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“Friday” Wrap-Up for June 30 2022 – News from Landwash, Gahan, Lake City, Spindrift, 2 Crows, Tanner & Co, Village Green, Barnone, Big Spruce, Quidi Vidi, Serpent and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2022-06-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, BarNone Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Gahan House (St. John's), Garrison Brewing, Halifax Pride, Lake City Cider, Landwash Brewery, New Scotland Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Serpent Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Village Green by Modern Brewer. Leave a Comment

Happy Thursday, friendos! We wanted to hit you with the blog a day early, to help you plan your drinking for this long weekend. Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates enough to make imbibing on a patio a part of all of our weekends and make sure to check the long weekend opening hours at your favourite producers and tippling locations before you go out and about! No more dilly-dallying, let’s get right to the news!

We’re starting out with a pair of collaborations based out of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, featuring Landwash Brewery. First up is one with the Charlottetown-, St. John’s-, and Halifax-based Gahan. The Bridge and Ferry is a classic Extra Special Bitter, using Simpsons Maris Otter malt and a variety of IREKS Bavarian malts to bring a full bodied, caramel sweetness pairing with UK Admiral and Godiva hops for a bit of fruit and bitterness. This one came out last week and is available in cans at the Landwash brewery and on tap at Gahan Harbourview and Landwash.

The next collaboration is Anarchy in the MP! a release with Admiralty House Communications Museum and their new Punk Rock Pearl exhibit. The beer is an English-style IPA with a Golden Promise and Caramalt malt bill pairing with two newer English hops (courtesy of Charles Faram), Jester and Harlequin, all coming together for a lovely, balanced ale with plenty of malt character, notes of marmalade, grapefruit, and a perfectly bitter finish. This one is 6.5% ABV and is available today in cans and on tap at the brewery. Check out the launch party for this at the exhibit Saturday July 2nd at the museum from 7 – 9 PM with Karaoke, BBQ and beer

Staying in collab-land, we’ve got an all-Dartmouth release with Lake City Cider teaming up with Spindrift for a Black Currant Snakebite Rosé. A classic snakebite is a British pub classic, with equal parts lager and cider, but here, our friends are mixing the lovely Killick lager from Spindrift and Lake City’s Darkside Dry, topped off with a bit of house-fermented black currant wine. At 6.5%, it brings a crisp, tart, and dry finish in a beautiful package. This is available in 473ml cans and on tap directly from both breweries!

If you’re a fan of consistent naming and delicious IPAs, 2 Crows Brewing has another in their series of juicy, saturated  New England IPA series. Coming today is Mystic Incantation. Joining the ranks of the past releases Perfect Situation, Second Situation, Another Iteration, Cause for Celebration, Vivid Imagination, Perfect Saturation, (we think that’s all of them) this version features a new, magical, mystical and delicious combination of El Dorado and HBC 630 hops.  Still super smooth, creamy, and tropical, it features flavours and aromas of pear, pineapple, raspberry, and green papaya. Out today, so there will surely be some left for you, but make sure to sign up for their newsletter, where they’ve consistently been putting out pre-orders and early deliveries for their loyal subscribers. At 6.1% and 44 IBU, find this one on tap and in cans at the brewery and online! Pop in today for one of those, and stick around for their AC Lager Tube Night!

Flying southwest from Halifax, we head to Tanner Brewing next, who have a new release in their Hive series of beverages that feature honey, which is used to make mead! (cut to 902Brewcast’s Kyle uncomfortably shuffling his feet and averting his gaze) Raspberry Rhubarb Sparkling Mead is a new release available now which leverages their house sparkling mead but with additions of raspberry purée and fresh rhubarb prior to fermentation. A touch more honey was also added before the mead was carbonated to add some more sweetness to this 5.5% refreshing and dry beverage. It’s available in 500ml bottles from both of their physical locations and their online store.

We’re staying on the honey theme, as PEI’s Village Green has a Spruce Honey Saison on tap and in cans. This is a 5.8% Saison with spruce tips that were picked in Spring of 2021 and then aged in honey (from Canoe Cove Honey) for a whole year. This aged spruce honey was then added to the whirlpool with some fresh picked spruce tips from this season. Pick this one up today directly from the brewery.  

