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Friday Wrap-Up for June 22, 2018 – News from Split Rock, YellowBelly, Bootleg, Boxing Rock, Annapolis Brewing Co, Stillwell Brewing & More!!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2018-06-22
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Bootleg Brew Company, Boxing Rock Brewing, Craft Beer Corner, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Niche Brewing, North Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Spindrift Brewing, Split Rock Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 1 comment

Happy first day of Summer and longest day of the year, you’ve got more daylight today than any other day of the year during which to enjoy the fine beers of our region’s producers and it looks like the weather in most of Atlantic Canada is cooperating. So give a read below to see what might be new and interesting in your particular geographical corner of our burgeoning beer scene and get thee to a patio!! (Although if you’re in Newfoundland, maybe bring a sweater? Sawwy).

Starting up on the Rock, waaay up in Twilingate, where Split Rock Brewing has plenty on the go. First is the latest iteration of their Gateway, a 7.1% ABV India Pale Ale that’s been getting successively hoppier as batches have gone on in a possibly not-so-subtle effort to gently introduce modern IPAs to their local market. Featuring plenty of Cascade and Amarillo in both late additions and dry hops, they’ve now gotten it to where they want it, at least for the time being. Also released this week was Razzin’ Around, a Raspberry Wheat beer made with lots of real raspberry puree for aroma and flavor. Tart, but not sour, it still manages to have a crisp finish, making for a refreshing summer beer with a pleasant fruit kick. Lastly, but definitely not least, this weekend Split Rock is kicking off what is planned to be a series of sour beers, each of which will feature something different added to the base, which is a kettle sour using Pilsner and wheat that has been soured with a pure pitch of Lactobacillus plantarum. These beers will come in under the moniker of Sour Patch B’ys and the first has been dubbed Sour Patch B’ys: Citra, for the generous addition of Citra in the dry hop stage. Pale yellow in colour, this medium-sour beer has a lemony-lime tang and overall citrus flavor. You’ll find all three of these beers primarily at their brewpub, the Stage Head Pub (hours on their Facebook page), but some will no doubt make it to other parts of the province, most likely St. John’s (we can confirm that the Gateway IPA is on at Jack Axes and Razzin’ Around is at Fort Amherst Pub in Churchill Square).

Speaking of St. John’s, YellowBelly Brewery has a new beer pouring, a black IPA they’re calling Gravity Base, an homage to the many Newfoundlanders working in the oil and gas industries at sea and on land. This 5.3% ABV and 60 IBU brew is big and toasty, bready and bitter, with Pacific Gem, Citra and Topaz hops added in the boil and a dry hop of Motueka providing a fruity balance. Look for it on tap on site, pouring for pints and growler fills, and bottles to come this week.

And rounding out the Newfoundland news, over in the Southwest portion of the island in Corner Brook, Bootleg Brew Co. has a brand new beer on tap themselves. Drunken Muppet is an Extra Special Bitter ale aimed solidly at non-hopheads. Only 20 IBU and a fairly sessionable 5.0% ABV, it features hints of cocoa and coffee to accompany a light malt toastiness. Available only by the pint at the brewery.

Heading south to Nova Scotia, Shelburne’s Boxing Rock Brewing has released another in their lineup of Black Box Challenge winners, Bursted! IPA. Brewed by Truro’s Derek Wood (known as Woody amongst the local homebrewing community), his runner-up entry took a different turn than the already-released Oh Snap! Ginger Snap Brown. Focusing on the plethora of hops provided in the box, he used Mosaic late in the boil, Cascade and Amarillo at flameout for a 30 minute whirlpool, and tons of all three in the dry-hop after the fact, extracting more aroma and flavour than bitterness and elevating this pale-coloured beer to new heights. As well as on tap and in growlers, look for bottles of the 6.5% ABV Bursted! at the brewery, their market stalls, and at the private stores in HRM this weekend.

Now that we’re officially into summer, Annapolis Brewing Company is ramping up their energy level to keep the thirsty Valley- (and Visiting-) folk happy. Now that their taproom is open at 302 St George Street, they have a pair of beers coming out in the next several days. Debuting this weekend is a brand new Session IPA named Cool Calm & Collected. “CC & C” also covers the hop side of the beer nicely, with Cascade, Chinook, and Citra coming together to provide a solid hop presence to a very sessionable 4.1% ABV beer. Expect this one to be a hoppy refresher for the deck or the dock this summer. And speaking of summer beers, expect to see Blockhouse Blonde back on tap early next week. Brewed with a combination of 7 malts and hopped with modern Ella and classic East Kent Goldings, it weighs in at 5.3% ABV.

In the big city, Stillwell Brewing has yet another double release happening tomorrow from 12 – 3 PM at their usual spot behind Propeller on Gottingen Street. If you’ve been enjoying the Poptones released two weeks ago but have been musing to yourself, “I say, this is a delightful farmhouse pale ale, but I do wonder what it might taste like if someone were to have aged it in oak barrels for a while,” you’re in luck! Adjust your monocle, good sir/madam, and peep the Poptones Remix. This beer went into Burgundy-style white wine barrels at the same time the OG Poptones was first put into bottles, so while it’s the same age, it grew up in a different part of town, so to speak. Still light and refreshing, but with some oak character, a deeper acidity and funkier flavors overall, it’s 5.3% ABV and displaying herbal and lemony notes with hay and funk. Also up on the block tomorrow is version two of Sport, which was a much bigger batch than the original, allowing more flexibility and variety in the blend. At 5.6% ABV, it’s light and refreshing, if a little heavier than last year’s version, and it once again features lime zest and sea salt to complement the subtle coconut character provided by the barrels. And if you want to get into these beers quickly without cracking into bottles, you’ll also find both on draught today at Stillwell HQ on Barrington, the first time they’re featuring Stillwell Brewing oaked farmhouse beers on tap!

Halifax nano Tidehouse is re-releasing their Cloud Shadow hopfenweisse again, this time in smaller bottles (340 mL vs 640 mL), but still packed with the same flavor. A hoppy wheat beer with Mandarina Bavaria and Ahtanum, expect citrus, tangerine and floral aromas and flavors balanced against a solid malt bill of 50/50 wheat and pale malts. There’s a bottle limit of 6 per person and you can only get them at the brewery on Salter Street starting today at 2 PM. And while you’re there, you might consider asking the helpful barperson for a pour (still only 4 oz, sadly, but only for 10 more days!) of another Tidehouse new release, a strong hoppy saison they’re calling Houndstooth. We’ll have more information on that one as its bottle release approaches in a couple of weeks, but you can get yourself a preview today!

