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Friday Wrap-Up – News and New Beers from BarNone, Rockbottom, Picaroons, Hammond River, PEI Brewing, Red Rover and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-06-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards, 2014 Fredericton Beer Run, BarNone Brewing, Beerthief, Big Axe Brewery, Brewer's Bash, Ducky's Bar, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, PEI Brewing, Picaroons cat contest, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Railcar Brewing, Red Rover Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Schoolhouse Brewery, Shiretown Beer, Stillwell Beer Bar, YellowBelly Brewery. 3 comments

Happy Friday, craft beer fans! Looks like there’s lots going on in the beer scene in Atlantic Canada again this week…

• A couple of weeks ago, we alluded to a new beer being released by BarNone Brewing, and we now have some more details. An American Pale Ale, the beer was brewed in collaboration with Bicycle Craft Brewery, a new brewery opening soon in Ottawa. Owned by husband and wife team Fariborz and Laura Behzadi, they came in contact with BarNone brewer/co-owner Don Campbell when they ordered their brewhouse through DME, which constructed a similar setup to what BarNone brews on. When Don invited Fariborz and Laura to do a test brew on his system, so they’d be familiar with the setup, Fariborz designed a recipe and sent it Don’s way. A few minor changes were made due to ingredient availability, and then the three met at BarNone to brew the beer. Broke Spoke Pale Ale was born! A Pale Ale with a “good amount of malt backbone, so that it balances the hop bittermess”, the beer still has a good amount of hop flavors and aromas coming through. Broke Spoke made its debut last night at BarNone’s weekly growler night; it may pop up on tap at bars/restaurants across the Island in the near future.

• Tickets are now on sale for this month’s Beer Dinner (Tuesday, June 24th at 6:00 pm) at the Rockbottom Brewpub in Halifax. There are only 30 spots available; each ticket sells for $35, which includes three courses paired with beer. This month’s dinner consists of a pork belly slider paired with their Intergalactic SMaSH’d Lager, beer-marinated, grilled Cornish hen (with newly-tapped Hali-Lager), and a black pepper & strawberry shortcake (Jacktar Stout). You can reserve tickets by calling the brewpub (902-423-2938); act quickly, they usually sell out fast.

• While on the topic of Rockbottom, if you haven’t had a chance to try Wreckoning RIS – their Russian Imperial Stout that recently won Atlantic Canada’s only gold medal at the 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards – or just want to try it again, they will be pouring the beer next Wednesday, June 11th at 4:00 pm. Get in and get some while you can!

• Also, if you’re anxious to start having lunch at the Rockbottom again (or starting your pub crawl a little earlier), they’ve announced that they’re now open on weekdays starting at noon, with a good possibility of opening at noon on weekends as well, later in the month.

• The 2nd Annual Fredericton Beer Run is being held this summer on Monday, August 4th (New Brunswick Day). Like last year, the event involves a run along Fredericton trails starting at noon, followed by lots of beer! Registration begins at 11 am; participants can choose to run either a 6 or 12 km route. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online; they include a custom-designed running bib and beer stein, water stops, and 14 beer tickets. Each beer ticket is good for a 4 oz sample of beer or cider, with at least 20 different beers/ciders available to sample; this part of the event will be held at the Delta Fredericton). New Brunswick breweries Big Axe, Grimross, Moosehead, Pump House, Railcar, Red Rover, and Shiretown will be pouring; Unibroue and McClelland Premium Imports will also have some beers to sample.

• We hope you’ve purchased your tickets to Picaroons‘ 2nd Annual Brewer’s Bash on Saturday, July 12th in Fredericton, because they’re now officially sold out! Even with an extra 500 tickets being sold this year, they still went very quickly. They’ve also announced the three musical acts that will be playing throughout the day-long event: Zeus, Cyndi Cain, and The Chronos Band. We’ll keep you posted on the breweries that will be attending as the Bash gets closer. And a reminder: they’re still looking for volunteers if you’d like to attend – 4 hours of helping out will allow you 8 free hours to enjoy the festival, so send them an email if you’re interested!

