Boxing Rock Brewing

All posts tagged Boxing Rock Brewing

Friday Wrap-Up – News and New Beers from Grimross, Garrison Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Picaroons, Rogues Roost and Much More!

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-12-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Great Canadian Beer Expo, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, King Street Ale House, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Rogues Roost Brewpub, Saint John Beer Fest, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Stillwell Beer Bar, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday, Craft Beer Fans!

• Following very successful sales in Fredericton (on tap at the King Street Ale House and growlers sales at the Brewtique) and Moncton (on tap at the Tide and Boar Gastropub), Grimross Brewing recently began selling their beer in Halifax. Earlier this week, both the Ben’s Pale Ale and Belgian Rye IPA appeared on tap at Stillwell to great enthusiasm from their customers. If you’re in the Halifax area and missed out on your chance to try these beers, follow Stillwell on Twitter to see when they make an appearance there again! And don’t worry, Fredericton-local fans, they’ve just stocked the Brewtique fridge with more Rye IPA.

• Spruce fans, rejoice! Today’s the day that Garrison Brewing is releasing their highly-anticipated Spruce Beer. Brewed using a truck-load of spruce and fir harvested from Meander River Farms, and blackstrap molasses from Crosby’s in Saint John, the beer weighs in at 7.5% ABV. The brewery doors opened at 9 this morning, and folks were picking up the beer shortly thereafter. For us working stiffs unable to visit the brewery this morning, a cask of the beer will be tapped at 4pm, so you can sip it while you buy a bottle (or case). The beer will also be available at the local private beer stores, NSLC, and also at select ANBL stores beginning next week. Also look for a cask of it to be available at Stillwell soon.

• Meanwhile, Garrison Brewing has expanded distribution of their beers outside of Atlantic Canada – their Imperial IPA is now available in Ontario at select LCBO stores. If the beer proves popular with Ontario beer fans, it could become a regular product at the LCBO. Along with Garrison’s Mixed 6 recently becoming available in Alberta, this shows that the brewery is slowly starting to expand… hopefully we’ll see further growth in the not-too-distant future!

• Shiretown Beer has a previously-available brew returning for growler fills at the brewery. Big Brown Ale is an English-style Brown Ale that has a “complex bill of specialty malts, leaving well-balanced hints of roast and chocolate”. It is lightly-hopped to 20 IBUs, and clocks in at 4.5% ABV. Drop by to get some of this beer before its gone!

• Just an update concerning Picaroons‘ 12 Beers of Christmas event, which started yesterday (with the return of the popular “Dunkel Wisemen”, their Dark & Stormy Night brewed with dark chocolate and orange peel, which sold out in a little under an hour) – the time of the daily growler release for the Christmas beers at the Brewtique has been changed to 4 pm. Remember, each day’s beer will be announced on Picaroons’ Twitter feed around noon, and there is a 2 growler-per-person limit.

• Speaking of Picaroons, they’ve released an online survey for those of you who enjoy their beers. Check it out here; it should only take a minute or two to complete. They’re looking to learn a little more about drinking habits of Picaroons fans, so help them out and fill out the survey!

• Rogues Roost has released their popular Russian Imperial Stout seasonal beer this week. Brewed with tons of dark roasted malt, the beer starts with liquorice and treacle flavours, and ends with roast and coffee flavour and aroma. The beer weighs in at 9% ABV and 50 IBUs. This black beauty will not be available in growlers, so pull up a stool at the bar, and have a pint or two!

• Hell Bay has released their newest seasonal, Black Fog Oatmeal Stout. This dark beer features lots of roasted aroma and flavour with hints of chocolate and coffee and weighs in at  5.5% ABV and 36 IBUs. It is currently available in kegs and growlers at the brewery, and will shortly be released in bottles as well. Look for it at your favourite bar or private beer store soon!

• Boxing Rock has also released a new seasonal, the U-889 Russian Imperial Stout. We do not have many details on the beer , but do know that it weighs in at 8.89% ABV and a hefty 65 IBUs, and that vanilla was used during the brewing process, so this will be an interesting RIS! It is currently available in bottles and growlers at the brewery, and at Bishop’s Cellar and the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market this weekend. Look for it on tap and cask at Stillwell soon as well!

• Sea Level Brewing has announced their much-loved High Street Wee Heavy Scotch Ale will be available soon. Brewmaster Randy Lawrence first brewed this beer in the mid-nineties as a tribute to his grandfather who was born and lived on High Street, Inveraray, Scotland. An ale with a complex malty body and a slight hint of smokiness in the finish. Smooth, easy drinking and brewed in time for the longer darker nights. Good and Strong, ABV 6.3%. It will be available soon in growlers and on tap at the Port Pub, and cans at three of the private beer stores in Halifax.

