter Get’er India” India Black Ale/Black IPA. Brewed with Organic Carafa Malt and Sinamar for medium body and distinct colour, this beer will really showcase the hops, in both bittering (it weighs in at 124 IBU!) and aroma (thanks to wet, on-farm-grown, Cascade hops used to dry-hop it). Don’t worry, for those of you not able to make it to this Brewnosers event (sorry, members only!), it will also be available at the Cape Breton Farmer’s Market and at the Big Spruce Store.

• The PEI Brewing Co. is continuing to expand into Western Canada; after recently having several of their beers made available for sale in Alberta, they recently announced that three of their beers are now being shipped and sold in British Columbia. Their Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, Island Red, and Beach Chair Lager are now listed in private and public liquor agencies in Vancouver, Whistler, and the Lower Mainland through Stanley Road Imports. Check here for a full list of liquor stores in B.C. where their beers are available.

• Speaking of the PEI Brewing Co., they just released their seasonal Pumpkin Ale this week. Available in bottles and on tap for growler fills and kegs at the brewery right now, it should be available at PEILCC outlets in the near future. The beer weighs in at 5.8% and 25 IBU, and features local pumpkins that were roasted prior to being added to the lauter tun. They are also about to release their Sydney Street Stout in bottles again, after a “special release” last November. Like last year, this will be a special one-timing bottling, so get it while you can. Of course, it’s available year-round at the Gahan House.

• In other PEI brewing news, BarNone Brewing has made their beers available at two new locations in Charlottetown. Both the Pale Ale and Summer Sessions are now pouring at The Pilot House, and Water St. Fish & Chips also has the Summer Sessions on tap, with the possibility of the Pale Ale joining it in the future. Barnone’s new IPA was also pouring last night at the brewery for growler fills; Islanders should also look for this very hoppy beer soon at Baba’s Lounge.

• It looks like the Pump House Brewery has their Oktoberfest back on the shelves of numerous ANBL stores, and on tap at the brewpub. Also released last year, this malty, amber-colored lager proved to be quite popular with beer lovers in the area. At 5.5% ABV, it’s brewed with various specialty malts and German noble hops; grab some while you can, it’s the perfect time of year to be enjoying this style of beer!

• Halifax’s Garrison Brewing had a busy week! On Wednesday, they relaunched their Firkin events, once held on Fridays at Maxwell’s Plum, at the King’s College Wardroom Pub. This week, they featured two firkins: their new Harvest Wheat Ale (which is now available in growlers at the brewery), as well as a small batch of their Nut Brown Ale cask-conditioned with Peanut Butter, for a Peanut Butter Brown. They expect the firkins to be a regular event (usually one standard and one experimental), tapped at 4:30pm Wednesday afternoon, and pouring until they’re empty. You must be a King’s student, or have one sign you in, to get into the Wardroom, so it’s time to make some new friends. 🙂

• On Thursday, Garrison released their 3 Fields Harvest Wet-Hopped Beer. All of the hops in this beer are local, from four farms in Nova Scotia:  Meander River Farm and Wentworth Creek (both in Ashdale), FiddleHop Farm (Glenholme) & Ross Farm Museum (New Ross); and they are of a wide variety: Nugget, Newport, Galena, Cascade, Zeus, Centennial, Willamette and  Brewers Gold. The malt used in the beer is Maritime Malt, carried by Canada Malting, grown in the Maritimes. A special cask of it will be tapped at 11:00am Saturday at the brewery. The 3 Fields will be available only in bottles: at the brewery, the four private liquor stores in NS, and select NSLC and ANBL outlets soon.

• And next week, Garrison will be releasing the third of their One Hop series IPAs. They have released the Comet and Citra versions of this IPA, which usually clocks in around 6.5% and 60 IBU, so we expect the same this time. No details on which hop will be used, but we’ve got a feeling it will be a British varietal. Not that that narrows the selection down much!

• Sea Level Brewing has released a wet-hopped beer, Hopfazupa IPA. It showcases hops from their own farm, and is currently available on tap at the Port Pub. Here’s hoping it makes it into growlers and cans for those of us not able to make it to the Port.

