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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Canadian Brewing Awards, 2 Crows Brewing, Beerocracy, North, Stillwell, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-06-03
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, BarNone Brewing, Beerocracy, Big Spruce Brewing, Breton Brewing, Burgers n' Beer, Federation of Beer, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, King Street Ale House, Lazy Bear Brewing, Maybee Brewing, Moosehead, North Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Red Rover Craft Cider, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, York County Cider. Leave a Comment

Good morning, and welcome to the weekend! Lots going on in beer news as usual, so let’s get started. First off, some local award winners!

• Big congratulations to the winners in our region at this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards in Vancouver, BC, last weekend.
– PEI Brewing was the big winner, taking four Gold medals at the blindly-judged competition. They earned the most medals (of any colour, let alone Gold) of any brewery in the country: Gold in English Style India Pale Ale, Rogues Roost IPA; Gold in Wheat Beer – North American Style, Gahan Sir John A. Honey Wheat Ale; Gold in Session India Pale Ale, Gahan Vic Park APA; Gold in Session Ale, Setting Day Saison.
– Tatamagouche had an excellent showing, with three medals awarded. Gold in Imperial Stout, Russian Imperial Stout; Gold in Barley Wine-Style Ale – American-Style, Giantess; Bronze in Baltic Porter, Two Rivers Baltic Porter. Clearly they know their big beers, as these brews are all above 8.0% ABV!
– Saint John’s Moosehead Brewery also earned a trio of medals for a few of their lager offerings: Gold in North American Style Lager, Alpine Lager; Silver in North American Style Amber Lager, Barking Squirrel Lager; Silver in Light (Calorie-Reduced) Lager, Cracked Canoe.
– Garrison: Silver in American-Style Black Ale, Dirty Ol’ Town Black IPA.
– Stillwell: Silver in Belgian-Style Brett Beer, Two, their Second Anniversary mixed fermentation Saison (brewed at North Brewing).
– Red Rover: Silver in Cider with Herbs/Spices, Fall.
– Pump House: Bronze in Barley Wine-Style Ale – English-Style, Barley Wine.

Be sure to visit your local brewery and grab a bottle, can, and/or pint of these award-winning beers, and show them some love! The full list of winners can be found on the CBA website.

• A new brewery, slated to open in Halifax this fall, has just been announced this week. 2 Crows Brewing will set up shop on Brunswick Street, between Cogswell and Duke. Co-owner and Brewer Jeremy Taylor is an avid homebrewer, and after graduating with an MSc in Brewing and Distilling from Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University, has brewed professionally in British Columbia for several years before making the transition eastward. 2 Crows will feature a core lineup of four beers, with a bevvy of rotating seasonals and one-offs, all brewed on their 20 bbl (23 hL) brewhouse. Keep up-to-date with their progress by following their Twitter and Facebook pages.

• Beerocracy, a documentary about the brewing industry in New Brunswick, is in its final stages and getting closer to its planned release in July. In the meantime, directors/producers Shauna Chase and Alex Vietinghoff have started an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to help raise some final funds to pay for post-production costs such as audio mastering, translation and French subtitling, graphic design, and more. They’re already about 40% of the way to their $10,000 goal, which ends Thursday, June 16th. If you’d like to donate to the cause, there are plenty of perks available; based on donation, they range from beer glasses, posters, and digital downloads of the film to VIP screenings and even having your name in the credits! Don’t hesitate on your chance to be involved in a piece of NB beer history, and donate today!

