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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Hammond River, Trider’s, Loyalist City, Annapolis Cider, Foghorn, Big Tide, Unfiltered, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-01-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Annapolis Cider Company, Big Tide Brewing, Bogtrotter Craft Brewery, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Brathair Brewing, Brightwood Brewery, Celtic Knot Brewing, Craig Pinhey, Foghorn Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Ladies Beer League, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Mama's Brew Pub, Moosehead Breweries, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons General Store, RockBottom Brewpub, Trider's Craft Beer, Unfiltered Brewing. 1 comment

Welcome to the first ACBB post of 2017! Today’s post marks the start of our sixth year writing the blog, keeping you up to date with all of the craft beer goings-ons in the region. When we started in 2012, there were fewer than 20 breweries in Atlantic Canada; in 2017 we may surpass 100! It just goes to show the level of interest in great beer has exploded in our region, and drinking and supporting local breweries, brewpubs, and cider houses by enjoying their products and visiting their premises is becoming a popular pastime, while also supporting local economies. Hopefully 2017 will see the continuation of some of the trends we’ve seen in the past twelve months: breweries opening in small communities to serve their local population, wider range of styles and experimentation to broadening our horizons, a measurable impact on tourism by the craft beer sector, expansions to larger brewhouses as small breweries realize financial success, and continued reform by provincial governments. Now on to today’s news!

• Shane Steeves, owner/brewer of Hammond River Brewing, is once again harkening back to his homebrew days, as he just recently brewed up a batch of S’mores Graham Cracker Imperial Stout. This is a big beer with plenty of ingredients: six types of malt, a hefty amount of crushed graham crackers in the mash, plus honey, molasses, cacao nibs, and cinnamon in the boil. Nope, we’re not done yet – toasted marshmallows and vanilla bean were also added to the beer (in primary and secondary, respectively) to boost the aroma and flavour even more. Bittered to ~50 IBUs with Willamette, this very dark beer should come in at about 8.3% ABV; expect it to hit taps by the end of the month. Also, HR’s new Russian Imperial Stout, Quicksand Jesus, is now available (with the barrel-aged version coming out in about a month), as well as their Java Moose Coffee Porter (after a several-month hiatus) and Too Hop to Handle (with this batch featuring Hop Hash from Southan Farms).

• Amherst’s Trider’s Craft Beer has some great news for their thirsty fans: now that their 8 hl (7 BBL) brew system from Charlottetown’s DME is up and running, they’ve been able to better keep up with demand, and fully opened their retail location at 46 Anson Avenue (Unit 3). Hours are Wed 4-8pm, Thurs and Fri 4-9pm, and Sat 12-9. If you can’t make it in then, fear not! They are now on tap full-time in the region, including Duncan’s Pub in Amherst, and Sociables Pub in Springhill, and that list will continue to expand this winter. Keep an eye out for the Rod’s Red (Irish Red Ale that took Silver at the ACBAs), Scotian Pale Ale (an English Golden Ale), and brand new Justin Brew-deau, a Canadian Cream Ale. Their Yellow Beer’d Blonde Ale will be returning at the end of the month, along with some seasonals.

• After the highly-successful launch of their first beer, Lupulus Interruptus, Saint John’s Loyalist City has brewed their second beer, which will be released at tap accounts within the next couple of weeks. Parrtown Pale Ale is best described as an English Bitter, a malt-forward style also known as an English Pale Ale. With a grist that includes Simpson’s Maris Otter malt (imported from England), expect the beer to have a “rich, full-bodied, biscuity malt flavour characteristic to the style”. The malt is balanced with a “firm bitterness” from the addition of East Kent Golding, a popular U.K. hop variety that exhibits spicy, herbal aromas and flavours. This beer holds a special place in the heart of brewer/co-owner Mark McGraw, as it was the first recipe he entered in a competition as a homebrewer in 2013, and consequently his first medal… with many to follow!

• Annapolis Cider Company has a new release in their “Something Different” series, Cranberry Clementine. This is an unfiltered, sparkling beverage that combines a dry cider with fresh-pressed, local cranberry and apple juices. This blend was then infused with clementine zest, giving a 6.3% ABV cider with a deep-blush hue and a “freshing cranberry tartness augmented with aromatic notes of citrus”. It’s available now in refillable bottles at the cidery; as always with this series, $0.50 from each sale is donated to a local charity. This time, the recipient is SMILE, a Wolfville-based volunteer-driven program “that provides persons with varying disabilities a unique physical activity experience in order to improve their total development”.

