James Joyce Irish Pub

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Good morning, all! Welcome to yet another beautiful Friday, and another week chock-full of local beer news. Let’s get right at it, which really saves me from having to think of something clever to say, anyway!

Bagtown Brewing, Sackville’s local brewery formed and brought to market by Mount Allison University students, has been granted their Brewery Agency Store licence, meaning that they are now able to sell growlers of their beer at their brewery location on 62 Main St. They had their official opening yesterday, where they filled their branded grunters (0.95 L) and other brewery’s clean growlers (in both sizes) with their Wobbly Duck English Pale Ale. They also debuted a new beer, an unnamed Belgian Pale Ale (4% ABV, 22 IBUs) that has “toasty, earthy, and light citrus” notes; they held a naming contest during their opening, but we still haven’t heard on what they decided to go with. There were also rumours that they may have gotten to tapping another new one, a 3.9% ABV, 45 IBUs session British Golden Ale named SubtleTEA, which was brewed with green tea leaves. If you missed the launch party, no worries! In the future, they’ll be open every Thursday and Friday from 4-10pm, Saturday 9am-2pm, and Sunday 5pm-midnight; keep an eye on their social media pages for when these hours go into effect. They’re also accepting keg orders, so be sure to bug your local bar/restaurant to get some Bagtown on tap.

• Next Tuesday, August 15th is National Acadian Day, and Moncton’s Bore City is once again releasing their Fricot Belgian Pale Ale to celebrate. Based on the Acadian chicken stew of the same name, the grist is made up of Pilsner malt, CaraRed, and Munich II, along with dehydrated potato flakes (10% worth!). Hopped with Summit, Czech Saaz and Hallertau Blanc to 50 IBU, a “generous amount” of Summer Savoury spice is steeped at the end of the boil to give even more of those Fricot aromas you Acadians crave! Finally, the beer was fermented with a Belgian yeast strain to produce spicy phenolic character to complement the rest of the brew. The final beer clocks in at 6.5% ABV Only three kegs are available, with two heading to the Laundromat, and one to Les Brumes du Coude… both locations will be tapping the beer on August 15th.

• Fredericton’s TrailWay Brewing has a new entry in their “Seeing” series of one-hopped American IPAs, with Seeing Enigma (6% ABV). An Australian hop variety, Enigma has only been around a couple of years in quantity, and has some interesting descriptors that include raspberries, redcurrant, and tropical fruit. Drop by the brewery to try it on tap or pick up some cans; like the other beers in this series, it’s a limited release and won’t be around for too long.

• Halifax’s dainty downtown destination, Tidehouse Brewing, released two new beers this week and have another on the way. The first, in the historical Belgian farmhouse style known as Grisette, sees a simple grain bill of Pilsner and wheat malts coming together with Perle hops for an easy-drinking, hazy brew they’re calling Grisette Family Vacation. Utilizing multiple Saison yeast strains to bring out appropriate flavours for the style, it clocks in at 5.1% ABV and hit the taps earlier in the week. Next, tapped yesterday, and with a name beer fans of a certain age might associate with a Wise Old Owl, To-wit! To-woo! is a Witbier given both traditional orange peel and coriander and non-traditional Citra hops at the end of the boil. At a light 4.6% ABV, it’s based on a grist of mostly Pilsner and wheat malts, with some flaked oats and Horton Ridge Munich malt added for good measure, making for a refreshing beer with a pleasant mouthfeel and a light citrus finish. And possibly as early as late this weekend, the gang will release a new “somewhat” Northeastern-style IPA called El Galaxarillo into the world. Hit hard with El Dorado, Galaxy and Amarillo hops at both whirlpool and a few days into primary fermentation, it features Canadian 2-Row malt and Horton Ridge Munich. Although light-bodied, it boasts 55 IBU, with passion fruit and other tropical flavours, and it packs a punch at 7.5% ABV. Look for these and other fine beers on tap in the Tidehouse tasting room and for growler fills besides.

• And speaking of Horton Ridge, the Bearded Beer Trio from 902 BrewCast sat down with Al Stewart, Connor Stewart, and Stephen Mastrioanni to learn about this important local malt producer’s origins and first year, as well as their new endeavour of a small brewing system to showcase the wide variety of flavours available from their malts. An exciting tidbit mentioned during the episode is the shift from malting barley from the Prairies to grain grown in our region, with PEI being at the forefront of that movement. And toss the 902 boys a vote in the Coast’s Best of Halifax poll going on now.

• Tatamagouche’s Tatamagouche Brewing has brought back a sour old friend this week, Philaroma. Continuing their line of Berliner Weisse beers, this kettle-soured wheat beer was aged on Organic dark cherries to give a deep pink colour and plenty of fruit character. Available on tap at the brewery for samples and growler fills, it has also been released in cans, available now at the brewery and at the private stores in HRM. And while you are visiting the brewery this weekend, be sure to grab a taste of their pilot batch of a Stout with a little something special added in: barrel-aged cold brew coffee. Using a barrel from the the distillery, green coffee beans were aged for several weeks, before being roasted and used to prepare a cold brew concentrate. That was added into the conditioning stout, and gives a blast of roast and coffee, as well as plenty of vanilla and spirituous flavours and aromatics. This beer is available in only a very small amount, so a little taste will have to do, until a future larger batch will be released.

• You may recall a “happy accident” occurring at Good Robot last year… What’s that? Which one? We need to narrow it down for you? 😉 During a brew of their flagship Tom Waits For No One, the kettle burner went kaput, and a new beer – The Fermenter Has Been Drinking – was born! Well, version 2.0 of that beer is now on tap at the GR taproom. With a “malty backbone heavy on the dark roast coffee” (thanks to the use of ten different malts in the grist, and the addition of cold-brewed Java Blend Sumatra Gayo coffee), and a dry finish, this 7.5% ABV, 49 IBUs American Coffee Stout will also be pouring at this weekend’s Seaport Beerfest. And in other GR news, next Tuesday’s Beta Brewsday will be Copper Top, an Amber Ale of sorts with hop additions of Nelson SauvinVic Secret, and Saaz. Finally, today’s Cask in the Sun will be Corn Light Honey Basil, which is their Leave me Blue with local honey and basil added. Get drinkin’!

• Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing is looking to expand their roster, adding folks to all facets of the brewing and serving of beer. If you are the right person for the job, inquire here.

• After a very successful launch to their growler evenings yesterday, Half Cocked Brewing in North Grant, NS, have announced that they will keep the good times rolling every week, making Thursday from 4-7 PM the time to drop by the brewery for a tour, a quick sample, and to grab more for enjoying at home. And keep an eye on their social media as their beers have been making appearances on the Guest Tap at Antigonish’s Townhouse Pub.

Lots to keep you busy this weekend (like every other weekend)!

• There are still a few tickets available for tonight and tomorrow‘s Seaport Beerfest, giving attendees the chance to try (or try to try) more than 350 beer and cider from local and out-of-region producers alike. One of the cool things that we are involved with is the Tap Local booth, where breweries not otherwise attending (or those attending have put aside a special keg) will be on rotation throughout the Fest. Put on by the Brewnosers and Ladies Beer League, drop by the table to catch beers from Moncton’s Tide & Boar, Fredericton’s TrailWay, a special collab with 2 Crows and our own accbchris, and much more. We’ll be pinging out over social media as the different kegs are tapped, to get you pumped!

• Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewery is joining the weekly one-off fun, with a new tradition of Cask Fridays. Every Friday at 4 PM they’ll tap a cask, probably a firkin (41 litres), but possibly a pin (20.5 litres) of something new, special, or just different. For their inaugural edition, this week’s vessel will contain Grapefruit Principal Pale Ale. Due to the limited quantities available (not likely to last beyond the end of the day), pints only of these beauties, no growler fills. So if you’re in Windsor on a Friday afternoon, your post-work pint just took a turn for the interesting.

• Continuing their once-a-fortnight tapping, Propeller Brewing‘s Gottingen Street location will be offering up Cask Night again this evening. From 5 PM, grab a pint of their Pilsner, cask-conditioned and dry-hopped with Strisselspalt hops from France. This hop is in the vein of the iconic Noble hops of Europe, offering spicy and herbal aromas, with a touch of citrus and fruity characters. As always, there is only one cask, so arrive early to avoid disappointment!

• With the crew in town for the Beerfest, the folks from Ontario’s Beau’s Brewery have to decided to make the most of their time here. After yesterday’s fun at Stillwell‘s Beergarden, they will be holding a second Tap Take-over at Good Robot Sunday. From noon, the tractors are pushing the robots off the taps, with plenty of beers not otherwise available in our region. And, in true GR form, there will be fun and games all day. Live music, cartoon and caricature drawing, and much more. Check the Events Page for more info.

• The Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection have announced their next event, which will take place on Wednesday, August 16th. The Ladies n’ Beer Social will take place at the James Joyce Irish Pub from 6:30-8:00 pm; for $10.50, you will get a flight of six different New Brunswick craft beers. And, of course, you’re encouraged to stick around afterwards for more beers, of which there are always plenty! Space is limited, so please RSVP to freddyladiesbeerconnection@gmail.com if you’re interested.

• Speaking of beer and the fairer sex, the Ladies Beer League turned four a while ago (how is that possible… didn’t they just form that group?), and will be holding a Belated Birthday Party at RockBottom on Wednesday, August 16th (maybe there’s something with that date…). Details are slim at the moment, but the fun starts at 7 pm, and rest assured there will be special beer pricing with your LBL membership!

• The third annual Upstreet Block Party is coming next week on Saturday, August 19th, and it’s looking like a chock-full schedule as usual! There will be no fewer than six bands providing live music, with plenty of activities throughout the day, including a pop-up barber shop, lawn games, retro video games, an artisan market, and more! Of course, there will be a beergarden for the adults, and lots of games, face painting, and a soda bar for the kids. It all starts at noon, and, as always, admission is free, so be sure to drop by and take part in the fun!

• Tickets now on sale for Newfoundland’s next big beer event, Craft Beer Attraction. Put on by the folks behind the Newfoundland and Labrador Artisanal & Craft Beer Club, the Craft Beer Attraction will be taking place Sept 22 & 23 at St. John’s Curling Club on Mayor Avenue. The two day event will see Grand Tastings 7-10 PM each evening, with more than 100 different beers available on a pay-per-pour basis, plus three special events and tastings, including a guided tasting of Sam Adams Utopias, and a Brewmaster’s Luncheon featuring Trou du Diable. Grab your tickets today, and get excited!

A couple more notes today:

Boxing Rock’s Three Sheets Cream Ale was released on Tuesday in celebration of the Tall Ships coming to Shelburne. It’s available at their retail location as well as their Farmers Market stalls.
Garrison is re-releasing their Honey Lavendar Ale (7% ABV, 16 IBUs), a summer seasonal brewed with English Lavendar from Meander River Farm, and wildflower honey from Shubenacadie’s G.G. Smeltzer & Son. It’s available in 650 mL bottles, with just a few kegs heading out to select accounts.
Picaroons has released Pivot #5 (8% ABV), with this iteration showcasing El Dorado, Mandarina Bavaria, and Pekko hop varieties, giving “complex herbal and floral aromas, with lighter citrus notes”.

A happy Friday to all the beer lovers in the region; we hope everyone had a happy (and hoppy) IPA Day yesterday! With a long weekend looming in all four provinces, we hope we have the news you need to plan your weekend in the best way possible: around beer and beer-related events!

• After many months in the making, Hammond River Brewing‘s new taproom will officially open today at 4 pm. With live music and food available on site, and seven taps of HR beer flowing for pints and growler fills, can you think of a better way to spend your Friday evening? We can’t either! Congrats to owner/brewer Shane Steeves and everyone else involved in the transition; we look forward to what HR will be brewing up in the near future. And keep your eyes out for the first bottles of HR beer, the first of which, their Hop Flash IPA should be available next week!

