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Friday Wrap-Up for October 14, 2022 – News from North, Serpent, Tatamagouche, Half Cocked, Tire Shack, Rough Waters, and more!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2022-10-14
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Bite House, CAVOK Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Lake City Cider, North Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Rough Waters Brewing, Serpent Brewing, Sourwood Cidery, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Is this a natural time for a beer news lull? Maybe! But there is always news out there and we are happy to bring it to you. We feel for our breweries in the Pictou/New Glasgow/Stellarton area that were mostly out of power for over two weeks with Hurricane Fiona. Just as with any of your other local businesses and community members, keep your heart and mind open to all of those around you. You could even bring them some beer, or get some for yourself! Watch the weather, relax after some turkey and drink what you like, or try something new…now onto some news for you!

‘Tis the season, and North Brewing is getting into the Pumpkin SZN swing with Sweater Weather, a Pumpkin Spiced Amber Ale and North’s first ever pumpkin beer! They started out by roasting out those pumpies before adding a selection of seasonal spices, including nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and ginger in the fermenter. It came out at 5% and is nicely spiced, malty and drinkable. It’s available now in cans from all North locations and on tap as well. 

Keeping our feet firmly planted in the pumpkin patch we find Serpent Brewing also has a gourdy new release, fresh out of Spryfield. Today they’re releasing Pumpkin König Tripel, sticking with their Belgian-inspired backbone and a mostly traditional Belgian Tripel style, but with the addition of a touch of pumpkin spice. Using traditional amber and biscuit malts, with the aforementioned spices and some simple candy syrup to clean it all up, it’s got a nice body, while staying dry and drinkable. It’s 7.5% and available to go in 500ml bottles and on tap for pints and growlers. This is very limited in bottle stock, so don’t wait for Halloween!. 

Staying in season, Tatamagouche Brewing is bringing back their seasonal Lagerhosen in a 355ml format and with a festive new label. Originally released over 8 years ago(!), you probably already know that it’s an Oktoberfest-themed lager, but were you aware that it picked up silver at the 2014 Atlantic Canadian Brewing Awards? Crisp and refreshing at 4.5% it’s brewed with Halltertau Mittelfrüh hops for classic spicy and floral notes.

Also new and available today from TataBrew, and in collaboration with Derado’s Pizzeria for their anniversary, is Saucy, a Cerveza with a basil addition inspired by the classic pizzeria. The beer is 4.5% and pairs perfectly with all the fare from Derado’s. Both of these releases are available online and in-store. 

Pulling a different thread of connections between beer news items we’ll switch to geography. On the North Shore in the Antigonish area you’ll find Half Cocked Brewing who have a new 4.5% lager-ish release available. Pip is a Pseudo-American Lager that is canned and available now from the brewery in 355ml cans. 

Taking a rip over to Moncton, Tire Shack has their big banger monster sized triple IPA back for Spooky Season! Killed by Death is a 10% TIPA absolutely loaded with a luscious, juicy mix of Citra, Mosaic and Vic Secret hops. Look for citrus and tropical fruit along with some dankness on top of a big body with some alcohol bite. It’s available now in cans and on tap at the brewery. 

Straight out of Deer Lake, NL, Rough Waters has a new Daydreamer IPA out now and soon to spread across the western part of the island. Featuring a powerful hop blend of Vic Secret, Sabro and Mosaic, it’s smooth and balanced with some bitterness but still has a full, hazy body at 5.2%. It’s available from the brewery now and in Deer Lake, Corner Brook and Pasadena over the coming days, with distro to the eastern part of the province in the following week. 

Jumping across to Bay Roberts, Baccalieu Trail is jumping into the low ABV lager game with the release of Baccalieu Light. The brewery has been experimenting with different light lagers over the last 8 months, making tweaks and improvements along the way, and has landed on a recipe worthy of its core lineup. Featuring a grain bill of Pilsner malt and flaked corn and hopped exclusively with Saaz hops, Light comes in at a sessionable 4.3% ABV. The first batch is currently flowing from the taps at the brewery, with a larger run of cans currently conditioning for release in a few weeks. 

In what has the look of an annual event, Sourwood is once again releasing two collabs with Baddeck Forks Chef Bryan Picard of Bite House fame. First up is a Pet-Nat made from a blend of wild apples to the tune of 5.3% ABV. Expect a hint of sweetness and a pleasant carbonation from the bottle conditioning. Field Blend Pet-Nat is available in 375 ml bottles. The pomance from those wild apples was then combined with water to extract the remaining sugars and fermented as a Piquette style cider, with the signature low-ABV of the Piquette method. Feral Apple Piquette features a more neutral acidity and comes in at 1.9% ABV. You can find these two releases at the Sourwood taproom, through their online store or via the fine folks at Bishops Cellar. 

