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Friday Wrap-Up for December 30, 2022 – End of Year Beer News from Secret Cove, Baccalieu Trail, Lone Oak and HopYard, Garrison, Bogside, Village Green, Propeller, North and Battery Park, Stillwell, Good Robot, plus a contest!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2022-12-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Battery Park, Bogside Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, HopYard, Lone Oak Brewing, Modern Brewer's Village Green, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Secret Cove Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Stillwell Freehouse. Leave a Comment

Well, you’ve done it! You survived another year! This is our 51st post of 2022, and 812th published since our launch in January 2012. Not bad for 10 years, eh? We hope you’ve enjoyed reading and learning along with us as we’ve tracked the Atlantic Canadian Beer, Cider, and Mead landscape, from the early days with fewer than 40 producers in the region, to today where our region boasts more than 300! There’s always something local and great to drink when you’re traveling in the Atlantic provinces, so we hope your 2023 brings the ability to do that for you all! We’ll be here, churning out the latest info on new breweries, cideries, beer, and events, to guide you along the way!

We’re kicking off the blog with a few releases from before Christmas, but we know are still around…

Celebrating their Fourth Anniversary mid-month, Port-Au-Port’s Secret Cove Brewing released their ode to the largest bird to grace Newfoundland and Labrador, with a beer of fitting proportions. The Great Auk is a 10% Triple IPA, featuring both a massive flavour and aroma from the hops and extra malt in the beer. The eponymous bird was rendered extinct in the region in the 17th century, though there is a widely accepted sighting noted in 1852 on the Grand Banks. The Great Auk the beer is alive and well, and available on tap at the brewery, and in cans at retailers across Newfoundland. Happy Fourth Anniversary Secret Cove!

Sticking to Newfoundland, Baccalieu Trail Brewing is celebrating the light show in Port de Grave with Christmas in the Harbour. This 4.0% beer is a light American lager, infused with just a touch of peppermint. May even pass as a candy-cane lager. The boats should still be lit up when you read this, so grab a four-pack from the brewery or your local beer shop, and head out Highway 72 to see the show!

From one island to another, PEI’s Lone Oak Brewing teamed up with their pals at Hopyard Beer Bar, and released Lil’ Hoppy. The first in what we expect to be a series, the partners are playing around with different hop varieties and techniques. For V1, they used loads of locally-grown Cascade hops during a mash hop phase, and waited until fermentation had died down to add Sultana and Nelson Sauvin, locking in that aroma. Look for notes of pineapple, citrus, and maybe even a touch of Sauv Blanc grape too. On tap at HopYard C’town and both Lone Oak locations, as well as in cans to take-away.

Halifax’s Garrison Brewing has a trio of new releases on tap these days, including a pair of small batch beers that are exclusive to The Oxford Taproom location on Quinpool. Krampus is the first of these, a 6.2% Black IPA, featuring the very aromatic Bravo, Simcoe, Zythos, and Mosaic, for a melding of citrus, pine, with chocolate and roast. And celebrating the location itself is Oxford Pale, a 5.5% Pale Ale, with Bravo, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Comet hops blended for some citrus and tropical notes of pineapple and mandarin orange. They’re open today for pints and retail, with tomorrow being a cafe and retail kinda day…

Embracing the season entirely is the release of Garrison’s Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wintervention. The 2022 edition of this familiar friend is 11.5%, and whose base Imperial Stout beer spent time hanging out in bourbon barrels before release in the share-worthy 650 ml format. Chocolate, roast, dark fruit meld with the vanilla, toffee, oak, and hint of booze from its temporary home. Bottles are available exclusively at the Seaport and Oxford locations, as well as through their website for local delivery.

