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Friday Wrap-Up for December 6, 2019 – News from Landwash, Propeller, Tire Shack, Off Track, Red Rover, Niche and More!!

Posted by acbbchris on 2019-12-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: ANBL, Benjamin Bridge, Bogside Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Escarpment Laboratories, Foghorn Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Henley House, Ladies Beer League, Landwash Brewery, Local Source, Maybee Brewing, Niche Brewing, North Brewing, Off Track Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Secret Cove Brewing, Shoreline Malting, Sober Island Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Oxford Taproom, Tide & Boar Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 3 comments

Well, here we are in December, and while the weather hasn’t been too terrible, there’s still a great argument to be made for stocking up on beer for both the holidays and for après shovelling, sledding, skiing, and other wintertime activities that are fun and/or necessary. The good news around that is that our region’s breweries continue to step up with new and interesting beers that will make building up a collection fun and interesting, if not easy (how do we choose?!). And not only that, but we’ve got some news about a couple breweries expanding, which can only mean more beer and/or more space to drink it in! Read on for details on those and for the rest of your weekly dose of beer news from across the Atlantic Provinces.

Landwash Brewery in Mount Pearl opened their doors December 6th, 2018, and to celebrate their First Anniversary, today they are releasing an appropriate beer to celebrate, Burn Your Boats. This 9.0% ABV deep dark beauty is an Imperial Stout that spent several months in Bourbon barrels before canning. Major dark roast and coffee notes are paired with the lovely vanilla and notes of spirits. BYB is available at the brewery at opening today at 3 PM, by the glass and in a limited run of cans too (ISO!). And while you’re at the brewery, check out their wide selection of glassware that they’ve had shipped in from Jymline, plenty of options for whichever beer you’re drinking, from 1 litre Maß to a small Arome glass. Keep an eye on their IG account for more details on their Anniversary Party and their plans from now until the end of the month (we can tease that there is another Merb’ys collaboration coming out next week, a Key Lime Pastry Pale Ale!, and Cake Tray, a Cherry Pound Cake Pastry Pale Ale joining it. More detes next week. Congratulations to the Landwash family!

The folks at Propeller have been playing with their small batch program, and have brewed up three pilot brews that have all been fermented with a traditional German Lager yeast strain. The first of these beers has just been released today, Schwarzbier. Named, of course, after the style that is commonly referred to as a “Black Lager”, the grist contained a portion of debittered black malt (huskless malt that provides that dark colour and some roasted character, without the acrid flavours that can accompany darker malts), giving the beer a deep, black colour. Hopped to 30 IBUs with noble varieties, the beer has a “subtle, earthy backdrop” to complement. It comes in at 5.5% ABV, and is light-bodied and moderately dry, with a clean finish. If you’d like to give it a try, best to drop by one of the Prop shops to find it. And while you’re there, you can grab this year’s edition of their Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout (note that this version is marked as 2018, as the beer went into Bourbon barrels in December of last year).

The folks at recently-opened Tire Shack Brewing in Moncton are starting to run some experiments on their pilot system, which should be welcome news to those who are able to get to the brewery to try them. There are 3 small batches going on the taps right now for folks to try. First up is a coffee saison, St Caroline, at 6.0% ABV and using coffee sourced from local organic roaster Sunny Brae Coffee. This one still maintains a light color thanks to the use of cold brew on the coffee side. Next up is a gose they’re calling Duck Duck Gose, that they describe as “very balanced” and which also weighs in at 6.0% ABV. And last, but certainly not least, is a Piña Colada Milkshake IPA dubbed Love at Midnight. With flavors of pineapple and coconut, as you’d expect in anything bearing the descriptor “Piña Colada”, there was also an addition of lactose for a sweetness to enhance the fruit flavors and mouthfeel. This one is already in short supply though, so if you want to try it you’d best make your way to Tire Shack this weekend! But wait, there’s more! Just because they’re tapping the pilot system doesn’t mean they’re ignoring the big one. Resistance is Fruitile (*groan*) is a black raspberry sour that’s described as “Christmas in a Glass” owing to its red color. Look for this one to see a limited canning run over the next week or two.

Bedford’s Off Track released a new IPA late last week out this week, Jersey IPA. Named after a loyal customer’s recently-deceased Boston Terrier, Jersey, both of whom would often frequent the taproom. Jersey IPA is of the American variety, and was brewed with a fairly simple grist, and hopped with a blend of Mosaic and Cascade. Golden-coloured, with lots of tropical and citrus notes from the hop additions, it’s just about sold out already. Luckily, they do plan on brewing a larger batch of this 5.5% ABV, 63 IBUs brew; however, you may still be able to get one of the last pours from the final keg if you get over there soon!

Fredericton’s Red Rover Cider has a new release hitting their shelves today, a cider three years in the making. Starting from a blend of Spartan apples and Dolgo crabapples, after an initial 6-month cool fermentation, this dry cider was aged on oak for over two years before packaging. The full aromatics from Spartan (even when fermented bone-dry), along with the acidic character from the Dolgo make this a blend made in heaven. Le Brut is a 7.6% sparkling cider, and is available now at their CiderHouse location on Queen Street, Fredericton Farmers Market this weekend, and soon from their online store. The handsome bottle seems like a great option to pop open at midnight in a few short weeks…

Let’s stay in Fredericton (well, in Fredericton-adjacent Hanwell) for the next new release, from Niche Brewing. Celebrating their 100th batch (congrats, guys!), they decided to push the envelope in a different direction this time, brewing and fermenting their first Lager. The Bear is a 5.0% ABV Munich Helles, featuring Pilsner and Munich (natch) malts, a light bittering addition of Magnum hops, and fermented with Escarpment Labs’ Isar Lager strain. Bold malt flavour, but not sweetness, a touch of floral hop, and dry finish are what to expect in this beer, perfect for new- and old-school craft drinkers alike. Sharing the nickname of the father-in-law of co-owner Shawn Meek, The Bear is one that we think he’d be proud of. Grab a pint at one of their licensees around the Capital city, and those in Halifax will soon be able to enjoy it on tap at Stillwell HQ.

