Distillerie Fils du Roy

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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Scudrunner Brewing, Downeast Beer Factory, Mill Street, Gray Stone Brewing, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-06-24
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Authentic Seacoast Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Black Box Challenge, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Canada Day Bash, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Downeast Beer Factory, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Gray Stone Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Lazy Bear Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Schoolhouse Brewery, Scudrunner Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Wayfarers' Ale. Leave a Comment

Welcome to the weekend, and it’s looking like a nice one! The start of summer doesn’t appear to have slowed down local beer news in any respect, so let’s get to it…

• Attention Central Newfoundland beer fans, there’s a new brewery scheduled to land in your region very soon! The brainchild of three avid homebrewing pilots, Scudrunner Brewing will be opening soon in Gander. Looking to bring well-made beer to their home base, they will be focusing on brewing flavourful and interesting styles for the local community on a 6hl system. Follow along on their progress on their website, Facebook, and Twitter pages, as they work towards opening before the end of the year.

• Downeast Beer Factory, located at 612 Windmill Rd in Dartmouth, will be launching their house-brewed beers this weekend. While their restaurant and bar have been open for a month and a half, their 18 hl brewhouse took a little bit longer to get up and running. Drop by tomorrow from 11am to grab a pint or growler of their 4.5% ABV Fiddler’s Irish Red Ale, or 6.0% ABV Game Changer IPA. In celebration, Downeast will be donating $5.00 from every bill to the Children’s Wish Foundation.

• Mill Street Brewpub’s new St John’s location held their Grand Opening this week, and launched the first of their beers produced onsite. Brewed on a state-of-the-art 10 hl Caspary system, Longshore Porter is the first Mill Street beer produced on the island. Weighing in at 4.8% ABV, this dark amber brew features strong caramel notes from the Carafa and Munich malts (on top of a Pale base), with a balancing bitterness from Clear Valley Hops Cascade and Chinook to 35 IBUs. Burton Ale yeast was used for the fermentation, for a light fruity ester profile and good attenuation, and a dry finish. Their second beer is conditioning now, and will be available late next week. Capelin Session IPA features Cascade, Chinook, and Pacific Gem in the boil, along with lots of Cascade and Mosaic hops added after fermentation. Named after the Capelin fish that can be caught as they swim into shallow water, this Session IPA is the perfect refreshment while waiting for the day’s catch, due to the low ABV despite layers of hops (for about 50 IBUs). The house-brewed beers join the dozen other Mill Street products on tap, a rotating list of which can be purchased to go in growlers. They join the 130+ beers available at the adjacent Bier Markt location.

• Fredericton, your wait is over… Gray Stone Brewing has officially announced the opening date for their brewery/taproom! Next Friday, July 1st, the 10 BBL (~11.5 hL) brewery will open the doors at their 221 King St. location downtown, starting at 11 am and continuing until midnight. Featuring a brewing team of four local brewers (Ian DeMerchant, Mark Budd, Steve Christie, and Ryan Placktis), Gray Stone will be launching with two beers: Patagonia Pale Ale, a light-to-medium-bodied APA with a “bold tropical flavour and aroma”, 5% ABV and 160 theoretical IBUs; and Black IPA, strongly hopped, with “mild roasted malt character and pine/citrus flavours”, and clocking in at 5% ABV and 127 IBUs. The taproom will feature 24 taps; in addition to Gray Stone brews, many other New Brunswick beers will be showcased on a rotating basis. The Canada Day opening will feature plenty of beer, food, and games as a kick-off to summer! After the launch, their regular hours will be Monday-Thursday 11am-11pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-12am, and Sunday 12pm-7pm. They will be filling growlers in the future; details are still TBA.

