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Friday Wrap-Up – New Beers from Breton Brewing, Tatamagouche, Schoolhouse, Red Rover, Picaroons, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2015-12-18
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Breton Brewing, Dieu du Ciel, Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, King Street Ale House, NB HopSpiel, Picaroons, Pump House Brewery, Red Rover Craft Cider, Schoolhouse Brewery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tide & Boar Gastropub. 1 comment

Good morning, all! Whether you’re all finished of your Christmas shopping, or are in the middle of a mad, stressful rush like most of us, it’s time to sit back and relax with a bit of Atlantic Canada beer news…

• Breton Brewing released a new beer yesterday: Storm Chaser is described as a Vanilla Oatmeal Stout. Featuring a creamy mouthfeel thanks to the addition of oatmeal in the grist, the beer also has a good amount of vanilla in both the aroma and flavour (vanilla was added during the conditioning phase). Coming in at 5.5% ABV and 35 IBUs, it is currently on tap at the brewery for growler fills and pints. You’ll be also be able to find it at better beer bars in Halifax and Sydney, and the private beer stores in Halifax for growler fills.

• Over at Tatamagouche Brewing, they’re re-releasing their seasonal holiday brew, Maple Squash Ale. This complex brew features additions of locally grown and roasted Red Kuri Squash from Waldegrave Farms, maple syrup from Sugar Moon, and a mixture of Tatabrew’s “favourite holiday spices”. Hopped with Malagash-grown Golding and Willamette varieties, this 5.1% ABV ale is truly a unique beer, with plenty of local ingredients! Available in growlers and cans at the brewery, and at select beer bars/restaurants in Nova Scotia.

• There’s lots of news coming out of Schoolhouse Brewery in Falmouth this week! A plebiscite to lift the liquor limitations in their area passed, paving the way for expansion beyond their in-home brewery in 2016. They have also announced the launch of their Locally Hopped Series, coming this weekend. Inspired by the hop producers in their region, Brewmaster Tim Burns put together four new beers to showcase the harvest. Look for four new beers out this weekend: Big Red Schoolhouse Imperial Red, 7.5%ABV; DesBarres Reserve Biere de Garde, 6.8%ABV; Scotian Export Scottish Ale, 5.8%ABV; and Kings Row Chequers Strong Porter, 6.5%. Featuring hops from the Schoolhouse farm in Falmouth (Cascade, Goldings), Wentworth Creek Farm in Windsor, (Galena, Newport, Nugget, Zeus), Castle Frederick Farms in Falmouth (Galena, Magnum, Zeus) and Elleslea Farm in Sheffield Mills (Fuggles, Galena, Newport). These beers will be making their debut in 650ml bottles at the Wolfville Farmers Market this Saturday. Schoolhouse *may* be taking orders for Halifax customers in the coming days, so be sure to keep an eye on their Twitter feed for the details.

• This weekend marks the biggest movie event of the year, and maybe even the decade… the new Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel! No, of course we’re talking about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Red Rover has released two ciders to celebrate: the DarkCider and Emperor’s Reserve. The DarkCider is a 7% aged Black Velvet, a blend of stout with their Spring cider, which cuts the body of the beer, while retaining the roast and chocolate character as a complement to the flavour of the cider. It first made its debut at the Brewer’s Bash in 2014, andis brewed in collaboration with Picaroons. Emperor’s Reserve is a brand new cider, crafted using the Empire apple variety. This semi-dry 7% cider starts with a smooth sweetness, and finishes with a crisp, acidic, bite. Both ciders are available today only, beginning at 2pm at the Ciderhouse. And while there, look for the re-release of Jingleberry, a 7% ABV semi-dry featuring the addition of wild blueberries to give the cider a mild tartness and dark-purple colour, just in time for the holidays!

• In other Star Wars news (come on, it’s a major movie event!), Picaroons has re-released a new iteration on their JED-IPA. Originally a hopped-up version of their Yippee IPA released over two years ago, this recent batch was dry-hopped with “an astronomical amount” of Orbit and Galaxy; both are Southern Hemisphere varieties known for giving intense tropical fruit aromas and flavours when used in brewing. It’s available for growler fills now at the Brewtique. Also, if you’re missing out on the daily growler released of their 12 Beers of Christmas, good news! The King Street Ale House has been receiving a keg of each beer to go on tap the day after its release at the Brewtique (Saturday and Sunday’s release will both arrive on the following Monday), which allows you the chance to try the beer if you couldn’t make it to the Brewtique for the 4 pm release. There’s still six days of releases left, so be sure to continue to follow along on social media for announcements on each day’s beer.

