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Friday Wrap-Up for July 5, 2019 – News from Gahan House Halifax, Lone Oak, Annapolis Cider, Big Spruce, North, Bannerman, Landwash, Secret Cove and much more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2019-07-05
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Annapolis Cider Company, Backstage Brewing, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Gahan House (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, King Street Beer Co., Landwash Brewery, Lone Oak Brewing, Niche Brewing, Nine Locks Brewery, North Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Royal St. John's Regatta, Secret Cove Brewing, Shipwright Brewing, The Guv'nor, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

What a difference a week makes! From dreary drizzly weather, to beautiful 20C+ weather in all 4 Atlantic provinces, this is definitely the weekend to get outside and enjoy it. Whether that means hitting a local taproom patio, or grabbing cans, bottles, or growler fills from your local brewery and hitting the lake, we hope you have an awesome safe beer-filled weekend!

Gahan’s Halifax location opened on the weekend, in the downtown Nova Centre at Argyle/Prince/Market/Sackville streets. After closing their Harbourfront location in the spring, they upgraded the brewing equipment with some sweet new brewhouse gear (increasing capacity from their former cramped location), as well as some 1,000 litre foeders from PEI’s own New World Foeders. While the ‘fax-brewed-beers haven’t hit the taps quite yet, they are pouring the full complement of Island beers from their core lineup, beers from the other Gahan locations in PEI and New Brunswick, as well as guest taps. Keep an eye on their social media (Fb / Ig / Tw ) and here, of course, for updates on their next big releases brewed by roving Gahan Brewer Spencer Gallant. One of those releases is the return of Sin Bin, their 4.4% ABV German Kolsch in celebration of the PEI Mudmen Rugby Team, of which Gallant is a member. Look for the beer on tap and in cans at the PEIBC locations on the Island, and further afield soon, no doubt.

Speaking of Mr. Gallant, we have great news to share on his plans to branch out (pun intended). Gallant is teaming up with friends and business partners Jared Murphy and Dillon Wight to bring another Island brewery to life later this year. Lone Oak Brewing Company will have its home base in Borden-Carlton, at 103 Abegweit Blvd in the Gateway Village, with a brewery, taproom, and retail location opening in the fall. As their name implies, wood will be a big component of the beers available, with their barrel-aged line set to be released in Spring 2020. In the meantime, peep their progress on all of the media (Fb / Ig / Tw ) and ready yourselves to a new place to stop on your way to, or from, the Island.

It’s pretty grand cider weather out there lately, and Annapolis Cider Company has released the latest entry in their Something Different series, just in the nick of time! This latest cider is Cherry & Coriander, which is made from a blend of their flagship Crisp & Dry (featuring fresh-pressed juice from Northern Spy, McIntosh, and Cortland apples) and the juice of Montmorency cherries (a sour cherry variety). This 7.3% ABV blend was then cold-steeped with crushed coriander seeds, contributing “lemony citrus aromas” to the final product, which also has notes of tart cherry, citrus, and spice. And as with all Something Different ciders, $0.50 from each refill goes towards a local charitable recipient; this cider’s contribution will support the Wolfville School Activity Park. 

Attention, Milkshake IPA fanatics! Big Spruce Brewing is pouring fresh samples of their latest, I Scream, You Screamsicle, a 7.2% ABV IPA sweetened with lactose in the boil, hopped and dry-hopped with high levels of Nugget, Mosaic and El Dorado, and featuring an addition of vanilla and organic blood orange concentrate. Swing on by the taproom this weekend while touring beautiful Cape Breton, grab yourself a pint of this silky smooth brew, and take in the citrus and vanilla flavours… and the view! If you can’t make it to the brewery, we kinda sorta understand, and fear not: kegs will also be making their way to some of your favourite Big Spruce licensees. Also, good news for those of you who missed the limited run of The Hour of Sour when it was released back in March, as this mixed-fermentation sour conditioned on organic raspberries is back on tap. At 6.3% ABV, they like to describe it as The Silver Tart’s “cool grown-up Aunt” – funky, lots of raspberry, with a subtle lavender presence.

Now that it’s finally getting hot out there, you’ll probably notice an increase in fruity, refreshing, “summery” beers from the breweries in our region, and Dartmouth’s North Brewing is no exception. Today sees the release of Nordic Tea Saison, an interesting-sounding beer that was brewed with a small amount of honey, and fermented with the Ebbegarden Kveik Blend from Escarpment Labs. The finished beer was also conditioned on fresh lemon and grapefruit zest (with the emphasis on lemon), and received an addition of an Earl Gray tincture, made with tea from the World Tea House. Coming in at 5.4% ABV, you can grab cans at the North bottle shops, and seek it out on tap at several North accounts, including Battery Park, Stillwell, and the Board Room Game Cafe.

St. John’s, Newfoundland’s new brewery on the block, Bannerman Brewing, has wasted no time getting into the collaboration game with a beer coming out this week that they brewed with the fine folks from Mount Pearl’s Landwash Brewery. Dream Time is being called a Lactose DIPA, no doubt thanks to an addition of lactic sugar. Hops-wise this one features a “healthy amount” of Galaxy and Sabro, which should provide aromas and flavors of tropical fruit and coconut, a perfect complement to the sweetness of the sugar. They celebrated the release of this one at the brewery by inviting the gang from Landwash down for a tap takeover last night with 6 Landwash brews and 6 of Bannerman’s own taps running, and some Brackish cask action. Hopefully, if you were in the St. John’s area yesterday evening you took advantage of an awesome chance to try some beer from two of Newfoundland’s newest! Otherwise, maybe think about heading down today and seeing what leftovers might be pouring! And for those looking for even more, Landwash will be releasing their version of this home-and-home collaboration shortly, with a full can release to boot.

On the other side of the Rock, in Port au Port East, Secret Cove Brewing also has a new beer on tap this week. Described in style as a “Devoted Pale Ale,” Oat to Newfoundland is inspired by Newfoundland’s official anthem, which is usually publicly performed by singing the first verse and the last; this beer is intended to be delicious from the first sip to the last. At 4.9% ABV you’ll be able to have a few and still sing clearly. It’s got a smooth and silky mouthfeel, a distinctive orange color, and has been triple dry hopped with classic American varieties perfect for a light and hoppy summer ale. You’ll find it on tap at the brewery now alongside the return of their Hard Case in Your Face DIPA.

In Fredericton, TrailWay Brewing has announced that their bottle program will officially kick off today with the release of El Tipico. Similar to their draught/can beer El Generico, El Tipico will be an ever-changing sour beer series. Unlike EG, however, ET is not a kettle-soured brew, meaning that while it was indeed soured with Lactobacillus (in this case, a blend from Escarpment Labs), the wort was not boiled afterward in order to kill the Lactobacillus before fermentation. Instead, it was fermented with the brewery’s house ale yeast, and then allowed to age on tart cherries for four weeks. The beer was then carbonated via CO2 (although it did pick up some natural carb thanks to the refermentation from the fruit addition) and packaged in kegs and 500 mL bottles. The final product exhibits “an increased complexity and softer acidity”, compared to EG, according to the brewery, along with plenty of citrus fruit on the nose and palate, with a “refreshing, smooth sour/tartness” in the finish. Bottles are available at the brewery as of 11 am this morning, and it’ll also be pouring on tap for pints (no growler fills). 