A stone’s throw (OK, maybe a long drive on the fairway) up and over from Salter is Brunswick Street, where you can find a pair of new beers from 2 Crows Brewing’s fermenters. First up is a special collaboration with Coady and Griffin from Dartmouth cocktail and foodie hotspot The Watch That Ends The Night. Inspired by mixology, specifically a cocktail called the Last Word, and expressing brewer Jeremy Taylor’s love of gin (and giving him an excuse to walk over to TWTETN for “research”), Last Word started with a basic grist of Pilsner and wheat malts, with some raw wheat for character, and was lightly hopped in the boil with Halltertau Blanc and Calypso. From there it was fermented warm to encourage earthy and pithy grapefruit yeast character from the Brettanomyces strains used. This became the base for additional machinations centered around the various elements of the Last Word cocktail, namely gin, lime, chartreuse and maraschino, each in its own way. The gin is represented through the addition of juniper berries, coriander and orange peel, the lime by 5 cases worth of lime juice and zest, and the chartreuse by bay leaves and lemon verbana. The maraschino was creatively reflected by the use of mahleb, a spice made from cherry pits, that brings marzipan (sweet almond) and light cinnamon notes. Lastly, a small amount of sour beer was blended in for a bit of zip and to accentuate the lime character. For packaging the beer was keg conditioned with Champagne yeast to provide a tight effervescence. The result is definitely a beer, but one with a lot of subtle reminders of the cocktail. Lime is the dominant flavor, but there is also earthiness, the zip of the gin botanicals, some herbaceous notes, and a slight marzipan sweetness. You’ll find this one of a kind beer only on tap at the brewery and, of course, at The Watch That Ends The Night for now, with kegs possibly going out to other places in coming weeks.

The second of the pair is a pilot brew from Assistant Brewer (let’s be honest, these guys and gals do all of the hard work in breweries) Miles, and Assistant to the Brewer Nick. Retrograde is hoppy and hazy New England-style Pale Ale, available now at the brewery, only by the glass. The malt bill started out as one destined for a Saison, featuring Pilsner, Wheat, Rye, and Spelt, but this dynamic duo decided to cross the Atlantic mid-way through the boil and used loads of Azacca, Ella, Hallertau Blanc, and Loral hops, and fermented it with the darling of NEIPA beers, London Ale III. With more of the same hops added on the cold side, the flavour and aromas shoot through the roof, showcasing peach, pineapple and pear notes on a soft and pillowy base. As mentioned above, this 5.5% ABV beer is only available at the brewery by the pint, so don’t delay your visit to grab it!

Niche Brewing in Hanwell, NB, has released a new Belgian-inspired beer this week, but setting aside the wild and funkier side for a classic and clean one. Day Tripper is a Tripel, with a malt bill of primarily Pilsner malt, with a little Aromatic and Wheat malt as well, and hopped with the very traditional Saaz varietal to 24 IBUs. Using a traditional Trappist yeast strain which exhibits fruity esters, it melds well with the spiciness from the Noble hopping. With the light sweetness often found with Pils-heavy beers, it transitions to fruity and spicy, and finishes dry with a touch of alcohol warmth from the 8.4% ABV. It can be found around Fredericton at Graystone, King Street Ale House, and The Joyce, and kegs may be available further afield soon.

Fredericton’s Grimross Brewing has dropped the latest beer in their Scratch Series, this being release #11. 100% Brettanomyces is, you could probably guess, fermented solely with our favourite wild-but-domesticated yeast Brettanomyces. The straw-coloured base was lightly hopped (to 20 IBUs) with locally-grown Hallertau and Magnum from Darlings Island Hop Farm, before fermentation. The resultant beer is quite dry, with bright tropical fruity notes and a touch of funkiness from the yeast. As with the rest of these Scratch releases, this is a draught-only beer, so drop by the brewery, or check out the local haunts for your next pint.

PEI’s Upstreet Brewing is finally releasing a beer they say has been 548 days in the making (but who’s counting?). Part of their Million Acres series of barrel-aged farmhouse and sour beers, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Apple Brett Blonde Ale was brewed on December 21, 2016 and bottled some 9 months later in September of 2017. It’s been aged in those bottles for an additional 9 months, which brings us to today and its availability at the brewery and Craft Beer Corner. Blurring the line between farmhouse and orchard, expect an overall easy drinking beer, but with notes of interest from apples, Brettanomyces and Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon barrel. Although quantities are definitely limited, you might consider grabbing two of these and salting one away to see what another 9 months (or even 18) might bring to it. You can also try a glass on tap at both locations while it lasts.

Unfiltered Brewing on Halifax’s North Street has released their first bottled beer in a spell, Mise en Garde. This 10.8% ABV stunner is a Barleywine fermented with both American and Belgian yeasts, before being aged on oak. Today’s release is available in 500mL bottles (perfect for adding to the cellar), as well as on tap and in growler fills, but as the name implies, proceed with caution.

Good Robot on Robie Street has a pair of new beers hitting the taps next week, hot off the heels of their Halifax Beer North and South Double IPA collaborations, and the perhaps-aptly-named Sorry from the past week. On Tuesday the 26th, they’ll be releasing their latest Beta Brew, Four Freddy Beaches. Assistant Brewer and Beta Brewster Kelly Costello grew up in Fredericton (aka Freddy Beach), and recruited three high school classmates Jenni, Leah, and Ally to brew this one. This 5.3% ABV hoppy Pale Ale has a base of 2 Row, with some Cara Aroma, Red X, and a touch of Rye malts, and hopped in the boil with Warrior and Vic Secret, and dry-hopped with Belma.

On Thursday the 28th, GRBC will be releasing their latest big batch brew, Pterodactyl Song. A 4.8%  American Wheat named in honour of comedian Maria Bamford, the malt bill consists of 2 Row and Wheat, along with Vienna, Red Wheat and a bit of Honey Malt. Hopped to 23 IBUs with Warrior and Falconer’s Flight, this beer also received a dry-hopping treatment of Belma after fermentation.

And mark your calendars for their Hair of the Dog event at the Garrison Grounds (think the edge of Bell Rd at Sackville St) June 30th and July 1st. From 11-11 each day, this dog park/beer garden combination will be full of dogs and their owners playing fetch, rolling in the grass, and sniffing each others butts (mostly the dogs, we reckon). Pints of Good Robot will be available for purchase, plus there will be plenty of dog-related vendors as well as food trucks/tables. While admission to the grounds is free, donations and pint sales proceeds will be going to support the Nova Scotia SPCA and Halifax Pop Explosion. And in case you were wondering, no dog is needed to come hang out and pet the friendly mutts.

A couple more new and re-releases to tell you about, before you hit the nearest beer garden, patio, campground, or dock this afternoon

– Spindrift continues their Seventh Wave Series with Pineapple Pear, a 4.7% ABV unfiltered Helles this week. Lightly flavoured with pineapple and pear, the underlying beer is still the star of the show, giving a fine base for the fruit aroma and flavour. As always, these are only available at the brewery, and in short supply, so be sure to drop by today for a fill.
– North Brewing has a fresh batch of their Lawrencetown Surf Session Ale available at both their Halifax and Dartmouth locations, in both cans and on tap. This 4.0% ABV beer is full of hoppy goodness, but is all flavour and aroma with very low bitterness. The oats in the grain bill help to keep the beer from being too thin, despite its dry finish. And check out the Launch Party tomorrow night at Lion & Bright in celebration of East Coast Surf School.
– PEI Brewing Company is continuing their Growlers of Summer with Hopscotch Lager today. Think New England IPA, but fermented with a lager yeast, the beer features plenty of late- and dry-hopping on a base of light malts and oats to enhance the mouthfeel. Drop by at 4PM for your fill to start your weekend.
– Tanner & Co in Chester have a brand new beer on tap at the brewery this weekend. This Double IPA is a big one at 8.9% ABV, and features loads of Citra and Simcoe in the boil, and at multiple times during the dry hopping phase, ending up at 75 IBUs. Take a trip down Angus Hiltz Road this weekend to grab a growler.