In Rose Valley, PEI, Barnone Brewery has announced their Summer Hours, which kick off this week! Open Wednesday 11 – 4 PM, Thursday and Friday 4 – 10 PM (yes, even tomorrow!), Saturday 12 – 10 PM, and Sunday 12 – 7 PM. At Barn One (that joke never gets old, right?!), you’ll be able to grab pints and explore their large seating area while checking out the view of the nearby rolling hills. And maybe even catch an impromptu show! So, what can you enjoy while there? How about two beers released in the past couple of weeks, including Back Forty IPA. At 6.5% ABV, balanced and battle tested, much like the doors of the barn, enduring many years of wind and snow but remaining rock solid. Or, how about their new Riptide Lager, 4.5% ABV, super-drinkable and crisp. They are holding a little contest to name their mascot (the one sunning themselves on the can), check this post to take part in the fun!

If you find yourself in Cape Breton this long weekend, Big Spruce is featuring a new release and the return of a previous Homebrew challenge winner. First up is Thirst Trap, a 6.7% ABV Apricot Milkshake IPA. Expect lots of fresh apricot flavour and some sweetness from the lactose addition. This weekend also sees the return of Heffalump, originally concocted by Halifax homebrewer extraordinaire, Ian Wheatley, during the 2018 Battle of the Wits homebrew challenge. You can expect traditional hefeweizen notes of banana and bubblegum in this 5.2% take on the style. Both releases are available in cans at the Sprucetique and for delivery through their online store

Down in the Gut, Quidi Vidi is releasing Pop’s Pale Ale. An homage to Quidi Vidi founder (and Pop to Justin Fong) David Fong, Pop’s features Magnum, Cascade, Falconer’s Flight, and Calypso hops, leading to lots of floral, citrusy and tropical notes. Cans of this 5.2% ale are available now at the Hops Shop and will see wider distribution at the NLC and convenience stores on Monday. The can design alone is worth the price of the tin!

Serpent has two re-releases with a twist this week, with both being can-conditioned for the first time. Can-conditioning (like bottle-conditioning, natch) is a process that involves unfermented sugars and live yeast doing their thing after packaging to give the beverage a natural carbonation. The first one to see this treatment is 33 their 8.75% Belgian tripel. Expect notes of sourdough bread and some candied sweetness. Next up is The Bite, their 5.2% cider featuring Annapolis Valley apples. Both beverages are available for can pours or to-go from the taproom now. 

Breweries across the region are hiring, here are two more jobs that popped up on our radar.

Landwash is looking to grow their team with the addition of a Distribution Assistant. Doubling as a delivery driver, the role will entail working with Landwash’s various retail partners across the Avalon and greater Newfoundland. Check out Indeed for the posting and details on how to apply.

Jumping islands, PEI’s Barnone Brewery is getting their on-site hospitality operations fired up for the summer and are looking for a Bartender to join their team. If the thought of interacting with happy beer drinkers at a beautiful farm brewery for 25-30 hours/week sounds like a job for you, you can apply by submitting your resume to info@barnonebrewery.com. 

Just a couple of newsbites before we let you go this week. Enjoy your weekend, responsibly!

In case you missed the news, New Scotland Brewing has joined their sibling New Scotland Clothing at their new location just around the corner at 16 Portland Street. The larger location will give them the opportunity to expand production, as well as taproom and performance space, as they continue to support local music. Running an on-site kitchen is Root Down Scullery, with the Timber Lounge Axe Throwing operating in the same building. Sounds like a perfect way to spend an evening in downtown Dartmouth!

With Halifax Pride approaching in a couple of weeks, Garrison Brewing has this week released their official (craft) beer of the festival, Queer Summer Brew. This “Proud Hazy Ale” is 5.0%, light, and bright, with citrus notes throughout. It’s available now at Garrison’s locations at Halifax Seaport and Oxford Taproom, as well as at Bishop’s Cellar.

Friday Wrap-Up for June 17 2022 – News from Tatamagouche, North, Landwash, Bogside, Lunn’s Mill, Delta Force, Ninepenny, Tire Shack and much more!

