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Friday Wrap-Up for November 10, 2017 – News from AKA Beer, Bagtown, Boxing Rock, Garrison, Celtic Knot, and much more

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-11-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: AKA Beer, Annapolis Cider Company, Bagtown Brewing, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bulwark Cider, Celtic Knot Brewing, Chain Yard Cider, East Coast Cider Festival, Foghorn Brewing, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, HopYard, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, James Joyce Irish Pub, Lazy Bear Brewing, New Brunswick Craft Brewers Association, Picaroons, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Sober Island Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 1 comment

It’s been another busy week for news in the region, with no fewer than a dozen new and returning beers and ciders on the shelves, draft lines or coolers across the region. And to kick off this week’s edition, let’s dive right in with another new small-batch brewery opening.

• Bathurst, New Brunswick has now joined the ranks of brewing communities, with the opening of AKA Beer late last week. Brewing small scale 55 litre batches on location at the local craft beer bar Au Bootlegger, their Prohibition Ale is now available for purchase. Strictly available on tap at the bar, this 5.0% ABV Amber Ale is a complement to the other NB beers already available. Look for more information and an interview with the crew behind AKA shortly!

• There’s a new beer available from Bagtown Brewing in Sackville, NB these days, their second brew featuring tea. TEAse the Senses is a 5.0% ABV orange-hued beer, with loose Blackcurrant tea leaves added during the mash for a distinctive rich and smooth taste. A healthy dose of Mosaic hops offer plenty of citrus and fruit aromatics, as well as a solid 46 IBU bitterness. TEAse, as well as their flagship Wobbly Duck English Pale Ale, Crown Vic Belgian Pale Ale, and Suble Tea Session IPA (their first beer to feature tea) are available for growler fills at the brewery, open Thursday, Friday (both days 3-7PM), and Saturday (9AM-1PM), located at the Sackville Commons.

• One of the more anticipated collaborative releases is hitting the shelves across Nova Scotia today. In October, inspired by the By The Numbers piece by local artist Erin McGuire, Boxing Rock and Garrison teamed up to brew a beer in honour of Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip. Courage (For Gord Downie) is that beer, a 6.0% ABV Amber Wheat Ale. Available today from noon at Boxing Rock’s Shelburne location, there is also a release party later today, starting at 5PM, with local musicians paying their respects to Downie. In Halifax, Garrison released their share of bottles at opening (10AM), and there will be a Live 105 event at the brewery, for those able to win their way in through social media/call-ins, and will feature raffles and tshirt sales, with all funds going to charity. Speaking of which, $1.00 of the bottle price is going to Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and Downie/Wenjack Fund for Indigenous Peoples Reconciliation. If you are unable to make it to either brewery, the private stores in HRM will also be receiving deliveries, and should have the beer on shelves today. And reaching across the Atlantic Provinces (and beyond), through the NSLC, ANBL, PEILCC, NLC and MBLL before the end of the month.

• Riverview’s Celtic Knot Brewing will soon be offering their beers in bottles, for a more portable way to enjoy their beers. Beers like their Dark Passage Oatmeal Stout, Ryetious Rye IPA, Dubh Loki Black IPA, and new Choc Wort Orange, a Chocolate Orange Stout, will be packaged in 500 mL bottles. Initially for sale only at the brewery, keep an eye here, or on their Facebook page, for exact release details (should be within the next 1-2 weeks). And don’t forget to drop by Marky’s Laundromat tonight to meet with Celtic Knot and other members of the Moncton Craft Brewers Collective during their weekend-long Tap Takeover.

• Fredericton’s TrailWay is releasing another SMaSH beer today at noon, Binary American IPA. Brewed with Golden Promise malt and hopped generously (as usual) with El Dorado, one of the new favourite varieties at the brewery, they’re describing it as “super complex” despite the seemingly-simple recipe. SMaSH beers are always fun to experience, as it’s a great way to see what exactly single ingredients can offer. “Incredibly bright and juicy, with a definite candied fruit/mango element”, this 6% ABV beer will be available at the brewery’s taproom for pints, growlers, and cans.

• Port Rexton Brewing is releasing their first canned beer, and first packaged beer since bottles of last winter’s Belgian Tripel. Blazing Sun is an amped-up version of their popular Chasing Sun NEIPA, featuring plenty of the same juicy hop aroma and flavours, with the added piney notes of a Double IPA. Cans of the 7.0% ABV, 45 IBU beer, are available exclusively at the brewery this long weekend: Sunday Nov 12 from 11-10PM, and Monday Nov 13, 11-2PM. If there are any left, we’ll be sure to let you know where you can grab a couple. And keep in mind that the brewery taproom is now into off-season hours, which means keeping an eye on their website for exact details.

• We’ve got a couple of news items from Halifax’s Propeller this week, starting off with the latest (and second) release of their Gottingen Small Batch “Hop Series”, Idaho-7 XPA. Focusing on Idaho 7, an American hop variety that’s been making its way into a few beers in our region over the last year or so, this “Extra Pale Ale” has “complex fruit and citrus aromas of apricot and orange, and finishes with a subtle backdrop of resiny pine and the slightest things of black tea”. Coming in at 5% ABV and 40 IBUs, it’s available now at both Propeller locations for growler fills. Moving on to tonight’s Cask Night, they’ll be tapping a cask-conditioned Honey Wheat Ale, aged with black raspberries; if you’d like a taste, be sure to show up at the Gottingen Tasting Room at 5 pm sharp, when the cask is tapped.

• There’s a brand new cider in the popular Something Different series from Annapolis Cider Company, Juniperry. Made from local, hand-picked Flemish Beauty pears, the juice had an arrested fermentation, before the addition of crushed juniper berries which were foraged from Peggy’s Cove and Prospect Bay. The resulting unfiltered, sparkling Perry has a light, pale colour, with a “delicate, woodsy aroma and a complex palate of sweet pear and balmy pine, with a hint of citrus”. Drop by the cidery for your fill of this 6.5% ABV beauty; $0.50 of each refill will be donated to the Town of Wolfville Volunteer Fire Department.