Friday Wrap-Up for May 11, 2018 – News from Chain Yard, Tanner & Co, Stillwell Brewing, Spindrift, Ol’ Biddy’s, Upstreet, Trailway, and More!!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2018-05-11
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Annapolis Brewing Company, Annapolis Cider Company, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Chain Yard Cider, Craft Beer Corner, Craft Beer Farmers Market, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Liquid Assets, Off Track Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Picaroons, Saltbox Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Split Rock Brewing, Stillwell Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 1 comment

Another Friday, another day chock-full of beer news for Atlantic Canada. The sun has been shining for a few days, and, thankfully, water levels are finally starting to recede across New Brunswick… although, there’s still a ways to go, and a heck of a lot of work ahead. In the meantime, we invite you to take a break from your work day and catch up one what’s going on in the wonderful world of beer… at least, in our region.

• Halifax’s Chain Yard Cider released a new blend last week, pairing apples, rhubarb and honey together in a tasty beverage. After arresting (stopping short) the ferment of a rhubarb wine (with fruit from Terra Beata Farms), they blended it with a mead made from honey from Brandt’s Bees in Wolfville. That was then blended with their Intrepid cider, which is created from their Northern Spy apples, and allowed to condition at cold temperature. The resultant cyser (mead/cider blend), Rhubee Cyser, weighs in at 8.0% ABV and features plenty of honey and fruit flavours up front, followed by earthy notes in the middle, with some sweetness and floral flavours on the finish. Grab a glass at their Agricola Street location today, or check the cider and food from Unchained Kitchen tomorrow during Open City (more details below).

• Tanner & Co. in Chester Basin has a brand new beer that should be available at the brewery tomorrow, Sauvage Saison. At 6.3% ABV, this Saison features a light-bodied and -coloured malt bill of predominantly Pilsner with a touch of Wheat and darker malts, and light hopping from traditional English hop East Kent Golding. The wort was fermented with the wild Pin Cherry yeast harvested from Big Spruce‘s farm in Nyanza, Cape Breton, nicknamed Scotian Sauvage. Due to the nature of this experiment, there’s just a single keg of Sauvage Saison available, so be sure to visit Tanner & Co this weekend to enjoy it. And with it being Open Brewery Day in Nova Scotia, we think it’s the perfect time to do so! And keep an eye out over the the next few weeks, as there will be more from the Scotian Sauvage yeast, as well as Tanner’s GSB release, but we’ll tell you more about those next week.

• More barrel goodies are coming our way this weekend, as Stillwell Brewing has two releases – one new, one returning – for us tomorrow. The “returning” beer is the second blend of Gosh, a Mosaic dry-hopped Saison. First released late last fall, the original beer came from a red wine barrel; in contrast, tomorrow’s 6.2% ABV beer is a blend of multiple white wine barrels. With lots of fruity aromatics (from the fermentation character, as well as the Mosaic), it was brewed in May of 2017, and bottled in January, 2018. As for the new beer, Deluxe is a tart Saison that was brewed in April, 2017, and aged in a single white wine barrel. Five months later, over 50 kg of overripe apricots were added, ultimately resulting in a “highly complex, fruity, dry beer with lots of beautiful barrel character” that was bottled in January, and weighs in at just 4.9% ABV. Both will be available for purchase from 12-4 pm tomorrow, at the back of 2015 Gottingen St.; both beers, especially the smaller-batch Deluxe, will go quickly, so don’t be late!

• There’s a whole lotta beer news coming from Spindrift this week, so we should stop wasting time and dive right in! First up is a brand new beer that will be joining the brewery’s core brands – Hurricane IPA is an unfiltered, West Coast-style IPA. The simple grist was boosted slightly with light additions of Crystal 45 L and Munich malt, giving the beer a light orange/copper colour. Hopped extensively with Amarillo and Comet (to a total of 60 IBUs), this 6.2% ABV brew features flavours and aromas of “fresh cut grass, pine, ripe melon, zesty grapefruit, and Tim Horton’s peach juice” (now that’s specific!), with a dry finish. You should be able to find it on tap and in 473 mL cans at the brewery now, and quite possibly at some NSLC stores by publishing as well.

• Spindrift also has two new Seventh Wave releases this week. Let’s start with Just Boats Brown Ale, a 4.9% ABV Brown brewed with Pilsner, Wheat, Chocolate Wheat, double-roasted Crystal, and Roasted Barley. Hopped with Magnum to 31 IBUs, and fermented with an English ESB strain, the beer focuses on the malt character, with notes of light roast and chocolate. Second is Mosaic SMaSH Ale, which debuted at last weekend’s Full House Craft Beer Fest. Focusing solely on Pilsner malt and Mosaic hops, this is a newer batch that the brewery claims has a fuller body, with lots of “berry, tropical, and citrus” packed into a 5.5% ABV, 26 IBUs package. Hopefully both of these are still pouring at Spindrift, so you’d best check it out ASAP to be sure!

• Speaking of busy breweries, Ol’ Biddy’s Brewhouse is yet another one, as we’ve got news on not one, not two, but three new beers hitting taps in the very near future. Honey, I’m Home is a Honey Brown Ale that was brewed in collaboration with Freeman’s Pizza, a frequent supporter of Ol’ Biddy’s. Brewed with Pale, Chocolate, Honey, Carapils, and Crystal 60 L malts, it’s a malt-forward, medium-bodied beer with notes of “chocolate and caramel, with a touch of residual sweetness”. Hopped with Columbus to just 17 IBUs, it’s easy-drinking at 5.1% ABV; look for it to be on tap soon at the Freeman’s Sackville location, as well as Battery Park. Moving into more-hop-friendly territory is Boogie Nights IPA, featuring a simple malt bill and plenty of Columbus, Huell Melon, and Azacca. Slightly bitter in the finish (63 IBUs), expect lots of melon in both the aroma and flavour of this 6.3% ABV beer. Look for this one to be tapped over the next few days at the earliest; keep up with Ol’ Biddy’s social media pages to find out exactly where it lands. Finally, we have a sneak peek at the first beer of a new series for the brewery, Sackvegas SMaSH: Azacca/Pilsen. This one was designed to be an easy-drinking summer beer, and should come in at 4.9% ABV and approximately 27 IBUs. Featuring all Pilsner malt and Azacca hops, it won’t be released until the end of the month, but we’ll remind you when it comes out!

• Today marks the fourth release in Upstreet‘s Neon Friday series of hoppy beers, but this time around they’re taking it a step further, and releasing the beer in cans… the first time any beer from Upstreet has been packaged this way. The beer is NEIPA with Mosaic and Galaxy, which does a pretty darn good job of explaining itself! So, yeah. Hazy, lots of Mosaic and Galaxy tropical, fruity goodness, in a 6.5% ABV, 40 IBU package. Available in four-packs in very limited amounts: 100 packs going to the Upstreet taproom (opens at noon), and 100 going to the Craft Beer Corner (opens at 11 am). They’ll likely go pretty fast, so it would be a good idea to get downtown early!

