Brew Culture

All posts tagged Brew Culture

Happy Fri   Thursday everyone! We’re hitting you with the news a day early to give ourselves a bit of a break tomorrow, plus allow you to plan your (hopefully) extended weekend around the many events happening across the region.

Let’s start our week off with news of a New Brunswick-based fundraiser with the strongest of roots in Ukraine. Tatiana Vasylyeva was born in Ukraine, and has lived in New Brunswick for 18 years, calling the province her home, while having many friends and family still in her home country. In order to raise funds to help the immediate humanitarian need, as well as the long-term rebuilding, Vasylyeva has teamed up with Rothesay’s Foghorn Brewing to release Razom. Meaning “Together” in Ukrainian, Razom is the embodiment of supporting Ukrainians here and abroad to rebuild and come back stronger than ever. As she is very familiar with the beer of Ukraine, Vasylyeva looked to the country’s breweries for a beer style that would be fitting, and has chosen the Märzen style, a malt-forward lager with restrained bitterness. The Pilsner and darker German malts chosen were donated by Brew Culture (shout-out to Stefan G for the assist), and the wort was lightly hopped to 20 IBU to produce this 5.8% ABV lager. So, how can you enjoy this beer while helping those affected? Foghorn is launching it at their brewery tomorrow at 4 PM, and Vasylyeva will be in attendance to raise a pint (cans are coming next week). And to undergo the full Ukrainian experience, may we suggest visiting Dolan’s Pub Saturday for a fundraising dinner featuring Razom paired with authentic Ukrainian food, such as salo, krychenyky, and more! This is a ticketed event, so be sure to grab yours before they sell out. This event is in support of Aman Lara, a Canadian-based non-profit assisting with evacuation of Ukrainian citizens, focusing on children battling cancer.

After this weekend, kegs and cans will be available province-wide, to magnify the charitable efforts of the beer. We’d also encourage you to check out Tatiana Vasylyeva’s statement on the beer project and current situation in her home country. 

(Oh, and hey, if you’re looking for work in the Quispam/Rothesay area, Foghorn are hiring a full-time position to be split between local deliveries and packaging at their facility. Reach out via email and/or check out the job posting)

Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing has a brand new release this week, situated perfectly to fill the “when you want a couple of beer while out and about but don’t want to feel like you’ve drunk a couple of beer” opening in our lives. Parks & Rec Low Cal IPA is just 3.5% ABV, but bursting with tropical and citrus notes thanks to the late addition of Sultana, Calypso, and Trident hops. 2-row and Wheat malts make up the grain bill, and it is fermented quite dry to keep the residual sugar and calories low (9 grams and 100 kCals, respectively). Still hazy and featuring a medium body, there must be some magic in the brewhouse on Allen Street to balance both worlds so well. On tap and in cans at their two C’town locations now, look for it at licensees and the PEILCC shortly, and even available at their BBQ Brewhouse in Burnside soon!

On to our regularly scheduled Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month releases, with plenty of new and returning beers and events to keep you satiated…

Dropping at noon today is 2 Crows’ latest release, Bière de Coupage. Sit back while we spin the tale of a beer two years in the making… Borrowing its name from the technique it employs, with “Coupage” representing a blending (more directly, cutting) of older beer with new, the result elevates the best of both worlds. As fans of 2 Crows know, their brewery is full of barrels, puncheons, and foeders, with a variety of beers in different stages of fermentation and ageing. Tapping into 8 barrels filled with a variety of golden sour beers, having aged in the wood between 15 and 20 months, they found the right balance of acidity, funkiness, earthy notes, and a “zippy”character. To this they’ve added a fresh, hoppy Saison, which started from a malt bill of Shoreline Pilsner, Wheat, and Vienna Malts, hopped assertively with Sterling, Huell Melon, and loads Saaz, to build on the ester and earth character from the aged beer. Dialling it up even further is the combination of 2C’s house Saison strain and Brett Q from Escarpment Labs for a tag-team fermentation. The coupage/blending happened after the young beer underwent primary fermentation, but with residual sugars still in the beer, the fermentation of the resultant melange continued, during which they contained some of the carbon dioxide created during this step, using the technique of spunding, allowing the beer to carbonate naturally without additional CO2 needed. And hey, while you’re at it, why not toss some more hops to the mix? Sure thing! Saaz, Huell Melon, and Bru-1 were added to round out the final product. Available on tap and in cans now, you can grab it in store or order it for local delivery or Canada-wide shipping from their website. 

