Lightfoot & Wolfville

All posts tagged Lightfoot & Wolfville

We’re heading for a weekend of weather and COVID restrictions across the Atlantic region, so we strongly encourage you to read quickly and make your moves if you haven’t already stocked up on beer for the weekend. After you’ve checked your fave brewery’s social media to make sure they’re open, of course. Hopefully they are, because plenty of them have new beers on the go that you’re sure to want to try. So read on!

Kicking off this week is an inter-provincial collaboration between two breweries with deep, interconnected roots. Alicia MacDonald of Port Rexton Brewing grew up in Truro, and in fact had originally planned to open a brewery in the town, before co-founding PRBC in 2016. While returning to the area this Labour Day, MacDonald spent the day at Truro Brewing Company with Jana Dellapina, concocting something for the coming months. The result of that wondrous day is available now! Quiet Company is an English-style Barleywine, where the hops take the back seat to bold caramel and malt notes. After fermentation, it spent several weeks in a Bourbon barrel from Raging Crow Distillery in nearby North River, where it took on plenty of great vanilla and spirit notes. Originally conceived as an accompaniment to the Matt Anderson song of the same name, Quiet Company is available now in bottles at TBC’s Inglis Place location.

Tanner & Co Brewing in Chester has a brand new hybrid release available exclusively in their Duke Street taproom/retail spot this week. Maybe even a hybrid of a hybrid, as one half of Ambrosia began life as their Kuhlmann featuring Rye and Vienna malts complementing the base Pilsner malt, which was fermented with the natural wild yeasts of the Lucie Kuhlmann grape pomace that was added to the wort. While some was drawn off for the original release, this portion was allowed to age for an additional year on the skins, grabbing more complexity and drying the beer out further. Blended to it was Original Mead, and the resulting assemblage allowed to develop for longer still. As there were only a few cases of Ambrosia produced, you’ll have to go straight to the source to grab them, but we can attest that the visit is worth your time! Also on the shelves and draught is the returning Dunkelweizen, their take on the classic dark wheat beer, featuring banana and chocolate notes.

Quidi Vidi Brewing is celebrating the latest release in their on-going series of homebrewer contest winners from the Newfermenters competition. Wisdom and Wit is the winning beer from Howard Haby, and is true to the original Belgian Witbier style as it features notes of Coriander and citrus, with a hint of chamomile. This 4.1% ABV can is available at their Hops Shop as well online for same-day delivery. 

Also available online now are memberships for Flight Club. Limited to fewer than 200 people, this membership will allow folks early (and sometimes exclusive) access to new and returning beers, their own 20oz mug (to be stored at the taproom), as well as five private events throughout the year. Check that link for more details!

Not many details on this one, but Grimross Brewing has released the latest in their Scratch series this week, Scratch 26: IPA. At 6.5% ABV, this looks to be a West Coast style IPA, with grapefruit, pine, and floral notes coming through. Also out now is a collaboration with the GTFO Adventure Club, Local Legend. $1 from every pint of this juicy pale ale poured will go to their “Give The F Back” Fund. While the taproom may be closing due to return to Level 3 restrictions, both of these are available for growler fills to take away. Stay safe, NB pals!

Propeller Brewing has three pilot-batch beers out now/coming soon, so let’s get you up to speed with them. Available in growlers today at all three of their retail locations, as well as on tap at the newly-reopened Gottingen Street taproom, is Vic Secret Dry-Hopped Sour. This 4.8% tart and refreshing sour ale features loads of fuzzy peach, tangerine, and grapefruit notes thanks to plenty of Vic Secret hops added post-fermentation, on top of a clean acidic base.

Coming soon to the taps are a couple more from their Quinpool Road 300 litre pilot system, in two totally different styles. Bru-1 IPA showcases the hop of the same name, with a fruit salad of flavours like pineapple, melon, and strawberries, and thanks to the Sacch Brux yeast, it finishes fruity, dry, with a hint of acidity. At 6.0% and 70 IBU, rest assured there’s a lot packed into this one! And at the other end of the spectrum is Pineapple & Banana Hefeweizen, a 4.5% switch on the traditional German wheat style, as it was fermented on pineapple puree to bring out that fruit and complement the banana notes from the yeast. Hopyard Halifax has picked up a keg of this to pour soon, and Dartmouth’s Battery Park has grabbed all three to be tapped sometime soon.

Tusket Falls has a new one out this week in their Experimental Beer series, for fans in both Yarmouth County and HRM. The mysteriously nameless Session IPA comes in at 4.6% and features lots of tropical fruit notes from the auditions of Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe and Columbus hops. You can also expect notes of melon, pear, lime zest and stone fruit to accompany a soft body and moderate finishing bitterness. This one is on tap-only at Tusket’s two taprooms. 