• Boxing Rock Brewing have re-released their Vicar’s Cross Double IPA. After rave reviews, and quickly selling out, they have re-brewed it, and it is available at the brewery and the four private Halifax liquor stores. It will also be available at Halifax Seaport Market this weekend.

• Bridge Brewing (collaborators with Boxing Rock on the excellent Many Hands IPA) will be releasing their newest seasonal next week. After the great success of their Summer Ale, they will keep a light 5.5%ABV beer on all year. This seasonal will feature more hops for a great aroma and bitterness, and a little bit more Candi sugar for a light mouthfeel.

• Spots for the October Ladies Beer League Spring Garden Take-Over events are still available. On October 10th, they will be taking over the Rockbottom Brewpub, where they will be joined by Brewmaster Greg Nash for some beer learning and drinking. On October 17th, they will move down the road to Rogues Roost, to sample some of Lorne Romano’s fine creations. Both events run 7-10pm, and are pay-as-you-go. Please email them to secure your spot at the private event.

Whew! Looks like that’s all of it… enjoy the last weekend of September, it looks like it’s going to be a nice one!

Friday Wrap-Up – Hop Harvest Beers Brewed in the Atlantic Region, and Other News

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-08-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer. 2 comments

It’s the Hop-Hoppiest season of all!

(sung to the tune of It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year)

It’s Hop Harvest time in the Maritimes, and many breweries are brewing and releasing special brews to commemorate. Here are a few of them:

  • Last Friday, Big Spruce in Nyanza brewed up a wet hop beer from their on-farm grown hops. Brewer Jeremy White used their Challenger and Chinook hops at all stages of the brew: in the mash tun, in the first runnings of the wort, in the boil, and even using a hopback (as the beer is cooling from the kettle to the fermenter). The beer should be available at the brewery in about two weeks.
  • Earlier this week, Shelburne’s Boxing Rock welcomed the folks from Halifax’s Bridge Brewing for a collaboration brew. They used 30kg of wet hops from Lazy Acres Farm, owned by Bridge brewer Josh Herbin, to brew their 100% Vienna Malt IPA. To get that intense fresh-hop aroma, they did not use any of the fresh cones until 30min left in the 90min boil (which gave an intense colour, as well). This IPA will be more aromatic than bitter, clocking in at about 40IBU. The beer will be ready in a few weeks, in growlers at both breweries.
  • Picaroons has started brewing their Harvest series of beers. Details are being kept closely-guarded, but we can confirm that like last year, there will be multiple brews for each hop field, using roughly the same Pale Ale recipe. You will be able to track which hops in your bottle came from which farm, a great idea for farmer, brewery, and informed drinker alike!
  • Big Tide Brewing will be brewing at least one Fresh Hopped beer at their Saint John brewpub. The hop harvest at Dunham’s Run Winery will be this weekend, so the beer will not be far behind. Named after the old name for the peninsula the hops are coming from, Indian Beach Nut Brown will be available in a few weeks, and perhaps another of their popular beers will get a wet-hop kick… Stay tuned!
  • Looking to take part in the harvest? Both Meander River Farm (Ashdale, NS) and FiddleHop Farm (in Glenholme, NS) have put a call out for volunteers to help. Contact them via Facebook for more details. We’ve done it previously, and it is a fun time. Bring some long sleeves to reduce the scratches from the hop bines.

In addition to the harvest, we have some more beer news for you:

