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Friday Wrap-Up for May 4, 2018 – News from NS Craft Beer Week, Stillwell, Tatamagouche, Breton, Brightwood, Port Rexton, and much, much more!!

Posted by acbbchris on 2018-05-04
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Battery Park, Benjamin Bridge, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Breton Brewing, Brightwood Brewery, Chain Yard Cider, Copper Bottom Brewing, FirkinStein Brewing, Flying Boats Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Heritage Brewing, L'Acadie Vineyards, Lazy Bear Brewing, Low Point Coffee Co, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Niche Brewing, North Brewing, Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week 2018, Paddys Irish Brewpub, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Grand Banker, Tidehouse Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery, Unfiltered Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

We’ve had another big week of beers and events in Nova Scotia, thanks to the continuation of Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week. Check out our Map and Calendar to help you plan this weekend’s escapes, plus we’ll summarize them below.

• One of the consistently stellar events during NS Craft Beer Week is the Stillwell Open, where teams of breweries conspire with local homebrewers in a friendly competition for flavour domination. This year’s event was no different, with Team North taking top honours again, with their top showing in two categories. Consisting of breweries Big Spruce, Breton, Tatamagouche, and Uncle Leo’s, they teamed up with homebrewers Brian Harvey, Bràthair Collective, Mark McKay, Duncan English, and Dave Martin to produce another batch of highly regarded beers. They hoisted the cup and will hold onto it until 2019, when the Dartmouth, Halifax, and South teams will be fighting to win it. Here is a summary of the winners, plus some other honourable mentions that are now (or will be shortly) available to the public:

  • Tatamagouche and Mark McKay took top honours in the American category with their Amrita, an American IPA with Passionfruit and Mango, fermented with Brettanomyces. This bright yellow beer featured a solid hop bitterness, along with tons of tropical fruit character. Look for it at the Full House event tomorrow, and on tap around the province this weekend/next week, with 500ml bottles available at the private stores next week as well.
  • Taking Gold in the Belgian category was conspiracy between Breton Brewing and the Bràthair Homebrew Crew, Wild Bretton. This Brett Amalgamation-fermented Witbier was aged in Chardonnay barrel for a couple of months, and packaged up for limited release. We understand it will see further distribution in the near future!
  • Team Dartmouth member Brightwood Brewery teamed up with Chain Yard Cider to take Gold in the English category with a cask of Goosebite, a 5.7% ABV Porter/Cider hybrid known as Graf. The base beer and cider also featured cranberries and raspberries, resulting in a fruity and chocolate mix that the judges (aka the public) voted their favourite. We believe this was a limited release, but may pave the way for future experimentation from Brightwood and cider partners.
  • And in the German category, Boxing Rock and Tusket Falls debuted their Rauch Star, a dark Rauchbier (German Smoked beer). Malt forward with light but solid smoke flavour. At 6.5% ABV, it still features a light crisp mouthfeel and a light bittering to finish it off. Look for kegs of Rauch Star around the province, and in bottles at the private stores in HRM.

Among the other dozen beers pouring that day, there were several more available to the general public now or shortly:

  • Tidehouse went the New England IPA route with their entry, Champions Regardless, which took second place (very fitting for the name!) in the American category. Swapping into the brewhouse for this batch were co-owner Shannon Rockwell and frequent collaborator/homebrewer Ian Wheatley. Brewed with 2-row and a combination of Flaked Wheat, Oats, and Barley, they also added just a touch of Honey malt for complexity, and dextrose to help dry the beer out a bit more. Galaxy and Kohatu hops were used for the first-wort, hop stand, and dry-hop additions, with Vermont Ale yeast taking over fermentation duty. Plenty of tropical fruit deliciousness, without the high bitterness, in this 6.2% ABV beauty,
  • A collaboration brew between Lunn’s Mill and Heritage Brewing will be appearing on tap this week at Good Robot. Named Paradise Found, it’s an Imperial IPA hopped with hefty amounts of three American varieties: Chinook, Simcoe, and pretty-new-to-the-scene Tahoma. To “spice” things up a little, the breweries decided to add a “generous amount” of Grains of Paradise and Lemongrass near the end of the boil. The result is an 8.9% ABV, 89 IBUs beer with a “delightful piney punch, and a smooth, tropical finish”, with a “sharp spiciness and lemony finish”. In addition to taking over one of GR’s fine guest taps, it should also be pouring at Heritage, currently.
  • Halifax’s Propeller Brewing teamed up our very own acbbchris to brew two beers in one. Back in March, the brew crew of Head Brewer Cameron Crerar, Assistant Brewer Denys Ploughman, and Chris brewed up Doppelbock, a 6.0% ABV malty German beer, featuring a base of Munich and Pilsner malts, along with Vienna and Cara 120 for some residual sweet notes. Hallertau and Northern Brewer hops were used to offset the sweetness and offer some traditional woody notes. This Gottingen Street Small Batch is now available at the Gottingen and Windmill locations for pints and growler fills. On the day of the Stilly Open, there were a pair of Eisbock kegs available for enjoyment, created by partially freezing the Doppelbock to remove some of the water content, and upping the alcohol to 7.0% ABV and rich malt character.
  • Lazy Bear debuted their Dubbel on Sunday, which will be available in bottles shortly. This 6.7% ABV Belgian style features a complex malt bill and an iconic yeast. Inviting in students in the Industrial Microbiology program at Universite de St Anne, both brewers and students enjoyed the learning and brewing process that day, and those who missed out on Sunday’s event will soon have a chance to enjoy the final product. We’ll update with more information once we know it!

• Switching gears from the Open, it looks like North Brewing has a couple of releases today, one new and one returning. Let’s start with the new, shall we? Actually, maybe we’re using the word “new” a little loosely, here, but Finite Series: Midnight is just that… their popular Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Midnight, in their limited edition Finite Series. To be more specific, they took one barrel of Midnight and added peaches, nectarines, and Shiro plums, and Escarpment Lab‘s Brussels Brett (a Brett brux strain that exhibits “plum, red berry, citrus, and red apple, alongside subtle acidity”). Aged for 8 months in the barrel, and then bottle conditioned, the brewery is describing it as “smooth, with lots of peach character, a little cherry, and a bit of toffee on the finish”. There’s just over 20 cases available, so don’t wait to grab a bottle or two! As for the returning beer, Twinkle Pony, a “Cookie/Tiramisu Stout” is back today. This 7% ABV beer was brewed with lady finger cookies, Chocolate malt, lactose, vanilla, and cold brew coffee from Manual Food & Drink Co. It’s available in cans at both bottle shops, and will be on tap at a few lucky locations (including tomorrow’s Full House event).

• Moving on to New Brunswick, Niche Brewing released the details on their latest beer, Innerstate, earlier this week. Described by the brewery as an “Amber Brett Saison”, the grist included a healthy portion of Rye malt. Fermented with Niche’s house blend (French Saison yeast and a variety of Brettanomyces strains), the beer was allowed to age for some time, in order for the Brett character to develop. Dry-hopped with Saaz before packaging, the result is a copper-coloured brew with a touch of caramel sweetness, citrus and spice from both the yeast strains and Rye malt, some spicy/floral character from the dry-hop, and, finally, a “touch of barnyard character from the Brett”. It’s available on tap now at a couple of Niche accounts, with others likely having it over the weekend.

