Maybee Brewing

All posts tagged Maybee Brewing

Maybee Brewing Co. – Opening Soon in Fredericton, NB

Posted by acbbshawn on 2015-10-26
Posted in: Profiles. Tagged: Maybee Brewing. 1 comment

maybee

Fredericton will soon be welcoming their fifth brewery to the area, as Maybee Brewing Co. plans to open in the city before the end of this year. Originally announced back in August, progress is coming along nicely, as owner/brewer Paul Maybee is currently working hard at the brewery’s location (559 Wilsey Rd., Unit 4) to finish up construction in time to open before Christmas. Originally from Rose Bay, Nova Scotia, Paul has been living in Fredericton for the past 8 years with his wife, Mikey, and their two young boys. He currently has his own business, Kingfisher Distributing, which imports low-level laser therapy equipment for acupuncture, wound healing, etc. A homebrewer for the past decade, Paul is now ready to focus his efforts on his true passion! Now that the opening date is getting closer, we touched based with Paul to get some details on what he has planned for his brewery…

Is there something specific that got you into the world of craft beer?

I think I got my appreciation of craft beer from my brother, Dave. He would always bring over IPAs and Russian Imperial Stouts when I was drinking Oland’s. He made me realize there was more to beer than that, and we could sit down and talk about the beer we were drinking.

Tell me a little about your homebrewing history.

I’ve been homebrewing for 10 years. I started – like most people – doing Festa Brew kits, and that did the trick for me for a while. It was cheaper, better beer and I was young and poor, so it did the trick.

What made you decide to take the step into brewing professionally?

My wife, Mikey, really encouraged me to do it. It became a passion that took over most of my free time, and I have experience starting and running a business. So Mikey put the idea in my head and she put a lot of faith in me. I would also credit the beer club here (NBCBA) for making me want to start a brewery. I had always wanted to do it, but never thought I could. I gained a lot of knowledge and confidence being in the club.

What steps have you taken so far getting everything up and running?

It’s been 2 years already, and most of that time is fundraising, paperwork, applications, applications, re-doing applications. You have to prove yourself to a lot of people before you get anywhere, and that can be discouraging. Now that the ball is rolling, we’ve got a fair bit of the construction done, plumbing, floor drains, our walk-in cooler was installed last week, the tanks are here, and now we’re just waiting for the epoxy floors and finishing touches before they can be placed and connected. I’m hoping to be brewing on November 15th.

Do you have any partners in the brewery?

Mikey and I are running the brewery together, with the very important help of our two boys (ages 4 years and 7 weeks). Mikey does all the artwork for the cans, glassware, and website, and will be in charge of our Quality Assurance lab; I’ll be making the beer.

What size/type of system will you be brewing on?

We’re brewing on a 10 barrel DME system. We’re double batching into our 20bbl fermentors, which allows us to do back-to-back brews without the wait. DME is based in Charlottetown, so we were happy that the best system for us was also an Atlantic Canadian company that we could feel good about supporting.

tanks

Do you know when your beers will be available to the public?

We’re aiming for a December 1st opening, with a grand-opening party sometime mid-December.

What are your plans for distribution? Plans for tap accounts, bottles, growlers, etc.?

An important aspect of our plan is having packaged beer in 16 oz cans. This will allow us to distribute through the ANBL stores, as well as exporting our beer to Nova Scotia, PEI, and also hopefully on to Ontario, Quebec and the US markets eventually. We will also have a taproom at our location where customers can fill growlers, buy cans, and enjoy a pint of our beer with a view of the brewery. We will be organizing regular brewery tours, too.

Do you have any beer bars/restaurants in the area lined up to serve your beers?

So far, we are going to be on tap at the James Joyce, King Street Ale House, and 540 Kitchen & Bar.

Can you tell me about the beer(s) you plan on offering initially? Are you planning on offering a specific style, or genres (German, English, etc), of beer? Any seasonals, one-offs, or will you stick mainly with a “flagship lineup”?

We plan on having two beers in cans, initially: Roseway Red (6% ABV, 70 IBUs), a crisp and refreshing American Amber, and Workhorse IPA (7.2% ABV, 70 IBUs), an American IPA. They will also be available in the taproom, along with two other rotating beers. Rotating beers will include Birdseye Pale Ale (6% ABV, 55 IBUs), an easy-drinking APA; Elevensies Espresso Stout (5% ABV, 43 IBUs), made with Fair Trade Organic espresso beans; Rye IPA (~7% ABV, 75 IBUs), made with Rye malted in Atlantic Canada; Belgian Tripel (9.2% ABV, 25 IBUs), a golden Belgian ale with a dry, complex, fruity taste; and Belgian Quadrupel (11.5% ABV), which has a very complex flavour, and is a real sipper that should appeal to wine drinkers… I hope to have this one ready by Christmas.