• The Western Newfoundland Brewing Company has been paying attention to the demands from their demographic in Pasadena (and beyond), who have been requesting a beer on the lighter side, somewhere between an American Pale Ale and a light Lager. Well, the brewery has responded with… Beer! Yes, that’s the name! As expected, it’s minimally hopped at 16 IBU, with a simple grist of Pale and Pilsner malt (achieving 5.0% ABV), making it easy-drinking, while “retaining the full body” that the brewery proudly notes is in all of their beers. Drop by the brewery for a taste, and don’t worry about trying to remember the name of what you wanted to order!

• Coming off their big ACBA wins, Chain Yard Cider has a new product pouring at the cidery, Petal to the Metal. A blend of a wild-fermented Baldwin base cider with rose water, it was matured with a ferment of Spy and Jonagold apples. A touch of Ironworks gin was added to bring out more floral aromatics, and a tiny amount of cherry wine gives the final cider its pink-rose colour. Described as “crisp and smooth”, it’s quite dry (like most ciders from Chain Yard), as very little sugar is left in the final product. Packing a nice punch at 8% ABV, drop down to Chain Yard to give this beautiful cider a taste!

• We mentioned that YellowBelly had brewed up a “Blueberry Milkshake IPA” last week, and had a few details to tide you over… well, looks like that beer is now on tap at the brewpub, and we have more information to share! They’ve finally settled on the name Blueberry Hill, fitting for a beer that features the addition of over 100 kg of blueberries (some in primary, some in secondary). Fermented with the excellent Funktown yeast blend, and dry-hopped heavily with Citra, expect lots of mango, pineapple, citrus, and passionfruit, along with a smooth, silky body (thanks in part to the typical-for-a-Milkshake-IPA addition of lactose powder). Blue-hued, 6% ABV, and high-20s IBUs, it’s available on tap at the brewpub as we speak, and will also be in growlers at the new YellowBelly Takeaway (just down a few doors at 264 Water St) that starts today from 1-7 pm… just buy a YB growler or bring your own branded, CLEAN 64 oz one.

• Next week’s Good Robot BetaBrewsday is just about ready to go, brewed by Travis Lindsay, Dan Hendricken and Kelly C. Named Funk You Saison (tsk), it’s golden-coloured, with a dry finish, and hints of “raspberry, clove, honey sweetness and bready funk”. Releasing at the brewery on tap on Tuesday, it weighs in at 5.7% ABV and 23 IBUs. And I’d just like to note this may be the shortest Good Robot post we’ve had since… when did they open again?

• Grimross isn’t taking much of a breather with their one-off Scratch Series lately, as after releasing a couple of news ones over the past few weeks, they already have another in store! Scratch #8 is a hoppy Saison which is dry-hopped with a healthy dose of Simcoe and Sorachi Ace. This one won’t be released until the beginning of the week of November 20th, so ABV, IBUs and tasting notes aren’t available yet, but based on the hops used, we’re thinking a blend of citrus, pine, and lemongrass, with some spicy phenolics and fruity esters from the yeast, followed by a dry finish.

• Tidehouse Brewing in Halifax has been beavering away on several things in the past few weeks and it looks like this is the week for you, gentle beer drinker, to benefit from many of them in a very short timespan. First is the debut of two bottled beers at The Guy Show this weekend at the Halifax Exhibition Centre. First is the Winter Warmer, a 6.3% ABV beer geared towards the season with spruce tips, cinnamon, bitter orange peel and blackstrap molasses. Citra hops provide an additional citrus kick. Also at the show will be Night Shift on the Palisade, and IPA featuring Topaz and (surprise!) Palisadehops. So if you find yourself at the Guy Show (even if it’s because you got roped into going to the Christmas Craft Village next door, do check out these two new brews!

• Meanwhile, at Tidehouse’s Tiny Tasty Beverage Room on Salter Street, another new beer is hitting the taps called Do Make Say Drink, another IPA, this one built on a malt base of 2-Row barley to which Vienna and Melanoidin were added for a balancing malt character and body. Hops were largely Citra and the beer was fermented with clean and neutral American ale yeast. And already on tap from earlier this week is the Cosmic Blonde, a mash-up of the Belgian Blonde style with very new world hop varieties including Amarillo, Galaxy, Citra, and Mosaic. Multiple Belgian yeast strains were used in this one to develop fruity, spice and peppery notes to complement the tropical and citrus hop presence. Lastly, it was announced this week that Tidehouse will be hosting a tap takeover event to celebrate their first birthday at Tom’s Little Havana. on December 9th. We’ll have more information on that, hopefully including a tap list, in the coming weeks.

• Although the release date is not yet set in stone, Sober Island Brewing on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore is expecting to bring out a new beer very soon. Juniper IPA is an IPA in the West Coast style that’s been loaded with dry hop additions from Wicked Hops near Stewiacke, including Magnum, Chinook, Centennial and Cascade varieties. Also added in the last 10 minutes of the boil were three pounds of macerated juniper berries. The beer looks to be coming in at 6.3% ABV and some 58 IBU, and it may yet see a little bit of tweaking, as two more pounds of juniper berries are still available for additional dry hopping. Look for this one to be available as early as next weekend.

• And if you’ll recall, Sober Island also has a homebrew competition for beers featuring foraged ingredients, with the entries due on Wednesday, November 15th at Bramoso Pizza on Quinpool Road in Halifax, or Thursday, November 16th, at Cavicchi’s Meats on St. Margaret’s Bay Road in Tantallon during their Bangers & Beer event. We’ve also heard some rumours that drop-off may be possible at Noble Grape locations, but you’ll probably want to verify that before you go trying to drop your beer off as described in this Facebook post right here. Keep your eye on Sober Island’s social media (Facebook, Twitter) and the Facebook event page for any last minute details, and we’re looking forward to hearing the results announced on Sunday, November 26th, at the competition finale at Henley House in Sheet Harbour.

Plenty on the go this weekend, but do keep in mind that the provincial beer stores will be closed tomorrow in observance of Remembrance Day, and private stores and breweries are closing or delaying their opening:

• Don’t forget that the James Joyce Irish Pub in Fredericton is holding Deja Brew, their second New Brunswick Tap Takeover, today from noon till close. They’ve installed new draft lines and made the use of jockey boxes to have over 30 beers on tap, with just about every brewery in the province representing. It’s pay as you go, with flights available as usual. Coincidentally, the NBCBA (New Brunswick Craft Brewers Association, the local homebrew club in the region) is holding a Meet and Greet at the JJ from 6-10 pm, so flag one of the members down if you have any questions about brewing beer at home!