• In other Niche new beer news, look for their first Session IPA sometime next week, which will also be the first in a series of one-hop beers. You Had Me At… Ekuanot was brewed with 2-Row, Wheat malt, Malted Oats, and a touch of CaraRed, to keep the beer light-coloured, while at the same time boosting the mouthfeel of this low-ABV (4%) beer. Hopped entirely with Ekuanot (with all additions occurring at the end of the boil, and in the dry-hop), it was also fermented with a new-to-the-brewery yeast blend meant to work best with hop-forward beers. The beer will have your typical Ekuanot characteristics – melon, orange, lime, green pepper – in a hazy, light-golden package. Look for it mid-week at your favourite Niche tap accounts.

• Flying Boats has comfortably settled into their new location – with a much-expanded 15 bbl brewhouse and taproom in Dieppe – and they’ve released a new beer to join their flagships on tap. A Session IPA, Coastal Good Life was bittered with Magnum, with Galaxy making up the rest of the hopping schedule for both knockout and whirlpool additions, as well as in the dry-hop. With a simple grist to allow the Galaxy to shine, expect aromas and flavours of passion fruit, with a dry finish. Coming in at just 4.8% ABV, it’s just the sort of beer to enjoy a pint of in the afternoon… although, the evening works perfectly fine as well! Drop in at the brewery today for a taste and/or growler fill.

• Now that Spindrift‘s Seventh Wave series is officially back, they’re upping the ante and aiming to have two different batches available each week. For this week, they’ve succeeded with that goal! Let’s start with Full Steam Ahead, a Steam beer (natch), aka California Common. Golden-coloured, with a “slight caramel toast presence, backed by an assertive, yet complementary hop program”, it weighs in at 6.2% ABV and 34 IBUs. Thousand Ships Wildberry Wheat is next, and was brewed with patio weather in mind, with notes of “tart cherry, smooth strawberry, and thick blueberry” coming through in this reddish-coloured beer, thanks to the a blend of cherry, strawberry and blueberry purees (at 50:25:25, respectively). At 4.2% ABV and 7 IBUs, this one is available right now, along with Full Steam Ahead, at the brewery for growler fills. We’ve been warned that both are in very short supply due to a busy Thursday apres-work crowd, so we suggest getting to their retail location at 21 Frazee as soon as you can! And keep your eyes peeling to their Twitter and Instagram Thursday morning for the latest release details.

• Schoolhouse has brought back their summer thirst-quencher, Skratch Plaskett, an American Wheat Ale. Staying true-to-style, they’ve altered the recipe slightly and increased the amount of Wheat malt in the grist (to 33%), keeping the colour of the beer a very-light golden colour, with the emphasis on the malt character as you’d expect. Bittered with Warrior to just 18 IBUs, with a “healthy splash” of Galena at knockout for a touch of citrus character, it comes in at 5.2% ABV and is available now on tap and in bottles.

• Further down the 101 Highway is Paddys Irish Pub, who have several new beers on the go, as well as the return of their seasonal cider. Foote’s Cider is a truly local cider, made with fresh-pressed apples from Foote’s Farm in Centreville, who also handled the fermentation there at the Farm. It was blended with Paddys’ own Hard Cider, which is quite dry, for an expression that is balanced, delicious, and weighs in at 6.5% ABV.

• On the beer side of things, there are a pair of new beers also available currently at their Wolfville and Kentville locations (and hopefully pouring at this weekend’s Full House Fest). Their first Sour IPA started as a light-bodied and -coloured base, and was inoculated using Organic yogurt to get the Lactobacillus bacteria necessary for the acidic kick. After completing the fermentation with a clean yeast, the beer was dry-hopped with a blend of Mosaic, El Dorado, and Citra hops, resulting in a lemonade tart character with plenty of grapefruit-like hop character, in a 6.6% ABV package. And continuing the IPA theme is the bigger brother of the Sour IPA, but without the kettle sour treatment. This clean IPA features the same blend of hops, and will hit the taps shortly for plenty of chances for comparing and contrasting. You can also keep any eye on Paddys’ Facebook for details and teases on a few more Spring beers, including a Light Domestic Lager, Maibock, and a Blonde Ale, with a Saison coming soon.

• Big Spruce has paired up for yet another collaboration brew, and as usual, they’re not letting us down when it comes to producing an interesting take on a classic style. Inter-Provincial Bureaucracy was created along with the fine people of Newfoundland’s Port Rexton Brewing and Wolfville’s L’Acadie Vineyards, and is being described as a “Red Wine Barrel-Aged Co-Fermented Wild Tripel” (told ya!). Let’s get a little deeper in details of this one, because that’s a lot to wrap your head around. The beer was fermented with two of Big Spruce’s wild yeast strains in stainless; once complete, fermented red grape skins, seeds and stems from L’Acadie’s 2017 Passito vintage were added for conditioning. Finally, the near-finished product was moved into red wine barrels for some further oak aging, before being packaged. Described by Big Spruce as being “funky, full of NS terroir, and altogether a unique hybrid beer”, the only bad news is that it will be available on tap only, at the Sprucetique in Nyanza and a very select number of BS tap accounts in the province. So, if you have the chance to taste it… get it!

• Good Robot‘s Adjunct Lager, El Espinazo del Diablo, is making its return next Thursday (May 10th). With the addition of lime peel and jalapenos during conditioning, this isn’t your father’s Lager… it’s spicier! As for Tuesday’s Beta Brew, being tapped May 8th, we don’t have a lot of details this time around, but we can tell you it’s a “Coffee Kolsch” named Ground Skor. Local businesses Low Point Coffee Co. and Dilly Dally Coffee Cafe teamed up for the brew, concocting a pale, cold-brewed coffee added to the Kolsch base. The beer was brewed with GR’s own Katie Whitlock, and comes in at 4.7% ABV and 20 IBUs. And apparently tomorrow, there’s a “special surprise treat” coming out at the brewery… we assume it’s a beer?

• Unfiltered has a brand new beer released today at noon for you lucky Haligonians, and it’s the first beer officially brewed by Assistant Brewer Emily Keeler. Sunday Morning is best described as a New England Pale Ale, meaning that you can expect a hazy beer big on hop aroma and flavour, without necessarily a lot of bitterness to go with it. The ABV with this one is kept quite low (4.5% ABV), meaning that you can experience all of that hop deliciousness (with an emphasis on orange/orange pith) and still be coherent (depending on the person) afterwards. No details from the brewery on which hop variety/varieties was/were used for this one, so you’ll just have to try it yourself and take a guess or three! Available at the brewery for pints and growlers.

• St. John’s YellowBelly launched a new beer, Downtown Brown, late last week. Described by the brewery as a “Fennel Brown Ale”, it is exactly that, as roasted fennel bulbs and a vodka-based tea of fennel seeds were both added to the Brown Ale base beer. At 5% ABV, it has “strong notes of chocolate and biscuit, and a subtle, lingering black licorice finish”. You can still find it on tap at the brewpub now, with growlers and bottles also available for takeaway at their Shop down Water Street.

• On Nova Scotia’s South Shore, Melanie of Hell Bay and Amanda of Firkinstein decided they’d like to do a beer together. Raising the level of difficulty on that plan was that Amanda doesn’t really like beer, but she wanted something with strawberries that was creamy. Tapping Melanie’s greater experience with beer, the pair decided on a strawberry cream ale, a light-colored beer to which a large amount of strawberries were added. A very large amount. A “shit ton” even. But for some reason they didn’t quite make it through to the taste, so they’re calling it, Hell, We Firked Up! Strawberry Cream Ale. Lightly hopped, expect this to be a refreshing cream ale coming in a 6% ABV; and you’d be forgiven if you thought perhaps maybe you might possibly be tasting a slightly strawberry flavor!