We’ve got tons of news from Robie Street, Halifax’s, Good Robot Brewing this week, so prep yourself before you wet yourself… First up is Li’l Creature aka Creature Feature VIII aka Baby Yoda, the latest and littlest in their line of biotransformation (aka, hopping during high fermentation) IPAs. At 4.5% ABV, you can still enjoy all of the tropical and citrus notes from a bigger IPA, but without the hangover. Next is C.R.E.A.M. – Cats Rule Everything Around Me, a new released dreamed up to hit the taps at the HaliMac Axe Throwing locations in Halifax and Kentville. Look for this light drinking Cream Ale the next time you’re tossing the ol’ hatchet around.

This week’s release of their first Beta Brew in a while (The Absolute Unit Belgian Tripel, thanks to their Sabco system being back up and running) wasn’t a one-time thing, as next Tuesday sees the launch of Stabby Geoff. Brewed with Brendan Martin, they’re describing it as a 5.3% ABV Wheat Ale hopped with Warrior, Ella and Summit in the boil (to 35 IBUs). Not being finished there (it IS a Beta Brew, after all), they also threw in some Queen of Tarts tea, and Grains of Paradise. Following hot on the heels of that brew will be their next newest beer, Et Tu? Brut IPA, a couple of days later on Thursday, Dec 12th (gotta admit, clever segue with the beer names there!). Naturally a Brut IPA, this 6.4% ABV, 22 IBUs brew has “bright flavours of orange and lemon citrus, as well as some white tea”, and finishes expectantly dry.

In St. John’s, this Monday saw the annual release of YellowBelly’s Mummer’s Brew (2019). This year’s batch is a 7.3% ABV Mocha Porter brewed with Oats, Wheat and Flaked Barley, along with Midnight Wheat, BlackPrinz, and Roasted Barley. These latter specialty grains added plenty of roasted character to the brew (along with a black colour, of course), but not too much so that the other wonderful flavours don’t come through. Specifically, we’re talking about the “deep, beautiful, nutty and malty” notes from the addition of Brazilian coffee beans (roasted by local Darkstar Coffee Roasters). The brew was hopped (to 25 IBUs) with Sasquatch and East Kent Goldings to add a bit of earthiness and a surprising licorice presence, according to the brewery. You can find it on tap at the brewpub and in bottles for takeaway; the bottles should be landing at NLC stores later in the week.  

Looks like there’s a new hoppy beer coming out of North Brewing this week, and it’s also the second release in the brewery’s 2019 collaboration with Benjamin Bridge. Musqué Double IPA was co-fermented on Chardonnay musqué grape skins (provided by the winery, naturally), and dry-hopped with the Australian Vic Secret variety. This 8% ABV hybrid DIPA is showing “notes of pear, mango and grape”, with a delicate acidity, and is dangerously easy-drinking. It launches today, and you can grab it in some fancy-lookin’ cans if you’re in the area. And why not pick up some Blanc while you’re there, which made its return last week? This year’s batch of the 4.5% ABV Grisette was fermented on some skins of its own… specifically, Sauvignon Blanc skins that were also provided by Benjamin Bridge. Like last year, $0.50 from each can sold will be donated to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. 

Unfortunately, we also have some sad news to share concerning North. Recently, their good friend and business partner, Leo Christakos, passed away unexpectedly. Leo was involved in creating Battery Park, and was always thoroughly involved with every aspect of the business, ranging from customer service to the nitty gritty details. Long-time fans of craft beer will undoubtedly connect him to the Brooklyn Warehouse, a restaurant that Leo opened, that was one of the first restaurants in the city to give craft beer top billing. His death is a huge loss to the craft beer community, and our condolences go out to his family and everyone touched by his loss… which are many, indeed. 

Fresh off their big win at the Atlantic Canadian Brewing Awards last month, Montague, PEI’s, Bogside Brewing has branched out and released their first cider. Fizz the Season is a 6.0% ABV blend of all Island apples, processed and pressed right in the brewery. Featuring a blend of holiday spicing (think cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice), Fizz is a nice complement to the crispy lagers and ales they’ve been releasing (and winning awards for!). And coming out next week is the beginning of their SMaSH (Single Malt And Single Hop) series with Shoreline Malting, with a new malt being used to create its iconic beer recipe. First up will be a Munich Dunkel, hitting the taps and retail next week. Joining it will be another new cider blend, this time using fresh local cranberries, bringing a decidely tart character to the finished product. We’ll have lots more on those releases next week, of course!

Down in Shelburne, NS, Boxing Rock has both a new beer and a returning favorite this week. On the new side is Inverse a “white stout”. Reminding everyone that “stout” means “strong”, not necessarily “dark”, this beer looks like a pale ale, but has plenty of the coffee, and chocolate flavors you’d associate with a darker beer in the stout style. Featuring additions of cold-brewed espresso to boost the coffee notes and vanilla to provide a background sweetness and smooth mouthfeel, it comes in at 6% ABV. Also returning to the fold is a beer first released in March of this year, Patricius Irish Stout, a 5% ABV stout that IS dark. “Refreshingly dry,” and intended to be an easy drinking beer for the winter months, it’s light enough in ABV that you won’t have to worry about having a couple on a snowy afternoon. Keep your eyes out for these beers, along with their barrel-aged series, Fisticuffs, wherever you get your BR fix. And if you’re interested in trying those big beers, but not sure you want to commit to a big bottle, you also have a chance to try them paired with cheese and cookies at Boxing Rock’s two upcoming customer appreciation events, the first at Local Source in Halifax on Thursday, December 12, from 4 – 6 PM and the second at the taproom in Shelburne on Thursday, December 19, from 5 – 7 PM.

If you follow TrailWay Brewing on social media, you may have noticed their mention a couple of weeks ago of a collaboration they did with Quebec’s Lagabiere brewery. The beer was De L’Autre Boutte to Here, a double-dry-hopped American IPA that they brewed at the Lagabiere’s location in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Luckily for their NB fans, they came back to Fredericton and brewed the same beer in their own brewery, and it’s being released today. At 7% ABV, it was hopped with almost twice the typical-for-TW amount of hops for their IPAs (which we’re guessing is therefore a crapload, for lack of a better term). The hops used were Motueka, Simcoe and Citra, so expect lots of juicy, tropical fruit character. You can grab it on tap and in cans at the brewery starting today. If you stop by, you’ll also notice that their Simcoe-focused American IPA, More Better, is also back; this one will also be hitting ANBL growler stations in the next couple of weeks.

We’ve got two bits of big expansion news to tell you about today, one in Nova Scotia, and one in New Brunswick.