• Members of Foghorn‘s new KV Beer Club have the opportunity to participate in KV Beer School, a one-hour learning experience on the subject of beer, on Tuesday, November 14th from 7-8 pm. Brewer/co-owner Andrew Estabrooks will be discussing a brief history of beer, beer styles, and basically answering any beer-related questions you have on your mind. Club members can RSVP by emailing steve@drinkfoghorn.ca; it’s first-come, first-serve, to RSVP today!

• Dartmouth’s Battery Park continues their run of dedicating tap lines to a local brewery with their Boxing Rock Tap Takeover on Thursday, November 16th from open till close. Featuring Shelburne, Nova Scotia’s favourite brewery, Boxing Rock will be bringing 15 different beers to pour until they’re gone! There’s a good chance a brewery member or two will be on hand to answer any BR-related questions you may have. Keep an eye on the event link above for a taplist to be revealed in the near future.

• The original Gahan House in Charlottetown, PEI, is releasing a beer next Thursday that celebrates the coming winter, or at least the shorter days on the way to winter. Shortest Day is a spiced milk stout, black, opaque, and topped with a dark, lingering head. It features a prominent vanilla aroma with toasty undertones and it’s been spiced with nutmeg for a festive flair. It comes in at a very drinkable 5.3% ABV and you can be among the first to try it by attending the Shortest Day Celebration at the Gahan House on November 16th. At the event you’ll find live music, sampling of the beer, and a chance to win a prize package that includes a night at the Great George Hotel and dinner for two at Sims Corner Steakhouse on the official shortest day of the year, the Winter Solstice on December 21st.

• Big Spruce is celebrating the release in cans of their 100% Nova Scotia-made beer, One Hundred, with a special Launch Party at Horton Ridge on Saturday, November 18th at 2 pm. For those who’ve forgotten, the beer features grain grown and malted at Horton Ridge, together with wild yeast and hops harvested at the Big Spruce farm in Nyanza. There’ll be live music at the event from 3-6 pm, and pizza from The Rustic Crust at 4 pm. More details to come, stay tuned to the event page as the date gets closer.

• If you’re in the Charlottetown area and would love to learn more about the aromas and flavours you’re experiencing in your beer, HopYard has just the answer! On Saturday, November 25th, they’re holding a Guided Tasting with PEI’s only certified-Cicerone, Bryan Carver, at 11 am. Bryan will lead you through four beers brewed in Atlantic Canada, and will help you discover aspects of beer you never knew existed! The perfect way to make you a better friend of your favourite beverage, tickets are just $25 and can be picked up in advance at HopYard.

• It’s quite a ways off, but Halifax Curated already has the date for their East Coast Cider Festival, which will happen on Saturday, June 16th, 2018. There’ll be two sessions (1-4 pm, and 6-9 pm) pouring plenty of cider, with 16 cideries from Nova Scotia already signed up, as well as a couple from New Brunswick and one from Ontario. Early-bird tickets are already on sale ($30 + tax and fees) through the link above, so if you’re a cider fan, it makes sense to buy yours today! The event will be held at the Halifax Forum Multi-Purpose Centre, and will also have food vendors on-site.

Just a few more things to get you up to speed before we let you go today:

– Bulwark has re-released their Winter Cider, a 7% ABV blended cider infused with cinnamon and nutmeg; available in bottles now.
– Lazy Bear has brewed up another batch of their Norwegian, a take on a traditional style from, you guessed it, Norway, brewed with juniper-infused water and a yeast that ferments at almost unheard-of temperatures. It comes in at 7% ABV and should be around at the Annapolis Royal market tomorrow morning.
– One of Picaroons most popular seasonals, Winter Warmer (7.3% ABV, 35 IBUs) is back for the colder weather; look for it in bottles and on tap wherever Picaroons beers are normally found.

Friday Wrap-Up for August 4, 2017 – News from Hammond River, Nine Locks, Tidehouse, 2 Crows, and More!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2017-08-04
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Brew Ha-Ha, Celtic Knot Brewing, Company House, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Halifax Seaport Beerfest, James Joyce Irish Pub, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Nine Locks Brewery, Off Grid Ales, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Saltbox Brewing, Salty Dog Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tidehouse Brewing, Trider's Craft Beer, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 1 comment

A happy Friday to all the beer lovers in the region; we hope everyone had a happy (and hoppy) IPA Day yesterday! With a long weekend looming in all four provinces, we hope we have the news you need to plan your weekend in the best way possible: around beer and beer-related events!

• After many months in the making, Hammond River Brewing‘s new taproom will officially open today at 4 pm. With live music and food available on site, and seven taps of HR beer flowing for pints and growler fills, can you think of a better way to spend your Friday evening? We can’t either! Congrats to owner/brewer Shane Steeves and everyone else involved in the transition; we look forward to what HR will be brewing up in the near future. And keep your eyes out for the first bottles of HR beer, the first of which, their Hop Flash IPA should be available next week!

• Late last week, Nine Locks released their latest brew, Apricot Blonde, which they’re describing as a “North American Weizen” (read: American Wheat Ale). Flavoured with, yes, apricot, it finishes dry and refreshing, and at a light 5.1% ABV and 15 IBU, is another beer fit for these dog days of summer. The entire batch of this beer was canned, so drop by Nine Locks’ location to grab a handful of cans before hitting the cottage this weekend.

• Halifax’s Tidehouse Brewing has released another pair of beers this week, in order to keep their Farmers’ Market and “Tidehouse Tiny Tasty Beverage Room” (aka on-site 8-seat taproom) customers happy. The first to hit the taps was 2Market2Market, a German Helles beer, featuring a light body and spicy and flavourful hop character from a combination of Perle and Saaz hops. This beer proved to be extremely popular with the patrons at the Tantallon and Hubbards Farmers’ Markets, with it selling out within the past week, but we’ve been assured it will be returning before too long. Hungry Ryes, we can attest, is still pouring and will be available this weekend… A 5.6% ABV Pale Ale, it features a healthy dose of Rye malt for a light spicing, and a blend of Columbus and Northern Brewer hops for a complementing flavour profile. And watch this space, and their social media, for the launch of one or two brand new brews in the coming days.