Skipping straight over Hallowe’en and getting an early start on stocking stuffers this year is Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider. Featuring a stocking hat-clad take on their duck logo on the outside of the bottle, the inside looks to bring a taste of winter. Off-dry (or semi-sweet, depending on your preferred terminology), and 6.8% ABV, it’s bolstered by a blend of cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, and dried orange peel. A limited edition, Spice Up Your Life is available in 750ml bottles via Lake City’s online store, a great gift for the cider lover in your life, or maybe you’ll want to grab one and dream of cooler nights to come yourself.

Just one event on the go in the next week, as the last (we think!) of the region’s Oktoberfest events 

If you’re in Charlottetown next weekend and you’re looking for something to do involving beer, check out PEI Brewing Co.’s annual Okto-beer-feast celebration. A two-day extravaganza of German-inspired food stations, live entertainment, and activities, tickets are $30 plus taxes and fees per session and include a 24oz. stein and one fill. Friday evening’s festivities run from 5pm – 12am, while saturday’s start earlier, of course, at 2pm and also run until midnight. Beers and ciders will be on tap from Gahan and the food stations will run on a token system. Activities will include some competitions where the winners will receive Murphy Hospitality Group gift cards. Full details for each day can be found at the ticket purchase links for Friday and Saturday.

A few newsbites before we go. 

Upstreet has a fresh batch of Blue Meanie Blueberry DIPA available at its Halifax and Charlottetown locations. Coming in at 8% ABV, expect notes of blueberry jam, lemon, pineapple and a hint of tartness.
We’ll leave you with a quick hit from Dieppe where CAVOK is releasing a lovely new fruited sour, Mission Rhubarbe  Canneberge. This 4.9% sour was fermented on local cranberries and rhubarb and is available now on tap and to-go in growers or crowlers.

Friday Wrap-Up for August 19, 2022 – News from Tatamagouche, Trailway, Half Cocked, Banished, Propeller, Stillwell, Bannerman, Unfiltered, and Sea Level!

Posted by acbbdevon on 2022-08-19
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Banished Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Beergarden, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Stillwell Freehouse, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing. 1 comment

Happy Friday, folks! Hoping everyone has had a great work week so far, and is gearing up for rest and relaxation this weekend. Let’s give you a few things to seek out to quench that thirst we’ve been building up, from around the region.

Nova Scotia North Shore’s darling Tatamagouche Brewing has a new beer on tap and in cans this week, a zippy citrus Berliner Weiße made with Buddha’s Hand. Not common in these parts, Buddha’s Hand originated in South East Asia, and is striking in appearance, with many outstretched “fingers” of the fruit, giving plenty of surface area ripe for zesting. Using an extremely aromatic puree of the fruit, Team Tata used a low 3.8% ABV base beer, to allow the bright citrus to shine through. Cans of Buddha’s Hand Berliner Weisse are available now at the brewery and online, with draught making its way across the region as well.

And doubling down on the low-ABV but high-flavour beers is the return of their Intertidal: Sabro Session IPA. At 3.5% ABV, you could be excused and think there won’t be much going on, but you’d be sorely missing out! Big flavour and medium body, with massive tropical notes of coconut, stone fruit, and even some mint, thanks to the eponymous hop and using a new-to-Tata yeast, Hydra from Escarpment Labs. Available in cans and on draught now as well! And if you drop by before 5 PM today, you’ll be able to pair your pints with some donuts from Aroma Maya. And look below in the Events Section for even more news from Tata…

Is it IPA Day everyday at Trailway Brewing? We say, “Yes!” This week they’ve got a returning release with big, big energy: Imagination is an IPA packing a mix of IPA flavours in a 5.5% vessel. It’s got a fun mix of hops, including Southern Tropic, Sultana, and Citra Lupomax, enhanced by American Ale yeast which brings a bit of peachy character. Even better, it’s double dry hopped for your pleasure. Available now from the brewery in cans, and in the taproom and around the region on draught, too.

The near-Antigonish folks at North Grant’s Half Cocked have a very tasty release out this week with Sailor’s Delight. This is a Gose with lime leaves and hibiscus, using local salt water from Malignant Cove along with roasted coriander. It’s tart and deep red with a jammy notes and comes in at a highly drinkable 3.8%. This is only available on tap at the brewery for now!

