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Friday Wrap-Up for August 2, 2019 – News from Big Spruce, Breton, O’Creek, Shipwright, North, Propeller, Good Robot and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2019-08-02
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 3Flip Brewing, Bellwoods Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Breton Brewing, Brightwood Brewery, Chain Yard Cider, Copper Bottom Brewing, Gahan House (Saint John), Good Robot Brewing, Lake City Cider, Landwash Brewery, Newfoundland Cider Company, North Brewing, O'Creek Brewing, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Roof Hound Brewing, Royal St. John's Regatta, Schoolhouse Brewery, Shipwright Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, TrailWay Brewing, Trider's Craft Beer. Leave a Comment

International Beer Day, Natal Day, New Brunswick Day, Regatta Eve Eve Eve, no matter what your reason for celebrating this weekend, we hope you do it with a fresh local beer or cider in your hand! Due to the holiday, be sure to check first that your favourite shop or brewery is open, btw! Here are the latest releases to get you thirsty this Friday morning…

As usual, Big Spruce shows no sign of slowing down! After last week’s Stanfest and the release of two new beers, they’re releasing *another* two beers this week. Their first beer is from one of the original lawnmower beer styles, a Cream Ale called Day Boil. Named after the Newfoundland term that describes the wonderful act of getting slightly buzzed in the afternoon, it comes in at a not-too-heavy, not-too-light 5.1% ABV. With a portion of Organic long grain rice used in the grist, the beer has a creamy mouthfeel, and “is reminiscent of light sake and big brew”. Only lightly-hopped, to 10 IBUs, it’s refreshment and easy-drinking to the max (kids say that, right?)! Their next newbie is their latest American Pale Ale, hopped entirely with that ever-popular variety, Citra. Named Ankle Biter, this 5.5% ABV APA does show some bitterness in the finish, but it’s preceded by aromas and flavours of grapefruit and tropical fruit. Expect both of these beers to be available on tap only, at Big Spruce and your favourite Big Spruce-pouring establishments.

Might as well stick with Cape Breton, where Breton Brewing has announced a new series of beers, simply named S.M.A.S.H. By this point, all of you probably know that this is a fairly-common acronym in the brewing world that refers to single-malt-and-single-hop; Breton’s first beer in this series is a Session IPA that will feature Canadian Superior Pilsner and the wonderful, tropical Azacca hop variety. In true Session IPA style, this is a beer that you can have a few off and not be too worried about handling knives and heat at your BBQ, as it weighs in at a comfortable 4.0% ABV (and 20 IBUs). All of that Azacca provides plenty of citrusy, tropical fruit in the aroma, with flavours of “spicy mango, pineapple, tangerine and pine”. The first batch is limited, with cans available at the brewery and a select number of NSLC stores across the province. As of right now, no kegs have been filled, so if you see some cans, grab ‘em quick!

If you have travelled through the Moncton/Dieppe area over the past months, you may have noticed that O’Creek Brewing has been releasing some tasty brews, many of which focus on the hazier, hoppier side of things. If this is right up your alley, you’ll be pleased to find out that they have two new offerings to help satisfy your hop crave. Late last week saw the release of Ti Pruce, a 4.5% ABV Session IPA that they brewed with the intention of focussing on piney flavours. No, pine needles were not used when brewing this one; instead, they used healthy additions of Simcoe, El Dorado, Azacca and Idaho 7. Pouring a hazy golden colour, the final beer is light and refreshing, with a fruity aroma and lots of pine in the flavour – as intended – with a mild bitterness in the finish. And released just yesterday is Magnetic Ale, an American IPA brewed with a simple grist of 2-row, Wheat malt, oats, and Honey malt. Hopped with Simcoe, Galaxy, Mosaic, and El Dorado (and dry-hopped with more Mosaic and SImcoe), and fermented with Escarpment Lab’s Foggy London strain, expect a proverbial fruit salad, with aromas and flavours of “zesty orange, citrus, pineapple, and peach”. Seek out your O’Creek beers at Le BarBu, Tide & Boar, and The Rooftop at Dolma Food. 

Kegs are running a bit low in Lunenburg for Shipwright Brewing, but they’re trucking along with a brand new release, Mayday, their take on a Belgian IPA. An off-shoot of the more-typical American IPA, the Belgian IPA combines the characteristics of that American hoppy style with a Belgian Golden Strong or Tripel. Shipwright comprised a grist of Pale malt, Vienna, and Light Munich, hopped the wort with healthy doses of Citra and Topaz, and fermented the whole thing with a Belgian Golden Strong yeast strain. The final product has “intense aromatics of orange and grapefruit”, followed with a moderate bitterness, as well as some fruity esters from the Belgian yeast. It weighs in at a strong 6.7% ABV, and 50 IBUs. Pouring right now at the Shipwright taproom, while quantities last. 

Heading back up towards Halifax, or more specifically, Dartmouth, with two new beers from North Brewing. Well, one beer and one sorta… ok, let’s just start with the beer. Cole Harbour Red is their first-of-likely-many takes on the Irish Red style; just a small batch for this go-around, they plan on tweaking the recipe as time goes on, until it’s right where they want it. In the meantime, if you’re looking for an easy-drinking, 5% ABV red ale with light caramel and biscuit notes, and a clean finish, this is your beer! While it’s only available at North for growler fills right now, future iterations should be available in cans. Next up is the sorta-beer, Sunshine Shandy. Your typical shandy is a mixture of beer with a lemon/lemon-lime beverage; North’s take is, in their terms, a grapefruit shandy (shandy vs. radler… discuss). They took a beer brewed with a “very light malt bill” and performed a secondary ferment with grapefruit juice and grapefruit puree, and also added in grapefruit zest to bump the aroma even more. To give a touch of residual sweetness, some honey was also thrown in. Light and refreshing at 4.6% ABV, you’ll be able to grab cans of this one in both bottle shops starting today, just in time for the weekend. 