• Were you a fan of the recent release of 2 Crows‘ Crosswired, their first foedre-aged beer? Hey, so were we! Well, good news, they’ve got another foedre beer coming out tomorrow, and it sounds like a doozy (doozy meaning “good”)! Fandango is a 6.8% ABV, 54 IBU Milkshake IPA that was heavily hopped and dry-hopped with Azacca, Citra and Galaxy. Conditioned in the Calvados foedre for approximately 2 weeks, the beer was then transferred back to a stainless fermenter, where the 2 Crows crew added some lactose powder, whole vanilla beans, 220 kg of mango purée and 30 kg of peaches. Oh yeah, and they dry-hopped it, AGAIN. Hazy, orange-coloured, creamy, and tasting “like pure juice, with a touch of tannin and bright fruitiness from the Calvados”, we’re betting that this one will be popular! Luckily, a full batch was brewed (maybe the 220 kg of mango purée gave that away), and it will also be available in cans, as well as on tap, so be sure to pick some up Saturday from noon! Note: no growler fills.

• As we promised a few weeks ago, Red Rover is releasing their third Summer Series cider today with Barrel Reserve #2. This is a “Bourbon Oaked Blueberry Cider” that was originally entered in the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition in April, where it won 2nd Best in Class in the Specialty Cider & Perry category. RR describes this 7.2% ABV cider as having “lots of vanilla and oak up front, with a fresh blast of blueberry and bourbon on the finish”. As with their other special releases, it will be available at the Cider House today at 5 pm in 750 mL bottles, in a very limited supply, and may pop up at some Farmers markets this weekend as well.

• While on the topic of Red Rover, they also released a brand new cider this week, Siesta. This 7% ABV semi-dry cider was infused with fresh lime and mint, giving some delicious complementary flavours to go with all the hot weather we’ve been having. It’s available now at the Cider House for pints and flagon fills, and should pop up at a few RR tap accounts.

• After initially launching late last year in Harvey, NB with four flagship beers, Off Grid Ales is officially releasing their first new beer, Smooth Sailing Pale Ale. Described by the brewery as light-bodied and mildly spicy, it was hopped with Warrior and Chinook to 30 IBUs, with late additions of Centennial and Mosaic to give flavours of citrus and tropical fruit. It comes in at 5.5% ABV, and will be available in bottles only for the first few weeks, at select ANBL stores. Look for it to follow in kegs by the end of the summer, where it will likely pop up at one or more of the ANBL growler stations.

• Amherst’s Trider’s Craft Beer has brewed up Blue me Away!, a blueberry beer. Incorporating locally-grown blueberries, absolutely no extracts were harmed in the making of this beer. Bluish-purple in colour, and with a subtle blueberry flavour and aroma, it weighs in at just 5% ABV and 14 IBUs. Drop by their Anson Avenue location for a growler fill today, and maybe chat with the folks about helping to fill the Part-Time Sales and Packaging position they currently have open.

• Those Good Robots are up to it again, with the latest, and last (so they tell us!), in their SMaSH Pale Ale series. With all of the Smash Mouth banter within the GR community, it is only fitting that the California-based band actually named the beer, Beer Mouth. At 5.5% ABV and 39 IBU, the Single Malt featured is Marris Otter, and the Single Hop is Wakatu, a New Zealand hop. The straw-coloured beer features a tropical fruit aroma, on top of a lightly herbal and grassy flavour, with a touch of lime. Beer Mouth is on tap now, for pints and growler fills both. Today’s Cask in the Sun is a Leave Me Blue Creamsicle, a sweeter take on their Kentucky Corn beer, and next week’s small-batch BetaBrewsday is Ale for Seaware. Brewed by staff members Pat King and Kelly Costello, this 4.5% ABV Golden Ale features maple syrup in the boil and added after fermentation. A light dose EKG was added for a touch of floral character and offsetting bitterness (low, at 16 IBU). This week’s Brewsday is pushed back to Wednesday the 9th, as many of the Good Robot crew with be on Prince Edward Island to celebrate their Tap Takeover at Upstreet on Monday, August 7th.

• Speaking of Upstreet, massive congratulations to them on achieving B Corp certification! This independent certification recognizes businesses that meet a rigorous standard of social and environmental performance, and using their business to make positive changes in the world. Learn more about Upstreet’s road to B Corp Certification here.

• Halifax’s Propeller Brewing continues to bring out regular entries in their Gottingen Small Batch series. This week, brewer Cameron Crerar brings us a beer named for the Tasman Sea, which lies between his homeland, Tasmania, and New Zealand, home of the primary hop variety used, Motueka. Tasman Pale Ale is 5.2% ABV and 38 IBU, with a hoppy and citrus aroma from the aforementioned hops, hints of malt and caramel, and a crisp and clean finish. You’ll find it on tap at the Propeller Tasting Room for pints by 5 PM today, with growler fills available starting early next week.

• Bad Apple Brewhouse has never had problems with their beers’ popularity, but according to owner/brewer Jeff Saunders, their recently-released Black Currant Gose has been their fastest-selling beer yet! Brewed as a classic Gose – tart and salty – black currants obtained from local farms were also added, and at a sessionable 4% ABV, it sounds like a great summer beer. It’s available at the brewery for growler fills, but probably won’t last through the weekend, so hurry up if you want to grab some! It’s also on tap at a few of the better beer establishments in Halifax.

• Grimross has released the 5th one-off in their Scratch series this morning at the brewery. Scratch #5: Nut’n Abbey is a 7% ABV ale fermented with an Abbey yeast strain, giving this brown-coloured brew some Belgian phenolics and esters to go with the nutty, malty flavours from the grist. Drop by the taproom for a pint or growler, and check out your favourite Fredericton watering hole to see if it’s on tap.

• In Saint John, NB, Loyalist City released a new beer this week to celebrate International IPA Day. Building on the experiences developed through their One Hop Series, this time they’ve made a New England style IPA that features El Dorado, Amarillo, and Mosaic hops. A New England-style water profile aids in big hop aroma and flavour, with citrus, pineapple and mango prominent, a hazy yellow appearance, and a slight sweetness. Dubbed Backslide IPA, it’s loaded with tropical fruit flavours but is still balanced enough to be a refresher on a hot summer day. You should see it springing up at Loyalist tap accounts this weekend and you’ll find it at the brewery from now on, as it’s being added to the regular lineup!