We’re going to hop on the hibiscus train all the way up to Newfoundland with 2 tickets to Paradise! Or more tickets if you want. Banished Brewing is releasing Paddles Up, a beer in support of the community and collaboration with the Avalon Dragons. This group of amazing women have battled breast cancer and have found dragon boating as a way of healthy living, fitness, and community. This 5% beer, a hibiscus and raspberry sour, sees 50 cents from every can sold donated toward the Avalon Dragons. It’s available at the Banished retail shop now and will be available island-wide next week. 

We’ve got a returning brew from Propeller this week and it’s a style that’s been popping up more around the region the last year or so. Flat White is a White Stout that brings coffee and cocoa flavours to a more classically pale-coloured ale. Always a bit of a trick on the mind, this is a golden ale with big coffee flavours thanks to Java Blend cold brew and has lots of flaked oats in the malt bill to get a well-balanced body at 5% ABV. Also contributing to the body and providing some sweetness is lactose, which is balanced by 30 IBU. Flat White is available online and at the Prop shops and HRM private stores now, and is headed to select NSLC locations soon. 

Hot on the heels of the inaugural release of Best Bitter, Stillwell Brewing has another one of its flagships ready, with cans of Stilly Pils now available at HQ to drink on premises or to grab and go. We expect more than a few folks will be stocking up on this crusher for their weekend enjoyment. Hopefully we’ll see it available for online ordering soon, and we’re definitely looking forward to checking out their retail and event space in the fall!

Also available once again, for the first time this year, we think, is Daytimer Berliner weiße from Unfiltered Brewing. Tart and refreshing, you can enjoy this 4% ABV heat beater on its own or with an addition of traditional woodruff syrup (or any other syrup you might have around, really). For those who need to know, this batch is also gluten-reduced!

Rounding out this week’s news is a brand new release, in a brand new style, for Sea Level Brewing and their Millstone Harvest Brewhouse. Fundy Fog is a 4.5% ABV Hazy IPA, using a whole buncha Belma and Azacca hops to deliver a blast of tropical and citrus directly to your face. Making it to the taps literally this minute at their Millstone location on Highway 221 between Sheffield Mills and Canning, it will be canned and available to take away next week. Get on out for a visit and taste this weekend!

Let’s take a look at what’s on the go this weekend and next in Halifax…

After a busy weekend of rare ciders and a double Bar Volo takeover, Team Stillwell is bringing us two more events to close out the summer. This Saturday (August 20) will see St. John’s Bannerman Brewing taking over the taps at the Beergarden. Saturday is gearing up to be a busy day downtown with great weather in the forecast, the Stanley Cup parade (which goes right by the Beergarden’s Spring Garden Road entrance), and 9 taps of delicious Bannerman beer available. Check out the Beergarden’s social channels for the full tap list which features styles that are sure to please everyone’s taste buds, including lagers, sours, belgian-style ales, and a few hoppy numbers.

Next weekend will see Tatamagouche Brewing taking over the taps at the Freehouse on Agricola, on Saturday, August 27. Team Tata is bringing out the big guns, with a slew of favourites on all 12 tap lines and 6 casks on the hand pumps. Highlights include Observe, their red wine barrel aged Brett lager and Solitude, the 12.6% ABV BA imperial chocolate stout on tap, along with a cask version of their Darling mild that was aged in a second use cognac barrel with brettanomyces. If that’s not enough, they are also pulling a few kegs from the cellar to rotate through the taps during the event, including kegs of RIS, Baltic Porter, Barleywine and Bourbon BA Stouts, that have been getting even better for the past few years. 

Friday Wrap-Up for August 12, 2022 – News from 2 Crows, Spindrift, Stillwell Brewing, Port Rexton, Banished, Half Cocked, Delta Force, Serpent, and much more!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2022-08-12
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Banished Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Breton Brewing, Candid Brewing, Delta Force Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Lone Oak Brewing, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Port Rexton Pride, Revel Cider, Serpent Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Brewing, The Stillwell Freehouse, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Volo. Leave a Comment

Second week of August already??!! Time flies when you’re drinking on the patio, and soaking up every ray of sunshine you can! Thankfully our local cider and beer makers have been working overtime to keep your glasses and mugs full, so let’s get you up to speed on what’s new and coming soon to our Atlantic region, starting with a few releases from last weekend, but still available for purchase at their respective breweries/taprooms around town.