• Rothesay’s Foghorn Brewing has released their first collaboration beer, with Big Tide Brewpub’s Head Brewer Wendy Papadopoulos (and consulting assistance from local beer, wine, and spirits writer, Craig Pinhey). Humbuggery Best Bitter is a 5.1% ABV English Ale, hopped with Golding and Jester, a little-known UK hop with tropical fruit and citrus notes, distinguishing it from most other in that region. It is available at both the Foghorn and Big Tide brewery spaces, as well as Uptown Saint John’s Cask & Kettle Irish Gastropub. But be sure to drop by soon, as there’s not much of the 8hl batch left!

• For the first time in a year, Unfiltered has brewed up a batch of their Hyper-Galactic SMaSH (single malt and single hop) India Pale Lager. With specs spot-on with NASH’s other SMaSH beers (7.5% ABV, 100+ IBU and a color of 4.1 SRM) this beer features Topaz hops, a variety from Australia known for bringing a palette of tropical flavours including lychee and passionfruit along with some spicy and resiny notes. The use of a bottom-fermenting lager yeast and, no doubt, a low-temperature lagering period, should make for a crisp and clean finish to compliment a huge hop flavor. Available for fills and pints today at noon, you are encouraged, as always, to get on it!

• Mama’s Brew Pub has brewed up a couple of batches of their first stout served on nitrogen. Fittingly named Nitro Stout, the grist is made up of Maris Otter, Crystal 70 L, Carafa III, and Chocolate and Wheat malt, giving lots of roasted flavours and aromas. Hopped with Golding and Cascade (both sourced from Southan Farms) to 22 IBUs, this sessionable ale (4.4% ABV) fermented with a neutral British Ale yeast, before being slowly nitrogenated over 5 days.

• Yesterday saw the release of a collaboration between the fine folks at Good Robot and the gentlemen of Sickboy Podcast, a media company that promotes and celebrates open and honest discussion of sickness and disability. Cystic Fibrewsis is described as a Strong American Bitter, essentially an ESB, the favourite style of Sickboy, but more highly attenuated and brewed with American breeds of European hop varieties (Perle, Tettnang and the Fuggle-descended Willamette). The grist is based on the classic British malt Maris Otter, but there’s also some Simpson’s DRC (double-roasted crystal) for caramel flavor and body, a touch of smoked malt and some demerara sugar to encourage a drier finish. It carries some weight at 5.8% ABV, supported by roughly 30 IBU. Good Robot will be donating $10 for each keg sold to Cystic Fibrosis Canada, an organization near and dear to Sickboy’s Jeremie. The guys recorded a live podcast at the Good Robot taproom last night; look for it to be posted to their usual podcast sites (SoundCloud and the iTunes) in the near future.

• PEI Brewing Co. has a new variation on an existing beer coming next week to the ANBL’s growler program and a few select tap accounts: Mango Lassi DIPA takes PEIBC’s 8 Cord to North India with fermentation having taken place on ripe mango and green cardamom pods. This will give the beer a big mango flavor along with the distinctive spicy aroma of cardamom. The hops used – Azacca, Mosaic and Simcoe – should complement the fresh mango flavor with citrus, piney and dank notes. The bitterness is a solid 70 IBU and the ABV gets a boost from the fresh fruit to a hefty 9.3%. If you’re craving the original, 8 Cord will also be available in cans (in New Brunswick and PEI) and kegs (maritime-wide) in a couple of weeks.

• Halifax’s Rockbottom Brewpub released a new lager yesterday, Dortmunder Export Helles. At 5.3% ABV and 27 IBUs, this pale-coloured lager features light Noble bittering to complement the faint grain aromatics, with a medium body and crisp finish. Grab a pint today, or in a growler to go (let’s be honest, it’s best to do both!).