• Boxing Rock has released the third beer from their first homebrew competition, the Black Box Challenge. Hop Springs Eternal, a White IPA, was the first runner-up in the comp, brewed by local homebrewers Mark Reid and Sean Ebert. With a malt bill comprised of over 30% Wheat, and “hopped generously” with Columbus, Cascade, Willamette, and Pacifica, expect plenty of fruity, citrusy character in the aroma and flavour. Fermented with “an obscure yeast strain”, the beer weighs in at 5.4% ABV. You can find it at the brewery, at select tap accounts and all four private liquor stores in Halifax, and in growlers at the Halifax Seaport Market and Alderney Farmers’ Market on Saturdays. And in other Boxing Rock news, they’ve also re-released their Professor McDougall’s Oban Heather Scottish Ale, brewed in collaboration with local homebrewer Jason McDougall, and Bottle Blonde, a Blonde ale featuring a healthy dose of rye malt in the grain bill. Look for more details on all three beers at BR’s blog.

• TrailWay has released a new Pale Ale, Summit APA. Hopped entirely with the Summit variety, this 4.7% ABV, light-coloured beer has characteristics of garlic and onion in the aroma and flavour, as is typical for this particular hop. Joining it is a fresh batch of their Primetime APA; both beers can now be enjoyed in the hot sun on their newly-opened patio, or purchased in growlers to go. As usual, food trucks will be serving up delicious treats at the taproom location both today and tomorrow.

• Schoolhouse Brewery has announced a major expansion, including a move to 40 Water St. in downtown Windsor, where they will be brewing on a repurposed10 BBL, copper brew house. The new location will feature a retail space and taproom with a patio; with 6 taps dedicated to Schoolhouse beers, and another six to other Nova Scotia craft breweries, the local beer selection in Windsor will definitely see a bump! Renovations are planned to start on July 1st, with brewing commencing hopefully by early November. Plans are for the retail store to open in December, with the taproom following next Spring. Congratulations to the Schoolhouse family, and as always, we’ll keep you updated on their progress! In the meantime, they have announced that their beers are now available on tap at Saint-Famille Wines in Falmouth.

• Petit-Pacquetville’s Distillerie Fils du Roy has launched a pair of new beers recently. Late last week, they launched Lady Chaga, an Acadian Pale Ale (inspired by the English IPA style), featuring the locally-harvested Chaga mushroom. Described by Fils du Roy as being very hoppy and bitter, with notes of citrus and a nutty finish, this amber-coloured beer clocks in at 7% ABV and ~60 IBUs. This beer is available exclusively at La Brokerie, a bar in Caraquet, though there may be a keg available elsewhere very soon (coughJamesJoycecough). In addition, this week saw the launch of Gougou, a cranberry-infused beer. This 7% ABV Fruit Beer was inspired by the writings of Samuel de Champlain, who spoke of the Gougou, a monster who would terrorize the native inhabitants of the Baie des Chaleurs. This special brew is only available at La Terrasse à Steve, a seafood restaurant on Miscou Island. Finally, look for the return of La Messe Blanche, their 7% ABV Weizenbock, which was bottled earlier this week.

• Propeller has released the latest beer in their One Hit Wonder series – June Bock. A Maibock (aka Helles Bock), this style is a pale-coloured, malty, strong German Lager. Propeller’s take on this classic style features Two Row, Pilsener, Wheat, Munich malts, and is hopped solely with Hallertauer. The resultant beer is 6.8% ABV and 35 IBUs, and features a moderate bitterness, slight floral hop flavour, and a bright golden colour, according to the brewery. As always, it’s available in a limited supply, so get down to either Prop Shop location to fill your growlers ASAP! It will also likely pop up on tap at a few select locations in Halifax, shortly.

• Tatamagouche Brewing just released a new SMaSH (single-malt and single-hop) beer, Horton Ridge SMaSH. With a grist made up entirely of Horton Ridge Pale Malt, the 5.4% ABV beer was hopped with Amarillo, a crowd-favourite variety that’s big on grapefruit and citrus. Available at the brewery for growler fills now, and should be following on tap at better beer bars and restaurants any day now.