Since opening their doors in 2016, Sober Island Brewing has been bringing great beer to Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore. Currently brewing in their own space at the Henley House in Sheet Harbour, they have announced that their own taproom will be opening next door in a couple of weeks. Located at 22462 Highway 7 (the former Three Sisters storefront), the taproom will have room for 50 guests, in a common area as well as side room that can be closed off for private events, or opened to accommodate thirsty visitors. Thanks to their manufacturers permit, they are able to welcome kids as well as adults, so no need to tie Junior up outside while you have a wee swally. With beer on tap, cider in the bottle, and some non-alcoholic bevvies to start, they’ll be expanding to an 8 tap draught system with beer, cider, and mobucha flowing. Their spot will also feature a retail space, with cans, crowlers, as well as growler fills, for the first time ever. Local flair is abundant in the space, with a live edge bar top, stone accents, and boards from an old barn. Local craftsman George Child has been a great asset to the design and build, still working harder than most, despite celebrating 80 years of age. So, when can you visit?? It won’t be long now, as they will be opening their doors Tuesday, December 17th, and celebrating with the launch of new merchandise and a new batch of IPA. From then until December 22nd, they will be welcoming guests in the new space, and then taking a break over Christmas. They will then be opening again for a New Year’s Day levee potluck, to celebrate the new year and big things to come in 2020 (including some short-term rental rooms above the taproom for the full SIBC experience). We’ll have lots more details to share with you as the space comes into its own over winter, and the Sober Island team is excited to offer a space that is open year-round, as well as partnering with neighbouring Henley House during its open season.

In other big taproom and expansion news, Moncton’s Tide & Boar Brewing has announced that they will be opening a brewery and taproom location in the New Year. Currently brewing on a 1 BBL (120 litre) system in the basement of their Main Street restaurant of the same name, they will be exiting into the light, and expanding brewing operations significantly. Located 15 minutes walk down Main at 1355 Main Street, the new location is just a 3 minute walk from the new Avenir Centre. The 15 BBL (1800 litre) system will offer the ability to serve not only their restaurant, but the new tap room onsite and more regular growler fills and canned offerings. The location will also have a kitchen onsite, which may mean more access to their High Fives pizza offerings. As they work hard on renovations and opening their doors this Spring, they’ve launched a new website to let you see behind the scenes, as well as pick up some great deals perfect for sharing with your loved ones (or not, no sharing!) over the holidays. Peep their deals on the Mug Club, Growler Club, Pizza Party and others here. Congratulations on the big news to Chad and the rest of the T&B crew.

Only one event in the hopper this week, but if you haven’t been to the Garrison Oxford Taproom yet, this would be a fun way to get an introduction:

If you’re in Halifax and looking for an excuse to get away from all your Christmas shopping this weekend (or if you just want to get away from your family, we won’t judge), the Ladies Beer League has you covered. This Sunday, December 8th, they’re hosting a December Bevvy at the Oxford Taproom from 2-4 pm. Hang out in the loft and drink some Garrison beers; they’ll even have some merch available for purchase, so you can take care of a bit of shopping at the same time, you efficient bugger you. They’ll also be collecting donations for Feed Nova Scotia, and if you donate you’ll be entered to win a gift basket with treats from the LBL and Garrison. 

And a few last mentions before we send you on your way:

With Foghorn’s recent expansion comes great responsibility… no wait, sorry, a new canning line! They’ve recently canned and released some of their regulars, including Golden Grover (English Pale Ale), Bumble (APA), and Constable Winchester (IPA). You can find them at brewery’s taproom in Rothesay, and at ANBL stores across the province.

Maybee Brewing released a new DIPA last week, Clockwork. Weighing in at 8.3% ABV, it has “rich stone fruit and citrus notes, a clean and balanced malt profile, and a light caramel finish”. Find it at the brewery, and at select licensees.

The PEI Brewing Co. has begun their Christmas Growler Countdown, where they release a new, small batch beer for growler fills, every Friday leading up to Christmas. This week’s release is English Mild with Brett; it goes on tap at the brewery starting today at 4 pm.

Secret Cove Brewing has teamed up with Corner Brook’s Newfound Sushi to brew The Rice is Right, a 4.8% ABV Session IPA. The beer is “crisp and smooth”, and features the addition of gelatinized Japanese rice.

Friday Wrap-Up for February 22, 2019 – News from Ninepenny Brewing, Hampton Brewing, 2 Crows, Bootleg, Upstreet, Tide House, YellowBelly, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2019-02-22
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Acadie-Broue, Annapolis Brewing Company, Annapolis Cider Company, Battery Park, Bootleg Brew Company, Boxing Rock Brewing, Cask and Kettle Irish Pub, CAVOK Brewing, Craft Beer Corner, DME, Dolma Food, Escarpment Laboratories, Flying Boats Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hampton Brewing Company, Henley House, Holy Whale Brewing, Hops Connect, Landwash Brewery, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Marky's Laudromat, Niche Brewing, Ninepenny Brewing, O'Creek Brewing, Off Track Brewing, Peppers Pub, Propeller Brewing, Roof Hound Brewing, Sober Island Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Joyce, Tidehouse Brewing, Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Here we are in the shank of February and I think it’s safe to say lots of us are already looking forward to Spring (*shakes fist at groundhog*). Plenty to tell you about in these parts this week, with some new openings, plenty of new beers, and even some brewery jobs opening up. Let’s get right to it!

In case you missed the big news, Ninepenny Brewing in Conception Bay South is opening their doors tomorrow! Saturday from 2 – 10 PM, they will be pouring three of their beers for onsite consumption and to take away in growlers. Pop by to try their Porter (4.9% ABV), Pale Ale (4.7% ABV) and White IPA (5.7% ABV), which may also be complemented by some other great Newfoundland Craft Beer. They’ll be open Sunday at 2 PM as well, if you need a refill on that growler! To learn more about Ninepenny, check our yesterday’s Profile with them, and keep an eye on their social media (Fb/IG/Tw) for the latest and greatest news from CBS!