Posted by acbbdevon on 2022-06-17
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bishop's Cellar, Bogside Brewing, Candid Brewing, Delta Force Brewing, Dieu du Ciel, Escarpment Laboratories, Lagabiere, Lake City Cider, Landwash Brewery, Lazy Bear Brewing, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Ninepenny Brewing, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Tapestry Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing. Leave a Comment

We’re just over halfway through June and as we officially roll into Summer, you may be throwing a Summer Solstice party, planning something special for Father’s day (or, Fadder’s Day) or looking for some cool new things to do. While it’s hard for us to capture absolutely everything that’s going on in Atlantic Canada, hopefully we can point you in the right direction with places to try, beers and ciders to look for and help with summertime plans. Even on those rainy days, you may be listening to some Alan Jackson, and want to sip on some new and local beers. We are here to help, especially when Alan Jackson comes to the Chattahoo…erm, New Brunswick in November!

Let’s kick off this week’s news and fun with a whole lotta goodness flowing from the North Shore of Nova Scotia. There you’ll find Tatamagouche Brewing, who opened their doors in June of 2014, and are celebrating their birthday this weekend. They’ve released a whole whack of beers since they launched with Hippie Dippie Pale Ale and Butcher Block Red (shout out to us at the blog for having that info at launch!), and have won a slew of local, national, and international awards since then. You’ll be able to grab some of those award-winning beers in a Birthday Surprise Beer Box, specially curated by co-owner Matt Kenny, which includes award winning brews, special one-time releases, and early Weird Beer and Giant Beer releases from as far back as 2015! Due to the nature of the low supply, there were only 10 cases available and some have already been claimed, your best bet for success is to DM Tatabrewco on Instagram or drop by the brewery today to grab the case! Popping by the brewery will also reward your ears, thanks to Live Music from Jamie & Jonny today 5 – 7:30 PM, and tomorrow with the Brew Boys taking the stage from 1 – 4 PM.

A brewery can’t have a birthday celebration without new releases, of course, and Tata is not shying away from their “responsibility” in that department this week. First up is Tempest, a blended Imperial Stout, and a hefty one at that! Starting life as two distinct beers, the first was brewed with a traditional grain bill, and aged in peat-heavy Scotch barrels for a year, picking up smoke, vanilla, and a touch of booze from its temporary home. Blended with that is another “large and in charge stout,” this one not having spent any time in wood, but sporting a touch of smoked malt. The amalgamation of the two features the best of both worlds, in a sneaky 12.2% package! Think chocolate, toasty graham crackers, and rich dark fruits. Available now online and in store in a 500ml bottle.

Also debuting this weekend is the continuation of their Solera program, where young beer is added to a vessel when part of the aged beer is removed, to keep the hungry yeast and bacteria well fed with new starch and sugars, and extend the flavour profile of the offerings. Enter Foeder 3, the second release from one of their Red Wine foeders, which is a blend of 3-year old and 1-year old wort. There’s no shortcutting this sort of beer, as the Gueuze producers of the Zenne River Valley will attest! The red wine that was previously held in the wood is long gone, but just a touch of its essence remains, with the main character from the yeast and bacteria coming through with light notes of acidity, highlighted by plum and lychee and hay. Look for more from this vessel too!

Also fresh off the canning line this week are returning favourites Saltwater Cowboy, the 4.4% Tequila Barrel-Aged Gose, and Skiff, their 3.3% Grisette (think Saison’s little sister). And why not hit a banger of an Italian Pils, with their Pausa Pranzo available online and in the shop now, as well as Square One, the 6.1% Dry-Hopped Saison. Phew, what a list! Big congratulations to the TataBrewCrew on 8 years of fun times and great beer, and here’s to many more!

Out of their Dartmouth brewery, North Brewing, has a new release today that is not your standard release, Kem Cho? Which means “How are you?” in the Gujarati language. a 4.5% spiced Pale Ale, it’s spiced with additions of saffron, cardamom and lemon zest additions.  Using Cashmere hops to provide a delicate, but lemon-friendly flavour and smooth bitterness, it seems to be balanced in all the right places. This beer is available on tap at the brewery and Battery Park for pints, and both locations and Timberlea have 473ml cans available.