Like with any brewery just getting started, our lineup will change over time. We like to say we are style agnostic, but I really like American and Belgian style beers, and you can expect some sours and Brett (Brettanomyces) beers down the line too.

cans

Have you had any assistance from other breweries/people in Atlantic Canada (or elsewhere)?

Too many to mention really. When I decided to jump into this project two years ago and approached a few breweries to ask questions, I was blown away by how much they wanted to help. I’ve made a lot of good friends in the industry already. I’ve even visited breweries in British Columbia, Oregon, D.C., and Germany, and everyone has been very helpful.

With the recent increase in the number of new breweries in Atlantic Canada, what will make Maybee Brewing different from the rest?

This is an interesting question. It’s impossible not to be different, really. Every brewery has its own style, and that’s what makes it so interesting for beer fans. We’re offering a wide variety to people with a huge range of preferences. I don’t need my beer to be everyone’s favorite, but it is my favorite, and that’s a quality standard I’ll hold every beer that leaves our brewery to.

Where do you hope to see Maybee Brewing in the next 2-3 years?

Honestly, I want this to be fun for us, our staff, and anyone who drinks our beer. Once I’m satisfied everyone is having fun with it and the quality is there, I will take a very close look at our environmental impact. Maybe not in 2-3 years, but I plan to have a carbon neutral brewery, running solely on renewable energy. This is attainable and something that is very important to us as a family. We will always be expanding our lineup of beers as well, introducing sours (as I’ve mentioned before), barrel-aged beers, and more interesting styles that aren’t easy to get in New Brunswick.

maybee

Do you personally have a favorite beer style? Beer? Brewery?

I’d say right now my favorite beer is Orval.  I love Brett beers done well, and the Trappist monks have perfected the craft.

Do you have a specific ingredient in brewing that you like to brew with? E.g. a specific malt and/or hop variety?

I really like brewing with local ingredients. One of my current favourites are sumac berries. They have a very tart flavour that goes well with a Witbier. It’s a summery beer, so I’ll probably introduce that as a seasonal next summer.

From what/where/whom have you learned the most in respect to brewing?

The people in the NBCBA have a wealth of knowledge and are willing to share it with anyone. For anyone interested in brewing, even just for fun, join the club. It’s the second best thing that ever happened to my brewing.

We’re excited to welcome yet another new brewery to Fredericton; we’ll be keeping you up-to-date over the coming weeks as Maybee Brewing gets closer to their opening day. And stay tuned for news on their Grand Opening party as well! In the meantime, follow the brewery’s progress through their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for constant updates.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Shiretown, Maybee Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Hammond River, Grimross, Petit-Sault, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2015-08-21
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Flying Boats Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, James Joyce Irish Pub, Maybee Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. 1 comment

Howdy, beer lovers! Time for your weekly dose of Atlantic Canadian beer news. Unfortunately, we have to lead off with some sad news…

• Shiretown Beer, first operating out of Dalhousie, and then Charlo, New Brunswick since 2011, has officially closed their doors. Their regular-release beers (including Blonde du Quai, Big Brown Ale, and Siren’s t’Ale) have been available in bottles at ANBL stores for some time, and have been pouring on tap (along with multiple seasonals and one-offs) at several accounts across the province, including the Heron’s Nest Pub, located next door to the brewery. Graduating from just 40 litre batches up to 1.5 hL, all while using their Sabco Brew-Magic system, Derek and company have been working with local producers (Southan Farms hops, for instance), and promoting the craft beer movement in Northern New Brunswick for many years. On the bright side, we understand that owner/brewer Derek Leslie will still be working in the industry, and we look forward to catching up with him in the near future!

• In good news for New Brunswick, however, there’s a new brewery opening this fall in Fredericton! Maybee Brewing Co. will be owned and operated by Paul Maybee, an avid home brewer (and NBCBA member) based in the city. Construction on the 10 BBL brewery and tasting room (located at 559 Wilsey Rd.) has already begun. The brewery will focus on hoppy American ales and Belgian styles (including an American Amber, American IPA, Pale Ale, and Belgian Tripel as their initial launch beers), and coming up with their own twist on other styles of beers. Along with pints and growler fills at the tasting room, their beers will be available at select beer bars/restaurants throughout Fredericton, and in cans at ANBL stores. You can follow along with the brewery construction progress on their Facebook and Instagram pages, and we will have a Q&A posted in the coming months.

