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Friday Wrap-Up – News from TrailWay, Sea Level, Tatamagouche, Tidehouse, Gahan Halifax and Charlottetown, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-01-27
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beau's Brewing Co, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Brightwood Brewery, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Gahan House Home Brewer's Challenge, Garrison Brewing, King Street Ale House, Lazy Bear Brewing, Maybee Brewing, New Brunswick Beer Tours, Péché Day, Sea Level Brewing, Sober Island Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tide & Boar Brewing, Tide & Boar Gastropub, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. Leave a Comment

Welcome to the last Friday Wrap-Up of January. Plenty of new beers to tell you about, and a slew of events coming up too. Let’s get right to it!

• The judging the first annual TrailWay Homebrew Competition took place last weekend; close to 30 entries in the American IPA category were evaluated by six judges (including our very own acbbshawn). The winner and runner-up will be announced on Sunday, but in the meantime, TW’s newest DIPA, Hop Stains, will be released at the brewery today at 4 pm. Hopped heavily with Azacca, Citra, and El Dorado (with the emphasis, of course, on whirlpool and dry hop additions), expect a smooth IPA with a creamy mouthfeel, with lots of fruit throughout, and a bit of bubblegum. Not too bitter at ~60 IBUs, it clocks in at 8% ABV. A limited number of cans (40 cases) will be available, with the rest going into kegs for lucky tap accounts.

• There’s a brand new beer available now from Port Williams’ Sea Level Brewing – Callahan’s Crosstime Irish Ale. The brewery is calling it a “malt-forward, smooth Irish Ale”, but it takes a different direction than the norm, thanks to the addition of Galaxy hops (to 30 IBUs), giving a “sublime, tropical fruit aroma”. Horton Ridge Pale Malt is included in the grist, with the beer coming in higher than your typical Irish Ale, at 7.3% ABV. Available in cans, 1-L growlers, and on tap at select accounts across the province.

• After a tease last Saturday at Ducky’s, Tatamagouche Brewing has released the latest addition to their Giant Beer series. Barrel Aged Barley Wine features a recipe variation from last year’s Giantess Barley Wine, as it now uses Horton Ridge malt as the majority of the grist. According to Brewmaster Matt Kenny, “This change adds some spice and a little more body, which we felt worked well with the spirit and barrel character”. Speaking of which, the beer was aged in freshly-emptied Single Malt barrels from Cape Breton’s Glenora Distillery, picking up plenty of complexity during the process. The 10.5% ABV beer is well-balanced and ready to drink now, or will age gracefully for a new experience. Available exclusively in bottles at their Main Street Tatamagouche location, drop by today to grab a couple (one to enjoy now, and another to enjoy in a few months or a year, if you can keep it that long!). And while you’re there, you’ll be able to spy the expansion underway, as Kenny and Co look to double their fermentation and conditioning capacity to keep up with demand, and have a more permanent solution for their canning line. The building, and resultant improvements, will be online to help with the upcoming summer rush.

• Those in attendance at Stillwell for the debut of Tidehouse Brewing back in December know very well that the India Saison made specifically for that event was a banger and have been eagerly awaiting any hint that it might come back into production. Those people have not been waiting in vain, as that beer has returned with a shiny new name: Enigmatic (“it’s kinda weird”).  Dryer than the original version, leading to a significant bump in ABV up to 6.8%, there’s  a whole lot of hops in there, specifically the Ahtanum, Azacca and Amarillo varieties. You’re encouraged to consider an IPA crossed with a Belgian/French yeast profile. If that sounds like something you’d like, or even just something you might like to try, you’re further encouraged to get yourself down to Tidehouse and get some while it’s still around (hint: it won’t be for long!). Shean and Peter also remind us that they’ll fill any size of (clean!) growler you care to bring them. And be sure to grab their interview with the 902 BrewCast guys that dropped earlier this week. Learn about some crazy beer experiments and punny beer names that maybe coming your way soon…

• Gahan Harbourfront in Halifax saw two beers hit the taps this week. Monday was the release of a new beer, the English Golden Ale that features ingredients sourced entirely from the UK. Technically a SMaSH (but not simply for the sake of being a SMaSH), the eminently British Maris Otter is the lone malt, providing a doughy character with honey overtones, while the hops are all Fuggles, a classic for British styles, bringing herbal and floral notes. At only 16 IBU and a fairly light 4.5% this should be an extremely easy-drinking ale with a fairly full flavour profile that belies its weight.