Fredericton’s Trailway Brewing is ringing in the new year by revisiting one of their core brands with a bit of a refresh. You might have noticed over the past few months that many of Trailway’s products have received the proverbial “lick of paint” in terms of their branding. Today we can tell you that one of their original core brands, Rype has had that treatment, but also a modification to what’s in the can. The name “Rype” was a play on rye malt, which was originally one of the ingredients. Well no more! Both the rye malt and the crystal malt previously present in the recipe are no longer there, and you can think of “Rype” as a nod to the ripe fruit notes provided by the showcased Mosaic hops. A little drier than it was, thanks to the lack of crystal and the addition of bready Munich malt and some wheat as well, and more refreshing, look for the same tropical fruit notes and dankness, but with a more pure hop expression. Look for it to start appearing wherever you get your Trailway fix, it’s already on the shelves at the brewery.

We’ll leave you today with a ton of news coming to you from Brunswick Street in Halifax, as 2 Crows Brewing celebrates their 5th Anniversary this month. Not ones to do anything in half measures, they are releasing 9 new beers in celebration of their Wood Anniversary (fitting, as several of these will have spent time in their barrels and foedres). The first to be released are a pair of grape-heavy beauts, Bunch and Tobeatic Wild. Bunch is a Berliner Weisse, that is a low abv (3.2%) wheat beer, low in hops, and co-fermented with Lactobacillus to give an acidic kick. Starting life back in February 2020 (ah, the Before Times), the beer lived in its Port barrel primary fermentation vessel until the end of the year, when it was transferred to stainless to rest, before the addition of pureed Concord grapes in the summer. After a couple of months on the fruit, the beer was bottled and allowed to carbonate naturally in the bottle. The resultant beer shows a lovely purple hue, is zippy and spritzy due to the acidic component, with the grape notes shining through. Available in 375ml bottles in store and online now.

Tobeatic Wild is also available now, but in the 355ml can format. Its history is a little more recent, starting from the same base beer as Molten Mirrors, a recently-released collaboration with London’s (ON) Beerlab!. MM was billed as a “Saison/Lager hybrid”, with base grains of Pilsner, rice, and spelt, hopped with Saphir and Huell Melon, and fermented with their house Saison culture. After completion, the temperature was lowered, and an actively-fermenting lager yeast was added (krausening technique) and the beer allowed to further condition and develop at cold temperature. After removing the bulk of the volume to package Molten Mirrors, the several hectolitres left were hit with 800kg of freshly-pressed L’Acadie grape skins (aka pomace) from the Valley’s Lightfoot & Wolfville winery. With plenty of sugar and tannic acid still left in those skins, it also picked up a touch of wild yeast which will no doubt show through the delicate 5.4% beer. Carbing was also done in-can, so expect a little bit of (safe to enjoy) yeast residue at the end. Spritzy Saison/Grisette citrus vibes galore with floral and honey aromatics as well. Like Bunch, TW is available for ordering and pick up today. For more on their love affair with grapes, and L&W, check out this post.

2 Crows have also shown their hand for the rest of the Anniversary releases, which can be consulted on their IG page. As a few of them are extremely limited, they opened up early pre-order access to their newsletter subscribers. So if you are keen on getting early/first access to other releases, we figure it’s the second-best beer list you should subscribe to. For those who want to grab one of each of the Anniversary releases (minus the pastry stouts) in a bundle, you can order yourself a bundle now. Note that the bundle is not available for pickup, delivery, or shipping until January 28th, when the final beer will be released. And if you become a subscriber, you can unlock the Newsletter-only version of that bundle, which features a special branded Arome glass in the box.

“Pastry Stouts?”, you say? Yup! Next week will see the release of two extremely limited Pastry Stouts based on Big Turk and Nanaimo bars, both topping the scale at “11.9%” ABV. While half of the bottles were offered and snapped up by newsletter subscribers, the other half (16 bottles of each) will be available at noon, January 20th, split evenly between online and in store options. Think grape, cherry, and chocolate with Big Turk, and vanilla, coconut, and chocolate for the Nanaimo offering. Also releasing on the 20th is Mountain Shadow, a 10.3% Baltic Porter, which was conditioned with Marquette grape pomace, and features cacao nibs for extra dark chocolate character. 355ml cans of this will be available both online and in store.