As if you need another reason to visit their taproom, they’ll be hosting the crew from Big Spruce and Tatamagouche tomorrow for the Cerberus Double IPA launch (more details in a moment), and on Saturday from noon, co-hosting a food, music, and beer event with Change Is Brewing Collective, as they are welcoming R&B Kitchen to their space, serving Rasta Pasta and Jerk Chicken from noon til it’s gone, with DJ Douvet and R$ $mooth spinning beats all afternoon. More information here.

It’s that time of year again when the gang at Big Spruce gets together with some like-minded hop-happy friends from other breweries and brews up a special IPA to welcome spring and NS Craft Beer Week/Month/Fortnight/Moon Phase/etc. Cerberus, named for the mythological three-headed hound of hell that guards the entrance to Hades, can more appropriately in this case be thought of as the three-handed brew team that raids the hops freezer. Over the years several breweries have been part of the club, including Propeller, Sea Level, North, and Church, with Tatamagouche being part of every iteration. This year sees a new player in the game, as Halifax’s 2 Crows brewing decided to join the fun. We don’t have a lot of details on what went into the beer this year, but after 7 years of drinking the various iterations we’re pretty confident in suggesting that it will be juicy and hoppy. You can find out for yourself starting tomorrow, Friday, April 14th, with the launch party mentioned above going down at 2 Crows all day and at Battery Park where they’ll be having a mini tap takeover of the participating breweries. If you can’t get to one of those places, other purveyors pouring include Stillwell (HQ and the Freehouse), Hopyard in Halifax, and TAPestry Beer Bar in Sackville. If you’re more interested in drinking it at home, grab cans at any of the participating breweries as well as at private retailers in the HRM!!

The sneaky folks at Delta Force have a pair of new releases out this week, coupled with a returning fave. First up is Operation Triunfo, a 5.0% Mexican Vienna Lager. Inspiration for the beer came from a friend of the brewery, who misses their favourite beer from back home in Mexico, so the DF crew stepped up! With Vienna malt and flaked maize complementing each other, this amber lager is easy drinking but with some malt character to keep it interesting. Next up is Operation Piwo, in the Grodziskie style (also known as Grätzer), a wheat ale originating in Poland. Despite its malt bill consisting of 100% Oak-Smoked Wheat, this 3.5% ABV beer remains refreshing and light, and decidedly ashtray-free. And returning this week is Operation Jolt, their 4.9% Brett-fermented Pale Ale, which saw the addition of fresh brewed coffee to the beer. All 3 beers are available from their online shop in 500 ml bottles, and they are holding a sale on a six-pack, consisting of 2 of each beer, through their site as well.

After a brief hiatus, the dynamic duo of Tony and Kyle are back with the latest episode of 902 BrewCast. April’s episode is a Tasting one, with them taking on beers from Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Germany all in the service of great drinking suggestions for you to seek out. Plus learn about their next outing in the wild, as they are taking your feedback on which breweries they should feature (and visit) next on the pod! Grab it from their website or in your favourite podcatcher today! Their DMs are open too!

Events, events, events…. If you’re feeling up for it, here are a few other things to get excited for this week and into the summer…

A quick reminder that in addition to Battery Park hosting the Cerberus Launch Party tomorrow, they have tapped 20 breweries from across the province to send in their favourite beers to showcase during their Brewmaster’s Choice event on Saturday, April 16th. And keep your calendar clear for next Saturday, April 23, as Garrison and Propeller share a Tap Takeover to co-celebrate their 25th Anniversary. More info here.