Yesterday was IPA Day, and Propeller Brewing released a new take on their stalwart IPA that has their fans buzzing. Double Dry-Hopped IPA weighs in at the same 6.5% ABV as its sibling, but turns the hops up to 11 with dry hop additions of Mosaic and Simcoe. Taking advantage of these hops’ dank and tropical characteristics, the flavour and aroma bursts out of the can and overwhelm your senses. Speaking of the can, in a first in Atlantic Canada (we believe), cans of DDH IPA feature a 360 End, meaning most of the top of the can is removed after opening, allowing all of those great hop volatiles to get to your sniffer without having to pour it into a glass (which you can still do, of course!). The new cans are available now at both Prop Shops, and will be hitting the private stores and The Port by NSLC soon. And pop by the Gottingen Street Tap Room for Cask Night today at 5PM for a cask of the DDH, with even more dry-hopping.

Halifax’s Good Robot is releasing a friendly beer today ahead of their International Friendship Day event on Sunday, the return of a BetaBrew from earlier in the program. Ales of Friendship was originally cooked up by Jill Bernier and BetaQueen Kelly Costello, as a 4.3% ABV Pale Amber featuring honey and an infusion of basil. With Bernier’s help and guidance, it has been stepped up to a full batch so that more of us can enjoy the brew! That should mean it will be available further afield as well, after this weekend’s festivities. Speaking of which, GR’s Friendship Day Event is meant to make it a little bit easier to meet folks and make friends, in a safe and respectful space where all are welcome.

Mount Pearl’s Landwash Brewery has a new beer on tap this week, with another one set to debut next Wednesday (or Thursday… or Friday… we’ll explain in a second). Out now is Tidepool Pilsner, a 5.0% ABV German Pils, featuring all Weyermann Pilsner Malt, a German lager yeast (℅ Escarpment Labs), and lots and lots of Saphir and Strisselspalt hops. All of these come together for a beer with notes of orange and spicy hops, and a clean and crisp base with some cracker malt flavours as well. On tap now, with cans rolling out today as well (we believe).

And debuting at next week’s Royal St. John’s Regatta will be Garden Party, the collaborative brew between 14 Newfoundland and Labrador breweries and cideries that are open/coming soon. Details are a bit slim on this Mexican Lager, but when great minds come together, we’re sure it’ll be a hit! In a first for the Regatta, the Newfoundland Craft Brewers are running the beer tent, so there will be a great can selection from Landwash, Port Rexton, Newfoundland Cider Company and Quidi Vidi onsite (including a release from them, Crown and Anchor Lager). Proceeds from the beer tent go to The Royal St John’s Regatta Committee, Special Olympics, and the REAL Program (Recreation Experiences and Leisure). 

Over in Fredericton, local brewery TrailWay is stepping away from the hoppier side of things with the release of Dump Run Saves. While we can’t with 100% certainty explain to you the exact meaning of that name (TW says the beer is “brewed in recognition of a local area legend and business owner”), we CAN tell you that they’re placing it in a style they call a “Fruited Summer Ale”. Brewed with a very simple grist of Pale malt, and hopped very lightly with Citra, the main stars of the show are additions of passion fruit, peach, and mango purees. As a result, expect intense tropical fruit coming through, with a medium body and barely any bitterness in the finish (the passion fruit does add a touch of tartness). Sessionable at just 4% ABV, you can find it today at the taproom when they open this morning, on tap and in cans. 

Copper Bottom Brewing in Montague, PEI, has plenty of news to share today, all of it resulting in more beer for you! First on the list is their lifting the covers off their in-house R&D line, which has been running for a while, but which hasn’t previously seen its results available to the public. The first of the beers to be released came out yesterday, and it’s a perfect beer for a warm weekend. Pilot Program is a 5.0% ABV kettle sour that’s been dry hopped with the Czech variety Sladek, a relatively recent (for Continental hops, anyway) hop developed in the early 90s. Known for a classic hop aroma and fruity flavor profile, it’s known for notes of grapefruit, passionfruit, and peach. Because the pilot batches are, by their nature, small, they’ll only be available by the glass in the tap room, so you’ll want to act quickly if you want a taste. And look for a new pilot batch to be released on or about the first of every month for the foreseeable future. Next up, CB’s Blueberry Sour, surely another great warm-weather beer, will be hitting the shelves at some PEI Liquor locations this week. This 5% ABV beer can be found at Cornwall, Montague, and two Summerside locations. And if you’re at PEI Liquor, you can also pick up another limited edition Copper Bottom brew, their Panmure Island Pilsner, a collaboration with Surrey, BC’s Central City Brewers. This one is only available as part of the annual Red Racer Across the Nation Collaboration package of 12 different beers, each brewed by Central City and one brewery from each of the 10 provinces plus the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Dartmouth’s Brightwood Brewery is in the (legitimate) news this week, but sadly not for their beer. It seems that their open door policy with respect to four-legged family members has run them afoul of the NS Department of the Environment, specifically the Inspection, Compliance, and Enforcement Branch, responsible for Nova Scotia’s Food Safety laws. Per the inspector, allowing dogs in the taproom puts Brightwood in violation of Section 39 of the regulation, which could result in the loss of their beverage room license. While it would be natural for Brightwood and its dog-loving patrons to focus on the underhanded nature of the anonymous complaint that resulted in the visit from the Inspector, the fact is that the regulations only allow two sorts of live animals to enter food-serving establishments: (a) service dogs and (b) edible fish, crustaceans, and/or shellfish in an aquarium, thus, any random inspection could also have resulted in a similar warning or worse. So, for the moment, Brightwood has had to change their policy and disallow dogs in their taproom. To their credit, however, they are approaching this as a temporary measure while they work on having the offending regulation reviewed and revised, starting with a publicity campaign and a petition on Change.org (probably up over 5,000 signatures by the time you read this). Their goal is simple, to follow the previously established example of provinces such as British Columbia and Alberta who have a third clause in their version of Section 39, to wit, “any other animal that a health officer determines will not pose a risk of a health hazard occurring on the premises.” This seems more than sensible to us and reflects a few ideas that we believe are fairly commonly held: that dogs are family members and a properly-behaved dog presents no more risk in a food-serving establishment than in many of the other places where dogs are already welcome, that there is little difference in this context between a service dog and a properly-behaved family dog, that allergy concerns are myriad in any food-serving establishment and dog allergies are rarely as health-threatening as, say, nut, peanut, or shellfish allergies, and that food-serving businesses should have the right to decide whether to open their doors to dogs as other businesses are free to do as long as they are willing to do any extra work required to maintain compliance with the food safety guidelines as a result and are also willing to do the right thing when it comes to dogs that do not meet behavior standards. If you support changing the Food Safety laws of the province to allow all well-behaved animals to enter food-serving establishments, we encourage you to add your signature to the petition and help bring awareness to this issue! And, if you’re the social media type, you could also make your voice heard on your favorite SM platform, using the hashtag #BrightwoodLovesDogs for maximum visibility.