  • Big Spruce now has a bright coat of paint, and they are working on the kitchen above the brewery. Their plan has always been to have a small restaurant, overlooking the beautiful Bras d’Or Lake, so it’s great to see this coming together. It will be primarily used for farm-to-table (and -to-glass) events, so stay tuned for those.
  • Attention New Brunswick Homebrewers: in case you missed the announcement, Picaroons will be holding a Home-Brew Challenge in the fall. Brew up a Standard/Ordinary Bitter and submit it between Nov. 1 & 15, and you have a chance at brewing the beer on a commercial scale! The $20 entry gets you a shirt, growler (and fill), and tickets to the Awards Gala on December 1. You’ve got two months to brew a test batch or two, so fire up your kettles! All of the details can be found at the NB Craft Brewers Association website. Unfortunately, it is only open to NB homebrewing residents.
  • Picaroons has just done the last bottling of their Melonhead Wheat beer for the year, marking a sad end to the summer beer season. But in addition to their Harvest beers, they will have some other seasonals coming through the pipeline soon.
  • Shiretown Beer‘s Black Currant Bitter Wheat is now available for growler fills at their Heron’s Nest Cottages location. Along with their Big Brown Ale, it will also be available at the Heron’s Nest Pub. During next weekend’s Charlo Fall Fair, they will have their Honey Wheat available, made with Buckwheat Honey from the Charlo Honeyhouse.
  • Unfortunately, it looks like the popular collaboration between Propeller Brewing and Sea Level Brewing, Alpha%Dog, won’t happen this year, due to Propeller’s upcoming expansion. However Propeller will be releasing their popular Nocturne Dark Lager mid-September (in time for the Nocturne Art at Night event in October), and then their Pumpkin Ale in October. Sea Level have received a larger canning machine, which should mean increased availability at the brewery and at Bishop’s Cellar in Halifax. Their Port in the Storm Porter has just been released, and will make it into Halifax shortly.

More Details on This Weekend’s Atlantic Beer Festival in Moncton

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-05-24
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer Festivals. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, Atlantic Beer Festival, Big Tide Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Mirella Amato, Moncton, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Shiretown Beer. Leave a Comment

atlbeerfest

The Atlantic Beer Festival is taking place at the Moncton Coliseum this Saturday. There are two sessions: 2:30-5pm, and 7:30-10pm. Tickets are available at the Coliseum Box Office, The Pump House Brewery or BarnYard BBQ, and online at tickets.moncton.ca. The evening session is sold out, however there are lots of tickets still available for the afternoon session. The Beer Fest is partnering with the SPCA and United Way.

Exact details on the beers and breweries are not published online (check the Times & Transcript on Thursday for a full list), but I give you some highlights from the organizers and brewers I’ve contacted.

– Fresh off a CBA medal earlier this month, Acadie-Broue will be there with their Gaboteuse Belgian IPA. However, it will only be at the Afternoon Session, that’s worth buying a ticket for the session alone!

– Shiretown from Charlo, NB will be there, pouring their Blonde du Quai, Big Brown Ale and a one off RodDog’s Amber Ale. Also only there for the afternoon session, I see a trend!

– Le Troue du Diable from Shawinagan, QC will be returning, with a pair of beers, that are always hits with the craft beer fans.

– Local (and almost local) breweries Pump House, Picaroons, Big Tide, Garrison and Propeller will also be there, with some special casks and one-off beers that will not be available anywhere else.

– There will be a Maine pavillion, showcasing a over dozen beer that are not available at the ANBL.

We will post the final beer list as soon as it’s available. We expect to see over 140 beers, 30% of which are new offerings not usually available in NB. Some will be launched at the Fest, so this will be your first chance to try them.

In addition to the beer, there will be food vendors (pretzels!), with a BBQ/Smoking station set up with pulled pork and sausages. There will be music by Carey Beck and the 60 LPs. Free shuttle buses leave from the Coliseum to various spots around the city (Downtown, Riverview, etc), so be sure to take advantage and don’t drink and drive!

There is a VIP option at each of the sessions: you will start at the Pump House Brewpub, and meet your guide for the session, Mirella Amato. She is the only Master Cicerone[TM] in Canada, and will be helping folks get the most out of the Beer Festival. After some appetizers and a limo ride to the Coliseum, Mirella will bring you in the VIP entrance and then spend some time tasting some of the great beer available. She will highlight a few of the best beers, do a guided tasting at several of the difference booths, and assist you in hunting down the best beers for your favourites styles. To sign up, contact the ANBL. The ticket price is $99, and that includes your Festival ticket.

We’ll be there, and hope you will too! Cheers!