• And on Wednesday, the latest variation of the Crosscurrent American Pale Ale debuted, this time venturing afield of the all-American hop varieties featured to this point. Using Magnum (largely for bittering, we presume) and “a lot of” Dr. Rudi, a New World variety from New Zealand known for bringing a refreshing combination of pine, dry lime and lemon aromas and flavours. Still clocking in at 5.5% ABV and still featuring a malt bill of primarily pale malt with some flaked oats and flaked wheat, the IBUs are a tad lighter on this batch at 32, but we suspect the hops are much more evident in flavor than in bitterness. Both the English Golden Ale and the new Crosscurrent are available for pints and growler fills. And be sure to sign up for their Home Brewer’s Challenge before the Feb 17 deadline by email; they are looking for your best Trappist Single. Check our previous post for more details.

• Sticking with Gahan (and Homebrewing), but skipping across the Northumberland Strait, Charlottetown’s Gahan Pub has released the winner of the PEI installment of the Home Brewer’s Challenge, Green Willy Solstice, a 7.9% ABV Winter Warmer. The winning team of Jonathan Green, Clayton Harding, Will Panting, and Jaime Venturini joined Brewmaster Trent Haynes for the day, using molasses and a blend of spices for a warming profile to the beer. Grab a pint on tap at Sydney Street now.

• Smiths Cove’s Lazy Bear Brewing is releasing a special beer next week, featuring a unique local ingredient. Bunchberry Orange Kolsch is a 4.5% ABV German hybrid beer (hybrid of ale and lager yeast, more temperature-tolerant), with oranges grown in Nova Scotia. Bunchberry Nurseries were the folks who grew the Poncirus trifoliata, also known as Japanese or Chinese Bitter Orange, a cold-tolerant citrus tree. To celebrate this first for the province, Lazy Bear are holding a public tasting of the beer at Bunchberry in Upper Clements, February 3, 7:00-9:00 pm. To honour the unexpected combination, there will be a beach theme to the evening, and it will feature local food. The beer is in very short supply, so be sure to drop by that evening to avoid disappointment. If there does happen to be any left, it will be available at the Annapolis Royal Farmers’ Market the next morning.

 • Ontario’s Beau’s Brewing is brewing a series of collaboration beers in 2017, to celebrate the 150th birthday of our country. Their first in this series was conceived with the Fogo Island Inn, located on Newfoundland’s Fogo Island. Described by the brewery as a “Myrrh-Smoked Gose”, this one is definitely different! Along with Pilsner, Acid, and Carafoam malt in the grist, Wheat malt that was smoked with myrrh collected from the Island’s pine, spruce, and fir trees was added. The saltiness typical to the Gose style was obtained by the addition of island-foraged sea salt, and Newfoundland partridgeberries were added for tartness (as opposed to the usual practice of introducing Lactobacillus bacteria). This is a higher-ABV than usual for a Gose, at 6.7% ABV; it was hopped with Strisselspalt and Simcoe to 35 IBUs, also high for the style. Beau’s describes the beer as hazy orange, with earthy and woody aromas mingled with mild fruitiness, and smoky and tart flavours. Named 49° 54°, it’s going to be available only at the Inn, with $1500 in sales being donated to the Shorefast Foundation. For more info on this beer, check out Beau’s full description. And be sure to follow along with Beau’s future collaborations, as some more Atlantic Canadian terroir beers are sure to pop up!

In terms of events, we’ve also got plenty to tell you about this week, as brewers and restaurants start to get ahead of the snow and ice…

• In case you missed yesterday’s post, Halifax’s 2 Crows Brewing will be opening their doors at 1932 Brunswick Street tomorrow, from noon. Check out the full details in the Profile, but be sure to drop by for the special tap room-only Bakeapple Sour, Aztec Milk Stout, and Mango & Brett IPA, as they will be sure to sell out quickly (and are not available elsewhere).

• After (or before) a stop for that pint and growler fill tomorrow, drop down to Bishop’s Cellar for a co-tap takeover of their growler filling station with Dartmouth’s Brightwood Brewery and Sheet Harbour’s Sober Island Brewing. The crews from both spots will be on hand from 1:00-3:00pm to chat and pour samples, before you dive in for a growler filling.

• And while you’re in the downtown core tomorrow, be sure to drop by Stillwell Beer Bar on Barrington for pours of three special beers from Toronto brewery Bellwoods. The Plum variant of their Jelly King, a dry-hopped Lacto sour; Jutsu, a Vermont-inspired 5.6% ABV Pale Ale; and Farmhouse Saison, fermented with Brettanomyces Lambicus. These will be on from noon, when you can also take advantage of their “Bottle of the Day”, where they are offering up a bottle from their cellar for pours from the glass, rather than having to spring for the whole shebang.