Let’s bring this in for a landing with their plans for the final weekend of the month. On Saturday, Jan 29th, they will have a food pop-up in the brewery, as RNB Kitchen serves up some warming and satisfying soul food, with both dine-in (assuming regs allow it) and take-out options available 2 – 7 PM that day. And the oft celebrated (and almost as oft maligned the next morning) Sour Sunday will be Jan 30, with a full board of recent and returning favourite sours on draught, plus shots of Pepto and Tums in case anyone needs them.

 

The great news keeps rolling out in our region, with New Brunswick entering Phase 1, and almost immediately Phase 2, of their Path to Green, with Nova Scotia allowing in-person dining and drinking Wednesday, allowing many of our favourite watering holes to re-open. And the re-imagined Atlantic (and Maine?) Bubble looks to become a reality next week as vaccine uptake and recoveries trend up, and case numbers trend down. We’re doing it folks, it’s happening! Let’s celebrate with more than a dozen new beer, plenty of events, and new openings to tell you about this week!

One of the spots that has been able to open this week is a brand new Nova Scotia-only beer bar in Lower Sackville, years in development and months in the construction. Tapestry Beer Bar is located at 833 Sackville Drive, just up from the Beaverbank Connector Road at Exit 2 of the 101. Concentrating on “the smaller breweries around the Province that don’t have a footprint in the HRM”, Tapestry owner Ian Smith is a long-time beer fan, and has driven across the province seeking out breweries that may not otherwise be pouring in the area. The 20-tap draught system features beer and cider from Yarmouth to Sydney, with Heritage Brewing, Hell Bay, Horton Ridge, Tanner & Co, Smokehouse Nano, Hilltop Hops, Harbour, and Big Spruce showcasing the best from away on their initial tap list, as well as locals such as Off Track, Lake City, Unfiltered, and fellow Sackville establishment Ol’ Biddy’s. Even with COVID restrictions, there is plenty of room for those looking to pop in for a pint, with seating for 50 in 10 bubbles in booths, lounging spaces, and stools at the bar. Beer and cider is the focus at Tapestry, with visitors allowed to bring their own food if they’d like, taking advantage of their great location, with Pizzadelic and Apt 3 Coffee in the same building, and Mary Brown’s and Kaiser’s Subs just a quick walk away. Open Tuesday to Friday 2 – 11 PM, and Saturday and Sunday 12 – 11 PM, be sure to pop by and support the Tapestry crew in their quest to bring more great beer to Lower Sackville!

If you’ve been paying attention to your beery social media this week, you may have noticed that TrailWay has been hyping a collaboration with an Ontario brewery that they recently did (virtually, of course) and would be releasing this week. That beer – and the info to go with it! – has finally dropped as of yesterday, so here’s the scoop to get you fired up on your way over to TW’s taproom in Fredericton to grab some cans. The beer, The Big Dance, was brewed with Town Brewery from Whitby, ON. Like TrailWay, Town has a majority of their beers in the “hazy and hoppy” category, and is definitely well-regarded in that particular area (at least). The two breweries discovered that they have more in common than just their tastes – a staff member at Town has a parent who went to prom with a parent of one of the TW co-owners, hence the name of the beer! The beer itself is an APA that was hopped with no-doubt large amounts of Amarillo, Strata, and Eclipse, with hibiscus flowers and passion fruit also added during the brewing process. The beer is looking hazy and pink, giving off “notes of passion fruit, freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice, red beers, and tropical fruit, with some floral and herbal character”, all thanks to the hibiscus, fruit and hop additions. You can find it on tap and in cans at the brewery, but don’t wait to pick some up, as it likely won’t be around too long.

Time flies at Upstreet Brewing, where they’re releasing the 6th version of their annual De Novo series. De Novo VI – Dry Hopped Pineapple Tangerine Saison will be available next week, and for the first time, is being packaged in cans. This one starts with pilsner malt and wheat from Island Malt House, plus an addition of Simpsons Golden Naked Oats.  It was then dry-hopped with Bru-1 and Mandarina Bavaria before additions of pineapple and tangerine concentrates. De Novo VI pours a light orange color with notes of banana, stone fruit, tropical fruit and bubblegum. Some slightly spicy yeast notes round out the 5% ABV Saison. Although De Novo is being released next week, Upstreet’s sixth anniversary is not until June 26. Check this space next week for more details on their planned celebration. 

We mentioned last week that Tatamagouche Brewing is celebrating their 7th anniversary this week and that they’d be releasing some new beers to celebrate, and sure enough, they’ve delivered! Four brand new beers hit the taps and retail this week, two smaller and lighter, and two of the bigger and more complex variety. Starting with the summer refresher side of the spectrum, we have Ketch, a classic Berliner Weiße coming in at 3.1% ABV. 355 mL can- and keg-conditioned, it was fermented with a combination of lactobacillus and a traditional German Kölsch yeast in the primary before a secondary fermentation spell with the Berliner brettanomyces strain from Escarpment Labs. Bright and acidic, but also featuring some funk, this could very well be one of the rare small beers that benefits from some time in the cellar. That said, we’re pretty confident that it’ll be pretty dang tasty right away, on it’s own or with traditional woodruff or other fruit syrups!