Hold on, TW isn’t content to stop there this week! They’re also bringing us a brand new canned beer to help you through these hot summer days, Fandango. It’s a 4% ABV brew that was dry-hopped with a new-to-TW hop combo (including a new hop that they’re keeping a secret for now… although we have a good guess!), and then hit with an addition of mango puree. Showing notes of “coconut, tangerine, mango and papaya”, it’s hitting taps/shelves at the brewery at the same time as El Tipico. Finally, TW’s Citra-only American IPA, Seeing Citra, is also freshly available, so you’ve got a wide variety to keep you interested when you drop in this weekend. 

Hopping back over to Nova Scotia, or more specifically, Stellarton, where Backstage Brewing Co. has a new Session IPA out to help you beat the summer heat. Stiff Hopper Lip was brewed with a hefty portion of oats in the grist, helpful in low ABV beers (in this case, 4.3%) to boost the mouthfeel and add a silkiness that demands another sip or six. Hopped in the whirlpool with Centennial, Columbus, Citra and Simcoe, it was then dry-hopped with all four varieties, as well as some Amarillo. Fermented with two different IPA yeast strains, you can probably expect all sorts of fruit/citrus flavours, and maybe even some dank in there, too. If you’re out for a drive this weekend and passing by the brewery, we suggest dropping in to pick some of this one up!

And staying in Pictou County, across the causeway from Stellarton (or down the 104 and up Highway 376 if you like the alternative inland scenic route), Uncle Leo’s Brewery has a new beer pouring in Lyon’s Brook that they just tapped yesterday. Although largely known for their classic American and German styles, this one has its roots in another European country. The aptly-named Odin’s Summer Ale is a table beer in the Norwegian style, leveraging the (very) warm-fermenting Kveik yeast that’s been all the rage lately along with some traditional juniper, in ground form. Ultra-light, at just 3.8% ABV, this coppery-colored beer with spicy and fruity notes is a perfect patio beer for this weekend’s heat wave. Come by the brewery and grab a growler (big or little), as it’s not in cans yet, but will be shortly. And while your there, by all means grab a few of Uncle Leo’s other award-winning offerings – their Ceilidh Kolsch and Sunburst Pale Ale are both lovely summer crushers as well and Encore IPA will make any hophead sit up and take notice.

The fine folks behind Halifax’s Bishop’s Cellar have been involved in several collaborating brews since they opened sixteen years ago, and today marks yet another notch in their collab cap with a release from Garrison Brewing. Boardwalk Empire is being billed as a hoppy Hefeweizen, and was brewed recently with the staff from Bishop’s. With a classic Weizen grist of Pilsner and wheat malts, it was hopped not-so-classically with decent amounts of German varietals Hallertau Blanc, Huell Melon, and Mandarina Bavaria (to 14 IBUs). Another great summer sipper, it’s showing aromas of banana, clove, and bubblegum (expected in a Weizen), as well as melon, pear, grapefruit and pine (maybe not expected!), all supported by a “lingering earthy, resinous, and peppery bitterness”. Sound tasty? Well, the 5.5% ABV beer available as of today in 473 mL cans, exclusively at Bishop’s Cellar and Garrison now. 

Down in Lunenburg, on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, Shipwright Brewing continues to put out new stuff on a fairly frequent basis, especially for a small operation. Slipway Brut IPA is exactly what it says in the name, an IPA brewed to dry out almost completely. For additional interest, though, brewer Kellye Robertson applied two yeasts: first, a primary fermentation with Northwest Ale and then a krausening with the Belgian Ardennes strain, a technique bound to provide some extra complexity in a beer designed to be light in body. Also a hop showcase, it was hopped solely with Hallertau Blanc, known for white wine characteristics that should be complemented nicely by the extra yeast character. With notes of banana, lemongrass, gooseberry and passionfruit, the beer comes in at 6.6% ABV and 30 IBU with a dry finish and a “bright, but balanced bitterness.” Find it on tap at the Grand Banker and for pints or to go (Crowlers & Growlers) from the brewery itself.

Upstreet has teamed up with the Inn at Bay Fortune – a long-running restaurant/inn located in Bay Fortune, PEI – to brew a special beer, FireWorks Farmhouse Saison. Brewed with “fresh flavours from their farm and fires”, it features Herkules and Calypso hops, was fermented with a custom yeast blend of Kveik and French Saison from Escarpment Labs, and was based on a grist of 2-row barley malt and wheat malt from Shoreline Malting along with some Golden Naked Oats and rye malt. But wait, there’s more! Locally foraged elderberries and sumac, sea salt produced at the Inn, and some applewood from the Inn’s property and toasted on-site provide all kinds of complexity to this well-carbonated brew. You might notice any or all of apple, pear, banana, soft black pepper and white bread on the aroma, and flavors of orchard fruit, and zesty black pepper, with hints of vanilla and golden toast rounding out the palate. Hazy, very lightly bitter at only 10 IBU, and boasting a 6% ABV, it will be available in bottles only at the Inn, as well as Upstreet’s taproom and the Craft Beer Corner, starting tomorrow. 

If you’re of a certain age in Nova Scotia (not sure about the other Atlantic Canadian Provinces), you might have memories of a product called Golden Glow. Well, let’s be really really honest about it, if the name “Golden Glow” means something to you, any associated memories are probably EXTREMELY hazy at best. Originally produced from the 1930s (yes, you read that right) to the 80s by Chipman Wines in Kentville, NS, it was a (very) hard cider coming in at 15.5% ABV. The last pressing took place in 2007 under the banner of Andres, who bought the brand in 1983 and moved production to Truro. We like to think there’s some bottles of the original still out there, immune to the ravages of time and ready to spice up somebody’s evening in a dramatic way. But even if there’s not, Bad Apple Brewhouse has come to the rescue! Claiming to have finally cracked the code and developed an apple blend that is worthy of the name. Somerset’s Golden Glow Revival is a new hard cider with a taste of the past. Available in small and sleek cans from The Core in Wolfville and, we expect, the brewery in Somerset, we don’t have an ABV listing on this, but given the clear reverence they’ve got for the original (and their decision not to provide growler fills), we’d be surprised if it wasn’t in the same neighborhood as its forebearer. Grab a couple and remember what you forgot!!

What’s going on this weekend (and next month)? Here’s the scoop!

St. John’s favourite Inn / Restaurant / Bar, The Guv’nor on Elizabeth Avenue, is hosting a Newfoundland Craft Beer Tap Takeover this weekend, kicking off today at 4 PM. Featuring ten taps from ten Nfld breweries, this is the perfect opportunity to taste your way across the island without leaving home. Find out more details here, including how you can win yourself a stay and breakfast just for supporting your local pub and breweries!

Fredericton’s Beer on the Bridge returns this weekend, and they certainly picked a perfect date for the fun! Tomorrow, Saturday July 6, from 6 – 9 PM, more than 30 Maritime breweries, cideries, and distilleries are taking over the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge, pouring their best for you. Tickets are still available here, so grab yours now to avoid disappointment! 