• Now that the new Authentic Seacoast Distillery and Brewery facility has officially opened at 75 Ferry Lane in Guysborough, we have some more information to share: they have christened their new 35 hl brewhouse, so expect to see product from the new system hitting shelves in the next month or so. The brewhouse will also be creating the mash for their line of GLYNNEVAN whisky. Hours of operation for their tasting room are 11am-6pm daily, with tours running at 2pm throughout the summer.

• Petit-Sault has welcomed a new brewer for the summer – Andrew ‘Esty’ Estabrooks, former brewmaster at Picaroons, will be brewing at the Edmundston brewery over the next couple of months, to help with the transition on the recently-expanded brewery and taproom… which means, more Petit-Sault beer! Speaking of, their beers are now heading to Nova Scotia for the first time, with their Amber Ale, Louis XVII, having the honour of being the first brand! Look for it at NSLC stores across the province shortly.

• Lazy Bear Brewing has confirmed that they will be opening their retail location on Thursday, June 30th, from 5-8 pm. Located at 120 West Old Post Rd in Smiths Cove, NS, this will be a “soft opening”, with current plans being to open every Thursday thereafter. Growlers (1 L swing-top) will be available for purchase, and both of their first-release beers will be pouring; of course, they will happily fill clean growlers from other breweries as well! They will also be attending the CD release show for Ramshackle & Scarecrow at the Sissiboo Coffee Bar in Smiths Cove July 2nd, pouring their beer. They are now available in Halifax at the Lord Nelson’s The Arms Public House, and will be on tap at East of Grafton on Argyle when they open June 29th. In the meantime, check out their updated website (link above) for some details on the family behind the beers!

• A for Adventure is holding a contest to raise awareness of the Rogues Roost wilderness area in Nova Scotia. Check out the video, and plan to make a visit this summer. The prize pack is a kayak adventure including lunch from PEI Brewing (including some Rogues Roost IPA), $100 MEC gift card, all guided by the A for Adventure crew.

• Big Spruce and Boxing Rock brewed up a pilot batch of a new Blonde recently, and it is available in Nyanza now. Wigged Out is a 5.0% ABV blonde ale, featuring late addition Cascade hops for a low bitterness, but aromatic character, for an extremely quaffable beer. It is only available on tap at their tasting room this weekend, so be sure to drop by for some, and grab some food from Cruisin’ Cuisine food truck, who are there 12-7pm daily Fri-Sun.

We’ve got a bit on events in the next couple of weeks, including some Canada Day celebrations.

• A couple of final reminders for this weekend: tonight and tomorrow, Upstreet will be celebrating their first birthday with some special parties and an anniversary beer release; check out our previous post for more details. And in Fredericton tomorrow, Maybee Brewing is holding their Grand Opening Party from 6-11 pm, to celebrate the opening of their taproom.

• The second annual Canada Day Bash at the Lighthouse, hosted by the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, will take place at the Lighthouse on the Green from 8pm-11pm. Tickets are $55 each and on sale now, and will get you fourteen 4-oz samples from local breweries TrailWay, Maybee, Red Rover, and Sunset Heights Meadery, as well as a variety of food options served up from the Food at the Crowne. And, of course, you’ll have a prime spot to watch the fireworks when they start after it gets dark!

• The Townhouse Pub in Antigonish is celebrating their 4th Anniversary next weekend. They’ll be releasing the details of the party and events shortly, check their Twitter and Facebook feeds for more details.

• Wayfarers’ Ale in Port Williams expects to be opening their doors next weekend as well. Details are slim at the moment, but we’ll share them when we have them!

And a few more things of note this week:
– Red Rover has re-released Tinderbox, a 7% ABV cider featuring the addition of bourbon and oak; it’s currently on tap at both the Cider House and James Joyce.
– Grimross has launched “Phase One” of a series of expansions; they appear to be embiggening their taproom and retail space currently, and promise that canning of their beers will be commence in the near future.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Nine Locks, Garrison, Mama’s Brew Pub, Spindrift, Gahan Halifax and Charlottetown, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-03-04
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: ANBL, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Breton Brewing, Cape Breton Beer Fest, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Flying Boats Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, King Street Ale House, Mama's Brew Pub, Nine Locks Brewery, North Brewing, PEI Brewing, Picaroons, Spindrift Brewing.