The other “light and lively” beer this week is Wherry, a 3.8% grisette. Fermented with Escarpment Labs’ New World Saison yeast blend, which contains both saccharomyces and brettanomyces strains for a rustic charm, the beer itself is also a blend of barrel-aged and stainless steel conditioned versions of the same base beer, with the neutral oak of the barrel side really popping in the finished beer. Continuing with the trend of packaging smaller beers in smaller formats, this one is also in 355 mL cans.

On to the bigger, bolder beers, the first new offering is actually a variation on one of the brewery’s longest-running beers, an award-winning IPA that’s been going strong since September of 2015: Deception Bay. Still very much in the West Coast style for IPA, featuring Huell Melon, Mandarina Bavaria, and Citra hops, it provided a suitably hoppy base for Resurgence a new barrel-aged Brett IPA. Basically DB packed into a barrel with some brettanomyces for a while, before a quick and modest dry hop of Huell Melon, this 6.8% beer was then can- and keg-conditioned to produce a drier, funkier, and somewhat fruitier version of the original. Contributing to the character as well were the previous two hoppy residents of the barrel (and there’s another one in there now, so stay tuned!). Look for this one in 473 mL cans.

And the last of the four new releases this week is Vintage Lane, a barrel-aged saison that was aged on Muscat grape skins and in barrels both from Jost Vineyards. A blend of two saisons, one of which is essentially the Edel from a few years ago, this beer celebrates the brewery’s connection with “the vineyard down the road.” Coming in at 6.6% ABV, it was (500 mL) bottle- and keg-conditioned, with the bottle artwork echoing that connection. Look for all of these beers to be available in packaged format direct from the brewery in the coming days, at various Tata tap accounts throughout the province, and potentially at some of the private stores. We’ve been advised that Stillwell HQ should have all four of these on tap at some point, The Freehouse Ketch and Wherry, and on the packaged side, Bishop’s Cellar is expected to have the Ketch. If you wish to go direct, you can grab pints at the taproom or get free shipping all weekend long by using the promo code 7YEARS at checkout at the Tata Online Store. And a very happy Anniversary from all of us here to Matt and Christiane and the rest of the gang!!

North Brewing has teamed up with a trio of local partners for their newest release, Twice the Wild, a barrel aged Belgian Dubbel. The beer was brewed in September 2020 with help from the guys at A for Adventure, using base malts sourced from PEI’s Shoreline Malting. The brew day also saw the addition of Lucie Kuhlmann grapes from the 2nd partner in the collaboration, Benjamin Bridge. The beer was then fermented with Sacch. Trois and barrel aged for six months in neutral wine barrels, before refermentation in stainless tanks using local honey from Casman & Widden. The result is a bottle conditioned, 8.0% Dubbel that also offers great cellaring potential. Which brings us to the final partner in the collab, the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. NSNT is currently in the midst of its Twice the Wild campaign, where a group of funders have agreed to match donations at four times their value! $5 from every bottle of Twice the Wild will go to the campaign, which means every bottle you buy leads to $25 that will be used to protect and conserve lands in Nova Scotia. Grab it today at North’s two retail locations in Dartmouth or for delivery via their online store. And if you’re there in-person, why not stay for a smashie from their taproom restaurant, Side Hustle, which is now open for indoor and patio dining.

With a big weekend of returning to in-person indoor service in Nova Scotia, you had to expect 2 Crows would decide to gift everyone* with a couple of exciting new releases that are the result of an exciting new collaboration between 2C and Lightfoot & Wolfville vineyard. First up is Vitis, a lager beer that was brewed with Riesling piquette. In the grand tradition of 2C making some of the most ambitious (read: complicated) beers in the region, this one takes a little explaining. It all started with a Pilsner that was brewed with a little bit of wheat, hopped in the kettle with Hallertau Blanc and fermented cool with Mexican Lager yeast. Towards the end of fermentation a small amount of that beer was used to make a piquette along with water and a “whole lot” of fresh Riesling pomace from L&W. The piquette was allowed to pass peak sugar content, but not to fully ferment out by the natural yeasts present on the grape skins, before being transferred to tank with the remainder of the lager, where the whole shebang was capped and, essentially, krausened with the remaining grape sugars instead of wort. Once target gravity was reached, the temperature was dropped and the beer was lagered for eight weeks. The result is a “crisp and lively” light lager that also features Riesling character in the form of pear, melon, and honeyed citrus. Complex, yes, nuanced, sure! but crushable too at 4.6% ABV and 11 IBU! Look for it on tap and in 355 mL cans at the brewery right away, and likely some other places as time goes on.