A quick heads up that will have Newfoundland beer fans looking forward even more to next month’s Royal St. John’s Regatta. It was announced that the Newfoundland Craft Brewers Association will be running the beer tent at the Regatta on August 7th. And earlier this week, almost all of the breweries in the province, plus several who are planning on opening later this year, came together at Landwash Brewery to brew up a collaborative beer. This Mexican Lager will be hitting the tents next month, so keep your ears peeled for more details then!

Just a coupla more things today…

Good Robot has re-released their collaboration with the Limestone Group, Flavabot: Pink Flamingo. This watermelon kiwi Radler was originally brewed to honour the national bird of the Bahamas, and at 4.5% ABV and 15 IBUs, is great for summer sipping.

Hammond River Brewing has just released Enkel Tom’s Cabin, a Patersbier (aka Enkel or Belgian Single) that is basically the Belgian form of a lawnmower beer. This refreshing, pale-coloured, hazy beer weighs in at 5.8% ABV and 14 IBUs, and was the winning entry in this year’s annual HRB Homebrew Competition. Originally designed by Fredericton’s Matt Stever, who was on hand for the brew day at HRB, you can find it on tap now at the brewery, as well as local tap accounts.

Bridgewater’s King Street Beer Company (a partnership with Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing Company) are coming through on their promise to invite local homebrewers in to brew a beer on their system under the Lahave River Beers banner. Gillian Crouse and Gillian Varner put together a recipe for a Belgian Blonde Ale infused with Mangoes that they’re calling Man-Goes Wild (see what they did there?). That beer goes on tap tonight at 6:30 PM at the brewery where you can sit on the patio and enjoy this light and refreshing brew. 

Niche Brewing has brought back a lighter beer to beat the heat this weekend, the Grisette they call Mines of Wallonia. At just 3.6% ABV, leaning on a grist of Pilsner, spelt and malted oats, and fairly hoppy thanks to Hallertau Blanc, it was fermented with the French Saison yeast strain. Look for it on tap wherever you’re used to seeing Niche beers.

Nine Locks released their politest beer yet yesterday, an “East Coast IPA” named Frig Off (6.7% ABV, 30 IBUs). Brewed with oats and wheat in the grist and dry-hopped to “massive” proportions, its hazy, silky, with a light bitterness in the finish, and a whole whack of citrus and tropical hop flavour. Available exclusively at the brewery on tap and in cans. 

Petit-Sault has a brand new brewery-only beer pouring for the weekend, a hazy Session IPA named Rock Ways. Dry-hopped with Ekuanot and Azacca, it comes in at a supremely-sessionable 3.3% ABV. Growlers and pints right now!

Rockbottom has their first new beer on tap in awhile, Nova Anglia. A New England IPA that was hopped with lots of Huell Melon and Ekuanot once the boil was complete, this hazy, bright yellow beverage is tasting very juicy, with lots of that lovely, fruity hop flavour that you’re constantly craving.

Tusket Falls released Watch Me Work Now, a 4.2% ABV Gose brewed with additions of grapefruit rind, in early June. Well, it’s back again, and this time there’s plenty of cans headed out to NSLC stores across the province. Tart and refreshing, there’s tangerine, lime, and grapefruit on the palate.

New beer pouring at Yellowbelly, an Amber Lager named Float Your Boat (5.3% ABV, 30 IBUs). Designed by brewer Dave Hale, it’s available for pints and growlers. 

Friday Wrap-Up for June 14, 2019 – News from Sourwood, Stillwell Brewing, Tata, 2 Crows, Propeller, Niche, and More!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2019-06-14
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 540 Kitchen & Bar, Bannerman Brewing, Central City Brewers and Distillers, East Coast Cider Festival, Escarpment Laboratories, Good Robot Brewing, Graystone Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hampton Brewing Company, Jack Axe's, Landwash Brewery, Niche Brewing, Nine Locks Brewery, Ninepenny Brewing, North Brewing, Peppers Pub, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Rockhead Wine & Beer Market, Shipwright Brewing, Shoreline Malting, Sober Island Brewing, Sourwood Cidery, Southan Farms, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Grand Banker, The Joyce, The Yeast Bay, Toslow, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

It was probably too much to ask for two awesome weather weekends in a row across the Atlantic Provinces, but fear not, our region’s breweries and cideries are gearing up for a good’er anyways to help beat those Vitamin D deficiency blahs. Plenty of new beers available this weekend, some grand openings, and some birthday parties. Plus, there’s apparently some kind of sports championship thinger worth celebrating. Or something.

Sourwood Cider has been producing funky, tart, and dare we say wild, ciders in Halifax for just over a year now, focussing on spontaneous or pitched mixed yeast and bacteria, playing with barrels for primary and secondary fermentation, and incorporating local fruits, berries, and other adjuncts (Chaga, anyone?). After pop-up sales at their spot on Almon Street, they were able to supply the NSLC with Sour City, a 6.2% ABV dry and sour cider available across the province. And today at 4 PM, they will be opening the doors to their new taproom located at 5576 Cornwallis St. Featuring several of their own ciders on tap (as well as guest taps), a small kitchen will provide food perfect for pairing, and a retail sales counter will allow for cans and bottles to go. Pop by today, or throughout the weekend, to get your Sourwood fix. Congratulations to Jake and Kyle on all their hard work!

Last Saturday, Stillwell Brewing had a 3-beer release (two new, one returning) and we kinda, sorta didn’t mention it in the Friday post! Whoopsie! This stuff happens, we’re only human, yada yada yada the beers are still around so let’s just pretend this never happened, shall we? Let’s start off with Shiro, a sour Farmhouse Ale. Made up of a blend of various barrel- and foedre-aged beers brewed between April, 2017 and February, 2018 (including Batch #1, which at about 25% of the beer is the first time it has appeared in a blend), this blend was then re-fermented on 300 g/L (= a lot) of Nova Scotia-grown Shiro plums, for five months. Bottled back in early March of this year, it’s been conditioning ever since, and is finally available for your eager mouths/tummies. Lots of tannic notes in this beer thanks at least in part to those plum skins, the aroma is described as lambic-like (hooray!), “with notes of hay, funk, wet stone and bright, pithy lemon”. Available in bottles at Bar Stillwell, and on tap!

Next up is the brewery’s second stab at their beloved Pilsner style, Prince Pils. Designed to be a different sort of beer than their house Pilsner, Stilly Pils, it was brewed with extra pale premium Pilsner malt and wheat in the grist, and was hopped with Pacific Jade (a New Zealand variety that is a descendent of the oft-used Saaz). The wort was fermented by a Bavarian strain from Escarpment Labs, that has not been used by the brewery in the past. The result is an aroma that is “bigger, more peppery, and herbaceous” compared to Saaz, with a light, fluffy body and firm bitterness. Highly drinkable at just 4.4% ABV, this royal beer is available only on draught, and has been a frequent presence on tap at both Stilly HQ and their Spring Garden Road Beergarden.