One of our favorite trends of the last year or so has been more releases of lower-ABV English bitters. Although beers like Hell Bay’s English Ale, Sober Island’s Beachstone Bitter, Foghorn’s Esty’s Special Bitter, and Lunn’s Mill’s Pub Ale are core brands and longtime stalwarts, this year has seen all sorts of new bitters, including some from breweries you might not expect. In 2022 we saw, amongst others, the releases of Stillwell’s Best Bitter, Trailway’s Chancy’s Pub Ale, and, more recently, Tatamagouche’s Flintshire. Who knows, maybe part of the reason for this is the introduction of proper cask ale at places like the Stillwell Freehouse, or maybe folks are just looking for the next big thing after hopbombs, hazebombs, and crispybois, but regardless, as shared owners of a beer engine, we’re here for it! Anyways, that’s a bit of a long-winded introduction to the release of Proper Pub Ale from Montague’s Bogside Brewing. Coming in at a very quaffable 4.5% ABV and 25 IBU, you can safely expect a classic smooth taste profile with notes of toffee. Look for it on tap and in cans to go at the brewery.

Speaking of PEI and traditional English styles, Cornwall’s Village Green (by Modern Brewer) has two new beers for us this weekend and the first fits that description quite nicely. Often even lower in ABV than bitter, but just as suitable for the hand pumps, dark mild is one of the most sessionable beers ever. VG’s Dark Mild hits all the right notes, with toasty malt flavors, some subtle cherry esters, and a clean finish, all in a “tastes like another, and maybe another after that” 3% ABV package. Also being released is Altbier, also a very traditional style, but the German tradition rather than the English. A contrast to the lagers that came later, the “alt” in “altbier” means “old” as in “the beer we used to make.” Using bottom-fermenting ale yeast and not generally undergoing a lagering period, these are darker, more full-bodied beers, with some fruity esters and a decent bitterness from Northern Brewer hops balancing toasty sweet malt notes. Comforting on a cold day, but still not overly boozy, this one comes in at 4.9%. Both of these beers are available at the tap room for pints or in cans to go!

Continuing to find new and interesting ways to pump hops into beer are Propeller Brewing, who are releasing another new IPA today, this one not just full of lupulin, but lots of other fun things as well. Piña Colada IPA features Sabro, known for some serious coconut vibes, and Azacca, which tends to impart mango, papaya, and other tropical notes. These two together make a perfect combination, along with some actual coconut, vanilla bean, and lactose, to give the vibes of many people’s favorite umbrella drink. So you may be stuck in Atlantic Canada instead of having your toes in the sand and a drink in your hand in warmer climes, but you can at least crack one of these, sit back, and dream. Look for it as of today at all Prop Shops, online for home delivery, and at the private stores in the HRM as well. And speaking of the Prop Shops, we’ve been advised that Propeller has officially broken ground on their “coming in 2023” Bedford Highway location that was announced earlier in the year. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of that construction in the new year!

There’s a busy weekend shaping up in HRM, let’s get you in the know so you can take part in the fun.

Celebrating their 10th Anniversary in January is North Brewing, who have come a long way from their small beginnings on Agricola Street (opening as Bridge Brewing on January 23rd, 2013). And to kick off the fun is a New Year’s Eve Tap Takeover at Battery Park on Ochterloney in Dartmouth. From 11:30 tomorrow, Cole Harbour’s Finest will be pouring from the 20 draught lines behind the bar, featuring some old and new favourite beer, ciders, and vodka sodas. In the mix are a pair of new IPAs released this month. Teaming up with the Battery Park team, and a favourite customer of theirs, they have released Hazy Dave’s Juice-tastrophy. This 6.7% New England IPA is a scaling up of a recipe by Dave Wilcox, which is hoppy, hazy, juicy, and not at all a catastrophe. “It’s selling great”, says the brewery, and is available on tap and in cans at North Brewing’s retail and taproom locations for now, until it’s all gone!

Coming tomorrow at the North taprooms and Battery Park event is The Longest Night, another IPA, but different altogether. A Triple IPA, at 10.0% ABV, the big base of Pilsner malt is enhanced with Oats and Wheat for body, head retention, and foam stability. Hopping-wise, the Brew Crew opted for new-to-them Calypso and Talus for citrus aroma and flavour, complementing the Amarillo and Summit, familiar to fans of HiFi. Onlya touch of haze, the hops come through on the nose and flavour, but are not overpowering or bitter. On tap and in responsibly-sized 355ml cans.

More on their NYE event, is that a three course Prix Fixe menu option will be available after 5 PM, which comes complete with pairing North beer with what the BP kitchen has whipped up. Fans of their burgers will be happy to know that their full menu will also be available during that time. Check here for the details on the meal, and this post for the full taplist. Congrats to the North Crew on 10 years!

Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Halifax is The Stillwell Freehouse, who are hosting a pre-party Tap Feature by BC’s Dageraad Brewing. Frequent award-winners for the Belgian/Abbey style beers, they have sent along 8 to be enjoyed on draught tomorrow. Look for a Lacto-fermented Dubbel, a Tripel, both a clean and mixed culture fermented Quads (as well as one aged in a Rum barrel), and going off-brand with a Hazy IPA. They’ll be the only Stilly location open Dec 31, as HQ gears up for…

Bar Stillwell on Barrington is hosting a Levee January 1st, with a tap feature from Brasserie Dunham. Starting at 2 PM, there are a half dozen from Dunham on tap, including the Simplexite Pils collab with de Ranke, Biere de Table, Sierra Yakima New England Pale Ale (with Boreale). And from the kitchen, folks will be able to enjoy breakfast sandos, cheesesteak fries, and dunkaroos for dessert! (Note that the Freehouse is closed Jan 1 and both locations are closed Jan 2)

To celebrate the opening of their Elmsdale Brewery, Good Robot is going to be hosting an ACBB (aka, Nerdy) tour of their new facilities in the New Year. On January 21st, you, us, and a dozen other folks looking to learn more about Good Robot’s state-of-the-art brewhouse and gear will be given a tour by the folks who work so tirelessly behind the scenes. There is no cost to the event, but we do need you to win your way onto the guest list! To do that, post a picture/story/reel on social media of a favourite local beer/cider/mead you’ve enjoyed in the past twelve months, and be sure to tag us in it and use the hashtag #ElmsdaleTour. And if you’re not the SM kind, no problem, just fire us an email, send us a text, or release a carrier pigeon to let us know you’re interested! (We’d like to post/re-post to show what our readers are drinking, hope that’s OK) We’ll be drawing a whole buncha names Jan 18 at 6 PM, so your chances are good to take part! Looking forward to meeting you there!

And there you have it, our last post of 2022! Enjoy responsibly this weekend, be sure to check that your favourite brewery or bar is actually open before heading in (and whether they recommend reservations), and we’ll see you next Friday!

Friday Wrap-Up for November 4, 2022 – News from North Brewing, Tatamagouche, Landwash, Banished, Propeller, Trailway, Tire Shack, Bannerman, Tusket Falls and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2022-11-04
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Banished Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Benjamin Bridge, Bishop's Cellar, Cask in the Sticks, Dildo Brewing, Landwash Brewery, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Serpent Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Church Brewing Company, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing. Leave a Comment

Greetings, beer fans. It’s Friday and the weather is looking niiiice this weekend, so get into those outdoor drinks while you can. Can you believe it’s November?! If you’ve got some Halloween treats kicking around, there will be many drinks to pair up with some sweet and salty leftover treats. Let’s truly get into fall, transition to winter and bring on the warmer, boozier, darker beers, but also, it’s always lager season. Basically, as always, drink what you want and it never hurts to try something different, so let’s get onto some new stuff!

We’re starting off this week with one of our favourite annual releases. North Brewing’s Saison de Chardonnay (2021) is available now! Remember when this used to come out right before Christmas? While we know the aging process dictates release dates, so let’s talk about it! As always, this is a collaboration with Benjamin Bridge. North brewed a Saison with the addition of Chardonnay grape juice from the 2021 crop from the winery. Brewed last year, this was conditioned for 7 months in stainless. After that, it was bottled and conditioned for another 5 months and it’s ready for release! Getting beautiful notes of lime zest, tangerine and apricot, we already recommend picking up a few of these for special events and holidays. This is 7.6% and available in 750ml bottles at all 3 of North’s locations, online and on tap at all 3 locations as well. 

Heading north (from North), Tatamagouche Brewing has another release in their Intertidal series. This time, they’re heading west to feature Ekuanot hops grown in Yakima Valley in Washington. Intertidal: Ekuanot West Coast Pale Ale is a west coast inspired Pale ale which is crisp with some orange citrus flavour with a bit of cedar and a well balanced malt backbone. This is available now at the brewery and online at 5.3% and in 473ml cans.

