Hell Bay Brewing

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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Hell Bay, Hammond River, Pump House, Picaroons, PEI Brewing, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-05-16
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2014 Atlantic Beer Festival, Big Spruce Brewing, Brewer's Bash, Hammond River Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, NLC, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Stubborn Goat. 1 comment

Happy Friday everyone! Now that spring is in full swing, be sure to grab a local beer, and enjoy it outside! Here are some new beers, new events, new jobs, and more!

• Hell Bay has released their R.I.P.(A.) version 3.0. Brewed with a different malt and hops recipe than the two previous versions, this beer has a maltier body, and a citrus hop presence. Despite these changes, the beer once again weighs in at 7.2%ABV and 70IBUs. Drop by the brewery in Liverpool for a growler, and look for it on tap around the province shortly.

• Hammond River Brewing has announced that they’re currently brewing up two new summer seasonals, and we have some info on both of them. The first beer is described as a Hawaiian-style Pale Ale; it’s brewed with fresh pineapples, along with Chinook and Cascade hops, and then dry-hopped with more Cascade. It clocks in at 5.8% ABV and 55 IBUs. The other seasonal is a Fruit Beer… more specifically, a Blueberry Ale that is brewed with real blueberries, not extract, which will give the beer a purplish color. This one will come in at 5.4% ABV and 38 IBUs. Both seasonals will rotate in production with one another, so look for them both to be making appearances over the next few months in the Saint John area, starting with the Hawaiian APA in the next couple of weeks.

• To coincide with the Atlantic Beer Festival on May 31st in Moncton, the Pump House is releasing two beers for sale in six-packs for the first time. First, the Premium Pilsner that had a limited release around last Christmas (in 750 mL swing top bottles) will now be available as the newest seasonal beer. A German-style Pilsner weighing in at about 5.7% ABV and 30 IBUs, it arrives just in time for the warmer weather (more info on the beer here). Second, they’ll be releasing a brand new IPA! No, not their regular IPA (that has always been popular with hop lovers, and only available on tap at select locations)… a new beer entirely, also in the American IPA style. No specifics on this one yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as we can! Both six-packs will be available at the brewery and ANBL locations at the end of the month/first of June, after an original launch at the Atlantic Beer Festival.

• Picaroons has announced the date of sale for tickets to their Brewer’s Bash this summer, July 12th – they go on sale next Tuesday, May 20th. Starting at 10:00 am, you can pick them up at the Cedar Tree Cafe in downtown Fredericton, or find them online here; the price is $25. Tickets sold out fairly quickly last year; even with 500 more tickets available for this year’s festival, expect it to sell out at least as fast as last year. Check out last week’s post for a bit more info on the Bash.

• Looking to work in the brewery business, but not necessarily as a brewer? Well, the PEI Brewing Co. is looking to fill a position for Retail and Sales Manager at their retail store in the brewery. You’ll need a university degree or diploma in Business, Marketing, or a related field, with a minimum of 2 years sales and marketing experience in a retail environment. Contact Cara Squires by email for more information, and/or to submit a resume. More details here.

• A reminder that the 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards are being held in Fredericton at the end of the month, May 29-31. The three day event is being held at the Fredericton Conference Centre in the city’s downtown, with satellite events across the city. Featuring some excellent panels, talks and presentations from brewers, distributors and ingredient and equipment manufacturers, this is a must-visit for anyone involved in the beer industry. The Awards Gala, being held Saturday night, and live-broadcast from the CBA website, will be the highlight of the weekend. This is when the winning beers and breweries will be announced, after the impressive job Tracy Phillippi and the panel of judges did, making their way through more than 900 submissions in Toronto last month. For those brewers who have not yet signed up, it’s not too late! Visit the CBA website for further information on the schedule and email Katrina to sign up.

• Propeller Brewing’s new Windmill Rd location is celebrating its first “Food Truck Friday” today. Cheese Gypsy Mobile Cuisine will be  set up 11:30-4 today, and every Friday this spring and summer, for folks to have some food to wash down their beer. From Andrew Cooper, “We’re quite excited about the local food truck scene and really want to be involved with it.” They join North Brewing on Agricola St, who host The Food Wolf every Sunday 12-4 and Seaport Farmers’ Market / Garrison Brewing, where Nomad Gourmet hangs out Saturday 7-3 and Sunday 9-3. To keep an eye on where these and the other food trucks are in the HRM, be sure to check out the Street Food App website.

• Speaking of Propeller, hot on the heels of their very popular Black IPA, they’ve brewed up two more One Hit Wonders at the Gottingen St brewery. While too early to release the details, Andrew Cooper assure us that they will be available soon, and released back to back, to reduce lag time between them. In previous years, these one-offs have included Zwickelbier, Imperial Red, SPA (Special Pale Ale), so we’re sure these upcoming ones will be just as special!

• Today’s Cask at the Stubborn Goat is a Double Dry-Hopped Kitchen Party Pale Ale from Big Spruce Brewing. Brewmaster Jeremy White let us know that the KP was dry hopped with Centennial in the conditioning tank, then blasted with a dose of Amarillo in the cask. After grabbing a grilled cheese sandwich and growler in Dartmouth, this sounds like a great start to the long weekend!

