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Friday Wrap-Up – News and New Beers from Grimross, Garrison Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Picaroons, Rogues Roost and Much More!

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-12-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Great Canadian Beer Expo, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, King Street Ale House, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Rogues Roost Brewpub, Saint John Beer Fest, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Stillwell Beer Bar, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday, Craft Beer Fans!

• Following very successful sales in Fredericton (on tap at the King Street Ale House and growlers sales at the Brewtique) and Moncton (on tap at the Tide and Boar Gastropub), Grimross Brewing recently began selling their beer in Halifax. Earlier this week, both the Ben’s Pale Ale and Belgian Rye IPA appeared on tap at Stillwell to great enthusiasm from their customers. If you’re in the Halifax area and missed out on your chance to try these beers, follow Stillwell on Twitter to see when they make an appearance there again! And don’t worry, Fredericton-local fans, they’ve just stocked the Brewtique fridge with more Rye IPA.

• Spruce fans, rejoice! Today’s the day that Garrison Brewing is releasing their highly-anticipated Spruce Beer. Brewed using a truck-load of spruce and fir harvested from Meander River Farms, and blackstrap molasses from Crosby’s in Saint John, the beer weighs in at 7.5% ABV. The brewery doors opened at 9 this morning, and folks were picking up the beer shortly thereafter. For us working stiffs unable to visit the brewery this morning, a cask of the beer will be tapped at 4pm, so you can sip it while you buy a bottle (or case). The beer will also be available at the local private beer stores, NSLC, and also at select ANBL stores beginning next week. Also look for a cask of it to be available at Stillwell soon.

• Meanwhile, Garrison Brewing has expanded distribution of their beers outside of Atlantic Canada – their Imperial IPA is now available in Ontario at select LCBO stores. If the beer proves popular with Ontario beer fans, it could become a regular product at the LCBO. Along with Garrison’s Mixed 6 recently becoming available in Alberta, this shows that the brewery is slowly starting to expand… hopefully we’ll see further growth in the not-too-distant future!

• Shiretown Beer has a previously-available brew returning for growler fills at the brewery. Big Brown Ale is an English-style Brown Ale that has a “complex bill of specialty malts, leaving well-balanced hints of roast and chocolate”. It is lightly-hopped to 20 IBUs, and clocks in at 4.5% ABV. Drop by to get some of this beer before its gone!

• Just an update concerning Picaroons‘ 12 Beers of Christmas event, which started yesterday (with the return of the popular “Dunkel Wisemen”, their Dark & Stormy Night brewed with dark chocolate and orange peel, which sold out in a little under an hour) – the time of the daily growler release for the Christmas beers at the Brewtique has been changed to 4 pm. Remember, each day’s beer will be announced on Picaroons’ Twitter feed around noon, and there is a 2 growler-per-person limit.

• Speaking of Picaroons, they’ve released an online survey for those of you who enjoy their beers. Check it out here; it should only take a minute or two to complete. They’re looking to learn a little more about drinking habits of Picaroons fans, so help them out and fill out the survey!

• Rogues Roost has released their popular Russian Imperial Stout seasonal beer this week. Brewed with tons of dark roasted malt, the beer starts with liquorice and treacle flavours, and ends with roast and coffee flavour and aroma. The beer weighs in at 9% ABV and 50 IBUs. This black beauty will not be available in growlers, so pull up a stool at the bar, and have a pint or two!

• Hell Bay has released their newest seasonal, Black Fog Oatmeal Stout. This dark beer features lots of roasted aroma and flavour with hints of chocolate and coffee and weighs in at  5.5% ABV and 36 IBUs. It is currently available in kegs and growlers at the brewery, and will shortly be released in bottles as well. Look for it at your favourite bar or private beer store soon!

• Boxing Rock has also released a new seasonal, the U-889 Russian Imperial Stout. We do not have many details on the beer , but do know that it weighs in at 8.89% ABV and a hefty 65 IBUs, and that vanilla was used during the brewing process, so this will be an interesting RIS! It is currently available in bottles and growlers at the brewery, and at Bishop’s Cellar and the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market this weekend. Look for it on tap and cask at Stillwell soon as well!