• Only 3 weeks after releasing a pair of new brews, North has released yet another two new beers this week. First up is Gestalt, a blend of two different beers. One of the beers is a “Farmhouse Brown Ale” that was fermented with a specialty blend of yeasts, Fruit Bomb Saison (a Saison strain, an “enigmatic” Saccharomyces strain, and a Brettanomyces strain) from Escarpment Labs; the beer was then aged in stainless for over three months. Meanwhile, another batch with a “very simple malt bill” was fermented with another Escarpment blend, Old World Saison (two Saison strains). Both batches were ultimately blended at differing ratios until those at North were happiest with the outcome: a barnyard aroma, with “notes of cherry, tamarind, cola, subtle hay, and a lime zest finish”. Weighing in at 5.4% ABV, it’s available for growler fills now at the brewery, and is on tap at select accounts. Next up is version 2.0 of their Grisette, which comes in slightly stronger at 3.8% ABV, but still remains  supremely sessionable. Some Torrified Wheat was added to the grist, and the hops were changed to Rakau and Ahtanum; also available now at the brewery, so pick them both up while you’re there!

• Fresh off their CBA win, Stillwell released a new beer yesterday that they brewed with the staff at Toronto institution Bar Volo‘s House Ales (a 150 L pilot brewery) earlier in the winter. Pekkolo is a Farmhouse Table Beer named after the hop variety, Pekko, used generously within. This American varietal gives the beer notes of lemon, thyme and mint in the aroma, “all of which dovetail nicely with our funky ‘house’ Saison culture’s flavour profile”, according to Stillwell. Hoppy, with a “soft tartness”, it weighs in at only 3.8% ABV (which allows it to live up to its Table – read: consumable in quantity – status), yet still exhibits a good amount of body, due in part to the sizeable addition of Flaked Barley to the grist. Only a small amount of this beer is available, so it will be available only on tap at Stillwell (with a simultaneous release in Toronto), and won’t last long!

• York County has a new cider on tap for growler fills, Sidra. Inspired by traditional ciders made in northern Spain, York County describes it as “very tart, with notes of unripe fruits”; slightly sour, with a cloudy appearance, it is quite still (very minimal carbonation). Intended on being poured from a height “of at least a yard” to give it a bit of froth upon consumption, it clocks in at 6.7% ABV. Drop by today to give this new “Spanish cider” a try!

• Federation of Beer is releasing a new beer today, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series. Star Trek 50th Golden Anniversary Ale was brewed at Garrison, using Pale and Wheat malts, and a light touch of Hallertau hops. This 5.0% ABV and 20 IBUs beer features a brilliant golden liquid with light frothy head, light malt body, and a slight fruity aroma, to go along with the spicy character of the noble hops. The bottles will feature one of twelve collectible labels, and are available at the brewery now in six-packs. It joins their Vulcan Red Session Ale and Klingon Warnog Roggenbier in the Star Trek licensed releases.

• Sydney’s Breton Brewing will be celebrating their First Anniversary later this month, and they are marking the occasion by expanding their reach across the province. Beginning Monday, June 6, cans of their Red Coat Irish Red and Black Angus IPA will be available at NSLC locations throughout the province, as well as Bishop’s Cellar and Harvest Wines. From Yarmouth, to Amherst, Halifax, and Sydney, the 473ml cans mean that grabbing a pint at the beach or on a hike will be that much easier. This also means that restaurants and other licencees will be able to stock them, so be sure to request them at your local public house. And be sure to drop by the brewery today from noon for the return of Food Truck Friday, with Little Rollin’ Bistro joining them until 7pm. There will be music starting at 4pm, and there is no cover for the entertainment.

• Shifting gears to another Island, the Newfermenters, Newfoundland’s Homebrew Club, are once again hosting a Brew-Off competition. Open to any amateur brewer on the island, entries can be made in the 21A: American IPA, or 21B: Specialty IPA (consult the BJCP 2015 style guidelines for more details). The beers will be judged by Liam McKenna, brewmaster of YellowBelly, and Raymond Feltham, BJCP-certified judge and owner of BrewCraft homebrew shop. The Best-Of-Show winning brewer will have the chance to visit Port Rexton Brewing after they open this summer, and brew up a full-sized batch for commercial release in the fall! Entrants must fill out a form and send it via email to the group before Monday June 6th, and the judging will take place July 3rd. Further details can be found on the Newfermenters Facebook page (or via email).

