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Friday Wrap-Up for December 8, 2023 – News from Trailway, Quidi Vidi, Garrison, Propeller, North, Tanner, Burnside, Annapolis Cider, and More!!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2023-12-08
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 2 Crows Oxford, Annapolis Cider Company, Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Boxing Rock Brewing, Burnside Brewing Company, Garrison Brewing, Lazy Bear Brewing, Mauzy Cidery, North Brewing, Oud Beersel, Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Rough Waters Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, The Stillwell Freehouse, TrailWay Brewing, Truro Brewing Company. Leave a Comment

Here we are, nearly ten hours late for our usual posting time (sorry!) starting the second week of December. As we inch closer to the 12 Days of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate, we can all appreciate the community around beer and breweries and getting together with friends and family. While you may be tucking into your favourite style of Advent Calendars, there are plenty of new releases below and exciting beery things happening in our region. 

We start out in Fredericton, New Brunswick, this week with Trailway Brewing who have a few updates for the masses. First up is Founder of the Feast, a brand new barrel aged barleywine. Aged in 28 year-old single malt barrels from Glenora Distillery, it brings a lot of complex flavours of malt, toffee and raisins. While it is 11.9%, it’s also very drinkable and smooth with the strong undertone of malt and barrel-derived oak flavours. Balanced with some Cascade and Magnum hops, this comes in at 74 IBU but presents as much less bitter. It is available in bottles in Fredericton and Saint John locations. We recommend trying this one at close to room temperature to get the most of the complex flavours. Next up is a new version of The Blend, their 5.3% Smoothie Sour, but this batch is a mixed berry flavour featuring blueberry, blackberry, strawberry and raspberry. Each can has about 200 grams of the berry blend, which still contains plenty of sugar, so make sure to keep them cold! Look for this in cans now at all Trailway locations. Last up from Trailway is a holiday event running until December 13th. The 12 Days of Giftmas is a special at both locations where every purchase you make enters you in a draw for dinner, an AirBNB night, gas cards and more. 

Hopping up to Newfoundland, Quidi Vidi Brewery has an exciting collaboration with Food Culture Place founders and authors. Bog & Barrens is a sweet gale and cranberry porter. As a Newfoundland-inspired beer, the collaboration with Lori McCarthy and Marsha Tulk is meant to follow their whole ethos: reviving, rejoicing and reinventing Newfoundland food. Sweet Gale is a floral herb frequently used in soups and cooking, while the cranberries are also local. The beer is a 5.3%, drinkable, dark and sweet release that will be available at NLC locations and convenience stores around the island. 

We head back to Nova Scotia where Garrison Brewing has some seasonal offerings making a return. First up is  the welcomed return of Spruce Beer. This strong ale uses local spruce and fir tips from Meander River Farm along with blackstrap molasses from Crosby’s. This historic style is a malty, complex, full-bodied, and warm offering that is perfect for the season. Balanced out with Centennial hops, the clean bitterness and warming flavours come together in a 7.3% robust ale. This is the first time we’re getting this release in cans and will be available only at the two Garrison locations at the Seaport and The Oxford Taproom. Also available at both taprooms is the return of their holiday glassware. There are a few different variations with various quotes from Holiday movies. They’re $8 and also available online for shipping and delivery. 

Staying in Halifax, and with OG breweries from the great craft beer expansion of 1997, Propeller is bringing us a brand new Cold IPA, Summit. This is a single hop IPA, with a cooler fermentation (hence the “cold IPA” designation) that is made to showcase the experimental HBC 586 hop. The hop variety itself is from Hop Breeding Company (a collaboration John I Haas and Yakima Chief Ranches). HBC 586 is recommended to be used as a whirlpool addition to bring big fruit flavours of mango, guava, lychee and citrus. This one ends up as a crisp, clean 6.1% and 65 IBU and it  is available today in all Prop Shops, online for delivery, and at private HRM stores. It will hit select NSLC locations in the coming weeks. 

From cold and crisp, to chocolatey and rich, HRM’s North Brewing has a sweet new treat for us this week. Black Forest Cake is a dessert stout in the brewery’s best effort to make a liquid cake. Starting out with a full-bodied stout using toasted oats for creaminess and dark malts for a rich flavour. It was then conditioned on 30kg of French brandy-steeped cherries from Noggins Farm and six pounds of cacao nibs from Rousseau Chocolatier. All together you get a 6% full stout that is very smooth, slightly fruity and great aromas of chocolate, berries and molasses. This is canned and available at all three North locations and online for delivery and shipping. 

