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Friday Wrap-Up for February 16, 2024 – News from Tanner & Co, Iron Rock, Lone Oak, O’Creek, Chain Yard, Good Robot, Tatamagouche, 2 Crows, PEI Beerfest, and much, much more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2024-02-16
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Battery Park, CAVOK Brewing, Chain Yard Cider, Escarpment Laboratories, Gahan Atlantic Home Brew Challenge, Good Robot Brewing, Grand Pre Winery, HopYard, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Iron Rock Brewing Co., Lone Oak Brewing, O'Creek Brewing, PEI Beer Festival, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Truro Brewing Company. Leave a Comment

Here we are most of the way through February and it feels a little like there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. With both the big sportsball game and everyone’s (least?) favourite Hallmark holiday firmly in the rearview mirror, a three-day weekend coming up for many, it feels like maybe we’re on our way to surviving another winter (unless you’re in Cape Breton, maybe, where they’re probably on the fence about that). Pull up a chair, grab yourself a pint, pat yourself on the back, and read on for all the news we could find in Atlantic Canadian Beer for this week.

We’ll start this week on the South Shore of Nova Scotia where Tanner & Co Brewing in Chester Basin has been quite busy of late. Two weeks ago we told you about their new Best Bitter, made with a new malt (the Maris Otter-esque “The Otter Guys” from the folks at Horton Ridge). Last week it was their new dark and creamy Oatmeal Stout. This week they match those two with a brace of new releases. Up first is Hazy Belgian IPA, which marries the yeast-driven aromas of a Belgian ale with the juicy hop presence and haze of an NEIPA. Coming in at 6.8% ABV, you can safely expect Tanner’s usual care and attention to finding a balance between these two bold characters. This one is 6.8% ABV and 60 IBU and has been canned, but the labels were storm-delayed until yesterday; hopefully it’ll be available later today, but it could be a little later this weekend. On the other end of the spectrum from a hoppy beer intended to be consumed young is their other new release, a dark beer that’s already been hanging around for six months. Tanner’s stalwart Porter has been around for over five years now and features plenty of dark malt character with roasty chocolate and coffee notes balanced against sweeter caramel and malt flavors in a 5.7% package. Last fall, 100 liters or so from a batch of that Porter was fed into a Hungarian oak barrel from Grand Pré Winery that was previously used to age apple brandy. This week that beer came out of the barrel so that it can be enjoyed. What will six months in oak, no doubt with a touch of apple brandy, do to a Porter? The only way to find out is to try it!

That brings us neatly to our last piece of Tanner news, that they will be featured from open ‘til close tomorrow at Battery Park in Dartmouth for a tap takeover. Tanner has one of the broadest oeuvres of any brewery in the region and their full range will be on display. Foch saison fermented on grape skins, German styles, British styles, Belgian styles, and meads will all be represented. This will also be the first opportunity to try the barrel aged Porter (although some will also be canned for release, possibly as early as next week). A full tap list can be found here. Hope to see you there!

Labrador’s Iron Rock Brewing has a returning beer out this week, the annual seasonal they call Banishment. An oat stout that’s been aged in Bourbon barrels, giving the chocolatey notes of the base beer a boost with vanilla and oak, it’s quite smooth, maintaining plenty of body and roast character, and weighing in at 6.0% ABV and 32 IBU. This year’s batch has been crafted in honour of the 2024 running of Cain’s Quest, the world’s longest snowmobile endurance race that covers more than 3,000km around some of the world’s toughest Northern terrain. This year’s race kicks off on March 3rd with 37 teams set to compete. Maybe some of them will relax with a Banishment at the end of it all… we know the spectators will definitely be enjoying a few to keep warm!

Lone Oak of Borden-Carleton, PEI, is coming in hot this week with a brand Double IPA, Elysium. Sneakily debuting at their Battle of the Breweries at Hopyard Beer Bar earlier this month, this 9.1% ABV beast is now available to everyone everywhere all at once. While the yeast is not always the star of the show when it comes to IPAs, it’s definitely worth noting here, as this beer was fermented with the experimental Elysium by yeast darlings Escarpment Labs. Developed in their Guelph facility to promote pineapple aromatics and flavour, that was only enhanced at Lone Oak by their use of Sultana hops as the major addition, to keep the tropical vibes going. On tap and in cans at their four locations across the island (Borden Taproom, Milky Way Brewpub and Cold Beer Store, and Stratford Fox Meadow). If you’re interested in more about Escarpment’s yeast offerings, including Elysium, its new “sister” yeast, Pomona, and how they can help create standout IPAs, check out their latest blog post.