• Late last week, Nine Locks released their latest brew, Apricot Blonde, which they’re describing as a “North American Weizen” (read: American Wheat Ale). Flavoured with, yes, apricot, it finishes dry and refreshing, and at a light 5.1% ABV and 15 IBU, is another beer fit for these dog days of summer. The entire batch of this beer was canned, so drop by Nine Locks’ location to grab a handful of cans before hitting the cottage this weekend.

• Halifax’s Tidehouse Brewing has released another pair of beers this week, in order to keep their Farmers’ Market and “Tidehouse Tiny Tasty Beverage Room” (aka on-site 8-seat taproom) customers happy. The first to hit the taps was 2Market2Market, a German Helles beer, featuring a light body and spicy and flavourful hop character from a combination of Perle and Saaz hops. This beer proved to be extremely popular with the patrons at the Tantallon and Hubbards Farmers’ Markets, with it selling out within the past week, but we’ve been assured it will be returning before too long. Hungry Ryes, we can attest, is still pouring and will be available this weekend… A 5.6% ABV Pale Ale, it features a healthy dose of Rye malt for a light spicing, and a blend of Columbus and Northern Brewer hops for a complementing flavour profile. And watch this space, and their social media, for the launch of one or two brand new brews in the coming days.

• Were you a fan of the recent release of 2 CrowsCrosswired, their first foedre-aged beer? Hey, so were we! Well, good news, they’ve got another foedre beer coming out tomorrow, and it sounds like a doozy (doozy meaning “good”)! Fandango is a 6.8% ABV, 54 IBU Milkshake IPA that was heavily hopped and dry-hopped with Azacca, Citra and Galaxy. Conditioned in the Calvados foedre for approximately 2 weeks, the beer was then transferred back to a stainless fermenter, where the 2 Crows crew added some lactose powder, whole vanilla beans, 220 kg of mango purée and 30 kg of peaches. Oh yeah, and they dry-hopped it, AGAIN. Hazy, orange-coloured, creamy, and tasting “like pure juice, with a touch of tannin and bright fruitiness from the Calvados”, we’re betting that this one will be popular! Luckily, a full batch was brewed (maybe the 220 kg of mango purée gave that away), and it will also be available in cans, as well as on tap, so be sure to pick some up Saturday from noon! Note: no growler fills.

• As we promised a few weeks ago, Red Rover is releasing their third Summer Series cider today with Barrel Reserve #2. This is a “Bourbon Oaked Blueberry Cider” that was originally entered in the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition in April, where it won 2nd Best in Class in the Specialty Cider & Perry category. RR describes this 7.2% ABV cider as having “lots of vanilla and oak up front, with a fresh blast of blueberry and bourbon on the finish”. As with their other special releases, it will be available at the Cider House today at 5 pm in 750 mL bottles, in a very limited supply, and may pop up at some Farmers markets this weekend as well.

• While on the topic of Red Rover, they also released a brand new cider this week, Siesta. This 7% ABV semi-dry cider was infused with fresh lime and mint, giving some delicious complementary flavours to go with all the hot weather we’ve been having. It’s available now at the Cider House for pints and flagon fills, and should pop up at a few RR tap accounts.

• After initially launching late last year in Harvey, NB with four flagship beers, Off Grid Ales is officially releasing their first new beer, Smooth Sailing Pale Ale. Described by the brewery as light-bodied and mildly spicy, it was hopped with Warrior and Chinook to 30 IBUs, with late additions of Centennial and Mosaic to give flavours of citrus and tropical fruit. It comes in at 5.5% ABV, and will be available in bottles only for the first few weeks, at select ANBL stores. Look for it to follow in kegs by the end of the summer, where it will likely pop up at one or more of the ANBL growler stations.

• Amherst’s Trider’s Craft Beer has brewed up Blue me Away!, a blueberry beer. Incorporating locally-grown blueberries, absolutely no extracts were harmed in the making of this beer. Bluish-purple in colour, and with a subtle blueberry flavour and aroma, it weighs in at just 5% ABV and 14 IBUs. Drop by their Anson Avenue location for a growler fill today, and maybe chat with the folks about helping to fill the Part-Time Sales and Packaging position they currently have open.

• Those Good Robots are up to it again, with the latest, and last (so they tell us!), in their SMaSH Pale Ale series. With all of the Smash Mouth banter within the GR community, it is only fitting that the California-based band actually named the beerBeer Mouth. At 5.5% ABV and 39 IBU, the Single Malt featured is Marris Otter, and the Single Hop is Wakatu, a New Zealand hop. The straw-coloured beer features a tropical fruit aroma, on top of a lightly herbal and grassy flavour, with a touch of lime. Beer Mouth is on tap now, for pints and growler fills both. Today’s Cask in the Sun is a Leave Me Blue Creamsicle, a sweeter take on their Kentucky Corn beer, and next week’s small-batch BetaBrewsday is Ale for Seaware. Brewed by staff members Pat King and Kelly Costello, this 4.5% ABV Golden Ale features maple syrup in the boil and added after fermentation. A light dose EKG was added for a touch of floral character and offsetting bitterness (low, at 16 IBU). This week’s Brewsday is pushed back to Wednesday the 9th, as many of the Good Robot crew with be on Prince Edward Island to celebrate their Tap Takeover at Upstreet on Monday, August 7th.

• Speaking of Upstreet, massive congratulations to them on achieving B Corp certification! This independent certification recognizes businesses that meet a rigorous standard of social and environmental performance, and using their business to make positive changes in the world. Learn more about Upstreet’s road to B Corp Certification here.

• Halifax’s Propeller Brewing continues to bring out regular entries in their Gottingen Small Batch series. This week, brewer Cameron Crerar brings us a beer named for the Tasman Sea, which lies between his homeland, Tasmania, and New Zealand, home of the primary hop variety used, Motueka. Tasman Pale Ale is 5.2% ABV and 38 IBU, with a hoppy and citrus aroma from the aforementioned hops, hints of malt and caramel, and a crisp and clean finish. You’ll find it on tap at the Propeller Tasting Room for pints by 5 PM today, with growler fills available starting early next week.