Sticking in Nova Scotia, Tanner Brewing continues to bring frequent releases of unique older styles, styles so unique and/or old that we, beer geeks that we are, haven’t even heard of them! Foch is a 7% harvest saison fermented on Marechal Foch grape skins from Grand Pré Winery. The grape skins bring flavours of dark berry and, along with their saison yeast, a bit of spice to match the 25 IBU bitterness. This one comes out in 500ml bottles directly from the brewery; make sure you check out their delivery schedule from Bridgewater up to Halifax.

Burnside Brewing has a very exclusive release out of their Antigonish location, Oak Manor. They’ve got a Dry-Hopped Cream Ale at 5% that brings some tropical flavours and aromas to the light, crushable, slightly malty cream ale style. Teaming up for the dry-hop party are Citra, Moteuka and Rakau, not hops you’d normally associate with a cream ale, but an excellent explanation for the citrus and tropical party going on. There is only one keg of this at Oak Manor, so try it while you can! And great news, pints are a-flowing at their Common location at The Hub shopping centre in Truro!

One of our favourite ongoing series and hidden gems has always been Annapolis Cider and their Something Different cider series.They have a new one on tap in Wolfville, with Something Different Pink Pamplemousse. Not only is it one of our favourite French words to say, but this cider with its pink colour and puckering flavour really highlights the grapefruit. This is a complex cider, using a blend of three liquids, a grapefruit forward hop ferment (that steeped on lavender flower for over a week), an arrested strawberry wine ferment (that was less than half fermented) and a bit of raspberry juice. All together this comes out as at 6.9% with notes of berry and lavender, that is slightly sour and tart. Try this on tap while you can! Further, as always, $0.50 from each Something Different growler fill goes directly to a charity and this one will support Chrysalis House, a safe and non-judgmental environment providing shelter and outreach services for women and children.

Staying in the ciderverse, we have the latest from Mauzy in Newfoundland. All For A Laugh is a “Maple Sap Piquette.” This release from the 2022 season uses a pomace mix of their Mt Scio and Southern Shore apples that was rehydrated with maple sap from the Burin Peninsula. The mixture was macerated for seven days and conditioned and aged for eight months with dolgo crabapple juice. This finished at a 4.3% ABV and 36 cases of 341ml bottles were produced. Check out their website for shipping and delivery.  

You may be aware of the Christmas Tree that the province of Nova Scotia sends to the city of Boston every year as a symbol of thanks for the aid and kindness provided by Bostonians in the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion in 1917, but you may not be aware of the beery collaboration going on between Harpoon Brewery and Big Spruce Brewing in a similar spirit. For a couple of years now, Big Spruce has released From Nova Scotia With Love around this time each year. This year they also welcomed BS alumnus Matt Wanamaker and his current brewery, The People’s Pint, from Greenfield MA, to take part. In contrast with some other year over year collaborations, rather than making the same beer every time, they have some fun and switch it up! This year the operative style is imperial stout, but with the riders “barrel aged” and “chocolate molé.” The barrel aging was courtesy of Glenora Distillery whiskey barrels, and the molé flavours were driven by Just Us! organic hot chocolate powder with chili spice in the kettle, and then some cayenne added during fermentation. Brewed using techniques to drive a big silky mouthfeel, the additional residual complex sugars will ideally make for a beer that ages well in the can. So maybe grab a few, some to enjoy now on a cold night in front of a warm fire, and a couple to sample over the coming months or even years.

If you’re not in the Annapolis Valley, Lazy Bear Brewing in Smith’s Cove, NS, might not be on your radar. They’re one of those breweries that have steadily focused on serving their local area and if some of their beer manages to escape to the big city, well, hopefully that’s a good thing for everyone. But if you’re in the HRM and are interested in trying some beers you might not have been able to get your hands on before, Lazy Bear is shipping to the city on December 13th. You can place your order online by noon on December 12th for pickup the next day between 4 and 5:15pm at the Windsor Street Sobeys. One of the beers you might be able to order is their latest, Colossal, a Belgian tripel; bottle conditioned and 9.4% ABV, best to make sure you’re not scheduled to operate any heavy machinery after drinking one!