Finally, newly-returned is Poptones, the second batch of the brewery’s Farmhouse Pale Ale. Fermented with a clean, Saccharomyces yeast in primary, and then Brettanomyces in secondary, it’s a bright and easy drinking hoppy Pale Ale with funky Brett shining through. All stainless, six months from brewing to the beer’s release, at 5.3% you can approach it as you prefer (you know, like Smarties). Bottles and on tap at Stillwell.

Tatamagouche Brewing has a full weekend of fun ahead of them (and us!), as they are celebrating their Fifth Anniversary all weekend. The details are available in that FB Event, but the highlights include the release of a new beer that was first previewed/teased at May’s NS Craft Beer Full House Festival. Spring is a 6.6% ABV Saison, both sour and funky from the blend of yeast and bacteria used to ferment the wort. The golden yellow beer also features plenty of tropical fruit esters, reminiscent of mandarin oranges, lychee and stone fruit. Bottles of Spring are available at the brewery as of 10 AM today, so we certainly suggest popping by to grab a few bottles and take part in the fun. They have also brought back Guava Heist, their 3.6% ABV guava-infused Berliner Weisse, available on tap and in cans. The Shree Curry Place food truck is onsite for lunch, with live music from Eric Fresia beginning at 6 PM. There are brewery tours at 10, 12, 2, and 4 tomorrow, with a fundraising BBQ lunch starting at 11 AM, and live music from 1 – 4 PM. There’s more live music and a food truck on Sunday, and if you stick around/come back on Monday, you can enjoy cake with the Tata Crew!

Two new beers from 2 Crows this week, one a draught-only release that is on right now (we hope!), and another a very special can release. Let’s start with the draught beer, shall we? Named Pony Up, it’s a Brett Pale Ale from brewer Miles Bishop. A parti-gyle brew using the leftovers (the remaining sugary wort, that is) of an Oat Wine which should be released in several months, the original grist included a whopping ~70% mixture of malted, flaked, and golden naked oats. Hopped lightly to 13 IBUs with Nelson Sauvin and Citra, the wort was fermented with a Brett strain from The Yeast Bay that showcases “strong barnyard funk and backing notes of peach and strawberry”. Coming in at 5.8% ABV, the final beer has a grainy texture, smooth body, and “a pleasant white wine and affirmative citrus aroma” to go with all that funk. There is only a single keg available, so pony up for some Pony Up (ha!) at the 2C taproom right now… assuming it isn’t all gone already.

Beer number two is an international collaboration, of sorts. The online Saison, Biere de Garde, and Farmhouse Ale Appreciation Society arranged the collab between about 40 breweries, all of who brewed a recipe for a Biėre de Garde that was determined by the society and a number of brewers. While some of the brewing techniques were also predetermined, each brewery had the freedom to determine fermentation, and the possibility of oak aging. The 2C version of L’Internationale Vol II was brewed back in December with 90% six-row malted barley and 10% raw wheat from PEI’s Shoreline Malting. They used a turbid mashing technique (spoiler: it takes a long time) and a 5-hour boil (ok, that makes the day even longer!), hopping the wort with Saaz and Strisselspalt to 17 IBUs. Fermented in one of the brewery’s oak foedres (with a variety of microflora), the beer was finally packaged in early May to condition in the can, and it’s being released at the brewery tomorrow. Rich and complex, 2C’s house cultures have added “a distinct tartness and funk, which play well with the rich malt backbone and deep honey vibes). Grab your cans on Saturday!

Propeller Brewing is releasing a brand new beer this week, a limited release that may be your next summer sipper. Azacca Session IPA is a 4.5% ABV ale, which showcases the unique Azacca hop. Used in combination with El Dorado and Citra, aromatics and flavours of mango, pineapple, and tangerine dance on top of this light and hazy easy-drinking beer. Azacca is available today on draught and in cans at the Prop Shops on both sides of the harbour, and in cans at the four private stores in HRM now/very soon. And pop by their Gottingen Street taproom for a cask of Azacca, featuring real pineapple added to the cask. It will be tapped at 5 PM (or earlier if you ask real nice), and make the perfect accompaniment to a round of pinball downstairs in the Arcade.

New Brunswick’s Niche Brewing continues their longtime trend of zagging after every zig with this week’s release. After a big bruiser of a Belgian Tripel last week in Day Tripper, this week brings a much smaller, hoppier beer that you can fearlessly have a few of without worrying about stumbling away from your barstool or patio chair. Paradox is a session IPA fermented with a hazier strain and heaped with Columbus, Simcoe, and Topaz late additions and a huge dry hop of more Simcoe as well as Enigma. Weighing in at a super (duper!) sessionable 3.0% ABV it’s plenty light, but not to the point of being watery, with enough citrusy and juicy hop aroma and flavor to satisfy your need for hops. This one is heading out to tap accounts this week, with Pepper’s Pub, The Joyce, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and Graystone at the head of the line. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend and you’ll be able to enjoy a pint (or a few) of this in all its refreshing glory outside in the sun.

Hampton Brewing has delivered kegs of their latest beer, an American Pale Ale named Big Shoes. The brewery’s first new beer since April, it’s a Pale Ale brewed more towards the New England side of the style. With a grist made up of 2-row, Vienna, a touch of Crystal malt, and a “healthy” dose of wheat, it was hopped aggressively in the whirlpool and a two-stage dry hop with a combination of American ‘C’ hops and Amarillo. This hazy 5.6% ABV, 45 IBUs beer is sporting plenty of tropical fruit and citrus in the flavour and aroma, with low bitterness. You can find it on tap at Peppers, The Joyce, and the Hampton Golf Club.

Port Rexton is celebrating the local release of their Across the Nation collaboration with Red Racer this weekend, Skerwink Haze. Named after the nearby Skerwink Trail, a must-visit when visiting the brewery, Skerwink Haze is a 6.4% ABV New England IPA fermented with Kveik yeast. Using the Escarpment Labs Ebbegarden Kveik blend, this incredibly hearty and temperature-resilient yeast (in fact, it thrives at high temperatures [think 35C and higher] that many yeasts would produce some serious off-flavours) chews through most any wort that’s thrown at it. Expect a soft mouthfeel, and juicy vibes from the Belma, Galaxy, and Vic Secret hops used late in the brew to favour flavour and aroma over bitterness. To celebrate the release, their friends from Jack Axes in town are coming out for pop-up axe throwing from 2 PM today, and tomorrow will see a guided hike of the Skerwink Trail, leaving the brewery at 11 AM (free cake after!), and live music from 8 PM.

Skerwink Haze joins the PRBC taps as the second new IPA this week, after launching the latest in their Continuum series last week. Continuum w/ Zythos is a 5.5% ABV hazy IPA, which features loads of, you guessed it, Zythos in the whirlpool (post-boil in the kettle), hop back (out of the kettle and into the fermenter) and dry hop (in the fermenter). Getting a little help from its friend Azacca, tropical, citrus, and stone fruit vibes shine through with an orange-pith bitterness. If you can’t make it out to the brewery to take part in the fun this weekend, you’re in luck! Look for Continuum, and seven more Port Rexton brews taking over the taps at Jack Axes in downtown St. John’s, kicking off today at 6 PM, and running all weekend/until the kegs kick. Or find Skerwink Haze at Toslow’s One-Year Anniversary party Saturday.