Southern New Brunswick also has a new brewery to call their own, as Hampton Brewing Company has recently launched their first two beers. While they wait for their forever home in the town of Hampton to come together, they are brewing in Saint John, thanks to their buds at Loyalist City. HBC’s first two beers to hit the taps are their take on hoppy brews, an ode to their love of the styles. Victory! is a 5.5% ABV American Pale Ale, with Citra and Vic Secret hops to the tune of 50 IBU, for a citrus, tropical, and piney aroma and flavour profile on top of a smooth base. Crush is a 4.6% ABV Session IPA, featuring loads of late addition Centennial and Mosaic hops (also about 50 IBU), for a citrus and stone fruit character with a floral touch. This smooth mouthfeel and medium-light body make this a beer one can truly enjoy for a full “session”. Find the first two Hampton Brewing beers at the Cask and Kettle and Peppers Pub in Saint John and at The Joyce in Fredericton, and other local-beer-friendly establishments in between very soon. We’ll have a full Profile with HBC early next week!

There was a new beer release from 2 Crows last week, and the jerks didn’t even remember to let us know! As a result, there’s still some left at the brewery for you to grab, so we might as well tell you all about it now. Jamboree is their latest sour beer, brewed with Pilsner, wheat malt, raw wheat, and oats. After being soured with Lactobacillus, the wort was fermented nice and warm with Ebbengarden Kveik yeast from Escarpment Labs. Once complete, they conditioned the beer on a whack o’ fruit… specifically, 190 kg of strawberry purée and 130 kg guava purée. Woo! They also dry-hopped the beer with Huell Melon to add more fruit flavour (and to hold back that Lactobacillus, as the wort was not boiled after souring). They’re using the words “crazy tropical, lush, fuzzy, and smooth” to describe this one, and we’ll take their word for it! Available at the brewery on tap and in cans.

Over in Newfoundland, Bootleg Brew Co. continues to play with new beers with the release of Cherry Bomb!, a “Sour Red Ale”. This kettle sour features a portion of Rye malt in the grist to add a touch of spice in the aroma, which also has notes of dark fruit, thanks to the addition of cherries (you probably gathered that from the name, we’d guess). Pretty sessionable at 4.5% ABV, there’s “just enough sweetness to balance the tart”. Drop by the Bootleg tap room in Corner Brook for a taste/growler.

The Neon Friday series from Upstreet returns today, with the release of Neon Friday Session IPA. This actually isn’t the first Session IPA in the series, but we’re pretty sure it’s the first one with a shortish name! This one was hopped with Amarillo, Cashmere and Motueka. Bittered in the medium-low region (on paper) of 25 IBUs, this 4.5% ABV brew has “lime and melon aromas, with hints of tropical stone fruit and tangerine”, and a soft mouthfeel. They’ll be celebrating its release today at the Craft Beer Corner from 5-7 pm with a Daytime Disco, featuring DJ Bradford Rooney. As for the beer, you can find it on tap and in cans at the taproom and Craft Beer Corner in Charlottetown, and on tap at the Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse, with cans following at the private stores in Halifax in the near future.

We’ve got a pair of releasesMore bottle releases at Tidehouse, with this week’s featuring the brewery’s first stab at the strong Wheatwine style. King Friday was brewed with over half of the grist made up of Wheat malt (as is common for the style), and hopped entirely with Ahtanum. It is indeed strong, at 9.5% ABV, making it similar to a Barleywine, but lighter in colour. TH is describing the beer as sweet and malty, definitely meant for sipping (as we hope any beer with this ABV would be!). Bottles of this one (in both 341 mL and the “one-person-all-night-party” 750 mL) will be available at the brewery today at 2 pm. Also available today is a new beer from frequent guest brewer Ian Wheatly, with his Lil’ Witty. Wheatly’s take on a Belgian Witbier is true to style with lots of wheat in the grist, and coriander and orange peel to enhance the citrus and spice from the yeast. Lightly bittered with Magnum to balance, this 5.1% ABV beer is available on tap for samples and pints, and to go in growler fills.

St. John’s brewery and brewpub YellowBelly continue their series of winter ciders this week with another apple and fruit blend. Strawberry Passion Fruit Apple Cider is a 6.5% ABV cider, featuring, you guessed it, Passion Fruit and Strawberry. Tropical notes of citrus, mango, pineapple, capped by strawberry bring memories of summers past, and a hope for the months to come. It is available now on tap at the brewpub, their airport location, and the YellowBelly Takeaway, where it can also be grabbed in growler format.

In the Annapolis Valley area and itching for something smokey? Annapolis Brewing has you covered with their 1921 Smoked Lager. Released earlier this week at their taproom, the beer had beechwood smoked malt in the grist to provide plenty of smokiness in the flavour. Hopped with Hallertau, it was fermented with a German Lager yeast strain, and then lagered (natch) to bring the flavours together even more. The brewery’s first Lager comes in at 5.3% ABV and 24 IBUs, and you can drop by right now (do it!) to give it a try.

Continuing with Annapolis Valley news, by popular demand, Annapolis Cider is re-releasing a favorite from their Something Different series, Hopped Pear. A sparkling perry and apple blend coming in at 6.3% ABV, the perry was created with two separate fermentations, one of Flemish Beauty pears fermented dry and then dry-hopped, and one of Bosc pears, also fermented dry before being finished with a touch of fresh-pressed apple juice. Put together, the two create a crisp and refreshing perry with a distinct hop character that is balanced by more mellow notes of ripe pear and fresh apple. A slight bitterness completes the picture and highlights the dryness of the overall product. As always, this one is available at the cidery on Main Street in Wolfville with $0.50 from each refill being donated to Refresh Annapolis Valley.

The mad scientists at Niche Brewing in Hanwell, NB, have yet another new beer for you this week, one they’re calling Vibrant. A mixed-fermentation saison with raspberry and hibiscus, it weighs in at 5.9% ABV. Based on a grist of mostly Pilsner malt with a healthy portion of wheat added, it was fermented with Niche’s house culture. Raspberry puree was added to the mix after fermentation had slowed down and the hibiscus was introduced during conditioning. Slightly floral and herbal, with a slight tannic quality and a light funkiness, the raspberry is predominant, but the hibiscus certainly makes itself known. This deep red brew will be released to tap accounts in New Brunswick next week, but the first two kegs are actually going to Nova Scotia, where Stillwell has spoken for two kegs (along with one each of Single Origin, Niche’s coffee sweet stout, and Counting Stars, their latest NEIPA).

O’Creek Brewing, a nanobrewery in Dieppe, has debuted a brand new beer this week. Coffee Island is an 8.8% ABV Imperial Stout, which features the addition of cold brewed coffee during conditioning. The grist consists of Chocolate, Roast, Coffee and Carapils malts (on top of the 2-Row base). Chocolate malt notes blend with the intense coffee, all on a lovely balanced beer. Grab a pint of it on the guest taps at CAVOK Brewing or Marky’s Laundromat, and at this weekend’s beerfest at Dolma Food (more details below).