In addition to the Civic Holiday celebrations around the region, here are a few beer-y things on the go over the next few days!

Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewery is celebrating Avon River Days all weekend long, here are the highlights:

  • At 4 PM today, they are celebrating Cask Friday with an Orange Zest and Coriander-infused version of their Amarillo Wheat. Pints and samples only!
  • At 8 PM this evening, they are inviting SWIG to take over their patio for some live music. No cover charge.
  • Saturday, starting at 1 PM until they sell out, Pigging Out Caterers will be on site offering spit roasted Porchetta and apple pastries. 
  • Saturday night, they are hosting the Beer Garden with The Legendary Goldblooms and Tye Dempsey Band, from 7:30 PM. Cover is $10, with tickets and packages available at the brewery.
  • Sunday, 10 AM – 4 PM, the Avon River Days Car Show is on. Free to watch, $10/vehicle to participate.

Digby’s Roof Hound Brewing is celebrating their Third Anniversary tomorrow, so be sure to drop any time after noon for a fresh pint of Big Stink, some live music from local band Tide and Timbre ( 8 PM start), and the taping of an episode of Slainte!

A reminder that it’s Bellwoods Day in Halifax this weekend, kicking off with the release of cans at Bishop’s Cellar at 8 AM Saturday, followed by a 10 tap/bottle/kitchen takeover at Stillwell from noon, and continuing Sunday at the Beer Garden with Sour Pours and their Disco Sunday fun. Peep here for more details!

And just a few more things to catch you up…

Fredericton’s 3Flip Brewing is continuing their plan for world domination by launching a pair of beers in bottles at the ANBL. Their Sassy Cow Root Beer Milk Stout and Anonymous Amber Ale are available at better shops in Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John, so check out their social media for the exact locations to fill up today. Their aim is to keep these two well stocked in the region, in both draught and bottle format, with their variety of rotating offerings popping up as well.

Boxing Rock has a limited release “Lagered Ale” named Puck Off (is this becoming a trend in NS? We’re curious to see Unfiltered’s entry…); “crisp and refreshing”, it’s 5% ABV and available in 340 mL six-packs.

Chain Yard has introduced a brand new hybrid cider this week, just in time for the long weekend. Pie Hard is a 5.5% ABV blend of raspberry and cranberry wine, on top of an apple cider made from MacIntosh, Sonya, and Honey Crisp juices. Aged with French Oak, the resulting cider “tastes like raspberry pie with hints of vanilla and a sharp cranberry finish.” Pie Hard is available now for pints and samples, as well as growler fills to enjoy at home.

Gahan House Port City, in Uptown Saint John, is releasing a brand new beer today. Brett Saison is a 5.1% ABV beer with a Pilsner, Spelt, and Wheat base, with a spicy hop character, with all of the beautiful funk and fruit one can expect from the Brett fermentation. Bottles of the beer are available at all of the New Brunswick and PEI Gahan locations today.

Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider has a new cider out this week, the latest in their line of hopped offerings. ALPHA 3.0 is a bone dry clean cider, dry-hopped with Chinook and Willamette, for a floral, piney, and lightly spicy layer on top of the cider base. Available on tap for flights, pints, and growler fills, with bottles coming soon.

Brasseurs du Petit-Sault have brought back an old favourite this week, just in time for enjoying at the lake or beach this long weekend. Bob Fife is a 4.5% ABV Pale Ale, infused with lots of blood orange for a lovely citrus flavour and kick. Grab cans at the brewery now, and look for it at the Bob Fife Foundation Golf Tournament next weekend!

Trider’s has just re-released their Blueberry Ale, Exit 6, a 4.6% ABV beer that has a Cream Ale base and an addition of real blueberries. Crisp and refreshing, with plenty of blueberry character on the palate, you’ll be able to find it on tap at Trider’s accounts; there’s also a small amount of 330 mL bottles available at the brewery for sale.

Friday Wrap-Up for June 7, 2019 – News from PEI Craft Beer Week, Upstreet, Gahan, PEI Brewing, Copper Bottom, Bogside, Big Spruce and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2019-06-07
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Bogside Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, East Coast Cider Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Moth Lane Brewing, Niche Brewing, North Brewing, O'Creek Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., PEI Craft Beer Week 2019, Saltbox Brewing, Shipwright Brewing, Split Rock Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Carleton, The Curated Guide, Tusket Falls Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

The weather has certainly taken a turn for the better this week, with patios and beer gardens open more than closed this week! The final couple days of PEI Craft Beer Week are upon us, with events at all 8 Island breweries (no, not 5, PEILCC!), so let’s kick off the week with the latest news from the Fair Isle.