• Pump House brought their Nor’Easter Beater Winter Warmer back recently, just in time for the nasty weather New Brunswick had to endure earlier this week. This malt-forward English style was brewed with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg for a spicy flavour. The 7.0% beer is on tap at the brewery now.

• The much anticipated co-release from Big Spruce and Boxing Rock will be available beginning tomorrow. Triskaidekaphobia is a 9%, 40 IBU Imperial Brown Ale that these two breweries scared together on November 13th. Since brewday, the beer has been aging on cherries and vanilla beans for a brew worthy of wrapping and putting under the tree next week. The beer will be released tomorrow at both breweries (though we understand there may be a sneak peek available today), their market stalls in Shelburne, Halifax, Dartmouth, and Sydney, private stores in Halifax, and on tap around the province. Don’t delay in grabbing some of this beer, and remember that there will be a barrel-aged version of Triska coming in 2016.

• Both Big Spruce and Boxing Rock had busy weeks, inviting visitors in to their respective brewhouses. On Monday, Big Spruce welcomed Eric Gauthier and Justin Clarke to brew up Eric’s Home Brew Challenge-winning Czech Dark Lager. Look for this beer to be released in late January, after an appropriate lagering period. On Tuesday, Justin and Eric took the reigns with a Sour IPA featuring loads of hops to complement the acidic bite from the lactobacillus. This beer will be available mid-January, and will see its release at the Local Connections Craft Beer & Local Food Celebration January 14th. Finally, Aaron Spinney of Sawdust City in Gravenhurst, ON, came by to brew a Pine Needle IPA, featuring over a kilogram of pine needles (not branches!) from Ontario and Big Spruce’s own farm. And of course, our very own Cold Remedy Lemon Ginger Witbier was released yesterday, and is appearing on taps in Cape Breton and Halifax now.

• In Shelburne, homebrewer Jason McDougall visited Boxing Rock to brew up another batch of his Stillwell Open beer, featuring heather flowers, on a base beer brewed with peated malt. Again, look for this to be released in the New Year.

• Good Robot’s Tap Room is officially opening today at noon. In addition to their flagship beers, they will be pouring another 8 on their taps, including a couple of tap room exclusives brewed on their pilot system: an experimental Märzen  and a Session IPA brewed with Chris McDonald. Also on tap at opening: Bad Apple Mosaic DIPA, Big Spruce Cold Remedy Belgian Wit, Uncle Leo’s Cream Stout, Unfiltered 12 Years to Zion DIPA, Shipbuilders Cider, and Stutz Wild Blueberry Cider. Going forward, the Tap Room will be open daily (except Monday) at 4pm, with an earlier noon opening Fri-Sun.

• The Townhouse in Antigonish has announced the details of their NYE Party. They are holding a Brewer’s Bash, and have invited several of the areas brewers to take part: Karen Allen of Halifax’s Gahan House (a native of Antigonish), Tim Burns of Falmouth’s Schoolhouse, Karl Whiffen of Lyons Brook’s Uncle Leo’s, and the Townhouse’s own Terry Piercey. The five-course meal (prepared by chef Jacob Buckley) will feature lobster, oysters, rabbit, pork, and wild chanterelles, each paired with a local beer. The brewers will also talk about the process of brewing, pairing, tasting, and enjoying beer. Tickets are available at the Townhouse now, either in person or over the phone. Previous events have sold out, so be sure to pick them up now!