We’ll head out to Newfoundland this week, and we’re starting out with Dildo Brewing and some barrel aging to start us off right! Barrel-Aged Export Stout is coming at you (and all of us!) this weekend. A base stout starts with a nice mix of caramel and roasted malts before we bring the barrel into play. Post-fermentation, the base stout spent 11 months in American oak bourbon barrels. Bringing out flavours of vanilla, caramel and a deep toastiness, let this one warm up as you sip on it. Still quite drinkable at 6.8%, this one is available at the brewery in Dildo or the St. John’s location now in 473ml cans. It will be available in wider distribution across the island in the coming weeks, as well. 

Staying on The Rock, Banished Brewing has a brand new release joining their Puffin lineup. Interplanetary Puffin is a Double New England IPA, being a beefed up version of Space Puffin, their 6% NEIPA. Interplanetary Puffin comes in at 8% and is currently available at the brewery and will be available at retailers across Newfoundland late next week. Completing the Puffin line is the Session NEIPA, Space Puffling at 4%, so grab all 3 if you can!

Rounding out the Newfoundland trio this week is a new beer and a launch party at Landwash Brewery. Fitz’s Cold Lager is an ode to an iconic St. John’s sign that used to reside on Topsail Road. The sign read “Fitz’s Cold Beer” and the folks at Landwash won a charity auction and now they’ve had it cleaned up, refreshed and re-wired and is in the taproom. To celebrate, Landwash is having a beer launch this Saturday featuring the Fitzpatrick family themselves coming to officially light up the sign at 2 PM.  They’ll also be pouring $6 pints all day of the lager.  The beer is a light and crisp Czech-Style pilsner, coming in at 4.4%. The Newfoundland water is soft and should feature nicely for this style. The beer will be available in 8x355ml cans or 4 packs of 473ml cans and is available at the brewery Saturday, but will launch across the rest of the province and local shops and NLC later next week.

Hopping down to Fredericton, those IPA loving folks at Trailway Brewing have a true-to-style West Coast IPA launching this week! Bearstream is a departure from the brewery’s signature hazy IPA and is a classic, clear, golden IPA with those notes of pine, resin and nice bitterness, with some nice orange and lemon profile as well. Hopped up with Cascade, Chinook, Columbus and Amarillo, Bearstream is 7% ABV. This is available now on tap and in cans and will be available across the ANBL and other locations on tap over the coming weeks.

Lawrencetown’s Lunn’s Mill Beer has a new release this week, ready for you to enjoy this after. It’s a Double IPA … pretty much says it all in the name, doesn’t it? This is release #2 in the Lazy Brewer (Lazy Beer Namer, maybe?) series, as they work their way through some classic styles. Big hop usage in this 7.5% beer, with Cascade enhanced by Mosaic and Citra late in the boil and again in a generous dry-hopping. Available on tap and in cans right now, for enjoyment/pick-up at their taproom, or for local delivery or Canada-wide shipping via their website.

Elsewhere in the Annapolis Valley, Church Brewing Company has a pair of releases gracing their taps for the first time this week. First up is a collaboration with their friends at Serpent Brewing in Spryfield, and keeping in their communal wheelhouse, it’s a Belgian beer. Growing out of the long friendship of Head Brewers Steve and Glen at Church and Serpent, respectively, this 12.0% Quadrupel was brewed back in April, and has been hanging out for the right time for release. And that time is now! Belgian Strong  is light amber in colour, and thanks to the malts and yeast used, features dark fruit, molasses, and spice aromatics, with a touch of alcohol heat (unsurprisingly). It is available on draught in the Church taproom, and to go in growler fills. No word yet if it is also on at Serpent’s location. 

Also new and available on tap and in cans now is a Church exclusive, Forgive Me Father, a 5.9% Coffee Stout. The beer saw the addition of cold-steeped coffee from T.A.N. Coffee from just down Main Street, to enhance the already-present roast character from the malts. Not yet on their website, so best to call in, or better yet, pop by their Main Street Wolfville location to ensure you don’t miss out!

Back in HRM, Propeller is releasing another drop of its 10% TIPA, Leviathan. Previously released last year, you can expect big notes of tropical fruit, higher bitter (to the tune of 100 IBUs), but also a smooth and rounder drinking experience from the addition of lactose. Cans are available today at Prop’s four retail locations and will soon see distribution on some NSLC stores.