Moncton’s O’Creek Brewing put out a cheeky one earlier this week just in time for Valentine’s Day. HibisKiss is a pale ale low in bitterness at 15 IBU and light on hop character in order to make room for flavors of lemon and hibiscus. Featuring a gorgeous red color, it’s described by the brewery as, “romance in a glass.” But if that’s not your speed and you’re looking for something a little hoppier, check out their Riwaka Loral Hazy Pale Ale. Riwaka is a New Zealand hop variety known for imparting heavy tropical and passion fruit vibes, and Loral is a recently developed American hop that brings citrus and floral character with some peppery spice and some herbal notes. Paired together in a 5%, 25 IBU and very hazy package, we suspect it will be a winner with the hop head crowd. Our best understanding is that both of these beers are draught-only at the taproom, at least for now.

The burgeoning trend towards non-alcoholic options in beer has been progressing nicely for the last couple of years, with some local breweries having strong entries in the segment already. It seems only fitting that the local cideries join the party and recently Halifax’s Chain Yard became the second that we’re aware of. Anytime is a non-alcoholic cider that, like all CY ciders, starts with 100% Nova Scotian apples. All the way down in true NA territory at 0.5% ABV, it’s refreshing and balanced, featuring notes of ripe apple and honey balanced by hints of light citrus and floral overtones. Find it at the tap room for now, but hopefully soon at other places where you find your non-alcoholic options.

One of the other trends that the global beer world has seen in the last while, but that hasn’t had a whole lot of local representation is the “low-carb” offering. Dominated by industrial breweries with equipment that isn’t generally accessible in the craft brewing space, we know of only a couple entries in the category from Canada. Them? Notsomuch with the “craft.” Their parent companies? Notsomuch with the Canadian. Enter Good Robot Brewing, boldly going where very few other craft breweries anywhere have gone. Ultra Light is…ultra…light? A measly three grams of carbs per serving and 4% ABV, but without compromising on flavor, this one is coming out of their state of the art facility in Elmsdale where truly impressive things are possible. You can grab it in 355ml tall cans (the “svelte” ones, natch) at the tap room or order it for home delivery now, or you can wait for it to appear at the NSLC once they’ve got their packaging sorted out.

In addition to the Tanner Tap Takeover at Battery Park tomorrow, there’s some other events coming up shortly.

Eagle-eyed social media savants may have noticed a month or two back some Insta clips featuring the brewers of Tatamagouche Brewing and 2 Crows spending some time with the team at PEI’s Lone Oak (eventually, once everyone had their breakfast and stuff). The result of that collaboration is now ready to share. Taking some cues from an all-world beer, Taras Boulba by Brussels’ Brasserie de la Senne, this beer features the use of three yeast strains: Foggy London by Escarpment Labs, a French Saison blend to finish and dry the beer out, and the White Labs product Metschnikowia reukaufii, a yeast that has evolved to specialize in consuming nectar, but which also provides enhanced aroma and modulated bitterness in malt co-fermentations. Hopped generously with three Alsatian varieties, Aramis, Mistral, and Barbe Rouge, it saw additions in the mash, the kettle, the whirlpool, and a dry hop as well. Finishing at 5.5%, and somewhat hazy, it’s almost certainly a beer without too many analogues in the region. Bière d’Amis hits the taps next Thursday for the first time amidst a tap takeover featuring all three breweries at HopYard in Charlottetown on Thursday, February 22nd. Three beers from each brewery plus the collab will be on offer, and folks from all three will be in attendance as well. This event is the perfect kick-off to what will almost certainly be a fun- and beer-filled weekend for PEI Beer Fest.

Wait, did we say, “PEI Beer Fest?” We sure did! This year’s event will go down at the Delta Prince Edward by Marriott next weekend and will feature three sessions, one on Friday evening, one Saturday afternoon, and one Saturday evening. For general admission, evening sessions are three hours, Saturday afternoon is two and a half but there are VIP tickets available offering a start time 30 minutes earlier and a take-home souvenir glass. There are also, appropriately, Designated Driver tickets available to ensure that folks can plan a team effort in getting home safely. Some twenty-five producers across beer, cider, and ready-to-drink spaces will be represented. There will be live music and local food pairings as well. Tickets are still available for all sessions, although VIP for Saturday evening is now sold out. You can find out more about the fest, the breweries that will be represented, and find links to purchase tickets at the PEI Beer Festival Official Website.