• Next week’s Good Robot releases are locked and loaded, proving that NSCBW didn’t have quite a serious enough effect on staff. Next Tuesday’s Beta brew is Hands Off Maibock!, a collab with a couple of women that Kelly C. met during her Ladies Beer League days. This Maibock was brewed with Pilsner, Munich and Vienna malts, giving it a “toasty finish, and pleasant residual sweetness”. Hopped to 27 IBUs with Hallertau to give some low floral/spice character, it weighs in at a reasonable 5.8% ABV. As for Thursday’s larger-scale release, it’s a new beer named Tiny Tigers. A kinda-lighter-ABV Saison (5.8% ABV), the grist was made up of Pilsner, 2-row, and some Crystal 30L to keep the colour light. Hopped with Columbus and Citra to 31 IBUs, it has a “smooth spice and subtle citrus aroma” thanks in part to the fermentation

• In Fredericton, as the water is finally starting to go back where it belongs, TrailWay Brewing has two releases this week. The first is the return of Good Weather; an American IPA that originally was released in March, it’s now joining the TW regular summer line-up. With a slightly-tweaked hop schedule, it should be otherwise similar to the first batch, with a “bright, tropical, citrus, peach juice” combination of characteristics. Aside from being available at the TW taproom, it should be showing up in cans at ANBL stores as well. Also returning is Hopical Trop, the brewery’s rotating “Fruited DIPA”. This time around, the 8% ABV beer was conditioned on dark cherries, giving “massive, sweet fruit character with a vanilla-like quality”. This one is in cans at TrailWay only, as well as on tap for pints and growlers, with a few kegs likely to be pouring at select licensees.

• Big Spruce has another just-in-time-for-summer beer out for us, which – in our humble opinions – is one of THE best styles for warm weather out there. Hugs Bunny is a Gose – a sour, low-ABV, German style – brewed with sea salt and Indian coriander (both of which are classic additions to the style). The great thing about a Gose is there are a lot of directions you can take it afterwards, and Big Spruce didn’t hesitate to go down one of those roads, dry-hopping it with lots of Citra. Light, slightly-salty, tart, with lots of citrus and tropical fruit on the nose… all at only 3.8% ABV. Get it now on tap at Big Spruce, and at some of the finer tap accounts in Nova Scotia.

• Recently, Annapolis Brewing Company teamed up with Horton Ridge to brew Oatta the Valley Pale Ale, and that beer has just been kegged and ready for tasting this weekend. Brewed with all Maritime-grown malt and hops, the recipe creation was a true collaboration, in a fun and different way. We’ll let the crew from Annapolis describe it, “The makeup of the recipe was somewhat of a card game. The Annapolis Brewing Company started the recipe with the base malt and sent it back to Horton Ridge for the next malt addition. Once they added their malt choice, they, in turn, sent the recipe back to us for the next addition. We did this with the hops as well. It was truly a 50/50 collab from recipe makeup to brewing. We love working with Horton Ridge and most of all…brewing with their malt!” The final grist consisted of 2 Row, Rye, Munich, Vienne, Wheat and Oat malts, and the hop bill, grown at Fundy Hops, were Centennial and Galena. You can find Oatta the Valley on tap at Horton Ridge today! And keep your eyes open for Annapolis’ beers at Liquid Assets, the all-NS private liquor store at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Their Goodwill Amber, Big Shot Black IPA and Acadian Honey Brown are available in 355ml stubby bottles to grab when you go visiting, or when returning from a trip. And we’ve heard that the LA folks will even meet you outside of security if you’re just passing through!

• On the South Shore of NS, in Mahone Bay, Saltbox Brewing has two new styles to share, both on the deeper, darker side of the spectrum. The first is Bette Davis Eisbock, a beer that would have started fairly big in the usual bock style, but which also underwent a freezing process to remove some of the water content yielding a beer with a final ABV of 10.6%. Strong and full-bodied, there’s a moderate bitterness for balance, but a definite sweetness present. This is a traditional German style that would be served from December to April, but we’re getting it a little later here this year, matching our late spring. And somewhat lighter but still nowhere near pale is Lou Keyte’s Brown Ale, a collaboration with Sea Level Brewing up in Port Williams. It’s named after a Chicago conman (the “Bernie Madoff of the Roaring Twenties) who hosted big parties at his hunting lodge near Kejimkujik before being extradited home, where he chose to avoid a long term prison sentence by scarfing a whole box of chocolates (he was diabetic). Happy for us, he inspired this beer, which is deep brown in color, with a creamy tan head, and featuring hints of caramel and chocolate on the palate and a soft roasted finish. Lighter than you might expect from the color, it comes in at 6.2% ABV, perfect for sipping on its own or pairing with food.

• A couple of quick mentions from the Rock today, first, starting way way up in Twilingate, we’ve got news of a new beer from Split Rock, another entry in their IPA family. Reminiscent of their Gateway IPA but featuring Citra hops, Dream of Spring is a 7.1% ABV American-style IPA. Available at the Stage Head Pub, expect a solid body and a firm bitterness. And on the west coast, in Corner Brook, Bootleg Brew Co also has a new beer available as of last night, one they’re referring to as a “summery session ale”. Class Act was designed for day drinking, a crisp, hoppy, refreshing, and sessionable pale ale made with oats. Zesty, with hop-derived notes of orange, pear and lime, it’s 42 IBU and a super quaffable 4.2% ABV.

• We’ve previously mentioned the Cider Club at Wolfville’s Annapolis Cider Company and for those who missed out and wish they hadn’t, we’ve received word that there’s a very limited number of additional memberships available. If you’re interested in a regular 10% discount, 6 special bottles twice a year, guided tastings of special releases and participation in discussions about future releases, check out the details on their sign-up page. A reminder that you need not be local to Wolfville – you can have your cider shipped to you anywhere in the 10 Provinces of Canada!

• Halifax’s Garrison has released another new hoppy beer, this one taking the New England IPA style down a notch in terms of ABV, but definitely not in flavor. Wicked Good is being called a New England Pale Ale and features a grist of Maritime pale malt, oats and wheat paired with classic Cascade, new hotness Huell Melon, and some other hops that will remain nameless, at least for now. Juicy, hazy and unfiltered, it’s a reasonable 30 IBU and a very sessionable 5.0% ABV, all the better to let stone fruit and citrus aromas and melon and pear flavors to shine through. Look for it in cans at the brewery (and, we expect, the private liquor stores at some point) as well as at Garrison’s Open City / Open Brewery Day Event tomorrow (see below)!

Here’s what’s going on for beer-related events in the region this weekend and over the next week or two:

• Taking a page from I Love Local Halifax, the community of independent Halifax businesses, breweries across the province are holding Open Brewery Day tomorrow, May 12th. From Shelburne to Nyanza taking part, there is sure to be something in your neighbourhood, or worth traveling for, tomorrow, so be sure to get out and visit. To make life a little easier, we’ve put together a map of all the events we could find. If we’ve missed something, let us know and we’ll add it!

