Here we are, we’ve leapt into March, and with March Break, Easter, and March Madness, it’s a month that flies right on by. But, today is International Women’s Day and while we want to say “why do we need this day? Isn’t everything equitable and fair across all humanity?” Nope! But we would love to see more Brave Noise, Pink Boots and women-supported and-led initiatives all year round, not just for the day. In other news, there’s a time change this weekend, just in time for March Break, so does that mean we get one hour less of drinking time? No way! We’ll keep this short and sweet, but we do want to start the news with the results from a recent homebrew competition from last week.
As they have been doing since 2013, Big Spruce has once again held their Home Brew Challenge, giving the chance for Maritime homebrewers to put their skills to the test for a chance to win bragging rights, and see a commercial batch of their homebrew recipe brewed for public consumption. This year’s competition was a chance to get an early crack at two yeasts developed by Guelph’s Escarpment Labs, Elysium and Pomona. We’ll leave the nerdy details to Escarpment, and just tell you that the competition was fierce, with 34 entries in the two categories, and the brewers taking home top honours a mix of both experienced and new to the craft. “Any Given Sunday”, as they say! Top marks go to Joël Imbeau for his 124 Conch Street fermented with Pomona and Daniel Matheson & David Morgan for their West Coast Paradise produced using Elysium. Look for these to hit the local market in the coming months, once the winners have made their way up to Nyanza for a heck of a good time!
As mentioned above, Friday, March 8th, marks International Women’s Day (IWD) and we have a few releases to highlight.
In Halifax, Propeller Brewing has two new releases from the women of Propeller. First up is the Pink Boots Dry Hopped Sour. At 4.8% this is a limited edition sour with big citrus and tropical, and a sour candy apple finish. It uses this year’s Yakima Chief Pink Boots Hop Blend to prop up the nose, which boasts beautiful aromatics from the dry hopping.
Second from Propeller is Pink Books Hazy Pale Ale. At 5% this release intends to showcase the same Pink Boots Hop Blend in an approachable style and ABV. This one uses a lot of flaked wheat and pilsner malt, along with a double dry-hop of Pink Boots. Both of these releases are on tap only at the taprooms and Propeller Arcade.
Also with two releases this week, Tatamagouche Brewing has their own IWD beer to kick off their duo. Yolande is an India Session Ale at 4.6% brewed by the women of the brewery. Yolande means “violet flower” and is also the namesake of a ship built in Tatamagouche in the late 19th century. This beer also uses the same Yakima Chief x Pink Boots Society 7th annual Hop Blend, which brings sweet melon, orange and mango flavours. Team Tata, like Propeller’s crew, elected to use them in an approachable style to try and highlight the hops in a light and drinkable package. A portion of all sales will be donated to the Third Place Transition House in Truro, Nova Scotia. and the Pink Boots Society Canadian Chapter.
Second up from TataBrew is the returning Collusion Double IPA. It is packed with the combination of Citra and Mosaic hops to bring flavours of tangerine, pineapple and watermelon. It is juicy, very drinkable and has light bitterness in a 7.9% package. Both of these releases are canned and available from the brewery and Bishop’s Cellar (in store or delivery for both!).
Over to Fredericton, where Trailway has their own pair of new beers. Both are timely releases, with one being re-released for IWD and the other one for St. Patrick’s Day. Starting with the returning Physica, this is a “raspberry cream IPA” brewed with proceeds of sales being donated to Sexual Violence New Brunswick and Hestia House, local organizations supporting women subject to domestic or sexual violence. The beer itself uses raspberry puree and El Dorado and Mosaic hops for a soft and sweet impression in a 5.6% package.
Also from Trailway is Dry Irish Stout. At 4.8% this is a traditional creamy, balanced, and roasty stout just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Canned and available from the brewery, there will be some special kegs of this released for Paddy’s Day weekend. This is the first of the style for Trailway, so make sure to grab it in cans or on tap if you can!
In last week’s news and following up from Big Spruce above, they are one of a pair of Atlantic Canadian breweries taking part in the grassroots International Tripel Day, which was celebrated Sunday, March 3rd. Highlighting this traditional Belgian style of beer known for being malt forward, and extremely drinkable, despite often topping 9% ABV, the Spruce’s entry is one they have brewed previously, named simply Tripel – Belgian Pale Ale. At 9.3% ABV, it has some ester-y goodness from the yeast, coming through as banana bread, light spiciness, and some sunny citrus. On the palate, it is an incredibly smooth beer with a hint of sweetness.
And just a hop, skip, and a jump (aka, ferry or plane) away is Dildo, Newfoundland, where the namesake brewery released Barrel Aged Belgian Style Tripel, a beer more than a year in the making! Brewed with a simple malt bill, the traditional monastic yeast has created some great fruity esters along with touches of pepper and clove on the nose. Twelve months of aging in oak white wine barrels allowed those characteristics come through in spades, while also providing the beer extra time to ferment completely and finish drier than others in the style. Available now exclusively at their Dildo taproom and Water Street (St. John’s) Bottle Shop, in limited quantities!
We’ve got a big collaboration brew out now for Fredericton’s three-week Burger Battle bonanza! With a brand new beer called Want Fries With That? This is a Hazy IPA that is packed with Galaxy and HBC 1019, it brings big flavours of coconut, peaches and citrus. This beer was brewed at Foghorn but in collaboration with Big Spruce, Lone Oak and Hops Connect, who together designed and produced a 6.5% and 30 IBU hazy brew. You can only get this one in New Brunswick so keep an eye out at your burger places all around Fredericton.
Continuing in the collaboration department, we’ve got a Newfoundland East meets West release. Port Rexton hosted Deer Lake’s Rough Waters to brew up a big hoppy West Coast Double IPA. Let’s Make It Weird is 8.5% and is classically West Coast with its clear, light copper colour, citrus aroma, and some pine and woodsy notes as well. This is available at the Port Rexton taproom and in cans at their St. John’s Retail shop.
Space Jam friends unite (no not the new one, Lebron fans) and check out the latest brew from Maybee Brewing. If you look at the label you’ll understand, but Slam Dunkel is a brand new dark lager in the classic Dunkel style with a base of Munich malt from the Fredericton brewery. With its highly drinkable notes of coffee and chocolate, it’s smooth and balanced at 4.5% and 25 IBU. This is canned and kegged, so look for this from the brewery and anywhere else you find Maybee products!
And a few last mentions to see you on your way for the weekend:
Does Tanner put out a new beer every week? It seems like it! Pilsner is back from the brewery, using an exclusive Pilsner malt from Horton Ridge, who are continuing to expand their oeuvre to serve the local market. The malt is currently just for Tanner and is featured in this traditional German-style pilsner. It’s crisp and dry with a slightly spicy floral finish. It’s 4.8% and 35 IBU, canned and available from the brewery.
Wolfville’s Annapolis Cider has a new Something Different on tap that is available now. Robuste is a more traditional cider, fermented in French Oak and split up and aged for another year in rum barrels and two other grades of French Oak. The apples for this were entirely heirloom varieties (like Golden Russet, no that’s not a potato!) and English cider varieties (like Dabinette) and the result is funky and strong, with a clean finish at 11%. Only available for pints and fills at the cidery, fifty cents of each refill of Something Different supports the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Halifax. Swing by to try this complex wonder!
Fusion is back from Burnside Brewing, as this big dry-hopped beer uses a mix of hops in the hazy IPA style. Fermented and dry-hopped with Callista, Ariana,and Hallertau Blanc. It’s 6.9% and unchanged from the previous recipe. It’s back for a limited time and is canned and available at all the Burnside locations.