• Dartmouth’s Brightwood Brewery will be debuting a brand new beer at the Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market tomorrow morning. Portland Porter is a 5.3% ABV, 31 IBU Porter, featuring Roast, Chocolate, and Honey Malts, along with a small percentage of Smoked Malt, culminating in a rich coffee aroma and flavour. Drop by 8am – 1pm to try a sample, and get a fill of your growler to enjoy more at home. Keep your eyes peeled for possible tap accounts in the near future.

• Last September, we reported that Moosehead was not only planning on opening a new small-batch brewery to coincide with their 150th Anniversary, but that they had also settled on the location on Water St. in downtown Saint John. However, this week they confirmed that they will not be proceeding with these plans, due to costs being “more than anticipated”, according to the announcement on their website. They do insist that developing a location to brew small batches of beer, and “build [their] relationship with [their] customers in a more personal way” is still something they intend on doing.

• Just one event to remind you about this week, but it’s a big one! On Thursday, January 12th, Local Connections Halifax is presenting their Fourth Annual Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration at the Marriott Halifax Harbourside. Sixteen breweries (and two cider houses) from across the province are teaming up with sixteen restaurants for an epic showcase of our province’s offerings. It also serves as the release of several special beers in our region, some of which we are able to share with you today:
– Big Spruce Brewing is debuting two beers at the event: Risky Biscuits Dark Mild, the 4.4% ABV winning beer from the Home Brew Challenge held in November, brewed by David Pepper; Liquid James Brown, a 6.1% ABV Milkshake IPA (the first in the province), featuring loads of late hop additions of El Dorado and Mosaic, along with oats, lactose, and vanilla beans, for a smooth mouthfeel bursting with tropical and citrus flavour.
– Good Robot is pouring Daughter of Sin, a Red Double IPA brewed with homebrew collective Brathair Brewing. The 8.1% ABV beer clocks in with 74 IBUs, all introduced post-boil (during the whirlpool while the beer chills) for a flavourful and smooth (but robust!) bitterness with fruitiness from Mosaic hops. This is a CB&LFC exclusive, so be sure to seek it out!
– Propeller Brewing will be pouring Vanilla Porter, their next One Hit Wonder, scheduled to hit the brewery’s taps in the next few days. It will be joined by their IPA or ESB, and Krave Lager, as they are paired up with Krave Burger, who are serving Burger Bombs.
– Spindrift will be debuting Duplicitous Imperial Pilsner, which was mentioned on the latest 902 BrewCast (shoutout). From Kellye Robertson, “Blend of Canadian and German Pilsner malts make this is a deceivingly light looking lager packing a punch of 8.0% ABV and 70 IBU. Aromatics of melon, citrus and passionfruit are led by generous amounts of Hallertau Blanc, El Dorado and Citra hops. ” After next week’s debut, it will be available at the brewery for growler fills, and around town next weekend.
– Tatamagouche will be debuting their Mrs. Magouche American IPA, a collaboration beer brewed the fine people of the Ladies Beer League. They will also be pouring Smorter, their S’mores Porter, and have given a keg of that beer to their partner Primal Kitchen for some epic S’more tarts with beer reduction.
In addition to those mentioned above, check here for the (mostly) full line-up of beer and food. For those who want to enjoy the partying after the event is over, Local Connections has negotiated a rate of $139 at the Marriott, just mention that when booking. There are fewer than 20 tickets remained for the all-inclusive event, so grab your today!

And finally this week:

– Tipsy Toad, the 5% Pale Ale from Fredericton’s Bogtrotter, is available now in 500 mL bottles at both the Oromocto and York St. ANBL locations.
– If you live in Fredericton and have been craving some Toque and Mitts (7.8% ABV), Celtic Knot‘s annual-release Barleywine, it’s now on tap at the James Joyce.
– Today, Garrison is re-releasing their Dirty Ol’ Town Black IPA (6.2% ABV, 52 IBUs) at their retail store; this Canadian Brewing Award Gold Winner is “dark, deep, toasty and hop-forward”. It will be available in six packs onsite, and at the NSLC and your local private beer store in the near future. And for our New Brunswick readers, look for it to hit the shelves of the ANBL shortly.
– Petit-Sault‘s Canon Franchetti, a “Cappucino Stout” is back; you can find it in bottles and growlers at the brewery in Edmundston, as well as the Picaroons General Store in Saint John. Look for it to be on tap at ANBL Growler stations January 19th (who may also be receiving bottles this month as well).
– Picaroons released a new beer at their Saint John General Store location, a Baltic Porter named The Teleporter. It’s just about gone already, but this 6.5% ABV beer was lagered for close to 6 weeks, to allow the alcohol and roasted characteristics to further blend together. And keep your eyes peeled here for details on a collaboration the SJ Picaroons folks did at Big Tide, which will be released mid-month.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Moth Lane, Graystone, Lazy Bear, Hammond River, Tide & Boar, and Upstreet