• And speaking of Picaroons, they’ve picked the winning cat for their Melonhead bottle label… the lucky kitty is Ruby, who was entered in the contest by her owner, Madison Sagle. Melonhead is now on tap at the Brewtique, and should be popping up at restaurants and bars in the area, as well as in bottles, over the next couple of weeks.

• The new Imperial IPA from Hammond River, Too Hop to Handle, that we mentioned last month has been kegged and is awaiting ANBL approval, which means it should be on tap in Saint John soon. Brewed almost exclusively with the Zythos hop, we’re looking forward to a fruity and piney hop bomb!

• PEI Brewing Co. has a new beer on tap exclusively at the brewery at 96 Kensington Road in Charlottetown. While currently unnamed, the beer is a Light Lager (4% ABV) that has a low bitterness (8 IBUs) from Kohatu, a New Zealand hop variety.  The beer was then “highly dry-hopped” with another NZ variety, Motueka, giving the beer a “tropical and piney” aroma, according to the brewery. Sounds like an interesting cross between a Light Lager and IPA… better get to the brewery to give it a try!

• North Brewing in Halifax has released a new seasonal, their Summer Saison. Changed slightly from their standard Saison, it features coriander and orange peel in the beer, to enhance the already vibrant and spritzy character of the base beer. Both ingredients shine through in the aroma as well, complemented by the hop characteristic and yeast spiciness. It weighs in at 5.5%ABV, and is available at the brewery and Alderney Landing Market (Saturday only) in growlers, and on tap around Halifax and Dartmouth, and in Lunenburg at The Grand Banker. When the weather turns colder (let’s hope that’s 6 months from now!), they have plans of switching up the recipe to a Winter Saison, featuring ginger and black pepper.

• In more new beer news, Shiretown just announced today that they have a new beer available for growler fills at the brewery. All we know right now is that it’s an IPA, and is called Hops on for Nowhere. We’ll have more info on this beer for you next week!

• If you’re living in the Sackville area, and are into craft cider, good news! Red Rover Brewing now has their Summer Brew on tap at Ducky’s Bar. Summer is a dry cider, described by Red Rover as a sharp, tangy thirst-quencher; it comes in at 7% ABV. Look for Red Rover’s other two regular releases, Spring Brew and Fall Brew, to follow after the Summer keg has kicked.

• Ducky’s also announced yesterday that they have the new Big Axe summer seasonal, Simon Saaz Summer Ale, on tap. Check out last week’s post for more info on this beer. To follow, they’ll be tapping another Big Axe seasonal, White Birch Porter. A 6.5% ABV Porter brewed with pure white birch sap, owner/brewer Peter Cole describes the beer as dark brown in color, and medium-bodied. Slightly smoky, with an aroma of “dark roasted nuts, rye bread and chocolate”, the bitterness of the birch sap “complements the noble hops nicely”.

• Yellowbelly Brewpub is releasing a new brew this weekend. Downtown Brown is an American-style Brown Ale, weighing in at 6.2% ABV and 40 IBUs. The grain bill consists of Canadian Pale, English Maris Otter, Canadian Munich, Scottish Carastan and Scottish Black Malt… a truly international bunch! The beer is hopped in the boil with Nugget and Galena, and then dry-hopped with Chinook and Ahtanum, and then with Topaz. A great blending of the chocolate, caramel, and roast from the grain, spice, herbal, pine and tropical fruit from the hops, will make this a great brew.

• A reminder that the 2014 Newfoundland Liquor Commission Beer Expo is happening at the St. John’s Convention Centre this weekend. Box Office tickets are sold out, however there are lots available online as people’s plans change. For those unable to attend, or want to grab some of their favourites after the fest, check out this thread on the Beerthief forum for a list of special Festival beers that will be showing up at your local NLC this weekend. Cheers!