As the region gets ready for the premier bash of the year in a couple of weeks’ time, the folks behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival have teamed up with Flying Boats Brewing to create a special beer just for the fest. Flying Sasquatch Pale Ale is described as a “medium-bodied East Coast Pale Ale” and it features Canada’s first patented and trademarked hop, Sasquatch™ from Hops Connect (who generously provided the hops for this brew). Most of the hops were added towards the end of the boil, imparting a balanced herbal and grassy character with a gentle orange and tangerine citrus flavor and aroma. Coming in at 5.6% ABV and 42 IBU, you’ll find it in select ANBL stores as of this weekend in 473 mL cans, at ANBL growler stations starting February 28th, and on tap for pints and fills (and in cans as well) at Flying Boats’ taproom at 700 Malenfant Boulevard in Dieppe!

Digby’s Roof Hound Brewing is getting ready to launch one of their biggest beers yet, a Russian Imperial Stout named Star Anise Destroyer. With a big grist that includes a pretty hefty portion of Dextrin malt (to help give that full body that you may expect from the style), this 9.7% ABV brew was dry-hopped with a pound of hand-crushed star anise pods (is dry-star-anised a word? It should be!). Brewer Les Barr was looking to bring some black licorice character to this beer, similar to a Jager liqueur, and it sounds like he may have succeeded! Hopped to a high-IBU level to help balance all that roast and sweetness from the grain bill, it’s “surprisingly smooth and refreshing for such a big beer”, according to Barr. Look for bottles to be officially released on March 1st; it’ll also show up on tap at the Roof Hound tap takeover at Battery Park on March 7th… don’t worry, we’ll have more details on that event, soon!

Attention, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland hop lovers! Your local brewery, Landwash, has just released their first DIPA, Dream Island #1, and it’s sounding delicious! With a grist that includes flaked oats and malted oats to boost the beer’s mouthfeel and haziness, it was hopped heavily with Simcoe and Mosaic, giving the final product notes of “orange zest, tangerine juice, and mango flavours”. Who are you to say no to Simcoe and Mosaic? This one comes in at a hefty 8% ABV – it IS a DIPA, after all – so don’t be too eager to chug that hop goodness down. As you may have expected from the name of the beer, this is the first in an intended series of DIPAs, so look for more entries, soon. It’s currently available on tap at the brewery (along with six other brews; cans may appear in the future.

For you Good Robot regulars out there, we’re pleased to report that their weekly Beta release returns next Tuesday, after a brief hiatus this week. They’ve teamed up with Colin Smith to brew Barrel, Ontario, an attempt at brewing a beer similar to a certain flagship from a certain Toronto brewery that is owned by a certain company that maybe we’re not going to mention here… oh, the hell with it, it’s a beer similar to Tankhouse Ale. Basically expect a Red Ale hopped with a “solid” amount of Cascade (to 36 IBUs), and weighing in at 5.1% ABV. As for Alpha beers, it’s all cans next week… Damn Fine Coffee and Cherry Pie and Espinazo del Diablo. Finally, in other Good Robot news, they’re looking to hire a part-time salesperson; if you’re interested, check out the application here.

In other hiring news, Sober Island Brewing Company in Sheet Harbour is looking to high a full-time Head Brewer. This person will be responsible for their 850 litre (7 BBL) brewhouse, supplying the Henley House, packaged product to the NSLC and private stores, and licensees across the province. As this is a head brewer position, previous experience and education are big pluses! Check out the full job posting here, and start/continue your path in a growing craft brewery!

And if brewing isn’t in the cards for you (not right now, at least), maybe you can try your hand as a Sales person, or working on a packaging line? Halifax’s Garrison Brewing is looking to hire people in both of those positions, as they continue to expand their offerings far and wide. The Sales Person will be responsible for HRM accounts (existing and new), and is a full-time position. The Packaging position is part-time (for now), and will be working on the bottling and canning lines, as well as other maintenance and tasks in the brewery. Pop them an email to apply or learn more about either position!

For those of us keeping track of the goings-on in Charlottetown, it has been announced that a purchase agreement in the sale of DME Brewing’s Charlottetown facilities has been agreed upon. CIMC Enric is a Dutch company, and manufacturer of equipment used in brewing, distilling, and other related industries. They intend to keep the interim staff who have been working for the past couple of months, and possibly hire back some of those who lost their jobs. The purchase gives them access to all records, inventory, customer base information, and everything else to continue operating. We’re keeping our ears to the ground on this front, hope to share more good news soon.

The events slate is a little light this week, but we expect we’ll see that change in the next couple of weeks!

Just one new event to tell you about this week, and it should be a fun one! Put on your favourite retro snowsuit or outfit for an outdoor rooftop beefest in Moncton. Dolma Food is hosting Winter Beerfest On The Rooftop, tomorrow from 4 – 10 PM. Acadie-Broue, CAVOK Brewing, Holy Whale Brewing, O’Creek Brewing, and Tatamagouche Brewing will all be sharing their finest beers for you, plus VALK Fermentation will be a special guest and will be collaborating with Acadie-Broue for an exclusive kombucha beer. Dolma’s BBQ will be fired up and roasting a pig, and there will be much more to enhance the afternoon and evening. Tickets are available two way: purchase a pre-sale ticket for $15 which includes entry, 2 drink tickets and your glass for the evening  and to take home (available online or in store), or pay at the door for $25. Additional beer, or pulled pork sandwich or churros, are $5. Check out the links above for more details!

Before you go, just a couple more things!

Boxing Rock recently released this year’s version of La Rive du Sud (7.5% ABV), their Bière de Garde that they’ve been brewing annually since 2014. Various malts in the grist lend the beer biscuit, caramel and toffee notes, with a “noteworthy complexity”. And keep your eyes open for 14 Carrot Gold, a collaboration beer featuring the juice from 1100 lbs of carrots. No, you didn’t read that wrong. Stay tuned for more info!