St. John’s’ Bannerman Brewing is leaning into the Fall season with two releases this week. First up is a taproom only dark ale called Past Tense. This one was made with a grain bill of Pilsner malt, flaked corn and some caramel and roasted malts, leading to notes of toffee and raisin. A light dry hop with some German noble hops also lends some herbal/spice notes. You can grab Past Tense on tap at the brewery now. And while you’re down there, why not check out the return of their Marzen-style lager, Safe Bet. Using a blend of Vienne, Caramel and Pilsner malts, this one packs a ton of nutty and sweet malt flavours in a sessionalbe 5.5% ABV package. Cans of Safe Bet are available now on Duckworth Street. 

Tusket Falls Brewing has a returning favourite releasing this week. First released last year,  While You’re Waiting is back! This peach, mint, Sour IPA has a lovely tropical profile and features Motueka, Galaxy and Citra hops. With additions of real peaches, spearmint, vanilla bean, sea salt and lactose, this is packed with refreshing notes with a smooth mouthfeel coming in at 6.5%. This is available now at the brewery in Tusket and the Tusket Falls Beer Project in Halifax on tap or in cans. It is also available online for shipping across Canada. 

In “coming soon” beer news, Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewery is celebrating their Third Anniversary this coming Wednesday, November 9th. Pints are on sale all day, and they are of course releasing a new beer to celebrate. Teaming up with nearby business, and frequent collaborators Halo Donuts, they have brewed Cel-O-Bration, a Birthday Cake-flavoured beer that included 20 kilograms of Birthday Cake donuts from Halo! Wow! Wednesday will be a blast, with a balloon drop and prizes that evening, and the party will continue on the weekend (Nov 11 & 12), as they have a pop-up kitchen visit by Euston Park, more donuts, and even a visit by a miniature horse (named Lil Sebastien, we hope). And congratulations to Henry and the TS crew for their Gold medal win in the Canada Beer Cup Triple IPA category, as their Killed by Death took home top honours. There are a few cans left, so grab them now before they’re gone for another year.

Tomorrow marks the return of the Cask in the Sticks event, a community-led beer festival that moves around to different regions of rural Nova Scotia. Sober Island Brewing in Sheet Harbour is hosting this year’s event, and they are hosting Big Spruce, Breton Brewing, The Harbour Brewing, Lunn’s Mill, Tatamagouche, Uncle Leo’s, as well as a pair of homebrewers, all showing off their best beers in casks. In addition, as this is an outdoor event, there is a onesie competition, free event toque (have to stay warm, right?), a S’more station, and more fun! Grab your tickets here.

A few more newsbites before we let you go today…

If you’re around downtown Halifax soon, they have some new releases in stock and some nice beer news they’ve passed along to us. New in the shop this week are the following:

2 Crows –  OK OK OK,  5.1% Farmhouse Ale

2 Crows –  Classic, 4.1% Maritime Dry Stout, in a new format! 6x355ml.

Garrison –  Dunkel Breaking My Heart, 5.1% Dunkel, Dark German Lager

Schoolhouse – Principal Ale, 4.7% Pale Ale  (now a regularly stocked beer)

And for some importing updates, you’ve seen Samuel Smith ales in stock over the past year or so at Bishops, and they’ve got Oatmeal Stout and Chocolate Stout are back again for the winter.

A pair of returning favourites from Nyanza’s Big Spruce to close out this week. The Respect Your Elders BerlinerWeisse with Elderberry is back, made with berries harvested from their own farm, and added early in the brewing process to allow them to ferment with some Brettanomyces yeast for a melding of funk and tart in this dry seasonal beer. And kicking it to the West Coast is Old School, as West Coast IPA with big malt and hops both getting equal billing, At 8.0% ABV, the malt definitely shows up to support the massive hop additions throughout the brew, for a serious bitterness on the palate. Both beers are available on draught and in cans at the brewery, online ordering, and coming to better beer establishments across the province.