Happy Friday, beer fans! A brewery launch, plenty of beer launches and events, and the start of Fredericton Craft Beer Week. Let’s go!

• Nine Locks Brewing launched this week in Dartmouth. Located at 219 Waverley Rd, adjacent to the Mic Mac Tavern, they opened their doors Monday afternoon. They are currently selling two beers, an IPA, and an ESB. The India Pale Ale is 6.9% ABV and 70 IBUs, featuring loads of citrus and floral hop character and smooth bitterness, from first wort hopping, hop bursting (adding the majority of hops in the last 20min of the boil, retaining most of the aromatic oils), and dry hopping. The Extra Special Bitter is 5.6% ABV and 35 IBUs, featuring English East Kent Golding and Fuggles hops for a subtle Noble hop spiciness. The beers are currently available in growlers to go at the brewery (both 1L flip-top and 1.89L), with canning beginning before the end of March. When that happens, look for cans at the private beer stores in HRM, as well as a selection of NSLCs around the province. Also look for the full release of their Dirty Blonde and Porter before the end of March. The storefront is open Mon-Fri 12-9pm, Sat 11-9pm, and Sun 12-5pm 12-9. Congratulations to the entire Nine Locks family!

• It’s been a busy week at Halifax’s Garrison Brewing! The Awards Gala for the 8th Annual Home Brew-Off were last night. The 45 entrants, plus family, friends, and members of the public, gathered at Garrison’s tasting room to hear the results in the Experimental American IPA category. This year’s winning beer was Honey Chamomile, brewed by Mark Power. Using honey malt to complement the chamomile herb, it featured nice hop additions to give it the necessary bitterness and aroma the judges were looking for. Rounding out the Final Four were a Toasted Coconut IPA, Earl Grey Tea IPA, and Parmesan & Jalepeno IPA. Congratulations!

• Attendees were able to taste the top 3 winners, as well as get the first pours of last year’s winning beer, Mr. Robusto. Brewed by Dave Martin and the Garrison crew, this Robust Porter is 6.5% ABV and 33 IBUs. Notes of sweet chocolate are prominent, along with vanilla and caramel, but with enough hops to balance. Mr. Robusto is available for purchase in bottles and growler fills at the brewery now, and will be available at the private beer stores and NSLCs shortly.

• Last night also served as the release party for the final beer in the Cellar Series, To Prussia With Love. This big beer is a blend of their Grand Baltic Porter, along with Barrel-Aged Coast to Coastless Imperial ESB (their collaboration with Le Trou du Diable, Flying Monkeys, and Phillips). The barrels were from Ironworks Distillery in Lunenburg, and had previously held rum. The beer weighs in at 10% ABV and 35 IBUs, and is available for purchase in bottles now at the brewery, as well as previous Cellar Series beers Ol’ Fog Burner and Grand Baltic Porter, the former being available at the private stores soon.

• Garrison Brewmaster Daniel Girard will be facing off against wine maker Pete Luckett March 31st at the Harbourstone Sea Grill and Pourhouse, in a Beer vs Wine Showdown. Five Courses of food are being prepared, with a wine and beer paired with each, with attendees voting on their favourites. Tickets are available through the Harbourstone now, via email or phone (902-428-7852).

• Fredericton’s Mama’s Brew Pub will be releasing their fifth beer early next week, an American Amber Ale. A slightly bigger beer at 6.1% ABV than their other releases, it’s lightly hopped with East Kent Goldings to 15 IBUs. The grist features Maris Otter, Crystal 70 L, Carafa and Wheat malt, lending the beer “toasted malt flavours and a pleasant fruitiness”, according to brewer Ryan Kingston. They’ve also brought back their Session IPA, at 4.2% and 24 IBUs, it features lots of dry-hopping with Citra and Comet for a great blast of citrus hop character.