• For those of you attending the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival on March 8th, 2014 (if you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, there’s still some available), the Crowne Plaza-Lord Beaverbrook downtown (right across from the Fredericton Convention Centre, where the event is being held) has a special rate of $109/night for ticket-holders. Check out this link to reserve your room now. Also, if you would be interested in volunteering for the Fest, contact FCBF on Twitter or by their website. It will be a fun night!

• As we mentioned previously, Big Spruce held their homebrew competition last Friday. The winning brew was Tim Gregory’s Dirty Grain IPA, which beat out 16 other entries for the best American IPA. We chatted with Tim about his win, and he had this to say, “The name comes from me being a very disorganized brewer and rushing to get my grain crushed while the strike water is heating and dumping them all over the basement floor, and then sweeping them up and back into the mill (hey, it’s all pre-boil right?). I was really shocked and excited when I found out [I’d won].  Just before bed I logged onto wifi on my phone and it immediately buzzed and said that like 13 people had mentioned me on facebook.  I logged on and saw the post that I’d won.  I was pretty surprised, I didn’t even know the judging was going down that night.” He will be heading up to Nyanza next Friday to brew his beer with Jeremy on the big system, and it will be released at the Local Connections Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration January 14th at the Halifax Club. Congratulations, Tim!

• St John’s YellowBelly Brewpub is holding a customer appreciation event next Wednesday (Dec 18th). Free hors d’oeuvres and music from 4-9pm, and sample Brewmaster Liam McKenna’s great beers (including the recently released Mummer’s Brew winter seasonal). All of YB’s friends and fans are invited, just be sure to RSVP via email before Monday.

• The Beerthief is holding another tasting next week, this time it is beer and olive oil. An interesting combination, to say the least, but we think it will work quite well. They are partnering with O’Leva Oils and Vins for the event. There will be five beers and oils tasted, each chosen to pair with each other. Attendees will also leave with a 60mL bottle of their favourite oil of the evening. The beers to be tasted are de Koninck, Liefmans Goudenband, and three beers from The Bruery. To take part, please email Tom Beckett to reserve your spot.

• Tickets for the Saint John Beer Fest are now on sale! The event will be taking place 7-9:30pm, Saturday April 5th, 2014, once again at Market Square downtown. The list of attending breweries is not yet available, but we have been assured that it will be even bigger and better than last year, complete with more unique and interesting entertainment (remember last year’s Atlantic Cirque performers?). Tickets are available at Harbour Station (online, by phone or in person). VIP tickets are also available, which will allow early access to the event.

• The Great Canadian Beer Expo is coming to your town! Well, if you live in Sydney, Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton, and Charlottetown, it is. The multi-city Expo will offer attendees the chance to taste and enjoy 120+ different beers. The ticket format is slightly different than most others in our region: entrance is $25, and then beer sample tickets are purchased for $1 per 4oz pour. Tickets are now on sale, and we will release more details as they become available. The Expo’s first stop is two nights in Sydney, NS, January 24th and 25th, at the Centre 200. And a lucky attendee from each stop on the tour will win a trip for two to Munich for Oktoberfest!

• Be sure to check out PEI Brewing Company’s Facebook page for their great twelve days of Christmas gift ideas and specials. There’s a new feature every day, so check back often.

That’s all for this morning, but stay tuned, as we’re working on several more posts for next week, it’s going to be a busy one! Here’s a teaser: we’ll have a full profile on Nova Scotia’s newest brewery, Bad Apple Brewhouse.

Friday Wrap-Up – Red Rover to Open Ciderhouse Soon, Today is Stout Day, New Beers from Big Tide, Shiretown, Yellowbelly, Boxing Rock and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-11-08
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Authentic Seacoast Brewing, Beerthief, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Red Rover Brewing, Shiretown Beer, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

Happy Friday, everybody! That means it’s time for some Atlantic Canadian Beer News:

• Living in New Brunswick and waiting for an update from Red Rover Brewing? Well, good news… they recently announced (via an email bulletin to supporters, or “Red Roverlutionaries”) that they moved into their new location – the “Ciderhouse” – in mid-September! Over the past six weeks, plenty of equipment has been trickling in, along with their first shipment of apples… about 56,000 lbs worth! They have finally received their liquor license, and should begin brewing cider as soon as juice has been pressed. While the first batches of cider likely won’t be available until sometime in January, they hope to have their retail shop at the Ciderhouse open before Christmas, so you can purchase merchandise, including 1-L fliptop growlers (with refill certificates to be used when the cider is available). Right now, the plan is to have at least three different cider varieties on tap; in addition to growler fills, the cider should start popping up at different beer bars and restaurants in the province.  For those of you who aren’t supporters, it’s not too late to become one! Click here for details. For more info on Red Rover, check out our interview with them from May.