• Earlier this week, a story in the Guardian confirmed that Summerside will be opening its first brewery sometime in the near-ish future. Alex Clark, owner of the OpenEats restaurant in downtown Summerside, is planning to open a brewery in the former train station location (currently the Summerside Rotary Library) on Central St. Many details still need to be ironed out and confirmed, but the initial plan is to open the brewery on its own before eventually adding a taproom and adjoining dining room. Check out the story above for more details, and as always, we’ll keep you updated!

Some notable events for beer lovers are coming up in the region as well, this weekend and beyond!

• A reminder that North Grant’s Half Cocked Brewing is holding their launch party this evening at The Townhouse Pub in Antigonish. From 4:00pm, enjoy their five beers, and meet and chat with owners Greg Oicle and Matt Thompson. And look for HC’s growler days and Farmers’ Market visits to ramp up in the coming weeks. Learn more about Half Cocked in yesterday’s Profile post.

• The Stillwell family is welcoming back one of their favourite (and ours) Quebec breweries to take over their taps this weekend. From noon Saturday at the Beer Garden on Spring Garden, and Sunday at 4:00pm at HQ on Barrington, a total of 22 taps and a handful of bottles from Shawinagan’s Trou du Diable will be available to any and all comers. Saturday’s theme is “Hops & Lagers”, featuring a bevvy of lighter beers and hoppy IPAs, with Sunday’s session leaning “Sour & Strong”. The list is too long (and awesome) to post here, so we encourage you to check it out on their IG page, and rest up for a busy weekend.

• There are still tickets available for next weekend’s Halifax Seaport Beerfest, happening at the Cunard Centre. With Friday, August 11th evening session, and Saturday, Aigist 12th afternoon and evening sessions, there are plenty of opportunities to try some of the 350+ beer and cider that will be available. Grab your ticket to fun today!

• Attention, Fredericton… the sour beers are coming! The James Joyce Irish Pub is hosting Tarte Diem, a sour beer tap takeover, on Saturday, August 26th. Featuring a wide assortment of sour beers (ranging from Lambic-style beers to hoppy sour ales) from breweries across the Maritimes, all you have to do as a beer drinker is show up when they open at 3 pm, and pay by the pint or flight! There will also be three different awards given out during the event: a Best of Show based on the decision of a group of judges made up of individuals from the brewing industry, a Best of Show from “uneducated judges” (their description, not ours!), and a People’s Choice, where drinkers like you pick your favourite sour brew. Check out the link above for an up-to-date list on participating breweries, and which beer(s) they’ll be bringing.

• Also in Fredericton on Saturday, August 26th is Ales for Animals, hosted by the Fredericton SPCA. Held from 3:00 – 5:00 pm at the Picaroons Roundhouse, your $50 ticket will get you a selection of taster beers from Big Axe, Graystone, Grimross, Maybee, Picaroons, Railcar and Trailway. Tickets are available at the FSPCA, Picaroons, Grimross, and at the door. Help support a great cause, and get to sample some local beer at the same time!

Enjoy the long weeked! Before we let you head out of your place of work (go ahead, no one minds!), a couple more quick things to share:

– Celtic Knot has brewed up a batch of their Monkeytown – their 4.5% ABV, 20 IBUs Mango American Pale Ale – on their brand new system; it’s available now at the brewery for growler fills, and should be on tap at your favourite CK licensee. Rounding out their taps today are the Ryetious Rye IPA, Éire Irish Red, and For Shore Session IPA.

– Truro’s Salty Dog is collaborating with local bike shop Bike Monkey to brew up a 7.1% ABV and 70 IBU Double IPA for hop lovers, and they’ve got a contest running to celebrate. You can get in on the draw by filling a growler or buying a can of Bike Monkey DIPA at Salty Dog, or by purchasing a pint at the Nook & Cranny Brewpub or Sauced Wood-fired Pizza. The winner will receive a bike valued at $650 complete with a growler carrier.

– Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewery has released a brand new beer this week, Recess Pilsner. Details are light at the moment, but we do know that it is currently available at the brewery on tap and in bottles, and bottles should also be available at the HRM private stores in the coming days.

– And speaking of Schoolhouse, we told you a couple weeks ago about two Brew Ha-Ha! events featuring their beer. The first, two weeks ago at the brewery in Windsor, was a great success. Tomorrow night’s event will be at the Company House in Halifax and we’ve got a promo code for you: buy your tickets in advance using the code “GetSchooled” and get $5 off the regular $20 price.

 

– In Mahone Bay this evening at 7 PM Saltbox Brewing will be launching a special commemorative can for their Cream Ale to help kick off Heritage Boatyard Weekend.

 

Friday Wrap-Up – New beers from Lunn’s Mill, Heritage, Loyalist City, TrailWay, Grimross and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-07-07
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Authentic Seacoast Brewing, Battery Park, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, CCNB, Celtic Knot Brewing, Chain Yard Cider, Finest Kind Food, FirkinStein Brewing, Fredericton Beer Run, Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection, Gahan House Port City, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Heritage Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Ironworks Distillery, Java Blend Coffee Roasters, Johnny Jacks Brewery, Liquid Riot, Low Point Coffee Co, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Mill Street Brewpub, Moncton Craft Brewers Collective, North Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Savoie's Brewhouse, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tide & Boar Gastropub, TrailWay Brewing, Trou du Diable, Upstreet Craft Brewing, WestSide Beer Wine Spirits, Whycocomagh Craft Beer Festival. Leave a Comment

Hey, it’s Friday again! Just when we were getting back into the groove after a three-day break, they decided to send another weekend our way, how about that! We’ve got brand new beers, and plenty of events to tell you about across our region, so grab your sandwich in one hand, your beer in the other, and scroll along with us today…

• Down in Lawrencetown in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, the gang at Lunn’s Mill decided to do something special for their 50th batch. Reaching into their trove of favourite recipes, they came up with a double dry-hopped SMaSH beer featuring current darling of North American brewing Mosaic hops. Called Canada Day SMaSH for the simple fact that it was released just in time for the big day last weekend, it leverages a new school technique for dry hopping, namely the addition of the first charge before the completion of primary fermentation, which helps to provide a “juicy” character. The result is a showcase of the hop, with tropical fruit followed by citrus and then a dank finish. There wasn’t a huge batch of it to begin with and it’s going fast, so if you want to get your hands on it you’ll have to get down there for a sample or a growler fill. That said, we’ve been advised that it might very well make another appearance in the future. Meanwhile, in other Lunn’s Mill news, they’re getting the paperwork together to allow for pouring full pints in their hospitality room, which should hopefully happen in the next few weeks. And their 5 BBL Brew-in-a-Conical is ramping up to full production, with a couple of batches already done, including Charming Molly. More beer brewed should mean more availability in other parts of the province.

