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Friday Wrap-Up for February 10, 2023 – News from News from Upstreet, Annapolis Brewing, Horton Ridge, Tatamagouche, Serpent, Garrison, Bannerman, and more!!

Posted by acbbchris on 2023-02-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Black Cultural Society of PEI, Breton Brewing, CAVOK Brewing, CBANS, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Lake City Cider, Landwash Brewery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

As we roll through another mix of strange temperatures and precipitation in the Atlantic Provinces, our local breweries keep trucking along and bringing out the news and brews to serve the people. In more general beer news, one of the classic pairings of Beer and Football will be featured on this Sunday’s Superb Owl! If your chief priority is to get some beer stocked up for the weekend, then your eagle eyes should look no further than some of the new releases and news below. 

We’re kicking off this week with some beer-adjacent news and the importance of celebrating African Heritage Month. The PEI-based folks at Upstreet have been working since the fall with the Black Cultural Society of PEI on a collaborative drink to honor and raise funds for the organization. The theme of the month for PEI’s month-long programming of events is Sankofa, a Twi (primary language in Ghana) word, meaning, “to look back into the past to guide the future.” Sankofa Tropic Punch  is also the name of the resulting drink collaboration between Upstreet and BCS! This is a 5.5% ABV cocktail which brings in big flavours of banana, grenadine, and passionfruit. 10% of all sales of the cocktail will be donated to the Black Cultural Society. You can grab this sweet and juicy cocktail on tap at the Upstreet Taproom and Craft Beer Corner in Charlottetown. Be sure to check out all the events this month from the BCS of PEI and try to engage in-person or online if possible. And if you’re not on PEI, check out your own provincial or municipal events to celebrate African Heritage Month now or anytime throughout the year. 

Keeping up with another collaboration, the Valley folks of Horton Ridge Malt House and Annapolis Brewing Company have teamed up to bring you Valley Helles. This is a Valley-based take on the German style Helles Lager but is made with local barley, of course. This crisp and refreshing lager brings classic notes of bread and crackers and a bit of malt sweetness with a very clean finish. It comes in at 4.3% and 16 IBU and is available in cans and on tap at both breweries. 

From the Fundy shores over to the Northumberland Strait of Nova Scotia, Tatamagouche Brewing has a new release to get your hands on. Zin Gin is a grapefruit and rosemary saison that’s been waiting to come out of the barrel for a while! The main brew started out in the kettle where Mistral and Chinook hops were joined by grapefruit peel and fresh rosemary. For fermentation, the wort was inoculated with a blended culture of French saison yeast and some Brettanomyces to bring out more herbal and citrus character. After primary fermentation, the beer went into gin-infused Zinfandel wine barrels for 8 months of maxing and relaxing, while making some botanical flavor friends along the way. After barrel-aging, it was blended with a neutral sour beer and then racked onto a dry hop of Saaz and more grapefruit peel. The beer was then can-conditioned and is available to you now. There is a dry and bitter profile to this one, but the sour component and racking really help balance this one out for a very complex and refreshing brew at 7% ABV. Find this one now in 355ml cans at the brewery or online. (and potentially on tap and in cans around Halifax). 

Another new release this week comes from Spryfield’s own Serpent Brewing. Available on Saturday, February 11th, Tanks but No Tanks is a Pale Ale that’s been boosted up with floral, citrus, and pine character while remaining well-balanced with toasty and sweet malt notes. Boasting a generous dry hop of Amarillo, this 4.4% beer is packed with flavour and should be a refreshing and juicy brew as we struggle with “will they or won’t they” Winter. This will be available in cans and on tap directly from the brewery.  