Part two of this collaboration is a true Piquette, one that doesn’t contain any beer, but definitely has a brewer’s touch to it. This one started with Scheurebe grapes, a lesser-known variety grown largely in Germany and Austria that’s known for being highly aromatic and being used to produce sweeter wines. For this piquette, L&W picked and crushed the grapes, then 2 Crows grabbed the resulting pomace and trucked it back to the brewery where it was macerated in water for several weeks. From there, the water chemistry was adjusted and the natural yeasts present on the skins were allowed to ferment it out before a light dry hop of Saphir and Mandarina Bavaria provided the finishing aromatic touches. Conditioned with local honey, the result is Scheurebe Piquette, a 4.3% ABV refreshing  beverage with notes of grapefruit and a bit of ginger on top of a soft minerality. You can find it for in-person enjoyment at release parties this afternoon at Lightfoot & Wolfville and tomorrow at 2 Crows. You’ll be able to purchase 355 mL cans to go on-site at L&W this weekend or next week at Bishop’s Cellar. Unfortunately, due to NSLC regulations†, 2 Crows can’t actually sell this one to go in packaged form.

* Ed.: except maybe those of us who have to write it all up

† Ed.: Fucking SERIOUSLY?!

After major renovations, a few can-sales-only weekends, and a pause to right themselves, Tidehouse Brewing’s Slightly-Less-Tiny-Tasting-Taproom is open once again. Open Wednesday through Saturday, 4 – 11 PM, owner/brewer Shean Higgins is concentrating efforts on getting the good stuff in your glass at their spot at 5187 Salter Street, with less of a focus on packaging for the time being. Growlers are on pause, with can sales winding down, so that the offerings from their small brewhouse keep the taps stocked. Those taps are full right now, with 6 beers flowing, including Chrysalis Cream Ale (5.5%), Hibiscus City Sour w/ lime and hibiscus (4.5%), Saddle Up IPA w/ Enigma, Eclipse, and Citra (7.0%), Peachy Fuzzies Sour w/ Peach Rooibos Tea from World Tea House (4.5%), Mars Imperial Stout w/ blackberries & Mars bars (11.0%), and Goth Stout American Stout (5.0%). Learn more about the renovations, beers, and everything else in the latest 902 BrewCast which dropped on #902Tuesday.

Remember when 902 BrewCast used to interview brewers and other beer industry professionals?! We promise, that was a thing. Well, they are back in business this week with a 2+ hour interview with Tidehouse’s Shean Higgins and Sprindrift’s Jeff Green. Updates from both breweries, changes at CBANS, and what they’re looking forward to drinking this summer. Check out the episode here, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaking of Spindrift Brewing, let’s get you up to date with all of the news coming out of Burnside… Firstly, as mentioned in the 902BC, they’ve just completed an expansion/beautifying of their outdoor seating area, The Spinyard, where folks can lap up the sun while enjoying samples and pints from the brewery at 21 Frazee Avenue, open Tuesday – Friday 11 – 5:30 and Saturday 11 – 4:30. One of the new offerings you can find on tap is a new addition to their core offerings, Sea Glass IPA, a NEIPA weighing in at 7.0% ABV, featuring a light and pale malt bill, with plenty of late- and dry-hopping of Amarillo, Azacca, and Vic Secret, resulting in a soft mouthfeel and blast of pineapple, mango, and lemon. Joining the core lineup is SunDaze, a 4.8% ABV Pale Ale, featuring the lovely Galaxy and Centennial hops, giving great notes of pine, grapefruit, and passion fruit. Both are on tap now for growler fills and pints, and cans to go (SunDaze is coming reeeeeal soon to cans), and hitting the NSLC in the coming weeks.

Spindrift also has a new seasonal on tap, Strawberry Run, a 5.0% ABV Ale, lightly- hopped with Comet, before undergoing a secondary fermentation on Strawberry puree, with Key Lime juice which delivers plenty of acidity to keep it refreshing. Pints and growlers now, cans coming soon to Burnside and NSLC locations. And they have let us know that their Spindrift Oak Manor location in downtown Antigonish will be opening soon, almost certainly (probably maybe) before the end of June! Pair that with the massive expansion at their Burnside location, and a brand refresh, there’s plenty of new excitement from the crew.