2 Crows Brewing have teamed up once again with the fine folks at Lightfoot & Wolfville, to the bring together the 2021 Harvest Scheurebe Piquette. This 6.2% drink uses freshly pressed Scheurebe grape skins, soaking them in cold water to extract out the residual sugar and tannic acids that remain after the first pressing that Lightfoot used for their wine. After this soaking, the skins were separated from the sugary liquid and allowed to ferment out extremely dry (no complex sugars that are common in beer brewing), and received a light dry-hopping of Eclipse before canning and forming a bright natural carbonation in that package. Tropical, fresh, and dry, cans are available to enjoy onsite at Lightfoot and 2 Crows now! Joining it is the latest in 2 Crows’ Hop Water series, canned yesterday. Cans of Tangerine Hop Water are ready to grab and go with you wherever your travels take you, when you need a break from the booze but are looking for a locally made fizzy drink! Citra hops enhance the bold citrus character, living up to its name.

Coming out of Spindrift Brewing is a vertically integrated special! Kristi White from their team is their quality manager and a production brewer and she’s done everything from recipe creation, brewing and label design for Lavandula. This is a Honey Lavender Saison with additions of blueberry blossom honey, dried lavender buds, paired with a delicate blend of hops to keep it light, bright, sweet and floral. This is 6.2% and available in cans from the Dartmouth and Antigonish locations. 

For months now, fans of Stillwell Brewing have been eagerly anticipating the first releases to start rolling out of the tanks of their new production brewery on Kempt Road. Well, the wait is over with their Best Bitter Special hitting the hand pumps at the Freehouse, Stillwell HQ and The Narrows. As a few of your favourite bloggers can attest, expect a very cozy drinking experience with a pleasant carbonation, low ABV, plenty of malt complexity and some earthy hop notes from the Fuggles dry hop. If you can’t make it to any of these Halifax pubs, fear not. Cans and kegs will start rolling out of the brewery by September 1st. The initial line up will include Stilly Pils, their German-style Pilsner, with an updated receipt featuring a single decoction, their Kolsch-style ale Kompakt, and the aforementioned Best Bitter. On top of that, plans are in place to open up the retail space later in the fall, along with an event space that will feature Stillwell Brewing events but will also be open for community bookings. We’ll be sure to share more info in the weeks ahead, along with a feature profile on the brewery.

Off to Newfoundland for the first time this week, as the small town (with a big heart) of Port Rexton is celebrating Port Rexton Pride this weekend! And of course, Port Rexton Brewing is getting in on the fun! They are hosting a whole bunch of crafting, food, and pop-up shopping at the brewery tomorrow, followed by Music and Brews in the evening (more info on Instagram). But what’s Pride without a celebratory beer?? Teaming up yet again with the Queer Beer NL crew, they have released Cascading Pride, a White IPA. The whole crew was onsite to zest kilos and kilos of lemon and lime for a bright zippy and citrusy nose, enhancing the sweet orange peel and touch of coriander spicing. Cascading Pride is available on the Give Back Tap at the brewery now ($1 per pint going to support Port Rexton Pride for the month of August), and cans will be available at the St. John’s Retail Shop and other shops next week! Get on out to PRBC this weekend and show your Pride!

If you’ve got a ticket to Paradise, be sure to check out Banished Brewing anytime, but they’ve got some news this week with a new beer, retail and updates on the taproom and beer garden. First up, the new beer! They’ve got Groundskeeper’s Best Bitter coming out this week and this is a 4.7% classic style with a nod to cask ales. This is available now in their retail shop and will be headed out across stores across the province of Newfoundland.

Their retail shop is open with new devlieres of merch and some glassware on the way, and in the next few months they’ll have their beer garden up and running, as they make their way through the necessary red tape. Keep an eye out for this awesome brewery as they’ll have some new releases in the next few months and more updates about the brewery!

We’ve got a new beer from North Grant’s Half Cocked Brewing to tell you about this week! Looking for big bold tropical flavours of a New England IPA, but in a tiny beer, we’ve got the right beer for you! Lil’ Hug is a light and sessionable 3.2% ABV, but the heavy late hop additions concentrating on papaya and citrus notes that we love in a NEIPA. Grab it on tap and in cans at the brewery on Highway 245 just 5 minutes outside of Antigonish.

Nova Scotia’s most mysterious and elusive brewery continues to pile up the good deeds with its fifth release under the Make Peace Not War beer project. Delta Force Brewing is releasing a Belgian Pale Ale, available now through their online store. 40% of proceeds will be donated to the Ukraine Red Cross. And while you’re buying some of this new release, be sure to check out the rest of their brands to take advantage of their August sale of $1 off per bottle. 

Over in Spryfield, Serpent Brewing is releasing Sunspot, a Sour Tropical IPA that comes in at 5.1% ABV. Named after the good boy/pup Sunspot, who liked to laze around in the sunny spots all day, it uses Philly Sour yeast to create a refreshing tart finish, along with some stonefruit esters. The combination of Simcoe and Citra hops also provides a mix of tropical and citrusy fruit notes. Flaked Wheat was added to the base Pilsner malt to provide a rounder mouthfeel that stands up to the hops and tartness. This one is only available on tap, so you’ll need to make a pilgrimage to Spryfield to try it on tap or to fill up your growler. 