• Tide & Boar Brewing is holding another of their Beer to Go days tomorrow, January 28th, from 10 am-6 pm. Two beers will be available for growler fills: Killington IPA, a 7.6% ABV Northeast IPA featuring plenty of Citra and Mosaic hops, and a new take on their Sour Otis Grapefruit, which has been rebuilt from the ground up, according to brewer Chad Steeves. Twenty-four grapefruits per barrel were added to the beer, making it more acidic than ever. Only a limited supply of these beers (2 kegs each) will be available, so get over early!

• New Brunswick Beer Tours is holding their FROSTival Brewery Tour next Saturday, February 4th, and there’s still a few tickets left! They’ll be following their usual itinerary of four brewery stops (this time around, Graystone, Maybee, Mama’s, and TrailWay), before a final stop at the King Street Ale House for a pint with Off Grid Ales‘ Randy Rowe; each brewery stop includes four sample pours. Tickets are $68.50 each, and include – of course – transportation between all stops.

• Sick of winter yet? If you’re in the Fredericton area, Maybee Brewing is offering a cure – of sorts – with their Beat the Winter Blues, scheduled for next Saturday, February 4th. A night of live music and beer (from 7 pm-1 am), your $12 advance ticket ($20 at the door) gets you admission to two live bands, The Tortoise The Hare & The Millionaire, and Keith Hallett. Of course, there will be plenty of Maybee beer on tap, as well as a guest brewery or two, for purchase. A food truck will be on site, and a free shuttle to downtown will be available between 12-1:30 am.

• After a wildly successful debut at TrailWay, the Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection have got their next event scheduled at Maybee Brewing February 8th at 6:30pm. $14 will get you a flight of beer, tour of the brewery, and insightful chat with fellow beer lovers (and those looking to learn more). Check out the FB Event page, and be sure to RSVP in advance.

• This year’s Péché Day – a celebration of one of Canada’s highest-rated beers, Dieu du Ciel!‘s Péché Mortel – is scheduled for Saturday, March 11th. Luckily for all of us, this year three Maritime bars have been selected to participate! What does this mean? It means that these three locations – the King Street Ale House, Stillwell, and Tide & Boar – will have six different variants of the coffee-infused Imperial Stout on tap for you to enjoy (check out the event poster for a list of all expected). It’ll simply be pay-as-you-go, but be warned, this is a big beer!

• Speaking of March 11th, the 5th Annual Fredericton Craft Beer Festival is fast approaching! While the evening session did sell out quickly, there are still afternoon tickets available, which offers the option of a slightly-more-relaxed experience… and the option of continuing afterwards with Péché Day at the KSAH! If you’re an alumni (have attended the last four festivals) and haven’t yet picked up your tickets, be sure to do so with the special alumni code emailed to you by FCBF organizers – aside from all the great local craft beer, you also get a T-shirt, custom glassware, and more!

A couple more things before we let you go this week:

– The crew from Bishop’s Cellar drove up to Nyanza this week to brew up a collaboration at Big Spruce Brewing. Coming next month will be Anaphylactic Choc, a peanut butter and chocolate porter, featuring organic peanut butter added right to the boil, for a blast of nutty goodness. We’ll share more details when the beer is released on February 25th, at a Takeover of Bishop’s growler filling taps.
– Breton Brewing has brought back Crazy Angus Double IPA, the amped up brother to their Black Angus IPA. At 7.4% ABV and 85 IBU, it’s sure to cure that hop itch many of us have! Grab it on tap at their taproom, and accounts around the province.
– Gahan Halifax will be hosting their first Brewmaster’s Dinner on February 21st, featuring four courses from the chef specifically paired with beers from Kyle Jeppesen’s brewhouse. More details are in the offing and we’ll bring them to you as they become available.
– Garrison Brewing is holding a contest on Instagram, celebrating their Dirty Ol’ Town Black IPA. Take a picture of why you love the town, and tag @garrisonbrewing and use the #LoveThisDirtyOlTown hashtag. They will regram all entries, and the one with the most likes by February 9th will win a brewery tour for 10 people.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Red Rover, Gahan/PEIBC, Hammond River, TataBrew, TrailWay and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-07-08
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Annapolis Cider Company, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Brewbakers, Charm School, FirkinStein Brewing, Fredericton Cider Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Maybee Brewing, Moncton Beer League, Newfermenters Homebrew Club, PEI Brewing Co., Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tasting NB, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Urban Beer Hike. 4 comments

Happy Friday! After some great weather on the Canada Day weekend, we are back to the reality of Atlantic Canadian weather, so best to grab a growler, can or bottle, and stay inside to read the latest beer news from our region.