• If you can’t be on The Rock this weekend, then be sure to make it out to one of the local bars in your area. If you’re in the Annapolis Valley, be sure to drop by the Library Pub in Wolfville tonight, and the Spitfire Arms in Windsor tomorrow, to help celebrate the launch of Schoolhouse Brewery. In Halifax? Drop by Stillwell at noon Saturday to grab a pint of Meander River‘s Lunchbox Pale Ale. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to grab some from the source in Ashdale, it’s definitely worth picking up!

• Garrison Brewing is hiring: a full-time, permanent Brewery Sales Rep and a Seasonal Events & Sales Rep (full-time until September, possible part-time after), send off your resumes today! And even though the noon First Sips (aka Early Bird) tickets for their Cask Takeover June 21 at Stillwell are sold out, there will be lots of beer still flowing once the doors re-open at 2pm that afternoon, so be sure to drop by. We’ll have some more details on the casks available this coming week, but we got word of another one: their popular Peanut Butter & Jelly blend (Nut Brown and Raspberry Wheat), with raspberries from Noggins Corner right in the cask.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Picaroons, Great Lakes, PEI Brewing, Boxing Rock, Hell Bay, Railcar Brewing, Grimross, and more

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-05-02
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Ducky's Bar, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Railcar Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Stubborn Goat, Tide & Boar Gastropub. 1 comment

Happy Friday everyone, another big week in craft beer in our region, so let’s get right to it.

• Last month, we reported on the announcement of a collaboration beer between Picaroons and Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery for this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards in Fredericton. We now have a few more details on the beer, as both breweries just brewed the beer earlier this week. Brewers Andrew Estabrooks (Picaroons) and Mike Lackey (Great Lakes) decided on an American IPA they’ve named Eastbound and Down IPA; it’s brewed with Maritime Malt made from New Brunswick-grown Newdale barley and “a number of delicious hop varieties” (including Citra and Sorachi Ace) often featured in Great Lakes beers. We can also confirm that a California Common yeast was pitched for fermentation, rather than the Ringwood strain commonly employed by Picaroons. Both breweries were linked via Skype on their brew day since they weren’t able to physically brew together. Look for the beer to be released at the end of May when the CBAs are here; it will be available for growler fills at the Brewtique, and in restaurants and bars in the area.

• Speaking of Picaroons, they’re joining up with The Shadow Lawn Inn in Rothesay, NB for a special beer-pairing dinner on Saturday, May 3rd. This “Offaly Good Dinner” includes six carefully-selected courses by Chef Markian, each of which is paired with a different hand-picked Picaroons beer. Tickets are $75 (tax and gratuity included); call (506) 847-7539 to reserve, or send them an email.

• If you’re in the Sackville area today and have always wondered what makes PEI Brewing Co. beers tick, now’s your chance to find out! Ducky’s Bar is hosting a “Meet & Greet” with PEIBC brewer Karen Allen at 5:00 pm. Karen will be on hand for about an hour to answer questions and provide info on their beers, four of which will be on tap: Blueberry Ale, Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, Cole’s Cream Ale, and Beach Chair Lager. Be sure to keep an eye on their News page for behind-the-scenes updates directly from the brewers.

• Beginning today, White Point Beach Resort  is hosting a Beer and BBQ weekend. Boxing Rock and Hell Bay will be taking over White Point’s taps all weekend long, with Boxing Rock bringing their Hunky Dory, Temptation Red Ale and The Vicar’s Cross  and seasonals Crafty Jack English Ale and Alewife’s Revenge, and Hell Bay will have three more beers to complete the lineup. Boxing Rock is kicking off the fun Saturday afternoon at 1:00, with a guided tasting and virtual brewery tour. At 4pm, Hell Bay and the White Point culinary team will be doing some pairing of their beer with barbecued treats. Both tastings are included with an overnight stay.