Hey, Landwash fans! The brewery has announced they’ll be pouring a whopping seven of their tasty beverages at Rocket Bakery in St. John’s today from 7 PM – 12 AM. If that isn’t enough to excite you, two of these beers will be brand new releases! First up is Silvern Voices, a 5.3% ABV kettle sour that has been dry-hopped with the lovely Cashmere and Azacca varieties; there’s also a touch of lactose powder added to up the sweetness just a tad. They claim that if you’re big on “sour key candy, fruity white wine, and/or passion fruit flavours”, you’re probably gonna enjoy this one! They’ve also got a new hoppy brew that will be making its debut at the event, Green Nap. This 6.3% ABV NEIPA was brewed with plenty of oats and malted oat in the grist, to help give the beer that trademark haze/smooth body you’d expect in the style. Hopped mightily with Bru-1 and Galaxy to give flavours of apricot, pineapple, and lime, don’t be expecting too much bitterness, so it’ll go down plenty easy. Look for future iterations of Green Nap that will feature different hop varieties. We should probably mention that both of these new beers will also be available at the brewery’s taproom this weekend (which starts today at 3 PM, FYI), on tap and in cans.

Let’s stick with the Newfoundland theme we’ve got going to update you on the goings ons (going ons? goings on?) at 90 Duckworth Street in St. John’s. Since opening just over a month ago, the crew at Bannerman Brewing have been working like mad to keep up with demand and interest for their beer and food. And more recently, they have launched the cafe side of things in their taproom, with shots and pour-overs available from 7:30 AM weekdays, and 9 AM on the weekend. While the kitchen does not open until later in the afternoon (4 PM Mon, Wed, Thurs; 1 PM Fri; and 12 PM on the weekend, closed Tues), there are some baked goods onsite for a grab-and-go European breakfast. And while you’re stopping in, be sure to check out their 946 mL cans, filled on demand to take away.

Way out on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, Sober Island Brewing has put together a very special beer, developed in concert with the 5th Canadian Division of the Canadian Army and intended to be their official beer. This one has been in development since December, with Commander Brigadier-General D.A. Macaulay and several members of the division involved in helping Sober Island taste test and guide the development of the recipe. The result is called The 5 and it’s a super-easy drinking blonde ale that’s low in bitterness, but not on flavour. A touch of honey malt gives it a touch of roundness, Magnum, Cascade, and Mt. Hood hops provide a hint of bitterness (only 5 IBU) and some gentle hop flavor, and an American ale yeast ensures a well-attenuated beer with a crisp finish weighing in at a perfectly fitting 5% ABV. You’ll be able to find this at Rockhead, West Side, and Harvest Wines, with in-store tasting events coming tomorrow at Rockhead from 11 – 4 PM and at Harvest on June 22nd from 2 – 4 PM. The 5th Canadian Division covers all of Atlantic Canada, and Sober Island is working to ensure that the beer eventually will too, so hopefully you’ll be hearing of this beer being available in New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland later this year. Hopefully you won’t have any trouble finding it in stores, but be aware that the super swank camouflage can (designed by Pierre Tabbiner) may be hard to spot if you take a few out into the field. You can also find it at the brewery as early as next weekend. Go Mighty Maroon Machine!

In other Sober Island news this week, their blueberry blonde ale known as The Blueberry Express, brewed in collaboration with the Musquodoboit Harbour Railway Museum is back for the summer, again at Rockhead/West Side Harvest, with $0.50 from every can going to the museum ($1,600 raised last year!). The blueberries for this one came from local producer Glenmore Farms Blueberries. And fans of Beth’s Black Oyster Stout should be aware that Marigold Blonde is replacing it in the seasonal rotation, but that they’ll still be able to grab it through the summer at the brewery and the same private stores as well as at events where Sober Island is pouring beer.

The weekly new releases from Shipwright Brewing continue with a “Rye Session Ale” named Rye’T Aweigh. Featuring rye malt in the grist, of course, the wort was generously hopped with three different Australian varieties: Topaz, Ella and Vic Secret. The addition of rye malt provides some sweetness on the palate, with “flavours of lime zest, honeydew melon and papaya” following suit, thanks to juicy hop additions. Quite sessionable at just 4.6% ABV (and 30 IBUs), if you’re around Lunenburg this week, best drop by the brewery to give this one a taste. It’ll also be pouring at the brewery’s regular tap account, the Grand Banker.

We’ve already told you (last week) about the East Coast Cider Fest and North Brewing’s Retail Spot and Lighter than Air launch, both happening tomorrow (Saturday). We’ve got one more big thing to tell you about this week…

Since opening their doors in late February, Ninepenny Brewing in Conception Bay South has been supplying their community with their blend of English, Belgian, and American beers. And this weekend, they are celebrating their Grand Opening, and we’re all invited! The return of their Porter means their taps are once again full, with seven beers for enjoyment onsite or to take away. Plus there is an Open Mic tonight beginning at 4 PM, live music tomorrow from 7 PM, and a Paint Night on Sunday from 6 PM. Full details in their Facebook Events page. Congratulations to the Ninepenny family on their continued success in bringing great beer to folks around the Bay!

And just a few last things to inform your beer buying (and drinking!) excursions this weekend:

Good Robot has a new take on a Mexican-style Lager with the release of El Corazón Del Ángel (5.5% ABV). Like their fan-favourite El Espinazo Del Diablo, there’s plenty of lime zest added, but this newer beer substitutes the jalapeno addition with sweet orange peel. Grab it at the GR taproom today.

It’s been a couple of years since Grimross has brewed their Maritime Amber Ale, but it’s hitting shelves and taps again this week. Hopped with Goldings from Southan Farms, it’s a malty, toasty 5.2% ABV, 32 IBUs brew with hints of caramel and a balancing bitterness. Available at Grimross in cans and on tap, with cans hitting ANBL stores next week; kegs will also be shipping to licensees soon.

Nine Locks has their latest kettle sour available on tap and in cans at the brewery, Bohemian Raspberry (4.8% ABV). A Berliner Weisse brewed with ripe raspberries, it pours a hazy pink colour and features raspberry in the aroma and flavour, to go with the tartness in the finish.

Tanner & Co. Brewing has hot weather on the mind, and what better beer to enjoy with nice weather than a Kolsch? Their take on the style, which they’ve simply named Kolsch, is 5.2% ABV and 20 IBUs, and is currently available at the brewery on tap and in bottles; stop by this weekend between 12 – 6 PM.

St. John’s YellowBelly has brewed up a special beer to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the very first non-stop transatlantic flight, performed by John Alcock and Arthur Brown in June, 1919. Named after the duo, Alcock and Brown is a 5.5% ABV, 49 IBUs unfiltered Porter, sporting notes of dark chocolate, caramel, and coffee, along with hints of plum. You can grab it at the brewpub this weekend, and bottles and growlers are available at the Takeaway shop down Water Street.

Friday Wrap-Up for March 1, 2019 – News from Tidehouse, Maybee, Niche, Trailway, Quidi Vidi, Good Robot and More!!

