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Friday Wrap-Up for February 2, 2024 – News from Tatamagouche, Propeller, Trailway, Timber Ship, Tanner, Burnside and More!

Posted by acbbchris on 2024-02-02
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 2 Crows Oxford, Banished Brewing, Burnside Brewing Company, Canadian Beer News, Canadian Brewing Awards Conference, Propeller Brewing, Stillwell Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Timber Ship Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. 2 comments

Here we are, starting February with a hum, as we couldn’t get a post out last week due to real life. This week, we’re at least trying to get something out there in honour of Shubenacadie Sam, so this will be mostly a quick hitting summary post, with little to no commentary. Let’s hammer down and get right into it!

Starting with a trio of tidbits from Tatamagouche Brewing, they have one brand new beer and two returning favourites. New to the fold is Fröhlick, a German Pilsner. Made with local hops from Island Hop Company on PEI, this is 5.0% and available in small puppy 355ml cans. Returning after a few years away is Dreadnot, an India Black Ale. It uses debittered black malt, while the hop bill of El Dorado, Chinook, and Centennial bring fruit, citrus, and a bit of pine to the flavour party. It’s 7% and available in cans from the brewery. Also returning is Flanerie, a Belgian Blonde. This one is locally-focused using Horton Ridge malt and whole-leaf hops grown in Oxford, Nova Scotia. It’s 5% and available in cans from the brewery. 

A new one from Propeller enters the crushable category of Session IPAs as Anytime IPA is out now. It’s just 4.5% and 26 IBU but packed with juicy tropical citrus flavour and aroma. It’s canned and available now directly from Prop Shops or private stores.

There are a pair of new lagers out of Trailway to tell you about. Fire On The Mountain is an Imperial Pilsner named after the Grateful Dead song. It’s a 6.8% Pilsner with a great balance of sweetness, crispiness and bitterness. Last week saw the release of Eclipse, a Dark Lager that is in collaboration with Banished Brewing of Paradise, NL. Malt forward and toasted, it’s 5.2%, canned and available at both locations (plus in Paradise!), just like Fire On The Mountain. 

Staying on the lager train, Timber Ship Brewing has a brand new one with Miramichi Classic Pilsner. Named after a locally designed salmon fly using the city’s colours, the beer is a celebration of craftsmanship, drinkability and flavour. It’s 5.1% and 15 IBU. This will be canned soon but available on tap at a few places around Miramichi. 

A couple of new cans out of Tanner & Co Brewing comprise a Best Bitter and a returning Belgian Blonde. First up, the bitter uses a new malt they’re working on with Horton Ridge, trying to locally replicate the English Maris Otter malt. This one is perfectly balanced and 4.5%. The Belgian Blonde is also classically made to the true Belgian style and returns after a few months away. This one is 7% and available in cans. 

Rounding out our double release news is Burnside Brewing, who had a pair of new canned goodies come out last week. First up is Werewolfe, an American Porter (in Burnside). It’s 5.5% and roasty toasty, with just the right balancing sweetness. Second is a release from their Brew Lab series, a Hazy Pale Ale #1.2, which changes up the yeast and ups the dry-hopping from the previous version. The Brew Lab releases focus on small batch brews (that are still canned) that they want your feedback on. This one is 4.5% and both of these beers are available at all Burnside locations. 

Creamy friends in foam, Stillwell Brewing sees their Cream Ale return to cans and taps at the brewery. They think it is probably their best batch yet. If you need a reminder, it’s true to the classic North American style and very crisp and tasty at 4.8%

In other beer news, we wrote about Canadian Beer News closing their taps at the end of 2023, but it appears those taps were taken over by Canadian Brewing Awards & Conference. Stay tuned to their Instagram page and website to see what will be going on with the blog. 

As a note to brewers who may not have seen it, the CBAC is within their window for shipping entries now for the 2024 Awards and Conference that will take place in Hamilton. Check out the details here. It’s too late to enter, but if you are entering best be getting on with that packaging and shipping!

The big miss we had last week was not being able to mention 2 Crows Brewing and their seven new releases for their 7th anniversary. While you may have seen on our Instagram that we were there, we thought we should at least run down all the new beers that are available, just for the record. The seven new cans are as follows and you can check the taprooms and website to pick them up. 

Alright Alright Alright, 4.1% –  Farmhouse-style beer with Raspberry, Lime, and Sea Salt. This beer was sneakily launched on draught in November, while the canned product conditioned away. For fans of their 2023 collaboration with OK Sea Salt, OK OK OK, this one’s for you! 

SAL, 5.1% . This Italian Pilsner is the beer for 2 Crows Oxford and a collaboration with Yeah Yeahs Pizza. This is only available online and at 2 Crows Oxford, where they share a space with YY. 

Feral Fox, 9.1%. A Tart Wild Ale with Apricot, it is delicious and dangerous. 