• Early next year (Saturday, January 30th) will mark the first NB HopSpiel event for Fredericton. Organized by those behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, the event will feature a day of outdoor curling in Officer’s Square, along with access to the FROSTival Beer Garden, where approximately seven breweries will be pouring up to 15 different beers, ciders and mead. Teams of four are currently being formed; you can register your team for $200, or $50 per person (don’t worry, if you can’t muster up a team of four, extras will be formed into teams). The registration fee includes a minimum of three games, six 4 oz samples at the beer garden (extra beers will be available for purchase), and a lunch of chili and rolls, plus hot beverages. Participants are invited to attend a social gathering on Friday night from 6-8 pm, where you can “brush” up on your curling skills before the big event. Tickets are available online; remember, BYO broom!

• Montreal’s excellent Dieu du Ciel! has announced that Saturday, February 27th will be the next date for their annual Péché Day, and this year Atlantic Canada will be participating! Celebrating their world class Péché Mortel, a coffee-infused Imperial Stout, the brewery/brewpub releases 13 different variants and vintages of the beer in-house; six of these are also sent to 24 participating beer bars in Canada. This year, Bar Stillwell and Tide and Boar will be receiving six kegs each to be tapped on the 27th. No word yet as to which kegs they will be receiving, but mark this date in your calendars, and make the trip to sample several variants of one of the highest-rated beers brewed in Canada!

Enjoy your weekend! If you’re in the Saint John area, Big Tide has their Three Pages to the Wind “Whiskey Pale Ale” and Bockman-Turner Overweiz (a Weizenbock) back on tap for a limited time. And the Hammond River “White Stout”, White Walker, is now available at select accounts; a 7.2% ABV, pale-coloured beer with the addition of Foghorn coffee, it was further conditioned on cacao nibs to give it a “slight smoky flavour” with the coffee and chocolate. Just a note that next week’s schedule may be altered a bit with the end-of-year holidays. Depending on news (and the number of beer we get into), we may push forward, or back, next Friday’s release.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from TrailWay, Upstreet, Boxing Rock, North Brewing, Hammond River, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2015-08-28
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 540 Kitchen & Bar, Acadie-Broue, ANBL, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Spruce Home Brew Challenge, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Canadian Brewing Awards, Hammond River Brewing, James Joyce Irish Pub, King Street Ale House, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, OktoberFest des Acadiens, Picaroons, Red Rover Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday everyone! Sadly, this marks the last Wrap-Up of August, but that doesn’t mean that the beer news is slowing down at all.

• TrailWay released a new beer yesterday – this one was actually brewed by Catherine Saunders and Alex Sorenson under the watchful-eye of their significant others, Jake Saunders and Dan Mason (owners and brewers of TrailWay). Appropriately-named Better Half, it’s a Blueberry-Lime Fruit Beer that had real lime zest and 35 lbs of local blueberries added after fermentation was complete. With a simple grain bill consisting of mostly Pilsner malt, and very minimal hopping, it’s a refreshing and easy-drinking (at 4.5% ABV) end-of-summer beer, with some sweetness and tartness from the fruit. You can find it on tap now (or very soon) at the King Street Ale House, James Joyce Pub, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and Vault 29.

• In other TrailWay news, they should be releasing a new Double IPA (currently unnamed) sometime next week. Clocking in at about 8.1%, it was hopped heavily (to ~75 IBUs) with Centennial, Comet, Galaxy and Mosaic, so expect plenty of tropical, citrus, and dank notes in this beer! Like most of their hoppy beers, the malt bill was kept relatively simple to allow the hops to shine through.

• PEI’s newest craft brewery, Upstreet Craft Brewing, is holding a Block Party on Saturday, September 5th. This free event will be held outdoors in the Upstreet parking lot, and will feature local food vendors, live music (including Wrong Planet Band), lawn games, activities (big and small, for kids and adults), and a “pop-up barber shop” for all your hair-trimming needs; guided brewery tours will also be going on throughout the day. It’s family-friendly, so bring the kids! The party will continue inside the taproom after 8 pm. They’ll be releasing their highly-anticipated Boxing Rock collaboration beer, Rumble in the Alley: Round 1, a SMaSH India Pale Lager, and there MAY be a special guest or two on hand for the tapping! And in other good news, brewmaster Mike Hogan has confirmed that he will be brewing another batch of their Wheat IPA, White Noize in the next few days; look for that one to be released again in September.