Someone’s been busy on Quinpool Road recently and that’s the Garrison brew team on their pilot system at their Oxford taproom. They’ve got not one, not two, but three small batches for you to sample and savor this week. Up first is Nuts about Honey, a peanut butter and honey (natch) ale. Starting with a base of Pilsner, with biscuity Victory and sweet crystal specialty malts, it was was bittered with Bravo and, we believe, saw additions of both peanut butter and honey, yielding a creamy smooth, sweet, and nutty final product at 6.3%. A variation on that theme arrives with the second beer, Nuts About Molasses. This one is 5.2%, and was largely Munich malt in the mash with a bit of Victory for character, Bravo again for bittering. This time to go with the peanut butter there was molasses, which gives some dark fruit, and some spices for clove and nutmeg notes. Lastly, we’ve got what they’re calling a “Red Hot IPA” that they’re calling Caliente. Pilsner, dark Munich, crystal, and chocolate malts come together in this one to provide a platform for hops and spice. Bravo was used here too, for bittering, but the stars of the hop show were Citra, Cascade, Mosaic, and Simcoe. To that very citrusy and no doubt dank base was added habanero, which bring characteristic flavors and, of course, a lingering heat. All three are available only at the Oxford taproom.

Never let it be said that Trailway is unwilling to experiment, even with the tried and true. After the rousing success of their Hu Jon Light variation of their OG Hu Jon Hops IPA, they decided to attempt a yin to that yang and are now releasing Hu Jon Heavy. Boasting the same hop varieties as its smaller siblings, you’ll get the same fresh tropical fruit, sticky pine, and kushy dankness, but with a fuller flavor and body. Probably no need to mention this one hits quite a bit harder as well at 8% ABV. You can grab it now at the brewery, and, we expect, this one will probably see some wider distro; you can also keep your eyes peeled as kegs have been released into the wild as well.

Whether you’re way down in the Southwestern Nova Scotia, or in the HRM, you have the chance to try a new one from Tusket Falls. An American Porter (think English Porter with a higher ABV and more hop character), Original Experience comes in at 6% and brings with it a full body and rich mouthfeel along with a creamy head. Old school c-hop Columbus adds a firm bitterness along with some earthy and citrus character that balance the malty, roasty, nutty, and chocolatey flavors provided by the specialty malts used, namely roasted barley, chocolate malt, Golden Naked Oats, and crystal malts. Grab it now in cans or on tap at either of their locations, in Tusket or on Gottingen Street in Halifax.

Let’s jump up to Newfoundland for the first time this week, starting with Bannerman who are releasing a new lager, Aces High.  Coming in at 4.5%, it’s essentially a light lager, aided by the addition of toasted rice. A Sorachi Ace dry-hop provides notes of peach, lemongrass and tea to keep things interesting. It’s on tap and in cans now at the brewery on Duckworth St., with cans also hitting NLC locations today (Friday) and Bannerman’s other retail spots later this weekend. 

You already knew that Moncton’s Tire Shack can bang out the dessert stouts, with their toasted marshmallow stout, Society, being a mainstay in their core offerings. They’re doubling down on those credentials this week with the release of Peanut Butter and Chocolate MIlkshake Stout. This one takes its chocolate notes from substantial quantities of dark malts, sees an addition of over 25 kilos of peanut butter, and also incorporates Lactose for added sweetness and mouthfeel. 

But if boffo big sweet stouts aren’t your thing, and you like to play more on the lighter side, or perhaps you’re more of a beer curious cocktail lover, Tire Shack also has you covered for that. Previously done as a pilot batch that was so popular it had to be scaled up and banged out in quantity, Cosmopolitan Sour is what it says on the tin: a beer version of the classic citrus and cranberry cocktail. You’ll find this one and the Society both now available in the tap room for pints and growler fills and also in cans to go.

Staying in the Moncton region of NB, but just down the road in Dieppe, CAVOK has a long-term project coming to light this week. Vega is named for the brightest star in the constellation Lyra (“the Lyre,” of course), a once (14,000 years ago) and future (in another 14,000 years or so) pole star, fifth-brightest star in the night sky, and one corner of the famed Summer Triangle asterism. But enough about the name, what about the beer? A raspberry pale ale that was fermented with Brettanomyces and aged in an oak foedre, at 5.3% you should find it a light and refreshing variation on an aged beer, which are most often bigger beers. You can confirm or deny this by visiting the brewery and grabbing one or more, either on tap or in 750ml bottles to go.