Squeezie II, 5.1%. This smoothie sour goes more to the berry side for its second release. Make it a slushie and enjoy this one, especially on tap at Brunswick street.

Red Piquette: Pino Noir + Kekfrankos, 4.4%. This is not beer! It’s a piquette. 

Space Words, 10.1%. This Triple IPA is back, baby! 

7, 9.2%. Yes, the beer is named 7 and no, they won’t tell you what style it is. So, you have to buy it to try it!


Editor’s Note: If you think there’s a chance we skipped posting last week solely to avoid doing full write-ups on seven new 2 Crows beers, we suggest you zip your yap and keep walking, slappy.

Friday Wrap-Up for December 15, 2023 – News from 2 Crows, Rough Waters, Lone Oak, Burnside, Schoolhouse, Tanner, Nomad, Tire Shack, Trailway, Big Spruce, Bannerman, Propeller, North and Stillwell!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2023-12-15
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 2 Crows Oxford, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Burnside Brewing Company, Canadian Beer News, Enjoy Nomad, Lone Oak Brewing, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Rough Waters Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. 5 comments

‘Tis the season (or saison) as they say, and as it’s only 10 more sleeps ‘til the big day, we’re all busy, busy, busy, hence the later than usual post! As a programming note here, we very likely won’t be doing wrap-up posts the next two weeks, but we are planning to have a special post going up in the meantime. So let’s get onto some quick hits about the beer news in the region for this weekend so you can tackle your to-do lists!

We’ll start out with our friends at 2 Crows opening their second location, 2 Crows Oxford. As we’ve noted before, it’s in the West End of Halifax on Oxford/Cork streets (next to On The Mat and in the former location of 4Cats Art Studio); Yeah Yeah’s Pizza has moved from their Barrington Street location to join them for slices and whole pies, alongside a full taplist. They soft-opened a week ago and have done some industry and newsletter subscriber nights, but this Saturday is their grand opening! The taproom will be open 11 AM until 11 PM with the kitchen open from 2 PM until 9:30 PM. Featuring ten taps from 2 Crows, a Sourwood cider and a Goodmore Kombucha, 2 Crows Oxford has 12 taps to serve the people! There are no reservations at this time, so show up for a slice to go, a slice to stay, a pint to stay, beer to go, whatever mix and match combo you desire!

Here are the ten 2 Crows offerings to start:

  • AC Light Lager
  • Pollyanna – Northeast IPA
  • Classic – Maritime Dry Stout
  • Fantacity – Belgian Wheat 
  • Jamboree Strawberry & Guava – Sour
  • Jamboree Blueberry & Lemon – Sour
  • Perfect Revelation – New England IPA
  • Home & Home – collaboration with Lone Oak – Hazy IPA w/ wine grapes
  • Battery Power – Hazy IPA
  • Letna – Bohemian Pilsner

In Deer Lake, Rough Waters Brewing is celebrating their birthday! Being open for four years is a great accomplishment and we’re happy they’re still around. As a celebration for the season and anniversary, they have a new barrel aged saison, High Tide. For this year it is a cherry saison that was brewed and then hung out for a year in a single malt whiskey barrel. This clocks in at 7% and is in a 750ml bottle. Looking for this in shops around Newfoundland from the east to west coasts of the province.

South we go to PEI’s evergrowing brewery. Lone Oak has a brand new release that is right on point with what the people are drinking. Nocturnal is a German-inspired dark lager. Brewed with German Pilsner malt, this dark lager is 5.2% and has some hints of caramel, while being smooth, dry and easily drinkable. This is available on tap at their three locations (Borden-Carleton, Milky Way and Fox Meadow) and available in cans to go from the Cold Beer Store at Milky Way and the main taproom in Borden. (And if you’re not from the area, like us, Milky Way is the little retail area by the main Cow’s Creamery along the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Charlottetown!)

Continuing south to Nova Scotia, Burnside Brewing (formerly Spindrift, in case you forgot!) has just launched a new small batch series called The Brew Lab. This series won’t be tied to a certain style, but gives the brewery folks a chance to try new flavours and styles and test them out on customers. The first in this series is Hazy Pale Ale and it’s available now. The baby sibling to Sea Glass (Burnside’s New England IPA), this Hazy Pale Ale is 4.5% with a lush tropical and citrusy hop character from Sabro, El Dorado, Citra, Eclipse and Comet. While keeping that strong flavour, the bitterness is medium at 35 IBU. The beer will be on tap at their 3 taproms (Dartmouth, Truro and Antigonish) and will also be available at the three private non-Bishop’s Cellar stores (Harvest in Dartmouth, West Side in Clayton Park and Rockhead on Windsor Street on the peninsula). 

Headed up Magazine Hill and off to Windsor the town, Schoolhouse Brewery has a new release that is also in the IPA Family. Blackboard is a Black IPA featuring Amarillo and Cascade hops. Using a malt bill with a combination of crystal malts, it weighs in on the heavier side at 7% but is still crisp and refreshing with a solid bitterness and bit of sweetness. It will be available on tap and cans from the brewery, on tap at various locations, and cans at the private stores mentioned above. 