• It’s Hop Harvest time in our region! Yesterday, the crew from North Brewing made the trek to Shelburne to visit Boxing Rock Brewing for their own harvest collaboration brew. Many Hands 3.0 features loads of freshly-harvested Cascade, Chinook, and Willamette, all from North brewer Josh Herbin’s Lazy Acres hop farm. This Pale Ale will weigh in just shy of 6% ABV, and be available at both breweries and their market and restaurant accounts in September.

• Several other breweries have/will be brewing up wet hopped beers. Hammond River will be brewing up some with their own home-grown hops next week, Rockbottom Brewpub is brewing up a Pale Ale today with some Annapolis Valley fresh hops, and Picaroons has started the brewing of their multiple Harvest Ales, sourced from hop farms across the Maritimes. Big Spruce will be harvesting their own farm-grown hops Wednesday, September 2nd, and Meander River will be harvesting theirs Saturday September, 5th, with brews to follow quickly thereafter (if you’re able to help pick in Nyanza or Ashdale, keep an eye on their respective social media feeds for details and rain dates, if necessary).

• Meander River has a few new beers on tap recently, and we wanted to keep y’all up-to-date with their releases. Summer Solstice IPA is a 4.5% ABV Session IPA featuring a balanced hoppy flavour and aroma thanks to Amarillo and Citra; it was further dry-hopped with Cascade. A lower alcohol, but full-flavoured beer, perfect for summer afternoons and evenings. Gristmill Wheat Beer is an unfiltered wheat beer, featuring a forward bitterness with lots of citrus and strawberry, with a characteristic banana aroma. This is a lighter 3.8% ABV. Their Dusty Road Hard Apple Cider is a bit bigger, at 5.5% ABV, but just as refreshing, as it finishes quite dry and crisp. This is a different blend of Annapolis Valley apples than their Shack Wacky release in the spring, and as such will have a different profile. Their 5.2% ABV Ashdale Honey Brown is also available now, featuring honey harvested right on the farm, and added to the lightly-hopped Brown Ale, for a slightly sweeter finish and notes of toffee. Look for these beers at the brewery, or their accounts around the province.

• YellowBelly Brewery in St. John’s, NL has released an alcoholic Apple Cider this week. Weighing in at 7% ABV, it is an off-dry cider, featuring some perceived bitterness from the high tannin content of the apples. It was fermented with champagne yeasts for a crisp and acidic bite. It is now on tap at the brewery and public house, and will be available in bottles next week.

• Red Rover has brewed up their first Perry; similar to a cider – in that it is an alcoholic beverage from fermented apple juice – it also incorporates juice from pears. Featuring a single variety of pear from Cocagne, NB, it was balanced with juice from Cox’s Orange Pippin apples. The batch has been maturing for the last six months, and is exhibiting a “sweet, floral nose, and softer palate than a cider”, according to co-owner/brewer Adam Clawson; it should come in at around 7% ABV. It will be released at the Cider House next Thursday for flagon fills, and will also make a limited appearance at the Farmer’s Markets that Red Rover frequents.

• Fredericton’s James Joyce Pub has announced details on their Mug Club, the first of its kind in the city. A yearly membership of $59.95 + tax gets you a personally-numbered mug with plenty of entitlements, including 24-oz pours for the price of 20-oz, food discounts, email updates on new beers tapped at the pub, and invitations to Mug Club-exclusive events. Only 30 mugs will be sold; check out the link for more details. The official launch will be October 1st, but you can head into the pub now to reserve your mug.

• Good news for beer fans in New Brunswick: the ANBL has announced that they have over 30 award-winning beers from this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards that will be available for sale at select stores this Monday, August 31st. The “Ultimate Beer Run” includes multiple styles from breweries all across the country; check out the full list (and participating ANBL outlets) here. Quantities are limited, so be sure to drop by on Monday if you have particular beers that you would like to try.