It’s never too early to start making your summer beer plans. If a trip to western New Brunswick is on your radar, may we suggest the Big Axe Craft Beer Festival, taking place July 16th. Tickets are on sale now for what is sure to be a fun event, featuring breweries from across the Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec and Maine. In addition to the beer, there’ll also be food trucks and outdoor games onsite. If you’re thinking of camping in the area, you can arrive in style with water shuttle service from three nearby campgrounds. There’ll also be shuttles available from Moncton, St. John’s, Fredericton, Woodstock, St. Stephen and Harvey. All proceeds from the event will go to charity, including a portion being directed to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

A few news bites before we take our leave this week…

It may only be Spring, but one of the region’s most summery brews is already hitting the shelves with the return of Propeller’s Lime Lite Lager today! Light and refreshing, with real fresh lime for a citrus kick, at 4.5% ABV it’s a perfect post-mowing crusher. Available in 355mL cans as of today at your usual sources for Propeller brews.

Spryfield’s own Serpent Brewing has a new beer, their Hopical Storm DIPA pouring at their spot on Dentith Road this week. Though it’s 7.6%, it still goes down smooth, with a pungent kick from an intense hopping with Simcoe. Only available on tap for pints or as part of the flight in the taproom, there’s plans to brew a future batch for bottling.

The motley crew at Secret Cove Brewing in Port-au-Port, NL, has a new double-dry hopped double IPA featuring Idaho 7 for big citrus and tangerine notes that they’re calling Shout at the Kettle. This 7% ABV dank number has been canned for maximum portability; you can pick some up at the brewery where there’s still a little leftover from the batch pouring on tap.

Apparently it’s the week of the DIPA, as Moncton’s Tide & Boar has created a DIPA of their own, saying it’s got the biggest malt bill and the most hops of any batch they’ve ever made. Big, thick and fruity, with notes of citrus, mango, and pineapple, Back to Back is a 7% hop bomb with a huge fruity aroma that you’re going to want to drink “back to back.”

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Happy Friday folks! You did it! You survived 2021! We hope you were able to figure out on your own what/where to drink these past few weeks as your faithful blog authors took a much-needed break. With big weather hitting the entire region this weekend, let us get you up to speed on what’s newly and recently released in the region from the great breweries and cideries keeping our fridges and bellies well-stocked. With the latest wave hitting our region hard, consider grabbing something quickly from their curbside or take-out options, or take advantage of the local delivery or shipping options some producers have returned to/never stopped.

Let’s start you off with one of those breweries offering local delivery to the HRM region, Delta Force Brewing. Their latest release of Operation Stronghold is available for contact-free delivery right now. First brewed early 2020, and again in 2021, this quasi-West Coast IPA weighs in at 6.0% ABV and features a load of hops throughout, for citrus and tropical aromatics and flavours on a sufficiently bitter base. Grab a few to take advantage of their free-within-1hr-radius-of-HRM delivery, or better yet, build yourself a mixed 6-pack with the other beer available on their site. And a reminder that The Other Bean and Bishop’s Cellar are also carrying a variety in stock, so support those fine folks at the same time. 🙂

Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewing is continuing their Hip Hop Series today with the release of Hip Hop Version 7: Azacca. This series keeps it simple, focusing on a single hop per release, to allow it to shine through unfettered, allowing both the brewery, and we drinkers, to get a better idea of what it offers. Azacca is coming in hot, with massive flavour and aromatics of mango, pineapple, and other tropical fruit, with a hint cayenne spice. It’s available today at the brewery on tap and to go in cans and growlers. Check their site for their other offerings too!

Catching up on some recent releases from Halifax’s Propeller Brewing, who finished the year off strong with two releases in the second half of December… First released in early 2021, their Denali IPA is back again. Featuring the eponymous Denali hop, think massive citrus character, with a hint of pine, while remaining smooth and drinkable at 6.0% ABV. And surpassing even that massive peak is Leviathan Triple IPA, a 10% beast of a beer, in the extra-big-Hazy style. Tropical and dank on the nose and tongue, its aggressive bitterness is mellowed with the addition of lactose. Both are available in cans at all three Propeller locations and for local delivery and Canada-wide shipping (taprooms are currently closed). Also look out for them at private stores, with the Denali on NSLC shelves any day now.

Tatamagouche Brewing is celebrating the return of ski season at their local Ski Wentworth with Apres Cream Ale. At just 4.5% ABV, it’s supremely quaffable in volume, especially while soaking those sore joints in a hot tub. Available at their shop as well as for delivery and shipping online.