• Big Spruce has sent a new batch of their flagship Kitchen Party Pale Ale to Halifax tap accounts this week; this batch marks the first time in modern Nova Scotia history that a beer has been brewed entirely with 2-row malted in NS, by Horton Ridge Malt & Grain Co. According to the brewery, this newest batch differs from previous ones, as the malt lends the beer a “slight bitter orange flavour”. If you’re in Halifax, best track it down to give it a try for yourself!

 

• Moosehead has announced that they will be opening a second location in Saint John, in order to brew smaller batches of beer. Aiming to open in 2017, during their 150th anniversary, the brewery is aiming to produce 5000-6000 hL of beer annually, with a brewhouse somewhere in the range of 25 hL, along with a 1 hL pilot batch system. Karen Cousins, Moosehead’s Director of Communications, says that the major objective of this new brewery is to experiment with new styles, in order to keep up with the growing demand from craft beer drinkers in Atlantic Canada.

There’s a couple of events occurring over the next week that still have space for attendance…

• Tomorrow – Saturday, June 4th – is the first Burgers n’ Beer event to occur in Fredericton in some time, and there’s still a few tickets available! The first time the event will be held at the King Street Ale House, it will feature four different handcrafted sliders, each paired with a different Fredericton-brewed cask ale. Pouring will be TrailWay American Stout, Maybee Birdseye Pale Ale dry-hopped with NB Hop Hash, Picaroons ESB, and a TBD cask from Grimross. The event runs from 2-5 pm, and there are still a few tickets available (only $21 each)!

• Next Saturday, June 11th, Garrison is hosting their Backlot Bash!, in support of the Ecology Action Centre. Held in the parking lot of their new production brewery on Marginal Rd (about 100 metres from their retail and storefront location), the event features headliner July Talk, joined by Alert the Medic, The Brood and Three Sheet as amazing local opening bands. Tickets are still available, and Garrison beer, as well as local cider, will be served, with food trucks keeping people satisfied.

Have a great weekend! And before we leave you for good…

– TrailWay is re-releasing their Whitney Coffee Stout this weekend, marking the first time this popular dark ale has been brewed on their new system. Featuring the addition of cold-brewed coffee from local Whitney Coffee Company, it clocks in at 6.2% ABV, and is available now at their brand-spanking-new taproom, and should follow at select tap accounts sometime next week.
– BarNone has just released a new iteration of their IPA; no real details on what’s changed, but it should be popping up at tap accounts across PEI, and may make an appearance for growler fills at tomorrow’s Charlottetown Farmers Market, so best seek it out and judge for yourselves!
– Grimross has a “2nd generation” of their Brett Saison on tap at the brewery; slightly higher in ABV (6.2% vs. 6%), the brewery describes it with the words “crisp, bubblegum, and dry”. The original is also still on tap, allowing side-by-side comparisons to be made.
– Just a note that due to overwhelming response, Lazy Bear will not be attending this week’s Annapolis Royal Farmers’ Market. The good news is that the next batch of their Gut View Amber is *just* about ready, and should be back on June 11th. And keep an eye out for their retail hours at the brewery in Smiths Cove, starting later this month.
– Upstreet was bottling up something special this week, to be released in a few weeks. They will be celebrating their First Anniversary with a weekend of events June 24-26 at their taproom, as well as favourite restaurants and bars across the Island.
– Propeller is now serving flights of samples at their Gottingen St location. These are always a great way to taste through a brewery’s offerings, so that you can then grab a growler (or three) of your favourites!