Bad Apple Brewhouse has never had problems with their beers’ popularity, but according to owner/brewer Jeff Saunders, their recently-released Black Currant Gose has been their fastest-selling beer yet! Brewed as a classic Gose – tart and salty – black currants obtained from local farms were also added, and at a sessionable 4% ABV, it sounds like a great summer beer. It’s available at the brewery for growler fills, but probably won’t last through the weekend, so hurry up if you want to grab some! It’s also on tap at a few of the better beer establishments in Halifax.

• Grimross has released the 5th one-off in their Scratch series this morning at the brewery. Scratch #5: Nut’n Abbey is a 7% ABV ale fermented with an Abbey yeast strain, giving this brown-coloured brew some Belgian phenolics and esters to go with the nutty, malty flavours from the grist. Drop by the taproom for a pint or growler, and check out your favourite Fredericton watering hole to see if it’s on tap.

• In Saint John, NB, Loyalist City released a new beer this week to celebrate International IPA Day. Building on the experiences developed through their One Hop Series, this time they’ve made a New England style IPA that features El Dorado, Amarillo, and Mosaic hops. A New England-style water profile aids in big hop aroma and flavour, with citrus, pineapple and mango prominent, a hazy yellow appearance, and a slight sweetness. Dubbed Backslide IPA, it’s loaded with tropical fruit flavours but is still balanced enough to be a refresher on a hot summer day. You should see it springing up at Loyalist tap accounts this weekend and you’ll find it at the brewery from now on, as it’s being added to the regular lineup!

• Earlier this week, a story in the Guardian confirmed that Summerside will be opening its first brewery sometime in the near-ish future. Alex Clark, owner of the OpenEats restaurant in downtown Summerside, is planning to open a brewery in the former train station location (currently the Summerside Rotary Library) on Central St. Many details still need to be ironed out and confirmed, but the initial plan is to open the brewery on its own before eventually adding a taproom and adjoining dining room. Check out the story above for more details, and as always, we’ll keep you updated!

Some notable events for beer lovers are coming up in the region as well, this weekend and beyond!

• A reminder that North Grant’s Half Cocked Brewing is holding their launch party this evening at The Townhouse Pub in Antigonish. From 4:00pm, enjoy their five beers, and meet and chat with owners Greg Oicle and Matt Thompson. And look for HC’s growler days and Farmers’ Market visits to ramp up in the coming weeks. Learn more about Half Cocked in yesterday’s Profile post.

• The Stillwell family is welcoming back one of their favourite (and ours) Quebec breweries to take over their taps this weekend. From noon Saturday at the Beer Garden on Spring Garden, and Sunday at 4:00pm at HQ on Barrington, a total of 22 taps and a handful of bottles from Shawinagan’s Trou du Diable will be available to any and all comers. Saturday’s theme is “Hops & Lagers”, featuring a bevvy of lighter beers and hoppy IPAs, with Sunday’s session leaning “Sour & Strong”. The list is too long (and awesome) to post here, so we encourage you to check it out on their IG page, and rest up for a busy weekend.

• There are still tickets available for next weekend’s Halifax Seaport Beerfest, happening at the Cunard Centre. With Friday, August 11th evening session, and Saturday, Aigist 12th afternoon and evening sessions, there are plenty of opportunities to try some of the 350+ beer and cider that will be available. Grab your ticket to fun today!

• Attention, Fredericton… the sour beers are coming! The James Joyce Irish Pub is hosting Tarte Diem, a sour beer tap takeover, on Saturday, August 26th. Featuring a wide assortment of sour beers (ranging from Lambic-style beers to hoppy sour ales) from breweries across the Maritimes, all you have to do as a beer drinker is show up when they open at 3 pm, and pay by the pint or flight! There will also be three different awards given out during the event: a Best of Show based on the decision of a group of judges made up of individuals from the brewing industry, a Best of Show from “uneducated judges” (their description, not ours!), and a People’s Choice, where drinkers like you pick your favourite sour brew. Check out the link above for an up-to-date list on participating breweries, and which beer(s) they’ll be bringing.

• Also in Fredericton on Saturday, August 26th is Ales for Animals, hosted by the Fredericton SPCA. Held from 3:00 – 5:00 pm at the Picaroons Roundhouse, your $50 ticket will get you a selection of taster beers from Big Axe, Graystone, Grimross, Maybee, Picaroons, Railcar and Trailway. Tickets are available at the FSPCA, Picaroons, Grimross, and at the door. Help support a great cause, and get to sample some local beer at the same time!

Enjoy the long weeked! Before we let you head out of your place of work (go ahead, no one minds!), a couple more quick things to share:

Celtic Knot has brewed up a batch of their Monkeytown – their 4.5% ABV, 20 IBUs Mango American Pale Ale – on their brand new system; it’s available now at the brewery for growler fills, and should be on tap at your favourite CK licensee. Rounding out their taps today are the Ryetious Rye IPAÉire Irish Red, and For Shore Session IPA.

– Truro’s Salty Dog is collaborating with local bike shop Bike Monkey to brew up a 7.1% ABV and 70 IBU Double IPA for hop lovers, and they’ve got a contest running to celebrate. You can get in on the draw by filling a growler or buying a can of Bike Monkey DIPA at Salty Dog, or by purchasing a pint at the Nook & Cranny Brewpub or Sauced Wood-fired Pizza. The winner will receive a bike valued at $650 complete with a growler carrier.

– Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewery has released a brand new beer this week, Recess Pilsner. Details are light at the moment, but we do know that it is currently available at the brewery on tap and in bottles, and bottles should also be available at the HRM private stores in the coming days.