Off Track Brewing has debuted another in their line of experimental and limited releases, with Sankara Amber Ale. This 5.3% ABV beer is malt-forward, with notes of toast, caramel, and is lightly sweet, but well-balanced, with Northern Brewer hops bringing its typical woody profile to the mix. Grab one (or all 5, so the legend goes) on tap at the brewery this weekend. And keep an eye out for the return of their Let’s Dance, a 6.8% ABV Double IPA, also on tap at the brewery now.

Propeller wants you to know that their popular XPA, their 5% ABV “Extra Pale Ale”, is back again for a limited time, available at their stores only. If you’re in any NSLC stores, however, Dark Berry Sour should be popping up there next week. Finally, tonight’s cask beer is an Oatmeal Stout that is essentially a preview of a beer that should be released, outside of a cask, in the near future.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Lunn’s Mill, Chain Yard, Western Newfoundland, Unfiltered, Tidehouse, Port Rexton, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-06-23
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Alexander Keith's Historic Brewery, Battery Park, Big Axe Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Chain Yard Cider, FirkinStein Brewing, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Henley House, HopYard, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Maybee Brewing, North Brewing, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Sober Island Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Sunset Heights Meadery, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Western Newfoundland Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

Happy Summer, folks! It sure felt that the warm weather was never going to come, but with temperatures reaching well above 20C in all four provinces this week, we’re finally able to dust off the patio furniture for real, and work on those farmer tans. Let’s get right to the beer(s) you should be drinking!

• Lunn’s Mill Beer Company has added a new brew, Anvil, a Porter, to their list of offerings in Lawrencetown, NS. Described by the brewery as being closer to the American Porter style (as opposed to British), it’s smooth and dark, with “hints of roast, chocolate, and dark fruit”. With a moderate bitterness in the finish to balance the malt flavours, it weighs in at 5.8% ABV and 32 IBUs. It was released late last week at the brewery, so only limited amounts are likely still available. But fear not! They’ll be brewing it again soon, and their tasting room has extended their hours (Thursdays 3:30-6:30 and Friday 12:00-6:00). And with three new 5 bbl (580 L) BIACs (Brew-in-a-Conical) arriving, there’ll be a big increase in production at the brewery any day now!

• Halifax’s Chain Yard Urban Cidery has released a brand new blend this week, Yard Berry. The base cider of Jonagold and Northern Spy apples was blended with NS High Bush blueberries that underwent an arrested fermentation (aka, stopped short of finishing too dry). The final product features notes of sour cherry, cranberry, and of course plenty of blueberry, with a heavier weight, but clean finish. Drop by their location at North & Agricola and enjoy a glass on their patio.

• Western Newfoundland Brewing Company has had a busy spring, brewing up some test batches at their Pasadena location. They currently have three of these smaller batches in rotation (as well as their Killdevil Pale Ale and Wild Cove Cream Ale) at their officially-unofficial taproom, Galliott Studios in Woody Point, located inside Gros Morne National Park. On tap currently is The Hoppin’ McIlroy, a Pale Ale brewed using wild hops from Norris Point, across Bonne Bay from the Studios. Also rotating through are Oat Pale Ale, featuring oats for a creamy mouthfeel and lots of late-hopping for a pleasant citrus and fruit flavour, and the preview for an upcoming wider release, Stout River (formerly Stout #1). Take a drive into the Park, grab a pint and sit on their beautiful wharf, and watch the humpbacks and minke whales that frequent the Bay.

• Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing is releasing an all-new beer today, the aggressively named Sour M.F. This is a wheat beer, kettle-soured and weighing in at 6.2% ABV. And here we depart from the typical text of an Unfiltered beer release because there’s no IBU number to report, nor are there any hop varieties to name. This ain’t a hoppy beer, it’s a sour, and in typical NASH style, it was rather unsubtly re-fermented on a metric fuckton of tart cherries for a big cherry bouquet. It’s described as acidic, refreshing and bright with a light spicy finish. Probably a beautiful beer for your patio drinking needs on a hot day. Available from noon today for fills at the brewery and pints next door at Charm School Pub.

• Those of us who’ve were lucky enough to share in the beers of Peter Lionais over his homebrewing career have reason to be excited, as there’s a new beer coming out of Tidehouse and it finished at a specific gravity of 1.003. A beer that dry can mean only one thing: Peter’s been into the saison yeast again! Using a blend of two strains, 2 Many Birds is firmly in the saison style, with a balance of earthy and citrus characters from the yeast. A grist of largely Pilsner malt with some Vienna added for character yields a rounded mouthfeel despite the dry finish. Hops in this batch were a blend of the old school Perle, the American darling Amarillo and the Southern Hemisphere newcomer Pacific Jade, for a floral and orange-grapefruity hop presence. The lion’s share of this batch was shipped up to Stillwell‘s Beer Garden on Spring Garden, so look for it to appear there soon, with the balance likely to find a home across the water at Battery Park and for a severely limited number of fills at the retail space on Salter Street.

• Newfoundland’s Port Rexton Brewing put their thinking caps on and developed a “100% Canadian beer”, utilizing ingredients from all four of our favourite provinces. Big Cod Mountain Ridge uses PEI malt (floor malted by Horton Ridge) in the grist, Cascade hops from Moose Mountain Hops in NB, and pineapple weed (tea-infused) harvested in NL by Cod Sounds. Finally fermented by Big Spruce‘s pin cherry-harvested yeast (with some help from Escarpment Labs), the beer – probably best described as a Saison – comes in at 5% ABV and 19 IBUs and exhibits a “Belgian feel”, and finishes very dry.

• North Brewing is releasing two beers today, one of which is new, the other, a returning favourite. The new brew is Little Beast, brewed for the North End Runners, a community of local runners who meet every Wednesday at 6 pm at North Brewing for a 6 km run. A 4% ABV “lagered ale”, it was hopped with Huell Melon to 10 IBUs, and features an addition of salt to the boil. North wants you to think of it as a “post-run recovery beer”… sounds right to us! Returning is White Lightning (4.8% ABV), a dry-hopped kettle sour. This time around, the beer is slightly more tart, thanks to the use of a different Lactobacillus starter, and was hopped with Azacca, Huell Melon, and Wai-Iti. Both beers will be available as of today at both North locations, for growler and swing-top fills, as well as in 650 mL bottles.

• TrailWay has their brand new automatic canning line up and running, which means more cans for all of us, and less work for the TW crew! It also means new label designs, and packaging dates indicated on each can. Beyond Reality (raspberry Fruit beer) is already out with its new look, and their Rye Pale Ale, Rype, will be available as of today. Finally, the winning American IPA in the first TrailWay Homebrew Challenge is available again (probably for the last time); Hoppy McHazy was brewed by Pierre Gagnon, and features plenty of Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, for a huge blast of tropical, fruity goodness.