• Red Rover released a new fruit cider earlier this week – Dragon Slayer is named after Saint George, well-known for his dragon-slaying abilities and Targaryen-thwarting. The cider was co-fermented with locally-sourced cranberries, giving it a crimson hue. Subtly sharp and rather tannic, as described by the cidery, it finishes quite dry and weighs in at 7% ABV. It’s available at the Cider House and farmers’ markets for growler fills, and should be on tap at a few select bars/restaurants in New Brunswick, including 540 Kitchen & Bar and Snooty Fox in Fredericton, and Ducky’s in Sackville.

• Gahan House – Charlottetown has taken their Belgian Blonde Ale, Belgium Blue, and tweaked it a bit for some lucky New Brunswick beer drinkers! They added a special roast of local Receiver Coffee sourced from Tomila, Columbia, resulting in Coffee Belgian Blonde. The coffee is described by PEI Brewing Co. brewmaster Chris Long as “juicy, acidic, and fruity, with a mild chocolate flavour”. The original beer is light enough to let the coffee flavours shine through, “but complex enough to enhance the amazing aromas of this particular batch”. Clocking in at ~7.5% ABV, it’s available at all five ANBL growler stations this weekend. If you’re in Charlottetown and feeling left out, fear not – a couple of kegs were also sent to HopYard.

• And in other PEIBC news, the brewery has installed a used 7 BBL (~800 L) fermentor that will serve a dual purpose: growing up different yeast strains for seasonal batches, and for experimenting! Look for several new beers to be test-brewed over the coming weeks, including a dry-hopped version (with Ella and El Dorado) of their Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, a double-dry-hopped 1772 (Cascade first, then Simcoe and Mosaic), and a Saison dry-hopped with Goldings. And to celebrate their recent four Gold medals at the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards, they have released The Gold Pack at the PEILCC, featuring cans of their Rogues Roost IPA, Setting Day Saison, Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, and Vic Park Pale Ale.

• Hammond River just brewed a new beer last night, and it’s one we’re confidant in saying hasn’t been attempted in these parts before! Rum Raisin Belgian Dubbel was brewed with a grist of Pilsner, Munich, Special B, Crystal, and Aromatic malts, and lightly hopped to 24 IBUs with Tettnang. Eight pounds of raisins were soaked in Eldorado 12 Rum, and then pureed and added to the end of the boil, along with plenty of Chapmans vanilla ice cream and dark Belgian Candi Syrup. Wait, there’s more – Madagascar vanilla beans will also be added during secondary fermentation. The targeted ABV is 7.1%, and on top of everything else, some of the beer may end up being barrel-aged! Look for the beer to be released over the next few weeks; we’ll keep you updated!

• Tatamagouche Brewing just canned and released their Cellar Slammer ISA, a new Session IPA brewed with the crew from Bishop’s Cellar in Halifax. Hopped with Mosaic, Hallertau Blanc and a small addition of Amarillo, look for lots of tropical fruit aromas and flavours in this 4.7% ABV summer sipper. It is available in growlers and cans at the brewery, and in cans at Bishop’s Cellar now.

• TrailWay has recently re-released two hoppy ales that they haven’t had out for awhile. First up is their American IPA, Hugh John Hops; heavily hopped (with Mosaic in particular) to come in “dank, fruity and piney”, it comes in at 6.8% ABV. Next is the return of Patio for the first time since its initial release last summer. An American Wheat Ale hopped entirely with Topaz – with almost all of it being added at flameout and the dry-hop, to give a huge blast of tangerine and citrus, without a lot of bitterness – it’s very sessionable at 4.7% ABV. Both beers are available now for pints and growler fills at the brewery, as well as on tap at select accounts across Fredericton.

• FirkinStein Brewing just released a new beer yesterday at the Lunenburg Farmers’ Market, Anchors Aweigh Pale Ale. Described by the brewery as “light and refreshing, with a crisp, mild hoppy taste, and mild bitterness in the finish”, it weighs in at 6% ABV. It should be available at tomorrow’s Bridgewater Farmers’ Market in growlers and grunters, with 500 mL bottles  following next week. They will also be attending tomorrow’s Food Truck Rally at the Hubbards Barn & Community Park, from 4-8pm.