A few more things before we sign off this week. Thanks, as always for reading!

In Big Spruce news, on the heels of the judging of their 11th annual Home Brew Challenge (results next weekend!) is the re-release of last year’s winning beer, Alex Hunt’s Under the Mountain, a cascadian dark ale (aka “Black IPA”) at 6.8% and packed with Chinook, Simcoe, and Centennial hops. Grab it from the source now, and we suspect other places where you find Big Spruce in the coming weeks.

Heading down the 104 we get to Truro, NS, where Truro Brewing Company has their annual collab with Port Rexton Brewing back on the go. Quiet Company is a Bourbon Barrel-aged Barleywine tipping the scales at a hefty 9% and packaged in 650ml bombers, you’ll probably want to take this one on sitting down. Rich and boozy, there’s plenty of malt there to sip quietly, perhaps by a warm fire with the best of friends. Also available by the pint at the tap room.

Continuing down that very same highway, we reach New Brunswick, and then Dieppe in particular, where CAVOK has a new twist on a hazy style this week. Soleil  is a New England-style hazy pale ale aged with Brettanomyces in an oak foeder. Hops and brett can go together beautifully in our opinion, and the oak should provide some lovely tannic contrast. Check out this 4.8% ABV number for yourself at the source.

Up in St. John’s, NL, Bannerman has their cold IPA back on tap and in cans. Negative Space is brewed and hopped like an IPA, but fermented and conditioned like a lager, giving a crisp and clean finish beneath a generous hop character. Cascade, Centennial, and Citra, make sure you’re getting your classic West Coast hop character in this 6.0% beer.

!!Attention all Atlantic Canadian Homebrewers!! You are just a couple of weeks out from the deadline for the Fifth Annual Atlantic Homebrew Challenge, your chance at hundreds of dollars in prizes, and seeing your beer being brewed and distributed by Gahan Beer across the region. This year’s beer styles are Best Bitter and Spice, Herb, and Vegetable, so you truly do have time to brew one or both styles in time for judging later in March. Visit the website above for all of the details on styles, rules, and be sure to drop off your beer before March 2nd at your local Gahan pub!

And we’ll finish the week back in Halifax with a bit of a PSA. 2 Crows is recalling cans of one of their anniversary beers, Alright Alright Alright due to some issues with can liners. If you’ve got some on hand you’re advised to empty and dispose of them, but also to reach out to eric@2crowsbrewing.com to arrange a refund or replacement with an alternative product. Kudos to the 2C gang for doing the right thing for their customers in response to a quality issue.

Friday Wrap-Up for January 19, 2024 – News from Truro, Shipwright, Upstreet, Tanner & Co, Trailway, Banished, Breton, O’Creek, Sea Level, Ragnarock, Ninepenny, Stillwell, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, and much more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2024-01-19
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Banished Brewing, Breton Brewing, Brewers Journal Canada, Canadian Brewers Choice Awards, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Foghorn Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Libra Non-Alcoholic Beer, Millstone Harvest Brewhouse, Ninepenny Brewing, O'Creek Brewing, OG Ales, RagnaRock Northern Brewing Company, Sea Level Brewing, Shipwright Brewing, Stillwell Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, Together We Brew, TrailWay Brewing, Truro Brewing Company, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good day, sweet world! The winter drudge continues as we get further into January and whether you’re just looking to keep warm, or stocking up for sports, there is always beer news to be had. We’ve got some new beers, returning beers and a fan favourite event all detailed below for your reading (and future drinking) pleasure.

Kicking off in the Hub of Nova Scotia, Truro Brewing Company has a brand new addition to their fridge and taplist. Lo/Hi is a Session New England IPA that is “lo” in alcohol and “hi” in hop aroma and flavour. If the name looks familiar to you, there may have been some inspiration from The Black Keys song of the same name. The grist for this is Pilsner malt and oats, featuring hops of Galaxy and the Pink Boots Blend (the 7th Pink Boots Blend, which is a mix of Ahtanum, El Dorado, HBC 638 and Idaho 7). The beer comes in at 4% ABV and is available now in cans and on tap.

Also, the fine folks at the brewery are looking for a part time sales representative for the Truro and New Glasgow area, so if you’re interested, apply through Indeed or email your resume to trurobrewco@gmail.com. 