Posted by acbbaaron on 2016-12-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bad Apple Brewhouse, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Gore Farm Brewery, Graystone Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, HopYard, King Street Ale House, Lazy Bear Brewing, Mama's Brew Pub, Moth Lane Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tide & Boar Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 1 comment

Although it was a short work week due to the holidays, the yeast never sleep, so we’ve got a few new beers to introduce; and with New Year’s coming up this weekend, there’s also some events we think you’ll want to know about. We’ll start off this week, however, with news of a new brewery that launched late last week:

• It was a Christmas Beer-acle! Moth Lane Brewing, on PEI’s Prince County, opened December 24th to satisfy the thirsty folks in the Western region of the island. The 800 litre (7 BBL) brewhouse offers flights and pints in their tap room onsite, and sells growler fills to go. There are three beers available currently: Motorboat’r Blonde Ale, a refreshing and easy drinking 6.5% ABV light ale; The Answer Imperial IPA, a 7.0% ABV, 70 IBU bitter beer with plenty of pine character; and, Oyster Thief Stout, a 5.5% ABV dry stout, featuring local oysters added in the boil. The brewery, located at 101 Mickie Allen Shore Rd in Ellerslie, is open Mon-Wed 12-5, and Thurs-Sat 5-10pm, including live music Saturday evening. For those not able to get West, Charlottetown’s HopYard has all three beers available. Stay tuned to the blog, as we’ll have a full profile next week. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Moth Lane!

• Fredericton’s Graystone Brewing has two new beers on the go this week. The Crown Winter Warmer was released on Boxing Day and is described as a big-bodied holiday ale with seasonal spices. Built on a base of Maris Otter and Vienna malts for a solid backbone, chocolate and crystal malts are included to provide deep colour and chocolatey and caramel flavours. It also features a portion of Simpsons relatively new DRC (double-roasted crystal) malt, known for enhancing the body of dark beers and bringing complex dark caramel and dark fruit flavours without the bitterness or astringency of traditional heavily roasted malts. At 7.4% ABV you’ll almost certainly feel some alcohol warmth, while an addition of allspice and 30 IBUs worth of NB Goldings round out the flavour profile. It’s available at the taproom for pints, as well as growler and crowler fills.

• And hitting Graystone’s taps today will be a Belgian White IPA that they’re calling Mont Blanc, a collaboration with the in-the-works Gore Farm Brewery of St. Stephen, NB. A simple malt bill of Pilsner and wheat provide a canvas for some “cool” West Coast hops that bring 50 IBUs worth of bitterness and no doubt some citrus flavours. And judging by the name, expect to find some Belgian yeast flavours as well. More on Gore Farm in the near future!

• The folks at Lazy Bear have let us know that they’ll be pouring pints at a New Year’s Eve Dance Party hosted by local musician David Chamberland at the Rebekah Music Hall in Bear River. This will give them the opportunity to bring their regular lineup and also hopefully a brand new California Common-style beer. The as-yet unnamed brew eschews the Northern Brewer hops traditional to the style for Nugget from Ontario and Chinook from New Brunswick. Although the grapefruit aspects of the Chinook flavour profile might be viewed as crossing a stylistic boundary, there’s also every chance it will make for a tasty brew. There’s only one way to find out; grab a pint if you can!

• Also in the works from Lazy Bear is an Irish Red that will feature potatoes in the mash. Obvious jokes aside, care will definitely need to be taken to convert the sugars from the potatoes and to lauter the wort from what will no doubt be an exceptionally sticky grist, but the result should be very unique. We’re definitely looking forward to hearing more about this one as further information becomes available. Lastly, we’re told that LB will be featuring a percentage of Horton Ridge malts in all of their beers for 2017; the celebration of local ingredients continues!