• Tatamagouche Brewing released a new beer late last week, Little Russian Parti-gyle Stout. A parti-gyle beer involves running a second (or third) volume of hot water through the grains in the mash tun, and extracting some sugar still left over from the initial mash. The wort is then treated as a completely separate beer, boiled, hopped, and fermented independently from its big sister. In Tata’s case, that initial mash and beer is now fermenting as a Russian Imperial Stout, to be released in September, hence the Little Russian moniker for this beer. The LR is a 3% ABV beer, fairly light in body, but still features some roast flavours thanks to the darker malts used in the grain bill. The beer was hopped with Ahtanum, Centennial, and Magnum. The Little Russian can be purchased in cans and growlers at the brewery, and in growler fills at Harvest Wines and RockHead. Also look for it on tap at Agricola Street Brasserie, Stillwell, and Stubborn Goat.

• There’s currently a new beer fermenting over at Hammond River, and it’s a big one! Sterke Monnik is the first Belgian-style ale brewed on the HR system. It’s a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that should weigh in at approximately 10.4% ABV. While obviously a strong beer, the goal is one that is smooth, rich, and complex, with lots of malt and dark fruit characteristics, along with some classic Belgian fruity esters and spicy phenolics. Brewed with a Pilsner base malt, some dark Crystal malts, Special B (a specialty malt known for providing raisin and plum characteristics), and plenty of dark Belgian candi syrup, it was hopped with Hallertau to 33 IBUs. Look for this one to pop up at Hammond River’s regular accounts in two to three weeks.

• In other NB Belgian beer news, Grimross just released their Grimross Dubbel. A 6.8% ABV brew that is lightly hopped to 18 IBUs, it exhibits a coppery-brown colour and has notes of dark fruit and caramel, a dry finish, and mild alcohol warmth. Fermented with two yeast strains (a Belgian Abbey strain, and a neutral American strain), the beer had an addition of Demerara sugar, a light-tan, raw sugar with a coarse texture that can add notes of molasses to the final beer. It’s available now for pours and growlers at the brewery, and at better beer establishments across the province.

• Petit-Sault released a new seasonal offering earlier this week, and it came just in time for the heat wave we’ve been experiencing! John Stadig is named after a Madawaska counterfeiter who was one of the first civilian inmates at Alcatraz prison, in 1934. An “Orange-Ginger White Beer”, the grist includes 50% Wheat malt that adds a “bready, subtle spiciness, and an almost silky mouthfeel”, according to the brewery. Real, fresh-grated ginger was added at the end of the boil, along with fresh orange peel, to provide lots of aromatics and flavour to the beer; it comes in at a supremely-drinkable 4% ABV. It’s currently available at the brewery for a limited time for growler fills, and will be hitting all four ANBL growler stations next week; you can also find it on tap at the James Joyce in Fredericton. In other Petit-Sault news, their regular-release Witbier (and one of their first two launch beers), Tante Blanche, is now out of circulation until next May; it will be a summer seasonal from this point on.

• Sea Level Brewing is looking for a Brewing Assistant at their Port Williams location. Tasks include brewing, running the canning machine, filling growlers, and other tasks in the brewery. Brewing knowledge is preferred, but not required for the position. To apply, drop off a resume to Owner/Brewmaster Randy Lawrence at the brewery, weekdays 10am-4pm.

• Tickets for this year’s Fredericton Poutine Festival, being held Saturday November 21st at the Crowne Plaza, are now on sale, and are going fast! It looks like the evening session is sold out, but there are still some afternoon tickets available (which this year includes beer), as well as the family friendly, 12-2pm session (including free tickets for children under 12). We will have more details next week when the brewery list is finalized, but expect 8 breweries to be pouring, along with at least five establishments serving up more than a dozen styles of Poutine!

• Shediac Bay’s Flying Boats Brewing will be holding their Launch Party at the Laundromat Expresso Bar on Thursday, Sept. 3rd, starting at 7 pm. While Flying Boats has been open since early last month, this will be their official launch, and they’re bringing two kegs to be tapped for the event. The first is their S-55 Special Mission Dark Pale Ale, a 5.7% ABV, Cascade-hopped APA that first made its debut during the NB Tap Takeover at the James Joyce during the NB Day long weekend. The other is the Empress Irish Red Ale, a 5.5% ABV, 20 IBUs beer that “focuses on the maltiness and creaminess of the barley malt and wheat that is used”, according to the brewery, and features a “nice, roasted caramel flavour”.

Thanks for reading this week! In Fredericton, TrailWay has rebrewed their D’Under, an American Pale Ale hopped entirely with Australian Galaxy; this time around, they’ve increased the hop additions, so expect even more tropical fruitiness than before! And in Halifax, Good Robot Brewing are now pouring at two of the city’s markets. Catch them at the Halifax Forum Farmers’ Market Saturday 8am-1pm, and the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market Sundays.