PEI’s Upstreet has been in operation now for close to four years; Gahan, originating and still operating on the Island, for much longer. It’s taken awhile, but the two have finally come together to brew their first collaboration beer, and they’re hoping you will find it worth the wait! Appropriately named, About Time was brewed with Pilsner, raw wheat, and rye in the grist. Hopped (and dry-hopped) with Czech Saaz and Kazbeck, as well as Cascade, it was fermented with a Brettanomyces blend, as well as a Kveik strain. The hazy, yellow beer finished at 5% ABV and 19 IBUs, and has aromas of “fresh hops, lemon zest, fresh mown grass, and undertones of wet hay”, with lots of herbal spice and citrus in the flavour. This one will be available only on tap; you can find it at Upstreet and the Craft Beer Corner, as well as Gahan locations…

In even more Gahan/PEI Brewing Co. news, it looks like they’re releasing another in the series of their bottled Brett beers; you may remember Patience, a dry-hopped Saison with Brett, which was originally released a couple of years ago. Their latest beer, Persistence, follows the same line – it’s also a dry-hopped Saison with Brett – although it definitely has its differences! Persistence was fermented entirely with Brettanomyces (Patience had Brett added for a secondary fermentation) and features a dry hop with a very large amount of Citra. Look for notes of tropical fruit and light funky character in this 6.0% ABV high carb, dry beer. Bottles are available now at the PEIBC and Gahan shops, and at several PEILCC locations across the province. And this week is the kick-off of their Growlers of Summer series of beers, special brews only available at the PEI Brewing Company and Beer Station at the North River Causeway for growler fills, natch. This week’s release is Margarita Gose, a 5.2% ABV beer that was originally released about a year ago. Tart and salty, this take on a Gose has an addition of tequila-soaked lime and orange zest. Crisp and refreshing, grab your growler(s) at the PEIBC taproom starting today at 4pm, or at the North River Causeway.

Montague’s Copper Bottom Brewing has a brand new kettle sour hitting taps and shelves starting today, just in time for a sunny weekend (kinda). Blueberry Sour was brewed with a simple grist of 2-row (from PEI’s own Island Malt House) and a healthy percentage of wheat malt. Soured with Lactobacillus, and hopped very lightly with Centennial, an addition of over 100 kg of wild blueberry puree (from local Terry’s Berries) is what gives this aptly-named beer its bright purple colour. Lots of blueberry in the flavour, the tartness helps the 5% ABV brew from being too sweet. Grab it on tap and in cans at the brewery today; it should follow at a few PEILCC stores later on in the summer.

Turning to the latest Island Brewery, Bogside Brewing has been welcoming visitors for the past week, serving up some authentic low and slow BBQ thanks to Chef Dave Mottershall (including Pork2BeerFest from 4:00 PM today!). While they’ve been waiting for their beer to be ready, they’ve had a variety of Island ciders and beers on tap. Well, your patience will soon be rewarded, as the final pieces of their serving equipment is almost onsite, which means you’ll soon be able to enjoy Brewer Mark Patriquin’s brews. Keep an eye on their social media (Fb/IG/Tw) for the release details, but you’ll be able to their Session IPA, Hefeweizen, and Brown Ale within the next week, and we’ll have a full Profile with them early next week.

Big Spruce has never been a brewery accused of lack of experimentation, and they’re keeping that up with the latest entry in their experimental hop series of IPAs. This 7.9% ABV brew is named Makes ¢¢¢¢ (considering the first beer in the series was simply named $$$$, you shouldn’t be too surprised!), and features the experimental hop HBC-644 (don’t worry, if the variety catches on it’ll eventually have a much sexier name). The final product is showing plenty of apricot and nectarine in the aroma, with “notes of ripe mango and summer strawberry”, and some pink grapefruit zest on the palate, all with a piney finish. Considering the enthusiasm from beer drinkers for $$$$, this one has a lot to live up to, and it sounds like it may have accomplished that feat! Judge for yourselves… swing by Big Spruce for a taste/growler, or check out one of their many licensees if you’re not in the Cape Breton area.

Couple new beers coming your way this week and next from Good Robot, the first being their collaboration with the Anchor City Rollers, Thick Thighs Save Lives. This American Pale Ale comes in at 5.3% ABV and 39 IBUs, and is described by the brewery as “superbly crushable, with a great bracing bitterness”. Next week’s release is another collaboration, this one with a brewery, and a brewery that pretty much all of us will recognize – Quebec’s Trou du Diable. Beelzebot! Is another APA, but brewed with an addition of spruce tips straight outta Shawinigan (TdD’s home town), and fermented with a Kveik yeast strain. The beer is tasting fruity, with a good amount of spruce popping through in the aroma. It comes in at 6.66% ABV and 47 IBUs; you’ll have to pop by the source (read: Good Robot) to give it a try.

Dieppe’s O’Creek Brewing is bringing back their very popular La Saison du Nord Saison, but have made some changes to the yeast and hops to switch up the beer. Released to celebrate the lobster fishers in Northern NB, this version of the Saison still weighs in at 7.0% ABV, but features the New World Saison yeast from Escarpment Labs, which contains both Sacc and Brett. After fermentation was completed, the beer was dry-hopped with European Saaz and New Zealand Motueka. The resultant beer is a true blend of the contribution from the yeast, malt, and hops, with fruity, funky, spicy, and earthy notes, on a dry beer with plenty of refreshing zip. Grab it on tap at Euston Park Social Beer Garden and CAVOK Brewing.

Shelburne’s Boxing Rock is back in action in their Halifax Test Kitchen with a couple of new beers to tell you about, one on tap now and one in the works. Already pouring at Local Source is Shoreline SMaSH, a 5% Pale Ale. By now most dedicated blog readers already know that a “SMaSH” is a “single malt and single hop” beer that shows off the best of both. In this case the grist is composed entirely of malt from PEI’s Shoreline Malting Company; the hop is the grandaddy of American hop varieties, Cascade, known for its citrus, floral, and spicy character (sourced from Ontario’s Clear Valley Hops). You’ll find this one a pleasant and easy-drinking brew with low bitterness and a full mouthfeel, perfect for outdoor drinking on a warm day in late spring. The beer yet to come was inspired and co-brewed by Halifax beer writer Kim Hart Macneill. A Belgian Blonde Ale with peaches, it sounds perfect for patio drinking if summer ever comes. We expect to have more details about this one closer to its release, but for now the folks at Boxing Rock are appealing for name suggestions for this one. Slide into their social media DMs to give them your best ideas that aren’t “Peachy Keen.”