– And speaking of Schoolhouse, we told you a couple weeks ago about two Brew Ha-Ha! events featuring their beer. The first, two weeks ago at the brewery in Windsor, was a great success. Tomorrow night’s event will be at the Company House in Halifax and we’ve got a promo code for you: buy your tickets in advance using the code “GetSchooled” and get $5 off the regular $20 price.

 

– In Mahone Bay this evening at 7 PM Saltbox Brewing will be launching a special commemorative can for their Cream Ale to help kick off Heritage Boatyard Weekend.

 

If you’re in NS, we hope you’ve been either resting your liver up or have had it in training, because it’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here! Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week is kicking off today and will be in full swing this weekend. It’s every NS beer geek’s favorite 11-day week, although for some it will no doubt feel like 14 (or more!). There’s a ton of beers to tell you about, a ton of events we’ll point you towards, as well as all the other beer-related news going on in the other three Atlantic provinces, so let’s start there…

• It may not really feel like patio season yet, but trust us, it’s coming (maybe?)! In preparation, TrailWay released a new beer – of sorts – yesterday in cans at the brewery. Beyond Reality is a “juiced up” version of their popular summer seasonal, Raspberry Wheat. Even more raspberries were added in this beer (as well as a different technique of getting that raspberry character into the beer), but that’s not all! TrailWay being TrailWay, they decided to go ahead and dry-hop the beer, with the wonderful El Dorado variety. The result? A 4% ABV brew with a “unique, crazy, juicy berry/raspberry character, while remaining dry and crisp”. The cans dropped yesterday at the brewery only; this, like all first batches at TW, is a limited release, so whether it’s sunny or pouring, drop by to pick a few up today!

• There’s a new beer hitting taps from Moncton’s Beckwith Road, that originally appeared at the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival in March. Care Package is best described as a New England APA, brewed to be hazy, hoppy, and juicy! Hopped entirely with Citra, this 5.5% ABV, 35 IBUs, downright-cloudy ale has a big aroma of citrus and tropical fruit, with a dry, not-too-bitter finish. It recently made an appearance at the Tide & Boar, and you may still be able to get it at the James Joyce in Fredericton.

Tide & Boar Brewing, another member of the Moncton Craft Brewers Collective, are holding another Growler Day today, offering up three new beers: Robot Food IPA (a hazy NEIPA), a Double-Dry-Hopped version of their Forum Pale Ale featuring Nelson Sauvin, and Layback Lager. Drop by right now to get your fill of these three beers, only available at T&B.

Hammond River Brewing is still picking away at their major expansion, and with construction being completed, equipment arriving and being installed, things are looking great! In the meantime, owner/brewer Shane Steeves doesn’t want to let his loyal fans go thirsty, so there’s not one, but *two* new beers that were brewed earlier this week! First up is Naval Daze, a kettle-soured Berliner Weisse with real peaches added in secondary. Tart, light and refreshing, it comes in at a supremely-drinkable 3.2% ABV and 4 IBUs. Next is yet another iteration of the Vegas SMaSH IPA, with this one featuring the fantastic Galaxy hop, an Australian variety. With aromas of citrus and passion fruit, this 6.5% ABV, 60 IBUs brew should satisfy all of you hopheads out there. Look for both of these newbies at your local HRB account within the next couple of weeks.

• In other nearing-expansion NB news, Celtic Knot is getting closer to receiving their 3.75 bbl (~435 L) brewhouse at their new location, which will also mark the beginning of growler sales from the brewery! Not to be outdone by Hammond River, they’ve also announced the upcoming release of two new beers: Summer Daze is a 5% ABV “lightly hopped” American Pale Ale, brewed with the intention of welcoming non-craft drinkers into the fold; and Ryetious is a 6% ABV, 60 IBUs Rye IPA featuring 18% Rye malt in the grist, and hop additions of Nugget and Simcoe in the boil, as well as Amarillo in the dry-hop. Look for these two to appear at CK accounts very soon!

• As mentioned briefly last week, PEI’s Gahan House Restaurant and Brewery (a subsidiary of sorts of the PEI Brewing Co.) are adding yet another brewpub to join their locations in Charlottetown and Halifax, as well as the upcoming Moncton location. The latest location will open in Saint John on Prince William St. in September, 2017. It will house a 7 bbl (~800 L) DME brewhouse, as well as a 120-seat dining room and 30-seat seasonal outdoor patio. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on its development, but no doubt you can expect to see PEIBC/Gahan favourites on tap, as well as one-offs brewed specifically at the Saint John location.

• The New Brunswick craft beer documentary, Beerocracy, hasn’t been officially released in its entirety yet, but if you have Bell Aliant, you can watch it as a four episode series! Shauna Chase and Alex Vietinghoff have been hard at work over the last 12+ months putting the final touches on their production baby, so be sure to tune in and check it out! Here’s how to find it: “The series can be viewed on Bell Media TV1 Atlantic – Channels 1 and 401 on Fibe TV cable in the ‘Lifestyle’ folder of the VOD store”. If that confuses you as much as it did me, push your On Demand button and search for Beerocracy. There it is! A launch party and screenings of the documentary in full will be coming soon, and if you were one of the many backers on the production’s successful Indiegogo campaign, you’ll be receiving your DVD/digital copy as well.

• Last night, PEI’s Upstreet Craft Brewing held a tap takeover at Battery Park; along with a bunch of goodies, they debuted a very limited brew, Strawberry Banana Milkshake IPA. This one is their White Noize White IPA, but with additions of lactose powder and vanilla, to help give that light sweetness and extra body indicative to the Milkshake IPA “style”, along with the character from the flavours of banana and strawberry. If you’re in PEI and disappointed you missed out, fear not – there are two additional kegs in existence, both of which soon be pouring at the Upstreet taproom. And for you New Brunswick Upstreet fans, good news! Bottles of their White Noize and Do-Gooder APA are on their way to ANBL stores, and should be selling within the next couple of weeks. Look for the Commons Pilsner to appear by the end of the month.