• Propeller Brewing is bringing out their latest One Hit Wonder today, Citrus Pale Ale. Brewed with a grist of Pale and Wheat malts, this beer features a big citrus nose and flavour, thanks to generous addition of Curaçao orange peel and Ahtanum hops added during the whirlpool phase (after boiling is complete). Cascade and Centennial hops help to balance the malt, with the final beer details coming in at 5.8% ABV and a light 25 IBUs. The beer will be available on tap and in growlers at the Gottingen location this afternoon (drop by after work), and on Windmill later this evening, or first thing tomorrow. As always, a few of these OHW kegs do make it into the wild at select bars, so if you spot it, grab a pint!

• Halifax’s Good Robot has teamed up with Falmouth’s Schoolhouse Brewery to release a special beer ahead of this weekend’s Evolve Festival. Skratch Plaskett – Electric Tambourine Ale is a light-bodied 5.8% ABV Pale Ale, featuring a set of American and Australian hops: Warrior for bittering (contributing to most of the 25 IBUs), Cascade in the whirlpool for some flavour and aroma, and Summer as a dry hop for an Aussie aroma of stone, tropical, and citrus fruits. Skratch Plaskett is the result of 8 test batches and iterations, as the characteristics were honed in on their desired recipe for a crushable beer with lots of character. Much like the name implies, it is a true collaboration of a beer! The beer will be available at the Evolve Festival (happening near Moncton), as well as on tap/growlers at Good Robot and Schoolhouse’s market location shortly.

• And in more Good Robot news, keep your eyes peeled for the return of The Shocking Pink, their Gose blended with pink lemonade and hibiscus tea, as well as Burban Legend American Pale Ale v6.0, dry-hopped with currently-unnamed experimental hop 342 from Hop Breeding Company. This hop lends a floral, citrus, and melon characters to the beer. And for those loved, or missed and wanted to try, the New Zealand IPA Beta Brew that debuted at the Tap Room this week, the single keg is all gone, but will be returning in another iteration soon.

• Maybee Brewing has started canning another of their flagship beers – Stone House Tripel is now available in 500 mL cans for purchase at the brewery in Fredericton; they also should be for sale at the Picaroons General Store in Saint John by sometime next week. Also note that Maybee recently doubled their number of taps to 12, which means more new beers in the future, as well as several taps dedicated to other NB breweries for taproom purchase.

• Unfiltered has released another batch of Front Line Rocker, their 8% Double IPA brewed with the famous Conan yeast. It’s back on tap at the brewery and Charm School, at noon and 4pm today, respectively, and will be delivered to local bars very shortly. Be sure to drop by Charm School tomorrow afternoon for an Indochine Bahn Mi pop-up. Featuring Pork Belly marinated in Unfiltered’s Flat Black Jesus American Stout, they will be serving from 4-9pm (assuming the tasty treats last that long)

• Congratulations to the winners at last weekend’s Newfermenters Brew-Off! Bill Burton took Best-in-Show out of the 25 submissions, and will have a chance to brew his winning recipe with the crew at Port Rexton later in the summer. And speaking of which, PR has brewed the first beers on their new system, and are aiming to open in the next month or so!

As for what’s going on in the events section over the coming days and weeks…

• Annapolis Cider Company is throwing their grand opening party this weekend (Friday to Sunday), and to help celebrate, they’ll be offering tasting paddles – three 3 oz pours – of their three currently-available ciders for only $3. They’ll also be giving free tours of the cider cellar all three days, at 11 am, 2 pm and 4 pm.

• A final reminder that the second annual Tasting NB event happens tomorrow (Saturday, July 9th) in Fredericton at the Capital Complex, from 7-10 pm. Featuring 17 different producers of beer, cider, mead, spirits, and wine, your $55 ticket (if purchased in advance; $60 at the door) gets you unlimited samples for the evening.

• The Moncton Beer League is holding their second Urban Beer Hike on Saturday, July 23rd. The downtown walking tour will begin at Marky’s Laundromat at 1:45 pm, with several stops at various craft beer destinations in the city, before finishing at the Pump House brewpub around 5:30 pm. Each stop will feature beer and food samples, along with info sessions. Tickets are $49+fees, and are available online. Also note that ticket holders will receive $5 off their ticket for this year’s Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Oktoberfest (Saturday, September 24th).

• It’s a few months away, but the date has been announced for the 2nd Annual Fredericton Cider Festival: Saturday, October 1st, on the Brewbakers covered patio. Tickets are on sale now, with two options available: regular tickets are $56.50 each and get you a custom sampling glass and unlimited 4 oz samples from 1:00-3:30 pm, while the $65 VIP ticket gets you the same, plus early entry at noon. Both local and larger cideries will be pouring, with over 25 different types likely to be available to sample.