• Dartmouth’s Spindrift Brewing will be continuing their Seventh Wave release today with Blueberry Phie. This 5.0% ABV Wheat Ale was aged on loose leaf Masala Chai Tea and PEI blueberry puree. Pouring with a thick white head (thanks to the high percentage of wheat in the malt bill), it features notes of blueberries, cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla, for an experience like tasting savory blueberry pie. As with all of their Seventh Wave series, this beer is only available at the brewery in growlers, and in extremely limited amounts (they tend to sell out Friday afternoon), so grab some now to avoid disappointment.

• Gahan House Halifax released a brand new beer last night, Cranberry Sour. The beer was produced using a 48 hour sour mash, allowing the Lactobacillus on the grain to produce lactic acid for a sour bite, and then the fermentation was completed with brewer’s yeast. Cranberries were added after fermentation was complete, for a fresh aroma and tart character to complement the 3% ABV base beer. It is available on tap at the brewpub for pints, as well as growler fills.

• Gahan House Charlottetown’s Brewmaster Trent Hayes will be hosting a Brewmaster dinner at Fishbones Oyster Bar on Friday, March 11. Beginning at 7pm, Hayes will lead the four course meal of food and beer pairings, featuring local products in a beer-inspired presentation. Tickets are available now at both Fishbones and Gahan House.

• Details on the Cape Breton Beer Fest were announced yesterday. Scheduled for Saturday, November 19th at the Cruise Pavilion on Esplanade in Sydney, there will be both an afternoon and evening session, each 2.5 hours (with evening VIP tickets allowing early entry). Featuring primarily craft breweries, including Cape Breton’s own Big Spruce and Breton Brewing, the organizers are aiming for about 35 breweries in attendance, from Nova Scotia, the Maritimes, and beyond. Food vendors will be onsite to provide sustenance to keep the party going, and other vendors will be invited to set up tables to showcase the best Cape Breton has to offer. Early bird tickets (at a $10 savings) are now available online, and regular-priced tickets will be online, and in NSLCs shortly. We will update you with a brewery list when it is available.

• The ANBL will be opening a new location in Saint John today. Located at East Point Shopping, this location will also be the first expansion of the very popular Growler program since Sackville in late 2014. To celebrate the opening, Big Tide Tidal Wave Double IPA, Flying Boats Dixie Clipper IPA and Hammond River Nut Your Everyday Red Ale will all be available, with the three head brewers onsite. The store is open now, with a celebration at 1pm this afternoon, check out the East Point ANBL’s page for their current inventory and details.

• The Fredericton Craft Beer Fest Week kicks off today with an event at the James Joyce Pub: The 4th Will Be With You! A Star Wars themed evening, attendees are encouraged (but not required) to come in Cosplay, and there may even be members of the 501st Legion in attendance. The fun continues with a Beer and Cheese tasting at ANBL York Saturday afternoon, and the Johnny Be Good Pub Crawl that evening. Keep on top of it all with our Calendar, as well as the FCBF App, available for both Android and iOS. The app will be updated with the floor plan of the festival, in order to plan your afternoon or evening session most efficiently. Don’t forgot to drop by the King Street Ale House next Thursday for our Trivia Night! We’ll be putting your beer, brewing, and general knowledge skills to the test, and handing out great prizes courtesy of the breweries attending the Fest. And there are still a few tickets available for the Afternoon Session of the main Fest March 12, grab them now before they sell out.

A few parting shots this week:

– Distillerie Fils du Roy has brought back their spring seasonal, Stella Maris. This 7.5% ABV Biere de Garde is named in honour of the star in the Acadian flag. Look for it along the East coast of the province, and Fredericton, and check out Fils du Roy’s other offerings through the ANBL.
– North Brewing has brought back their Dartmouth Dark, with v2.0 hitting the shelves and taps today. This batch features Cannon espresso from Anchored Coffee, on top of their dark lagered ale. Look for it at both the Halifax and Dartmouth stores.
– PEI Brewing Company has released their Transmitter Coffee Stout, featuring coffee from Charlottetown’s Receiver Coffee. Available now at the brewery, look for it to hit Nova Scotia in the near future as well.
– Picaroons has released their Maple Cream Ale this week, available now at the Brewtique, and soon at ANBL locations.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Propeller, Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Garrison, Stillwell Beer Bar and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2015-11-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Christmas Beer Garden at the Market, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Garrison Home Brew-Off Challenge, Gray Stone Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, James Joyce Irish Pub, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Brewnosers, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 3 comments