We are stoked to announce a big collaborative offering from Mount Pearl’s Landwash Brewing this week, perfect for grilling season (whether that’s in the summer or year-round!). Their Mixed BBQ Pack has been released at the brewery and Marie’s shops today, and features four crushable beers for any and all occasions. Anchoring the pack is Tidepool Pilsner, their 5.0% German-inspired pils, crisp and refreshing with just a touch of German hop bitterness. New on the scene are 3 releases, brewed in collaboration with St. John’s based restaurants and meat shops, including Newfoundland Sausage Company. Their team came out to Mount Pearl and brewed up a Vienna Lager, which at 5.2%, is the most malt-forward of the bunch, but thanks to a long, cold, conditioning, is super-smooth, with the Saaz and Spalter Select hops used keeping it bright and balanced. Vienna…Sausage… we’re not the only ones making that connection, right? 😉

Restaurant and Deli hybrid Chinched got into the game too, opting for a New Zealand Pilsner for their collab beer. Kiwi-grown Nelson Sauvin and Wakatu hops impart a Sauvignon Blanc vibe, with tropical notes, in this super-refreshing 6.0% Pils. And finally, the kitchen crew from Mallard Cottage made the trek from QV to MP, and, with guidance from Landwash’s Nardia McGrath, put together a lovely Australian Sparkling Ale: at 4.9%, it used an English Ale for primary fermentation, followed by an extended lagering period to tamp down the fruit esters. Instead, thanks to the Aussie-grown Ella, look for a touch of spice and floral on the nose, with a bright and crisp finish, super-easy drinking.

The BBQ Packs are available at the brewery right now, and rolling out to Marie’s Mini Marts as you read this, in their slick new “Can-teen” display cases, ready to grab a flat and go! Check out the fun quotes stamped on the bottom of the can with their date codes… The 8-pack joins their just-released-yesterday Bungle Rye, a 6.8% Rye IPA. Leveraging the spiciness of that malt (both flaked and malted rye were used in the mash), Galaxy, Vic Secret, and Mosaic hops were used throughout to balance that malt backbone with pine, citrus, and tropical fruit. Head Brewer Alex crafted this one, and raided the hop freezer to make it happen! FYI, the name of the beer is inspired by the ballad of the same name, the tale of being sold a baby instead of a bottle of rye! What a switcheroo! Maybe Alex will perform the song at next Wednesday’s Open Mic…. 

Let’s shine the spotlight on another island, with two new releases out of Montague, PEI, where Bogside Brewing has a few can releases from their anniversary bash a few weeks ago. First up, Lunchpail Lager! This is the first rice lager from the brewery and is crisp and easy drinking, with an IBU of 9, it’s intended as a mainstream style for all around crushability. It’s 5.5% ABV and available in cans and from the taps.

Next up, another easy drinker with some fruit and lower ABV, Strawberry Sour makes its return as a Berliner Weisse-style release, using real strawberries for a 4% small sour featuring the quintessential summery berry of PEI. Get this one in cans or on tap from the brewery as well.  

Up in Lawrencetown, NS, (no not the beach, the other one) Lunn’s Mill has a new seasonal that’s, uh, perfect for the season. Patio Saison is a Saison Table Beer that is 3.7%, perfectly sessionable and dry with a bit of spice. Using African Queen hops (the most popular South African houblon) for a dark fruit flavour, along with an Old World Saison yeast blend, the balance of smooth, sweet, and spicy pairs well with the style of beer. This is available in cans and on tap from the brewery, on tap at The Station in Bridgetown and Battery Park has a keg tapping soon, too!

Continuing with their newfound frequent release schedule and also their continued contributions to the Make Peace Not War beer project, Delta Force Brewing has a fourth release featuring two new beers available now on their online shop. Cucumber Farmshed Sour is 3.8% and Red Currant/Rhubarb Saison is 7.8%. Both of these are available in 500ml bottles today from their online store, and just like all of the previous releases, 40% of the proceeds will be donated to Red Cross Ukraine. 