Posted by acbbchris on 2019-03-01
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 3Flip Brewing, 902 BrewCast, Battery Park, Bootleg Brew Company, Escarpment Laboratories, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Geaghan Bros Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hill Top Hops, HopYard Halifax, Ladies Beer League, Maybee Brewing, New Scotland Brewing, Newfermenters Homebrew Club, Niche Brewing, Nine Locks Brewery, Noble Grape, North Brewing, Picaroons, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Arcade, Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Saint John Ale House, Secret Cove Brewery, Shipwright Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, The Carleton, The Church Brewing Company, The Good Robot FemmeBrew Competition, The Joyce, Tide & Boar Gastropub, Tidehouse Brewing, Town of Wolfville, TrailWay Brewing, Vandal Doughnuts. 2 comments

Happy Friday, everyone! While we have your attention, would any of you be opposed to us renaming this weekly post the “Almost-Saturday Wrap Up”? No? Great, we didn’t think so!

And now, beer.

We’ve got the news on the latest bottle release from Halifax’s Tide House, which was just released yesterday. Turtles All the Way Down (<brain explodes>) is a Saison with a grist made up mostly of Pilsner and Wheat, with some Flaked Oats and Acid malt thrown in for good measure. Hopped with Ahtanum, the wort was fermented with the Old World Saison blend (made up of two “classic” Saison strains) from Escarpment Labs, giving a light-bodied beer with notes of “pepper, lemon, honey and spice”. It’s an easy-drinking 4.7% ABV, so when you’re at the brewery to pick up your stock, you might as well grab a few, no?

For the second year in a row, Fredericton’s Maybee Brewing has paired up with Bangor’s Geaghan Brothers Brewing for a collaboration beer, which will be released in Fredericton today. A Lot in Common is a California Common which was brewed at Maybee, with several of the Geaghan Brothers team making the short trip north to participate in the brew day. With a grist featuring a blend of Canadian, German, and British malts, it was hopped with Cluster to 38 IBUs. Fermented at cool ale temperatures to keep the production of fruity esters to a minimum, this 5.6% ABV amber-coloured “hybrid” has aromas of “raison, caramel, toffee, biscuit, and Baker’s chocolate” with more of the same in the flavour, followed by an assertive bitterness in the finish. This one will be available on tap and in cans, both of which can be found at the Maybee taproom right now; it’ll also be on tap at many Maybee accounts, as well as the ANBL growler program as of March 7th. And of course at next weekend’s Fredericton Craft Beer Fest, where both breweries (and many, many more) will be pouring the best and newest beers. More details below.

If you’re eating and drinking in Dartmouth this weekend, you may want to swing by North and/or Battery Park (and if you’re doing your eating and drinking there, even better!). Why, you ask? Well, North is releasing Into the Aether today, an Imperial Stout that has a lot more than just roast character going for it. This 5 bbl batch of beer has additions of 5-6 lbs of toasted cocoa nibs and 12 lbs of toasted coconut, as well as vanilla and sea salt to top it all off. They’re aiming for a beer with a balanced blend of all of these flavours, so that no single one of them overshadows the others. You can grab cans at both retail shops, with the only kegs being poured at Battery Park on their nitro tap.

Hanwell’s Niche Brewing has a brand new sour hitting the taps over the next few days, Ginger Spur. This 4.7% ABV beer started with a grist of Pilsner, 2-Row, Munich and Wheat malts, and was soured with Lactobacillus plantarum, before being boiled and lightly hopped with Amarillo (to 6 IBU… like we said, “lightly hopped”, mainly to ensure the Lacto cannot survive). After fermentation is when the fun began, as the beer was conditioned on fresh lemon zest and a mixture of fresh and powdered ginger, for a complementary blend of citrus aroma and ginger flavour and zip, on top of the lightly sour base beer. Kegs of Ginger Spur will be delivered to a few restaurants in Fredericton and Saint John next week, and will be available to Niche fans in Nova Scotia, pouring at HopYard Halifax before the end of the weekend.

TrailWay has got their hop-oil-soaked hands on a popular new American hop variety, Sabro, which they’ve used in their latest American IPA, Urban Sabrero. Sabro is an odd variety in that it doesn’t have a European heritage (like most hops do); it actually comes from a sub-species that has been growing wild in the mountains of New Mexico for the past million years (according to the Washington Beer Blog). Many sources have described Sabro as very unique, featuring flavours of tangerine, tropical fruit, citrus, coconut, and even hints of “cedar, mint and cream”. In TW’s beer, they also added some other hop varieties they deemed showing similarities to these descriptors, resulting in a 6% ABV brew with aromas and flavours of “coconut, pina colada, tangerine citrus, and vanilla”. Urban Sabrero is releasing today on tap and in cans at the brewery.

Quidi Vidi Brewing has released a mixed four-pack of cans this week, the winning beers of their collaborative contest with the Newfermenters Home Brew Club. The homebrew competition was held in the Fall of 2018, and saw the top 4 brewers drop into QV for a brewday. The winning beers are: Uncle Fred’s Kolsch (4.5% ABV), Iron Cherry Sour (5.5% ABV), Milky Way NEIPA (5.9% ABV), and Perfect Storm Dunkelweizen (6.0% ABV). Four-packs flew off the shelves at QVBC yesterday, but they assure us that there will be more available soon. They are also available at a few NLCs today, so be sure to ask at your local one!

We think that maybe Good Robot is mad at us or something, because instead of making us report on their usual weekly Beta Brew release, they had to go and make FOUR of them! To be fair, they *are* pretty psyched about celebrating FemmeBot, so it may actually have more to do with that than actually messing with our heads. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt! So, let’s get right to these beers, shall we? All were brewed with local ladies who are keen on the beer scene in Halifax.

  • #yololager – A 4.8% ABV “light and crushable lager” made by local real estate agent Jess Tasker (March 5th release)
  • The Ploughwind – A 6.7% ABV “big, rich stout” made by Missy Searl (March 6th release)
  • Aunty Fukkup’s Blueberry Pie-PA – A 4.4% ABV light Pale Ale hopped with Saphir, with a generous addition of blueberries, brewed with Dalhousie nursing student Leslie Langille (March 7th release)
  • Imposter’s Syndrome – A 4.1% ABV Dark Wheat Ale brewed with Whitney Moran, co-author of East Coast Crafted (March 9th release)

Actually, that wasn’t so bad. Sorry for complaining! Finally, next week’s Alpha beer will be this year’s official FemmeBot brew, Big Witch Energy. Brewed with Golden Promise malt, Summer hops, and sweet orange peel (which was added with the dry hop), it sounds like a refreshing break from some of the other big beers out there this time of year.

Halifax stalwart Garrison, now rocking their third decade of production in the city, have all kinds of new beer news to share with us this week. First up is the return of Sour to the People, brewed in conjunction with the folks from The Carleton restaurant on Argyle Street. Originally brewed in Summer of 2017, this will be an excellent beer to help get you through the last dregs of winter and help remind you that better weather is (maybe!) just around the corner. With lots of notes of peach, lemon and green apple sour notes balanced against pineapple, citrus and pine notes from new hop Denali, the beer is 6.1% ABV and, as is often the case with sour beers, 0 IBU. Available in cans and on draft at the brewery (and we suspect both cans and kegs will make it to other places in the city).