• For those of you who love your dark beers… today is International Stout Day! It’s the third year of the now-annual event, and beer bars and breweries around the world are releasing special beers and planning events to celebrate the several beer styles in the Stout family. Garrison Brewing Co. is having a “Stout Day Challenge”: participants can take a picture of themselves drinking Garrison’s Martello Stout and tweet it with the hashtag #MartelloStout and #StoutDay along with the beer bar/restaurant location. The winner will receive a Stout Gift Pack that includes beer, a T-shirt, and a bar towel. Get tweeting! Mother’s Pizza in Halifax is baking some of their pies with Martello Stout, very cool!

• Also just in time for Stout Day, Big Tide Brewing will have their Whistlepig Stout back on tap at the brewpub. Described by the brewery as a “dry American Stout”, it’s brewed with dark roasted malts and oatmeal, producing a “nutty, chocolate aroma” and English hops. It comes in at 4.8% ABV and 42 IBUs.

• Big Tide is also re-releasing their Tidal Wave Double IPA. This is the third time they’ve brewed this beer, which started out in life as a collaboration with Greg Nash. It is close to 100 IBUs but really well balanced, and has lots of citrus notes from Columbus and Cascade hops. Deceptively drinkable at 9% ABV.

• Shiretown also has a couple of new beers, both currently available at the brewery for growler fills. The Choke Cherry Wheat (following the release of their popular Black Currant Wheat) is brewed with their base wheat recipe and locally-grown choke cherries. “Woody, with tannins up-front”, the beer has an ABV of 5% and 17 IBUs. Siren’s T’ale is their new “bittersweet” Red Ale that is brewed with a variety of Caramalts; also at 5% ABV, it has slightly more bitterness (30 IBUs) to balance the sweetness from the malts. Look for this one to be available in bottles at ANBL stores by sometime in December.

• Meanwhile, in Newfoundland, the Yellowbelly Brewery is about to release their newest beer. Still unnamed, it’s a new Pale Ale brewed exclusively with Topaz, an Australian hop known for its intense aroma of citrus and “dank” overtones. The beer is brewed with 95% Pale malt and 5% Carastan, and has 70 IBUs and an ABV of 5.5%. It’ll be available on draft only at the brewpub, and should be tapped sometime early next week.

• As we quickly mentioned in the Ladies Beer League Cask Event interview (the event is now sold out, by the way), Boxing Rock Brewing has released their newest seasonal, Crafty Jack English Brown Ale. It features a rich, roasty malt profile, and classic English hops. It comes in at 4.2% and 29 IBUs. It is currently available at the brewery store in Shelburne, this weekend at the Halifax Seaport Famers’ Market and next week at the private beer stores in Halifax (650mL package size).

• If you live in the Fredericton area and are looking for a job in the beer industry, Picaroons is currently looking for another driver to deliver beer across New Brunswick… and beyond. If you’re interested, email your resume (or questions about the position) to chris@picaroons.ca.

• Bridge Brewing announced last week on their Facebook page that they will no longer be attending the Historic Farmers’ Market in Halifax. They hope to be at another market in the near future; in the meantime, you can still get your growlers filled and buy merchandise at the brewery on Agricola Street. And remember they’ve extended their hours on the weekend: Sat 12-9, Sun 12-6.

• Rare Bird Craft Beer in Guysborough will soon have their Rare Bird Pale Ale available in the NSLC, previously only available on tap or in growlers at the Antigonish Farmers Market and Stepping Stone Cafe. It is an East Coast interpretation of this classic beer style, using pure artesian water from Nova Scotia’s pristine Eastern Shore, Rare Bird Pale Ale starts with a nice hit of hops on the nose, a delicious balance of specially selected malted barley and both English and North American hops in the middle and a dry finish that delivers a refreshing beer of rare character, at 7.0% ABV. We will have more from Rare Bird closer to the release date.

• November 16th, the Beerthief and Beckett on Wine are holding an Oktoberfest tasting and dinner at Bitters Lounge on the MUN campus in St. John’s. The dinner will feature five courses of Belgian beer and food pairings prepared by Chef Julie Purchase, lead by Tom Beckett. Tickets are $52, and can be secured by contacting Tom via email.