We head to CBS (Conception Bay South, b’y) in Newfoundland for Ninepenny Brewing’s collaboration with the Baymen Rugby Club. The beer, The Baymen, is named after the team and they wanted to make a flavourful, refreshing beer and ended up making a blueberry and raspberry 5.3% fruited sour. Members of the club joined for the brew day and the label is inspired by their jerseys. Pints and cans are available now and will be available at Marie’s as well.

Moncton’s Tire Shack has some news for you this week, as they have two of their favourite and popular beers returning this week, along with a Sunday event! Love at Midnight is a returning 7% IPA, dubbed a Piña Colada IPA, this beer was conditioned on lots of pineapple and coconut. Bringing big tropical vibes this sounds delicious. Also returning is Mexican Lager Cerveza, a 5% crisp lager that is one of the favourites The Shack team has released, and, as they say “quite possibly the easiest drinking beer we have ever made”. Both of the beers are available at the brewery in pints, growlers and cans. Why not check them out on Sunday, when they are hosting Ricky Burger for a Father’s Day burger pop-up? It starts at 1 PM on Sunday June 19th and what better way to treat Dad than burgers and beer? 

Where else to drink this weekend? Let’s get you up to speed!

One of Lower Sackville’s beer destinations, TAPestry Beer Bar is celebrating their first year in business and they’ve got something planned for each day of the celebratory weekend. Today, June 17th, they’ve got Flight School Friday, where you can buy one flight and get the second one for half price. Also, for the first 25 customers of the day, there will be a special sweet treat (Vandal Doughnuts). On Saturday, music will be keeping the party going with a 3 PM to 6 PM show from Cas Rio McCrea and then 6 PM to 10 PM will feature the MacGillivray Boys.
Sunday is more beer-focused with Happy Hour through the entire day, but from 12 PM to 2 PM, there will be a private event just for their SackVegas Beer Club. Members only, as they say. When they open up to the public at 2 PM, happy hour will be there for everyone. Be sure to check out their beer bar this weekend if you have the chance!

This Sunday, Propeller is celebrating their latest collaboration with Barkeep Cocktails with a Patio Party at the (Barkeep affiliated) Dear Friend Bar in Dartmouth. Celebrating the releases of Paloma and Cucumber Rickey, these canned cocktails will be joined with food and drink specials, giveaways, music and free gifts for the first 30 people. Check it out at the bar on Sunday, June 19th, from 12 PM until 3 PM. And check out the just-released Yuzu Fruited Ale, a draught-only release at Gottingen and Quinpool, for growler or pints!

Very big news for breweries (and, assuming the lessons are learned and applied, beer drinkers!) as Escarpment Labs is headed to Nova Scotia (North Brewing in Dartmouth, specifically) for a series of one day courses about Yeast Quality Control. In July there are 2 sessions for “Quality Control in the Brewery” and will cover quality control and setting up your own yeast lab for your own brewery. Check out all of the details here.  

A few short pieces before we dismiss you this week. Have fun and take care of each other!

While it’s still Pride month (and Halifax Pride comes in July), one of the best local drinks you can buy and support for Pride is from Lake City Cider and their District Pride Rosé. This is a delicious cider that is dry with Nova Scotia applies and multiple tart berries. $0.25 from every can is donated to Egale, who focus on Legal Advocacy, and their vision of “a world, without homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and all other forms of oppression so that every person can achieve their full potential, free from hatred and bias.”

Another cider you can get now is Canoe ‘22 (named after the 2022 Canoe World Championships coming to Dartmouth in August). With this release, LCC ran a contest where local artists could design the can. The winner of the contest was the talented Anisa Francoeur, so check out the can here. The cider is Lake City’s Crisp Apple, refreshing and clean for sitting around Lake Banook in August and watching some elite talent.

Lastly for Lake City, today (Friday) is Oyster Night and Saturday afternoon is another Oyster Pop-Up! $2 per oyster or a dozen for $20. Friday is from 4 PM until sell-out and Saturday is from 4 PM until they’re all gone. To top off their weekend, Sunday features Vandal Doughnuts with $3 donuts starting at 11am. Lots on the go for the fine cider folks, so support them now, soon, or later!