Sticking in the Nova Scotia Session section of these scribbles, Shipwright Brewing is releasing Back Home. This Session IPA is packed with a grain bill of Golden Promise, Vienna, Munich and crystal malts with some oats in there to boot. Hopped with Pahto for bittering, Cascade and Sabro join the party with their dry-hopping additions. The fermentation comes from Escarpment Labs House Ale yeast which brings it all together with lots of citrus, tropical fruit, coconut, and pineapple in a 4.7% and 37 IBU package. This is available at the taproom for pints, growlers and crowlers!

The staff out of Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing have a new release for the people. Every once in a while there are special staff brews and this latest one is Balanced Breakfast, an Oatmeal Coffee Stout. Brewed up by Ryan Cheverie, who is a friendly face seen behind the bar at Upstreet’s Craft Beer Corner (CBC). At 5% this beer uses a Supremo Columbian roast from Caledonia House Coffee to help with the roasted and bittersweet flavours. This beer is on tap and in cans at their Taproom and CBC in limited quantities. It’s also available on Nitro at CBC.  Grab this one today, Islanders!

Mead alert! Our favourite Chester Basin brewery, Tanner & Co Brewing, has a new mead (use that honey, baby!) out with some lovely additions. Blood Orange & Motueka Sparkling Mead uses local honey, blood orange, and Motueka hops, to balance with each other on top of the base recipe of honey fermented mead. The sweetness of honey, zip and bitterness of the hops, and citrus notes from the blood oranges all come together in a punch of sparkling flavour at 5.9%. This one is canned and available from the brewery directly to pick-up at their locations or online for delivery. 

Red alert! Fredericton’s IPA rulers, Trailway Brewing, have a brand new release out now in the form of Answers in Red, a Red IPA. Dark, bready, and slightly fruity, the hops used bring some resin and pine notes for a well balanced 6% IPA. There isn’t a lot of this style around but you can think of it as a slightly stronger and hoppier Amber Ale, like the cousin of an American IPA, but sweeter and darker. It’s canned and available at their Fredericton and Saint John locations.

And fresh off the canning line is a new beer in support of the UNB Student Union Food Bank. Food security is important for all of us, especially young folks during a critical learning phase of life. A portion of the sales of Limeaid is being donated to the Food Bank, but you can also donate yourself at the link above! This 4.8% beer saves you the trouble of putting your lime and salt in your crushable lager, it comes pre-dosed! Zesty, with a hint of salinity, but very refreshing and enjoyable, do some good this weekend and pick up some Limeaid! Like Answers in Red, cans and draught are available at both Trailway locations.

Paradise’s beer options have expanded this week, thanks to the fine folks at Banished Brewing on Maverick Place. Continuing their ode to their homebase, Paradise Town – Italian Plum has hit the shelves, and draught lines, this week. Sweet, tart, and a lovely rosy pink colour, plenty of plum character shines through in this 5.5% ABV beer. You can find it in Paradise Town itself, and hitting the shelves elsewhere on the Avalon any day now!

Sydney, NS, darling Breton Brewing is continuing their own series of beers, as they extend their experimentation in the world of cold fermentation. Breton Lager #3 is the latest in that vein, keeping the Mexican Lager style from version 2, but switching up the yeast strain. The beer remains crisp and light, and above all, drinkable! This beer, as well as Breton Lager #2, are available at the brewery and Home Delivery in both the CBRM and HRM!

O’Creek Brewing out of Moncton has a new Double IPA coming to the people! Living in a Haze is a Hazy Double IPA that is big on the tropical notes and full of juiciness. The beer is 8% but only 25 IBU and features a lovely variety of hops. All added in the whirlpool and back later for dry-hopping is a mix of Mosaic, Sabro, Vic Secret and El Dorado. This is available on tap at the taproom today and will be canned early next week!

New Beer Alert in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley! Sea Level Brewing of Port Williams and Sheffield Mills has a new Asian cuisine-inspired beer on tap today. Thai-PA is 4.6% ABV, and light in colour, but not at all light on flavour! Lemongrass, lime leaves, thai chilies, and ginger. Sounds like the perfect pairing to something you may find available at nearby Noodle Guy, or whatever you want to whip up at home. For those looking for a fun night out at their Millstone Harvest Brewhouse should definitely pop by 7 – 9 PM tonight to enjoy some live music from Sky 45. A reminder that location is at 9146 Hwy 221 in Sheffield Mills, about 10 minutes outside Port Williams.