2 Crows, Halifax, 2-5PM: Live band from 2-5PM with $1 off pints and growler fills during that time
Big Spruce, Nyanza, 12-6PM: Live music and wood fired pizza!
Boxing Rock, Shelburne, 11AM-7PM: Free tours all day, try your hand at axe throwing, live music from 2-4PM. Samples and flights, and food courtesy of Finest Kind Food.
Chain Yard Cider, Halifax, 11:30-?: Enjoy $2 samples of cider on their patio, plus Unchained Kitchen will offer a $6 shrimp/mussel boil.
Garrison, Halifax, 11AM-6PM: The Cake Lady and The Shuck Stop! will be set up, serving pastries and bivalves to pair with their beer. Plus the release of Wicked Good New England APA in cans.
Meander River, Ashdale, 11AM-5PM: Visit the brewery for a tasting and tour, chat with the brewer and owners, grab some beer, cider, and other farm products to go.
Nine Locks, Dartmouth, 11AM-6PM: Nine Locks will have brewery tours starting at 11 am and run until 4 pm, running at the top of the hour. The tour is limited to 12 people each tour. You can sign up in advance by contacting the brewery directly.
Propeller, Halifax, 10AM-2PM: Drop by all day and see first hand how beer is made. They will be brewing an American Wheat, which will be dry-hopped and released in a few weeks.
Saltbox Brewing, Mahone Bay, 12-9PM: Backoos Korean Food Truck on-site. Prize draws and live entertainment. Staff are avail to sample and discuss their beer.
Schoolhouse Brewery, Windsor, 12-6PM: Drop by at 3:30pm for a brewery tour by owner Cameron Hartley and to meet your local brew crew!
Stubborn Goat, Halifax, 11AM-close: The Stubborn Goat Beer Garden opens for the season, and both locations will be serving up $5 snacks.
Tanner & Co, Chester Basin, 12-5PM: Brewery tours and other fun!
Tatamagouche Brewing, Tatamagouche, 10-5PM: Brewery tours start at 10AM, and run every half-hour. There will be live music in the brewery taproom from 2-5PM. Dogs are welcome/encouraged/required.

• If two wheeled locomotion is more your speed, tomorrow is the inaugural ride of the Nova Scotia chapter of BrewDog Chain Gang. Using Off Track Brewing on Rocky Lake Drive in Bedford as the start and end to the ride, the group will be traveling out to Goffs and back, a 70km ride. A world-wide bike club sponsored by Scottish brewery BrewDog, the goal of Chain Gang to encourage camaraderie with other cyclists, and use breweries and beer bars as the homebase for refreshment and conversation after riding. Look for more rides throughout the summer, and check out the event details for more information.

• May 13th is the inaugural day for the Craft Beer Farmers’ Market, being held at the Annapolis Royal Farmers Market, 10AM until 2PM. Featuring 8 vendors of beer, cider, spirits, and kombucha, with more expected to join (including wineries), the market will be held every Sunday until October 14th. Bring your empty growler and sample what the following vendors have to offer: Annapolis Brewing Company, Casa Nova Fine Beverages, Horton Ridge, Lunn’s Mill, Meander River, Roof Hound, Solas Kombucha, Still Fired Distilleries, and Wayfarers Ale.

• Saltbox is holding a Soapbox Derby on June 16th from 9 AM – 3 PM in Mahone Bay. Although this is quite a ways away now, registration is due by Friday, June 1st. Further, it’s limited to 40 entries across 4 divisions and is quickly nearing capacity! The four divisions are Kids 6 – 12 (starting halfway down the hill), Ages 13 and Over, Open Class (anything goes except engines), and Corporate. Castle Building Supplies is making cart kits for all divisions except Open available. There are prizes for the race winners, of course, but also for originality, cart decoration and more! If you’re interested you’ll want to move fast (and then you’ll want to move fast on race day!!).

And as usual, a few last mentions before we let you get on with your Friday:

– Liverpool’s Hell Bay has re-released their Privateer Pilsner a little early this year; get this easy-drinking 4.7% ABV lager while it lasts!
– Picaroons is up to entry number 15 in their Pivot DIPA series, this latest featuring the CTZ and Chinook hops from Southan Farms in Wicklow, NB.
– Hammond River has now bottled a batch of their Blueberry Ale, which will be available at the Hammond River Beer Bar and coming to ANBL stores as well!
– Tidehouse did up a special brew featuring local Haskaap Berries for the inaugural AFX: Animation Festival of Halifax. Brewed with local Haskaap berries and hopped with Mosaic, Magical-ale Lantern was a big hit at the opening ceremonies and will re-appear at the event’s wrap party on Saturday. You can find this pinkish/peachish-hued 4.7% ABV beer at the Tiny Tasty Beverage Room on Salter Street.

Friday Wrap-Up for April 20, 2018 – News from St John’s BrewFest, Port Rexton, YellowBelly, Quidi Vidi, Brewnettes and Beer Expo, plus the rest of Atlantic Canada…

Posted by acbbshawn on 2018-04-20
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Annapolis Cider Company, Big Spruce Brewing, Central City Brewers and Distillers, Craft Beer Corner, Craft Beer Farmers Market, Escarpment Laboratories, Gahan House (Fredericton), Gahan House (Saint John), Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Landwash Brewery, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Motion Bay Brewing, Newfoundland Beer History, NLC Beer Expo, NS Craft Beer Week, PEI Brewing, Picaroons, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Quidi Vidi Brewery, Schoolhouse Brewery, Sea Level Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, St John's BrewFest, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

In honour of this weekend’s St John’s BrewFest, we wanted to lead this week’s post with the great beery news from The Rock. While the number and reach of locally-owned breweries in Newfoundland and Labrador was lacking for many years, the past few years have seen an explosion in number and variety of offerings available to the public. For a more thorough overview of that history, as well as the present and future of beer in Newfoundland (and soon Labrador), check out the Newfoundland Beer History site, and the latest post from writer Chris Conway (himself part of the opening-late-2018 Landwash Brewery in Mount Pearl). The local alt-paper The Overcast also keeps an eye on the latest Nfld Beer News, and has summarized the history in The Overcast’s Guide to Beers of Newfoundland, out this month. After reading those and getting excited for the rest of 2018, here what’s new this week:

• Port Rexton‘s retail shop on Torbay Rd is open again this weekend (Friday 4-8pm, Saturday 12-6pm), and will have 3 varieties in cans: Chasing Sun New England IPA, T-Rex Porter, and the return of Mixed Opportunity, their 5.6% ABV mixed fermentation Saison, employing multiple strains of Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces yeasts to ferment, giving funky farmhouse flavours and aromas. On growler fills are Baycation Blonde and T-Rex Porter. With their brewery taproom opening May 4th, they will continue to operate the retail location in town, concentrating on growler fills and merchandise sales, as they will be winding down their canning offerings.

• Also keep an eye open this weekend for Port Rexton’s Barrel-aged Brett Porter, which was a collaboration brewed back in September with Jana of Motion Bay Brewing (coming soon to Petty Harbour), and our own acbbchris. This beer was fermented in a freshly-emptied red wine barrel with Brett D (a specific strain of Brettanomyces bruxellensis), where it sat for several months before conditioning and packaging (sorry, kegs only!). The lovely wine notes complement the funky nose and flavour from the Brett fermentation, with the dark malt providing a pleasant base. It debuted at the Melee in the Market Port Rexton x 2 Crows Tap Takeover last night, and should be available this weekend.

• YellowBelly Brewery launched a new beer earlier this week, Patridgeberry Wheat. The Wheat Ale base was enhanced by the addition of local partridgeberries, known for their tart kick and full flavour, for a true taste of the Island. At 5.0% ABV, and quite quaffable, you could certainly be forgiven for going back for a second. It is on tap at the brewery and Takeaway (down the street at 264 Water) now, and in 1 litre bottles at the Takeaway and select NLC locations this weekend.