One thing we love to see here is breweries teaming up and supporting their local regions and communities. In this spirit, Candid Brewing has a new collaboration out with the very fun and amazing Keppoch Mountain (only a 17 minute drive apart!). East of Awesome is an easy-drinking Cream Ale to celebrate a love of recreation and the outdoors. There is a mountain biking cross-country bike race on Sunday June 19th and the Candid crew will have a pop-shop on site. The beer is available now at the brewery for cans to go, along with growlers and pints on tap. 

Like last week, we’ll finish off with a rundown of some of the new treats hitting Bishop’s Cellar this week. A global favourite from Montreal, Dieu Du Ciel! have sent two new imports into Halifax this week. Blanche du Paradis is a 5.5% Belgian Wheat Ale and Sentinelle is a Kölsch-style Blonde Ale. Sticking in Quebec, there are 3 new fresh brews available from Lagabière. Their flagship beer is Ta Meilleure, a 7% New England IPA and brings a big bouquet of citrus and juicy hops. Second up, Ta Plus Meilleure, a twist on the aforementioned, brewed with the same base and hops, with added peach and passion fruit puree, making it an 8% Double NEIPA. Also, Tiki Sour: Cucumber and Lime Gose (an annual 4% Gose-style summer release) is also available now. On the local front, check out Gut View, a 4.9% Amber Ale from Lazy Bear Brewing. Order online or visit Bishop’s Landing in Halifax in store!

Friday Wrap-Up for April 8, 2022 – News from Battery Park, TAPestry, Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month, Propeller, Delta Force, Lake City Cider, Unfiltered, Spindrift, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2022-04-08
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Brew For Ukraine, Candid Brewing, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Delta Force Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Island Folk Cider House, Lake City Cider, Lone Oak Brewing, Make Peace Not War Beer Project, Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Serpent Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Tapestry Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, Truro Brewing Company, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 1 comment

What a difference a week makes! While last week’s post was a quick aperitif to your weekend of cider and beer fun, today’s edition is looking like the 200+ producers in our region are awakening from their winter hibernation, and ready to roll with dozens of new releases. We’ve done our best to grab the info you’re looking for, and as always, hit us up on our Socials to ping us if there’s a great new spot or beer release you’d like us to highlight.

Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month is picking up speed, so let’s start you off with some news from Scotia, with details on some events you’ll want to be sure to check out over the next few weekends!

Tomorrow, Saturday April 9, Dartmouth’s Battery Park is hosting a New Kids tap takeover. Featuring those Nova Scotian breweries who have opened in the last 2 years, this is the first time seeing many of these breweries on tap in Dartmouth. Candid Brewing in Antigonish, Half Cocked Brewing from North Grant, Ol’ Biddy’s Brew House of Lower Sackville, Serpent Brewing hailing from Spryfield, Truro Brewing out of Truro, as well as Island Folk Cider from Sydney, may not have had the chance to ever have a full “Grand Opening” experience due to the pandemic, so this is your chance to try their beer, and maybe even chat with the owners or brewers. The kegs hit the taps at 11:30 AM opening tomorrow, and will pour all day. There will be three different offerings from each producer, so there will definitely be something right up your alley!

Mark your calendar for next Friday, April 15, as Battery Park will be hosting the release of the 2022 edition of Cerberus, the annual All-Organic American IPA release. Always bitter, unlike the breweries who produce it, this year’s three-way conspiracy saw host brewery Big Spruce welcome perennial partner Tatamagouche, and for the first time, 2 Crows Brewing. To make this a three-headed day of fun, each of the trio will also be bringing another few beers to fill out the taps, so if IPAs aren’t your thing, fear not! Again, the fun kicks off at 11:30 AM and lasts all day.

The following day, Saturday, April 16, Battery Park Beer Guru Marc Wilson tapped more than a dozen Brewmasters and Head Brewers of Nova Scotia to think about the singular beer they wanted to share, representing any combination of “what they want to drink after work”, “what represents their brewery”, “what was their first brew ever”. We’ve heard there will be quite a wide selection on the board, so again, make plans to head in there!