• Hammond River has released another iteration in their The Vegas SMaSH series, a Single-Malt and Single-Hop beer that has had four versions prior to this release. The newest beer features Mosaic, a very popular and delicious variety that features plenty of berry character, resulting in a truly fruity-tasting beer. As with previous takes, this one weighs in at 6.5% ABV and 60 IBUs; you can find it on tap now at The Barrel’s Head, and it should be popping up at other HR tap accounts in the near future.

• Moncton’s Tide & Boar Brewing has released a brand new beer in their Hop Series. Lemondrop IPA is a 7.5% ABV IPA featuring the eponymous Lemondrop hop, an experimental hop featuring big notes of lemon citrus, and keeping in the hazy tradition of T&B’s other IPAs. Grab a pint now, and enjoy it at their Waterfront Craft Beer Garden event tomorrow (details below).

• We teased last week about Upstreet starting a barrel-aging program, with the recent delivery of a set of barrels from Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Distillery. Well, the barrels have been filled with six different beers, which are now undergoing the first of many days of aging, before being bottled and released to the public next fall. Sorry, we can’t share what these beers are yet, but – as always – we’ll be sure to release that info as soon as we can!

Be sure to check the hours of your local brewery and beer store before heading there tomorrow, as some are on reduced hours. Here are some events guaranteed to help you say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017 while enjoying great beer:

• If you’re in the Moncton area, what better way to ring in the New Year than with the NYE Waterfront Craft Beer Garden? Starting at 4 pm on Saturday, December 31st, the Tide & Boar will be hosting seven local breweries, including Acadie-Broue, Beckwith Road, Bore City, Celtic Knot, Flying Boats, Scow Cider, and, of course, their own T&B Brewery. The beer garden will run until 9 pm, and have a view of the concert on the waterfront, which will feature several live bands.

• And what about Fredericton? Well, those behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival will be hosting their own NYE Craft Beer Garden on Saturday. Held downtown at Officer’s Square and starting at 4 pm, there will be lots pouring from both Maybee and Sunset Heights Meadery until midnight. As well, select products from Bogtrotter, Graystone, Grimross, Picaroons, Red Rover, and TrailWay will be available. A food truck will be on-site, live music will be playing, and there will be two firework shows (8 pm and midnight). Can’t get away from the family? No worries – kids are allowed in the beer garden with their parents. No charge to attend, just pay by the beverage… and be sure to dress warm!

• Somerset’s Bad Apple Brewhouse is celebrating its third anniversary Saturday from 10-6 and will have a small run of bottles of their APA, Mosaic DIPA, and Black and Tackle Russian Imperial Stout available, and will no doubt have some other treats for those who drop by for the fun.

• Although Stillwell probably shouldn’t be part of your plans for New Year’s Eve (owing to them being closed), you should think hard about making them a destination for your hangover on New Year’s Day. They’ll be opening at noon for their New Year’s Day Levée with some brunchy menu options (Smoked Striped Bass Fishcakes, Triple-threat Breakfast Sandwich, Smoked Meat Hash or Toutons with Lonzino and Molasses, anyone?) and a pretty intense wall’s worth of goodies. Do you like stout served on nitrogen? Sure you do! They’ll have three: Granite Keefe’s Irish Stout, Unfiltered Flat Black Jesus and Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodisiaque. How about one of the three existing kegs of Acadie Broue Zirable, the Geueze-style we waxed poetic about in last week’s wrap-up? You know you want to try that. There’s also taps from Les Trois Mousquetaires , Brasserie Dunham , Trailway , Mikkeller and Bad Apple Brewhouse and the bottle list you know and love.

• Don’t worry, PEI, there’s a local New Year’s Day celebration going on for you, too! Upstreet will be starting their 2017 Kick-Off Sunday at 10 am, and it’ll be continuing all day long! A total of six different bands will be playing live, with the first starting at noon; the music will continue through the celebrations until roughly 10 pm. Beer cocktails, brewery tours, $4 pints, and a special brunch menu will also be available. Last year’s event was the biggest party of the year for the Upstreet taproom, so be sure you don’t miss out! Check out the link above the full details on the bands that will be performing.