Another week with a new Shipwright beer release (that’s at least a few in a row, no?), a West Coast IPA named after one of many British ships carrying the first IPAs to England, HMS Hop Bombay. Hopped heavily with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe, expect obvious notes of grapefruit and pine throughout, with a firm bitterness to finish it all off. Grab pints and growlers (and crowlers!) of this 6.6% ABV, 60 IBUs IPA at the brewery this weekend; you can also likely find it on tap at the local The Grand Banker.

Twillingate is known around Newfoundland as one of the best places in Iceberg Alley to spot bergs. While there, you will most definitely need to stay hydrated, which means a visit to Split Rock Brewing is certainly in order. They are kicking off their summer sour series this week with their Sour Patch B’ys: Mosaic. This 3.4% ABV kettle sour has a medium acidity, with plenty of tropical fruit (think pineapple and mango) from the generous dry-hopping of Mosaic. They also have a pair of new IPA on tap these days, both worth checking out while in the taproom. Skipper D’s is a 6.8% ABV IPA, featuring Cascade and Amarillo hops, used heavily both late in the boil and in dry-hopping, concentrating on flavour and aroma notes, rather than bitterness. And celebrating the impromptu Sunday jam session that often fills the taproom, Sunday Session IPA is a 4.3% ABV light IPA with plenty of late Chinook, Citra, and Mosaic hops for pine, mango, and citrus character. Grab your guitar, mandolin, or squeeze box, and pop by for a session!

Let’s get you up to speed with what’s on the go this weekend…

The Inaugural PEI Craft Beer Week is entering its final weekend, which saw all of the breweries in the province taking part in the celebration of beer releases and events. Today, Bogside is celebrating Pork2BeerFest from opening at 4:00 PM, Copper Bottom is celebrating their Sour Blueberry release, Evermoore is hosting live music and continues their Island Tap Takeover, Gahan is holding PEI Tap Takeovers with guest taps gracing their draught all day, PEIBC is hosting a Cask & Comedy event starting at 7:00 PM, and Upstreet is celebrating with an Island Tap Takeover, as well as debuting this year’s release of Go Devil IPA. Saturday sees multiple live music events at the taprooms around the province, giving you yet another excuse to get out and visit. Check the details on the PEICBW site! And celebrating the end of the week, Moth Lane Brewing is releasing a new Pale Ale named Last Kick at the Can on Sunday. Look for more details from their Facebook page.

If you’re in the environs of Pleasantville on Saturday, June 8th, and you like a bit of cidery goodness, you could do worse than grabbing a ticket for the Newfoundland Ciderfest. Brought to you by the same folks behind the Newfoundland Craft Beer Festival and taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 56, Pleasantville. Doors open at 7:00 PM and inside you’ll find 45 ciders from 14 producers, both big and small, old and new, from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, BC, and Denmark. Tickets are $65 plus taxes and fees, and include all your tasting samples, an event passport, live entertainment, and a tasting glass to take home. Food will also be available for purchase. Grab a ticket online and get your cider on.

Halifax’s The Carleton has another entry in their Craft Draught Showdown series of friendly beer pairing competitions coming up on Thursday, June 13th, at 7:00pm. As always, you’ll get 5 courses from The Carleton’s Chef Michael Dolente, each paired with two 4 oz pours, one from each of two breweries. Diners will vote on which beers they enjoyed the most and at the end of the night a winner will be announced. This edition of the event will feature two breweries from Nova Scotia’s South Shore, Mahone Bay’s Saltbox and Liverpool’s Hell Bay. Tickets for the event are $60 + tax ($69 all-in) and include gratuity; they’re available online from the event page on The Carleton’s website, which also includes information about the dishes that will be served.

Those who were excited to read about the NL Ciderfest above but were lamenting being in Halifax instead of St. John’s need not fret too much, as there’s a similar event coming up more locally. The Curated Guide is presenting their 3rd annual East Coast Ciderfest next weekend, Saturday, June 15th, at the Halifax Forum Multi-purpose Centre. Two sessions are scheduled, afternoon and evening, but if you haven’t got your tickets already you’ll want to act quickly, as the evening session (6 – 9 PM)  is officially sold out and the afternoon session (1 – 4 PM) is already at 90%! Tickets (available online through the link above) are $35 plus taxes and fees (another $6.25) and include 12 sample tickets and a tasting glass to take home, with additional tickets and food available for purchase on-site. There will be ciders pouring from 19 different Nova Scotia producers as well as a couple from New Brunswick as well. Designated Driver tickets are $10 and are available at the door.

Have you been keeping tabs on the new brewery and tap room build by North Brewing on Portland Street in Dartmouth? We know we have. But somehow it slipped by us (and maybe you too) that, in the grand tradition of Dartmouth, they’ve built themselves a Cold Beer Store!! Scheduled to open next weekend, official hours will be Wednesdays to Sundays, 12 – 7 PM. To celebrate this fabulous development they’ve got a big celebration going on next Saturday, June 15th. Starting at noon will be a BBQ fundraiser for Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum featuring hot dogs and veggie dogs from North friend and partner Side Hustle Snackbar (which will be opening onsite later in the summer). Since it’s Father’s Day that weekend, they’ll be bringing in a bouncy castle from 12 – 3 PM that will be free of charge so you can let the kids run out some energy while you grab a hot dog and your beer-to-go. North would love to have their new neighbours in the area stop by and see what they’re all about, as well as friends and fans from around HRM and beyond. But wait, there’s MORE!! What better way to celebrate the opening of a cold beer store than by releasing a new beer for folks to buy? We do Helium, Lighter Than Air is an ultralight ale weighing in at only 3.5% ABV, with Pilsner malt and flaked corn in the grist and a bright element from lemon and lime zest. This will be a full release, with cans available on Saturday at both the new spot as well as their retail counter at Battery Park on Ochterloney, as well as draught around the city. Congrats to the North Brewing team on this latest development and we look forward to even more good times when the Tap Room is finished!