• You may recall last year when Dartmouth’s Low Point Coffee took the opportunity provided by 2 Crows to age some coffee in their Calvados foedres. This year, with 2 Crows recently coming into possession of a whole lot more wooden vessels formerly used to age wine and spirits, they again offered Low Point the chance to put some green beans in a barrel before roasting. Available at the Halifax Crafter’s Spring Market tomorrow and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM, you’ll find two such coffees: Invicta! a Colombian Tolima aged in Port barrels, and Quetzalcoatl! which is a Mexican Tapachula Chiapas that spend time in Tequila Barrels. If it’s anything like the last batch, there’s not a ton of this to go around, so best make plans to act on it if you’re interested. And if you’re wondering why we’re including this in the beer blog, consider that we know of at least one commercial beer and one batch of homebrew made with the last barrel-aged coffee from Low Point and let’s just say we’d like to encourage that to happen again!

• We have some early news from Montague’s Copper Bottom concerning a new beer which will likely be brewed sometime next weekend. Parkman Ave DIPA will feature a grist of mostly 2-row, with a little Carafoam and Acid malt, allowing the brewery to focus on what should be focused on in an Imperial IPA… hops, baby! In this particular case, lots of Ekuanot will be used at knockout, with a very heavy dry-hop of El Dorado, Mosaic, and even more Ekuanot. Expectations are for an 8% ABV, 70 IBUs beer with lots of tropical, orange, and citrus notes throughout. Follow along with CB’s social media for details on the release party for this one. And in other good CB news, they’re now officially canning their beer! All three of their flagships are available for takeaway at the brewery and select PEILCC stores; the Parkman Ave DIPA will also be canned when it is ready for packaging. And finally, a big congratulations to the brewery for making the list of this year’s Beer Advocate’s 50 Best New Breweries, along with Halifax’s 2 Crows Brewing!

This is the last weekend of NS Craft Beer Week, so be sure to get out and support the more than 40 breweries, and supporting bars, restaurants, and stores that carry their products.

• Day 2 of the Origins and Evolution of NS Beer is happening today at Battery Park Beer Bar, with 20 beers embodying where beer in the province is now, and where it will be going. Several of the Stillwell Open beers will be there, for those who missed out, as well as other small-batch brews.

• Propeller Brewing is hosting a May the Fourth Cask Day today at their Gottingen Taproom, featuring all things Star Wars, including a cask of their ESB (you get the connection, right?) fermented with Empire Yeast from “a galaxy far far away”. Kicking off at 5pm, there will be Star Wars pinball, Humble Pies, Star Wars doughnuts from Vandal Doughnuts, giveaways, and plenty more fun. It will also be a great excuse to drop by for a taste of that great Doppelbock we told you about (hint, hint!). And keep an eye here for details on the rest of May’s Cask Nights, as they will be featuring different treatments of Prop’s iconic ESB with a variety of different hopping and yeast choices.

• The Grand Banker is hosting their Fourth Winemaker vs. Brewmaster this evening, pitting Benjamin Bridge vs Uncle Leo’s. Alex Morozov, of Benjamin Bridge and Karl Whiffen of Uncle Leo’s Brewery, will each receive the 5 course menu in advance, with the mission to put their best pairing forward for each course and present them to the guests! Tickets are still available for this fun beer, wine, and food event, which starts at 6:30PM.

• Tomorrow marks the culmination of NS Craft Beer Week, with the Full House Craft Beer Fest, at the Halifax Forum. 39 breweries from across the province are bringing their favourite beers to share with their fans, and it should prove to be another fun event. Tickets are still available for both the afternoon and evening session, but do tend to sell out before go-time.

• In Newfoundland, today is the day that many beer fans have been waiting for: Port Rexton Brewing has opened their brewery taproom again for the season! Located at 6 Ship Cove Rd, their taproom will be open 12-10pm daily for the summer, and are taking this weekend as an opportunity to welcome their fans to come out for a boo. Today they are toasting the great news by releasing a brand new beer, Firehouse Red Ale. Brewed in collaboration with the Port Rexton Area Fire Department, this 4.7% ABV Red Ale features some sweet caramel notes, with a fresh toffee and moderate malt aroma. The beer will also be a fundraiser to help in the PRAFD efforts in acquiring safety equipment to better serve the region. In addition to the beer itself, those wanting to help can take part in tomorrow‘s Cutthroat LEGO Competition, with 4 teams of three compete and sabotage to build the best models from the blocks given. Register your team at 7:30pm sharp, and enjoy the evening! There will also be pop-up shops on site all day tomorrow, with East Coast Glow and Two Whales selling their wares.

• For those who can’t make it to the brewery, fear not, their retail store is open today and tomorrow. Take note, however, that this is the final day for cans until the fall, so if you were waiting for a sign, this is it! Horse Chops West Coast IPA and Chasing Sun NEIPA are both available in cans, with growler fills of discomHOPulated and T-Rex Porter both available. And fear not, the retail shop will remain open all summer, but only for growler fills and merchandise sales.

Friday Wrap-Up for March 16, 2018 – News from Quidi Vidi, Annapolis Cider, Copper Bottom, Upstreet, Craft Beer Corner, Niche, and much more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2018-03-16
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Cider Company, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Canadian Brewing Awards, Copper Bottom Brewing, Craft Beer Corner, Escarpment Laboratories, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Granite Brewery, Hell Bay Brewing, HopYard, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Niche Brewing, Picaroons, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Quidi Vidi Brewery, St John's BrewFest, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

With Fredericton Craft Beer Fest now almost a week in the past, we suspect some of the hangovers it generated are finally starting to ease, just in time to figure out where the next hangover might come from. We’re willing to bet that for many the phrase “St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Saturday” might figure heavily into that calculation. Here’s the latest in beer releases, brewery news and beer-related events for the week that Spring, uh, springs (sprungs? sprongs? steens?) in 2018!

• Quidi Vidi Brewery, located Northwest of downtown St John’s, has seen a lot of change in the past several months. With the end of their legal issues, they are back to focusing on what should be most important in a brewery: beer! With the explosion of small breweries on the island, the reach of well-made flavourful beers is expanding across the province. Recent releases like the Calm Tom’s Double IPA and Mad Mike’s Big Bad Belgian (both award winners at last weekend’s Down East Brewing Awards) signal a sea change in the company, ready to provide exciting beers beyond their traditional offerings. With a 3 BBL (450 litre) pilot brewing system to complement their 20 BBL (2400 litre) brewhouse, and serious renovations happening to accommodate their new taproom, they are looking to expand the width and breadth of their offerings, while not disappointing their loyal fans. With this refocusing, they are looking to hire an assistant brewer, with an attitude on the same wavelength as their Brewmaster Einar Holtet. Check out the job listing here, and be sure to drop them a note soon!

• We’re not sure how much of this will be left, given that it was released last Friday, but Annapolis Cider has a new entry in their Something Different series. Arctic Kiwi combines the juice of locally-harvested Arctic Kiwis with a dry cider made up of McIntosh, Cortland, and Hyslop Crab apples. Unfiltered and sparkling, the resulting cider is quite aromatic, with “bright, tangy notes of fresh kiwi, with a crisp finish”. Best to check with Annapolis to make sure they still have some left! If they do, $0.50 from each refill will go to support Acadia’s S.M.I.L.E. program.