• You may notice some new Shiretown beers popping up at select NBLC stores, with a generic, green label. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you sort this out a bit! The same label is being used for Shiretown’s latest seasonal releases; look closely, and you can see that several beers are listed on the side of the label, with the corresponding beer checked off. In addition, each seasonal has a colour-coded bottlecap. Two new ones have been released: La Vie Continue (yellow cap) is a 4.5% ABV “Summer Wheat Ale” lightly hopped to 9 IBUs, and Cartier’s Columbus (green cap) is a 6.5% ABV, 38 IBUs “hop-forward Golden Ale” hopped entirely with, you guessed it, Columbus. Look for up to four more seasonal releases from Shiretown in the near future.

• There’s a new beer from Foghorn that should be popping up any day (minute?) now at the brewery’s taproom. Raiders of the Night is a Black IPA that could be the brewery’s most heavily-hopped beer yet! Brewed as a classic Black IPA, meaning enough black malts to give some roasted, coffee aromas and flavours (but not too much!), it was hopped with Comet and Azacca in the boil, and dry-hopped with copious amounts of Citra, and even more Azacca. When you’re talking high amounts of those two varieties, you can definitely expect lots of citrus, tropical fruit, and basically lots of other fruit characteristics in the beer! It weighs in at 6.5% ABV and 65 IBUs; this batch will likely be available at the brewery only, for pints and growlers.

• Nackawic’s Big Axe just released their newest kettle-soured beer, Partridgeberry Sour. Thanks to the addition of plenty of local Patridgeberries (which the beer was aged on for four weeks), this 4.5% ABV beer has a beautiful pinkish-red hue, and plenty of fruit flavour, along with a refreshing tartness from the Lactobacillus souring effect. You should be able to find it on tap at the usual Big Axe accounts, as well as at the brewery during their retail hours.

• Also released right about now from Big Axe is Florganic Pale Ale, the brewery’s first 100% organic brew. Brewed with Horton Ridge malt and Centennial hops from Southan Farms, organic lavendar and several types of locally-foraged flowers were added to the beer during the brewing process, including Queen Anne’s lace. Coming in at 5% ABV and 40 IBUs, it should be popping up on tap in Fredericton at 540 and the James Joyce.

• A reminder the Port Rexton Brewing is opening their tap room for the season today! They are open from 2-10pm today and tomorrow, and 2-6pm Sunday. With the new season, it’s the perfect time to launch a new beer, which they’ve done, to the tune of Mixed Opportunity. The mixed fermentation saison features a special blend from Escarpment Labs in Guelph, featuring both Scchromyces and Brettanomyces yeasts. Drop by for that and plenty more beers to kick off the season, and stay a while!

OK, we’ve put it off long enough, time to hit Nova Scotia for the rest of the news this week!

• Let’s start our tour of Nova Scotia with one of the first small local breweries, opened 20 years ago, who have big news this week. Propeller Brewing has completed renovations at their Gottingen Street location, and are now set up to serve samples in their newly opened taproom. Featuring more than a dozen taps, they are looking forward to inviting folks to sit down for a drink before grabbing a sixpack or growler, in addition to holding tasting events, educational sessions, and more in the new space. Last night also saw the rollout of their new branding, their first major one in 20 years in business. That also has spilled over to their labels, which now sport the same look, with a different colour for each beer. Learn more about both (and their future plans) in this week’s 902 BrewCast, when owner John Allen, and marketing guy Aaron Emery sat down with Kyle, Phil, and Tony.

• New taproom and brand, new beer! Also debuting last night was the latest One-Hit Wonder, MoppleBock. Using Horton Ridge Malt as the base, the Propeller crew brewed up an Imperial Maibock, their take on the German style. Medium-bodied, and malt-heavy, the beer features the iconic Noble hop peppery/spicy hop flavour and aroma. At 7.5% ABV and 50 IBUs, this is well beyond what may be expected in Bavaria, but still a nod to the original brews in character.

• And leading us into the rest of Nova Scotia is the return of their tri-brewery Organic release, Cerberus Double IPA. With collaboration and assistance from Big Spruce and Tatamagouche, the 7.9% ABV Double IPA features lots of late-addition hops for a solid 60 IBUs, from AmarilloCentennial, Simcoe and Zythos hops in the boil, and a serious dose of dry-hopping of Citra. The beer debuted on tap at Propeller yesterday, will see wider release today (including kegs at all three participating breweries for growler fills), with a portion of it also rolling out in bottles at the private stores this weekend.

• After a bit of a quiet period during their expansion and the installation of their canning line, Nyanza’s Big Spruce is back with a vengeance just in time for Craft Beer Week. First, they’ve advised us that all deliveries of their 3 wide-release canned brands have been made to the NSLC and to all four private stores in the HRM (Bishop’s Cellar, Cristall Wine Merchants, Harvest Wines & Spirits, and Rockhead Wine & Beer Market); that’s the Tim’s Dirty IPA, Kitchen Party Pale Ale and the Bitter Get’er Black IPA. You can start looking for them on the shelves as soon as today, although the scheduled date for the 35 participating NSLC stores is May 8th.

• Jeremy White and the gang also have 4 (count ‘em, four!) beers coming out this week. First we have Un Tabou, a collaboration with Harvest Wines. Fermented using The Escarpment Labs Old World Saison strain, it has copious late additions of tropical New World hop varieties El Dorado and Mosaic along with a healthy dry hop of both. We expect to see this one on tap at Harvest for sure, but as with other Big Spruce collabs, you may well see it appear elsewhere, especially with Craft Beer Week coming up.

• Next we’ve got Tiger Lilly, a session IPL (India Pale Lager) with 70% Horton Ridge malt in the grain bill and single-hopped with “massive” amounts of Mosaic both in the kettle and as a dry hop. This one will make its debut at the Horton Ridge Tap Takeover at Battery Park tomorrow, and hopefully after that at NSCBW events, with tap accounts also a possibility.