• La sixième édition de l’Oktoberfest des Acadiens se passe du 3 au 6 Septembre à Bertrand, NB. Avec de la musique et un ambiance bavaroise dans les après midi, et des spectacles avec des artistes de renoms les vendredi et samedi soirs. C’est une fin de semaine de plaisir et de divertissement pour toute la famille. Jeudi soir l’on vous propose une dégustation dirigée par Patrice Godin d’Acadie-Broue, intitulé “Le Tour du Monde avec de la Bière”, mettant en vedette certains accords mets et bières spéciales. La Grande Dégustation se déroule le samedi et le dimanche de 13h à 18h, où les visiteurs pourront déguster une centaine de bières différentes du Nouveau-Brunswick (y compris Acadie-Broue, Petit-Sault, Picaroons, Pump House, Savoie’s Brewhouse), le Canada (Glutenberg et Red Racer et beaucoup plus), ainsi que l’Europe (Chimay, Chouffe, et Weihenstephan par exemples). Pour plus de détails sur les billets et l’horaire complet Vous pouvez visiter leur site et leur page Facebook.

• The Sixth Annual Oktoberfest des Acadiens is happening September 3-6 in Bertrand, NB. Featuring live music daily, and major concerts Friday and Saturday evening, it is a full weekend of family fun and entertainment. Thursday evening features a tasting led by Acadie-Broue‘s Patrice Godin, entitled “Around the World with Beer”, featuring several special beer and food pairings. The beer garden will be open Saturday and Sunday 1-6pm, where visitors can sample from over 100 different beers from New Brunswick (including Acadie-Broue, Petit-Sault, Picaroons, Pump House, Savoie’s Brewhouse), Canada (Glutenberg and Red Racer and many more), as well as Europe (Chimay, Chouffe, and Weihenstephan for example). Ticket details and the full schedule is available on their website and Facebook page.

• Homebrewers, fire up those kettles, the 3rd Annual Big Spruce Home Brew Challenge is back! This year is a bit of a departure from previous competitions, as beers are being accepted in three different styles: Czech Dark Lager (3D), Altbier (7B), and Red IPA (21B). They will be judged using the new 2015 BJCP style guidelines. The top three beers in each category will win prizes, and the Best in Show beer will be brewed at Big Spruce, and released at the Third Annual Craft Beer & Local Food Celebration in January. Homebrewers may enter a beer in one, two, or all three categories for the same $25 entry fee. That fee also entitles entrants to a limited edition t-shirt, and new this year, entry to the post-judging party at the Wooden Monkey Alderney Landing November 28th. To take part, be sure to email Big Spruce for the official entry form before November 23rd, and drop off the beer before the 27th at the brewery or the Halifax drop-point. There are more details on the event’s Facebook page. As there are a couple of lagers in there, best to get brewing soon!

Enjoy your weekend! All four ANBL growler stations are pouring summery beers this week, including Petit-Sault‘s new John Stadig (an “Orange Ginger White ale”), Picaroons Dooryard, and Le Trou du Diable Blanche de Shawi. Be sure to drop by Rockbottom this weekend and next week as they host several acts from the Halifax Urban Folk Festival, and catch their FizzGig Ladies Beer League Imperial Red, and Farmer’s Daughter Farmhouse Ale before they are replaced by an English Brown Ale and a traditionally-brewed Marzen (featuring imported malts and the Hochkurz Double-Decoction mash technique). Cheers!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Upstreet, Boxing Rock, Sunset Heights Meadery, NB Beer Tours, Unfiltered, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2015-08-14
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Battery Park, Big Axe Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Breton Brewing, Bulwark Cider, Celtic Oktoberfest, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Halifax Oktoberfest, Hell Bay Brewing, Jester King, King Street Ale House, Local Connections Halifax, Maritime Hop Growers Cooperative, New Brunswick Beer Tours, North Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Railcar Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Sunset Heights Meadery, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 1 comment

Good morning! Looks like there’s some hot weather coming our way for this weekend… what better way to cool off than with news about our favourite beverage?

• Last weekend, PEI’s Upstreet Craft Brewing had a special visitor: Emily Tipton, Boxing Rock‘s co-owner and Beer Engineer. Tipton and Upstreet brewmaster Mike Hogan brewed their first collaboration beer on Upstreet’s system, a SMaSH IPL (single-malt and single hop India Pale Lager) named Rumble in the Alley: Round 1. Featuring a grist of 100% Maritime malt, and hopped entirely with Amarillo to 50 IBUs, it was fermented with Upstreet’s house Pilsner yeast and should clock in at about 6% ABV. Islanders can expect to see this one become available before the end of August; look for a couple of kegs to also pop up in Halifax sometime in the future. This should be just the first of many collaborations between these two breweries; they already have a history of working together, including when the Upstreet crew visited Boxing Rock last winter, and ended up lending a hand to help brew Cinnamon Spin.