Next up, as is traditional with Garrison, the winning beer from last year’s Garrison Home Brew-off is being released at the same time as the winners of this year’s competition are announced. Kölsch 1149, a 5.2% ABV Kölsch by Dave Martin and Kent Brooks was on tap last night at this year’s awards gala and will continue to be available at the brewery, including cans. As for the 2019 competition results, this year’s category was another European style that was perhaps a little difficult for local brewers to wrap their heads around, with no commercial examples readily available. A fairly sweet and full-bodied lager balanced very much towards the malt side (“a sandwich in a glass”), it also generally packs a punch, in the 6.3 – 7.5% ABV range. Four beers won accolades this year, starting with an honorable mention for Kevin Sweezey’s entry. The top three were Jeramy Slaunwhite in 3rd place, Scott MacLean in 2nd and David Pepper winning the competition. Pepper and Slaunwhite are no strangers to the winners’ circle in local homebrew competitions; the two were category winners in the 2016 Big Spruce competition where Pepper’s Risky Biscuits Dark Mild also took Best of Show. Look for the winning beer to be brewed in time for next year’s awards gala where the category has already been announced: New England IPA!! Garrison also made sure to include a shoutout to local homebrew supplier Noble Grape who every year help immensely with the logistics of this competition.

And in still more Garrison news, this coming week also marks the release of the first beer they’ve ever produced by an all-female team. Starting with brewer Kellye Robertson, Susannah is a collaboration with East Coast Wild Foods, who provided wild-foraged sumac and sea buckthorn to this all-German malt Imperial Pale Lager that was heavily hopped with Topaz and Hallertau Blanc. Look for elements of sweet grain complemented by elements from the hops and fruit, including notes of lychee, grapefruit and pineapple. Proceeds from the beer, which is being packaged in 473 mL cans will support women in trades in Nova Scotia through the NSCC Foundation. A launch party for the beer will take place next Friday, March 8th, at the Garrison Brewery. Starting at 7 PM, it will feature live music from Halifax rockers Like a Motorcycle beginning at 8:30 PM. Meanwhile Ray Brisson, the artist who designed the label, will be present, Birdie’s Bread Co. will have food available for purchase, and East Coast Wild Foods will be on site to talk about foraging and the workshops that they run. No tickets are required for entry, but donations will be taken at the door in support of the NSCC Foundation.

Propeller Brewing, also in their third decade of operation, has plenty of news for us this week as well, including the launch of a pair of new beers for us to enjoy. First up is the return of their Irish Red, just in time for that *big celebration of all things Irish* later in the month. While the recipe for this 5.0% ABV, 25 IBU beer has not changed, this year’s version has been left unfiltered, letting more flavour molecules through to your sniffer and taster. Look for sweetness and light roast from the malt, with an earthy hoppiness from the traditional UK hops.

Debuting today at their Gottingen taproom is an experiment months in the making: they took their ESB and aged it for 4 months in the barrels that previously held their Baltic Porter. The light malt in the base beer, along with the light barrel and dark malt notes from the porter, make this a wonderful beer to enjoy lightly carbed, so they will be featuring this beer on their bartop at the taproom for the entire month of March (or as long as the casks last!). Pop by today at 5 PM for the tapping of the first Barrel Aged ESB, and enjoy a pint. Paired with the Propeller Arcade downstairs, and/or today’s Cask Night snack, Vandal Doughnuts, you can kick your weekend off right!

Also hitting the taps today is the release of a beer Propeller brewed in celebration of International Women’s Day, Call Me Blondie. Brewed with the fine crew of the Ladies Beer League, CMB is a Blonde Ale with a twist, as it is dry-hopped with Simcoe, featuring a melon and cantaloupe aroma, complementing the citrus flavour and light and crisp body. This draught-only beer debuts at today’s Cask Friday event as well, and will be pouring at LBL’s big International Women’s Day event at Halifax’s Timber Lounge on March 8, Axe the Patriarchy. From 7 – 10 PM, drop in to enjoy the beer, live music, craft corner, and meet your fellow local beer enthusiasts! There is no fee to attend, though a portion of axe throwing costs, and donations, are being collected to support Alice House.

Newly-opened 3Flip Brewing out of Douglas, NB has a one-off, limited release that should be hitting a couple of taps soon, and will also be pouring at the FCBF Nano Night next Friday. The beer is Sassy Cow, a 5% ABV “Root Beer Milk Stout” that showcases a “sweet malt/lactose flavour with hints of roasted coffee”. Complemented by aromas and flavours of root beer (thanks to the addition of a special extract), the finishing bitterness is low. If you don’t have tickets to next week’s Nano Night, and still want to try the beer, both The Joyce and Saint John Ale House will be receiving a keg over the next few days.

After an extremely busy couple of weeks after opening in mid-January, Hill Top Hops Brewhouse in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, had to re-fill their fermenters and build up some product. They are scheduled to reopen today, Friday March 1st starting at noon and going ‘til 10 PM. The full lineup of taps will be available, including their Cream Ale, Pale Ale, Blonde Ale, Pilsner, Red Ale, and Porter. Fans of their IPA will have to wait one more week. Be sure to check out their Fb page for updates to their hours for the winter season.

New Scotland in Dartmouth has a brand new beer on the go, one they’re calling Eastbound Brown. An American Brown Ale, a somewhat surprisingly uncommon style in our region, it’s big and malty, but hard-hitting in the bitterness department with 64 IBU and in terms of ABV at 6.8%. Look for some hints of chocolate paired with malty sweetness underlying a very firm bitterness and an aroma characteristic of American ‘C’ hops. You’ll find it at their taproom this week for sure, with the potential for a few kegs to make it to other locations about town.

Also in Dartmouth, Nine Locks is celebrating their 3rd Anniversary with the release of Champagne IPA. Combining lots of hop aroma (leaning on citrus and Juicy Fruit) with high, downright spritzy carbonation, it finishes very dry with a moderate bitterness. Nothing says “celebrate” like Champagne, ya know? It weighs in at 6.3% ABV and 38 IBUs, and can be picked up at the taproom as we speak.

Lunenburg’s Shipwright Brewing continues to crank out beers in their more experimental First Sail series. This week’s entry, Dark Cherry Blonde was based on their Kölsch from a malt and mash perspective, but fermented with clean American yeast and with some dark cherries added towards the end of fermentation. At 5.5% ABV and 15 IBUs, expect something akin to a rosé wine, with a light body and a slight sweetness balanced by some tartness from the cherries. Only at the brewery and in very limited quantities, it’s available for pints or crowlers to go. And if that weren’t enough to get you there, the Midnight Oil milk stout is back by popular demand. A blend of six malts, it’s a medium-bodied milk stout with bit of nuttiness sitting on top of a base of cacao, coffee and vanilla flavors, with a sweetness from an addition of lactose. Coming in at 5.2% ABV and 25 IBU, you can sit down for a pint, bring a growler for a fill, or grab a crowler to go!