Cornwall’s Village Green is back at it with two new releases. First up is Milk Stout, which starts with a mix of English malts and includes the addition of lactose, per the style. Milk Stout comes in at a sessionable 4.2% ABV and with just enough bitterness at 20 IBUs. Check it out today on tap in Cornwall, where it is also available to-go in cans. Next up is A Lager Bier, Village Green’s first foray into the world of bottom-fermenting. This one uses Vienna malt, which gives a nice bready note, and is hopped with German Tettnanger. A Lager Bier is on tap now at the brewery.

Antigonish’s Candid Brewing continues its run of new Friday releases with a pair of entries to their core lineup. First announced is Lagerish, a 4.8% Kolsch-style lagered ale, brewed to be bright, crisp, clean, and refreshing. Joining it is Town Crier, named in celebration of the former newspaper and publisher tenant of their 88 College Street location. A 5.0% Altbier-style bier, this clear copper beer is brewed to let the malt shine through, without hops taking centre stage. Six different beers are available to go today 1 – 6 PM and again tomorrow from 1 – 4 PM. And those in HRM will soon be able to enjoy Candid in their mugs, as kegs are being sent to Dartmouth’s Battery Park in the coming weeks.

Hey hey, check it out! Events can kinda be a thing again!!

The Saint John area is celebrating Craft Beverage Week, with a full load of events wrapping up tomorrow. But before they do, you still have time to:

Get on out and support those producers in the region!

Also on the go today in New Brunswick is the launch of CAVOK Brewing’s new satellite taproom and retail spot in Cap-Pelé. Located at 150 Allée du Parc, it’s just steps from Aboiteau Beach, and shares the building with Restaurant à la Dune. While their neighbours handle your food needs, CAVOK’s 12 taps and retail fridge can handle everything else! Their location features a large deck overlooking the beach and water with seating for more than 50 people, and if the weather isn’t lovely, there’s room for the same inside. They even fill growlers, but if you’re headed to the beach, no glass, eh! The beach location is open from noon until late every day this summer, and pouring favourites and new arrivals like the Red Knight Hibiscus IPA and Echo Saison, light and refreshing and with a robust amount of hops. More good beer in more places, we can dig that!

Coming to your screens this week is the latest project from the duo behind the very successful Beerocracy New Brunswick beer movie released a few years ago. Shauna and Alex hit the road across the Maritimes again last year, producing Maritime Spirits, profiling craft alcohol producers across the region. The first Season is now available on Bell TV1 (either through your TV or online portal), and features visits to Moonshine Creek Distillery, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, New Scotland Brewing., Deep Roots Distillery, Tire Shack Brewery, Dunhams Run Estate Winery, Trailway Brewing, Jost Vineyards, and Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault. You can check out the trailer here, and see plenty of behind-the-scenes fun on their Facebook page.

And a last few quick hits on our way out the door for a lunchtime beer:

Corner Brook’s Boomstick Brewing has a pair of new beer out this week, the first is the latest in their Drawing Board Series, debuting in a 4-can Boombox mixer pack that is available across the province now. Rosemary Hibiscus Gose pretty much describes itself, with the 4.5% lightly tart sour ale featuring a touch of salinity, and using rosemary as a complement to the coriander the traditional German recipe employs. And drawing inspiration from their own Hew and Draw hotel at 55 West Street, Hewers Light Lager is a 3.9% American Light Lager, light bodied, crisp, and refreshing. Available on-site as well as in NLC, Maries Mini Mart, and Orange Stores across the province (on its own and in the aforementioned Boombox Mixer packs).

Garrison Brewing has brought back the first winner of their Home Brew-Off competition,Nit Wit Belgian Style Wheat beer. Brewed in the Witbier style, this O.G. hazy beer style features orange peel and coriander to lend some citrus and spice to the character the yeast has already imparted. Cans are available now at both their Seaport and Oxford locations, and can be enjoyed on tap there as well.

Hopheads in Conception Bay Stout can treat themselves to the newest release from Ninepenny Brewing, The Devil’s Jackstone. This 8.9% DIPA is now available in the taproom and on select taps around St. John’s. Look for it to make its way into cans next week.

Rounding off the news this week is the Return of the Mack, DOA (aka Double Orange Ale), from Unfiltered Brewing. Single-hopped with boatloads of Citra, the blast of citrus entering every one of your orifices is enough to power up your weekend. Grab it in cans to go, or even better, their new corral on North Street, allowing them to serve pints onsite at Charm School for the first time in way too long.

As we wind our way through January, Dry or not, the new beer and returning favourites, continue unabated. Whatever you’re drinking these days (or caching away in the cellar for Feb 1), we think there will be something in today’s post that will tickle your fancy. Let’s get this show on the road without any further ado!