• Southwestern Nova Scotia’s newest brewery, Heritage Brewing Co in Yarmouth also released a single hop beer for Canada Day, their Citra Session IPA. Cited as one of their own favourites in our profile back in mid-June, it’s now available. Featuring the extremely citrusy Citra hop variety, this beer has just enough base and specialty malt to bring it up to 5% ABV and balance the flavour brought by hops. At 42 IBU it should have a firm, but not distracting bitterness, and dry-hopping should ensure that it’s got a healthy aroma. Grapefruit, melon, gooseberry, passionfruit and lychee are all represented in this easy-drinking summer quaffer. It’s definitely available at the brewery for growler fills and 4oz tasters; hopefully it will appear at tap accounts as well.

• Hopping across the Bay of Fundy finds us in Saint John, NB, where Loyalist City Brewing has released Pink Dwarf, the first of their “Summer Sour” series of beers. Brewed in the Berliner Weisse style with a German Wheat and Pilsner malt grist, it was soured with their own blend of four Lactobacillus strains. Pink Dwarf gets its name from the Dwarf Cherries used in the beer, giving it a lovely pink hue. The tartness of the cherries only serve to enhance the acidity of the Lacto, and provide the unfiltered beer with a sour cherry flavour and aroma. It is currently available at a couple of LCBC’s accounts in Saint John, and on tap at the ANBL growler* stations in Saint John/KV and Fredericton this weekend, along with their Wurttemberg Weissbier. *The growler document is slow to update this week, double-check the date in case it’s not been updated when you read this…

• Also in Saint John, Big Tide Brewing has a very special ale on tap for the second time. Originally designed with Gilliane Nadeau of Uncorked Tours and her husband-to-be for their engagement party, a new batch has been brewed to celebrate the actual nuptials this weekend. ALEtar MatrimoniALE was brewed in the Altbier style, with traditional Pilsner, Munich and Vienna malts, top-fermenting ale yeast, and hopped lightly with Hallertau Magnum and Saazer hops before being aged for 5 weeks. Light copper in colour, it comes in at 5.2% ABV and a light 20 IBU, smooth as the style goes and easy-drinking enough to be sessionable. Also on the board as of Canada Day is another summery fruit beer that they’re calling Long Reach Strawberry Rhubarb Blonde. Starting with a blonde ale recipe using 2-row and pale malts along with Libery hops to the tune of 20 IBU, they added over 60 lbs. of local rhubarb and strawberries. The result is a 5.4% ABV refreshing beer that walks a fine line between tart and sweet. As long as they last, you’ll find both of these beers available for pints in the taproom and growler fills to go.

• Heading up Highway 7 will get you to Fredericton, where TrailWay Brewing calls home. They have released a pair of new beers in the past seven days, so let’s get you up to speed: Last Friday saw the release of Adore Double IPA, a hazy, juicy, aromatic beer featuring plenty of late- and dry-hopping from Amarillo, Citra, El Dorado, and Ella. Smooth and supremely drinkable, despite its 8.0% ABV. Joining Adore is the latest in Trailway’s “Seeing” series, this time featuring Ekuanot (formerly known as Equinox). Seeing Ekuanot is a 6.0% IPA, and for the first time, TW used lupulin powder for half of the dry-hop. On hop cones, the resiny yellow powder are lupulin glands, containing the essential oils and Alpha and Beta acids that are the primary ingredients for which hops are so highly prized. Extraction of the lupulin powder brings out these positives, but without any of the plant material to get in the way. We couldn’t say it any better than TrailWay, “The result is massive flavour and aroma without the vegetative and astringency that can be introduced when dryhopping at these rates with pellets or whole cone.” Both of these beers are available now at their North Side taproom on tap for samples, pints, and growlers, and in cans (but in more limited fashion).

• Still in Fredericton, Grimross Brewing has hopped (see what we did there) on the Summer Dad Beer trend with their new Braunschweig German Pils. Crystal clear and brilliant yellow, it weighs in at a lovely and light 4.5% ABV and features the complex flavour you’d expect from the style. Kegged yesterday, it is already available in the Grimross Taproom and should be making an appearance at the Picaroons Brewtique. And don’t worry if you don’t think you can pronounce Braunschweig, it’s just the German form of Brunswick!

• Heading back down to Saint John and environs, there are two breweries looking to complete their teams for their imminent opening/expansion. Hammond River Brewery is hiring folks for their taproom in Rothesay at 141 Old Hampton Road (adjacent to the Barrel’s Head), which is slated to open next week (all signs point to July 10th later in the week). Contact them via social media for more details.

• The second brewery is Gahan House Port City, which will soon be calling 87 Prince William St home. They are hiring Assistant General Managers, a Head Chef and Sous Chefs. Check out their Careers page and email for more information, and you can expect their location to open this fall.

• The three-bearded beer-banging beast known as 902 BrewCast dropped episode #17 last week, this time with Chad Steeves of Moncton’s Tide & Boar Gastropub talking about craft beer, food, and operating their own brewery. Meanwhile, the boys hit the road this week to the South Shore to visit and record episodes with Bridgewater’s Firkinstein and Shelburne’s Boxing Rock. So if you haven’t already, grab the T&B episode and give it a listen while you anticipate what’s coming down the pike this coming Nine-Oh-Tuesday.

• And speaking of Boxing Rock, word came out this week that the latest beers in their Barrel Aged series have arrived: Barrel Aged Battery Rock and Barrel Aged U-889 made their debut this week after both spent some six months in barrels formerly used at Ironworks Distillery for their gold medal-winning Bluenose Rum. If you’ll recall, Battery Rock was an India Brown Ale specially brewed in collaboration with North Brewing for Boxing Rock’s takeover of Battery Park back in November. What was already a big beer at 9% ABV is now a certified heavy-hitter at 11%. And if you’re worried you’ll miss the hops half a year later, fear not, as a new round of dry-hopping with Citra and Huell Melon took place between the barrel and the bottle. That said don’t expect the hops to express themselves as they would in a young beer. As for the U-889, it also saw a jump from 9% ABV (well, 8.89%, allegedly) to the 11% range after its time in the barrel. A bigger-bodied beer to begin with, expect the vanilla and coffee to have mellowed somewhat and melded with the wood and spirit character. And if you missed the first of BR’s Barrel series, the Barrel Aged Triskaidekaphobia Brown Ale last April, it turns out there are a few of those left as well, now with a year of bottle aging to boot. If you’re interested in any of these beers, the only place we’re sure you can get them is at the brewery, but if we hear tell of them appearing at the private stores in Halifax or one or more of the province’s farmers markets we’ll be sure to let you know!