• Renovations continue at Quidi Vidi Brewing, as they expand their retail shop and transform their event space into a full-time taproom, which will offer visitors great views of the gut, and a fine pint to pair it with. The recent additions to their beer line-up, Calm Tom’s Double IPA and Mad Mike’s Big Belgian, will be around for the summer months, and complemented by beers brewed on their 350 litre pilot brewing system. We’ll let you know when the renos are done and the beer is pouring once again.

A few NL events for you this week, too:

• Believe it or not, a few tickets for tonight’s St John’s BrewFest are still available, and if you don’t already have yours, you’re best served to grab one now. In addition to beers from Mill Street, Port Rexton, Quidi Vidi, Split Rock, Storm, Western Newfoundland, and YellowBelly, there is a good showing from the rest of the Atlantic Provinces, including New Brunswick’s Hammond River, Loyalist City, Maybee, TrailWay, and Yip Cider; PEI’s Gahan and Upstreet; Nova Scotia’s 2 Crows, Bad Apple, Big Spruce, Garrison, No Boats on Sunday, and Spindrift. Plus from (further) away, Blindman, Flying Monkeys, Half Hours on Earth, and Other Half. The full list is available here. And all attendees receive a code for the pre-sale for the St John’s Cider Fest, which is June 22nd and 23rd.

• For those wanting to meet up with other beer fans in the area, The Brewnettes Beer Appreciation Club are holding a bottle share next Thursday, April 26th at 7pm, at Common Ground on Harvey Rd. This is a BYOB event, where you can share your latest homebrew or a cool bottle you picked up while traveling or your current fave from around town, and talk with friendly folks who love beer as much as you!

• If this weekend’s BrewFest isn’t enough, the NLC’s Beer Expo is happening May 11 and 12th at the Delta Hotel. As it is an NLC event, most of the beer will be those currently available at the stores and/or available after the event, though Quidi Vidi will be debuting several small batch beers at the event. The full list is available here, to plan your attack. The ticket includes pub grub, and a $10 Taxi Voucher to get home safe. There is also a separate Saturday afternoon Tasting Panel from 5:30-7pm, with speakers tasting and discussing 9 products in a more relaxed setting. Tickets are available online, or at the Mile One Box Office.

Let’s jump into the rest of our region now. Not surprisingly, with the weather warming up, we’re seeing a steady increase in the beer release frequency, the patios of the region are being set up and enjoying a beer outside seems like a fine plan, and not the crazy idea my neighbour yelled at me for last week.

• Starting a ferry ride from Newfoundland in Nyanza on Cape Breton Island, we mentioned last week that Big Spruce had some big releases coming up and we weren’t kidding. They’ve clearly been busy preparing to make a splash for NS Craft Beer Week. As we mentioned (late) in our Friday Wrap-up last week, The Gose of Christmas Past is already pouring at the Sprucetique and tap accounts around the Province. This is a 3.8% ABV beer in the Gose style, of course, brewed with Indian Coriander and French Sea Salt back in December with Merit Brewing of Hamilton before being racked into Tequila barrels for 2 months of aging. Also released this week, to strong reactions of every stripe, is The Real McNeil a Red IPA that was brewed with our Province’s Premier, Stephen McNeil. Weighing in at 6.8% ABV and 48 IBUs, however bitter the beer actually tastes, it’s almost certainly not nearly as bitter as some of the public response to it. Seemingly forgotten is the open letter to the province owner Jeremy White penned last year, detailing many of the frustrating laws in place holding back the flourishing of small business, and is still actively pushing for changes in those. While some progress has been made on these issues, further improvements aren’t likely to come without education and engagement, which is the stated point of this exercise. And if it also yielded tasty beer? Well, that’s surely a bonus. If you can stomach it, you’ll find it in red cans featuring a typically masterful caricature of the Premier by Bruce MacKinnon at the private stores in Halifax and coming on April 30th to 35 select NSLC stores around the province. Probably only in Liberal ridings, wha? Meanwhile, those who’ve pledged never to buy Big Spruce beer again surely won’t care that the first batch of their incredibly popular Silver Tart Raspberry Kettle Sour is ready and will be available at the Sprucetique this coming Wednesday, April 24, before hitting the private stores in Halifax next Saturday.

• Speaking of next Saturday, fans of Big Spruce’s Ra Ra Rasputin Barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout are probably feeling the itch, knowing that it’s traditionally released around this time each year. But this year Jeremy White and the gang have upped the ante considerably. Yes, you’ll be able to buy the Ra Ra you know and love, aged in Whiskey Barrels from Glenora Distillery in Cape Breton. But you’ll also see a version aged in French Cognac barrels. And another in California Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. And another in good ol’ American Bourbon Barrels. And finally one that spent time in Nicaraguan Rum barrels. Yes, that’s five, count ’em FIVE different variations of Ra Ra Rasputin available for your dilection. Whether you’re an existing fan of Ra Ra Rasputin, a fan of big beers in general, or just BA-curious, we can vouch for all five of the variations. Have you ever done a bottle share? It’s a great way to try several beers without a serious financial commitment. Consider getting some friends together to split a set of 2018 Ra Ras and figure out which are your favorites before going back for more. Tasting the same beer with 5 different treatments can also be an excellent beer education experience that shows just how much influence a single variable (barrel type in this case) can influence otherwise identical base beer. These will be available a week from tomorrow, Saturday, April 28th, at the brewery and in private stores in Halifax! Some bottles of the 2017 vintage are still around if you want to do a comparison and some tap accounts may see the 2017 version on tap to open craft beer week!

• And lastly in Big Spruce news is the release of another annual spring tradition, Cerberus Double IPA. Brewed this year with Tatamagouche Brewing and Port Williams’ Sea Level Brewing, this is an organic beer whose recipe has been rejigged for 2018. Weighing in at 7.5% ABV, it’s described as “abundantly bitter and deeply aromatic,” with late-addition hops in “lip-smacking” quantities that produce a complex, yet balanced beer. Also new for this year is availability in cans. You’ll find them as of today at the private stores in Halifax and, we believe, at each of the participating breweries.

• Continuing with Tatamagouche Brewing, after more than a year’s hiatus, they’ve brought back Square One, their 6.2% ABV dry-hopped Saison. With a fairly simple grist made up mostly of Pilsner malt, with some Oats, Spelt, and Rye in there as well, it was bittered with Chinook to 32 IBUs, and dry-hopped with a blend of Citra, Hallertau Blanc and Amarillo, giving tons of fruity, citrusy goodness. Fermented with the New World Saison blend – which includes both Sacch and Brett – from Escarpment Labs, this year’s bottles have been bottle-conditioned to let the Brett funk develop further with time… so, buy some now to enjoy the hops, and cellar some to compare over the coming months! Don’t want to wait? Stillwell has a keg of this year’s batch AND one from the last batch, both of which will be tapped alongside one another today. For bottles, pick up yours at Tatabrew now, and at the private stores in the HRM next week.