Coming ‘round the horn of the southwestern portion of NS from the Valley to the South Shore, this week sees the re-release of a beer from the past out of Shelburne, NS, but also out of Truro, NS. In 2019 the last Boxing Rock Black Box Challenge on record (hint hint to Henry & Emily!) awarded the big prize to Hello Darkness, a Schwarzbier brewed by Truro brewer Jana Dellapinna, who has since gone on to great success, opening the recently expanded Truro Brewing Co. It’s that time of year when dark beers come out of the woodwork, so what better time for Boxing Rock to put out another batch of Hello Darkness? Dark malts, chocolate and spice on the nose, and a soft bitterness give way to a smooth mouthfeel followed by the characteristically dry finish you expect from a lager. Find this one at the source, no doubt Local Source at Windsor and Almon in Halifax, and, hopefully, wherever else you go for your BR fix. If you grab one, whilst you enjoy it you might speculate on whether we’ll see Brian Harvey’s Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire or Grafted or acbbaaron’s Oh Snap! make a return as well [Ed. note: please allow us a little bit of shameless self-promotion there along with another hint hint to Henry & Emily 😉 ]

We’ve got something beery for you on Agricola Street in Halifax this week, and then nearby in the West End as well:

Mark your calendars, beer nerds! Next Thursday December 14th, The Stillwell Freehouse will be pouring six different draft Lambics from Oud Beersel. As a part of this delicious event, they are hosting an official screening of the new lambic-loving 2023 documentary, Bottle Conditioned. The doc is an exploration into blenders, brewers, and the rise in popularity of the lambic style. You can call the Freehouse or send them a DM on IG to book a table in the back room for the 6pm showing of the movie!

Here are the 6 draft lambics they’ll be offering:

  • Oude Lambiek
  • Oude Lambic – 3 Year
  • Kriekenlambiek
  • Rabarber Lambiek
  • Rozenlambiek
  • Earl Grey Lambic

Our friends at 2 Crows are getting very close to opening their second location. As we’ve noted before, it’s in the West End of Halifax on Oxford/Cork streets (next to On The Mat and the former location of 4Cats Art Studio); Yeah Yeah’s Pizza has moved from their Barrington Street location to join them. They will be open next week, as they aim to do a soft opening if all goes to plan, and we can share their opening tap list for next week as they were so kind to share. Featuring ten taps from 2 Crows, a Sourwood cider and a Goodmore Kombucha, 2 Crows Oxford (official name) has 12 taps to serve the people!

Here are the ten 2 Crows offerings:

  • AC Light Lager
  • Pollyanna – Northeast IPA
  • Classic – Maritime Dry Stout
  • Fantacity – Belgian Wheat 
  • Jamboree Strawberry & Guava – Sour
  • Jamboree Blueberry & Lemon – Sour
  • Perfect Revelation – New England IPA
  • Home & Home – collaboration with Lone Oak – Hazy IPA w/ wine grapes
  • Battery Power – Hazy IPA
  • Letna – Bohemian Pilsner

Keep your eyes peeled on their social media and watch out for a soft opening and grand opening within the next week!

And a couple last items before we send you on your way for the weekend:

The Holiday releases continue up in Newfoundland, as we’ve got a few returning seasonals from a pair of Newfoundland breweries. First up is Rough Waters Brewing out of Deer Lake with Captain Gingersnap. This is a Gingerbread Milk Stout with that full bodied stout feeling, lactose added, and some additions of ginger, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. This is canned, 5.9% ABV, and available now!

Next up is a pair of Holiday IPAs from Baccalieu Trail Brewing out of Bay Roberts. While the beers themselves are not holiday themed recipes, they’ve had a makeover on the label designs for the season. First up is Mad Crowd, a hazy IPA packed with Citra, Mosaic and Cascade hops giving you a lot of juice in a highly drinkable 5.5% brew, and sporting a nice red label.