• The 5th Annual Fredericton Craft Beer Festival is fast-approaching, and several events have been announced. Returning is ACBB Trivia, alongside a Nova Scotia Tap Takeover, at the King Street Ale House on Thursday, March 9th from 6-9 pm. All 24 taps at the KSAH will be dedicated to a variety of NS breweries; your $25 ticket gets you a special glass to take home, as well as ten 5 oz samples to start off. Trivia starts at 7 pm, and we promise this time the questions will be easier (no drawings of chemical structures, please Chris?)! And for those that haven’t yet grabbed tickets to the main event on Saturday the 11th, there are still a few tickets available for the afternoon (1:30-4:00) session.

A few more notes before you head out today:

– You can celebrate NYE with your very own keg of Garrison beer, and on the cheap, as they are offering a 10% discount on all rentals, and they’ll even include a sleeve of cups. Drop by today or tomorrow, as the sale ends after that.
– It looks like Mama’s Brew Pub has finally got their Crowler machine up and running, meaning that 1-L cans to go of their in-house-brewed beers are now available for purchase.
– The canning continues at TrailWay Brewing, with the latest release being their American Pale Ale, Rype, a 5% ABV hazy hop bomb. As of right now, this one is available only at the brewery, but look for ANBL stores to receive shipments, soon.

And be sure to celebrate the New Year responsibly: with a local beer(s), and a safe ride home! As we close out 2016, we want to thank the breweries and readers that we get to connect with on a weekly basis, and we look forward to spreading the Good News about Great Beer in 2017. Cheers!

Friday-ish Wrap-Up – News from One Way Brewing, Acadie-Broue at Le Coude, Mama’s Brew Pub, Unfiltered, North Brewing and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-11-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Acadie-Broue, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Bogtrotter Craft Brewery, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Mama's Brew Pub, North Brewing, NSLC, PEILCC, Picaroons, Red Rover Craft Cider, Stillwell Beer Bar, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good afternoon, and welcome to a special Thursday edition of the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog! With tomorrow’s holiday, we decided to release this week’s news a day early…

• One Way Brewing is coming soon to historic Ginger House, located on Truro’s Prince Street. Three local entrepreneurs will be launching the small brewery in the spring, complete with an on-site tap room, as well as growler and keg sales. Brewing on a 5 hl (4 BBL) system, they will be concentrating on supplying beer fans and bars in the local market. We’ll have more details closer to launch, but in the meantime check out the articles in Truro Daily News and CBC online.

• The University of Moncton’s brew pub, Le Coude, has been going strong for a couple of months now, ever since Acadie-Broue has set up shop! Lucky residents of Fredericton will be seeing some AB popping up in the city, as they recently sent four different beers to the James Joyce. Included are: Valdrague Weizen, their 5% ABV take on the classic German Hefeweizen style; Tintamarre, a 6.6% ABV Belgian Saison; La Bringue,  a 5% ABV American Brown Ale; and La Picasse, a 7.3% ABV Baltic Porter that hasn’t been brewed since in more than two years. As always, these beers won’t last long, so be sure to keep track of when they’re being tapped!

• Mama’s Brew Pub isn’t letting the cool weather prevent them from brewing summer beer styles, as they’ve recently released their take on a Belgian Witbier, White Citrus Bomb. The grist is made up simply of 2-row malt and Flaked Wheat, and lightly hopped to 18 IBUs with Hallertau. Brewer Ryan Kingston also added “a cheesecloth sack the size of a basketball” full of freshly-grated orange zest (for those of you who haven’t grated multiple oranges, this takes awhile!), and a small amount of coriander.  Featuring plenty of citrus aromas and flavours, as the name implies, it comes in at 4.3% ABV. And for Mama’s fans who may not make it to the brewpub as often as they’d like, their Crowler machine and cans have arrived, so look for off-site sales to begin in the near future.