A few more notes before signing off this week:

– Big Spruce has re-released their Meek Thy Maker, a Red IPA hopped with Amarillo, Columbus and Citra (which is replacing Cascade this time around). It’s on tap at the brewery now, with growlers available at supplied Farmers’ Markets, and many tap accounts in Nova Scotia.
– Railcar has brewed up another batch of their Smoked Molasses Porter; it’s available now at the brewery, and will be hitting the Fredericton ANBL growler station (Prospect St.) at the end of the month.
– Petit-Sault brewed up a SMaSH beer yesterday, featuring ingredient sourced nearby: Pale malt from Malt-Broue South-East Quebec and Cascade hops from nearby Aroostook Hop in Northern Maine. Look for it to hit the taps at the end of July.

Despite the weather, enjoy your weekend! In closing, Atlantic Business Magazine is running an online poll where you can vote for your favourite Atlantic Canadian brewery; it runs until July 29th, and the winner will be featured in the September edition of the magazine.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Big Spruce, Bishop’s Cellar, Maybee Brewing, Hammond River, Railcar, Good Robot, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-02-05
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bad Apple Brewhouse, Battery Park, Beerocracy, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Boxing Rock Brewing, FirkinStein Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Maybee Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Railcar Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Another weekend, another snow storm! Let’s celebrate the lovely season that is winter with some local news on our favourite beverage…

• Big Spruce recently announced that they have received a bottling machine, and will begin releasing some special beers this way. Their first bottled offering will be a barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout, Ra Ra Rasputin. This beer started out as an 8.5% Imperial Stout, brewed with loads of black and dark malts, and kicked up with Just Us! organic coffee in the boil to lend some bitterness and roast aroma to the beer. After fermentation, the beer spent two months in 14-year Single Malt Glenora barrels. The finished brew is 10.5% ABV, with some lovely caramel and vanilla notes. Due to the low volume available, it is in very short supply; there are only four kegs of the beer available (one of which will be heading to Battery Park shortly), so be sure to grab a glass if you spot it. For those interested in buying bottles, they will only be available for purchase at the Nyanza brewery, beginning late next week, so keep an eye on social media for the official announcement.

• In other Big Spruce news, Bishop’s Cellar in Halifax will be dedicating all five of their growler taps to them this weekend. Beers pouring will include Kitchen Party Pale Ale, Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout, Read Between the Pines, and two surprise beers rotating through (sorry, we can’t tell you what they are!). There will be two free tasting sessions (Saturday 11 am-4 pm, Sunday 12-5 pm) with Big Spruce owner/brewmaster Jeremy White; remember to bring your empty growlers! Bishop’s is also holding a separate tasting event tonight from 5-7 pm; the $20 ticket price (available for purchase online) includes samples of a variety of beers on their shelves, along with several appetizers. And be sure to sign up for BC’s Behind the Tap beer-centric monthly mailing, for the scoop on sales and events.

• After having their beer on sale at the ANBL and on tap around town for a few weeks, Fredericton’s Maybee Brewing location will be officially opening their doors today at noon. Growler fills and cans of their Roseway Red and Work Horse IPA will be available, as well as a limited amount of their newest release, Belgian Tripel, an 8.5% ABV Belgian Golden Strong. Drop by their 559 Wilsey Road location for a sample (they are not yet licensed for pint sales) and fill up on their offerings; they’ll be open 12-8 pm both today and tomorrow. Congratulations to the entire Maybee family!

• The “Nut Red Ale” brewed by Hammond River last month is now at select accounts in New Brunswick. Nut Your Everyday Red Ale was brewed with a good portion of specialty malts, to give the beer lots of “toasty, biscuity, and nuttiness both in the flavour and on the nose”, according to the brewery. It was bittered with the Nugget variety, and further hopped throughout the boil with Hallertau. Think of it as an easy-drinking (5.1% ABV, 33 IBUs) English-style Red Ale; sounds like this one may become a regular brew for HR!

• In more HRBrew news, their Imperial Breakfast Stout is currently in the wild in the River Valley: Barrel’s Head, Bourbon Quarter, and the James Joyce in Fredericton. It’s an 8.0% ABV Imperial Stout, with additions of oats, local coffee from Java Moose, cacao nibs, and home-smoked (Applewood) bacon. Look for a special oaked version of the IBS to be pouring at the evening session of the Fredericton Craft Beer Fest. And the winners from last month’s Wee Heavy Homebrew Competition will be brewing up their winning recipe, Tilted Kilt, on the weekend, which should be making its debut at the FCBF.