Cornwall, PEI’s Modern Brewer’s Village Green continues to release an onslaught of new beers, as they flex their brewing chops in several different directions. This week’s new bevvy is the simply-named Simcoe Pale Ale. Taking advantage of the iconic eponymous hop’s citrus aroma and flavour (think clementine, VG encourages us), the base is made up of Island Malt House Pilsner, Wheat, and Oat malts, for a light and airy mouthfeel that keeps you going back for another sip. Simcoe is exclusively available on tap for pints or growlers, and in cans at Village Green’s location at 30 Church Street, where you can grab a meal or snack at their pals Holy Fox Food Truck too. And while you’re there, be sure to grab the details on their Draught Beer Appreciation Society, so you can become a member too!

It wouldn’t be a Friday if we didn’t have an encyclopedic amount of information to dump on you about new beers from 2 Crows… seriously, don’t those guys have anything better to do than brew beer? Apparently not, because we’ve got two new ones to report on this week, so best to stop complaining and just get on with it already!

First off is Novello, another collaboration beer brewed with the fine folks at Bannerman Brewing. While not an actual in-person collab, naturally (thanks, COVID!), both breweries were involved in crafting the recipe, which was also very much inspired by their first beer brewed together, Vinello. Originally brewed last summer with Pilsner and Rye malt from Island Malt House, the wort was hopped heavily with Sterling (to 48 IBUs), and then fermented in one of 2C’s foedres with an assortment of their house yeast cultures. It hung out in there for about five months, awaiting an addition of macerated Riesling pomace from Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards. After the pomace was added, the beer conditioned for another month before being canned and can-conditioned. The final, 4.5% ABV beer is “lively and fresh, with soft Riesling aromatics, a touch of acidity, and snappy funk”. 

Next up is Colourful Language, a solo-brewed beer that also features wine from Lightfoot & Wolfville. Brewed last June with a grist of Shoreline Pilsner, Wheat malt, and unmalted wheat, it was hopped lightly with Sterling and aged noble hops. The wort was fermented and aged in another of the brewery’s foedres with a blend of Sacch and Brett yeasts, as well as Lactobacillus cultures, for approximately four months. In October, about 400 kg of fresh Marquette pomace from L&W was added directly into the foedre, along with 300 lbs of plum; the beer sat for another six weeks to allow the sugars from the fruit to ferment out, before being canned and can-conditioned. The result is a 5.6% ABV beer that is “playful and peppy, vibrant and juicy”, with no doubt some lovely wine and plum character coming through. 

Both of these beauties are available at the brewery starting today. While you’re grabbing some, note that they’ve got a freshly-canned batch of Waltz in their fridges that you should also pick up! This 5.5% ABV German Pilsner is always crisp and refreshing, and a great palate cleanser for some of those more intensely-flavoured beers that are currently surrounding it at the brewery. This batch features a slightly increased dry-hop, bumping the herbal qualities a little.

Lunenburg’s brewing pride and joy, Shipwright Brewing, has two brand new beers pouring at their taproom downtown… and depending on how you look at it, maybe four beers! In this case, we’re referring to their Shifting Tides Berliner Weisse, their take on the classic German low-ABV, sour style. Shipwright brewed theirs with Shoreline Pilsner and Wheat malt, and a very light addition of Hallertau Blanc hops (to only 3 IBUs). Lactobacillus was used to provide some acidity in this 3.6% ABV beer, to go with the light funk present from fermentation. You can enjoy this one as-is, or order it with an addition of raspberry or woodruff syrup, as is often traditional for the style in Germany. Or, order all three!

Next is the brewery’s latest hoppy offering, Seafarer IPA. With a grist made up of Maris Otter, Caramel malt, Rye and Oats, and hopped heavily with Citra and Idaho 7. Weighing in at 6.7% ABV and 65 IBUs, expect some malt character to break through with notes of “light sweetness, bread, honey and spice”, complementing all of that grapefruit, pine, and tropical flavours from all of those hops. As mentioned, both beers are available at the taproom, for pints or crowlers-to-go. 

Fredericton’s hop maestros Trailway Brewing are bringing new batches of a couple of their hoppiest brews today with fresh batches of Green Island and Box Theories hitting the taps and the fridges. Green Island is (one of) their ultra-juicy IPA(s) featuring Idaho 7 and Cashmere hops for notes of pineapple, peach, and sweet citrus in a hazy 6% package. On the somewhat stiffer, but no less hazy or juicy, end of the spectrum is Box Theories, a recipe developed to show off some the new hotness on the hop market, Strata. With some old hotness mixed in as well in the form of Citra and Mosaic, you can expect elements of mango, apricot, peach and nectarine, and perhaps a tinge of blueberry coming through on the finish. This one’s going to hit a little harder, though, at 8% ABV, so rather than planning anything strenuous maybe just sink a little further into that comfy chair and have another one.