Next up is Loud Crowd, a double dry hopped double IPA (DDHDIPA for short?). Sporting a festive green label, this version features generous hopping and dry-hopping of BRU-1, Citra Spectrum and Galaxy hops. They said they’ve really pushed their equipment for maximum hop saturation and this clocks in at 7.5%. Both of these are available now directly from the brewery. 

And for those of you visiting Halifax over the next few weeks, make sure to pop into Bishop’s Cellar, as they’ve had lots of beer-y treats pop onto their shelves from Bellwoods, Fairweather and Willibald. Over the next few weeks they’ll be getting in their usual imports from Chimay and Lindemans as well as Delirium Tremens mini-kegs, so keep an eye out as you stock up for your holiday wine and beer!

Friday Wrap-Up for November 24, 2023 – News from Revelry, Bannerman, Trailway, Iron Rock, Mauzy, Baccalieu Trail, 2 Crows, Battery Park, Sea Level, and The Common by Burnside!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2023-11-24
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Battery Park, Bellwoods Brewery, Bishop's Cellar, Burnside Brewing Company, Iron Rock Brewing Co., Mauzy Cidery, Millstone Harvest Brewhouse, Revelry Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, The Brewery by Quinn's, The Common by Burnside, TrailWay Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Last Friday of November to you and yours! And/or Happy Black Friday Deals if you’re into that kind of thing. Though the big holiday is south of the border and most of the really good deals with it, you might find your local producers and retailers throwing a cheeky bone in the form of a modest sale, so be sure to check your social feeds for opportunities. With that said, it’s a somewhat quiet weekend in regional beer news (not that we’re complaining!) but we expect it’s just one of those “calm before the storm” weeks before the big holiday season is upon us.

We’re starting the week with a bunch of beers in Halifax from a brewery we haven’t featured much in the blog. Opening just over a year ago, we wrote about The Brewery by Quinn’s opening up with their own beer and other local fare. The other locations for Quinn’s beers, under the Revelry Beer Company brand, at Quinn’s Arms and the two Brown Hound Locations (Agricola Street and Hollis Street), under the same ownership. Primarily, all of the Revelry beer will always be available at The Brewery by Quinn’s, while Quinn’s Arm and the Brown Hound locations serve a smaller selection, but still feature other local breweries. 

Now with that covered, let’s hit you with four new beers releasing on December 1st at The Brewery by Quinn’s (anyone else want some BBQ after reading this?):

  • Sailors Delight – Fruited sour with Raspberry, Passion Fruit, & Ginger  –  4.4%
  • Pyrocumulus – Strong stout with Toasted Coconut and Tonka Bean –  9.0%
  • City of Stone – Dry Stout (on nitro) – 4.0%
  • Nomitomodachi – Rice Lager 5.0%

On top of this, they are aiming to keep a rotating small batch Farmhouse ale on tap from Wild Sour to their Classic Saison. For an upcoming tease, the brewer is currently working on a longer term production of a Wild Sour after a successful stint as a test batch. We have a lot of details on this one that we will save for later, but it will feature fruit, a mixed yeast culture that’s been propagated and kept up for almost 15 years, and some cellarring for at least 3-6 months, maybe longer. We will keep you updated on this brewery for future releases to come as these beers will be more available around their Halifax locations in the coming months. 

Bannerman Brewing, in St. John’s, NL, has a couple of things to talk about this week. Up first is Spice World 2, a place where the Munich Dunkel style meets lemongrass and ginger giving you an opportunity to spice up your life. Deep malty flavors of molasses, caramel, and bread crust meet subtle lemongrass and not-so-subtle ginger, yielding an overall impression that you might find reminiscent of ginger snap cookies. An ABV of 5.3% gives you some room to have a couple and appreciate the composition. Grab it in cans from the brewery and the usual spots. Also new from BB this week, and of particular note, is the first beer to come out of their long in-the-works aged beer program. The first beers to be released will be a series they’re calling “Epiphany” and the first release will be, fittingly, Epiphany No. 1. A simple Golden Ale that has matured in white wine barrels for six months, it is the tabula rasa upon which the future releases in the series will be based. You can expect notes of pepper, stone fruit, and lemon peel, a gentle bitterness, dry finish, and some barrel notes as well. They’re doing a very limited release of this OG ale, so if you’re looking to get in on the ground floor of the Epiphany series, you’ll want to act fast; it’s been packaged in 750ml bottles and is only available at Bannerman.