New beer coming at you from 2 Crows when they open today at noon (although by the way things are going, I’m going to assume when this post is actually published, noon has already come and gone). Livewire is a hoppy Brett Saison brewed with a base of Pilsner malt, as well as some Wheat, Rye and Oats. Hopped lightly with Calypso and Azacca, a portion of the beer was soured with Lactobacillus, and then blended back in with the rest of the beer when the acidity reached the level they were looking for. The entire batch was fermented with a blend of Brettanomyces strains, and finally dry-hopped with the delicious Enigma variety. Expect a very dry beer with funk, light pith, and “notes of Pinot Gris, lemon zest, and rock melon, with a firm minerality and a touch of tartness”, according to 2C. It weighs in at 4.6% ABV and 17 IBUs, and can be found (probably now!) at the brewery in cans and on tap.

In yet more beer competition news (well, sorta), this time from Spindrift, the winning beer from their first (annual, we hope) homebrew competition is once again available, this time with a twist. Brian Whalen’s Naughtius Maximus v2.0: Naughtier Maximumus has a slightly different grist from the original recipe due to some crystal malt left at the bottom of the grain mill, but it’s also been cellared since 2018. Perfectly balanced between bitter and crisp this 7.3% ABV and 22 IBU Belgian Saison is on tap at the brewery now, though only 40 L were made, so you’ll want to move fast if you want in on this.

In what could be seen as sad news, Naughtier Maximus also marks the end of Spindrift’s Seventh Wave Series, those growler-fill-at-the-brewery-only small batch, often experimental brews that would taunt those who couldn’t get over to Burnside before they were gone. But weep not, gentle reader, as is often the case, as one door closes, another opens. Coming March 7th is the first beer in an all new series designed and curated by Steve Crane, Spindrift’s Assistant Brewer, called Future Thoughts. Designed to be like Seventh Wave in being somewhat experimental, and notably exploring contemporary styles, flavours and brewing techniques, Future Thoughts batches are scheduled to be larger, allowing for more customers to have a chance to try them and at a somewhat more leisurely pace versus the old mad dash to Dartmouth. Look for the first beer in this series, Lemon to a Knife Fight Blueberry Imperial Wit to be released this coming Thursday, March 7th. We’ll no doubt have the full details on that beer next week.

For those of you interested in keeping track of the going-ons in the Town of Wolfville, the first reading of the amendments to their Municipal Planning Strategy and Land-Use Bylaws happened Feb 4, and we were in attendance to take in the action. The issue at hand is whether to make changes to the Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) and Land Usage By-laws (LUB) to (a) have a clear policy statement on alcohol producers, (b) specifically allow off-site sales of product, and (c) forbid contract brewing. With the legality of contract brewing already decided (as far as we can tell, it’s illegal in Nova Scotia), the second amendment is where the rubber meets the road. Last week’s meeting was the first reading of the amendments, and was crammed with members of the public wanting to be heard, mostly expressing their objection to the changes. Video of Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here, or, if you prefer to just listen instead, you can find an audio version here (loud audio warning at 8:20).

But let’s back up for a second. Why the fuss? The public are concerned that Church Brewing (who have recently opened their restaurant, but whose brewery is still under construction) will increase truck traffic as much as 10-fold on Main Street, take up many parking spaces, and have 24/7 noise and brewing smells. These concerns seem to be largely based on a preponderance of poor information, some of which has a particular odor of its own, and the most dubious of which is the notion that Church Brewing will somehow reach 15,000 hectoliters of production, the legal limit for a craft brewery in this province, in the near future. We noted above that both Garrison and Propeller have passed the 20 year mark in their respective lifespans. Both have spent over two decades working to extend their distribution footprint from Halifax to not just beyond Nova Scotia but beyond Atlantic Canada as well. And both fall well short of 15,000 hL per year in production. To suggest that Church could attain even greater success in any kind of short time is either a massive nod to Church’s business plan and leadership or fearmongering at its worst. Most of the doom and gloom scenarios being proffered as dissent are heavily anchored in this number as a realistic estimate of production.

We encourage everyone with an interest to educate themselves; there is plenty of material available online thanks to the Town of Wolfville and interested parties such as the 902BrewCast. While we understand some of the consternation and concern about how things have been done, we believe that, as in so many communities in our region, having Church open and producing quality beer will benefit the town and its citizens. You can find the agenda for the next town council session regarding the MPS and LUB changes here. We hope that these meetings lead to us writing a profile of Church after their successful opening as a brewery in the near future.

A few things coming up events-wise:

Secret Cove Brewing Co. has been celebrating their Grand Opening the past couple of days, but don’t worry if you missed it! They’re continuing with more events throughout this weekend. Tonight they’re launching a brand new beer (which they’re not sharing details on yet… sorry!) to go with their open mic night, and while closed some of tomorrow for a private event, they’ll be reopening their doors to the public at 6 PM, with live music starting at 7 PM. Finally, Sunday will feature a Kitchen Party from 2 – 6 PM; they’ve also hinted at a “special announcement” sometime throughout the weekend. Congrats to all of the Secret Cove crew!

Corner Brook’s Bootleg Brew Co. is turning one, and in true Newfoundland fashion, they’re celebratin’ (ok, most breweries celebrate their anniversaries, but it’s NL so maybe it’ll be even more fun?) at the taproom today. Starting at 4 pm when they open, there will be snacks throughout the day, plenty of beer from both Bootleg and local guest breweries, and live music starting at 10 PM tonight. No cover!

We mentioned the big Belgian beer drop at Moncton’s Tide & Boar two weeks ago, but wanted to remind you all since the event officially happens tomorrow, March 2nd. Check out the link for all the details, but rest assured if you love Belgian beer, you want to be going to this. They open at 11 am; it’ll be going on all day, but we’re pretty positive that some of these bottles will be gone quickly, so best that you get there early!

As we’ve mentioned earlier in the post, the annual Fredericton Craft Beer Festival is next week, with the main event – the beer festival! – happening next Saturday, March 9th. While tickets for the evening session are sold out, there ARE still a few regular-entry afternoon session ones available (grab them here). There are also events going on throughout the week, leading up to Saturday, including our Trivia Night at The Joyce on Thursday, March 7th, which is also happening at the same time as a Hammond River tap takeover. There’s some educational seminars as well, including Distilling School and Home Brewing School on Thursday, and Beer School on Friday, March 8th, which is a day-long event that focuses on several aspects of the brewing process. As for the main event on Saturday, you know what to expect… hope to see you there!

And our usual last mentions on our way out the door (where? To get BEER):

Picaroons has released CBA, a 7.5% ABV “Canadian Black Ale”; described as “big, dark, and hoppy”, we think it’s pretty safe for you to put this in the Black IPA category. You can currently find it at all Picaroons locations, and it should be hitting ANBL stores sometime next week.

Port Rexton has their newest American Pale Ale exclusively on tap, Pith and Substance (5.9% ABV). Featuring “grapefruit pith vibes and a delicate strawberry aroma”, it has a medium bitterness in the finish; look for it at the PR taproom and retail shop, as well as on tap at Bootleg Brew Co. for tonight’s One Year Anniversary Tap Takeover that we mentioned earlier.