• Further up the South Shore, Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing Company has a couple of beers in the works. The first is the return of their Loyalist ESB, a 5.9% ABV and 38 IBU beer that inhabits the upper end of the scale for English Bitters. It’s hopped with the classic English Fuggle hops and Nottingham yeast for a very traditional experience. They’re hoping to keg it tomorrow, so you should find it available in the coming week at the brewery for fills and pints, and later at tap accounts. Meanwhile they’re also putting the finishing touches on their Rhubarb Berliner Weiss, a 4.8% ABV beer that was soured with some 10 – 15 pounds of rhubarb along with Lactobacillus in the fermenter. They’re hoping to have that one available early next week, also by the pint in the taproom and growler fills to go, but this one is also expected to see some distribution for growler stations in the private stores in Halifax. And if you’re looking for something delicious to go with that beer, Saltbox will also be welcoming Backoos Korean Togo for a pop-up tomorrow and Sunday.

• Things are swinging at Horton Ridge Malt and Grain Co. with the advent of their new on-site brewery and tap room. This week they had a new beer of their own pouring, the Island Wheat. Lightly hopped with Mosaic and Azacca for hints of tropical fruit and citrus, the wheat should make it a refreshing sipper for summer weather. And a reminder to check in regularly on Horton’s social media accounts for their tap list. Their own beers are small batch and can rotate fairly frequently as can their guest taps, which have seen some killer brews already in the short time they’ve been open!

• The Good Robot gang on Robie Street in Halifax is keeping up with their Friday Cask in the Sun pledge this week with another variant on their Goseface Killah, this week again featuring arctic kiwis but replacing last week’s watermelon with pineapple. Should make for a super-refreshing and tropical afternoon and evening of sipping on the Gastroturf. And we’d love to tell you about the beer for this coming Tuesday’s Beta Brewsday, but it turns out we already did last week, so go read it there. Due to a last minute change of plan, the Re:Drella brewed by Kelly Costello with Dan Hendricken was bumped to coincide with Dan’s involvement in GR’s next Just Vorlaufs! event also slated for this coming Tuesday. Meanwhile, last week’s beer ended up being the Calypso White IPA brewed by Kelly with new Robot Giovanni Johnson. It was 4.6% ABV, with Cascade, Centennial and Nelson Sauvin hops and a misleading 91 IBUs because it was “definitely still crushable”. So crushable, in fact, that it was gone by 8:30pm.

• For those interested in learning a little more about what it’s like on the business side of taking the plunge and opening a brewery, look no further than the Startup Canada Podcast with Rivers Corbett. Their latest episode, #93, is a chat with Mitch Cobb, co-founder and CEO of Upstreet Brewing in Charlottetown, PEI. Upstreet represents Mitch’s third foray into start-up businesses, so he’s got lots of experiences to share along with, we expect, some hints as to what’s coming down the pipe for Upstreet. Check Mitch’s episode out on iTunes and Soundcloud, preferably with an Upstreet brew in hand.

• We have more detail to add to the previous call for analytical beer testing by the CCNB: ‘‘Free chemical and microbiological testing! The CCNB-BTSC is collecting finished craft beer samples for a study on beer biochemical quality and local ingredients. This is for licensed craft breweries only. The testing includes: %ABV, SRM, IBU, sugars, organic acids, pH, anaerobic/aerobic Lactobacillus strains, etc. Selection will be done on a first-come, first-served basis, so contact them as quickly as possible, as they are collecting a limited amount of samples. If you are interested in participating in the study and getting some free beer analysis and data interpretations that could help optimize your product and/or your brewing process, please contact Jared Christensen (jared.christensen@ccnb.ca 506-475-4029) to get filled in on the specifics of the project.’’ We are also able to share this one-page primer on the project.

Another busy beery weekend is upon us. Shine up your drinking shoes, it’ll be a large few days! As usual, check out our Calendar for everything on the go in AtlCanBeer events, and be sure to let us know if we’ve missed anything!

• Halifax’s Stillwell Beer Bar is welcoming back Portland’s Liquid Riot Bottling Co this weekend, after their eye-opening visit last summer. With a full range of beers from light wheat beers to hazy IPAs and big stouts, they are taking over the taps at the Barrington Mothership today from 6pm, and tomorrow at the Spring Garden Beer Garden from noon. The LRBC crew will be on hand to chat about their brewery, and have special insight into the Maine brewing scene, through their must-visit sister bar Novare Res. Keep an eye out for the other events Stillwell’ll be hosting over the next couple of months, including a tap takeover by Vankleek Hill, Ontario’s, Beau’s All Natural on August 10th; Le Trou du Diable from Shawinagan and an two-day epic Belgianfest, dates of those are still TBD. Rest assured we’ll be keeping you informed of all of the details as soon as we know!

• Shelburne’s Boxing Rock is celebrating their Fourth Birthday Party all day tomorrow. Open from 11AM, they’ll be featuring brewery tours (2 for 1 discount), live music, washer toss and beer pong all day, plus hosting Axe Throwing from 1:00-3:00 ($15), Finest Kind Food will have a BBQ and corn boil from 1:30-3:30, and at 3:00, there will be cake and the name of their new beer celebrating Shelburne’s Tall Ship Event be will announced (you’ll have to wait until the event mid-August for the beer itself!). More details are available here, be sure to drop by 78 Ohio Road in Shelburne for a great day food, beer, and fun.