• Montague, PEI’s Copper Bottom launched a new beer last week – their first sour – just in time to pour off-Island at the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. Citra SMaSH Kettle Sour is just what you’d expect it to be – a single-malt (2-row), single-hop (Citra, obviously!) beer that was kettle-soured with Lactobacillus. With a firm tartness that is balanced/complemented very well by the fruity and citrus characters from the Citra, it weighs in at 5.4% ABV. FCBF is over (boo!), but you can still find this one on tap at the brewery, and possible still at HopYard, in Charlottetown.

• Speaking of PEI, there’s puh-lenty going on over at Upstreet these days. Let’s start with new beer… first up is the release of the third beer in their Flipside series, Belgian Pale Ale. This one is definitely a different take on the classic Belgian style, with a light malt bill (including some Flaked Oats), and a dry-hop of Cashmere and Citra. Fermented with a Belgian Witbier yeast, this hazy beer has a light bready character, with notes of “citrus, melon, and coconut” in the aroma and flavour. At 5.5% ABV and 30 IBUs, it’s available now in bottles and on tap. Their other new beer is the first in yet ANOTHER series, Neon Friday, a bi-weekly (hopefully!) release that will focus on hops – more specifically, IPAs – in beers that will be released on tap only. Today will see the release of DDH IPA with Azacca (6.5% ABV, 50 IBUs) which was, yes, double-dry-hopped with the wonderful Azacca, giving high levels of mango in this particular beer. Look for it on tap at the Upstreet taproom, and the Craft Beer Corner. That’s right, the latest Upstreet venture should be opening today in downtown Charlottetown on the corner of Great George St. and Kent St. This beer destination will feature 24 taps (12 Upstreet, 5 for other Island breweries, 4 sodas, 2 Heart Beet Organics Kombuchas, and one Receiver cold brew coffee), with all Upstreet and non-alcoholic options available for growler and crowler fills (the first on the Island?). Food will also be available… think munchies like calzones, pretzels, jerky, etc. that will be prepared at Upstreet and cooked to order onsite. Be sure to check it out over the weekend!

• The FCBF saw all kinds of new beers pouring and we did our best to give you a preview of each in our post last week so you’d know what to look for. Some breweries, however, didn’t release the entire list of what they’d have until after last week’s post, with some beers ending up as a partial surprise. Niche Brewing’s Bruges Afternoon fit one of these descriptions, but it also fits another, that of a hybrid Belgian style that can best be described as a Belgian-American Pale Ale. Starting with a rather Belgian grist of Pils, Aromatic and Wheat, almost all the hops were added after the boil, namely lots of Azacca and Mosaic. It was back to Belgium for a Trappist style yeast to promote fruity esters and then, post-fermentation, back across the pond for a large dry hop of more Azacca and Mosaic. Fruity esters, tropical hops, and a medium mouthfeel in a 5.2% ABV package. As always you’ll find it at Niche tap accounts where you might also bump into their Mines of Wallonia, their lovely light Grisette hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Hallertau Blanc, which should see its re-release early next week.

• While lots of breweries do up special beers for St. Patrick’s day, and many of them involve food colouring or wild and wonderful green-tinged ingredients, we suspect that a new beer from Horton Ridge has got to be the greenest green beer that ever greened. Excepting that it’s not green. In colour, anyway. Horton Ridge has made a beer using green malt directly off the malt floor, with no kilning step to remove all the water added to germinate the grain and with the protein-rich rootlets left intact. The only other ingredient in the grist was a few pound of their own malted oats. Trading traditional toasty and malty flavors for fruity ones, this beer has notes of peach and fresh cantaloupe with a red apple nose. More brown than beer made from kilned malt, it’s also quite hazy from the additional protein. Hopped with Saaz, Hallertau, Cascade and Perle, Green Malt Beer weighs in a quaffable 5.5% ABV and a gentle 22 IBU that lets the malt shine. Not green enough for you? Consider this: the barley was grown in the region (Winsloe, PEI), so transport was minimized. Not kilning means 90% of the energy normally put into the malting process was saved. And with so much water left in the grain, much less was needed for the mash! Served on-site (no additional transportation), the environmental footprint of this beer is likely to be amongst the smallest of any in Canada. Now is it green enough?! Launched yesterday at the brewery, it will be flowing freely tomorrow starting at noon for Paddy’s Day at the Malt House and also available in growlers (pre-filled, we believe). Keeping with the theme, you’ll also fine Granite Brewery Greenman Pale Ale along with offerings from Big Spruce and Tatamagouche Brewing. Traditional Irish music from Space Bog Paddy People round out the event starting at 8 PM (tickets for the evening are $5). And we’ve been told to keep our eyes out for more beers from Horton Ridge featuring green malt in the future!

• On the East side of Newfoundland Port Rexton have a new beer out that invokes both St. Patrick’s Day and meteorology. In Newfoundland, the name Sheila (or Sheelah) is associated with St. Patrick as his wife, and cagey Newfoundlanders caught still tippling on March 18th may claim to be continuing the celebration in the name of Sheelah. Meanwhile, weather-wise, it is extremely common for one last big snow to come through Newfoundland in the back half of March following Paddy’s Day and those storms have come to be known as “Sheila’s Brush.” Enter Port Rexton and their desire for something hoppy and crushable to welcome Spring. Featuring Magnum, Simcoe, Amarillo, Mosaic and Mandarina Bavaria in the kettle and Amarillo, Simcoe, and Citra in the dry hop, Sheila’s Crush still only tips the scales at 4.4% ABV, making it a very sessionable IPA. Look for this light and citrusy brew at the brewery’s retail location on Torbay Road just in time for Sheila’s Day.

• Are you a fan of big, boozy Barleywines? Well, we have great news for you, then! Boxing Rock‘s newest beer, Fisticuffs, is just that, and is available now! Weighing in at a monstrous 11% ABV, the beer was aged for four months in Chardonnay barrels, it exhibits “hints of stone fruits such as prunes, plums and figs, melded with a smooth, biscuit malt flavour and hint of vanilla”. With a fruity finish and “soft” carbonation, it’s smooth enough to be enjoyed now, and big enough to be cellared! Bottles are currently on sale at Boxing Rock’s retail show in Shelburne, with some also on their way to select NSLC stores (and perhaps to the private stores in HRM as well). And keep your eyes open next week for their Juniper Saison, April May Juniper, which was originally brewed as a collaboration with Lunn’s Mill last year. This batch was fermented with a different Saison yeast, and the beer will be a rotating seasonal in the NSLC, so you should be seeing bottles very soon. And mark your calendars for March 29th, when Boxing Rock will be taking over the taps at Lion & Bright from 5PM, pouring a wide variety of suds to make your long weekend brighter.

• TrailWay is bringing back their Milkshake IPA, Velvet Fog, today at the brewery. This latest release is a new iteration on the same vanilla/lactose-driven IPA – hopped with a “generous amount” of Idaho 7 and El Dorado, it was conditioned on both strawberry and mango puree. Expect plenty of fruitiness thanks to all additions, with a “massive, rich, creamy body” to help support the 6.5% ABV. Available today on tap and in cans at the brewery only.