The following Saturday, April 23, Class of ‘97 Alumni Garrison Brewing and Propeller Brewing are teaming up for a look back, and forward, as they celebrate 25 years of slinging beer in Nova Scotia. Each brewery will be taking over half the taps with some blast from the past, current beauties, several new-beer-debuts, with a Battery Park X Garrison X Propeller special collaboration brewed just for the event completing the line-up.

And sneaking in just before the end of NS Beer Month, is the annual Halifax Burger Bash (previously known as Burger Week). Running April 28 – May 7, this is a fundraiser for Feed Nova Scotia presented by The Coast. As Saturday April 30th falls right in line with both Beer Month and Burger Bash, Battery Park is hosting a Burgers ‘N Lagers event, with nine different lagers from across the province pouring, so you’ll be sure to find a beer that pairs with their Green Chili Cheeseburger.

Doing the Good Work out in Lower Sackville, TAPestry Beer Bar is celebrating NS Craft Beer Month with plenty of great things on the go. All month long, visit their spot at 833 Sackville Drive on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday, and receive a ballot to win a mixed 24-pack of Nova Scotia Craft Beer. 2 drink minimum on this, but we’re sure there’ll be plenty of great choices enticing you! 

And why wait for Sunday if you’re thirsty tonight, right?! As if you need another reason to visit, Bryan, the Head Brewer from Antigonish’s Candid Brewing will be slinging beer and telling stories this evening at TAPestry, the first in a series guest bartenders from across the NS Beer industry to be dropping in and holding events this month. Keep your eyes peeled on their Facebook and IG page for the latest news, where you’ll be the first to peep their “Meet the Brewers” series, short videos on the history, present, and future of breweries in the province being released this month.

Phew! So, that’s every weekend sorted for the next month, how about today, what should you be ordering or picking up for the weekend ahead? Here are a few more ideas for you…

Speaking of Propeller Brewing, their Wild IPA is back on the shelves and taps today. This 6.2% funky friend is a blend of Brettanomyces-fermented IPA that has been hanging out in oak barrels for months, plus a freshly-brewed IPA chock-full of Nelson Sauvin hops. The resulting hybrid is overflowing with white wine and gooseberry notes thanks to the hops, with plenty of funky hay notes from the Brett-aged beer. On tap and in cans at all three Propeller locations (Gottingen, Windmill, and Quinpool), online for delivery and Canada-wide shipping, as well as at the private beer stores in the province, and even to some better ANBL locations. Score!

Proving that there are no size restrictions on trying to do some good in the world, one of the region’s smallest breweries, Delta Force Brewing in Greenwich, NS, a highly confidential location, is gearing up to participate in the Make Peace Not War Beer Project, an initiative where breweries pledge to share (at least) 10% of the proceeds of the sales of a given beer to charity and in return they get to use the super spiffy label provided. In this case, the folks at ∂F have elected to share 40% of the proceeds with the Ukrainian Red Cross. Since this is a no-recipe collaboration project, the brewery gets to brew what they want. In this case, it’s a dry hopped farmshed sour, coming in at 4.2% ABV and 5 IBU. Order it online and drink now for the hoppiest possible experience, or, better yet, order a couple (or a few!) and let one sit for a little while (up to two years, they say) and see how the Brett develops! Available now from the ∂F webstore for delivery. 

Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider has two new releases this week for cider fans. First up is Vanilla, a 6% ABV cider using all Nova Scotia apples, that includes an addition of steeped vanilla beans. This one features notes of cream soda and a lingering vanilla flavour. Next up is Black Currant, weighing in at the same ABV, but this time featuring pressed and fermented black currants. Expect more tannic notes from this full bodied cider that pours a delicate pink colour thanks to the fruit. Check out the taproom on Portland Street for both of these newbies.

On North Street in Halifax, Unfiltered Brewing is totally getting into the spirit of things by making sure to release a batch of their tropically delicious Inducement DIPA in time for you to enjoy during Craft Beer Month. Nobody’s going to pay you to drink it, and no, they’re not even going to give you any Airmiles for buying it (that sounds soooorta like a bit of an…inducement to us, how about you?). They’re just going to give you delicious hoppy as hell beer in return for your hard earned cash (or filthy lucre, if that’s all you’ve got). If you’re going to celebrate something about craft beer, that’s probably as good a place to start as any. Available today at noon at the brewery and for pints at Charm School.