• Today will see the launch of the latest Greg Nash SMaSH at Unfiltered Brewing. Touted as the fourth in the series (although we had counted four already: DOA, All Falc’d Up, Deity, and RSMA), Danko features two-row malt and copious quantities of the Simcoe hop, a variety known for it’s potent, woody, musky-like-cat-pee-but-in-a-good-way aroma and passionfruit, pine and berry flavour notes. The name, credited to the brewery’s own Emily, reflects both the word “dank,” often used when describing Nash’s hop-forward creations, and Rick Danko, bassist for The Band and one of the more famous products of Simcoe, Ontario. As with all Unfiltered SMaSH beers, it comes in north of 100 IBU and somewhere in the vicinity of 7.5% ABV. Given the nature of the hop and the likely quantities involved, this is another that’s likely to flirt with some more savoury notes in flavour and aroma. You’ll have to grab a growler at the brewery or a pint (or three) at Charm School Pub to find out. Get on it!

• Halifax’s (and Dartmouth’s) North Brewing is releasing a special mixed fermentation beer today. Wiley Boys II is the second iteration of Wiley Boys Dark Saison first released in July, in celebration of owner Peter Burbridge’s best friend’s wedding. Six hundred litres of the original brew was given an extra pitch of Brettanomyces from Escarpment Labs, as well as a large addition of Nova Scotia-harvested strawberries from Beet Rouge. This new blend was allowed to further ferment for three months, and has been conditioning for another month in bottles. The Brett adds a leather-like and funky contribution, with the strawberries and underlying dark chocolate notes coming through as well. Available at both locations today, this 7.0% ABV beer is for sale only in bottles, with a special nitro-primed keg to be released at Battery Park‘s First Birthday Party December 9th. The artwork on the label is a photo taken by Trevor Allen.

• Details are now available for Stillwell‘s annual birthday celebration beer. Brewing once again at North in Halifax, Stillwell 3 will be similar to last year’s Stillwell 2, a rustic farmhouse, fermented with their “house blend” of yeasts and bacteria, however the underlying beer is markedly different. From Stillwell’s Christopher Reynolds, “Traditionally, many saisons were quite bitter, quite hoppy in aroma and flavour, and bittered with high quantities of low-alpha acid hops. For Stillwell 3, we found some Styrian Goldings that were a scant 1.8 AA and used them to bitter to 32 IBU.” The higher bitterness lowered the acidity, and allowed the Saccharomyces yeast strains to shine through and show off more classic Saison character with fruity esters and spicy phenolics. The beer was heavily dry-hopped, and if drunk fresh will be reminiscent of traditional Saison beers from Belgium, or if left to age, the hops will fade and Brett will take over, as with the famous Orval. The beer will be launching at Stilly’s party on November 20th, and will be joined by a slew of beers from across the Maritimes and beyond (late update, the draught and special bottle list has been released). Bottles of Stillwell 3 will also be available for sale at North Brewing’s retail stores at that time.

• We now have the details on the 3rd Annual Hammond River Brewing Homebrew Competition, open to all homebrewers living in the Maritimes. This BJCP-certified competition will involve three beer styles: Imperial IPA (category 22A), Sweet Stout (16A), and English Porter (13C). The entry fee is $10, with any or all three styles open for entry for each participant. The first-place finisher will receive a $75 gift certificate for the Saint John Ale House, and will get to assist in the brewing of their beer on the Hammond River system, for release to local tap accounts. There will be 2nd and 3rd prizes offered as well. More details and entry forms can be accessed through the link above; all entries are due at the brewery by February 3rd, with judging taking place on February 5th.

• Picaroons has announced that the taproom at their Fredericton brewhouse location (912 Union St.) will be opening later this month. The Roundhouse will be serving pints of Picaroons beer, as well as other New Brunswick craft beer, cider, and mead, and will also have brewery merchandise for sale. Pairing with the taproom will be the Real Foods Café, which will offer “an ever-evolving menu of lighter fare and grab-n-go items”. Growlers will also be filled at the new location and bottles will be available for sale; when opened, expect the taproom to be open seven days a week. We’ll keep you updated on the date, and hours, when known.

• You knew with everything that happened Tuesday night, there had to be an election-themed beverage produced somewhere. Well, Red Rover must have seen the writing on the wall that almost everyone else missed, as they released a new keg of cider yesterday, Trumpty Dumpty. On tap at the Ciderhouse only, this 7% ABV cider was infused with hibiscus, a type of flower often used in tea, providing a tangy flavour; they also added some Thuya Gin, from New Brunswick’s Fils du Roy. No word yet on if the cider is orange or angry; be sure to let us know if you’re lucky enough to have a taste!