• Railcar brewed a new beer this week, their first Red IPA. The grist is made up of several specialty malts (including Crystal 40 and 60 L, Munich, and Chocolate) to go along with the Pale base malt, to provide notes of toffee sweetness and caramel. Hopped in the boil with Northern Brewer and Columbus, the beer will be dry-hopped with Amarillo after fermentation is complete. This amber-coloured ale should come on the higher end of the spectrum for this style, at ~8.5% ABV, and with 62 IBUs. Look for it to show up on tap at the brewery within a few weeks. Also, Fredericton’s Prospect St. ANBL will be launching Railcar’s Artisan Brown Ale in bottles tomorrow, where it will join their previously released Cafe Buzz Porter. The brewery has also announced another expansion, as they will be receiving two additional 50-gallon fermentors within the next two weeks.

• Good Robot has just released a new beer, a Smoked Ale named Samsquamptch!. At 5.2% ABV and 27 IBUs, the beer features a healthy dose of Cherrywood-Smoked Malt (about 15% of the grain bill), Rye, Caramel and Vienna on a 2-Row base, for a smokey and spicy brew; it was bittered with German Magnum and Tettnang hops. As with most of their beers, it has been gluten reduced to less than 20 ppm. Never ones to hold back from a good idea gone bad, they attempted to reproduce the same effect by smoking hops. As in, pipe smoking hops… Exploiting the quasi-relationship between hops and Cannabis, which are both members of the Cannabinaceae family. Rumoured to share the relaxing properties of Cannabis when smoked, hops do lack the “psychoactive properties” of the drug. You’ll have to watch the video for yourself! As for the beer, it is on tap at the brewery for growler fills, and their adjacent taproom.

• On February 12th, the Good Robot taproom is hosting a New York City food and beer day. Starting at noon, they are hosting Rinaldo’s Italian American Specialties for some NY-style sandwiches. In addition to their own taps, they will be pouring bottles of several Brooklyn Brewery beers, including the perennial favourite Lager, as well as Black Chocolate Stout, Local 1, and Sorachi Ace. Grab a lean at the bar, lower (or increase, depending) your expectations for politeness, and bend an elbow or two. More details here.

• Next Monday, Feb. 8th, Picaroons will be re-releasing their Afterglow Aphrodisiac Ale. A dark, full-bodied beer featuring the addition of chocolate, cayenne pepper, ginseng root and liquorice root, it’s released every year just in time for Valentine’s Day. It will be on tap at the Brewtique, and at better beer bars across New Brunswick.  They’re also holding a Winter Warmer Party tomorrow at Crabbe Mountain, where all of their taps will be pouring Picaroons beers, with live music from The Backyard Devils. Finally, the brewery has announced that they’re now hiring for their Picaroons General Store, to open in Saint John. If you’re interested, fire them an email.

• With the explosion in the number of craft breweries in New Brunswick over the last couple of years, it’s no surprise that there’s a documentary currently being filmed on the subject. Produced by Shauna Chase and Alex Vietinghoff, Beerocracy will examine the current craft beer surge in the province through interviews with both brewers and beer event organizers alike. Filming is currently underway (Chase and Vietinghoff have been in Fredericton for interviews with the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival‘s Lloyd Chambers and Grimross‘ Stephen Dixon), with a projected completion sometime this Spring. You can follow their progress through their Facebook link above; more news to come!

• Upstreet Brewing will be holding a special event Feb 14th, For the Love of Beer. This Valentine’s Day event will feature a brand new beer release, a Scottish 80/ (aka Scottish Export) named Eighty Bob. An amber-coloured beer that is definitely on the malty side of the spectrum, Upstreet’s take involves a grist made up of Pale Ale malt as the base, with a mixture of Crystal malts and Chocolate malt. Phoenix and EKG hops were used in small amounts to keep the bittering low (20 IBUs) and add just a touch of flavour to the malt character. According to the brewery, the beer has “toffee, caramel, raisins, and a little bit of nuts”, just as a complexly malty brew should! It weighs in at an easy-drinking 4.5% ABV. The launch event, held from 12-4 pm at the brewery, will feature a special brunch menu, live music from Salt Licks, and a special open mic with brewer Mike Hogan, who will be on hand to successfully (?) answer all of your relationship questions! Disclaimer: BYO Divorce Attorney.