One of the region’s longest-running Homebrew Competitions, the Big Spruce Homebrew Challenge wrapped up this past weekend, as always at the Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth. This year’s event harkened back to the first edition of the competition, with a single wide-open IPA category where anything goes, and if you thought that an open IPA competition in 2023 would see a podium full of hazybois you’d be (⅔) wrong. In third place was Leo Arsenault and Jonathan Gavel of Antigonish with a British IPA, a rarer than hen’s teeth style in this day and age, but a very interesting and satisfying one. In second was Ryan Swinamer of Hammonds Plains, who had the requisite Hazy IPA. And coming in first place was Alex Hunt of Halifax, with another rather rare style (although familiar to longtime Spruceheads), a Cascadian Dark Ale, better known to many as a Black IPA. Congrats to all who placed and indeed, all those who entered, and thanks to Jeremy White, the team at Big Spruce, and the judging crew for putting on another great competition. Look for Alex’s winning beer with be scaled up and brewed for inclusion in the BS 10th Birthday Beer Box for April 1st!

We’ve only got one event for you this week, and it’s a ways away, but the sweet cheap tickets are on sale this weekend only!

No events to announce for this weekend, but we want to share some exciting news about an April event whose tickets are going on sale today. Together We Brew NS will take place on April 1 at Pavillion 22 at the Halifax Seaport. The event is being hosted by CBANS (replacing the Full House event from previous years), and will see over 50 CBANS members proffering their beers and ciders for sampling. Expect more than 250 locally produced beverages, live music, fun & games, and a bunch of different food options. Early bird tickets are available this weekend (only Sunday at midnight), with VIP tickets also available that will earn you extra samples and facetime with the brewery crews. Check out their website for more details on what is sure to be one of the highlights of the craft beer calendar this year. 

Looking for a little work in the beer industry? See below.

The gang at Stillwell Brewing is looking for a little hand with their retail, with casual Saturday morning market hours and other retail/taproom hours coming available in the near future. If you love beer and love sharing your love for beer with the public at large, why not get paid for it? You can reach out to nikki@stillwellbrewing.com for more information.

…aaaaand we finish with a couple of quick newsbites you can wash down with your first beer of the weekend.

Fans of Good Robot may have noticed a distinct lack of some of their favorite GR brews in the last little while. The truth is, they’ve been focused on volume lately, what with their big shiny new brewhouse and plenty of orders to fill for their core brands. But this week sees the first of what they’re intending to be a trend in their offerings, the return of Tom Waits Imperial Stout. Still big, still dark, still dangerous. Only on tap at the GR Robie Street taproom.

As mentioned in our intro above, fans of American football know what weekend it is, and unless you’ve got your head in the sand you know Tuesday is also everybody’s most favorite* Hallmark Holiday, Valentine’s Day! Both of these events, tending to occur in the deep of winter, often see breweries offer special products, special deals, or special events and this year is no exception. Check out your favorite brewery’s or bar’s socials and websites and see whether they might be offering a bundle deal like 2 Crows with their AC Light Lager flat of 24 for $50 or a Valentines package like Breton Brewing’s Valentine’s Day Beergram Package, or an event like Bar Stillwell’s Loner’s Valentine. We’ve seen some offerings in these veins from Lake City Cider, Landwash, and Garrison as well. Now is probably also a good time to remind you that the easiest way to find out about these sorts of things is by signing up for your favorite producers’ email list, which will often get you access to early and/or special purchases, occasional discounts, and more (always MOAR!).

* “nobody’s most favorite” and “everybody’s least favorite” are also possible.