Look up. Waaaaay up. Ragnarock Brewing out of St. Anthony, Newfoundland has a new light lager. Loki’s Blaze is a canned 4% crispy light lager that is available at The Outdoor Shoppe and Western Petroleum for locals. More deliveries will be coming soon!

Moving south of St. Anthony (most things are south of St. Anthony, really), Ninepenny Brewing out of CBS (Conception Bay South, on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland), has a brand new beer that’s even a new style for them! Seal Cove Stout is an English Stout that is the first stout they’ve ever released! It’s highly drinkable at 5% and features a full body with dark chocolate and roasted coffee notes. This is available only at the taproom for now but will be available at retail stores over the coming weeks. 

Kempt Road’s finest foam friends at Stillwell Brewing have a new, freshly canned batch of their Pale Ale. At 5.3%, this West Coast Pale Ale is classic and delicious. You can check out the history of this beer and all the details back in our September post.

Speaking of Stillwell Brewing, you may have spotted that they hosted the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia Together We Brew brewday earlier this month. That beer will be coming in a few months, coinciding with the festival of the same name, being held April 6th at Pavillion 22 on the Halifax Waterfront. Together We Brew will see more than forty breweries from across the province bringing out their best and freshest beer to share with you! There are two sessions happening that day (afternoon 2 – 4:30 PM and evening 7 – 9:30 PM), with VIP tickets available for each that allow entrance an hour early. Early Bird pricing is on now, so be sure to snag them today!

Congratulations are in order to breweries and brewers across our region on making the shortlist of the 2023 Canadian Brewers Choice Awards. Hosted by Brewers Journal Canada, these awards require nomination, and then are judged based on their stories and the impact they have on the brewery, region, and industry. The Atlantic Provinces have been punching above their weight recently, with Tire Shack Brewery taking home Brewery of the Year and Branding of the Year in 2022, Esty of Foghorn taking home Brewer of the Year, and 2 Crows snagging top honours in New Beer of the Year for Class Maritime Dry Stout. This year’s shortlist includes: Libra Non Alcoholic for Brewery of the Year, Kellye Robertson of Good Robot for Brewer of the Year, Duncan Tennant of Banished Brewing for Young Brewer of the Year, who also is on the list for Community Initiative of the Year for their Paddles Up, Truro Brewing for Branding of the Year, and OG Ales for Sustainability Initiative of the Year. The winners will be announced Jan 31 as part of the MBAA District Ontario Technical Conference in Niagara-On-The-Lake.

Friday Wrap-Up for January 12, 2024 – News from Pump House, North, Dildo, Breton, Party Time, 2 Crows, Sea Level, Boxing Rock, Tata, Sourwood, Banished and More!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2024-01-12
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Banished Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Breton Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, Dildo Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Maybee Brewing, North Brewing, Party Time Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Saltbox Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Sea Level Brewing, Sourwood Cidery, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing. Leave a Comment

Is your January still dry, or strangely wet due to the weather? Unless you’re in certain parts of Cape Breton, New Brunswick or Newfoundland, it has been a weird weather start to the year with more wind and rain on its way this weekend. Look at us, typical Maritimers, always talking about the weather. Let’s talk about our other favourite thing, beer (and beer adjacent drinks, events, jobs, media, news, etc.)!

We’re kicking off this week’s beer news with an oldie but a goodie. While we’ve been celebrating lots of anniversaries and birthdays of breweries over the last few months, Pump House Brewery is celebrating their 25th year! Officially opened in September of 1999, they’re kicking off year 25 with a new beer. If you used to show up to parties or barbecues with that classic 12 pack of bottles from the NSLC/ANBL/NLC/PEILC, there is no doubt some nostalgia you have for this brewery and their big anniversary. Who doesn’t remember their first Blueberry Ale?! While we can’t believe time flies so quickly, their new beer is a far cry from those early days. Evolution is a Brut IPA that finishes clean and crisp, but still packs a lot of flavour thanks to the hop bill of Warrior, Citra, Simcoe and El Dorado. Packaged in cans, it’s 6% for an approachable beer that should appeal to all of their customers over time. Look for this in all Pump House locations and potentially some other retail locations as it rolls out over the next few weeks. 