• Sea Level Brewing has announced their much-loved High Street Wee Heavy Scotch Ale will be available soon. Brewmaster Randy Lawrence first brewed this beer in the mid-nineties as a tribute to his grandfather who was born and lived on High Street, Inveraray, Scotland. An ale with a complex malty body and a slight hint of smokiness in the finish. Smooth, easy drinking and brewed in time for the longer darker nights. Good and Strong, ABV 6.3%. It will be available soon in growlers and on tap at the Port Pub, and cans at three of the private beer stores in Halifax.

• For those of you attending the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival on March 8th, 2014 (if you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, there’s still some available), the Crowne Plaza-Lord Beaverbrook downtown (right across from the Fredericton Convention Centre, where the event is being held) has a special rate of $109/night for ticket-holders. Check out this link to reserve your room now. Also, if you would be interested in volunteering for the Fest, contact FCBF on Twitter or by their website. It will be a fun night!

• As we mentioned previously, Big Spruce held their homebrew competition last Friday. The winning brew was Tim Gregory’s Dirty Grain IPA, which beat out 16 other entries for the best American IPA. We chatted with Tim about his win, and he had this to say, “The name comes from me being a very disorganized brewer and rushing to get my grain crushed while the strike water is heating and dumping them all over the basement floor, and then sweeping them up and back into the mill (hey, it’s all pre-boil right?). I was really shocked and excited when I found out [I’d won].  Just before bed I logged onto wifi on my phone and it immediately buzzed and said that like 13 people had mentioned me on facebook.  I logged on and saw the post that I’d won.  I was pretty surprised, I didn’t even know the judging was going down that night.” He will be heading up to Nyanza next Friday to brew his beer with Jeremy on the big system, and it will be released at the Local Connections Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration January 14th at the Halifax Club. Congratulations, Tim!

• St John’s YellowBelly Brewpub is holding a customer appreciation event next Wednesday (Dec 18th). Free hors d’oeuvres and music from 4-9pm, and sample Brewmaster Liam McKenna’s great beers (including the recently released Mummer’s Brew winter seasonal). All of YB’s friends and fans are invited, just be sure to RSVP via email before Monday.

• The Beerthief is holding another tasting next week, this time it is beer and olive oil. An interesting combination, to say the least, but we think it will work quite well. They are partnering with O’Leva Oils and Vins for the event. There will be five beers and oils tasted, each chosen to pair with each other. Attendees will also leave with a 60mL bottle of their favourite oil of the evening. The beers to be tasted are de Koninck, Liefmans Goudenband, and three beers from The Bruery. To take part, please email Tom Beckett to reserve your spot.

• Tickets for the Saint John Beer Fest are now on sale! The event will be taking place 7-9:30pm, Saturday April 5th, 2014, once again at Market Square downtown. The list of attending breweries is not yet available, but we have been assured that it will be even bigger and better than last year, complete with more unique and interesting entertainment (remember last year’s Atlantic Cirque performers?). Tickets are available at Harbour Station (online, by phone or in person). VIP tickets are also available, which will allow early access to the event.

• The Great Canadian Beer Expo is coming to your town! Well, if you live in Sydney, Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton, and Charlottetown, it is. The multi-city Expo will offer attendees the chance to taste and enjoy 120+ different beers. The ticket format is slightly different than most others in our region: entrance is $25, and then beer sample tickets are purchased for $1 per 4oz pour. Tickets are now on sale, and we will release more details as they become available. The Expo’s first stop is two nights in Sydney, NS, January 24th and 25th, at the Centre 200. And a lucky attendee from each stop on the tour will win a trip for two to Munich for Oktoberfest!

• Be sure to check out PEI Brewing Company’s Facebook page for their great twelve days of Christmas gift ideas and specials. There’s a new feature every day, so check back often.

That’s all for this morning, but stay tuned, as we’re working on several more posts for next week, it’s going to be a busy one! Here’s a teaser: we’ll have a full profile on Nova Scotia’s newest brewery, Bad Apple Brewhouse.