• Tickets for the 2014 NLC Beer Expo are now on sale. Being held June 6th and 7th, the Expo will showcase beer from across the country, and around the world. The list of beers is available here, and features over 100 different products, about 20% of which are not normally available in the province. Tickets are still available for the Friday night session, which can also include an exclusive Tasting Panel before the Fest, lead by folks from the Mill Street, Muskoka, and Unibroue.

• A quick reminder that Meander River Farm and Brewery is opening tomorrow! From 10-5, drop by their Ashdale, NS location to tour the brewery and grounds, check out some of the lavender and hops products, and other merchandise, and of course, grab some beer! We’ll see you there!

In closing, we mentioned in our post on the upcoming Atlantic Beer Festival yesterday that we’d be holding a contest for a giveaway of two tickets for the afternoon session (2:30 – 5:00 pm). Starting now, hop on Twitter and send us a note like: Hey @ACBeerBlogger! I want to win tickets to #ABF2014! http://wp.me/p23UN6-1gZ. One entry per person; we’ll randomly pick the winner and announce their name in next Friday’s post. The contest will run from now until next Thursday at 11:59 pm. Good luck!

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 and Brews from Paddys Irish Brewpub, BarNone Brewing, Hammond River, PEI Brewing. Tide & Boar and more

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-03-21
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: BarNone Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Paddys Irish Brewpub, PEI Brewing, Tide & Boar Gastropub. 1 comment

Happy Friday, one and all. We hope you’ve recovered from Monday’s festivities, wherever/however you may have celebrated!

• Paddys Irish Brewpub has tapped their latest seasonal release, “Solo Citra”. This Pale Ale beer weighs in a 5.3% ABV and 50 IBUs, with a colour reminiscent of Tangerines and a light body at 1.005 FG. Thanks to the generous dosing of Citra hops, the beer features plenty of citrus flavour and aroma, as well as a significant bitterness, thanks to the light body. It is available now at both the Kentville and Wolfville locations on tap and in growlers.

• BarNone Brewing recently announced that they’re brewing a new beer to help celebrate this year’s 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference, and tying it in with a special event at Baba’s Lounge. From April 1st-7th, Baba’s is holding a 150-hour long music jam in honor of the sesquicentennial; when Don Campbell (brewer/co-owner at BarNone) asked what type of beer they wanted him to brew for the event, they decided on a Red Ale. Don soon came up with “RedEye”, a hoppy Amber brewed with 150 kg of malt and 150 oz of hops, with a 150 minute boil time. Coming in at – you guessed it – 150 IBUs and a color of 15 SRM, it will be served exclusively at Baba’s for the music jam. After that, it may pop up on tap at other restaurants/bars in the area, and will likely be available for Thursday growler fills at the brewery.

• Shane Steeves of Hammond River Brewing has confirmed that he is planning on brewing a new beer in the near future. While details on the recipe are still slim, we can confirm that it will be an Imperial IPA weighing in at about 8.6% ABV and 100 IBUs. The beer will be brewed soon, after Steeves returns from a much-deserved vacation; we’ll keep you updated as to when and where the beer will be released.

• In other Hammond River news, they’ve recently rebrewed their Hop Flash IPA; this time it’s been dry-hopped with two different hop varieties than previous batches. It should be on tap in the Saint John area in a few days… if you can guess the two hop varieties used, post it on their Facebook page to win a Hammond River ball cap!

• Expansion continues over at PEI Brewing Co., as they recently confirmed that they will soon be shipping their beer to Ontario! The first shipment will consist of their Fathers 2014 Commemorative 4-packs, which include renamed and relabelled bottles of their Blueberry Ale, Coles Cream Ale, Iron Bridge Brown, and Sir John A’s Honey Wheat. More on this Anniversary release in our previous post here.

• The Duo Wine Bar at The Tide & Boar Gastropub in Moncton is having their second beer dinner next Wednesday, March 26th. Hosted by chef Michael Savoie, there will be five courses, all paired with a different craft beer; some of the beers include a Picaroons cask ale, a “surprise IPA”, and some highly-rated Belgian beers. Accompanied by such courses as lobster crostini and a marinated salmon with hop salad, the event is almost sold out. Tickets are $115 (inc. tax and gratuity); if you’d like to reserve, email Duo.

• As promised a couple of weeks ago, Hell Bay’s R.I.P.(A.) version 2.0 is now available. Featuring the same base recipe, but triple the hops (but still a smooth, non-overwhelming bitterness), it is available at the brewery in growlers, and will be on tap in Halifax very shortly.

• And finally this week, Garrison Brewing is releasing their latest seasonal, the Baltic Porter, today. This dark and rich beer weighs in at 9% ABV and 30 IBUs, featuring lots of roast character. Bottles are available at the brewery, and shortly at the private stores. Also look for it on tap at better beer establishments in our region. The winner of the 2013 Home Brew-off, Saint Peter’s Belgian-Style Strong Ale is being released Monday (not today, as we originally posted), look for it at the brewery and private stores, as well as on tap at a few bars in the city.