• This week marks the return of She’s Maibock, brought out this time every year, made with 100% imported German malt and noble hops it comes in at 6.1% ABV and 26 IBU. This style is a harbinger of spring in Germany and its heavier hop presence and lighter malt balance are heralded as a bit of a relief from the heavier bock styles of the lenten season. The not-so-traditional infusion of lemon zest during both the boil and the lagering process, should accentuate the refreshing nature of the style.

• Last, but not least, Silver Tart, the Raspberry Sour beer that was found on many patios and beergardens last year. Fermented on more than a hundred kilos of local raspberries, the refreshing sour finish keeps you wanting more. Well, want no more, as the 4.5% ABV beer hits the taps in HRM this week. They’ve also ordered the cans for their first canning run in the summer; we’ll keep you posted on where you might expect those to start popping up.

• Keeping the new beers flowing is a full-time job for the folks at Tatamagouche, too! Cellar Slammer, their Session IPA collaboration with Bishop’s Cellar, will be debuting tomorrow at their Tap Takeover (drop by from noon to meet the Tata crew and get first tastes and growler fills of it), with cans of the beer going on sale Sunday at BC. For those in Tata, samples, cans, and fills will be available all weekend.

• Hitting the taps and shelves next week is a brand new one from Tata, Flat Liner English IPA. Inspired by the traditional English hop East Kent Golding, this 5.6% ABV beer features a healthy base of local Horton Ridge Malt, with some Caramel 60 for colour and malt flavour. All EKG throughout the boil, to about 50 IBUs, with another dosing of them in the secondary for a redoubling of the aromatics. This release will no be canned, so be sure to seek it out at the brewery, or at their licensees across the province, starting mid-next-week.

• And also hitting the shelves next week will be the latest in their Giant Beer series, Baltic Porter. The 8.0% ABV full-bodied beer was fermented with a lager strain of yeast, and conditioned (lagered, even) for several weeks before release. Featuring Czech Saaz hops, bottles will be released on Thursday at the brewery.

• Ashdale’s Meander River Farm and Brewery released a new beer recently, Seeing Double IPA. The 8.0% ABV beer features all Citra hops throughout the boil, for a firm bitterness and plenty of citrus and refreshing aroma. Grab it at the brewery this weekend, as well as their Halifax Forum Farmers’ Market table. And for someone in the area looking for a job that will have you working both inside and out of a brewery this summer, they are filling a full-time position assisting in the brewery and retail space, as well as working on the adjacent farm doing landscaping and gardening work. Check out the full details here.

• Good Robot comes screaming into Craft Beer Week with their collective hair on fire, bringing out 3 beta brews thanks to Kelly Costello, who brought a different guest assistant brewer along for each batch. Strangely Black, brewed with Brent Braaten, is a Black IPA with cold-steeped grains that will be released at the Good Robot Taproom today. Later Gator is a White IPA brewed with Dani Alarie that was dry-hopped with Amarillo hops and that will be released on Sunday, May 7. And lastly, Klezmer Kölsch was brewed with members of 2b Theatre Company. This one will be released on Wednesday, May 10, for the company’s Ambassador Night, featuring cast members of Old Stock, A Refugee Love Story, currently running (until May 14) at The Waiting Room. And if that wasn’t enough, this weekend will also see the return of DeWolfe of Wall Street, GR’s other pale ale, this one less bitter, less malty and definitely boozier than their flagship Burban Legend. It’s very crisp, gluten-reduced and comes in at 6.4% ABV.

• In Dartmouth, Spindrift is once again playing, “anything you can do we can do lager,” with their latest release, Plimsoll. Brewmaster Kellye Robertson enlisted a helping hand from former colleague Kyle Jeppesen and the pair took the summer crusher Berliner Weisse style and gently tweaked it into a lager. Featuring a grist of local Horton Ridge Pilsner and German Pale Wheat malts, the mash was soured for three days to achieve a complex fruity, tart and citrusy palate before fermenting and then finishing with a light dry hop of the modern German hop varieties Mandarina Bavaria and Hallertau Blanc. This 3.6% ABV beer should go down extremely easily, a very light 5 IBU of bitterness mingling with tartness and hop character, leading to a crisp lager finish. Available since at the brewery, it’s available for growler fills there and is likely to turn up at licensee taps as well. Given the malt bill it probably wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that it might also be Spindrift’s entry at the Horton Ridge Tap Takeover at Battery Park on Saturday.

• Staying on the Dark Side with another member of #teamdartmouth in this Sunday’s Stillwell Open, Brightwood Brewery is releasing a new beer this weekend. The cleverly-named Halifornia Commons is a California Common-style beer, a style that dates back to the turn of the 20th century and one of the two styles widely held to be truly American. Brightwood went with a grist of 97% Horton Ridge malt and fermented the beer with the classic San Francisco yeast, a lager strain that tolerates ale temperatures. Clean and crisp, it was late- and dry-hopped with Green Bullet hops from New Zealand to provide fruity aromas that complement those coming from yeast esters, and at 6.0% ABV and 49 IBU, it should be a solid, flavourful brew for summer. Available tomorrow at Alderney Market, you’ll also find it on tap at Battery Park if you attend the Horton Ridge Tap Takeover!

• Across the harbour, or not, as the case may be (we note they’re #teamdartmouth in the Stillwell Open…), North Brewing has a new beer that they’re releasing this week. Made with wheat malt from Horton Ridge, it’s a dry-hopped American Wheat they’re calling Reverend Horton Wheat (cue psychobilly riff). Though low in bitterness at 13 IBU, the Simcoe and Cascade used in the dry hop should give this 5.9% ABV beer a noticable hop character. It was also fermented using the same Yeast Bay Funktown Ale blend that was used in their recent Malternate Reality brew, providing a hazy appearance and accentuating the hop presence. If you guessed that this one will be part of the Horton Ridge takeover at Battery Park, go ahead and reward yourself with a beer. It will also be available for growler fills, at least on the Dartmouth side.