• Halifax’s Garrison Brewing was among several breweries in the region to brew a beer with Angus Ross from Canadian Yeast producer Escarpment Labs and theirs is, we believe, the first to come ready. Country Road Farmhouse Ale was brewed with Honey from Wolfville’s Cosman & Whidden Honey and dry-hopped with modern German variety Huell Melon hops. Slightly funky from the use of the Brettanomyces-esque Saccharomyces strain known as Sacch Trois provided by Escarpment, and deliciously hoppy from the healthy dry hop, this is a refreshing beer at 6% ABV. In other Garrison news, their traditional spring seasonal maple beer has undergone a metamorphosis this year as Sugar Moon Maple Ale is now Sugar Moon Maple Porter! Featuring a base grist of Maritime Pale Ale, with Crystal,Chocolate and Amber Malts for color and character, it was hopped to 28 IBUs with Polaris. But the key ingredient, as always, is Maple Syrup from Sugar Moon Maple Farm in Earltown, NS. With dark and sweet flavors and an ABV of 6.3%, this is one to sip under a cold sugar moon as you anticipate the turn of Spring that will almost certainly happen any month now…

• Earlier this week, 2 Crows released another of their one-off, taproom-only beers, created by Assistant Brewer Miles Bishop on the brewery’s pilot system. Great Plains is a 6.2% ABV, 22 IBUs American Wheat Ale brewed with a high percentage of Wheat malt to help boost the mouthfeel, as well as provide a dough-like character to the beer. Hopped with Falconer’s Flight and Mandarina Bavaria to give a burst of citrus, it was fermented with wine yeast and Brett C, lending “subtle grape and pineapple notes, as well as a small amount of funk”. If there’s any left, it’ll be available for by-the-glass only at 2 Crows; stop in today to give it a try before it’s gone!

• Not too far away, at Good Robot, you can expect the return of Awesome Beer, Great Job!, an “Autumn Saison” originally released by the brewery back in 2016, next Thursday. At 6.4% ABV and in the low-20s for IBUs, it has notes of plum, banana, and burnt sugar. For next week’s Beta Brew, Frank Robb from the Lion’s Head helped design Clifford the Big Red Brew, an American Amber Ale. Aiming to have lots of malt character and low bitterness, they went with Pale malt, Red X, Vienna, Crystal 60 L, and a “secret malt” in the grist, and threw in a little Green Bullet to get to about 18 IBUs. It should come in at about 4.5% ABV, and will be available on tap next Tuesday.

• It’s another second Friday (arguably, isn’t it always?), which means it’s time for another entry in Upstreet‘s Neon Friday, a series of hoppy beers. This week gives us West Coast Session IPA, a 5.5% ABV, 65 IBUs golden-coloured brew that was hopped solely with Falconer’s Flight. Some Melanoidin was included in the mash to provide a “nice, round malt finish”, complemented by the citrus character from the FF. You can find this one today at Upstreet and the Craft Beer Corner, and a couple of kegs may even be heading to Halifax. Upstreet is also releasing a limited number of bottles of Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy with Spruce Tips, the next beer in their barrel-aged series, Million Acres. Head brewer Hogie made a concentrated spruce tip tea, which he blended with the 9.5% ABV beer at bottling, to help balance that massive malt character from the base beer. Bottles are available at both Upstreet and the CBC (the beer CBC, not the other one), and a small amount will also turn up in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

• If you live near/in, or are passing through Chester, Nova Scotia, drop by Tanner & Co. Brewing to give their new Saison a try. The grist was made up of Pilsner, Vienna, Munich and Wheat malt, with the wort being hopped in several stages with East Kent Goldings (a dry-hop addition was made with the same hop as well). Fermented with the lovely French Saison yeast, giving aromatics of pepper and lemon, the EKG additions also lend some earthy, spicy notes to the beer. The brewery describes the entire experience as having “flavours of lemon, honey, cereal, and roasted pear, with a dry finish”, which is definitely more eloquent than we would may have come up with! It’s available right now, and weighs in at 6.8% ABV and 34 IBUs.

• A blast from the not-so-distant past is back at Spindrift Brewing in Dartmouth’s Burnside Industrial Park. After brewing stints at Gahan Harbourside in Halifax and consulting to help get The Good Word Brewing up and running in Atlanta, Georgia, Kyle Jeppesen is back where he spent time as Quality Manager and Assistant Brewer earlier in his career. With a new brewer in the fold there are bound to be some changes and we’ve been advised that though Spindrift will remain a primarily lager brewery, some ales are definitely going to creep into full production. If you’re in attendance at the NS Craft Beer Week Full House event you’ll have a chance at a first taste of two new brews, the core Hurricane IPA and the seasonal Wheel House Radler. Look for more info on those in coming weeks. We’ll keep an ear to the ground for any other new brews or tweaks to existing brews as time goes on.

• Meanwhile, Steve Crane, Spindrift’s Assistant Brewer and Admiral of the Seventh Wave Pilot Batch Fleet has a new brew available today that he’s calling Fill Yer Boots. Born of a deal with Mother Nature to hasten the arrival of Spring (we think you might’ve been played there, Steve), it’s a lovely and light 4.0% ABV wheat-based beer bittered to a barely-there-but-you’d-miss-it-if-it-wasn’t 6.6 IBU and backed with a serious Blood Orange kick. As with all entries in the Seventh Wave series, this one is available for fills only at the brewery.

• The PEI Brewing Co. has brought us their latest IPA and After Hours entry, Snowbird Juicy IPA (just in time for most of Canada’s “snowbirds” to arrive back to give it a taste). This 6% ABV, light-coloured beer was brewed with the type of grist – Pale malt, Wheat, and Oats – that you just know will allow the hops to be the star of the show. The hops chosen for this one were El Dorado and Ella, giving big aromas of tropical fruit and floral/spice, with low bitterness in the finish. It’s available on tap at all the Gahan House locations (including Gahan House – Riverside, which just opened in downtown Fredericton earlier this week), and in cans in PEI and New Brunswick.

• And speaking of Gahan, we managed to track down the very busy Spencer Gallant, who has been splitting his time brewing at the Gahan locations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to find our what’s on next on tap at each location. Let’s start in Fredericton at the Riverside, with the first two beers brewed on their 5 BBL (600 litre) DME system debuting next week. The first is a 5.2% hoppy lager, with a malt bill of Belgian Pilsner malt and Oats, and features loads of Mosaic, Citra, and Columbus for hopping to about 30 IBUs, and plenty of flavour and character. The second beer is a 6.0% ABV mixed-grain IPA, with barley, oats, rye, and rice, featuring Azacca and Simcoe for a 45 IBU bitterness and flavour. Down Highway 7, you’ll find Gahan Port City, where Gallant brewed up a New England-style IPA, featuring Pale Ale and Wheat malts, and oats for a creamy and smooth mouthfeel, and iconic haziness. Using Vermont Ale from Escarpment, and generously hopped with Amarillo, Vic Secret and Palisade. This 6.8% ABV beer will be debuting next week as well.

• Looks like Loyalist City is giving us their first new beer in some time, after weeks of brewing and packaging several of their core brands. Refraction is a Session IPA, a style that head brewer Mark McGraw has been working on tirelessly to pack in plenty of flavour and aroma, while keeping the mouthfeel from becoming too thin, always an issue with low-ABV beers. Well, low-ABV this beer is (4%), and with Perle and Citra used in the boil, and two dry-hop additions of Vic Secret, expect “an intense aroma of tropical fruit, with some awesome pineapple and passion fruit notes that are accompanied by moderate citrus aromas of grapefruit and tangerine”. Yellow and hazy, with a medium-light body, you can find it on tap only, at your favourite Loyalist City account.