Fredericton’s Trailway Brewing has a pair of new releases for you this week, so let’s get you up to speed! Vibe Check is a 6.0% American IPA, brewed with a touch of wheat to round out the mouthfeel, and a bit of haze. Of course, the hops take centre stage, with big citrus notes of orange, some apricot and pear, with a medium bitterness finish. Available in pints and in cans to go at both their Main Street Fredericton taproom, as well as the Union House in Saint John. And vibing along with this new release the return of the seasonal Hu Jon Holiday, their ode to the festive season. Think of their flagship Hu Jon Hops, but with the added flavours of locally-harvested fresh spruce tips lending a resiny and sprucey character. Cans are available today!

Headed way up to Lab City, Iron Rock Brewing has a big release to share. Bringing a local spin to their pale ale, this one features hops grown in Labrador. Fresh Hop is a Labrador Pale Ale (not to be confused with their Large Day American Pale Ale) that uses hops grown in their Community Gardens over the summer.  Some community members grew the hops and then helped with the brewing, too. The hops were harvested by the Iron Rock team and used in a wet hop brewing method of using the whole cone, fresh hops directly in the brewing process. This is test batch number one from them and it’s available on tap at the brewery. Go give it a try! As a sneak peek, test batch number two will be another wet hop release, but featuring hops from Goose Bay. 

The little cidery in Portugal Cove, NL, Mauzy Cider, has another small batch complex concoction for the enjoyment of those who can get their hands on it. Starting with feral Russet and Mcintosh apples from the Southern Shore and Mount Pearl, respectively, fermentation took place on lees of Williams Pride from Jefford’s Orchard. Once complete, golden plums from Campbellton’s Farm were introduced and eight months of maceration later, it was bottled in 750ml bottles and conditioned with Baccalieu Trail honey. Arriving at 6.3% ABV, only 33 cases of Diabolically Quenched were produced. It’s only available for local delivery or shipping from their website.

Out in Bay Roberts, Baccalieu Trail Brewing has a new release this week, perfect for enjoying in front of a roaring fire, for those of us adventurous enough to get out and enjoy the brisk fall evenings. Campout is a 6.0% S’mores Stout, brewed using Mecca Grade Opal 22 malt, known to impart both graham cracker and cocoa character to the final beer. Enhancing it even further is the addition of real cacao, for an even bigger nose and flavour of chocolate. Homebrewer Ralph Pike partnered with BaccTrail for this brew, which is out now on draught and in cans at the brewery and St John’s Maries too!

Great news for those in Dartmouth, or nearby, as 2 Crows Brewing are taking over the taps at Battery Park Beer Bar all day today. Sixteen draught and cask taps will be a-flowing all day and night, with OG favourites like Pollyanna, Fantacity, three different variants of their Jamboree Fruited Sour (Blueberry & Lemon, Strawberry & Guava, Watermelon & Kiwi), as well as the newly released Home and Home Hazy IPA with Grapes collab with Banished Brewing (as well as the non-graped Battery Power that debuted last week). And never stopping, never stopping, there are a pair of brand new beers on the board today, Guv Dark Mild and Feral Fawn Wild Ale with Apricot. Full draught and cask list available here. Battery Park is open 11:30 AM until late, and you’ll have a good chance of running into some of the Crows themselves when you pop by to embibe!

Big congratulations are in order to the team at Sea Level Brewing, as they celebrate their Sixteenth Anniversary this weekend! The beer scene was quite different back in 2007, with Sea Level (and their partners at Port Pub) being one of only a handful independent breweries in the province. There have been plenty of changes since then, both at Sea Level, and in the region, so this seems like a great reason to celebrate! Drop by both their Sea Level and Millstone Harvest Brewhouse locations to toast the crew in person!

The wait is just about over for folks thirsty for more beer in Truro, as The Common by Burnside Brewing is super-close to being fully open. While their retail shop at The Hub Shopping Mall has been open for a couple of weeks, their ability to pour pints has been delayed by various levels of red tape. We have word that samples can now be poured, and pints will soon be possible in their cozy space too. Located near Philthy Philly’s and Wung Express, The Common welcomes folks to bring in food to enjoy while in the space. In addition to their standard lineup of beer, look for pilot batch brews done onsite, by long-term and multi-award winning homebrewer Mark MacKay, who has been brewing for more than a decade in the province. Keep your eyes on their social media for the announcement, expected before the end of next week.