• We have a couple of pieces from Fredericton’s Picaroons news this week. First up, with the warmer weather approaching (right??), the brewing team at Pics turn their thoughts to one of their most fun and popular seasonals, Melonhead, their Watermelon Ale. And every year, a new cat will get the opportunity to grab the spotlight on the front of the label. If you think your kitty is the next Whiskey, Sir Winston Snaggletooth, or Ruby, send their picture vial email before March 27th for a chance at fame, fortune, and unlimited catnip. The winning cat, and the beer, will be available June 1st. Picaroons is also looking to hire a Retail Beer Store Manager, who will oversee the operation of the various retail locations, taproom operations, and designing tour information. To learn more, check out Pics’ Facebook page, and apply for the position via email here.

• The Gahan Pub in Charlottetown is hosting their Fourth Home Brewer’s Challenge, inviting eager Aleanders to brew up their best recipe, for a chance to see their beer pouring at the Sydney Street Pub. There are no style requirements/guideline this year, so entrants are free to choose whichever they like. Fire an email to gahan@murphyrestaurants.ca before April 13th to register, and you have until May 28th to brew and deliver your beer to Gahan. The winner will brew their recipe with Gahan Brew Master Trent Hayes, for release in the summer.

• We have more on the latest release from Garrison we teased last week, plus a tease of another new one dropping this weekend. Debuting at the Craft Beer Cottage Party at the end of February, Wicked Good is a North East- / New England- style American Pale Ale (aka, full of hops and haze for dayz). Pale Ale Malt is kicked up with Oats and Wheat (for mouthfeel, head retention, and lending a bit of haze) in the grain bill, resulting in a 5.8% ABV. The star of the show is the hop bill, featuring loads of Idaho 7 and Mosaic early-, late-, and post-boil, plus some super-secret hops that Brewmaster Daniel Girard is keeping under wraps. Currently available on draft only, but will eventually be packaged, grab it at the brewery for samples and growlers, and around town at finer drinking establishments.

• And dropping today, just in time for tomorrow’s drinking holiday, is Oat and About Stout. This is a Strong Stout brewed with students of the NSCC Continuing Education course that visited the brewery in February. As the name would imply, there are oats in the grain bill to complement the 2-Row Pale malt, plus a blend of Crystal with Roasted Barley. At 6.0% ABV and 32 IBUs, it’s a solid alternative to the macro-stouts often touted at the time of year. Be sure to grab all of the details when you drop by today for a sample or growler fill (and tell them the ACBB sent ya!).

In addition to your regularly scheduled St Patrick’s Day celebrations tomorrow, keep an eye out for these events this weekend and in the near future:

• As part of their Saint Paddy’s Day fun, Twillingate’s Split Rock Brewing is hosting a series of tastings in their Stage Head Pub. At 2 PM, 3 PM, and 4 PM tomorrow, try 8 beers from Port Rexton, Quidi Vidi, Storm Brewing, and YellowBelly and take a tour of the brewery, all while learning about Split Rock’s own offerings, too. In addition to the guided tastings, there will be music in the afternoon and evening (4 – 5 PM, and again at 9 PM), and Irish Stew available 5 – 7 PM. And while you’re there, you’ll be able to enjoy their recent addition Flanker, a rich and malty Smoked Porter, weighing in at 5.8% ABV. 30% Beachwood Smoked Malt was used in the grist, but the smoke level is not overpowering. If you’re unable to visit the Stage Head, it may be available in town after the weekend. Saturday will see the release of a pair of new beers as well, with a 3.8% ABV Dry Irish Stout being served on Nitro, and a brand new American Pale Ale with loads of Cascade and Columbus making its debut.

• Feeling hungry and inflexible? Why not come to the King Street Ale House this Sunday, March 18th, for Lazy Yoga n’ Burgers? Starting at 1 PM, there will be 45 minutes of “lighthearted, gentle” yoga (BYO mat), before launching into the main event… food and beer! Over the next two hours, ticketholders will have four gourmet sliders, each paired with a different beer (5 oz) from Niche Brewing. Tickets can be purchased through the event link above; the price is $45.49 for the full experience, but if you just want to go for the burgers and beer, you can purchase a separate ticket for $27.39. Check out the link for more details, and a full beer list.

• Big Tide Brewing is hosting a Brunch & Brew event on March 25th starting at 10 AM. Your ticket includes food and coffee/tea, a tour of the brewery with plenty of knowledge and insight into the brewing process, plus the opportunity to take part in a brewday with Head Brewer Wendy Papadopoulos and the folks of Uncorked Tours. Advance tickets are suggested, and are available here.

• The latest edition of the St John’s BrewFest is set to happen April 21, at Club One at 33A Gower Street. Featuring 80+ beer not normally available in the province, the hosts are pushing hard to increase the haze-level on the island by inviting Brooklyn, NYC’s, Other Half Brewing, as well as Half Hours on Earth (Seaforth, ON), Blindman Brewery (Lacombe, AB), Left Field Brewery (Toronto, ON), and Hammond River (Quispamsis, NB). Your $30 ticket gets you in the door, your glass for the evening (and to take home) and your first few pours, after which you can buy tokens to fill her up once again. Tickets are just about sold out, so if you were waiting for a sign to buy, this is it! Check out the beer line-up (they’re adding more to the list daily), and grab your tickets, here.

• We’ve been busy trying to keep up with Escarpment Lab‘s social media over the past week, as co-founder Angus Ross returned to his Nova Scotian roots, brewing up a half-dozen collaboration beers across the province. From Shelburne to Nyanza and points in between, Ross has set a wide variety of yeast-driven beers in motion this week (joining some brewed last summer!), which will culminate in a tap takeover during the Canadian Brewing Awards and Conference, being held in Halifax May 24-26. We’ll share more details on the takeover (and the dozens of other events peripheral to the Conference) closer to the date, but rest assured you’ll want to take a few days off of work to stay focused on the mighty task at hand!

• Hell Bay Brewing and Liverpool Adventure Outfitters are hosting a Father’s Day Canoe & Brew event June 16th. It kicks off at 4PM when attendees will go for a paddle along the Mersey River, and then enjoying a beer tasting at Hell Bay. Paddlers of all ages are invited, though the tasting restricted to those of age. The LAO is planning more of these outings, so be sure to sign up to their inaugural event to show that there’s plenty of interest!

Just a few more notes to get you up to speed before we let you go today:

– Stellarton’s Backstage Brewing has opened their taproom this week, allowing visitors to enjoy pints and flights of their Headliner IPA, Nunmoar Black, or one of their 4 other beer pouring currently. They are also adding in a healthy dose of guest beers to round out the dozen taps, which started with Garrison’s Pucker Up!, Uncle Leo’s Smoked Porter, and Sober Island Chanterelle Mild. Drop by today 12-8PM, and tomorrow 11-5PM for your draft and growler needs!

– Good Robot will be re-releasing El Espinazo del Diablo, their International Pale Lager conditioned on lime zest and jalapeño, next week. With a 2-Row and Vienna malt base, flaked corn is also used in the mash for that iconic flavour contribution. At 5.7% ABV, the beer was solely hopped with Tettnang to a light 14 IBU, letting the fruit and chili dominate the flavours.

– Propeller Brewing has brought back their Irish Red this week, just in time for Saturday’s celebration. Available in the 650 mL bomber size, as well as on tap for growler fills and pints at their Gottingen St taproom, it will be available at bars and restaurants around the city shortly.