• And the circle of life is complete as we heard from a little birdie this week that the canning line Trailway replaced with their new whizzbang automatic dealio is on its way to Sober Island on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore. While we let you consider what that’s going to mean for Rebecca Atkinson and her crew, or, more to the point, for you, gentle beer drinker, we’ll tell you about their latest release, dubbed Kirby’s Canoe Rye Pale Ale. The grist features 11% rye, which will almost certainly provide a spicy note on the finish. We also know that it was dry hopped with both Willamette and Bramling Cross hops, with the Bramling being the focus. This should provide a bright berry character. It’s straw-yellow in colour, with a solid 5.7% ABV and 30 IBU, if you really want to figure this one out, look for it in crowlers at the brewery, on tap at The Henley House in Sheet Harbour and Battery Park in Dartmouth, and appearing at the New Glasgow and Musquodoboit Farmers Markets.

• Heading Southwest along Nova Scotia’s coast, FirkinStein in Bridgewater has their latest experiment on tap and ready for prime time. Sassamanana is a 7.0% ABV Pale Ale, featuring the addition of cranberries and banana to the beer. While the techniques they used are secret (trust us, we asked!), they promise that the light tart character from the berries, and creaminess from the banana will make for a great experience. The beer is debuting at tomorrow morning’s Bridgewater Farmers’ Market. And keep an eye out for the news of their King Street satellite brewery/taproom/retail location, which is poised to open before the end of the month.

• And back to the city, on the waterfront in Halifax, Gahan Harbourfront is now serving up a batch of Flavour of the Monk which was the winning beer in their first annual homebrew competition. Devised (and named) by Ian Wheatley, who you may remember from March’s Lil’Wheatey Tap Takeover at Tidehouse Brewing earlier this year, it’s a Belgian beer in the Trappist Single style, with a pillowy white head and moderate bitterness. The hops used are classic Czech and German noble varieities, giving a floral and spicy nose to balance against the classic peppery and fruity Belgian yeast character. It’s a fairly easy-drinking 5.4% ABV and 35 IBU. Meanwhile, Gahan has quietly become the second brewery in NS to offer crowlers. These 32oz cans let you take beer pretty much anywhere in a convenient package, or let you sock it in the fridge for up to a month. Only Gahan beers are available (no PEIBC or guest taps) and they’re available for $8 from the fridge at the restaurant entrance. Currently available in this format are their Crosscurrent APA, Impatience Sour Brown and Captain Falcon’s IPA.

• Maybee Brewing is releasing Old Growth, an Extra Special Bitter, sometime today. The slightly-bigger brother to their Slanty Shanty Best Bitter that originally came out last December, the malt and hop profiles have been tweaked slightly. Horton Ridge floor-malted Organic Pale Malt makes up the majority of the grist, with New Brunswick Goldings hops bringing the IBUs to 44. Exhibiting “hints of honey and caramel”, and nicely-balanced with a firm bitterness, this 5.5% ABV beer is available at the brewery for pints, growlers, and cans. Look for cans to likely appear at select ANBL stores in the future; local tap accounts will also be receiving kegs.

• St. John’s YellowBelly Brewpub celebrated the changing of the seasons this week with the release of Summer Solstice Crystal Wheat. A nod to Wexford Wheat, one of their core beers, this beer features a simplified malt bill with just 2-Row and Wheat malts. Unlike WW, it is filtered, resulting in a bright, crystal-clear straw coloured beer. The hops are also unique to this release, with Pacific Gem and Sorachi Ace used in the boil, with more Sorachi and a second hop during dry-hopping. At 5.3% ABV and 18 IBUs, this is sure to be a crowd-pleaser on their patio this weekend at the corner of George Street, or to take-away when bottles make an appearance next week.

• Dropping today is YellowBelly’s latest cider, this one is a blend of dry apple cider fermented with Champagne yeast and sweetened with a touch of unfermented cider, then blended with 6% cold-pressed cranberry juice from the Island’s West Coast just prior to filtration. At 6.0% ABV, the resultant cider is juicy and tart, and thirst quenching for the warm weather (enjoy it over ice to extend the pleasure). On tap today, it should also see release in bottles at the Brewpub next week. And for a hint of what’s to come this summer, YB is currently on the look-out for an experience manager for “YellowBelly Take-Away”, to open at 264 Water Street in the coming months. Contact them via email for more details.

• Nackawic’s Big Axe Brewery has been busy crafting up some new sour beers, after the success of their kettle-soured Partridgeberry Sour and Sumac Sour. Coming up next is their next entry, Strawberry Sour. Initially fermented with a “collection of Brettanomyces and bacteria”, a neutral Ale strain (read: Saccharomyces) was used to finish things off. Real strawberries were then added during secondary fermentation, resulting in a “sourness complemented by a strawberry and citrus aroma” in this hazy, light-copper-coloured brew. Easy-drinking at 5% ABV, you’ll be able to find this one on tap at the brewery, as well as in Fredericton at 540 Kitchen & Bar and the Cider House. Next week should also see the release of Seaberry Sour, an amber-coloured kettle sour brewed with NB Sea Buckthorn berries, resulting in lots of citrus aromas, according to the brewery. This very-limited release will pop up at a few tap accounts.

• We have some great news for you New Brunswick Mead fans out there! Fredericton’s Sunset Heights Meadery has a very large shipment of bottles heading to more than 30 different ANBL locations across the province, starting this coming Monday, June 26th. After a few releases at four locations over the past months, the high demand was apparent; the current numbers hitting stores is ten times the amounts from before. Look for plenty of bottles of Queen’s Nectar, Scuttlebutt, ChaChaChaga, and Latifah to be hitting shelves very soon, with another release scheduled for sometime in early September. You can check the ANBL location list here.

• Big Tide has announced that they have a beer coming out soon, LaTour, their entry in the Acadian Nut Brown style being seen more and more in New Brunswick (check out our mention of it in last week’s post for more info). The 2 Row base malt is accented by plenty of CaraMunich and Chocolate Wheat malts for a medium-bodied, malt-forward, 6.5% ABV Nut Brown. Hopped to 27 IBUs with Fuggles for a mild bitterness and earthy aroma. A little past the June 9th official launch date, but that’s ok! It’ll be available at the brewpub for pours and growler next week. And grab a pint or growler of their 4.5% ABV Zippy Pale Ale, as it is sure to run out this weekend.