Down on the Halifax waterfront, Bishop’s Cellar has a fresh drop of Bellwoods Brewery treats. In addition to the somewhat regular classics on offer, namely, Bellwether Pilsner, Jelly King (OG version), and Roman Candle, they’ve now got three new non-alcoholic brews as well, Jelly King NA Blackberry/Raspberry Sour, Jelly King NA Dry Hopped Sour, and Stay Classy NA IPA. But wait! There’s more!! Also on the shelves are Cat Lady IPA, a less bitter, juicy and tropical answer to Roman Candle, and the beloved and rare Milkshark Tripleberry Milkshake IPA. These are all available now, but we expect many of them will go quickly; if you’re in the area from 1 – 3pm today you can drop by the shop and try them with Bishop’s Beer Baron Lucas Mader!

Friday Wrap-Up for September 15, 2023 – News from 2 Crows, North, Mauzy, Shipwright, Maybee, Annapolis Brewing, Tusket Falls, Schoolhouse, Landwash, Hopyard, Tapestry, Tire Shack, Smokehouse, Garrison, and more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2023-09-15
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Bannerman Brewing, Dildo Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Godspeed Brewery, HopYard, Landwash Brewery, Mauzy Cidery, Maybee Brewing, North Brewing, Oktoberfest, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Schoolhouse Brewery, Shipwright Brewing, Smokehouse Nano Brewery, Tapestry Beer Bar, Tire Shack Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing. Leave a Comment

Another week, another grind, more beer for all of our times. Read below for our weekly update, a share with your friends, we would appreciate. A hurricane is coming, Lee is on the move, buy some beers for the weekend, for you it will behoove. There’s lots of news, so let’s start from the top, beer and events, they never stop!

Up first this week is a beer that we almost told you about last week, but we were advised at the eleventh hour that it could have been a premature…declaration, as a label snafu prevented a timely release. That, however, was sorted and thus the gang at 2 Crows in Halifax has a brand new beer available in their series of consonantly-named juicy hazy IPAs. Perfect Revelation features the same grist that they’ve perfected over the various iterations, namely Golden Promise, flaked oats, wheat malt, and dextrin malt, and it’s also fermented with the same juice-forward yeast. As always, however, they’ve switched up the hops (and the label and the name, natch) and this batch saw massive amounts of Citra, Centennial, and Sultana. It’s safe to expect plenty of citrus, in the form of mandarin orange character, along with some pineapple and melon notes, and even some resinous pininess. You can grab this 6.1% beaut in cans from the brewery.

The team at North Brewing and their friends at Battery Park Beer Bar collaborated on a brew last year that was extremely well-received, at least by the hazy IPA loving portion of the public. Named after BP regular Dave Wilcox, whose own homebrew recipe was scaled up, brewed, and packaged, this one is packed with hops, namely Columbus, Amarillo, Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic. Hazy and definitely as juicy as you’d expect given the name, it’s 6.2% ABV and features the lovely (and/or creepy) mascot of Battery Park on the label. While only available for a limited time, and we believe only at BP and North locations, to celebrate this re-release, the North kitchens in Cole Harbour and Timberlea are putting Soft Pretzel Bites with Hazy Dave’s IPA Cheese Sauce on the menu all weekend.

Nestled in the back of Banished Brewing’s space in Paradise, NL, Mauzy Cidery continues to put out limited edition fun things for local folks to sip on. This week’s offering is the cheekily-named Kissy Kissy Juice, their first foray into the world of grapes. Comprised of a blend of whole cluster De Chaunac grapes from Jenning’s Homestead and Nova Mac and Honeycrisp juices from Mt. Scio Orchard, the resulting wine-cider hybrid was bottle conditioned, as usual, with Baccalieu Trail Honey. Arriving at 5.5% ABV and packaged in 750ml bottles (only 13 cases produced!), you can only find this beautifully pink product at Banished.