Friday Wrap-Up – News From Lazy Bear, Garrison, PEI Brewing, Good Robot, Upstreet, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-05-20
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Tide Brewing, Bulwark Cider, Flying Boats Brewing, Fredericton Beer Run, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, King Street Ale House, Lazy Bear Brewing, North Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Howdy, beer fans! Hope everyone has had a good week, and that you’re ready for your long weekend! Here’s what’s currently happening in beer news in Atlantic Canada this week…

• Good news, residents of Digby County, NS! Lazy Bear Brewing is set to launch this weekend, with growler sales commencing this Saturday at the Annapolis Royal Farmers’ Market, on St. George St, open from 8am – 1pm. Their Gut View Amber Ale, an “English-style beer rich with malt overtones and subtle aromas from Canadian-grown English hops” will be available, along with brewery-logoed t-shirts and glasses. The Amber clocks in at 4.9% ABV and 32 IBUs, and should be followed next weekend by their India Pale Ale. Look for the Lazy Bear retail space to open at the brewery in June, in Smith’s Cove.

• Attention all rhubarb growers! Garrison is kicking off their new “U-Pick Series” with an as-yet undetermined rhubarb beer, and they need plenty of the tart stalks from this herbaceous perennial (don’t worry, this won’t be part of next year’s ACBB Trivia!) from the beer-drinking public. For every pound of clean, fresh local rhubarb that you bring to the brewery, you will receive in-store credit! We’ll be sure to provide more info on the beer as it’s determined; in the meantime, get foraging! And keep an eye out for their Brewhouse Cider, which will be back on tap at the brewery this weekend. Made in collaboration with Bulwark, it features a blend of NS apples, and clocks in at 5.8% ABV.

• We have some details on Mango Lassi Pale Ale, the latest cask pouring at the PEI Brewing Co. taproom this week. This single-release is their already-delicious Vic Park Pale Ale, along with the addition of mangos and cardamom during fermentation; the beer is then further dry-hopped with Citra and Sorachi Ace. It weighs in at 5% ABV; if you’d like to try it, get down there fast, as these cask releases usually don’t last very long!

• Good Robot has a pair of new beers pouring at their taproom currently. Beta versions 1 and 2 of an American Wheat were brewed on their pilot system; the two beers feature altered malt and hopping schedules, while they do both feature Amarillo and Mandarina Bavaria. Best to try both to find your favourite! The scaled up Alpha version of the American Wheat, Wackity Shmackity Doo, features the best qualities of both, with an addition of Honey malt for a slight sweetness, but crisp finish with the addition of Magnum for bittering, plus a 7-day dry-hopping with Amarillo and Mandarina Bavaria. The beer comes in at 5.8% ABV and 25 IBUs. WSD will be released Tuesday, May 24th, as part of their Just Vorlaufs! live outdoor comedy show on their Gastroturf/Green Room.

• Upstreet has released a brand new beer this week, launching their “One Way Series”, on tap at the brewery for pints only due to the extremely small volume. The first release is Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, a 6% ABV Smoked Porter brewed with smoked malt in the grist, to give the beer just enough of a smoky aroma and flavour to make you feel “like you’re already sitting around a backyard bonfire eating BBQ’ed burgers”. Hopped with Chinook from New Brunswick to add some balance, be sure to drop by the brewery taproom for a pint ASAP!

• A new beer was brewed at Hammond River late last week to honour the beloved Duck Tolling Retriever of owner/brewer Shane Steeves and his family, Vegas, who passed away earlier this month. HR’s 200th batch, The Vegas SMaSH IPA was brewed with Pale Ale malt and plenty of the wonderfully-fruity Amarillo hop. Steeves expects the beer to come in at 6.5% ABV and approximately 60 IBUs; we’ll keep you updated as to its release. And expect to see the return of HR’s Blood Orange Hefeweizen, which was re-brewed the same day.

• Today marks the return of Unfiltered’s Daytimer Berliner Weisse. Featuring an assertive tart acidity from lactic acid formed naturally during a warm incubation period, the beer features no hops in the boil, but is generously dry-hopped with Mosaic. The resultant 3.4% ABV is quite refreshing and perfect for the warmer days we’re finally receiving. Grab it today in growlers at noon at the brewery, or in your glass at 4pm at Charm School next door. And for the next several months, Charm School’s doors will be open from noon on both Saturday and Sunday.