• Also on the 16th, Maison Tait House in Shediac will be hosting a beer tasting, featuring Picaroons beer paired with Chef Mike Harris’ creations. Picaroons owner Sean Dunbar will be leading the tasting of the five pairing courses. Tickets for this event are $59, and can be secured by calling or emailing Maison Tait House.

Have a great long weekend! Hope to see some of you at the Fredericton Poutine Festival on Sunday, drinking local craft beer!

Full Details on Ladies Beer League Cask Beer Event at The Stubborn Goat Gastropub, November 17th

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-11-06
Posted in: Beer Events. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Ladies Beer League, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Stubborn Goat. 3 comments

LBL Cask Beer Fest

On Sunday, November 17th, the Ladies Beer League will be hosting a Cask Beer Event at The Stubborn Goat in Halifax. Consisting of afternoon (1-4pm) and evening (5-8pm) sessions, attendees will be able to sample special one-off casks from seven Maritime breweries, while chatting with the brewers and plenty of local beer fans.

An overview of the event can be found on the Facebook page, but we reached out to Tracy and Pam of the LBL with a few questions on this exciting event, to go into more detail:

ACBB: Why choose cask-conditioned beer as a focus? What are the interesting characteristics that drew the group to it?

Tracy:  Well, great question! The LBL knew that we wanted to help foster Cask Beer in Nova Scotia (like in other Canadian provinces, where it has taken off), but first we realized that if we were to play an important role, we needed to do two things: 1) Help Craft Beer drinkers understand & appreciate Cask-conditioned beer, and 2) Encourage breweries to produce beer in this way. Of course, established breweries Garrison, Propeller, and Picaroons have been dabbling in Cask for years, Kevin Keefe at Granite Brewery is the Cask God Father, and Greg Nash creates Cask-conditioned ales at Rockbottom weekly. However, for the newer brewers in Nova Scotia, we knew that if we helped create the market demand, they’d be super keen to experiment. Also, now that we have craft beer bars like The Stubborn Goat & Bar StillWell, there will be licensees willing to buy, promote, & dispense their casks. Now is the time! This particular event really got going after the Stubborn Goat reached out to us, and wanted to plan an event together. From the beginning, they were very intrigued by cask-conditioned ale, so it seemed like the perfect venue to plan our most ambitious event yet. We’re thrilled to be the first public event at The Goat, and help develop their customer base of cask-beer lovers!

 

ACBB: How were the breweries selected to take part in the event?

Tracy: This was really easy – Part of our agreement with The Goat was that we would only approach craft breweries that the gastropub had already developed a relationship. Luckily for us, all 7 breweries we approached were super keen! Unfortunately, this left out a few great new/old breweries in NS, but we hope in upcoming months we can organize events with breweries who were not involved in Cask Fest.

Pam: The breweries we partner with for our events are currently limited to accounts the venue is already dealing with under their liquor license. We chose the Stubborn Goat for our Cask Fest with this in mind, as they are working to make a larger variety of local microbrews available under one roof.

 

ACBB: Did you give the breweries any guidelines for what to send, or how to prepare/treat the beer?

Tracy: As I mentioned earlier, some breweries had expertise making casks & others were completely new to the concept. We wanted to give the breweries the space to learn & experiment without limitations. That being said, there is an assumption that breweries will comply with the general practices of making casks in North America. That is, fermenting the beer to a designated level, then cask-conditioning a specific volume in a stainless steel vessel by adding fermentable primer, yeast and additional wacky ingredients. Secondary fermentation results in a smooth, unique and naturally carbonated-ale that is sooooo easy to drink when dispensed directly from the cask. I understand this is not how Real Ale is necessarily brewed in the UK, but this is the technique that is generally practiced at comparable breweries across Canada & the USA.

On that note, the industry came together to make this event a reality. Kellye Robertson (Ladies Beer League Member) provided guidance to Emily Tipton at Boxing Rock, Greg Nash lent cask & supplies to Bridge so they could participate. Mike Grieg from Garrison will be on hand to help tap the casks on the 17th. It’s really neat to see.

Pam: We gave the breweries full creative control in the making of their casks. Knowing that given the time of year, they would naturally be in the throws of crafting some of their more unique one-offs and seasonals, we didn’t feel the need to set any guidelines. We are thrilled with the selection of brews they are bringing to the table.

 

ACBB: I believe your previous events were women-only. Why have you opened this event up to all genders?

Tracy: After we realized that this was going to involve 7 breweries and be Halifax’s first Cask Beer fest, we knew we could not exclude the guys. It’s too great of an event! The LBL’s mandate is to even-the-playing field, introduce women to craft beer AND hopefully have future beer events consist of 50% men and 50% women. Over the past few months we have held 6 sold-out events for women who are now craft beer converts, and many LBL members are thrilled to bring the men in their lives to Cask Fest.