The folks from Tatamagouche and their Nomad non-alcoholic brand are back! After a very popular initial run, they’re back with a new style and the launch of Nomad Witbier. All the usual flavours from the Belgian classic, namely coriander, orange peel, and elderflower highlight this refreshing and zesty beer, but in a non-alc 0.5% brew in a 355ml format! Check this one out online or directly from the brewery. 

Tanner Brewing is giving us two new releases before the Holidays. First up is a Hopfenweisse, a hybrid version of a German wheat beer and an IPA. Expect some yeast-driven banana character along with some hop derived tropical fruit and citrus notes with a 5.5% body.  This is canned and available from the brewery’s two locations and online. Second up, is a Baco Noir Sparkling Mead, using local honey fermented on Baco Noir grape skins from Grand Pré Winery. This is a 5.9% sparkling mead with lots of berry and cherry notes, which pair nicely with the sweetness of the honey. Find this in 500ml bottles online for delivery or at their two locations!

Over to New Brunswick where Tire Shack has a new one out in Moncton. If you’re like some of us, December means buying boxes of tangerines and Tire Shack’s new beer is bringing the festivity. Cranberry Tangerine Sour is a new release that uses those two exact fruits in a festive, drinkable sour. This is canned and on tap directly from the brewery. 

A short drive up to Fredericton takes us to Trailway where they’re headed in the other direction with their latest seasonal release. Italian Stout is exactly that! An 11% bold, rich, chocolate and hazelnut flavoured imperial stout. Using additions of both (although for the hazelnuts, it’s just the extract so the typical allergens are removed), this should bring the flavours of those delicious gold foil-wrapped holiday treats that get devoured during this time of year. Rich and decadent, this is a limited release so grab it in cans from their Fredericton and Saint John locations.

A few pieces of beer news out of Big Spruce this week, as they have both a new one and a returning release. Starting with that new-new, Just Shilling is an 80 Shilling Scottish Ale. You may know this style as Scottish Export Ale and it is a very drinkable deep copper, malty sweet, and smooth brew. At 4.8% it’s a lovely sipper for this time of year. Next up is the return of Ykpaïha (we’ll let you figure out the pronunciation on that one!), their Ukrainian Pilsner. It features the Ukrainian Zlato Polissya hop and is a crisp, bitter beer that is floral, herbal and well balanced at 4.9%. Both of these beers are canned and available at the brewery or online. 

Bannerman Brewing has a returning favourite with Aces High. A rice lager, it is a collaboration with Namjim, the Thai dining lads who run the kitchen at Bannerman. This is a 4.5% beer with toasted rice and dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace. It is canned and available at the brewery and around the Avalon peninsula. 

A fan favourite is back from Propeller Brewing today. Revolution is their approachable Imperial Stout that is once again in cans. At 8%, this is a rich, dark, robust beer that has dark fruit, coffee and chocolate flavours and is well balanced with hop bitterness. it is available at all 3 Prop Shops, online for delivery, and Harvest, West Side, and Rockhead. It will also be hitting select NSLC locations. 

Capping off the returning beers is Alloy from North Brewing. A Champagne IPA, this is one of their more popular seasonal releases as the IPA  flavour and body come through with a very dry finish. Using a lovely combination of Vic Secret and Huell Melon hops, the flavours are predominantly pineapple and melon with some herbaceous notes. It’s 6% and available on tap at all three locations and in cans as well, in store and online.

Piggybacking off of Thursday’s Lambic and a Movie fun at the Freehouse…. Stilly HQ is back for its annual Belgianfest! On Saturday December 16th, from Noon until late, Bar Stillwell will be featuring Belgian bottle pours and draft selections from Boon, Del Dolle, De Struise, Fantome, Lambiek Fabriek, Oud Beersel and more. We also expect there to be some treats on the food menu side as well (duck fat popcorn is back!). There are no tickets and no cover for this one, they just ask you to wear some Holiday swag or ugly sweaters to get into the festive spirit.

As we finished drafting up this week’s post, we noticed the social media release from Canadian Beer News. Greg Clow will be shutting down his beloved site and it’s hard to capture in words just how much the industry and consumers have loved (and will miss!) his work. Since 2008, it’s been a completely individual effort from Greg to keep up with the ever-growing and changing industry on a national level. Seeing as a group of us sometimes struggle to keep up with just Atlantic Canada, we can speak directly to how herculean his effort has been. His dedication on a daily basis is something that so many of us have relied on and we often marvelled at how one person could do all that work themselves. Our glasses are raised to Greg and we’ll pour one out for his stalwart site. We also absolutely agree with his parting words: remember to support your favorite independent breweries through the holidays and into the new year; many of them need it now more than ever.