Lunenburg’s own Shipwright Brewing has a new release that is something we would like to be drinking as we type this up right now. Litekeeper is a Belgian Grisette (like a lighter version of a Saison) that manages to bring lots of complex flavour and aroma in a lower ABV form. The malt bill for this was Pilsner, wheat, munich and oats and the hops in the boil were Loral and Hallertau Blanc, with a Belgian yeast from Escarpment Labs to bring it together. Finished with a dry-hopping of more Hallertau Blanc, all of it came together to become something very refreshing and fruity with a bit of pepper for interest and a dry finish. The finished product is 3.7% and 28 IBU and can be had today from the brewery for pints on site or to-go in crowlers or growlers. 

A welcome release out of Annapolis Brewing this weekend sees a style perfect for the changing of the seasons (which we’ve been advised is still very much going to happen, eventually). Munich Dunkel is what the beer is named and exactly what it is! A classic Bavarian-style dark lager that boasts flavours of bready malt with a bit of chocolate and caramel, all complemented by a bit of noble hop bitterness, this is an extremely balanced and drinkable style that is perfectly suited for outdoor German beer gardens or your own dwelling. It’s 5% ABV and 23 IBU and is available now in cans and on tap from the brewery in Annapolis Royal. 

Tusket Falls Brewing keeps things busy with their two locations and they’re also keeping it fresh with a brand new release that you can pick up today. Long Way Around is a triple berry sour ale that isn’t your standard kettle sour. They’ve put a lot into this beer (literally), as it’s something that’s been under development for awhile, but has been helped out with a new Lactobacillus blend from the good folks at Escarpment Labs. The bacteria was the souring agent but also provided some guava and lemon aroma and flavour. Smooth mouthfeel and a bit of balancing sweetness was introduced by a lactose addition, and it was all brought together with a hazy IPA yeast strain, as this sour also featured a dry hopping of Strata and Citra, which brought orange citrus and strawberry aromas. And we haven’t even got to the berries yet! Bringing this one home was infusions of real blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry, AND a bit of vanilla bean AND ALSO sea salt! Definitely a brew from the “But Wait, There’s MORE!” category. Arriving in your glass at 6.5% it’s definitely worth grabbing a can or pint at their Halifax or Tusket locations to see how all of those elements meld into a tasty beverage.

Don’t forget it’s Pumpkin SZN, as the kids say, or used to say? Don’t forget, we’re old. In addition to our guardian roundup last week, Schoolhouse Brewing has brought back a seasonal beer with Pumpkin Paddler, their annual pumpkin ale. First released back in 2017, this beer was first introduced to celebrate the annual Pumpkin Regatta in Windsor, Nova Scotia, an event where people hollow out giant pumpkins and race them in the water. When Lake Pisquid was no longer able to provide a home for the race, some enterprising folks up and moved the whole durn thing to the South Shore, where it is now part of the Shelburne County Giant Pumpkin Festival. This year will be the second year on the Shelburne waterfront and if you’re interested in guiding a gourd to glory on Thanksgiving weekend, you can find out more information here. But meanwhile, back to the beer! Schoolhouse had been known to put an entry of their own in the regatta, so the Pumpkin Paddler Pumpkin Ale is a perfect release to remind folks in Windsor of an event that meant a lot to the brewery and community. The beer is 6.0% and featured additions of pumpkin puree, cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg. A mix of noble hops provided the bitterness and balance to this dry and drinkable fall ale. Expect it to show up soon in private stores in Halifax, but rest assured it’s available in cans and on draught at the brewery. 

Over the summer, Landwash’s Czech-style Lager got a bit of a makeover, with a light name change to Landwash Cold Lager. To celebrate the new name and branding, they are holding a launch event tomorrow, Sept 16 in the taproom. All day, they will be offering $5 mugs of Cold Lager in three distinct pour styles straight from Plzeň. Hladinka is a full mug with a full head of dense foam, Snyt is a 50/50 mug with half foam and half beer, and Mliko is also known as a Milk Pour, and is almost entirely foam. DIfferent pours for different situations, we say! They are also taking the opportunity to invite their Friends in Lager on tap for the day, with Bannerman, Dildo, and Port Rexton all pouring lagers too. And from noon until 11 PM, they are giving away a 12-pack of LCL to one lucky attendee every hour, on the hour! And for those unable to attend, look for the new branding of 12 packs of Cold Lager for your very own Beer is Nice crested coaster, which will win you a full flat of Landwash beer of your choosing. Look for those packs at NLCs, and your favourite small retailer.