Happy Friday, dear readers! We hope your Friday the 13th turns out better than the one in those movies. At least you’ll be drinking great beer if you grab a few of the ones mentioned below!

• Propeller Brewing released their latest One Hit Wonder late last week, named Down East North West IPA (DENWIPA). This 6.8% unfiltered IPA is an ode to West Coast IPAs, with a solid bitterness and a full blast of pine and citrus aroma. The orange-hued beer features a creamy white head, and a touch of sweetness to round out the big hopping. As with all of their One Hit Wonders, it is available at both their Gottingen and Windmill locations in growler fills only, and on rotating taps in the city, but not for long!

• Expanding on the popularity of the brew, Propeller’s Rye IPA is now available in six packs, as well as bombers. The 6.8% IPA features a generous addition of rye malt for a spicy character to accentuate the citrus aroma from the Pacific Northwest hops. For when you don’t want to drink a full 650ml of the beer, six packs are available at the Prop Shoppe, and the private beer stores, while the NSLC will continue to carry the bombers.

• And great news for those of us who attended the Prop’r Cask Nights in 2013 and 2014, they will be making a return! Propeller will be partnering with a local kitchen to cater their Gottingen St tasting room for an evening of food and fun, featuring special one-off casks and special blends for the occasion. We’ll let you know once the details are released.

• Big Spruce released their very popular Crazy Ivan Double IPA late last week. Brewed with 100% imported German malts, this orange-hued DIPA comes in at 8% ABV and over 100 IBUs, with a beautiful full hop blast on the nose. Due to the sheer volume of hops in the boil, the yield for this brew is less than standard Big Spruce brews, so don’t delay in grabbing a sample or growler at the brewery, or on tap at their accounts.

• And not shying away from the hoppier branch of beers, they recently brewed their Left Breton Organic Conspiracy IPA. This beer uses their own farm-grown organic hops, showcasing their 2015 harvest Cascade, among others. This brew first made its debut in 2013, when their good friends Brian and Rebecca from Crannóg Ales brought some of their own farm-grown organic hops. While they weren’t able to join them for this brew day, they were there in spirit.

• And look out for another conspiracy beer in the coming weeks and months, as the Big Spruce crew is invading Boxing Rock in Shelburne today for a special brewday. Taking a cue from today’s date, they are scaring up an Imperial Brown Ale named Triskaidekaphobia. This fear-inducing 9% beer will be then be conditioned on cherries and vanilla beans, with both non- and Glenora-barrel-aged versions seeing their release. A few members of the Ladies Beer League are in attendance today; follow along on their Twitter to get a peek at the mayhem.

• Distillerie Fils du Roy have released another new beer, North Shore Regiment. The beer was named after the Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that was founded in Chatham, New Brunswick; they participated in many notable battles of World War II, including the Juno Beach landing on D-Day. The beer is an English Barleywine, a Strong Ale that is rich and malty, with complex flavours that may include toffee, toast, caramel, and molasses. Fils du Roy’s take on the style IS a strong one, clocking in at a whopping 12% ABV! Bittered to 45 IBUs to help balance the strong malt character, it’s available now in 750 mL bottles at the brewery and select ANBL stores; it’s also currently on tap at all four ANBL growler stations.