Friday Wrap-up – Big Spruce Holding Homebrew Comp, New Beers from Celtic Knot, Grimross and Paddy’s Brewpub, and lots more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-11-01
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, homebrewing, Ladies Beer League, Local Connections, McAuslan Brewery, Paddys Irish Brewpub, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery, Shiretown Beer, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat Gastropub. 1 comment
Welcome to November! I hope all of last night’s tricks were fun, and your treats were Atlantic Canadian Craft Beer.
• Big Spruce Brewing is holding a homebrew competition as part of their contribution to the Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration event, put on by Local Connections in January (we’ll have a full post on it soon). The full information is available on their Facebook event, but the important details are: The competition is open to all Nova Scotian homebrewers. The style of beer is an American IPA, BJCP style 14B, one entry per brewer. Registration of intent closes November 7th, and beers are due at the brewery by December 2nd. Registration is $25, and that includes a Big Spruce t-shirt. The brewer of the winning beer, as chosen by the judging panel, will brew their beer on the 7 barrel system at Big Spruce, and be released at the event in January. So, homebrewers, start your kettles, and be sure to email Big Spruce to receive and complete the registration form.
• Celtic Knot Brewing has a new beer in the pipeline – an English Barleywine, “Toque and Mitts” was brewed with Maris Otter, Chocolate Malt, Wheat Malt, and Crystal 120 L. A dark and malty beer coming in at about 7.5% ABV, it has approximately 33 IBUs and is brewed with Willamette, East Kent Golding, and Belma hops. We’ll keep you updated as to when this beer is available; it should be out around the beginning of December, available where other Celtic Knot beers can be found, The Tide & Boar and Marky’s Laundromat.
• Details for the beers being poured at the Fredericton Poutine Festival next weekend are now available on the event’s ticket site. Grimross Brewing will be serving their recently-released Belgian Rye IPA, as well as a new beer, their Belgian Porter (details below). Picaroons will be pouring their Yippee IPA, Blonde Ale, Winter Warmer, and 104th Regiment. McAuslan Brewery will have their Pale Ale, Apricot Wheat, and Oatmeal Stout, and McClelland Premium Imports will be bringing Steigl, Erdinger Dunkelweizen, Affligem Blond, and Fruli. Unfortunately, there’s no word yet as to what beers Pump House will have at the event. There’s still some tickets to the festival available; remember, the regular ticket gets your four 4 oz beer samples, while the “Beer Experience” gives you twelve samples.
• Back to Grimross Brewing, their Belgian Porter is just about finished and ready for release. A dark brown beer best thought of as a Brown Porter fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, it is described by owner/brewer Stephen Dixon as having a roasted aroma with hints of chocolate and dark candy, and flavours that start with roast and finish with chocolate and syrup. As mentioned, it should be pouring at the Fredericton Poutine Festival, and will likely be available in growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique soon!
• And in even more Grimross news, their beers are starting to make their way to Moncton! The Belgian Rye IPA has recently been available on tap at the Tide & Boar, and has reportedly been selling very well. Dixon has confirmed that this beer will continue to be sold at the T&B for the time-being, so if you’re in Moncton and haven’t tried it yet, now’s your chance! Check out their latest blog post for more thoughts from the Grimross Team.