Friday Wrap-Up for September 2, 2022 – News from Half Cut, Tatamagouche, Propeller, Spindrift, Serpent, Breton, Island Folk, Libra, Upstreet, 902 BrewCast, Garrison, Boomstick, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2022-09-02
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Boomstick Brewing, Breton Brewing, CBANS, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Garrison Brewing, Half Cut Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Island Folk Cider House, Libra Non-Alcoholic Beer, Nova Scotia Craft Beer, Propeller Brewing, Serpent Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Tapestry Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Labour Day Weekend! As visions of Back to School dance through your heads, we hope you enjoy your mostly-clear-looking 3 days off, before going back to the grindstone Tuesday. Be sure to check the opening hours at your local brewery or ciderhouse, just in case they are taking a much-needed break Monday. Just in case, stock up/place your online orders now to avoid disappointment! Here are a few new and returning beer, ciders, and everything in between, to get you through the next week. And stay tuned all the way to the end for details on how you can win your way into a beer fest later this month. Cheers!

Half Cut Brewing has been slinging beer (and Detroit-style pies thanks to their taproom pals Coastline Pizza) from their Northside Fredericton taproom for just about a month now, and are ready to release their newest one-off beer. Joining the Charlie Horse Kolsch, Jackhammer APA, and Tickle Fight IPA is Moustache Ride. This 6.5% New England IPA is brimming with hops on both the tongue and nose with citrus and stone fruit taking centre stage. Straw in colour with the iconic hop-full haze, the pillowy head keeps all those volatile terpenes and fruity esters locked in until you’re ready to imbibe. This is a taproom draught exclusive, so you’ll have to head over to 67 Main Street at 4 PM for a Ride and a slab to kick off your long weekend.

Big week for the folks on the North Shore, as Tatamagouche kicks off the long weekend with a trio of releases. Returning is the Intertidal: Idaho Gem, their continued exploration of hop-feature IPA recipes. Planting itself firmly in the traditional American IPA category at 6.4% ABV, it stays true to that style with North American-grown Idaho Gem and Chinook hops (with assists with some other old school varieties). Layering berry and citrus on top of pine and resinous, thanks to the multiple cones added throughout the process, including both hot- and warm-temperature whirlpool additions (post-boil/pre-transfer), before two rounds of IG dry-hopping late and then after fermentation. Pale, wheat, chit, and oat malts from Horton Ridge Malt & Grain support the hops with a full mouthfeel without getting bogged down. 

Switching gears completely is a pair of bottled releases months (years?) is the making. Starting from a blend of multi-month- and multi-barrel-aged Golden Sours (with a never-to-be-replicated amalgam of yeast and bacteria), it was then blended with many kilos of raspberry, strawberry, and dark cherry purees. The sugar introduced by the fruit kicked off another round of fermentation, with the Brettanomyces waking up and chewing through that, while giving off some more lovely berry notes of its own, as well as some light hay. The acidity from the bacteria keeps it zippy and clears the palate for a clean finish. Bottles of Monarch have been corked and caged for a while now, allowing them to condition and carb in the bottle, so we suggest grabbing a couple: one to enjoy now, and another one (or more) to try in a few months.

The second mixed fermentation sour from Tata this week is Iphias, a blend of older and new barrel-aged Golden Sours, which were combined and then conditioned with peach puree and ginger juice for a secondary fermentation period. Solid funk and barnyard from the oldest beer meld with the peach fruitiness and spice from the ginger, along with the young beer to soften the blend. This 6.3% ABV beauty has also been allowed to bottle condition for a few months, and with cork and cage, will keep for years. Cans and bottles of all three new releases are available in Tata’s retail store, as well as online for NS delivery and nationwide shipping.