Friday Wrap-Up for October 28, 2022 – News from Change is Brewing & Keith’s, Baccalieu Trail,North Brewing, 2 Crows, Propeller, Trailway, Banished & Liquor Sauce, Good Robot, Big Spruce, Maybee, Unfiltered, Annapolis Cider, and much more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2022-10-28
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Alexander Keith's Historic Brewery, Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Banished Brewing, Bellwoods Brewery, Beverly Tacos, Big Spruce Brewing, BrewHQ, Change Is Brewing Collective, Delta Force Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Landwash Brewery, Liquor Sauce Food Truck, Maybee Brewing, North Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Propeller Brewing, The Stillwell Freehouse, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing. Leave a Comment

While there are ghosts and goblins creeping around every corner, we promise no scares or frights in today’s post. We’ve got new brews and events across the region, so adjust your witch hat and Harry Potter glasses, and read on!

The Change is Brewing Collective recently got together with Music Nova Scotia and A. Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery to celebrate the 25th anniversary of MusicNS and to give back to local communities. Dubbed Pier Beer and brewed on Mi’kma’ki, “It gives recognition to the melting pot of diversity & culture in Unimaki, Cape Breton.” A maple and spruce amber lager, it’s got very fall-friendly notes of maple, floral spruce, gingerbread, and cinnamon. So grab a sweater and head down to the Keith’s brewery on Lower Water Street to grab some.

Speaking of Fall collaborations, up on the Rock in Bay Roberts, NL, Baccalieu Trail Brewing has collaborated with Darkstar Coffee Roasters in nearby Carbonear to produce Have Your Cake & Eat It Too, a coffee cake-inspired brown ale. Brewed with demerara sugar and some sweeter malts for caramel and honey sweetness along with some burnt caramel character. Finished in the fermenter through conditioning on cinnamon bark and vanilla beans for a week, it’s got some distinct “dessert vibes” while still managing to weigh in at a fairly light 5.5% ABV. Sounds like a tasty Autumn tipple to us! Grab it on the Avalon Peninsula now, with distro reaching Central and Western Newfoundland in coming weeks.

Champions in terms of news volume today are the lovely folks at North Brewing, who have a new location and two returning beers for your pleasure this week. First up is the long anticipated full opening of their Timberlea taproom as of today. Although beer has been available at this location at retail for a year or so now, various delays (who ever heard of opening delays in the craft beer industry?!) have kept them to can and bottle sales until now. Featuring a 60-seat dining room to rival their spot in Cole Harbour and a very similar (possibly identical, to start) food menu, expect North’s usual fabulous “Cheers your neighbour” hospitality, just on the light side of Halifax Harbour. Open for full service food and beverage at 11:30am six days a week, Tuesday to Sunday, closing at 10pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, and 11pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, they’ll also have the retail store open on Mondays from 12 – 8pm.

And if you’re wondering what to drink during your first visit to their new spot, they’ve got a couple of bangers back in circulation. First up, released just after we posted last week, is Cinnamon Bun imperial stout. A 9% ABV soft and sweet punch in the face, look for flavors of cinnamon with lots of body and sweetness. A once-a-year brew, grab it soon before it’s all gone. And just out today, timed perfectly for the opening of their TIMBERlea location, is the return of Timberbock, a 6.2% ABV amber lager, quite Märzen-lize, with plenty of body, but still a lovely crisp-like-the-fall-air finish. Grab one or both of these, along with your fave North core offerings, when you check out their new digs.

With the spooky weekend coming, we’ve got some Halloween themed beers and events going on this weekend. 2 Crows is going to have a special spooky version of Pollyanna (their flagship NEIPA) pouring from Friday to Sunday. Bloody Polly is the result of blending 20kg of blood orange into their current Pollyanna recipe, resulting in 150L available through the weekend. This turns the tropical vibes up in Pollyanna and adds even more juice. They’ve also got a movie screening on Halloween with free popcorn at 7 PM!

Staying in the theme of seasonal releases, Propeller is re-releasing Chocolate Orange Porter, a dark, big bodied porter, with flavours of roasted malts backing the tasty combination of chocolate and orange. At 5%, it’s a very approachable and tasty brew and it is available now in Propeller’s three locations, soon to be available in the Halifax private stores as well, and then at the NSLC as December approaches. Move over, Terry! 