• Dartmouth’s Battery Park will also be holding their own Valentine’s Day event. A four course prix-fixe menu (with optional beer pairings) will be on that evening, featuring ceviche, pork loin or lobster bisque, oxtail roulade or seared local halibut, plus gingerbread with spent grain ice cream. Seating is by reservation only (either by phone or email). Full details here. And on the Friday before (Feb 12), they are one of the stops on a Downtown Dartmouth Food Crawl, featuring 15 stops. Running 5-7 pm, people can visit as many of the cafes, restaurants, and bars as they wish, enjoying some locally-sourced and -prepared food and drink. Details are available on their Facebook page.

• Attention readers in the GTA: Thanks to a recent visit from Brewmaster Greg Nash, Bar Volo’s taps will soon be pouring Unfiltered beer! During a recent visit to Toronto, Nash joined together with House Ales brewer Dan Beaudoin, and the rest of the Bar Volo team, to brew a small batch of Twelve Years to Zion DIPA. The beer will be released today at 4pm, so leave work early to get on the good stuff! (We had incorrectly indicated Exile on North Street was being released, apologies for the error)

• The boys at FirkinStein in Mount Pleasant, NS will be releasing their newest beer in the next week. Anchors Aweigh is a big American Pale Ale, very light in colour, and with a nice crisp flavour. Though it weighs in at 8.5% ABV, the hopping is relatively light, with a pleasant Cascade-based citrus aroma shining through. Look for it to be available at their Lunenburg Farmers’ Market stall next week (Thursday the 11th), and for their weekly deliveries, and on tap shortly as well.

• Things are coming along nicely at the Horton Ridge Malt & Grain in the Annapolis Valley. While not quite malting yet, they are getting ever closer to that point, with production launch expected next month. Ahead of that, they have opened up a second round of CEDIF offering, after a very successful first round of almost $400,000 raised in 2015. The goal of round two is $200,000, with the funds planned to be used to pay down the mortgage on the building. Potential investors are welcome to visit the Malt House Feb 13 for an Open House to learn more about the CEDIF offering, and check out the great progress made so far. By investing in a Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF), residents may be entitled to an initial 35% Provincial tax credit, in addition to other benefits going forward.

• Another CEDIF offering currently open is from FarmWorks Investment Co-op. They have enabled at least three local microbreweries (Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, and Meander River) and the list of farmers, food producers, restaurants and others keeps growing. In loaning startup funds since its creation in 2011, it currently has over $1 million at work around the province, investing in food production and distribution to increase access to sustainable food.  Deadline for investments with this offering is March 15, 2016 and this can be used for RRSP tax deferral.

• Propeller Brewing is releasing their newest One Hit Wonder today. Black Heart is a 6.3% ABV Black IPA, heartily hopped to 90 IBUs. It is on tap now at their Windmill location, Gottingen later today. As always, their OHW releases are growlers and draft only, due to the smaller batch sizes. They have also announced details on their next Cask Night: it will be held on Friday, Feb 26th at 6 pm at the brewery on Gottingen St., and will feature a food “mash-up” from The Other Bean and Rinaldo’s to pair with the multiple beer samples. Tickets are $30, and available now at the link above.

Have a great weekend! Before you move on, here’s a few last blurbs/reminders…
– Bad Apple Brewhouse has released Alternate Ending, a 4.8% ABV Altbier. Brewed with Mike Orr and Keith Forbes, two members of the Brewnosers Homebrew club, it is currently available at the Somerset brewery, as well as on tap at Good Robot’s taproom, Primal Kitchen, and Stillwell (including a special cask). This is a small batch, so be sure to grab it when you spot it on tap!
– Boxing Rock has re-released Unobtainium, a beer best-described as a 5% ABV Red IPA featuring Simcoe, Centennial, Amarillo, and Nelson Sauvin (for more info on the beer, click here).
– The Maritime Black IPA, Grimross’s newest beer that we just mentioned last week, is now available. Drop by the brewery for growler fills, and check out their regular accounts to try it by the pint.
– Look out for a new beer from Schoolhouse in Falmouth, their first Lager. An experiment of sorts, they wanted to do a small test batch to test the recipe and technique, before brewing it on their expanded brewhouse later in the year. Look for it on tap at the Spitfire Arms, as well as their Wolfville Farmers’ Market stall Saturday.
– This week’s limited 7th Wave release from Spindrift will feature a cask of The Fix, which is their Schwarzbier (The Abyss) cold-conditioned on Espresso and vanilla beans (4.2% ABV, 25 IBUs); as always, this is a small batch, growler only beer, available today at the brewery at noon.
 – Tatamagouche’s Oyster Cloister Stout has returned. A 5.3% stout, brewed with local hops and oysters for a bit of a subtle character. It is on tap at the store right now for growler fills, and will be returning in cans very shortly.