Propeller’s 25th Anniversary year continues with another new release that sees the brewery exploring the area between truly low-alcohol (as defined by the gummint, anyway) and the 3 – 3.5% ABV range we used to call “sessionable.” Coming in at 2.5% is this new one “sub-sessionable”? That doesn’t sound right because it would be more sessionable, right? Maybe “super-sessionable”? Or you could just call it what Prop does, given that it’s a hop-forward beer with smooth mouthfeel and pleasant bitterness, and go with “Nano IPA.” Officially dubbed Big Tiny, it’s available now in 473ml cans from all Prop locations; look out for flavours of melon, grapefruit, and maybe even a soupçon of gooseberry. We’ll also remind you that Prop has cask nights at their Gottingen Street location every Friday starting at 6 PM where you’ll find a cask of one of their beers that’s usually undergone some sort of experimental addition. This week it’s their Prime Lager treated with watermelon and hibiscus. Head on down and enjoy one on their new patio!

The pride of Burnside and Antigonish, Spindrift Brewing, has two new releases to ring in September. First up is Soundtrack Peach and Apricot Sour. This kettle sour started with a base of Pilsner malt and malted wheat and saw additions of Magnum hops before fermenting on peach and apricot puree. Expect notes of tropical and stone fruit to compliment the tart character produced by the Lactobacillus. Soundtrack comes in at 5% ABV and 10 IBUs.  Also out is a new spin on their flagship Toller lager, Toller Red. Taking inspiration from the German Rotbier style originating in Nuremberg, it sees the addition of Munich and Caramel Munich to the usual Pilsner malt, giving it a darker colour, some fruit character and a hint of caramel. Also hopped with Magnum, Toller Red comes in at a sessionable 5.0% ABV and 19 IBUs. Both are out now in cans or for fills at Spindrift’s two locations, with Toller Red also seeing distribution through the NSLC in the coming weeks.

Spryfield’s Serpent Brewing has a few new and returning goodies this upcoming week. First up is their first Irish Red, being released tomorrow (Sept. 3). Their take on the style, it uses Red-X malt to deliver the di rigueur toasty and caramel notes. Can-conditioned this one will be available for taproom pours or to-go. Tuesday (Sept. 6) will see the release of Long Lake Lager, their take on a Czech-style lager using Pilsner malt with a touch of crystal malt, and a lager yeast propagated from their friends at Church Brewing. This one will be on tap and available to-go in cans. Finally, this week also saw the return of their Farmhouse Cider, The Bite. This batch is slightly different, with the saison yeast they used leading to a drier cider with some tart and funky notes and a 5% ABV. It’s available now at the brewery on tap and in cans.

Sticking with cidery news, Sydney’s Breton Brewing and Island Folk Cider House have teamed up once again to create Moxie Graf, a co-fermented apple juice beer. Graf is a style of beverage with 9,000 (!) year-old origins, that involves blending apple juice with beer wort and then fermenting with an ale yeast. The name is a homage to Moxham Castle, the creepy castle in downtown Sydney that was destroyed by fire in the 1960s. Expect a crisp drinking experience with notes of baked apple and caramel. Moxie Graf is available now at the Breton and Island Folk taprooms, and for delivery via Breton’s online store.

Does it feel like Fall to you? It was certainly cooler in Halifax this morning, but we wouldn’t go so far as to hasten the coming of the Autumn season when there’s officially three weeks left of Summer and hopefully even more weeks of patio beer viability yet to come. That said, though some will celebrate while others shake their fists in scorn, the first of the region’s harbingers of Fall is here, and it’s a two-fer: Upstreet now has both their Gravedigger Pumpkin Ale and their Libra Pumpkin Spice available as of yesterday. Gravedigger has been a stalwart since Upstreet’s first year, we believe, and features a deep copper color and aromas of pumpkin pie in a 6.5% package. It’s little sibling, as with all Libra brands, is a low-alcohol brew at 0.4% ABV and aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg. Look for these wherever you usually buy your Upstreet and/or your Libra.