St. John’s Bar Brewdock has a tap feature on the go from Fredericton’s own Trailway Brewing. With 8 different options pouring this weekend, they are featuring those from their hazy/hoppy line (Luster, Hu Jon Hops, Day’s Done), as well as fruited and darker options like Velvet Fog and Beans. Plus Brewdock has the East Duck Block Party 2.0 collab a-pouring, the tea flower Saison, brewed with their pals across the street at Toslow and Bannerman Brewing. You can always check what’s pouring on their website!

Attention Homebrewers, it’s time for another competition! Smokehouse Nano Brewery in Berwick is hosting their inaugural Homebrew Competition, inviting all amateur brewers in the area to put together their best Strong Bitter (BJCP 11C) beer. Your signup gets you a tshirt, glass (full, natch), and 5kg of Maris Otter malt, thanks to their sponsor, Brew Culture. Check out the details on their website, and good luck to all entrants!

 

Welcome to the Spookiest weekend of the year! There will be plenty of little ghouls and goblins on the roads in colourful (and not) costumes Sunday, so please slow down and keep your eyes peeled for them. If you’re able, we figure the right play is to stay home and hand out treats from a distance to them, while enjoying the latest releases from around the region. The breweries in all four Atlantic provinces have stepped up this week in that department, and we’re tickled to share the latest offerings with you today!

Let’s kick off this week’s post with news of a pair of new beers hitting the taps in Spryfield Nova Scotia, thanks to their very own Serpent Brewing. Fresh off a win at this week’s Craft Draught Showdown at The Carleton, where this first beer made its debut, helping secure the win. Sprytown at Night is the latest version of their community brew, Sprytown Saison. Going dark in colour for the 6.0% “at Night”, it leverages the rich date and raisin character in addition to the colour of the dark malts, complementing the tart and spicy original Saison. Both are available on tap and in bottles and cans now. And debuting this weekend is Pumpkin Konig Tripel, a seasonal version of their ever-popular Tripel. Translating to “Pumpkin King”, this release saw the addition of plenty of hand-roasted Pie Pumpkins added for a little extra fermentable sugar (7.5% ABV here!), as well a soupçon of pumpkin to enhance the original clean yet complex Tripel.

And the perfect time to enjoy these two new releases is probably going to be Saturday, as they transform the brewery during “Devil’s Night Bash”, as they welcome Roadside Scarecrow and Caity & The Crowns for live music in their space, from 8 PM until midnight. And if that sounds a bit too spooky, pop by earlier in the day to enjoy wood-fired pizza from Dominic’s Cucina, who will be set up in the parking lot slinging pies that afternoon, from 2 – 9 PM. 

Fans of Dartmouth’s New Scotland Brewing know that they like to lean into the spooky season and this year is no different. Heads Will Roll is their returning “blood red” IPA featuring irresponsible amounts of hops, largely as late additions. As all good red IPAs (bloody or not) should be, this one has a solid malt balance and a firm, but not overpowering, 35 IBUs of bitterness. You can expect this one to be fruit forward and aromatic thanks to the Amarillo and Citra hops, and at 6.7% ABV, it’s right in the wheelhouse for the style. You can find it on tap in house or in cans to go from the brewery, and we expect it’ll pop up on their online shop for curbside pickup or local delivery any time now!

If you combine the recent renaissance of craft lagers with the seasonal shift towards darker beers, what do you get? Why schwarzbier, of course! Combining a rich malt base, roasty coffee and chocolate notes, a hint of spicy noble hops, and a crisp, dry finish, we’ve got a couple of fine examples in the region to which we’re no doubt adding another this week, this one from Lunn’s Mill. Dark Moon Lager is a small batch, session strength beer at 4.5% ABV that was brewed with the new moon and lagered for an entire lunar cycle. Premiering at the taproom in Lawrencetown in concert with tonight’s Lunn’s Mill Witches’ Ball, it will remain on tap at the taproom for pints and fills as long as it lasts, while city slickers should be able to find it on tap at Stillwell in the coming days, and for the patient, there’s a chance you’ll see some canned as well.