Dartmouth’s Spindrift Brewing has queued up a new release for both their shelves at the Brewery and tasting room in Burnside as well as their taproom in Antigonish. Seeker Vanilla Stout is pretty self-descriptive, taking the coffee and chocolate notes of their Seeker Espresso Stout and upping the ante with a “massive” dose of vanilla, yielding a, “smooth, cozy, and incredibly drinkable treat.” Built on a base of Pilsner malt, with chocolate malt, Carafa III, CaraMunich, Amber, and Double-roasted Caramel specialty malts providing deep colour, richness, and roastiness, it was hopped with classic German varieties Magnum and Perle. Coming in at 6.3% ABV, it’s got some bite, but we’ll warrant that the vanilla smooths it right out. We believe this one’s been canned, so you’ll be able to grab some to go!

And just so you don’t think that all the beery fun is going down in Nova Scotia this week, here’s a smattering from at least two of the other three Atlantic Provinces!

Over to Borden-Carleton PEI for a new release that hit the taps and shelves late last week. Lone Oak Brewing plugged into Czech inspiration to create Cervene, an Amber Lager. Brewed with malt from Shoreline Malting just down the road from them, and hopped with Saaz grown by Lakeview Hop Farm of Harvey Station, New Brunswick, Cervene is Amber in appearance with a lovely Noble hop character and a floral finish, on a moderately bitter base. The beer was lagered for 6 weeks and naturally carbonated, sealing in that precious carbon dioxide for a smooth and crisp take. Available on tap and in cans at the brewery, and on draught at beer beer bars on and off the island soon.
Lone Oak has a full weekend of events, including Family Feud tonight, Live Music tomorrow, and a Sunday Brunch with live music. More details here. And for those wondering, the Milky Way Brewpub in town renovations are moving along nicely, and they are aiming for an opening in about 6 weeks. Keep an eye open here and on their SM account for the exact details, and there may even be a special cross-Confed Collab release hitting the shelves at the same time! 😉

Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewing is continuing to brew up new and interesting beers to complement their standard lineup. This week’s example is Concord Grape Sour, which they hope proves that grapes aren’t just for wine. Look for notes of that nostalgically familiar “grapiness” that you know and love from Grape Crush, Grape Freezies, and Grape Popsicles (or, as Homer Simpson so eloquently put it, “Mmmmmmm…..Puuuuurple.”) Available both in cans and on tap, you can sit at the taproom and have a pint or grab some to go. Also, if you’ll remember last week we told you that Tire Shack is expanding and are consequently looking for additional staff. They’ve let us know they are accepting resumes until the end of the month and to keep ‘em coming folks!!

Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing has a new version of a previously released beer for you this week, their Major Tom Watermelon Sour. Still 5% ABV and 12ish IBU, the change might not be immediately noticeable to the drinking public, but we’re pretty sure it’s quite a change for the brew team! Instead of souring the beer in a traditional way, brewing a wort and then letting it sour over a period of hours before running it off or introducing Lactobacillus-producing bacteria before or after regular fermentation, this beer leverages a new yeast that produces both lactic acid and alcohol at the same time! With watermelon concentrate providing a fruity and summery feel, this 5% ABV and 12 IBU beer should have you in mind of a Jolly Rancher with a little bit of malt presence from plenty of 2-row malt and Centennial hops to remind you it’s a beer. Grab it at the Brewery, CBC, Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse in Burnsdie, and, we presume, other places where you find Upstreet products.

Next month will see the 2022 edition of the annual East Coast Music Awards taking place in Fredericton from May 4th to 8th, and for the second year running, a special beer will be brewed to both celebrate and slake the thirst of attendees. This year’s beer is once again a collaboration between a consortium of breweries, with each Atlantic province represented: Garrison Brewing and Breton Brewing from NS, Quidi Vidi from NL, Upstreet in PE, and this year’s “host” brewery, Grimross from NB, who brewed the beer. Dubbed ECMAle Track 2: Fredericton, it’s a delightful light Pale Ale, from which proceeds will help to grow and promote our amazing music scene in this end of the country. Look for it to appear region-wide as the festival nears.