– Unfiltered has brought back their “New England-influenced” American IPA, Riddle of Steel, for release today at Charm School for pints and growler fills (and likely on tap at several Unfiltered accounts, soon).

And before we sign off today, we wanted to once again say thanks to Lloyd Chambers and the whole Fredericton Craft Beer Festival crew of volunteers for a great time last weekend. From the PEI Tap Takeover at the James Joyce, to the Beer School run by Mike Doucette & Co of CCNB Grand Falls, to the breweries who were kind enough to donate goodies for our Trivia Night (which we will re-schedule soon, stupid power outage!), there were plenty of great events surrounding the Friday Night Newbie Session and Saturday Gala Sessions of the Festival. Congratulations to all of the winners in the Down East Brewing Awards, but extra-special Grats to Garrison for winning Brewery of the Year, and 2 Crows for Beer of the Year, for their I Love You Saison with Rosehips. Meeting with the local brewers, bar owners, retailers, hop growers, and beer fans leaves us with no doubt that the Atlantic Canadian Beer Scene is stronger than ever, and the future is looking quite bright!

Friday Wrap-Up for January 26, 2018 – News from Bootleg, YellowBelly, Four Rivers, Propeller, Boxing Rock, Sober Island, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2018-01-26
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Acadie-Broue, Annapolis Cider Company, Beau's Brewing Co, Big Spruce Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Boxing Rock Brewing, Canadian Brewing Awards, Four Rivers Brewing Co., Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, James Joyce Irish Pub, Niche Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, PEI Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Roof Hound Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Sober Island Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Taste of Nova Scotia, TrailWay Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Welcome to another weekend! Maybe it’s just us, but this weekend seems well-deserved, even more than normal. So cozy up to your nice, warm computer screen (phones don’t throw off enough heat), and get caught up on all the goings-on with craft beer in Atlantic Canada this week… and there’s quite a bit of it.

• Well, you lot on the West Coast of Newfoundland are a thirsty bunch! Launching their brewery and taproom in Corner Brook last Friday, the crew at Bootleg Brew Co were overwhelmed with patrons, nearly drinking them dry! Good news for everyone is that they will be open again this weekend, with hours 4PM til late today, Saturday, and Sunday. Returning on tap are their El Diablo Rojo Amber Rye, Hoppy Roger IPA, Just the Tip Spruce Ale, beside new beer El Ray and Friends American IPA. The beer weighs in at 5.8% ABV and 48 IBUs, but that only tells part of the story. Millennium hops were used as bittering in the boil, with Hopzoil from Glacier Hops Ranch in Montana used post-fermentation. This product is the concentrated essential oils, steam-extracted from freshly-harvested El Dorado, Pekko, and Azacca hops. This preserves all of the aroma and flavour, with no bitterness from the alpha acids. The hops used in the beer tell the story of the name. From the brewery: “El Rey Dorado (the Golden King), was the term used by the Spanish Empire to describe a mythical tribal chief (Zipa) of the Muisca native people of Colombia. Pekko is named for the Finnish God of Field and Crops. Azacca is named for the Haitian god of agriculture. In turn, once a millennium El Rey and his friends Pekko and Azacca get together and have a party and drink this beer. A gift from the Gods.” The only spot to grab a sample or pint of Bootleg is at the tasting room, so be sure to drop by this weekend for a spell.

• Newfoundland’s YellowBelly has a new, experimental beer available now that was many months in the making. Spring Session Wheat is a 5.1% ABV beer that started off as a pretty standard brew with a grist of 2-row, Maris Otter, and Wheat malt, hopped with Nugget, Cluster, and Cascade. It was fermented with their house ale yeast and dry-hopped generously with El Dorado, before moving on to secondary. Some “infecting organisms” were added at this point, with the goal to develop notes of funk (but not in a dominating way), which took some time. Success eventually occurred, with the characteristics of the El Dorado developing into a “deep berry character”, according to the brewery. It’s available now at the brewpub for pints and growler fills. There’s another experimental beer underway right now as well; look for that one to debut sometime this coming summer.

• Newly-opened Four Rivers Brewing, out of Bathurst, NB, released their latest beer yesterday – Rockbolter is a Black IPA with plenty of “coffee, dark chocolate, and toffee”, to go with the hop aromas and flavours. The 6.5% ABV beer clocks in at 40 IBU, thanks to lots of Cascade and Mosaic, offering a citrus and tropical aroma to complement the roast and other dark malt character. It is available on tap for pints and growler fills now, and joins their other beers, including Havre St-Pierre, now also available for growler fills (previously only available in flights).

• Propeller‘s latest entry in their Hop Collection series, Skyrocket Double IPA, is now available. This one was hopped with a new American variety, Skyrocket, a relative of the classic Chinook. Giving “complex fruit aromas, but without the piney resin commonly seen in Chinook”, it has a full body and provides a bit of alcohol warmth at 8% ABV, and with 100+ calculated IBUs, a bitter finish. It’s available now at the taproom for pints, and at both Propeller locations for growler fills. And don’t forget to drop by their Gottingen Street taproom after work this afternoon for their latest Cask, this week featuring their Cascade Pale Ale, dry-hopped in the firkin with Citra and an addition of sweet orange peel.

• Shelburne’s Boxing Rock Brewing has released a new single-hopped American IPA, Bravo! Featuring the often-underappreciated Bravo, Boxing Rock used “advanced hopping techniques” throughout the entire brewing process, include a quadruple dry-hop approach with the high-alpha acid variety. The result is a 6% ABV beer with a clean bitterness and “floral, evergreen and fruity aromas”. Available now at the brewery and market stalls in 650 mL bottles and 1 L growler fills.

• Speaking of Boxing Rock, they’ll be showcasing their annual Many Hands Pale Ale, brewed in time for International Gruit Day on February 1st. This year’s batch is brewed with bayberry leaves and berries, sweet fern, and bog myrtle, instead of hops (Gruit is a centuries-old style of beer brewed with a mixture of herbs and spices to give balancing bitterness). Also celebrating IGD is Sober Island Brewing, who are showcasing their Juniper IPA, brewed with almost three kilograms of locally-foraged juniper berries, added in the boil and during conditioning. Look for plenty of posts and maybe some giveaways on their social media, as well as Beau’s Brewery in Vankleek Hill, ON. With nearly sixty breweries taking part across the world, it should be a fun time for checking out this close cousin to beer (or maybe grandparent, as it *does* pre-date it)!

• Next Friday marks the launch of the inaugural South Shore Lobster Crawl, with restaurants, retailers, art galleries, and even breweries getting in on the crustacean action. First up, Hell Bay Brewing in Liverpool brewed up South Shorer Ale, named after the boat that supplied the lobster. A hybrid of a Pale Ale and Belgian Blonde, whole lobsters was added at the beginning of the boil, were removed after it was cooked, with the empty shells returned to the boil after removing and enjoying the meat. Featuring characteristics of biscuit malts and citrusy hops, it’s a Lobster Roll experience but in a 5.0% ABV liquid format! While it debuts on the 2nd, there will be a launch party February 8th from 7PM at the Sipuke’l Gallery in Liverpool, Lobster Tales and ARTifacts. In addition to the brewery, look for kegs of the beer at a few of the Lobster Crawl participants, and White Point Beach Resort, Grand Banker, and a few spots in HRM as well.