Sticking with the moon theme, Port Rexton Brewing up in *checks notes* Port Rexton, NL, has brought back their seasonal twist on an NEIPA theme: Chasing Moon. Although the “turn a light beer dark” trick isn’t uncommon at this time of year, PR went for extra degree-of-difficulty points by making a dark NEIPA! Maintaining the pillow-y smooth mouthfeel and prominent hop character, but taking a bit of a left turn with some dark fruit notes and, of course, a color you’d never expect, it’s got a medium bitterness and a hearty 6.7% ABV. You’ll find it on tap and in cans to go in the taproom as well as at the PR St. John’s Retail Shop; maybe grab yourself one of these and their flagship (not dark) NEIPA Chasing Sun for a little compare and contrast session. Also, a reminder that PR’s taproom hours have been updated for the rest of the year and you should check them out before heading down.

The Modern Brewer keeps churning out the good stuff at Cornwall’s Village Green where this week sees the return of two favorites. First up is a new version of Weird Clouds, their ever-changing IPA series. Version 7 comes in at 6.1% ABV and features Columbus hops for bittering and a dry-hop of Strata and Idaho 7. Expect notes of clementines and blood orange in this one. Also making a return is Modern Bitter. Brewed with Maris Otter, English Chocolate and Crystal Malts, this sessionable sipper is hopped with East Kent Goldings. Cans of both are available at the brewery now. And a reminder that VG Employee #001 Mark Misener’s last day slinging pints is today, so stop by their Cornwall location to send him off in style, before he takes on the Big Smoke next month!

Way back in September, as part of their Tap Takeover event at Bar Brewdock in East Duck, the crew from 2 Crows made the trip over to take part in the fun. Part of that fun was brewing up a special collaboration with the fine folks at Bannerman Brewing in between the laughs across the street. The fruit of that labour is out today, a beer they’ve called Before Time. Using Pilsner and spelt malts from PEI’s Shoreline Malting, as well as 2021 crop whole leaf Saaz and Mount Hood hops from Lakeview Hops of Harvey Station in New Brunswick, this is truly an all Atlantic Canadian collaboration brew. A 4.5% “Landbier” (German for “beer of the area”), this light and crisp lager was designed to be perfect for enjoyment anywhere and at any time, no matter the occasion (or none at all). Available on tap and in cans at Bannerman on Duckworth, and at select NLC and Marie’s locations around St. John’s.

Lake City Cider is celebrating the release of their latest blend, the simply-named Peaches. Featuring ripe Nova Scotia-grown peaches that were crushed and then co-fermented with local apples, both base fruits shine through in the finished product, which also features just a hint of almonds on the nose. Refreshing and juicy, this 5.5% cider is available on tap and in bottles at their downtown Dartmouth location, as well as their online shop for delivery.

If you’re a craft beer drinker in Atlantic Canada, you hopefully have experienced the glory that is the English Dark Mild style thanks to beers like Tatamagouche’s Darling, Lunn’s Mill’s Myld Stallyns, Baccalieu Trail’s Undertow (the Strong variant of the style), British Mild Ale from Grimross, and the recent Dark Mild from Village Green and Some Mild from Serpent. You may not know how lucky we are, but trust us when we tell you there are lots of places where you can’t find a single example of this style! Our luck continues this week with a new local option for Dark Mild, this one from North Brewing who have released Whirligig English Mild. A lovely low-alcohol option with plenty of comforting malt flavor for the season, it’s described as biscuity and roasty with hints of spice, making sure to bring plenty of flavor in spite of a paltry 3.2% ABV. You’ll find in cans and on tap at the brewery, at their “other” retail location at Battery Park, and available via their online shop for curbside pickup, local home delivery, or shipping.

On the north shore of Nova Scotia Candid Brewing has a brand new beer out this week, in collaboration with supplier Brew Culture. Dubbed Monster Mash, this one is big in a couple of ways, starting with a whopping ABV of 8%, continuing with a hefty 80 IBUs of bitterness, and finishing with a massive hop presence in both aroma and flavor from the exclusive use of Yakima Chief’s exclusive Cryo Pop hop blend. Super punchy and aromatic, there’s a ton of tropical character in this one, and they’re not expecting it to last long. Get it now at the Candid taproom.