• Continuing with new-beer news, Hell Bay Brewing has released their new seasonal beer, Wee Heavy. A Strong Scotch Ale brewed with six different malts, it’s described by the brewer Mark Baillie as “a slightly sweet, rich and malty beer with caramel flavours and hints of smoke”. Coming it at 8% ABV and just under 20 IBUs, it’s currently available in bottles at the brewery, and should be arriving at Premier Wine & Spirits in Halifax this weekend.
• Paddy’s Pub in Wolfville has released their newest seasonal beer, S’Mashed Pumpkin Ale. Weighing in at 5.2% ABV, the beer features a bright orange colour and hints of pumpkin pie spice, backed up by clean malt flavours of pilsner, Vienna and crystal malts. Like their Acadian Cream, Raven Scottish Ale, Annapolis Valley Ale and Blueberry Ale, the S’Mashed is also available in growlers at the pub. Unfortunately, their Chimney Swift Stout is not available in growlers, as it is served on nitrogen, and this technique does not fare well in bottles.
• Meanwhile, it looks like the Gahan House Pub plans on having a new beer to release soon. Details are extremely slim, but it appears to be brewed with locally-grown hops; where exactly the hops are from, however, remains to be revealed. It appears that the beer has been brewed at the pub, and not at the PEI Brewing Co.
• If you’ve been itching to get your hands on one of those hand-crafted Shiretown Beer steins, they’re available again! This is the third release of the mugs, which are made by Monique (Bujold) Brown of Barlicoco Pottery. Only 15 were made; at $35 each, they’re going fast. They can be purchased at the brewery, or check out their Facebook page for availability.
• A reminder that Garrison Brewing is serving up some special beers as part of their King’s Wardroom Wednesday Firkin events. This week’s beer was “Jack’O’Dubbel”, a Belgian Dubbel style Pumpkin Ale. If you are a King’s student, alumni or friend of one, don’t miss out on these special one-off releases, tapped promptly at 4:30pm.
• The Antigonish Townhouse is catching up with the great demand for their in-house brewed beer, and Terry’s Best Bitter is in steady supply these days. The beer is treated like a traditional Real Ale and is cask conditioned and on hand-pump, so best drunk fresh, right at the bar, we figure. 🙂 We’ve not had a chance to try it yet, but reports are very favourable.
• Stillwell Beer Bar is hiring a couple more people for their soon-to-be-open location. They are looking for both kitchen and front-of-house folks to round out their excellent team. Check their Kijiji ad for more details. Number one requirement: must love beer! There’s been a ton of work done at Stillwell since our visit last month; we’re looking forward to sitting down for a great pint soon!
• Finally this week, tomorrow is Learn to Homebrew Day. Organized by the American Homebrewers Association, this event is aimed at new (or soon-to-be-new) homebrewers looking to learn a bit more about their hobby, but all are welcome to take part. Despite its name, the AHA is an international organization, and there are events taking place in Atlantic Canada. Support your local homebrew shop and ask if they’ll be putting on an event. If not, why not offer to do one to share the great hobby with your friends and family? Sure, they always appreciate that bottle of homebrew you bring to the party/wedding/wake, wouldn’t they like to know how you made it? In Nova Scotia, Noble Grape is showing off a partial mash brewday at their Burnside store beginning at noon, and the Brewnosers are hosting a full mash brewday in Halifax, beginning at 10am (yes, it does take a bit longer to do a full mash, but the results speak for themselves!). Come on by if you are interested in learning more.
And stay tuned early next week, as we’ve got a great interview with a couple of members of the Ladies Beer League regarding the Cask Event taking place at the Stubborn Goat Gastropub November 17th.