• The second brewery taking part in the Lobster Crawl is Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing, serving up Crustacean Elation beginning next Friday. This 5.5% ABV straw-coloured ale features a base of Pilsner malt and Flaked Wheat, lightly hopped with Hallertau and Huell Melon. Whole lobsters were added during the mashing process, removed and eaten, with the shells kept and roasted, and added back during the boil. The finished product will be light and refreshing, with “a finish that tastes just a bit like the sea”, according to the brewery. The South Shore Lobster Crawl is on from Feb 2 to 19, with events taking place at more than fifty spots in the region, so be sure to check their website for the full event listing.

• Saltbox also has a pair of new beers available now that are worth checking out. During their Robbie Burns event yesterday, they released Storm Surge Maritime Ale. This was a collaboration brew, with Kirk Annand joining brewer Jeremy Fehr in the brewhouse. Annand has decades of brewing and brewery consultation experience, and together with Fehr, that amounts to more than 50 years of collective knowledge. Featuring a base of English malts (including some Caramel for colour), with North American Cascade and German Mandarina Bavaria hops, the beer highlights the influences of these cultures and regions on the people of the South Shore. The resultant beer features a light spicy character, with hints of orange, on a toasted toffee base. The 5.4% ABV beer is available now at their taproom. Also available is Whiskey Jack, a barrel-aged version of their Jeezus Murphy Irish Red, which was aged in White Oak Whiskey barrels, finishing at 8.0% ABV.

• Earlier this week, Niche Brewing sent out kegs of their latest brew, Orange Creamsicle IPA. This brew is a Milkshake IPA, brewed with a good portion of Malted Oats in the mash, and hopped with Citra and El Dorado in the boil. Lactose powder was also added in the boil to boost the mouthfeel and give a bit of residual sweetness. Fermented with London Ale III, the beer was dry-hopped with more Citra and El Dorado, as well as some Equinox, to give notes of orange and tropical fruit. Once fermentation was complete, the beer was conditioned on fresh orange zest and real vanilla bean, before being packaged. It weighs in at 6.5% ABV and 55 IBUs, and should be available now/soon at the James Joyce, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and The Palate in Fredericton, at Cask and Kettle and Pepper’s in Saint John, and Marky’s Laundromat in Moncton. And for the first time outside of NB, drop by Halifax’s Stillwell today for pours of their Mines of Wallonia Grisette, and Something Different Brett Table Beer.

• Today’s TrailWay release is their latest Double IPA, Lampin. Hopped entirely with Cascade from local Bloomsfield Hops Farm out of Lindsay, NB, the brewery is describing it as having a “slightly sweet front, with a soft citrus/floral finish”. Coming in at 8% ABV, the beer nevertheless goes down smooth, as is pretty standard for TW’s hoppy offerings, due to low IBUs thanks to late hop additions (with much of it going in the dry-hop). You can find it in cans and on tap at the brewery today from noon on.

• We have the info on the latest entry in the Something Different series from Annapolis Cider Co. Crabapple & Tangerine is an unfiltered, sparkling cider made from hand-picked local crabapples. Pressed for their juices and fermented dry, it was then finished off with fresh apple juice, perry, and a “touch” of tangerine juice and zest. The resulting cider is “refreshingly tart, with notes of tangerine and sharp apple”. You can pick up your refills of this 5% ABV one-off at the cidery today; $0.50 of each refill will be donated to Kings Point-to-Point Transit.

• Today’s Good Robot update is brought to you by the return of Burban Legend… specifically, version 2.0 of the brewery’s popular 5.9% ABV American Pale Ale, hopped with Cascade, Amarillo, Falconer’s Flight, Citra, and Centennial. Meanwhile, Kinsman’s Ale – a new Beta Brew – is being released next Tuesday. Named for guest brewer John Kinsman, a local homebrewer, and billed by the brewery as an English Porter, maple syrup and honey malt were added to encourage a bountiful body, and it was hopped with several additions of Fuggles to 35 IBUs. A very sessionable 4% ABV, look for it on tap at the brewery for Beta Brewsday next Tuesday, January 30.

• Garrison‘s seasonal Chocolate Imperial Stout, Wintervention, was re-launched late last week in Nova Scotia. A big beer at 10.5% ABV, it’s brewed with Maritime Pale Ale malt, along with some Munich and Chocolate malt, and hopped with Millennium to 60 IBUs. A dark beer with a tan-coloured head, it has “rich, bittersweet chocolate aromatics with dark dried fruit and vanilla underneath”, and flavours of chocolate and molasses. Available now in 650 mL bottles at the brewery and some private stores in the HRM, it will also be hitting provincial stores in NB and Newfoundland in the near future.

• Lower Sackville’s Ol’ Biddy’s Brewhouse continues to pump out the beer and it continues to be snapped up by the local market. For starters, their Disco Inferno Red IPA is back, it’s 5.9% ABV with citrus and floral notes and a clean chocolate caramel finish. Also making a return is their Saturday Night Fever IPA, but with a slightly modified recipe, with malty melanoidin malt replacing crystal for body and sweetness and a dry hop of both Centennial and Amarillo. The result is a light-colored 6% ABV beer with a juicy grapefruit and floral character and a touch of bitterness. And coming soon (just going into the brite tank this weekend) is the Sackvegas Sour. With a grist of wheat, acid malt and Bohemian Pilsner malts, it was soured with a mix of acid and 2-row malts for 28 hours before the boil where it was hopped with a small amount of Columbus for roughly 5 IBU. The batch, which came in at a little less than 1 BBL, was fermented on 26.5 lbs of whole raspberries. Once it’s ready look for kegs of this one to appear at Good Robot in Halifax, in Fredericton, and likely at another tap account. Speaking of tap accounts, they’re still working on lining up another one in Halifax as we hinted about a few weeks ago; we’ll let you know where it is as soon as it’s official!

• On the South Shore of NS, Chester Basin’s Tanner & Co has a new entry in their Small Lot Series available now, this one a Porter. Coming in at 5.1% ABV and 27 IBU, it offers a bitterness that’s balanced by a sweeter malt profile. Featuring “loads” of roasted dark malt character combined with notes of coffee, chocolate and caramel, you’ll find it at the brewery for both growler and grunter fills. And do check out their website, that’s now been updated with profiles of all their beers as well as current availability information.

• On the North Shore of Nova Scotia, Antigonish’s Half Cocked has announced that they’ll be taking part in the Antigonish Winter Market that’s happening every Saturday from tomorrow, January 27th, through to April 28th, from 10 AM – 2 PM, at the former National Philatelic Centre (say that three times fast!) building on St. Ninian Street beside the St. FX Campus. They’ll be bringing pre-filled growlers and grunters so those arriving with a clean and empty Half Cocked vessel can simply pay for beer and be on their way. They’re also hoping to be able to provide small samples. Availability will vary, of course, but plans are to have the full lineup available as often as possible, including Pete’s Sake, XPA, Cock of the Walk, Darkest One and Bury’d Son. This is a great chance for folks to pick up Half Cocked beer in town instead of having to drive all the way out to the farm. Stay tuned for news of new Half Cocked offerings, likely to soon include a new IPA and possibly a Valentine’s Day beer in the hoppy Irish Red vein!