Just a few more new and returning beers this weekend.

Grimross has brought back their Bishop Belgian IPA, which will be available at the brewery in cans and on tap starting today. This 6% ABV, 50 IBUs brew is hopped and dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc, Mandarina Bavaria, and Amarillo; expect spicy phenolics in addition to pineapple, orange, resin, and bubblegum.

Niche has a new batch of their Day Tripper back in circulation, a Belgian Tripel at 8.4% ABV that’s hopped with the classic noble hop Saaz. Look for spicy phenolics, fruity esters, and a dry finish to go along with a little bit of alcohol warmth. This one is being sent out to tap accounts in New Brunswick only at this point.

Tatamagouche Brewing knows how to time a beer release, as they’re re-releasing Cellar Slammer (4.4% ABV), arguably one of the finest Session IPAs brewed in our region. Hopped with Hallertau Blanc and Mosaic, giving lots of juicy citrus flavours, it’s refreshing and delicious, and extremely drinkable. Did we mention delicious?

Tuskets Falls Brewing is currently pouring an “Experimental IPA” at the brewery; we’re light on the details, but we can tell you it’s a 6.4% ABV NEIPA with lemon and lime rind added. If you’re nearby the brewery, you can stop in to give it a try this weekend!

Friday Wrap-Up for May 24, 2019- News from Loyalist City, Landwash, Upstreet, Propeller, Stillwell Brewing, Timber Ship, Tatamagouche, and much more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2019-05-24
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 3Flip Brewing, Annapolis Cider Company, Atlantic Beer Festival, Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Bagtown Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Burdock Brewery, Dildo Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Landwash Brewery, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Niche Brewing, Ninepenny Brewing, NLC Beer Expo, O'Creek Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Shipwright Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tide & Boar Brewing, Timber Ship Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 2 comments

Well, well, well, another Friday is upon us, which means it’s time to inundate you with the latest beer news from the region. We’ve got more than 20 new and returning beer and cider to tell you about this week, from every province in the region, so let’s dive right in so you know where to head after work today!

Saint John’s Loyalist City Brewing dropped a brand new beer late last week, RGB. They’re referring to it as a “German-style Pale Ale”, as they hopped it with three of the “new” hop varieties that hail from Germany: Mandarina Bavaria, Huell Melon, and Hallertau Blanc. This 5% ABV, pale gold-coloured brew features “a pronounced fruity aroma of melon, tangerine, and citrus” thanks to the use of these hops (along with a large dry hop of more Mandarina Bavaria and Huell Melon). The citrus and melon continue into the flavour, complemented by a bit of malt sweetness and a moderate bitterness (60 IBUs, calculated). You can find it on tap right now at your favourite LC destination.

If you were a big fan of the first entry – Dream Island #1 – in Landwash Brewery’s rotating DIPA series, you’ll be happy to know that they have just released Dream Island #2, which is now available for purchase at the brewery. This iteration was hopped with big additions of Amarillo, Simcoe and Columbus, giving notes of “marmalade jam on toast, pineapple rings, and dried peach”. They also threw in a bit of lactose to boost the mouthfeel and add just a touch of sweetness to the final product. They’ve done a limited canning run of this 8.3% hop bomb, and it’s on tap for growler fills as well… probably won’t last long, so best to head there ASAP to pick some up. They also have a new batch of their NEIPA, That Much Ocean, so you can really fulfill your hop needs all in one go! Note that Landwash is now open on Wednesdays, in addition to their regular days, with their resident food truck, Saucy Mouth, open daily until 10PM.

Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing has a pair of new beers available, to fuel your adventures out and about this weekend. Released late last week was the latest in their Neon Friday series, this one a collaboration with Fredericton’s TrailWay Brewing. A 6.5% ABV NEIPA is the result of that mind-meld, with big notes of coconut, orange, and papaya on a smooth base, thanks to generous additions of Sabro and Vic Secret hops. Tall cans are available at Upstreet’s two Charlottetown locations, and on tap there and at their Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse in Dartmouth. Keep an eye out at the HRM private stores as well!

And debuting this week is Rhuby Sour, a new take on their popular Rhuby Social Witbier. Beginning life as a partially-soured witbier, Rhuby Sour receives the same great fruit additions as the OG, with rhubarb and strawberry, to kick up the refreshing character and still maintain plenty of fruit qualities. This 5.0% ABV beer is available on tap and in cans in both Charlottetown and Dartmouth now!

There’s a new Gottingen Small Batch brew pouring at Propeller, and don’t let the name – and the weather! – fool you into thinking it’s Halloween! Spooky Sour Saison is a kettle sour that was fermented with the Spooky Saison yeast strain from Escarpment Labs (as well as a blend of Brettanomyces strains) on fresh apricots. As you might expect, there’s lots going on with this beer, with plenty of fruit and spice characteristics coming through, as well as a dry, sour finish. It weighs in at 6.2% ABV and 8 IBUs, and is available at Propeller for pints, flights, and growlers only, for a limited time.

Rejoice, Glou fans, as this year’s batch from Stillwell Brewing is now available for purchase in bottles! A blend of oak-aged Saisons (different batches aged from 8-18 months) was transferred to a foeder, along with 1000 lbs of NY Muscat grape skins from Benjamin Bridge, where they were allowed to impart their deliciousness into the beer over a period of about four months. The aroma is huge with this beer, “all candy and fun upfront, with a deep and complex savoury quality on the palate”. Oak and tannins in the finish to leave you wanting more, it’s 6.7% ABV and lovely! Grab some bottles to go at Stillwell, where you may also be lucky enough to find it on tap (and at the newly-opened Beer Garden, too!).

