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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.

Friday Wrap-Up – PEI Brewing Co Oktoberfest, Picaroons Tap Takeover, Big Tide Pumpkin is back, New Beers from Sea Level and Garrison and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-10-25
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Hart & Thistle, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Railcar Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. 5 comments

It’s the last Friday of the week, which means it’s time for more Atlantic Canada Beer news!

• This Saturday, October 26th, the PEI Brewing Co. is holding their Oktoberfest celebration at their location in Charlottetown, from 1-6 pm. With no charge for admission, there will be live entertainment and lots of food and beer for purchase; they will also be providing tours of the brewery for half-price. In addition, they will be holding their 1st Annual Growler Challenge! For $10, entrants will have a growler filled with the beer of their choice. All contestants will then hold the full growler at arm’s length, parallel to the ground; the person who holds out the longest without bending their arm wins a $100 gift card from the Murphy Hospitality Group (which can be used at the brewery). All contestants get to keep the growler afterwards, of course!

• Speaking of the PEI Brewing Co., it looks like their popular Lobster Ale from this summer is going to continue to be available through the coming months. While this Saison will still be found in bottles, it will likely start turning up on tap at the brewery and other restaurants/bars in the Maritimes. It’s currently available at many ANBL stores in New Brunswick as well.

• Tonight, Picaroons will be hosting a tap-takeover at Wilser’s Room in downtown Fredericton. Starting at 5 pm, all twelve taps will be dedicated to Picaroons beers, including their latest seasonal release, Harvest Ale, as well as special releases Plaid to the Bone and 104th Regiment. Live music by Nick Ferrio starts at 9 pm.

• And while we’re on the subject of Picaroons, they’ll be releasing their very popular Winter Warmer seasonal on November 1st. Based on the English Barleywine style, it clocks in at 7.3% ABV. No events are planned for the official release as of yet; follow them on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated!

• If you missed Big Tide Brewing‘s Pumpkin Ale brewed with fresh hops last month, good news! Brewer Wendy Papadopoulos has confirmed that a second batch has been brewed, again with locally-grown pumpkins that have been roasted in maple syrup and spices. While there were no more “fresh” hops left to use in the brewing process, Cascade and Hallertau hops were added to the boil; the 5% ABV beer also has cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander and ginger added in the brewing process. Get it at the brewpub (available on tap and for growler fills) before it’s gone!

• Garrison Brewing have released two fall favourites this week: their Martello Stout and Winter Warmer. With notes of chocolate and coffee, the Stout will be available for growler fills and bottles. The Winter Warmer, brewed with cinnamon and clove, and with notes of plums and dark fruit from the dark demerara sugar used, and a little more warming at 7.0% ABV, will be available in bottles only. Both are available now at the brewery, and bottles will be filtering out to the private stores shortly.

• Sea Level has released their fourth wet-hopped beer of the season, their Punkin’ Grinner Ale. This is a new creation for brewmaster Randy Lawrence, clocking in at 5% ABV and amber in colour with a unique balance of spicy and sweet. It features all local ingredients with roasted baby pam pie pumpkins from Sea Level’s own gardens, honey from Cosman & Whidden and Cascade hops grown on the Annapolis Valley floor. It is available now on tap at the Port Pub and in 1 Litre refillable growlers at Sea Level Brewing. Cans should be on their way to Halifax for this coming weekend, at Harvest Wines and Spirits, Cristall Wine Merchants and Bishop’s Cellar. Also take note that this will be the last Sunday that the brewery will be open for the year, so take advantage of the nice fall weather and go for a drive to the Valley this weekend.

• Uncle Leo’s Brewery and Big Spruce Brewing are both taking part in the Swine & Stein event at Pictou’s Palace Theatre this Saturday, 5-10pm. Your ticket ($15 in advance from Uncle Leo’s or Stone Soup Cafe, $20 at the door) gets you inside for a massive pig roast and great entertainment from local artists. The beer is extra, but we know you won’t mind paying for these two excellent breweries’ beers.

• The Hart & Thistle Gastropub will be celebrating brewmaster Greg Nash‘s 29th (again!) birthday in style tomorrow. Starting at 11am, they will be serving up a special burger, pork belly sliders and smoked brisket sandwiches. Oh, and beer too: the currently available Dank & Stormy DIPA, as well as a special 2012 keg of Commissar RIS. It will also mark the tapping of the 2013 edition of Hop Mess Monster, Nash’s ode to hops. This year’s beer clocks in at 11.5% ABV and 533 IBUs (calc), and features hops anywhere and everywhere throughout the brewing, fermenting and conditioning period. The ACBB will be in attendance, so come say hi!

• It looks like Railcar Brewing has finally found a new location for their brewery! After plans fell through to open in Railcar 3 at the Shogomoc site, owner/brewer Mitch Biggar recently announced on his Facebook site that the brewery will be located in the rear unit at 9172 Main St. in Florenceville-Bristol. With 1800 square feet available, Mitch plans on opening the retail store and tasting area by the end of the year, with the brewery hopefully producing beer sometime in early 2014.

• Bridge Brewing will be releasing their fall seasonal tomorrow, a Belgian IPA. The beer clocks in at 6.5% and 60 IBU, from the Centennial, Chinook and Brewers Gold hops. This is a very interesting style, with the spice and fruit character of the yeast blending very well with the hops. And don’t forget that they’ve extended their hours: Open Monday to Thursday 12-7pm, and until 9pm Friday and Saturday, and open 12-6pm Sundays.

• If events in Charlottetown, Fredericton, Pictou, or Halifax aren’t enough to satisfy you, don’t forget about Boxing Rock‘s Grand Opening Saturday in Shelburne. There are still spots available on their free tours, and there will be lots of fun activities, food and beer to celebrate their opening. Check last week’s post for more details.

• Premier Wine & Spirits in Halifax, purveyors of great beer, wine and spirits in Halifax, is looking for part-time clerk people. They are looking for folks to work 15-20 hours a week, and of course a knowledge (or love!) of beer and wine is a big plus. Drop off your resume at the store at 1535 Dresden Row between 10-8.

• The latest offering from the Newfoundland Artisanal and Craft Beer Club (aka Beerthief) is closing this Sunday. The brewery being highlighted this go-around is Muskoka Brewery, after a very successful offering in the summer. Their Dark Ale, Craft Lager, Twice As Mad Tom IPA and Winter Jack (Tennessee whisky barrel-aged Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout) are all up for grabs. To sign up and/or put in a request, contact Tom Beckett.

• Late addition to Friday Wrap-up: A reminder that signup to the Picaroons and New Brunswick Craft Brewers Association Homebrew Challenge is due November 1st. Beers can be dropped off Nov 1-15 at the Picaroons Brewtique on Queen Street. More info is available in our previous post. Good luck to all NB Homebrewers!

Another week with lots going on! Have a good weekend…