Friday Wrap-Up – Fredericton Poutine Festival Being Held Nov. 10th, PEIBeerGuy Tasting at The Landing Tonight, New Beer at Hart & Thistle, and lots more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-10-18
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bridge Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Grimross Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery. 3 comments

Good morning folks! Who feels like some beer news?

• On Sunday, November 10th, the Fredericton Poutine Festival will be held at the Delta Fredericton. Featuring all-you-can-eat poutine (over ten different types from four establishments), there are two sessions: a “Family Session” ($25) from 12pm-3pm, and a “Beer Session” from 6pm-9pm. The Beer Session has two options – a regular ticket ($35) that provides four 4 oz beer samples (in addition to the standard unlimited poutine and non-alcoholic beverages), and a “Beer Experience” ($45) ticket that gives you twelve 4 oz beer samples. At least 15 different beers from local breweries Grimross, Pump House, and Picaroons will be poured, as well as from McAuslan Brewery and McClelland Premium Imports. Tickets can be purchased here; the event is already over 85% sold-out, so don’t wait much longer to get your ticket!

• This evening,  the PEI Beer Guy is hosting a beer tasting at The Landing Oyster House and Pub in Tyne Valley, PEI. It will feature six beers of all different styles, paired with food from The Landing’s kitchen. Stephen was kind enough to give us a preview of the beer: Blanche de Chambly (a Belgian-style Witbier), AffIigem Blond (a Belgian Blond), Gahan’s Pumpkin Ale (a dunkelweizen with pumpkin), St. Ambroise‘s Oatmeal Stout, Barnone‘s IPA, and Mort Subite Kriek (a cherry lambic). As he told us, this is probably the first time a sour beer has been available in a restaurant or bar in PEI. Tickets are a steal at $30, so buy them online here, or call The Landing (902-831-2992) for details.

• Good news for craft beer fans in Moncton: Celtic Knot Brewing now has all four of their beers in rotation at both The Tide and Boar and Marky’s Laundromat. Hopicide, Not-Joe-Average, Dark Passage and Dubh Loki will all be cycling through on tap at both locations, so stay tuned to their Facebook pages to find out when your favorite(s) is/are available!

• A new beer is now available at the Hart & Thistle Gastropub on the Halifax Waterfront. Dank & Stormy is a juicy double IPA, weighing in at 8.2% and 83 IBUs (courtesy of lots of Centennial, Cascade and Columbus varietals). The hopping rate is massive at 6.2lb/barrel (over half a kilo per 23L homebrew batch), which means lots of late and dry hops to live up to its Dank name. The TubberRoe Robust Porter is still on as well, but who knows for how long!

• Also from the mind of Greg Nash, we have further information on his beer to appear at the Cask Days in Toronto this weekend. His IPA was actually brewed on the 10 gallon pilot system at Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyons Brook. An American-style IPA, weighing in at 6.8% and 66 IBUs, and a nice golden colour (7 SRM). That sounds like a great beer for a cask.

• The Belgian Rye IPA from Grimross Brewing that we reported on last week is still available for growler fills at the Picaroons Brewtique, and we now have some more information on the beer from owner/brewer Stephen Dixon. A rye IPA fermented with Belgian yeast, it pours a copper-brown color, and has aromas of orange, floral and candy. Hopped with Cascade, Willamette and Amarillo, and dry-hopped with Amarillo alone, it finishes quite dry, while exhibiting flavors of “rustic rye and spice”. The beer weighs in at 6% ABV.

• Bridge Brewing has extended their retail hours, so it should be easier for Halifax residents to drop by to purchase growlers, party kegs, and brewery swag. They are now open from 12-9 on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-6. Wednesday and Thursday hours remain the same, 12-7.

• After a successful soft launch earlier this week, the Stubborn Goat Gastropub will be opening today at 6pm. Reports from the event were very positive, and we hope to have a full report on the beer and food offerings for you shortly. In the meantime, follow along at their Facebook and Twitter pages.

• If you do not already have plans for this evening, there is a Winemaker vs. Brewmaster Dinner taking place at the Halifax Club. Beginning at 6pm, the $89 event allows the two Masters (Propeller‘s Brewmaster Bobby Zacharias and Blomidon Estate Winemaker Simon Rafuse) to show off how well their drinks pair with the five courses of food prepared by the Halifax Club‘s Chef Nelson.

• After an extremely successful summer with no time to breathe, Boxing Rock is finally ready for their Grand Opening! Saturday, October 26, from 12-6pm at their brewery at 78 Ohio Road, Shelburne, NS will be a fun afternoon of celebration, with tours and tastings for adults and face painting for the kids. The official ribbon cutting will take place at 12:15pm, and tours starting at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30. To make reservations for tours please call 494-9233 ext. 3 Tuesday – Saturday from 12-6. Congratulations to Emily and Henry and the entire Boxing Rock Family!

• We received some insider information that this weekend’s Rockbottom Firkin will be a London-style Porter.  Head on down at 1pm Saturday for the tapping of the firkin.

• Today, the folks from Crannóg Ales are visiting Jeremy and the gang at Big Spruce to brew up a collaboration beer. The two Organic breweries (the only in the country) will brew an Imperial IPA, that will feature BC Galena and Cascade hops, grown on Crannóg’s hopfield. Check their Facebook page throughout the day for pics of the action, and then the brewery in a few weeks to buy growlers of this tasty coast-to-coast collab.