In other Trailway news, is something decidedly less hoppy. Not only are they continuing with their foray into the world of German beers, they’ve announced that they are packaging one “for the first time.” We’re guessing that means they’ve forgotten all about their flagship kölsch (pouring in mass quantity at The Drome), Candlepin, and their long-running German Pilsner Yada Yada, but we’ll let that slide because we’re all lager lovers here and MOAR LAGER is a good thing. You won’t be surprised to learn, then, that we’re excited because this new beer, Ramifications is a Helles (German for “pale”) lager. Described as “clean, smooth, round, and soft,” which is everything a Helles should be, you have every right to expect this to be an immensely quaffable beer at 4.3% ABV. Look for it, the above pair of hop monsters, and everything else the gang at Trailway has available at their online shop, where you can order online for contactless curbside pickup or shipping anywhere in the Maritime provinces or Ontario via Canada Post.

It’s cold and only getting colder, but luckily your Halifax friends from Garrison are here with a seasonal release to keep you warm. Wintervention is back! A Russian Imperial Stout, it’s got a lot of chocolate character after being conditioned on cocoa nibs. Coming in at 60 IBU thanks to some well balanced hopping with Millenium, the chocolate, munich and pale ale malts bring the flavour to this 10.5% ABV release. Available in 650ml bottles, you can pick this up from Garrison at both their Seaport and Oxford retail stores. 

Keeping with the theme from above, North Brewing is helping you out with another tasty stout to keep you warm. Another fan favourite is back with the re-release of Twinkle Pony Tiramisu Stout. This 7.5% stout brings sweet and smooth chocolate and coffee flavours, as it’s made with Ladyfingers, chocolate malt, lactose, vanilla and cold brew coffee. There is only a small amount of this that was canned, as the rest is going into darkness for a barrel-aged treat! Order these cans online today or find them at both of their Dartmouth shops. 

Staying right on theme is Nyanza’s finest, as Big Spruce comes back with a limited edition of their Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout. This already tasty smooth and roasty stout is freshly canned for a Glenora Whiskey Barrel Aged version. Aged in local Glenora Whiskey barrels, the roasty, chocolatey & espresso-coffee aromatics are amplified with a complex layer of smooth whiskey and subtle woody notes from the barrel. This is (again) a very limited release, so we recommend ordering it online directly from Big Spruce on their online shop! Get the good stuff before it’s gone!

Traveling down from Cape Breton, Tatamagouche is back with a few fan favourites that make a very tasty duo. First on deck (appropriately) is the return of First Light, a delicious Czech Pilsner. Crispy like the weather, this 4.5% lager is naturally carbonated, brewed with Noble hops and Czech yeast. This is really a tasty, crispy treat.  

First appearing on this blog about two years ago, Kitty Clyde is back! Meow! A Double IPA hopped with two of our favourite Australian varieties, Galaxy and Vic Secret, this 40 IBU hop bomb clocks in at 7.8% ABV. Both of these returning beers are available in cans online and at Tatabrew, and should make their way into the private shops as well. 

Tidehouse is back with a restock with fresh cans of Sotil coming out today, which first came out just before Christmas. This second iteration is a super dry 4.5% Saison made with Horton Ridge malt, with the wort lightly soured with Escarpment labs Lactobacillus rhamnosus/plantarum blend and fermented with French Saison yeast. A late addition fermentation of Marquette grape skins from Bent Ridge Winery brings a Saison-wine like ale that could be described as a “wine-seltzer” by Tidehouse themselves. They’re very proud of this beer and it’s simple, refreshing and dry. 

Just one event to let you know about at this time, but it will be a full-week affair, so strap on your drinking shoes… The Moncton Craft Beer Week is a celebration of all things beery in the GMA, with twelve breweries and scores of local pubs and restaurants taking part in the fun. Running February 22-27, there will be events every day, including the launch of the Moncton Craft Brewery Passport, an Extreme Beer homebrewing competition (more details here, and the winner will get to brew their creation at Tire Shack Brewing!), A Meet the Nano Brewer night at CAVOK, Beer Geek Trivia with acbbchris at the Furnace Room, culminating with Open Brewery Day (with free buses for those wanting to hit all of the spots in Moncton, Dieppe, and Riverview) and an all-local IPA Tap Takeover at Tide and Boar Gastropub on the 27th. Check out their website and Socials (Fb/Ig) for the latest details, and we’ll have more details on it all leading up to the event, natch!