Miramichi’s first brewery, Timber Ship Brewing, has just released How She Goin’, a beer they’re calling a “Honey Session Ale”. Intended to be an easy-drinking style for the summer (it IS coming, right?), it features the addition of wildflower honey from Napan, NB’s My Lil’ Bee Honey Farm. There was also a dry hop addition, featuring hops from Lindsay, NB’s Bloomfield Hops Farm. The final beer is “light and crisp, with a slightly floral aroma and notes of honey”. Very drinkable at just 4.3% ABV and 12 IBUs, you can find the first kegs on tap at the Piping Plover Gastropub and O’Donaghue’s Irish Pub.

We weren’t ALL lucky enough to be able to attend the annual Stillwell Open during Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week (dangit!), but luckily for us, some breweries have been doing larger releases of the single-hop Session IPAs that they entered in the friendly competition. For Tatamagouche Brewing, this means the release of Zaka, a Session IPA fermented with a Kveik yeast strain, and hopped entirely with the wonderful Azacca variety. This 4.4% ABV beer was created and brewed with local homebrewing legend Mark McKay, and is a hazy, aromatic treat, with pineapple and mango coming through in spades, along with “flavours of woody resin and light fennel”. It’ll be on tap at many Tata licensees, as well as directly at the source on draught, of course. They’ve also got a fresh batch of their wildly popular Kitty Clyde DIPA, hopped with Vic Secret and Galaxy, on tap and in cans.

We mentioned last week about the album release party coming up at Good Robot for Aquakultre x Ghettosocks (Aquasocks) on May 31st and that it’s a fundraiser for Akuakultre’s debut album coming next year. We also mentioned that a special beer has been brewed for the event called Legacy. That beer debuted at the GR taproom yesterday for those who’d like an early taste. Nominally a Pilsner coming in at 4.5% ABV and 27 IBU, it apparently also contains blueberries, which provide it a rather purple hue, as well as pineapple, for a pleasant tropical note. Nicer weather that we’re sure just HAS to be coming soon is likely to make this a popular pour on the Gastroturf.

We know this time of year brings a plethora of light beers – hoppy, fruity, etc – but it’s still nice to see darker beers being brewed. We won’t get into a rant, but those beers are still ok to drink during warmer weather, ya know? We can thank O’Creek Brewing for realizing this with the launch of Matchless, a 7.1% ABV Robust Porter. This isn’t your grandpappy’s Porter, however, as it had an addition of raspberry and coconut after fermentation was complete. The raspberry is coming through subtly, with dark chocolate on the palate and the coconut in the finish. You’ll be able to find the first kegs at CAVOK Brewing and the Laundromat.

Baccalieu Trail has just added a new beer to their lineup, and it’s their first kettle-soured brew. A twist on the classic Gose style, Half Hour Ahead does include the addition of sea salt as any Gose should, but they also decided to add blueberries! Specifically, 20 lbs of dehydrated blueberries from Markland Cottage Winery, all of which was added directly into the fermenter. The deep-purple beer is tasting quite tart, with a strong blueberry presence in the flavour. It comes in at 5.3% ABV, and is currently available on tap at the brewery’s taproom, exclusively.

Wolfville’s Annapolis Cider continues to put out new and interesting creations in their Something Different series with another entry now available. Rhubarb & Rosehips is a 7.0% ABV sparkling cider based on a juice blend from Golden Russet and Cox’s Orange Pippin apples that was infused with dried rose hips and fermented with rhubarb juice. Refreshing and bright, the rose hips bring a tartness that some might find similar to that of dried cranberry. Floral aromatics, a bit of red berry character, and a dry finish have this one sounding like a delicate delight. As always, $0.50 from every bottle will go to charity, this time it’s Rowan’s Room Respite & Development Centre in Middleton, NS.

Grimross has really been going hard with the Scratch series beers lately, as this week has not one, but two new ones to add to their growing list of one-offs. First up is Scratch #20: Living Roots Saison, a 5.7% ABV, 18 IBUs Saison named after the upcoming Living Root Music Festival in Fredericton (May 30th-June 2nd). Brewed with Pilsner malt and a mixture of flaked and malted Rye, it was hopped lightly with Calypso and Hallertau Mittelfruh. Fermented with a Brett and Saccharomyces blend from Escarpment Labs, the final beer has notes of “spice, considerable tangerine, light pepper, and dandelion”, and finishes nice and dry. You can grab it in pints and growlers, as well as cans, at Grimross, with cans available at ANBL stores any day now.

The next Scratch is on the American side of things, with Scratch #21: Session IPA. With a base of Maris Otter malt, they also blended in Golden Naked Oats, Honey malt, and Flaked Barley, lending some biscuit and granola character to the beer. Hopped late in the boil with Centennial and Delta, it was dry-hopped with a large addition of Calypso. The final beer lives up to its name at just 4% ABV (and 21 IBUs), and has lime, orange and grassiness on the palate, with an assertive bitterness. This one can also be found at the brewery (cans, on tap) starting today, with ANBL stores and licensees receiving it sometime next week.

TrailWay’s weekly Friday release today is an American IPA, which you may have guessed… however, this is the first beer they’ve fermented with a Kveik strain. Originating from Norway, this type of yeast ferments best at extremely warm – heck, even hot – temperatures, giving a wide variety of flavours and aromas. TW used the Voss Kveik strain from Escarpment Labs, and hopped the beer – which they’ve named Oculus –  “moderately” with Citra and Idaho 7. The result is a 6% ABV, full-bodied beer that is big in the citrus department. Available at the brewery today when they open at noon, on tap and in cans; kegs will be travelling across the province – and to Stillwell – over the coming days.

Lucky Moncton peoples can head on over to Tide & Boar, where the brewery has just released their latest beer, a Sour IPA named Millions of Peaches. This 7% ABV kettle sour features a grist that includes a large addition of oats, with lactose powder added in the boil to up the sweetness/body. Dry-hopped entirely with Citra, the beer was further conditioned on Fuzzy Peach candy (yep!) and peach puree. To tell you that the beer is tasting sour and peachey… well, it does, but we kinda think you could have figured that one out for yourselves! Limited availability, on tap at the brewpub only!