• Garrison Brewing has announced the style details of their 2016 Home Brew-Off Competition, and it is American IPA with Experimental Feature. This is category is wide open to individual interpretation: as long as it uses an American IPA as its base, and falls within those style guidelines (Style 21A from 2015 BJCP details here), it’s fair game! Novel ingredient additions are encouraged, including fruits, herbs, spices, etc, with your imagination as your only limit, as long as the Am IPA characters still shine through. From the brewery, “If it clearly fits one of the 21B – Specialty IPA sub-styles, then it probably isn’t what we have in mind”. The registration forms will be available shortly (be sure to mark down which special ingredient(s) were used!), and the beers will be due February 11th, with the Awards Gala held March 3rd. So, get brainstorming on recipes, and fire up your kettles for some test batches, Maritime Homebrewers! Post your brewday, and follow along with others as they brew, using the #GHBO16 tag on Twitter.

• And in more Garrison news, their popular seasonal Martello Stout has returned for the cooler months. This year’s batch features a new recipe with a slightly higher 5% ABV, and a higher percentage of oats for a great smooth and creamy character. The chocolate and espresso notes will keep you happy while you curl up by the fire. Look for it on sale in bombers at the brewery and private stores, and on tap in our local market. Also look for their flagship Irish Red in its new branding and large bottle format at the NSLC shortly.

• Bar Stillwell is celebrating their Second Anniversary this weekend, and there will be a ton of great beers and food to celebrate. They will be pouring a full complement of local and regional beers on their taps and beer engines, including Red Rover’s VeRRy PeRRy and White Witch, aged kegs of Grimross Chantelope and Tatamagouche Rum Barrel-Aged Dreadnot, a special one-off cask of Extra Special Bitter from The Brewnosers Homebrew Club (brewed at Good Robot), as well as several great sour Quebec beers, including Trou du Diable Oude Blanche, Ze Blend and L’Ours, and Dunham Tropicale and Assemblage #1. In addition to the taps, they will be popping bottles from Jester King, Dunham, and other beauties they’ve been cellaring. Of course, Chef GR will be serving up some killer food to complement the beers, including smoked brisket poutine and the infamous boatzel.  The event kicks off when the doors open at 6pm Sunday, and there are no tickets required. We’ll see you there!

• The anniversary party will also be the debut of Stillwell’s celebratory brew, Two. Brewed at North, Two is a 4.5% “rustic farmhouse” beer, inspired by both traditional saison and modern American farmhouse brewing. It was fermented using a mixed blend of yeasts and bacteria, for waves of funky and tart/acidic characteristics, on an effervescent and light base. It was hopped with Saaz and Sterling, for a peppery and fruity nose. From Stillwell, “It was a very experimental brew but we’re extremely pleased with the results; it turned out just as we’d hoped it would. We’re very grateful to Peter at North Brewing for allowing us to brew this beer at his brewery.” The beer will be available in both draft and bottle-conditioned pours. After the party, bottles will be available for purchase at North, and if you spot it, grab it!, as we don’t expect it to last long.

• There’s a new beer fermenting at Grimross Brewing, and it should be ready in plenty of time for the fast-approaching Christmas season. Dubbel Noel is actually the same recipe as their original Dubbel; however, this time around, the beer will be further conditioned on vanilla beans. Owner/brewer Stephen Dixon expects the vanilla to “add depth and richness to the already great flavours of caramel, candy and malt”, providing a subtle – but still enjoyable – contrast to the original beer. The ABV and IBUs (6.8% and 18, respectively) will not change; look for the new beer to be released by early December.

• Speaking of Christmas, next month will feature the first Christmas-themed beer event from those behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. The Christmas Beer Garden at the Market is currently scheduled for Sunday, December 20th, from 10 am – 3 pm. Visitors to the Boyce Farmers Market will be able to take a break from the shopping and enjoy some brews from Garrison, Grimross, Maybee, Petit-Sault, Red Rover, Sunset Heights Meadery, and TrailWay. Both 4oz samples and 12oz pours (9oz for cider and mead) will be available, and there is no ticket required to attend. However, those who buy the Early Bird tickets (available at the link above) will receive a special glass which allows for 16oz pours for the price of 12oz, as well as their first four beer tickets on the house. The event will be cash-only, as are many of the Farmers Market vendors, so plan accordingly. And food from the great vendors at the market can be brought into the Beer Gardens area.