Speaking of Libra, Kyle and Tony (or is it Tony and Kyle?) from the 902 BrewCast sat down with Mike Hogan (“Hogie”) of Upstreet and Libra to talk about the Libra brand, how it came to be, and how it’s doing in the market along with some discussion about no-/low-alcohol beers and Upstreet in general. You can check it out on your favorite podcast app or get it directly from the source. (Pumpkin beer haters worry not, we have reason to believe that this was recorded a little while ago and should be free of any gourdian content).

And speaking of Fall, that’s when the world’s largest celebration of beer takes place, in Germany and across the world: Oktoberfest! To celebrate their own Oktoberfest being held at the Beer Garden on the Waterfront (Sept 23 – Oct 2), Garrison has released their Hefe Weizen this week. Leveraging a bit of Aussie Cascade in this Wheat- and Yeast-driven brew, it features a touch of clove spice and banana on the nose and palate, perfect for enjoying a Maß or three. Cans and pints are available now at their Seaport and Oxford locations.

This week’s Newfoundland content comes to us from Boomstick Brewing in Corner Brook who partnered with music industry and community group Music NL to bring you Every Inch a Sailor, a blood orange and tangerine sour with a name that’s sure to resonate not only with Newfoundlanders, but with anyone who’s lived in Atlantic Canada for very long (or grew up listening to Sharon, Lois, & Bram and/or Fred Penner). Pretty much what it says on the tin, this is a kettle sour to which the team added blood orange and tangerine, producing a beer that is, “bright, light, and drinkable!” Surely one to enjoy while you’re doing some toe tappin’ to the strains of some Newfoundland music. Look for this one packaged in cans at the brewery, the Ultramar next store, and at Humber NLC. And don’t forget Music NL’s Music Celebration Week 2022 coming in late October to Corner Brook!

After a couple of years off (I wonder why??), the Nova Scotia Craft Beer Festival is back! Presented by the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, which represents breweries from all across the province, 40 breweries from Yarmouth to Sydney, Amherst to Sheet Harbour, will be putting their best foot, and beer, forward, September 16 and 17 on the Halifax Waterfront. Taking place at the Salter Block at 1521 Lower Water Street, this outdoor event will have something for everyone into well-made local beer, plus live music and DJ sets, axe throwing, and with the new ticketing system, the ability to exit and grab food from the Salt Yard vendors next door. There are three sessions (Friday evening, and Saturday afternoon and evening), and we are looking to give away a pair of tickets to the session of your choosing! All you need to do is post a picture, video, reel, whatever you prefer, of the NS craft beer you’re enjoying this weekend on Instagram, and be sure to tag the brewery, us, and CBANS (@ACBeerBlog and @NSCraftBrewers). No limit to those entries, but be sure that we can see it and share! We will do a random draw Tuesday at 9 AM. But for those of you who may not win, please be sure to grab your tickets soon to avoid missing out!

Ending off the week with a job posting, for those looking to join, or supplement, their Career in Beer. Lower Sackville’s TAPestry Beer Bar is looking for a beer slinger to join their ranks in a weekend part-time position (with more shifts as biz increases). A love of beer (hey, if you’re reading this, you’re already part way there) and preferably with some industry experience already, are key to success. Drop by the bar at 833 Sackville Drive to drop your resume and chat with Ian and the gang.

Friday Wrap-Up for March 25, 2022 – News from Trailway, Landwash, Dildo, Village Green, Tatamagouche, Lake City, Flying Boats, Bogside, Moth Lane, Tire Shack and more!

Posted by acbbdevon on 2022-03-25
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Bogside Brewing, Brave Noise Beer, Delta Force Brewing, Dildo Brewing, Flying Boats Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Lake City Cider, Landwash Brewery, Moth Lane Brewing, Noggins Corner, Shoreline Malting, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Joyce, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Village Green by Modern Brewer. Leave a Comment

Hey, you’ve made it to another Friday! Glad to hear! You’ve definitely earned a beer or two, so let’s cut the small talk and give you the scoop on the latest releases and events happening in the area!