Last week we highlighted some non-alc options for the people (Dry January or not!) and North Brewing decided to join the party in their own way. More in the category of “low ABV” than “no ABV,” Pocket IPA is an ultra light IPA coming in at 2.5% but still high on flavour and body. This small little buddy is brewed with pale malt, Vienna malt, and oats. For the hops, its single hop star is Mosaic.  With low bitterness, medium carbonation, and lots of hop aroma, this is an anytime crusher that can suit a lot of different purposes and activities, and you can put it in your pocket anywhere you go with its 355ml format. It’s available now at all of the North locations and their online store. 

The winter months are classically the time for darker beers and their associated roastier flavors and Dildo Brewing is leaning into that by releasing a brace of beers in collaboration with their neighbours around the other side of Trinity Bay, Trinity Coffee Company. First up is Cappuccino Stout, featuring oats in the grist for a smooth mouthfeel to pair with the rich cappuccino taste thanks to an infusion of Trinity coffee beans. At 5.4% you could probably go full Italian style and have one for breakfast! On the other end of the spectrum, at least the color spectrum, we’ve also got White Stout, a beer for those who like “darker” flavors but aren’t into the slight astringency that can come with classic roasty stout ingredients. Coming in at 5.8% ABV, it’s got plenty of classic stout flavor, and an additional coffee kick from Trinity coffee beans. Look for both of these new releases at the Dildo merchandise shop and their Water Street bottle shop as well.

The gang at Breton Brewing in Sydney, NS, is taking some time during these cold months to prepare for the warmer ones to come. In this case that means brewing up some small batches of lager to ensure that when the sunny weather starts to hit they’ve got the ultimate light lager to put in your hand (or your beach cooler or your softball kit bag). While version #1, which was released just before the holidays, is still pouring in the taproom, the new one is ready to go on tap and in a limited number of cans. This time it’s a Mexican lager, which usually implies perhaps a bit of corn adjunct as opposed to the rice often used in the American light lager style. Crisp, light, and clean, and weighing a paltry 4.0% ABV, as you sip you can cast your mind forward to summer and how nice it might be to neck one of these after mowing the back 40.

Continuing with the Mexican theme, but switching from lager to ale, Mount Uniacke’s Party Time Brewing has done up a new recipe called Party at Mexi’s, a 5%, 35 IBU amber ale. Haligonians of a certain age may fondly remember the days when “Party at Mexi’s” was an after work tradition on Spring Garden Road. These days Mexicala Rosa’s have relocated out to Bayers Lake Business Park, but they’re still serving some of the longest-running Californian-style Mexican cuisine in the region, and now they’ll be serving a local beer to go along with it. That’s right, Party Time’s latest has been brewed for Mexi’s themselves and they’re hoping to start serving it tomorrow (Saturday, January 13th)! You may also see it also appear at Mexi’s Moncton location in the future. 

Staying in the HRM, downtown on Brunswick Street to be precise, 2 Crows has a new small batch they’ve put together for a special event at the brewery. Sickeningly Sweet was built on a blueberry and lemon sour base with a whole bunch of peaches and Nova Scotia honey added. Sweet, sour, and super fruity, it was developed with local drag star Diana B. Tease as a companion to the Canada’s Drag Race Season 4 Finale viewing party that they hosted last night. If you’re lucky, though, there will still be some of this one pouring at the taproom!

Sea Level Brewing has a new brew that has a fun accompanying video to show the process behind its production. Farmhouse Ale is their latest small batch creation that uses ingredients from their farm (just down the road from their brewery). The beer features hopes indigenous to the area that were discovered by Randy Lawrence who worked with the Harvie family (who purchased Sea Level a few years ago) to continue the use of the hops in Sea Level beer after the sale. These hops were believed to have originated with the Acadian settlers in Sheffield Mills. Additional Centennial hops were used to dial in the right bitterness and flavour. Kveik yeast was used here to bring it all together and stick with the farmhouse style that is hazy with pineapple, tangerine and pine flavours. It’s 4.6% and only available on tap at the brewery. We should note it’s also a small batch as this was the first harvest of the hops after their relocation. Try this one out now and look for it in a larger production in coming years when the hops are producing a larger yield. 

A fun contest of sorts out of Boxing Rock is our event of note for the week:

Down Shelburne way, Boxing Rock has a fun contest going on to mark Dry January’s end. To give everyone something to look forward to, they’re hosting a beer recipe contest! The goal is to design a beer that we can look forward to drinking once Dry January runs its course. 