• The hop plants at Sunset Heights Meadery are growing strong, and owner/brewer John Way already has plans for them! He’s brewed up a single 120 L batch of mead, which will be separated into eight 15 L “mini-batches”, each of which will be wet-hopped with a different variety (including Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Fuggles, Galena, Magnum, Nugget, and Willamette). These small batches will be bottled and sold as 8-packs (200 mL per bottle), allowing the consumer to sample each type. If you’re attending the Autumn Mead Release Party on October 24th (there are only a few tickets left), you’ll have guaranteed access to purchase one set; leftovers – if any – will be available via their soon-to-go-live online store.

• The itinerary has been finalized for the next trip from New Brunswick Beer Tours, which will be held on Saturday, October 17th. The River Valley Tour is actually a rehash of their first highly-successful tour last fall, and includes stops at Petit-Sault in Edmundston, Railcar in Florenceville-Bristol, and Big Axe in Nackawic. The tour bus leaves the King Street Ale House in Fredericton at 9 am, and should return around 6 pm later that day. Beer samples from all three breweries are included, as well as many sampling opportunities on the bus itself, and a box lunch. Tickets are now available;  an early-bird price of $88 (taxes and fee included) will apply until September 1st.

• After opening just a couple of weeks ago, Unfiltered Brewing is releasing their first seasonal today at noon. Daytimer is a kettle-soured Berliner Weisse that has been dry-hopped with plenty of Mosaic, a variety well-known for providing high levels of tropical fruitiness. Combined with the natural tartness of this style and it’s high drinkability at 3.4% ABV, Haligonians should be looking at the perfect beer for hot-weather consumption. And drop by Unfiltered anytime after 3pm today to pair your growler with a dog from the T-Dogs hotdog stand.

• Speaking of dogs (and T-Dogs specifically), details are being released for this year’s Sausage Fest, put on by the Local Connections Halifax crew. A preview of the event is happening tomorrow, during Sausage Fest Roadshow on the pedestrian-only (on the weekend) Argyle Street. T-Dogs will be there to serve up some pizza- and donair-dogs; many other community groups and vendors will be attending as well. Sausage Fest begins in earnest Sept 19th, with a day-time Sausage Throwdown, and an evening Sausage O’ The Night event, with both events hosting at least nine NS breweries and a half-dozen restaurants with their sausage creations. In fact, several breweries will be releasing special brews for the week: Boxing Rock is releasing Kerfuffle APA, a dry-hopped malt-balanced Pale Ale; Bulwark will have Hopped Citrus Cider, an apple cider featuring Cascade and Comet hops; Garrison is releasing Hammerschlagen Brau, a Marzen; and Propeller will be bringing Wind Swell Wheat, a Cascade-hopped American Pale Wheat beer. And on Friday, Sept 25th, the waterfront will host a Hops & Brats event to kick off Halifax Oktoberfest, with many NS breweries in attendance to share their beers to pair with different German fare. And just a note, LCH’s Craft Beer & Local Food Celebration is returning January 14th at the Marriott Harbourfront, and Early Bird tickets are on sale now.

• AND, speaking of Dogs, Dawgs, and Dogg, the folks at Good Robot are hosting a Hair of the Dog event Sunday. Grab your puppy(ies) and drop by after 11am for a dog spa treatment by the folks at All 4 Paws Pet Services; while there, enjoy a custom-made T-Dogs hot dog, grab a pint of GR beer, and listen to some Snoop Dogg. $20 will get you a dog wash, hot dog, and 12oz beer (the music is free). $2 from each combo package will be going to ElderDog Canada. While on-site, grab a taste of their Goseface Killah Gose v1.1, dubbed Sour Soul, which was brewed using more acidulated malt than the first release, for an additional acidic character. And with their Tap Room slated to open this fall, they are now taking applications for servers and bartenders, so be sure to bug Josh while you’re there!