• Big Tide brewmaster Wendy Papadopoulos is in the planning stages for a new one-off collaboration beer, and your help is needed in designing and naming it! Brewed with David Veale and Greg Hemmings to celebrate the upcoming 100th episode of their Boiling Point Podcast, the beer style and details are open to suggestion. Simply fill out the online survey by June 1st (it’s short, so will only take a minute or two), and the winner will be announced at the brewpub on Thursday, June 23rd at 5:30 pm during the podcast celebrations. Good luck! For more info, check out this video.

• Shediac Bay’s Flying Boats has a pair of beers now back in their rotation, in time for the warmer months. Humpyard is a 5.8% ABV Steam Ale (also known as California Common), originally brewed by German immigrants in the San Francisco area, as a pale hybrid lager/ale (lager yeast but at an elevated temperature). FB’s version features the iconic Northern Brewer hops for a medium bitterness to offset the characteristic caramel malt flavour. Picnic Train is a Witbier, a Belgian wheat beer with the additions of coriander and bitter orange peel for an easy-drinking beer for the summer. Both are currently on tap at Moncton’s Tide and Boar, and will be available at FB’s other tap locations soon.

• Tomorrow and Sunday, drop by Stillwell for the latest edition of the Rare Beer Series, featuring the Belgian-Saison-inspired Saint Somewhere of Tarpon Springs, FL. Featuring twelve different beers, many of which are on tap, including Anne (Saison with elderflowers), Caitlin (Saison with oranges), Caroline (aged on coffee), and Beached Wood, a collaboration with Stillwater Artisanal. Drop by starting at noon Saturday, and 4 pm Sunday.

• Stubborn Goat’s waterfront Beer Garden location will be opening tomorrow. Located at Summit Plaza, it features a shipping container housing a beer cooler, bar counter and service bay, and a separate trailer with a kitchen, allowing them to offer a wide variety of food choices. Both bar and sit-down table service will be available, and there will be plenty of beer available, focussing entirely on Nova Scotia breweries: 12 taps, with the emphasis on craft. As well, expect to see a small selection of NS bottled beer, and locally-made non-alcoholic products. As it is an outdoor space, it is weather dependent, so be sure to keep an eye on their Twitter feed for the latest information.

• Next Wednesday, May 25th, there will be a special launch party for this summer’s Fredericton Beer Run, held at the King Street Ale House patio. If you’ve purchased tickets for the August 1st run, or would like to show up to buy your tickets in person, there will be beer included! Several kegs of local breweries will be pouring at the party next Wednesday; hope to see you there!

Have a great long weekend! In closing, here’s a few snipits of some other beer releases out now or coming up soon…

– One of North Brewing‘s original releases, their 7.5% ABV Farmhouse Ale, is back on tap at the brewery for growler fills; look for it to appear at better beer establishments across HRM as well.
– Grimross has a new beer on tap at their taproom, ESB, a 5.3% ABV English-style ale that they describe as “woodsy, caramel, peppery, hop finish”.
– Picaroons‘ popular fruit beer seasonal, Melon Head, is set to return on Wednesday, June 1st. This 4.5% ABV summer ale will be available on tap and in bottles throughout the warmer months.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Off Grid Ales and Think Brewing, North and Stillwell, Boxing Rock, and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-05-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Tide Brewing, Bore City Brewing, Bourbon Quarter, Cask and Kettle Irish Pub, Celtic Knot Brewing, Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia, Flying Boats Brewing, Fredericton Beer Run, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, James Joyce Irish Pub, Maybee Brewing, North Brewing, Off Grid Ales, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons, Stillwell Beer Bar, Think Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery.