• We’ve got the details on the latest release in the Something Different series from Annapolis Cider Company, which is coming out today. Mixed Berry & Pear is a 7% ABV sparkling cider that features a blend of strawberry, black currant, and Bosc pear juices with their signature dry cider. The black currants help darken the colour of the cider, as well as add tannins, resulting in a medium-bodied cider with a rose colour, and “vibrant notes of ripe strawberries and subtle hints of aromatic pear”. Drop by to get your fill, where $0.50 from each will help support The Ross Creek Centre for the Arts.

• Fredericton’s TrailWay is taking a breather from the hoppy beers – for a moment, at least – with the release of Beans, their latest Coffee Stout. Returning to their earlier days by brewing what they describe as basically the same recipe as their Whitney Coffee Stout from 2014, Whitney Coffee is still featured in the brew, with a “slightly-adjusted technique of adding the coffee” to create a stronger coffee aroma. It comes in at 6.3% ABV and is available as of today, at the brewery, on tap and in cans. And look for their hugely popular Hu Jon Hops in the fridges of the four private stores in HRM in the next few days.

• Back to Nova Scotia, Annapolis Brewing Company has been brewing up a storm on their new 5 BBL (600 litre) system, preparing themselves for the warmer months, and the opening of their taproom next month. A 1500 square foot location, it will have seating for 60 people, and feature 20 taps (including 4 for nitro beers!), for a showcase of their own lineup, plus guest beers. They will be offering growler fills, 355mL stubby bottles (their first packaged product), and kegs to go, as well as merchandise. They are currently looking for craft beer and hospitality fans to join their taproom team on both a full- and part-time basis, so email them today! And look to their social media (Tw, FB, IG) Sunday for the fun as they join with the crew from Horton Ridge for a collaborative brew day, with all Maritime-grown malt and hops, to be released in time for the Craft Beer Farmers Market in Annapolis Royal, which opens for the season May 13th. We’ll have lots more details on the Market, and the beer, next month.

• As yet another school year starts to wind to an end, it’s the perfect time for some news from Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewing. First, Schoolhouse is the latest brewery to bring in mobile canning company Craft Coast Canning to fill 5 pallets worth of cans with their Principal Ale. You’ll see these in NSLC locations across the province by the end of the month with a pre-release event scheduled at the brewery for this coming Tuesday, April 24th. Brewer Leigh Davison has also been working on some tweaks to a couple of beers, with both Skratch Plaskett and Vice Principal IPA getting recipe re-works. The Skratch Plaskett now features organic Horton Ridge Wheat and Pilsner malts and is heavily hopped with Galena and New Zealand Summer hops; you’ll be able to try the new formulation of this “slightly hazy, subtly fruity, refreshing and easy drinking ‘Festival Ale'” in early May. And already on the market, and quickly becoming the brewery’s best seller, the latest batch of Vice Principal IPA has twice the hops of previous batches, with a heavy dose of Simcoe leading the way and Amarillo also in the mix yielding a piney and juicy hop character with “just the right amount” of bitterness. At 5.6% ABV it comes in a bit higher than previous batches, no longer fitting the Session IPA label. Regardless of classification, if it sounds like the kind of IPA you like to drink we recommend looking for it at the brewery.

• Last year, British Columbia’s Central City Brewing celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday by releasing Across the Nation, a variety of collaboration beers brewed with all ten provinces and two territories, each represented by one of their local breweries. Released as a 12-pack, it was extremely popular and the beers sold out quickly, and as a result, they’ve – luckily for us! – decided to do it all again for 2018! With this year’s 12-pack (which will be in 355 mL cans this time around) scheduled to be released in May, let’s get into what our regional breweries who were selected to participate have brewed up!

• New Brunswick (TrailWay) – Keeping true to form, the TrailWay folks brewed up something pale and hoppy with Central City, an American IPA named Three Beasts. The name refers to three of TW’s favourite hops to brew with, Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy, all of which were used in copious amounts. As with most of their beers, expect one with low bitterness, yet plenty of tropical fruit in the aroma and taste. And don’t worry if you’re anxious to try this one and don’t get to purchase a 12-pack… TW has assured us they will be brewing the same beer on their own system in the future, to be released sometime in June.

• Newfoundland (YellowBelly) – Brewmaster Liam McKenna of YellowBelly made the long trip West to Central City, and brewed up Me Ol’ Trout, a Cream Ale. Partially based on a previous collaboration McKenna had brewed with Australia’s Top Shed Brewery, this version is a new take on the style, with plenty of Mosaic hops used to keep you excited. At 4.8% ABV, 18 IBU, the Newfoundland-brewed release is currently available at the brewery and Takeaway shop, and in 1 litre bottles at select NLCs.

• Nova Scotia (2 Crows) – Jeremy Taylor travelled to Central City to brew Coast 2 Coast, an “Ancient Grain Rustic Saison”. Borrowing off an idea from one of his earliest small batch beers at 2 Crows, Sunny Days – a Brett Saison brewed with sunflower seeds – Jeremy concocted the recipe, taking a grist that included Flaked Rye and Spelt, and added a pretty-healthy percentage of malted sunflower seeds. It wasn’t long before everyone involved regretted that decision, however, as we can now confirm that sunflower seeds are a b**** to brew with. Let’s just leave it at that, emotions are still too high to get into details. Regardless, the resulting wort was fermented with Wallonian Farmhouse II (from The Yeast Bay), with Sacch Trois being pitched at roughly 60% attenuation as well. The goal is a 6.6% ABV beer with an “earthy, restrained ester profile, and a touch of rustic fruitiness”.

• PEI (Upstreet) – Moving from hops to Belgian to Lager, Upstreet certainly didn’t go with what most people think of when they hear the “L” word, with their collaboration, Singing Sands, being entirely different. Described as a “Salted Caramel Lager”, a high amount of Medium Crystal malt was used in the mash, with brown sugar and lactose added to the beer to up the sweetness even further. But they didn’t stop there! Salt, vanilla, and Cholaca (a pure liquid cacao) were also added, post-fermentation, giving you an idea of the flavours and aromas you can expect to experience with this beer. Upstreet plans on brewing their own batch of Singing Sands for a mid-May, draft-only release in Charlottetown.

If you’re wondering when and where all the Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week events will be, look for a separate post on those this coming week. Until then, here’s what’s happening in the next few days:

• This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day, and Picaroons is celebrating with the release of likely their most popular seasonal, Dooryard. Rather than just making this 4.5% ABV American Wheat Ale available to the masses, however, they’re holding a special Launch Party that involves more than just drinking beer. Starting at 11 am, you’ll be taking part in Clean Up Fredericton, where you’re encouraged to pick up trash around the city, before returning to the Picaroons Roundhouse for lunch. Then, at 2 pm, there’ll be plenty of live music thanks to the Flourish Festival, which will continue until the Roundhouse closes up shop for the day at 6 pm. Of course, beer will be available throughout the day, and Monks & Jonesie Gastro Truck will be on hand if you get hungry again. Your entry fee is by donation.