If you’re sight-seeing in the Lunenburg area, check out Shipwright Brewing, which has just tapped “Choc”-A-Block, their latest beer. A “Rye Stout”, it of course includes an addition of Rye malt in the grist, which gives a touch of spice in the finish, which goes well with the cacao and roasted coffee notes from the darker grains used in the brew. 5.2% ABV and 25 IBUs, you can grab it at the brewery right now in pints, growler, and crowlers. It should also be available on tap at the Grand Banker.

If you were at the NS Craft Beer Week Full House event, you might have stopped by the Garrison booth and tried a new IPA that they were quietly debuting that uses “American Noble Hops”. Whether you know about hops or not, you might wonder, “What the hell is that?” Well, we’ve mentioned the Cryo hop products from Yakima Chief – Hopunion (YCH) in previous posts, which allow brewers to get significantly more bang for their buck out of high-aroma and -bittering hop varieties by using less hop material and seeing less liquid (beer!) absorbed and lost. As it turns out, however, there’s a byproduct to the cryo extraction process that’s also been released to the market, the leaves and bract from the hop flowers that don’t have the same oil or alpha acid content of the cryo products, but which do maintain quite a bit of aroma and flavor. The name “American Noble Hops” seeks to qualify this product with brewers in terms of the classic low-alpha varieties from Continental Europe. Not a great name, no, but the alternative was apparently “Debittered Leaf” so… Anyway, Garrison has embraced these new hops in the first release in their new Hop Trip IPA series, starting with Hop Trip: American Noble Citra, a 6.2% ABV and 30 IBU beer in the NEIPA-ish style. Smooth and drinkable, thanks to those low alpha acid numbers, the beer still maintains plenty of Citra character, with mandarin, lemon, and lychee coming to the fore. Even better, this beer (and the beers to come in the series) has been canned in 355 mL cans, available this weekend at the Brewery for $2.99 each or 4 for $11.99. So if you’re a hop lover but can’t always justify a tall can, you might have plenty of reason to celebrate this one. Stay tuned for other entries in the series, we’ve been advised that a Hop Trip Brut IPA is in the offing as well.

Not too many beery events to tell you about this weekend, so use this as an excuse to get out and support your local brewery, or local bar who supports your local breweries, and toast their efforts. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give you one last reminder that whether you’re in Moncton or St John’s, there is a Beer Fest in your backyard, which can be a good way to drink your way through the beer landscape. Both events feature local craft beer alongside macro and foreign producers, so if you wanted to try the latest batch of Silver Bullet to see if it still tastes the same now that you’ve left that type of beer behind, now’s your chance.

Next Wednesday, Matt and Dave from Toronto’s Burdock Brewing will be taking over the taps at Stillwell, hot off the heels of a collaborative pairing dinner at Little Oak the evening before (sorry, all sold out, folks!). Featuring the full variety of Burdock’s offerings, including the modern styles like Vermont Blond and IPA, wine-inspired (and -infused) Baby Riesling and a trio of BUMOs, and barrel-aged funky beers like Auko and Flur. Check out Stilly’s social media for the full list (which also includes the debut of a collaboration between Burdock and another brewery (ed. note, we incorrectly said it was with Stillwell Brewing originally), and come prepared to spend some time on May 29th.

Just a handful more beers to tell you about before we send you on your way!

Douglas, NB’s 3Flip Brewing is following up the release of last month’s “Pretzel Ale” with Lemon Kilmister. A “Lemon Blonde” that was hopped with Amarillo and given an addition of fresh lemon peel. Look for it on tap at The Joyce, Saint John Ale House, and Fredericton’s York St. ANBL for growler fills.

Sackville, New Brunswick’s, Bagtown Brewing has released a small batch of their take on a Farmer’s Double IPA this week. Weighing in at 8.5% ABV, it features the use of Cascade hops from local Wysmykal Farm to the tune of 60 IBU, and was bumped up with blueberries from Blueridge Berries in town. With such a limited production size, we definitely suggest dropping into the taproom and beergarden at 62 Main Street for a taste!

Corner Brook’s Bootleg BrewCo debuted a new beer this week, Brett Who? This 6.0% ABV beer was fermented with both brewer’s yeast and Brettanomyces for a light bodied and dry beer, with the iconic funky character that Brett imparts. Available now on tap for samples and pints in their taproom.

Newfoundland’s Dildo Brewing Company debuted a new one this week, playing on a question we imagine gets asked all over the world …Where the Helles Dildo? For those of us fortunate enough to know the answer, we’ll be rewarded with a German Helles, Dildo’s first Lager. This 6.5% ABV pale lager toes the line with malt and hops playing nicely together for an easily quaffable beer. Drop by the brewery this weekend to grab a pint or growler, and to tell the world, I know where the Helles Dildo!

Niche Brewing has brought back another of their popular beers this week: Ethos is their Brett saison, a lightly tart, dry, and funky beer brewed with their house culture. It’s going out to their usual New Brunswick accounts and will very likely also make an appearance in Halifax at Stilwell and/or the Stillwell Beer Garden.

Ninepenny Brewing in Conception Bay South has a brand new beer on tap these days. Belgian Pale Ale is a 5.0% ABV brew reminiscent of those in Europe, with notes of toffee and toast from the malt, along with a complementing yeast character. As always, the best place to grab a sample, pint, or growler is at the source, at 75 Conception Bay Hwy, open today from 4 PM.

This weekend marks the return of another one of Greg Nash’s hop hammers at Unfiltered, namely Riddle of Steel. Touted as a hybrid of West Coast and New England IPA styles, it’s 7% and available for fills, pints and in cans, thank Crom!! Also available in cans at the retail shop this weekend are Twelve Years to Zion, All Falc’d Up, and Warning Label.