Here’s the rub:

  1. Craft a beer recipe! (This is due 11:59 PM Atlantic Time on Monday January 15th)
  2. Create a pitch video!  (This is due 11:59 PM Atlantic Time on Thursday January 18th)
  3. Donate what you can to Feed NS. (There is a link on the application form)

If you’re the talented winner, you’ll be invited down for a brew day, given credit on the can, and provided with five cases of the end product to drink, hoard, or share with your beer-loving friends!

Check out all the details at the contest page here. 

Lots of places either need folks now or are looking forward to the busier months of the year; if you’re considering working in beer, peep the below for potential possibilities.

If you’re looking for work for your or someone you know, we’ve got some industry jobs in PEI, NS and Fredericton that we’re helping to get the word out!

  • Copper Bottom Brewing – Montague, PEI. They’re looking for a full-time Canning Line Operator. Check the link here to apply. 
  • Saltbox Brewing – Various Locations, NS. Summer Students come get your beer on. It’s only January, but they’re already looking for people to work their Mahone Bay, Bridgewater, Lunenburg and Wolfville locations for retail, packaging and events in the busy season. Check the link here to apply. 
  • Grimross Brewing – Fredericton, NB. They want a new bartender that can work some daytime hours. If interested, please email resumes to taproom@grimross.com.
  • Maybee Brewing – Fredericton, NB. These fine Freddy folks are in need of a part-time Taproom Server for 2-3 shifts a week, mostly evenings and weekends. You can apply in person at 559 Wilsey Rd, or email your resume to ashley@maybeebrew.com. 

This week we’re going to do something a little different (but something we’ll potentially do again), because there A lot of returning beers this week to breweries across the region. Coming off of the busy holiday season, it’s always nice to see what styles and old favourites are returning to the shelves and taps of our favourite breweries. Here we go with a second list! 

  • Tatamagouche Brewing
    • Apres Cream Ale, 4.5%. After taking home a Bronze at the Canadian Brewing Awards, this beer is back in 355ml cans, but now also in a 12 pack box! Grab this in-store or online.
    • Dusk Schwarzbier, 4.9%. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen this roasty, coffee and caramel-y dark lager and now it’s back in a smaller 355ml canned format! Available at the brewery and online.
  • Sourwood Cider – WABAMO Hopped Session Cider, 4.0%. This crusher is back with a new and improved recipe that is a little lighter in alcohol and acidity. Highly drinkable with citrus and floral flavours and aroma, this is in 355ml cans at Bishop’s Cellar and online from the brewery. 
  • Bannerman Brewing – Shore Leave Dry-Hopped Fruited Sour, 5.2%. Previously available when Bannerman first opened four years ago, this drinkable sour is dry-hopped with Mosaic and conditioned on blood orange and pineapple puree. This is available at the St. John’s brewery on tap and in cans.
  • Tanner & Co. Brewing – 1320 Cold IPA, 6.5%. One of the popular styles of 2023, was something that Tanner has done previously. Using local malt, the hops featured in this one is where the name comes from experimental hop variety YQH 1320 which will no doubt get a trade name in the coming year. It’s known for bringing big flavours of guava, citrus, and pineapple. 
  • Banished Brewing – Mirrors American Lager, 5%. The crushable king returns to cans, as this crisp lager is hopped with Saaz and Hallertau Blanc. It’s available now from the brewery and cans will be going across the province of Newfoundland through the week.
  • Schoolhouse Brewery – Fuzzy Peach Double IPA, 7.9%. A style that’s out of ordinary for the brewery, this big banger is back for a warm, boozy winter with a peach flavour! Grab this one from the Windsor brewery on tap and in cans. 

This isn’t usually something we post about, but it’s always fun to highlight the production and behind the scenes action of our regional breweries. Since Good Robot has been settled into their new Elmsdale location for over a year, they’ve been doing more than just brewing Good Robot beer. Take a look at this YouTube video that provides insight into what they’ve got going on in terms of equipment, canning details and capabilities of the facility.

Saint John residents (Saint Johners? Sea Dogs?) rejoice! Loyalist City Brewing has a new taproom and cocktail bar right above their existing location at 60 Water Street. The Second Story brings an elevated experience for craft beer, craft cocktails, and a very modern and refined space with lovely views of the harbour and port. We can say first hand that it’s a spot to check out if you’re in town. The current hours are 5pm ‘til Midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but extended hours and special events are soon to be announced on their Instagram page. Cheers to good news!