• There are two new seasonal beers soon to be brewed over at Hammond River. First off is an old homebrew favourite of owner/brewer Shane Steeves: Foghorn Coffee Porter. Brewed with a grist containing Maris Otter, Crystal 120 L, Chocolate malt, and Roasted Barley, it also features the addition of Foghorn coffee beans from local roasters Java Moose; it should come in at ~6% ABV. Next up is definitely an interesting new experiment: White Stout is brewed with a grist that includes oats and barley, and also features the addition of Foghorn coffee. The beer is further conditioned on cacao nibs, with the intended result being, you guessed it, a pale beer that smells and tastes roasty and chocolatey, like a stout! This one will be targeted at 7.2% ABV and ~37 IBUs. Stay tuned for release details on both beers over the coming weeks.

• TrailWay has brewed up a new Milk Stout, their first since their original “Imperial Coffee Milk Stout”, Double Double, released last March. Similar in some ways to Double Double, this newer “Experimental Milk Stout” made its first appearance last night at the King Street Ale House Cask Night. In fact, future releases of the same batch will continue to be cask-only; while last night’s was served in a standard cask, the beer’s next appearance will likely be served after conditioning on whisky-soaked oak chips. Featuring a higher percentage of lactose powder added in the boil, to boost the beer’s mouthfeel and perception of sweetness, it comes in at ~6.2% ABV. Keep your eyes on TrailWay’s social media pages for future cask releases! And remember that TrailWay is pouring at the Fredericton ANBL growler station this weekend; their Session IPA is on in limited supply, so get over there quickly!

• One of Fredericton’s upcoming breweries, Gray Stone Brewing, has announced recently that their plans to open in the Capital Complex have been cancelled. Instead, they hope to open in another currently-unconfirmed downtown location, where they will still house both a 10 bbl brewery and tasting room. Currently employing three brewers, they still plan on launching with the four beers we’ve reported on before (an American Pale Ale, American IPA, American Stout and Brown Ale), along with several other styles to follow shortly after. We’ll keep you further updated on their progress; right now, plans are to open the brewery and tasting room to the public in May, 2016.

• The James Joyce Irish Pub has announced the third in their series of tap takeovers, Meet Your Makers, for Thursday, November 26th at 7 pm. After initial offerings from Big Axe and Red Rover, the next event will feature Picaroons. We’re not certain on exactly which beers will be pouring, but have been assured that there will be several one-off beers, including at least one cask. It also sounds like several Picaroons staff members will be on hand, eager to chat beer. As always, there is no charge to attend; just pay by the pour!

• Meander River released their Homegrown Wet Hopped Pale Ale a few weeks ago, but we missed announcing it when it happened. Our apologies! Good news, though, as it is currently on tap for growler fills at Bishop’s Cellar and Harvest Wines. Using a blend of their own farm-grown Cascade and Zeus, the beer was hopped exclusively using the mash tun as a hopback. This allows the characteristic taste and aroma of wet hops to shine through in the 4.2% beer. And for those heading to the brewery this weekend, look for their First Frost Cider and return of Smokey Chipotle Porter.

A few more things before we sign off this week: Speaking of growler fills, Red Rover will be making their debut on a growler filling station early next week. However, it will be not be in New Brunswick, but in Nova Scotia, with RockHead in Halifax pouring their Fall Cider. Charlottetown’s Upstreet has released their Rhuby Social in bottles, joining their Do-Gooder APA and Commons Pilsner, so now you can take their strawberry and rhubarb witbier home in a smaller format. Bulwark’s Winter Cider is back for the season, and will be available at the NSLC shortly. They have also bottled their Hopped Cider, which will be debuting at the NSLC in the next week or two. Though it’s six months away, tickets for next May’s Full House event as part of NS Craft Beer Week have already gone on sale. The event is May 14th, and once again there will be two sessions, 1:30-4pm and 6:30-9pm, and will feature as many NS breweries as can fit in the same room.