A few events to tell you about this weekend and the near future! For those in areas affected by Hurricane Lee, be sure to check the conditions, and confirm your spots are opening, before heading out!

Hopyard is hosting Godspeed Brewery Tap Takeover this weekend, with seven beers from the Toronto-based brewery pouring right now. Sklepnik Pilsner (fermented in pitch-lined foedres), Tmavý Ležák 12º Dark Czech Lager, Fukami Munich Dunkel, Arbeit Hefeweizen, Yuzu Saison, Kekkon Raspberry Sour, and Ochame Green Tea IPA. This also marks the return of their original chef Jane Crawford, who is back in the kitchen again, and who has prepared a Japanese-inspired Ekiben meal to fit with the Montreal-to Japan-to Toronto story of Godpseed’s history. The beer and menu will be on until they sell out, so be sure to pop in today to avoid disappointment!

The Lower Sackville beer bar Tapestry Beer Bar kicks off our Oktoberfest news as the official Oktoberfest in Munich is September 16th to October 3rd. Tapestry will be featuring 12 German style beers from 12 different Nova Scotia breweries. If you’re reading this and itching to try some of them before Hurricane Lee hits, you can order a Mystery Flight of the beers. You’ll have to keep track of them manually though, as the full tap list won’t be revealed until later this weekend. The plan is for the event to start on Saturday, but keep an eye on their socials. It’s not looking good for Saturday, and you don’t know what kind of damage could happen with the hurricane, so check out the venue online before heading out this weekend.

Hopping over to Moncton, the wonderful folks at Tire Shack are next on the Oktoberfest lineup. Every Saturday and Sunday this month they’ll have food from Euston Park, special branded 1 litre maß mugs and they’ll be filling them with their delicious Helles Yeah! Munich style Helles lager. They also have a re-release of their award-winning The Wickerman, which is a Pumpkin Vienna Lager that is out today.  Again, this is planned to start Friday, September 15th, to beat the hurricane, but keep an eye out for the rest of the weekend if you plan to head over. 

New to the block but staying true to the tradition, Smokehouse’s new Agricola street location will be doing Oktoberfest beers from September 16th to October 3rd (again, check the weather and their socials for any delays!). They’ve brewed 5 traditional beers for the celebration and will also be planning to serve Brothers sausages on the BBQ. They’ll have special steins for serving the following special pours: Munich Dunkel, Märzen, Bavarian Wheat, Kölsch and a Festbier. 

Next up we’ve got a familiar pairing from the last few years, as The BG (formerly the home of the original Stillwell Beergarden and previously named the Stubborn Goat Beer Garden on the Halifax Waterfront) and Garrison Brewing are teaming up for their annual Oktoberfest! Just like previous years they’ve got a full menu of German platters (Knackwurst & Schnitzel), snacks and beer. This will be lasting for 10 days and will start on Monday September 18th. On Friday Sept 22nd there will be a big rocking party with Rankin MacInnis too. Stay tuned to their socials for any details or changes.

A few last quick mentions to send you into a (hopefully uneventful) weekend!

Out of Fredericton, Maybee Brewing has a new Double IPA just in time for the weekend. Retrograde is a DIPA that is big on citrus and fruit aromas. Lots of orange and ripe tangerine flavour for a dry finished and drinkable DIPA. At 8.3% you can grab this in cans or on tap from their taproom.

If you’re near Quidi Vidi and have been keeping up with the brewery’s Arts & IPA series, we can tease that the 10th iteration in the series will be available next week. Featuring new can art and featured artists for each release, new hop and flavour combinations are also explored. This Arts & IPAs 10 will feature Idaho 7 hops and will be a 7.5% IPA. Keep an eye out for it next week, featuring artwork from Molly Margaret!

After its launch at the end of last month, the non-alcoholic Nomad Pilsner sold out within days. Good news for those thirsty for more, as it is now back in stock! Brewed by Tatamagouche Brewing, the Pilsner is just the tip of the iceberg in the NA space. Look for several more styles to come through the taps in the next few months. Check their taproom and retail shop on Main Street Tatamagouche, or their online shop for local delivery or nationwide shipping.