• Last week we told you a bunch of stuff about Good Robot that turned out to be a week too early (we blame contrails and the Illuminati). To save us some typing, you can catch up on that stuff right here (CTRL-F “robot” <enter>). We have it on good authority this week, that you will finally see the Cream Team cream ale appear this coming Tuesday, June 27th. This will mark the first of the Tuesday Beta Brew releases, heretofore and forever known as BetaBrewsDays. Also heading for Tuesday next, assuming kegs can be cleared in time, will be #2 in the SMaSH Pale Ale series, now officially known as Hey Now (you’re an all-star, get your game on, go play). And lastly, but not leastly, today will see the debut of the Cherry Goseface Killah, so head on down to Robie Street and get yourself some sour, salty brew with a fruit kick.

• Breton Brewing in Sydney, NS, has a brand new summer refresher out, the cleverly-named Miami Weiss, a weizen-style beer mixed with 100% organic grapefruit juice to create a Shandy. At a very light 4.0% and barely there 12 IBU it’s likely to be extremely crushable and perfect for a sunny afternoon on a patio somewhere. It’s already available at the brewery for pints and fills and you should see it make taps in the big city within the next couple of weeks. They’ve also got a third batch of the Stillwell Open-winning Seven Years Pale Ale just brewed and have put down their second lager for aging into early July. We’ll have more information on availability for the former and details on the latter in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, if you’re in Sydney this weekend and you love beer, why not swing by the brewery and check out Breton’s 2nd Birthday Party, which has been in full swing since kicking off last night. The festivities continue tonight with a Music on Tap event from 4 – 10 PM before tomorrow’s 10 hours of live music, food trucks and cake! Check out the Breton Brewing Birthday Bash Facebook event page and plan accordingly!

• Down in the old A. Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery, a new beer is on the horizon, this one being labeled Highland Scottish Pilsner. Taking advantage of the similarities (water-chemistry wise) between the Halifax Pockwock water supply and the classic brewing liquor of Pilsen in the Czech Republic, this brew sees light and grainy Pilsner wed to the round sweet maltiness of Scottish Golden Promise. This will no doubt provide the beer with somewhat more body than a truly classic Pils, while preserving the dry and crisp finish characteristic of the style. The hopping also sees an uncommon marriage, with the classic Saaz combined with its descendant variety from New Zealand, Motueka. At 5.5% ABV and 20 IBU, you’ll find it available for growler fills at the brewery.

• Despite our best efforts, we’re always finding out we’re not quite as on top of things as we like to think we are. Case in point, this week we heard about The Groundswell Inn, located on the Fleur-de-lis trail in D’Escousse on Isle Madame, NS, on the south side of Cape Breton. A bed and breakfast with an attached British-style Pub, they’ve been since last year and feature 8 craft beer taps, one of the largest selections of craft beer, if not the largest, in Cape Breton! We’ve added them to the Brewnosers Good Beer Map on this site, but certainly if you’re planning to be in the area or looking for accommodations or a place to have a pint near Isle Madame, check out their website and look for info on their coming events on Facebook and Twitter!

• Those of us patiently waiting for Big Spruce‘s Silver Tart to be available in cans in Halifax, rejoice! After a run on the cans yesterday, we’ve been assured that there are a few hundred more being delivered to Bishop’s Cellar this morning, in time for your post-work pint. Keep an eye on BC’s twitter feed, as they’ll be sure to announce their arrival. Or, why not make a run up to Nyanza, where you can also enjoy some food, live music, and relaxation courtesy of some Beer Yoga.

Looking for a few things to do in the next few weeks? We’ve got lots to keep you busy, no matter where you are!

• The tap takeovers at Charlottetown’s HopYard continue in full force today, June 23rd, with an Upstreet/North Takeover all day. All taps will be dedicated to the two breweries – check out the event link for a full list – including a new collaboration between the two, Northern Light, a 3.5% ABV, 15 IBUs Session IPA brewed with equal amounts 2-row and Wheat malt, and hopped with Cashmere and Mosaic. Launching at this event, Northern Light will also be on tap at the Upstreet taproom in Charlottetown and Battery Park in Halifax, as well as select tap accounts in both cities.

• Horton Ridge is holding the Grand Opening of their brewery and taproom tomorrow, June 24th, starting at 11 am. A selection of NS craft beer will be on tap for purchase, including – of course – several of the releases from Horton Ridge, which are only available at the brewery/malt house. Singer/songwriter Caleb Miles will be performing at 6 pm, and the Let’s Eat Beer food truck will be serving up some beer-infused items all day (all proceeds will be going to Atlantic Canadian charities). Games, tours, and door prizes will be rounding out the day, so drop by and bring the family!

• Back to Upstreet, who will be having their 2nd Birthday next week, and like last year, will be celebrating with the launch of a new beer in their annual De Novo series. De Novo II is a Belgian Saison brewed with Maritime malt, New Brunswick Goldings hops, and fermented with a Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces blend. The result is flavours of “light candy and funk”, backed lightly by a dry finish and hop bitterness. This already-dry beer will get more so over time, as the Brett continues to chew away at residual sugars, increasing the amount of funk character in the beer (and, quite possibly, carbonation… you’ve been warned!). The De Novo II Release Party is next Thursday, June 29th, at the taproom, from 6-10 pm. There’s no charge to attend, just drop by for some music, cake, and pick up some hand-bottled De Novo II while it’s available!

• All year, Propeller Brewing is celebrating their 20th Anniversary, with several initiatives and collaborations and events planned. The details of their official Anniversary Party have been announced, taking place July 8th. From 2-8PM, they are taking over the parking lot of their neighbours Seven Bay Bouldering, and inviting some great local bands to play free concerts all day, also featuring games for young and old alike, beer specials, and plenty more surprises. After the day’s fun, the party moves a few feet down the block to the Marquee, where Skratch Bastid and friends will be playing starting at 10PM. With tickets priced at $20, this is a steal of a deal, but even more so when realizing that 100% of profits will be going to the North End Community Health Centre, just down Gottingen from Propeller, and their favourite charity. Check out the FB Events page for more information, and grab your tickets for the show at the Marquee before they sell out.