The fine folks out of Sydney, Nova Scotia are bringing a nice summertime release to the masses this week, with Breton Brewing’s Wee’ Smidgen, a Tiny IPA. A lower ABV release, this is a 3.6% IPA packed with tasty hops. Citra and Mosaic lead the way with big citrus flavours and a base of Ebbegarden yeast brings notes of mango and pineapple. Cans and pints are in the taproom and also available for home delivery in Cape Breton and HRM. This is a seasonal release, so get this while you can.

Staying in Cape Breton, Big Spruce has a new release available now. Irrational Optimist is an Apricot Sour coming in at 5.4%. Packed with stone-fruit aroma and flavour, there is a nice balance of pucker and tartness. This is available now online for free shipping and at the brewery in Nyanza. 

A few updates from Tire Shack out of Moncton, with a new beer and a facility update. As always, we start with the beer. Dragonfruit-Watermelon Sour is a very fruity sour with pear, kiwi and watermelon Jolly Rancher flavours. A tasty patio sour (soured with lactobacillus) is 5.5% and is available on tap now and will be in cans any day now. 

This award winning brewery also has some expansion plans in the works with construction underway now. They’ll look to complete this in early 2023, but we are excited for Jerica, Alan, and their team, along with the entire Maritime region!

Everyone’s favorite beer bar conglomerate (haha!)  sure has you covered for things to do this weekend:.

Your faves (and ours!) at Stillwell are for sure makin’ a weekend of it. We told you last week about the Bar Volo takeover happening today at both Stilly HQ and the Freehouse (a reminder that all the deets can be found in this Ig post), but right after that was announced, another announcement came about what’s happening the rest of the weekend. And the something that’s happening is CIDERAMA

Not since 2018 has the Stillwell gang brought this much juice to the city. Starting tomorrow, Saturday, August 13th, at HQ, where longtime friends of Stillwell, Guelph’s Revel Cider will be taking over all 12 taps on the wall. Meanwhile, at the Freehouse will be “Cellar Unleashed” where twenty of the best American, Canadian, and English bottled ciders will be poured by the glass all day. Look for stuff from Absolem Cider, Cidrerie Chemin des Sept, Olivers Cider & Perry, Cidre Sauvageon, Son of Man, Sourwood Cider, Twin Island Cider, and maybe more! Following that, on Sunday, August 14th, look for the fun to continue at the BeerGarden, with “The Clam Jam” where Joe Martini and friends will be slinging molluscs off the charcoal grill to accompany cans and taps from Chain Yard Cider, Anxo Cider, Son of Man, Absolem Cider, and Revel. So if you’re anti-beer, gluten-free, or just love you some fermented fruit juice beverages, this is your chance to try some local faves as well as some true treats from all over the world. 

One job posting on the go this week, this one in PEI:

The fine folks at Lone Oak continue to grow their operations and team, with positions currently available at their original Borden-Carleton taproom and the new Milky Way Brewpub outside of Charlottetown. A variety of bartender, server and kitchen positions are available. Reach out to careers@loneoakbrew.com for more.

A couple final things to send you on your way to a weekend of beery bliss:

Antigonish’s Candid Brewing has teamed up with the upcoming Antigonight Art Festival to release Antigonight Czech Dark Lager this week. Light and crisp in body and flavour, with just a touch of roast malt on the palate. Cans were released yesterday in time for last night’s Art Battle, and will be on tap and in that format to go when you head there this weekend!

After spending the last few months focusing on opening their new Elmsdale production brewery and beergarden, Good Robot is back to rolling out the new releases, with the third release from their Tropical Storm single hop series. Tropical Storm Nectaron is a NEIPA featuring the eponymous hop from New Zealand. The rare hop is akin to the more popular Galaxy, and showcases notes of peach, pineapple and grapefruit. Coming in at 7.0% ABV, cans are available now through Good Robots online store and at their two retail locations.

Closing out the blog today with a returning favourite from TrailWay Brewing on Fredericton’s North Side. Imagination IPA is a 6.0% hazy and dank IPA, with this release amped up with a DDH (Double Dry Hop) treatment. Southern Tropic, Sultana, and Citra Lupomax were used in massive quantities late in the process in order to maximize hop aroma and flavour without the corresponding bitterness. Look for great guava, citrus, stone fruit, and pine in the can, which is available now at the brewery and for online ordering.