• Next Wednesday, on May 10, you’ll also see two bottle releases from North. First is a version of their Midnight Glenora Barrel-aged Strong Dark also aged with the Brettanomyces bruxellensis strain known as Brett Q, which is known to impart a subtle Brett character with ripe fruit notes and underlying funk. You’ll also see their Milk Stout that’s been aged in Glenora Barrels. Both beers will be available in 650ml bottles; expect to see them at the North bottle shops and more than likely at select private liquor stores in the HRM.

• Halifax’s 2 Crows is releasing a brand new pilot batch brew (we like to call it their Attempted Murder Series, can that catch on?) in their taproom tomorrow to celebrate Open Brewery DayPromiseland is a super-juicy 8.3% ABV Double IPA, featuring a next-load of late- and dry-hopping, for a nose- and mouth-full of hoppy goodness, beyond its 64 IBUs datasheet. With all of these releases, they are *only* available at the brewery, so don’t delay in dropping by tomorrow. During OBD, be sure to drop by and have a chat with the Brewery Crew and take a tour of their location. And early next week will mark the release of two of their draft-only beers in cans: Fantacity Witbier and Midnight Mood Dry-Hopped American Porter. Look for those to be on sale at the brewery Tuesday or Wednesday.

• After several test batches, Garrison has finalized the recipe for their (no longer Code Name:) Juicy! Double IPA. With a grist of 2-row pale malt and flaked oats, this hazy Northeastern-style DIPA is hop-heavy, featuring several varieties including CitraCometMosaicEkuanot and at least one “secret” hop. It’s got aromas of citrus, pineapple and tangerine, with tangerine and citrus flavors on the palate. At 8% ABV it’s firmly in DIPA territory, but with a somewhat tame (for the style) 65 IBU, the soft mouthfeel of the style and the fruit flavors it’s likely to go down pretty easily. It’s being released today on tap at the brewery for tasting and growler fills and will head to select licensees later this weekend or early next week. We’ll have more details packaging plans over the next few weeks.

Annapolis Cider Co has some exciting news to share this week: they took home no less than SIX medals from the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition (GLINTCAP), the world’s largest cider competition! With 1200 ciders entered, competition was stiff, but ACC took home hardware with every product they entered: Their Heirloom and Toasted Oak and Maple were bronze winners, Old-Fashioned Gravenstein and Sour Cherry garnered silver medals, and Muscat Infusion and Hopped Pear took home gold. Even better, both gold medal winners took Best in Class status in their respective groups! You can purchase the Heirloom at your local NSLC and at the private liquor stores in HRM, but you’ll have to visit the cidery in Wolfville to try the others. For most Nova Scotians, truly World Class cider is only a lovely drive to the Valley away!

A few more events to get you excited for the weekend…

• NS Craft Beer Week is in full swing, with tickets still available for this evening’s Cape Breton Kitchen Party at Centre 200 in Sydney. Henley House and Sober Island are hosting two events tomorrow, so make a trip to the Eastern Shore to check out their new digs, and drink some great cask beer. Drop by Stillwell Sunday for the Stillwell Open, a province-wide competition pitting more than a dozen breweries, plus a handful of homebrewers (our own Aaron and Chris brewed up beers for competing teams!) in the quest to produce some killer brand new/one-off brews.  During the week, we are hosting a Trivia Night at Timber Lounge Wednesday evening, and then you can cap it all off with the Full House Craft Beer Festival, during which there will be 32 breweries in attendance. Tickets for Saturday are sold out, but Friday night session is still available!
If all of that is too much to remember, don’t worry! We’ve put together a Calendar of the events happening over the next 9 days to keep you straight, and even mapped them all out, perfect for an epic beery roadtrip across the province. Check that out here, and if we’ve missed anything, let us know!

• With both National Homebrew Day and Nova Scotia Open Brewery Day being celebrated this weekend, one of Halifax’s sources for homebrew supplies is marking the occasion with a homebrewing demo. Maritime Wine & Beer Emporium on Lady Hammond Road will be setting up three different all-grain brewing systems on their front lawn, with three different brewers each doing a different recipe. If you’re at all interested in the hobby, this is an excellent chance to see how it’s done, get a feel for the variety of equipment and techniques that are available to the homebrewer, and to talk to some folks about their passion for the craft. The festivities will start at 9am and are expected to go until 1pm. And if you venture into the store, you’ll find all regular-priced items are 15% off for the duration of the weekend! So stop by and see how water, grain and hops become wort, the first step on the road to beer!

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve read somewhere in the vicinity of 4,000 words. We suggest you mark this achievement with a beer! Crack one open or order one up and see if you can’t push your brain to the point of being totally brimful of beer stuff – we’ve got a few more quick hits to send you on your way.

– Halifax’s Chain Yard Cider has released their first product to the NSLC, Foundation. The 6.0% ABV cider is available across the province, and they are expecting to open their Agricola Street taproom/tasting bar later this month. We hope to share more information on the ciderhouse and their products soon.
First City has re-released their award-winning Fruit Beer, Raspberry Wheat (6% ABV); you can find it on tap now at Pepper’s Pub, as well as other accounts in the near future.
Grimross has added yet another crowd favourite to their available-outside-of-pints-and-growlers lineup, as one of their first beers, Cheval D’Or (5.2% ABV, 18 IBUs), a Saison, is now available in cans.
– In Liverpool, Hell Bay has a new beer available. Sour Apple was kettle soured with organic yogurt before being fermented on Pazzazz apples. At 4.5% ABV it should be a lovely quaffer for the summer patio season. It’s available at the brewery for fills and is on tap at selected licensees, but it’s not (yet) in bottles.
Loyalist City in Saint John has a new beer coming as soon as the paperwork can wend its way through the labyrinthine ANBL licensing process. Their first DIPA, it is as yet unnamed, but they’re already planning a special small batch with their friends at New England Distilling. Watch this space for more information on this release!
Wayfarers’ Ale Society has canned up a few of their offerings, and their One-Eyed River Hog IPA is currently available at the NSLC. You can also grab Hellene, their 4.2% ABV Blonde Ale at the private stores.