Trailway is back with this year’s version of Spooky! This is a “candy” sour that you may remember from last year that features blue raspberry flavours and leverages spirulina to give it a blue-green hue. This is available now from the brewery in 473ml cans and a limited number of kegs have been distributed around Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John as well. 

Paradise’s Banished Brewing is back this week with two new releases. First up is a collaboration with St. John’s food truck Liqoursauce. This one is a 4.5% ABV mini-Dortmunder style lager. Cans are available now at the brewery and will be hitting Banished’s regular retail outlets next Thursday. Next up is Skelephone, a 6% IPA hopped with the Cryo-Pop blend from Yakima Chief. This one also saw an addition of blue spirulina algae to give the beer a halloween friendly blueish-green tinge. Rumour is the label also has some spooky vibes. Try cracking one in a dark room or in Paradise (by the dashboard lights, of course) to confirm. 

Big Spruce is celebrating local legend Mattea Roach’s return to your screens during the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions with the release of Who is Mattea Roach? This 4% ABV session IPA saw a heavy Citra dry hop, leading to notes of tangerine and pink grapefruit. Cans are available now at the Sprucetique and through the online store. Mattea will be appearing in the Tournament of Champions on November 11, with a special warm up match airing on November 8. 

Back in New Brunswick, Maybee Brewing Company has a new sour hitting the taps, with Give up the Gose. This darker take on the German Gose style incorporates the traditional coriander and sea salt additions, but also features chocolate wheat malt to give it a dark brown colour. Find it on tap at Maybee now. 

Mount Pearl’s Landwash Brewery has a fun new four pack that riffs on its popular Brackish sour ale, featuring a favourite of the blog, sea salt from the Newfoundland Salt Company. Using the Citra-hopped base beer as a starting point, the first variation is Ruby Line, which incorporates additions of raspberry and lime. Next up is Pineapple Brackish, which swaps the Citra hops for southern hemisphere Wakatau, and sees an addition of pineapple during the conditioning stage. This one is also available in singles at the brewery. Rounding out the four-pack is Tangerine Brackish, which also sees an addition of Ekuanot hops. Grab it now at the brewery, with distribution across the Avalon next week and throughout the rest of Newfoundland later in November.

With all the various Fall-inspired beers around, it’s up to Annapolis Cider to balance things with a seasonal cider. Part of their Something Different series is Autumn Sweater, a 6.4% ABV cider with plenty of warmth for the incoming chill. Based on fresh pressed McIntosh apple juice, several hundred pounds of ripe peaches were added and co-fermented for 6 weeks. True Ceylon cinnamon bark and local pear juice bring complexity and additional warmth. Extra points if you get the musical reference, which you can hum as you sip. As with all Something Different ciders, this one sees $0.50 from the sale of each refillable bottle got to charity, in this case Hope Worldwide Canada (Halifax branch). Available only in Wolfville at the cidery.

Where to go and have a beer-y blast this weekend? Below is our Events section!

Three of everyone’s favourites are teaming up for a Sunday special! Taco Bellwoods is this Sunday, as the Stillwell Freehouse, is hosting Beverley’s Taco Service for food and Bellwoods Brewery for beer! The Bellwoods will be fresh kegs of some Bellwoods classics along with some fresh releases. Jutsu, Roman Candle, Jelly King, Cat Lady, Monogamy (Vista hops are showcased in this one), Goblin Sauce and Bellweiser are all expected to be on tap, but head down on Sunday if you can to check out all the goodies. Bring your family, friends, or go solo. Taco Bellwoods for all!

A few more quick hits before we dismiss you for the rest of the weekend …

Christmas creep is in full effect at Ol Biddy’s with the release of Naughty or Nice, their 7.6% AVB double chocolate stout. Keep on eye on the NSLC shelves for this one if you can’t make it to the brewery in Lower Sackville. 

Apparently, chocolate stout is a thing, because Good Robot also has a new release out this week with their Chocolate Mint Nitro Stout. Look for notes of cocoa, mint and vanilla in this 5% cozy sipper. 

Unfiltered continues their recent streak of Friday releases with the return of Here It Comes. Featuring hops from Quebec’s Duke25 Hops, this 7.5% DIPA features a big punch of citrus flavour and aroma. Cans are available now on North Street.