• Progress continues at the soon-to-open Railcar Brewing Company in Florenceville-Bristol, as owner/brewer Mitch Biggar has confirmed that he has been busy putting on the final touches – cleaning, painting, sanitizing, and receiving new equipment, with currently eight 50-gallon (~187 L) fermentors being installed. With some test batches being brewed this weekend, we hope to see the brewery open for growler fills by the end of this month! Look for a grand-opening party to follow shortly thereafter, probably sometime in the summer.

• Living in Moncton? If so, you’ve probably been drinking Grimross Belgian Rye IPA at the Tide & Boar over the past few months. If that has left you wanting more Grimross beer, good news… owner/brewer Stephen Dixon confirmed that he has delivered some of his Pugnacious Porter, a 5% Belgian-style Porter conditioned on pure cocoa and whole vanilla beans, to the Tide & Boar this week, so look for it soon.

• The Rockbottom Brewpub SMaSH India Pale Lager that we mentioned in late March has been tapped at the brewpub in Halifax. Brewed solely with Superior Pale Ale Malt and Galaxy hops (including multiple dry-hop additions), Intergalactic SMaSH’d Lager finished at 7.1% ABV and 70 IBUs (calc). Get down to the brewpub to give it a try, it won’t be around for long!

• A reminder that The Stubborn Goat is keeping up their Cask Friday event, when they have a special beer tapped each Friday at 4pm. This week’s  is Big Spruce’s Cereal Killer Sideways, their Oatmeal Stout, fortified with Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch.

• The Chronicle Herald has a nice article about Jeff and Kari of Bad Apple Brewhouse, on their history, as well plans for the future. It also mentions an upcoming Mosaic Double IPA, which will be released around Father’s Day, that will serve as a fundraiser towards the Brigadoon Children’s Camp Society. We’ll have more details on the beer closer to release time.

In closing, we thought we should mention another story reported by The Chronicle Herald concerning a 21-metre Labatt blimp that crashed northeast of Saint John. Nice to see that Big Beer is finally starting to evacuate Atlantic Canada, what with the increasing number and quality of local craft breweries!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Bad Apple, Sea Level, Meander River, Schoolhouse, Propeller, Ducky’s, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-04-25
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Beer Festival, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Bellwoods Brewery, Big Axe Brewery, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Ducky's Bar, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Henry House, Ladies Beer League, Meander River Farm and Brewery, Noble Grape, PEI Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Sea Level Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

Happy Friday everyone! Time for another dose of Atlantic Canadian beer news to finish off the last Friday of the month…

• Bad Apple Brewhouse has released a new beer, Smokehouse Lager, a Rauchbier brewed with 100% beechwood-smoked malt. This copper-colored beer comes in at 6.7% ABV with about 27 IBUs, and is described as “smoky, slightly spicy, and malty” by BAB owner/brewer Jeff Saunders. The beer is available in growlers and squealers at the brewery, and might be on tap at your local soon.

• Staying in the Annapolis Valley, Sea Level has released their latest beer, Southern Cross IPA. Inspired by the New Zealand hop, and the Crosby, Stills and Nash song, the beer weighs in at 6.5% and 78.8 IBUs (calc). The Southern Cross hops lend a resiny spiciness and citrus and pine aromas. Available on tap now at The Port Pub, in growlers and cans at the brewery, and this weekend in cans at the private beer stores in Halifax.

• Finally in Valley news this week, both Meander River Farm and Brewery and Schoolhouse Brewery are in the final stretches before opening their doors very soon. At Meander River, they have brewed their inaugural batch of Lunchbox Pale Ale on their 3 barrel system, and are looking forward to opening in the next few weeks. At Schoolhouse, they were going through their inspection for Excise License this week, and are also looking forward to opening in the next little while. Look for profiles from both of these great breweries very soon.

• In the big city, Propeller Brewing has released their latest seasonal beer, Black IPA. Weighing in at 6.7%ABV and 83 IBUs, this unfiltered beer features a healthy amount of bittering, flavour and aroma hops, and is then dry-hopped for an even more explosive nose. The most prominent hop used in the beer is Ahtanum, which gives a great citrusy nose, with a bit of earthy note as well, which fits well with the style. To give the beer its distinctive black colour, Blackprinz and CARAFA malts were used. These choices were very specific, as both are very dark in Lovibond, so that a small percentage in the recipe goes a long way in the colour, but do not transfer any astringency or husky bitterness to the flavour. Pick up 1.89l and 1l growlers of this latest release at both the Gottingen St and Windmill Rd Propeller locations, and look for it on tap around the city (including Henry House, where it was tapped last night).