Staying in the environs of Antigonish, but going in the totally opposite direction in terms of style, Half Cocked Brewing has a new beer coming out this weekend as well. Leveraging the KRISPY blend of kveik yeast strains from Escarpment Labs, Pip is a pseudo-American Lager (pseudo- in that kveik yeasts are ale yeasts) with a simple grain bill, a touch of American hops, and a 4.5% ABV. With a bit of spice and citrus complementing the crisp and dry finish, this should be an easy-drinking “tastes like another” experience. Find it starting tomorrow at the brewery, where you’ll also find Halloween at Half Cocked going down, with $1 off pints for costumed customers, food from The Crafty Cooks food truck, and door prizes as well!

Tide & Boar Brewing continues to elevate the craft with the release of their aptly-named The Pilsner, a 5.5% ABV crisp Czech-Style Pils. Although it’s been on tap for a few days, it’s now available in cans as well for your home drinking enjoyment. Sticking with tradition, they made the extra effort to lager it for a full three months before release to let the yeast perform its final slow march of cold-temperature clean-up tasks before falling out and leaving a clear and crisp product. Find this one to stay or go at T&B now!

We haven’t had the opportunity to chat about Saint Anthony Newfoundland’s RagnaRöck Northern Brewing Company in a little while, so we figured it was time for an update from this Great Northern Peninsula original. After opening their doors in November, 2019, they have been carrying on as best they can given the pandemic and all of the complications that brought everyone’s way. While they have temporarily closed their taproom for renovations and to launch their online portal, they are still brewing away, and are now stocking the shelves at Urban Market 1919 and several Marie’s Mini Marts in the St. John’s region. With ten canned offerings available at the various retailers, from Odin’s Beer Cream Ale, Boggy Bottom Brown Ale, to their Hela’s Fury IPA, there’s plenty of options for all! Congratulations to the RagnaRöck Crew, and we’ll be sure to let you know when their taproom is open again for regular service.

Our favourite podcast came back this week, with 902 BrewCast releasing the October Tasting Episode on #902sday. They invited Stephen Barrett of Seasoned Plate on to chat about all things Belgian Beer (or Belgian-inspired), food and beer pairing, and what they’ve got in the works. Stephened Plate shares his favourite local restaurants, shops, products and more daily on his IG page. One of those upcoming things is a virtual cooking event tomorrow, October 30th, where you will cook along with Stephen and a bunch of other keen folks, making Spaghetti Carbonara. Sign up now to receive the recipe and event link, and grab a great Italian Pilsner (preferably locally-brewed) to pair for the evening. “One for the sauce, one for me”. And grab the latest episode of 902BC here… perfect for listening to while you do your shopping or preparing your ingredients.

And speaking of favorites, and since we’re posting on the day of, a very Happy Birthday from us to (home?) brewer extraordinaire and overall grumpy bastard Brian Harvey. Although you may not have heard his name, if you’ve been drinking craft beer in NS for the last few years, chances are you’ve had some of his beer, owing to his many homebrew competition wins and collaborations with various breweries. He won’t read this because we’re posting after 12 PM (he’s got standards, y’know), but maybe it’s better that way!

In addition to the various events mentioned alongside beer releases above, there’s another one happening in Moncton this weekend:

Tire Shack Brewing is transforming their space into a Haunted Shack this weekend, as they get into the spirit of things. Both Friday and Saturday, costumes are welcome in the brewery (along with that proof of double-vaccination, of course!), and both evenings will see DJ Jaredactyl spinning some spooky tunes. To celebrate, they have brewed up a special beer: a Chocolate-Raspberry Jam Stout, on tap only, that pours like a goblet of blood! 

One job opportunity in the region’s brewing industry; if you’re in (or willing to relocate to) Fredericton and looking, maybe check it out!

Fredericton’s Grimross Brewing is hiring a full-time permanent person as a Brewtique and Taproom Supervisor. Managing the business aspects of the retail and taproom operations, they’ll be in change of staffing, training, inventory control, creating SOPs, and more. Grimross offers Health and Dental insurance, and this position is a tipped one as well, so could be the right fit for you! Check out the full job posting and apply here.