The Ladies Beer League has grown organically over the past several months, and if we start to take the role of “event organizer” for the local craft beer community, we will likely continue to host a handful of events for men & women… And, if we achieve our goal, these events will indeed be attended equally by men and women.

Pam: Given that this is the first Cask festival in Halifax open to public attendance, we felt it would be unfair to limit attendance to ladies only. That said, we’ve never stipulated that any of our events were specifically ‘ladies only’. If a man walked into one of our regular events, no doubt he’d have a lot of fun!

 

ACBB: Will the brewers (or someone from the breweries involved) be there, pouring their beer and able to chat with attendees?

Tracy: Most of the breweries will have either a brewer or marketing/sales rep on-site to talk about their beer. For a few, like Picaroons, it’s a little more difficult. In that case, LBL organizers or The Goat staff will step-up and help pour the casks. The only thing that worries me is the actual tapping of the casks… with 7 casks, at least a few are bound to go crazy. That’s part of the fun!

Pam: The breweries will be sending a representative, in most cases the brewer of the cask. A board member from the LBL will be around to pour and answer questions on behalf of any brewery should they be unable to do so.

 

ACBB: Can you explain the cask sampling itself? I understand attendees will be given a passport, in order to try each of the seven casks…

Tracy: This is the FUN part! After attendees have filled their passport, they have the opportunity to go back for an 8th sample glass and cast a vote for their favourite cask! The brewery who collects the most 8th samples will be named “Ladies Choice for 2013”.

Pam: Again, the 8th sample is a chance to ‘double-up’ on a brew you want to experience again. We plan to keep track of these last samples as a means of voting for a sort of people’s choice, giving the winning brewery a bit of bragging rights.

 

ACBB: Anything else to add?

Tracy: The day session is selling quickly, get your tickets now! LBLCaskFest.EventBrite.ca

Also, if you are curious about cask beer, OR you just really appreciate trying new styles of beer, this is the perfect event for you! Each cask will be something you’ve never experienced before. It’s also a really great opportunity to talk to the people who make your favourite craft beer & see Halifax’s new gastropub!

 

Thanks very much to Tracy and Pam for all of the great info, it’s going to be a great time!

 

We also reached out to the breweries for some details on the beer they’ll be pouring, and thoughts on the event, so you can begin salivating now:

Big Spruce Brewing will be serving their Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout “Sideways”: infused with Glenora whisky and dry-hopped in the cask.

Boxing Rock: Emily Tipton, Founding Partner and Beer Engineer (I like the sound of that job!) tells us they will be serving a cask of their newest seasonal Crafty Jack English Ale, an English Brown Ale, and naturally primed in the cask. She will be there to pour the cask and chat with people. Their brewer’s assistant, Shelby Peters, will also be there. Emily says, “This beer is also our fall seasonal. We’re really looking forward to being part of this event, and to supporting the Ladies Beer League.  And we can’t wait to hang out at the Stubborn Goat!”

Bridge Brewing will be serving a Belgian Apricot IPA. Brewed with five different malts, three different hops, Blonde Belgian Candi sugar, and their own homemade apricot concentrate. It weighs in at 6.5%, 65 IBU, 7 SRM.

Garrison Brewing will be serving Cask-conditioned Winter Warmer. Brewmaster Daniel Girard is trying to reproduce his mom’s Raisin Pie with this year’s recipe of Winter Warmer. There are notes of orange, rosemary, rose hips and raisin that complement each other so well. Since this is already a very complex beer, he decided to not add additional ingredients. The priming agent for conditioning is rice sugar, to maintain a vegan product. Brewer Kellye Robertson will be pouring the beer.

Hell Bay Brewing will have their Dark Cream Ale fall seasonal pouring.*

Picaroons will have their new Smoked Porter at the Fest.*

Propeller will be serving a dry-hopped version of their IPA.*

*Unfortunately, we did not hear back from these breweries before today’s deadline, so are unable to provide more details.

Some final details on the fest: The event will be taking place on the upper floor of the Stubborn Goat, so their main floor will be open for plenty of post-Fest beer, and the kitchen will be open throughout to cure those grumbling tummies.

Breweries will be serving the same beer at both sessions, and to make sure both sessions will be able to sample, will be respecting a “one sample per cask per person” protocol (except for Ladies Choice).

Tickets are only available online (and I suspect will sell out today!), are priced at $38.09 (inc fee), and displaying your ticket from the Eventbrite app is sufficient for entry.