• Fredericton’s newest nano-brewery, Bogtrotter, has released Malty Muskrat, their first Imperial IPA. Their biggest beer to-date at 8.2%, it was highly hopped to 100 IBUs with Warrior, Amarillo, and Simcoe. You can find it exclusively on tap at select locations in the city, including the James Joyce, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and Graystone Brewing.

There’s yet a few more beer-themed events coming up over the next month that we’d like to mention:

• Upstreet is bringing back Black Tie Affair, their Vanilla Cranberry Stout, and is holding a Rocking Release Party to celebrate, next Thursday, November 17th from 6-10 pm. A three-course, Prix Fixe menu Black Tie Dinner (featuring Black Tie Affair in the recipes, of course) will start the night at 6 pm, followed by live music at 7 pm. Admission is free, with donations being accepted for the Rwanda Craft Brewery Project. While there, be sure to check out their latest on-tap-only small batch, Berliner Weisse (4.5% ABV, 8 IBUs), which was kettle-soured with grain; future iterations, with various dry-hop additions, will follow.

• The second public presentation of Sociable!, will be taking place next Friday, November 18th, at Boxing Rock Brewing. The party in Shelburne kicks off at 6pm with free brewery tours, with the film starting at 7pm, and following up with a Q&A with the filmmakers. Free snacks and beer samples will be available too! For more information, check out the Event page.

• The Inaugural Cape Breton Beer Fest is happening November 19th at the Cruise Terminal in Sydney. There will be fifteen breweries, cider houses, and distilleries from around the province in attendance for the Afternoon (2:00 to 4:30 pm) or Evening sessions (7:00 to 9:30 pm, with VIP tickets available for 6:00 pm entry). Grab your tickets online today.
• Battery Park will be hosting Nyanza’s Big Spruce on December 1st, in the third in a series of NS Brewery Tap Takeovers. As in the previous editions with Tatamagouche and Boxing Rock, they have also teamed up with the visiting brewery on a collaboration brew. This month’s beer is a Nova Scotia-themed mad scientist’s dream: a Donair Beer, aged on raspberries. The Battery Park kitchen created, cooked, then dried and powdered donair meat, and added it to the mash tun, with the grain required for an Imperial Stout. After primary fermentation, the beer will age on raspberries. Blood Donair is the name of the beer, and it will debut during the tap takeover, along with plenty of Big Spruce’s favourite and award-winning beers.
Have a great long weekend, and tomorrow, remember to think of those who gave – and continue to give – so much, and raise a glass of craft beer in their honour. In closing…
– Boxing Rock‘s Bohemian Pilsner, Wild Axe (5.7% ABV), is back again on tap, and in bottles at the HRM private liquor stores.
– Hammond River has rebrewed their Into the Dark Hawaiian Porter (6.3% ABV, 38 IBUs), brewed with cacao nibs and fresh, toasted coconut; it should be appearing on tap within the next couple of weeks.
– Garrison Brewing has released the next two beers in their winter seasonal portfolio today; their 7.5% ABV Spruce Beer, made with locally-harvested spruce and fir, on a full bodied-ale featuring molasses, and the 7.0% ABV Winter Warmer, brewed with cinnamon and clove spice additions, for a beer worthy of enjoying around the fire. Both beers are available in 650mL bottles at the brewery today, with release to the private liquor stores and NSLC next week.
– Keep your eyes, and ears, open for a local beer-themed podcast dropping next week. 902 BrewCast features three local beer fans, Kyle, Philip, and Tony, talking about the latest releases in our region, and interviewing local brewers and industry folks. Subscribe now, and look for the first pair of episodes in your favourite podcast app next Friday, November 18th.
 – For those who want to try this highly sought-after beer, the PEI Liquor Commission currently has bottles of Sam Adams Utopias on their shelves at two locations. At $200, this is not an everyday-drinker, but certainly something that can be cellared long-term, and pulled out at special occasions. They are also carrying the CRAFT BeerAdvent Calendar, a collection of 24 new-to-Canada beers, to be opened during December.
– Not to be outdone, the NSLC will be releasing eight bottles of Utopias at The Port signature store November 19th, also priced at $200.