• Also happening all day tomorrow, July 8th, is Propeller’s Gottingen Street Block Party in celebration of their Twentieth Anniversary! It’s gotten even more epic and fun and outrageous since we first mentioned it last month, with several more artists signed on, and an expansion of the venues. The fun kicks off at 1:00PM at The Local, just down the block from Propeller, and then at 5:00PM in the parking lot of Seven Bays Bouldering adjacent to Propeller. Both of those shows will run into the afternoon and early evening, with the main event starting at 10:00 PM at the Marquee, where Skratch Bastid & Friends take the stage to keep the street bumping until late. The afternoon events are free and family-friendly, with the tickets for the evening show just $20. All proceeds are going to the  North End Community Health Centre, and donations will be collected at the events (and you can donate online here). Check the full lineup details here. This weekend is also the perfect time to check out the latest Gottingen Small Batch releases, two versions of a California Common, either Sacramento Common (5.5% ABV, 39 IBUs) or San Diego Common (4.0% ABV, 35 IBU). Try them both, and let them know if you’re a NorCal or SoCal kinda drinker.

• In Fredericton, the Ladies Beer Connection is holding their Six Month anniversary celebration next Wednesday, July 12th. The King Street Ale House will be hosting the crew from 6:30 to 8:00, and for just $22.50 (+tax), you’ll receive ten 4 ounce samples of whatever they have on tap. And if you’d like to keep sampling, addition purs are just $2.00 each. It’s a great way to come out and spend time with fellow beer fans from the area, taste your way through KSAH’s offerings, and have a fun evening. Please RSVP today to reserve your spot, and check out more details here.

• On July 13th, as part of the Whycocomagh Summer Festival, the Whycocomagh Waterfront Centre is hosting the Inaugural Whycocomagh Craft Beer Festival. From 8:00 to 10:00 PM, your $20 entry (pay at the door) gets you ten 4oz samples and a souvenir glass. More 4oz samples can be purchased for $1 each. Enjoy live music while sampling beer from Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Gahan House Halifax, Garrison, and Tatamagouche. There will be food to purchase from Crusin’ Cuisine, Laura’s Pretzels, Little Asia, and Sam’s Point Oysters. The WWC is located at 9650 NS-105 in Whycocomagh, NS.

• Next weekend, Picaroons is hosting a Craft Beer Village on Downing Street in Moncton, as part of Festival Inspire. From 4:00-12:00 Friday July 14th, and 2:00-12:00 Saturday July 15th, enjoy plenty of Pics’ offerings, mead from fellow Fredericton business Sunset Heights/Pollen Angels Meadery, plus local members of the Moncton Craft Brewers Collective: Acadie-Broue, Bore City Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Flying Boats Brewing, The Pump House Brewery and Restaurant, Scow Cider du Verger Belliveau, and Tide and Boar. The event is pay-as-you-enjoy, and 19+.

• Stretch your New Brunswick Day (Monday August 7th) into three fun days by running around Fredericton! Hosted by the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, three runs are being held that long weekend: the Sprited Dash on Saturday, Wine Run on Sunday, and Beer Run on Monday.
Fredericton Spirited Dash, Aug 5th 2017: 1 mile dash followed by Cocktail sampling.
Fredericton Wine Run, August 6th 2017: 5 km or 5 Miler followed by Wine sampling.
Fredericton Beer Run, August 7th 2017: 4, 6, & 12 Km run followed by a Beer, Cider and Mead sampling.
Sign up for all three and receive a special gift plus a free carb-loading pasta meal after the Fredericton Spirited Dash Saturday night.
Sign up at RaceRoster today to secure your spots! For those not willing to run for their beer, tickets are available for the post-run Beer, Cider, and Mead sampling on Monday the 7th.

Before you head out today…

– Congratulations to Riverview’s Celtic Knot who brewed up the first batch of beer on their new 4.5 hl (3.75 BBL) brewhouse this week. Look for that beer, and plenty more, in growlers when they open their retail location later this summer, and on tap at more spots in the region thanks to the expanded capacity.

– Oromocto’s Johnny Jacks Brewery have released a new beer, Farmhouse Ale. A Belgian-inspired 5.4% ABV light summer beer, it is available at a couple of ANBL locations, and on tap in their neighbourhood.

– Mill Street St John’s has released a new beer this week, Best Kind IPA. Hopped solely with Mosaic throughout the brewday as well as dry-hopping, the finished beer features plenty of citrus and pineapple flavours and aroma, on top of an unfiltered light body. At 6.5% ABV and 58 IBUs, this juicy beer is on tap for samples, pints, and growlers now.

– Halifax’s new cidery on the block Chain Yard had a new offering hit the taps on Wednesday. Lime-Stone Sessional is a lower-ABV offering at 4.8% that features lots of citrus and stone fruit presence, perfect for a hot day on their Agricola Street patio.

– Nothing says summer quite like maple syrup! At least that’s what the folks at Authentic Seacoast (aka Rare Bird) are thinking, as they have released their Maple Ale at the NSLC’s The Port location. The beer is brewed using locally-collected sap in place of all of the water, and the beer finishes at 6.5% ABV. You can also grab a taste of the beer at their brewery at 75 Ferry Road in Guysborough all summer.

– Charlo’s Savoie’s Brewhouse is switching their packaging from bottling to canning, thanks to a new acquisition in the brewery. The first beers to be packaged in cans in the coming months will be Island Lake Blonde and Chaleaur Phantom Amber Ale, followed by Charlo Falls Rye IPA, and Heron’s Nest Porter. Also available at the brewery, and at the adjacent Heron’s Nest Pub, are Sugarloaf Mountain Maple Amber, Herons Island Orange Wheat, Bullers Blueberry Wheat, Bon Ami Strawberry Wheat, and Restigouche River Raspberry Wheat. Look for their version of the Acadian Nut Brown to debut in the fall, along with their Fall Fair Harvest Ale.

– The Calvados barrel-aged coffee we told you about last week from Low Point Coffee Co has now been roasted by Halifax’s Java Blend and packaged for sale. We’ve heard there’s only 50 or so bags of this available (and we’ve spoken for two of ’em!) so if you’re keen to try it out we suggest you not wait too long! Contact them on social media, or go see them at their stall at the Alderney Landing Farmers Market.

– We can now report that WestSide Beer Wine Spirits (aka Cristall Wine Merchants’ new name and location) will be opening at 287 Lacewood (in the former Brewdebakers location) early next week, probably Monday, July 10th. Featuring 8 taps for growler fills, several large coolers, and an expanded floor space for other, lesser beverages, it will be growing several times its current size.