Let’s kick things off with a few hazy IPAs from Fredericton’s Trailway Brewing. First up is a new release, named in honour of some skilled bowling at the brewery’s Drome location. Bonus Money showcases Falconer’s Flight, El Dorado, Vic Secret and Sabro hops, leading to notes of pineapple, stone fruit, mango and some subtle coconut from the Sabro. Cans of the 5.5% ABV IPA are available now. Trailway is also releasing another batch of Hot Sky Eclipse, their 6.6% ABV IPA that showcases the Australian Eclipse hop. This year’s version saw extra hop additions, earning itself the DDH (double dry hopped) moniker. Expect lots of citrus notes with a hint of pine needles and Juicy Fruit gum (the taste is gonna move you). 

Let’s cross over to Newfoundland, where Landwash and Dildo have teamed up for a fun “Home and Home” collaboration, and now available at both breweries and across the Avalon. Friendly Shores is a 5.6% ABV Amber Ale, that spent some time in each brewery on Amburana wood and vanilla. This “Brazilian Oak” is known to impart savoury and lightly spicy notes, which is complemented by the vanilla, imparting lots into this malt-forward ale. As it was brewed at both spots, it’s available in house and to-go in both Mount Pearl and Dildo, as well as in cans at NLC and Marie’s Mini Mart locations surrounding and between the two participating breweries now.

We mentioned it in our International Women’s Day 2022 feature at the beginning of the month, and now it is a reality, Landwash has released their Brave Noise Pale Ale. Brewed on Pink Shirt Day in late February, the 4.8% Hazy Pale Ale is part of a global movement working towards descrimination-free spaces to produce and enjoy beer. As part of the international collab, Landwash has included a link to their Code of Conduct right on the can, and will be directing proceeds to The Craft Beer Safety Network, supporting marginalized communities in the beer industry. Be sure to grab a four-pack of cans today to help support folks already in, or looking to join, the industry!

For Landwash’s partner in Friendly Shores, this was not Dildo’s only new release this week either, as they’ve released a higher-ABV version of Dildo Lager… Dry Ice Lager is 6.0%, achieving that extra bit of oomph by using an enzyme to help the yeast chew up every little bit of sugar in the wort, leaving the beer bone dry, with a touch of warming from the higher alcohol. Available at the brewery, their St. John’s retail store, as well as the various gas stations/convenience stores on the East Coast. And back on tap and in cans is 1933 IPA, a 7.0% bitter beer brewed in honour of the giant squid caught in Dildo in its eponymous year. Don’t let this one pull you down to the deep!

The Modern Brewer is up to his usual tricks this week with two new releases at Cornwall’s Village Green. First up is Azacca Gold. This 3.8% session pale ale uses Marris Otter and English Crystal malts in a nod to English pale ales, but takes a more American approach on the hop side with a big whirlpool addition of Azacca hops. The result is a light note of toasted bread from the malt, and some citrusy and stone fruit notes from the hops. If you’re looking for a bit more oomph, check out Other Coast, their take on a West Coast style IPA. This one comes in at 6.9% ABV with plenty of bitterness and hop character from Chinook and Centennial additions. Other Coast and Azacca Gold are draught-only releases for now, so you’ll have to hit up the taproom to try them out. If you’re looking for a to-go option, they’ll be canning another release of their 4.6% Cream Ale, featuring Tettnanger hops, later this week.

Tatamagouche Brewing has the latest release in their Intertidal Series this week, shining the spotlight on singular hops in a variety of styles. The latest is Nugget West Coast Pale Ale, leveraging some BC-grown Nugget in a hop-forward beer featuring big notes of orange rind, with a hint of pine, all on a balancing malt base. Available on tap and in cans at the brewery now, you can place an order for pick-up, delivery, or Canada-wide delivery, and of course check out your favourite NS watering hole the next time you’re in for a pint with your Schmoopie.

In a decidedly different vein is the newest from Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider, Raspberry features local raspberries from Noggins Corner Farm, pressed and fermented on their own, before blending with local apples to bring some lovely apple notes and a touch of acidity to this 6.0% beautifully pink expression. Available in cans and on tap at their spot on Portland Street, and for home delivery in HRM seven days a week!