• The Celtic Oktoberfest is returning on October 24th for their second year in Port Hawkesbury. A “celebration of local food, music, and beer”, attendees can expect plenty of all three, with the four hour event featuring beer from ten different Nova Scotia breweries, food from ten Cape Breton restaurants, and live music from many local musicians. So far, Big Spruce, Breton Brewing, Boxing Rock, Garrison, and Hell Bay are confirmed to be pouring, with others likely being announced soon. Tickets are now on sale, with early-bird pricing at $50 (+ fee) available until September 1st.

• The folks from North Brewing and Brooklyn Warehouse have announced plans for their new spot in Dartmouth. Battery Park beer bar & eatery will open in October at 62 Ochterloney Drive in Dartmouth. In addition to the bar and restaurant, it will feature a brewing system on-site, with North’s current 5 BBL (600 litre) brewhouse making the trip across the bridge. Beers brewed in Dartmouth will be special brews available only at Battery Park, or for growler fills at the brewery shop. In its place at North’s Agricola St location, a new 10 BBL (1200 litre) steam-fired system will be commissioned. This brew-house from DME will incorporate a boiler capable of burning biodiesel, taking a big step towards North’s plan of reducing their environmental footprint. As part of the launch of this new endeavour, Battery Park is running a crowdfunding campaign.

• Stillwell Beer Bar will be hosting an exciting pair of out-of-province breweries September 1st. Brasserie Dunham from Quebec’s Eastern Townships and Jester King from just outside of Austin, TX, are two breweries at the forefront of innovative recipes and techniques, both with extensive barrel- and mixed-fermentation beers in their roster. They recently brewed up a collaboration beer, and are meeting again in Quebec for another brew day and the release celebration. Part of the celebration will include a brewers’ visit to Stillwell, where the two breweries will be taking over the taps, as well as bringing a load of bottles. Tickets for the event go on sale today at noon, and will offer first sips of the beers in a 6-8pm session, after which the doors will be open to all. A warning that many of the beers will be in short supply, and some will almost certainly run our during the initial early session. For more information on the breweries and which beers will be pouring, check out Stillwell’s Blog.

• The Maritime Hop Growers Co-op are hosting Open Hop Yard Days this month, giving NS beer enthusiasts a chance to check out a few of the farms growing hops in the province. For the next three Sundays, from 1-4pm, folks can visit Breton Fields, High Tide, Meander River, Wallace Ridge, Wentworth Creek, and Wysmykal Farm hop farms to learn about the process of growing hops, as well as the business of hop growing. For those already growing hops, or looking to start, there is an information session presented by Perennia August 19th in Aylesford, with information on best practices for harvesting and drying hops. With many of the members in attendance, it will be a great opportunity to talk about the opportunities available. The Co-op has been around since 2009, and has 15 farm members (ten in NS, three in NB, and two in PEI). Those interested in more information on joining the Co-op, growing hops as a hobby, or buying hops, should check out their Facebook page.

• YellowBelly Brewery in St John’s has released a new IPA this week, Deep South. Hopped to 60 IBUs with varieties from the Southern Hemisphere (specifically, Pacific Gem from New Zealand and Mosaic from Australia), the beer comes across as “dry and bitter, with serious overtones of lychee and grapefruit”, according to the brewery. YellowBelly decided to ferment this IPA with an American ale yeast, as opposed to their British house strain, which should allow the fruity hop characteristics to shine through even more. It weighs in at a manageable 6% ABV; get down to the brewpub to give it a try!

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend, and keep cool with some good, local beer! Garrison Brewing’s Honey Lavender is back for another year. This 6.3% ABV ale features loads of lavender from Meander River Farms, and honey from Cosman & Whidden; it’s available in 650 mL bottles at the brewery. Stubborn Goat Gastropub has added grunters to their repertoire. This new ability to offer 0.95 litre pours is a continuation of their “social dining” concept, encouraging groups to share a few glasses of several different craft beer options during their meal. Breton Brewing ‏is looking to hire some folks in their retail space, as well as for delivery and assistant brewer positions. Contact them for details. Finally, Picaroons is starting to see some of their new brewery equipment coming in, with the arrival of several new tanks this week in Fredericton. Stay tuned for more updates…