• Have you ever found yourself wondering whether that beer you’re eyeing in the cooler at the NSLC or another purveyor of fine local malted beverages is at it’s best, freshness-wise? We certainly have. And unfortunately, while some breweries make it explicit with stamped-on dates, some use codes that aren’t easily deciphered to indicate when a batch was packaged. Enter local beer fan Duncan Fergus. When he’s not nailing barleywines with the 902BrewCast boys (and throwing potentially ill-advised shout-outs to his mother-in-law), Duncan is doing his best to crack the codes to help us all stay on the fresh side and avoid the dreaded shelf turds. Check out his web site at Fresh 2 Death – Atlantic Canada Beer Dating Codes. And if you see the man out and about, consider buying him a beer; this is public service he’s doing.

• Some unfortunate news came out of Hortonville, NS, this week, as it was revealed on Sunday that Horton Ridge Malt and Grain Co had suffered a break-in following a very successful Songs and Suds of the Valley event. The premises and some vehicles that had been left overnight were damaged and a significant amount of cash was stolen. It seems pretty obvious that this was a targeted attack by the perpetrators looking to take advantage of the revenue earned through hard work the night before. It’s a pretty sad day when a local business, who is helping to stimulate the economy not only in its own community, but indeed the province and the rest of the Maritimes, has to deal with a setback like this thanks to petty criminals. Horton Ridge is looking for any information that anyone might have and are promising confidentiality and drinkable rewards for any information that helps track down whoever was responsible; we hope that they are successful in this endeavour.

Lots going on this weekend and next, so mark your calendars!

• A reminder to brew up your beer for Good Robot’s FemmeBot Home Brew Competiton! While the beer is not due until March 1, they ask that you register online by February 1. Open to all female and femme-identified amateur brewers, with the style being “Pre-prohibition”. A wide variety there, so check out the BJCP Style Guidelines, and check the History section for some inspiration! And while we’re talking Good Robot, today is Aussie Day at their taproom, with Australian-themed music, food, Football on the big screen.

• If you’ve been missing the fun Kitchen Party events at Quidi Vidi each Friday in the warmer months, you’re in luck! They will be holding a very special one today, marking the end of an era. After this weekend, they will be completely redesigning the retail and hospitality room space, in order to build a full time taproom, with 16 taps. There will also be changes coming to their beer lineup, so drop by today at 5PM for hints of what’s to come!

• In Halifax this evening at 6 PM, Taste of Nova Scotia is hosting their annual celebration of local aquaculture with Sip ’n Shuck, this year hosted on the 8th floor of the Delta Halifax and sporting a wide selection of local fare, in both edibles and potable and potable categories. In addition to oysters from at least seven producers, you’ll find various other seafoods, including quahogs, soft shell clams, scallops, striped bass, salmon, trout, seaweed, mussels, halibut, and eel. And from the beverage industry Nova Scotia distillers and winemakers will be pouring along with Bulwark and Annapolis Cider Co bringing apple-y goodness and Boxing Rock, Saltbox, and Garrison ensuring that our province’s beer industry is well-represented. As of this writing, tickets are still available ($65 + fees and taxes), so if fruits de mer and fine drinkables are your jam and your Friday night is as yet unbooked, maybe give a thought to heading down and sampling some the best our Province has to offer.

• Don’t forget to drop by 2 Crows this weekend to help them celebrate their First Anniversary. We already described the 5 (five!!) new beers that they are releasing in cans tomorrow in last week’s post, which will be pouring from opening Saturday at noon. There will be bar snacks and giveaways for those who drop by. On Sunday (also from noon), they are filling the board with 11 small batch beers (and cold brew coffee from Low Point), available on tap only due to availability. The list is too long to enumerate here, but trust us, you’ll want to drop by! And for those looking for a teaser of what’s to come, drop by Harvest Wines, RockHead, and/or WestSide from 5-7PM to chat with the 2 Crows Crew, grab some merch, and receive an entry for  giftcard with each growler fill.

• Acadie-Broue will soon be releasing Mi-Carême, a Doppelbock, and celebrating with a Beer Launch at Moncton’s 2nd Floor at Dolma Food on Thursday, February 1st from 4:30-7:30. They’ll be opening up the rooftop and firing up their grills, shucking oysters, and making smores… what better way to celebrate the release of a brown, malty, rich, strong German Lager? The 7.5% ABV will be available in limited quantities, so make sure to drop by to give it a try and join in the fun. For those wondering (like us) what Mi-Carême means, it is an Acadian traditional day of celebration mid-way through Lent, where revelers would dress in costumes and disguises, and travel from door to door, visiting friends and family, and having their identities guessed. We’ll toast to that!

• PEI Brewing Co. is bringing back their popular Transmitter Coffee Stout – this time in cans! – and is celebrating with a Launch Party on Friday, February 2nd. Held at the Receiver Brass Shop Breadworks and Roastery (only fitting since coffee roasted at Receiver is used in the brew), Transmitter will be pouring on tap, alongside special menu items from Receiver, and live music. You’ll be able to buy cans of the beer at PEIBC and Gahan locations on February 5th; it’ll hit PEILCC stores shortly after.

• Niche Brewing launched four weeks ago, but due to the craziness of the holiday season and getting things running, didn’t immediately have a chance to really celebrate. Now that things have calmed down a bit, they’re inviting you to join them for their Launch Party on Saturday, February 10th at the James Joyce in Fredericton. From 7 pm on, four of their beers will be pouring (Single Origin, Something Different, Orange Creamsicle IPA, and a currently-not-released NEIPA, Apt Pupil), and all will be on for Happy Hour prices. Both Rob and Shawn will be there, eager to talk beer, and will also have some merch (glasses, shirts, and toques) available for sale.

• A reminder that entries are now open for the Canadian Brewing Awards, taking place in Halifax May 24-26. Sign up for the competition closes March 9th, with the beers due in Mississauga from March 12-23. And for those brewery folk who will be attending the conference, 3 day conference passes are now available, at Early Bird pricing until April 9. The conference features talks from industry folk around the country (and often the We’re looking forward to seeing you all there!

And a few more quick mentions afore ye go:

– Digby’s Roof Hound had a rousingly successful Tap Takeover at Battery Park last night, with 15 beers, some special cocktails, and plenty of great food served. Of note were a few one-off beer iterations, that we’ve been told may be available at other spots again soon (or maybe even still on at Battery Park if you head there for lunch!): Pink SIPA is a Pink Lemonade/Session IPA blend, weighing in at 4.5% ABV; Oat of Thyme is a lend of their Thyme to Grow a Pear and Oat Of My Mind IPA, their take on the dry-hopped sour theme; and Kentucky Devil, a variation on their Keltic Devil Pumpkin Spice Latte Strong Porter aged on Bourbon-soaked oak chips.
– And finally, Nyanza’s Big Spruce has a couple of twists for us this week, first an Experimental Gose (3.8% ABV and 15 IBU) with sea salt and Indian coriander that was surplus beer that wouldn’t fit in their tequila barrels when they brewed their collaboration with Merit Brewing of Hamilton (look for that version in the coming weeks). And second, a version of their Whole Nine Yards Scotch Ale with an infusion of whisky; this one came in at 6.3% ABV and 25 IBU. And already preparing for next Christmas, Jeremy and the gang had local violinist extraordinaire (and burgeoning brewer, apparently) Donald MacLennan in the brewhouse last week helping put together an Imperial Barrel Aged English Fruitcake Stout that will be conditioned on brandy-spiked organic plums and aged in Glenora whiskey barrels until next December!