Jumping back to Nouveau-Brunswick, Flying Boats Brewing is promoting one of its Test Pilot series beers to the full-time lineup. Blood Orange Pixe IPA starts off within some west-coast inspiration and additions of Chinook, Citra and Amarillo giving a resiny hop profile  It then sees the addition of natural blood orange oils to amp up the citrus notes. The 6% ABV IPA is now on-tap and in cans at the taproom and will soon see wider provincial distribution through ANBL. 

We’ve got a combination beer release and party to announce this week, bringing two PEI breweries together for a fun collaboration. Bogside Brewing hosted Moth Lane in the brewhouse previously, and are now ready to release Party Line, a 6.0% ABV Extra Pale Ale. Thanks to local malts from Shoreline Malting, the neutral base beer allows the aromatic hops to blast through, with big aromatics and flavours of mango and pineapple, and supremely quaffable. Cans are available now at the brewery, and may we suggest timing your visit to Montague tomorrow, as you’ll be able to enjoy $5 pints of PL all day, $23 6-packs, live music 3 – 5 PM from Blizzard Goat Band, before the brewery opens up for the Cloggeroo Vibrations and Librations event with Brandon Howard Roy @ 9PM (ticketed event).

Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewery has a couple of somewhat divergent beers to talk about this week, a new release and a returning favourite. First up, the new one is a New Zealand Pilsner, bright and crisp and sure to make you think of patio days to come. Dubbed Good as Gold, it was hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, and Rakau, all Kiwi varieties, of course. Lower on the hop bitterness end and higher on hop flavours, particularly some light tropical citrus notes, than traditional Old- and New-World Pils styles, it comes in at 5% and is available on tap, for fills to go, and packaged in cans.

The return engagement this week is a reflection on the time of year here in our part of the world. Waffle Sauce brings together the wonder that is Grade A dark maple syrup with the classic British-influenced American style that is ESB. With 25kg of syrup provided by local neighbour Briggs Maples, you can expect a 5% ABV brew tilted towards the malt side, with a hint of maple flavour. You can also find this one at the brewery in all formats to stay or go.

Another place you can no doubt try both of these beers, however, is in Fredericton at The Joyce this weekend, as they’ll be hosting a tap takeover (remember those?!) of 12 different Tire Shack beers. For those who haven’t made it to Moncton to try some before as well as those who already know, this will be a great chance to enjoy some “out-of-city” brews. The Tire Shack Team will also be on-site tonight from 5 – 8 PM to chat about beer and answer any questions you might have. Check out the Fb event page for all the relevant details!

A couple more quick hits before we sign off this week…

Big Spruce is rereleasing Hoom Is Where The Heart Is, their take on an English Bitter, just in time to start enjoying a few pints outdoors around their massive custom fire pit. The sessionable 4.9% ale showcases hops harvested from their onsite hop yard and also uses 40% Organic Pale Malt from Horton Ridge. Cans and pints are available now in Nyanza and for shipping/delivery via their online store. 

The mysterious team at Delta Force has a new batch of Baurenhofschuppen with Brett, their spin on a German Marzen, with Brettanomyces added to amp up the complexity during fermentation. They are offering bottles as part of their current IPA sale, giving you the chance to snag 3 bottles of Baurenhofschuppen along with 3 of their Operation Stronghold IPA. Check out their online store for all of the details. 

Looking to join an expanding brewery in PEI, have we got the news for you!

As the weather warms and the visitors start crossing the bridge, things are heating up in Borden-Carleton, and Lone Oak wants to be ready! They are looking to add to their awesome team at their home location, as well as their Brewpub on Milky Way in Charlottetown when it opens its doors later this spring. Hiring for both Front and Back of House, there is something for everyone to find their groove, so send them an email to learn more and apply!