• Big Tide Brewing continues to remain busy in Saint John, as they’ve added two new one-off brews to their tap selection at the brewpub. A single batch was brewed with a base of Canadian Wheat malt, a selection of special Crystal malts, and UK hops, and was then fermented with a dry ale yeast. After fermentation was complete, the beer was split into two vessels. One of these, Ale Mary, was filtered, while the other, Sunset Raspberry Wheat, was not. We think it’s safe to assume that the unfiltered beer also has had some raspberries or raspberry extract added at some point of the brewing process! Both beers are meant to bridge the gap for Big Tide’s return to brewing summer beers; they clock in at 4.5% ABV.

• New Brunswick’s newest brewery, Big Axe, may have just opened last week, but they’ve already added a seasonal beer to their line-up, which is available for growler fills at the brewery now. The beer is named Maple Wheat Amber Ale; specific details on the beer are unknown at the moment, but we’ll be sure to update when we know more.

• We mentioned recently that Ducky’s Bar in Sackville was expanding their tap selection, and would be featuring local breweries. Well, they’ve released their opening tap selection, and it’s looking great! As previously mentioned, two taps will be dedicated to Celtic Knot, starting with their Not Joe Average Pale Ale and Dark Passage Oatmeal Stout. Also pouring will be Hammond River‘s award-winning Hop Flash IPA, PEI Brewing Co. Cole’s Cream Ale and Beach Chair Lager, and Garrison Raspberry Wheat and Nut Brown, with Picaroons Dooryard joining them soon. Kegs will rotate as they empty, so look for more offerings from these breweries, as well as others in our region!

• Tickets are now on sale for the Atlantic Beer Festival, in Moncton, Saturday May 31st. There are two sessions, 2:30-5pm, and 7:30-10pm. Free buses are available to the downtown area after each session of the festival. Tickets are available online, at the Pump House brewpub and Barnyard BBQ, and are priced at $49 (taxes and fees included). We hope to have a full brewery/beer list for you soon.

• The Overcast is an arts and culture newspaper based out of Newfoundland. They have an excellent interview with Liam McKenna, brewmaster at Yellowbelly Brewpub in St. John’s. For those of you who do not know Liam’s brewing history (including a time in Dublin), it is a great insight into what makes Liam tick. We hope to share a profile on Liam and the Yellowbelly soon, as we caught up with him on a visit to Newfoundland earlier in the year.

• Don’t forget to pick up bottles of Alewife’s Revenge, the collaboration between Boxing Rock Brewing and the Ladies Beer League. It is now on sale at the private beer stores in Halifax and Dartmouth, on tap around the province (including Antigonish Townhouse), and a special cask of it starting at 4pm for Cask Friday at the Stubborn Goat.

• Speaking of the Ladies Beer League, they’re teaming up with Noble Grape to present an Intro to Beer & Brewing session on Sunday, May 25th from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. This is an introductory course meant to cover the basics of home brewing for beginners and enhance the knowledge of intermediate home brewers, while allowing those interested a chance to also connect with Halifax’s home brewing community. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here; the course will be held at the Noble Grape location on 95 Akerley Blvd in Darmouth. Another session is currently scheduled for Saturday, June 14th.

• Stillwell Beer Bar is following up on their first Bellwoods beer releases earlier this month with another deadly trio this weekend. They will be pouring Brettal Head All Brett Pale Ale, Lost River Baltic Porter, and Hellwoods Russian Imperial Stout, beginning at noon Sunday. Be sure to drop by for great beer, food, and company. We might just see you there!

That’s it for now… have a great weekend!