Happy Friday! We hope that those of you in Nova Scotia have been participating in the many excellent events this past week for Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week, with more scheduled for the coming weekend (Brews Cruise tonight, Full House tomorrow, Cape Breton Kitchen Party Sunday)! Once we get our act in gear, we’ll post some pictures and thoughts on the week. In the meantime, it’s time to get caught up with beer news in our area, including the announcement of more breweries for New Brunswick…

• Attention, residents of Harvey, NB… there’s not just one, but two new breweries planning to open in your area in the near future! Longtime homebrewers Scott MacLean and Randy Rowe have been brewing weekly 1/2 BBL (~60 L) batches together for the past two years, and work is underway on both sides to open small-batch breweries at their homes in Harvey:

Randy Rowe and his wife, Denise, plan to open Off Grid Ales sometime this coming summer. Specializing in “full-bodied ales”, including a Honey-infused Double IPA, the 3 BBL (~360 L) brewery will be solar- and wind-powered, and housed in a barn located on the couples’ property. The brewhouse equipment from Stout Tanks and Kettles arrived last week, with work progressing on set-up for commercial production. The brewery now has an active Twitter account, and will be launching their official website soon.

Scott and Denise MacLean’s 1 BBL (~120 L) brewery, Think Brewing, will also be housed within a barn (over 100 years old) on his property. Scott recently purchased the brewhouse equipment from TrailWay (who have now moved to a 10 BBL system). Hoping to open sometime mid-summer, the brewery will initially focus on English and American style ales. Stay tuned to Think’s Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates; of course, we’ll also be providing more info on both breweries as they progress further!

• North Brewing and Stillwell have teamed up to release their latest collaboration beer, Gose. The Gose style is growing ever-more-popular… tart and refreshing, the North/Stillwell take was brewed with a grist of Pilsner, Wheat, and Acid malt, it was kettle-soured with Lactobacillus to provide a slight acidic character, with “wet hay and lemon aromas”.  Hand-harvested Black Whale Salt from PEI and toasted coriander were also added. Hopped with the new New Zealand variety, Wai-Iti (which reportedly provides “fresh peach and apricot character”), and Mandarina Bavaria, it’s easy-drinking at 4.5% ABV and 10 IBUs. Just released yesterday, it’s available for growler fills at North, and is on tap at Stillwell and other better beer establishments across the HRM.

• North is also releasing another new beer, Grisette. Historically brewed for the mining class in Belgium, it’s another low-ABV style (but not sour/tart), intended on being light and crisp, and able to be consumed in quantity. Similar to the Gose grist, and hopped again with Wai-Iti, as well as the Australian Summer variety, it weighs in at a supremely-sessionable 3.5% ABV and 15 IBUs. Dry and citrusy, with a light peppery finish, according to the brewery. Available today in growlers at both North locations (Agricola and Ochterloney), it will also be out in the wild very shortly.

• Continuing the new beer releases for #NSCBW, Boxing Rock has released 4 (four!) new beers this week, and we’ve got the scoop direct from the brewery:

Mutiny! (Subversive Amber Ale, 5% ABV). This amber ale is a collaboration with Garrison, Hell Bay, Propeller, and Schoolhouse and forms the base for the Grog raced to Gahan House for Race the Kegs on May 8. This is an English style Pale Ale, amber in colour with a bold malt backbone and moderate hoppiness… lots of spicy and citrus hop aroma and very smooth and drinkable.

Over the Top (Sour Mash Cranberry Wheat Ale, 4% ABV). This beer is a collaboration with Karen Allen from Gahan House and we believe it is the first sour mash beer to be brewed and packaged in NS. Refreshingly tart and awesomely sessionable, this beer began with a 48-hour sour mash, in which our lactobacillus friends thrived, partied and arm wrestled. A late hop addition imparts a fruity aroma to balance the sour malt base. Nova Scotia cranberries dry out the finish and add a subtle depth of flavour and give it an amazing colour.

Carbon-14 (Strong Dark Belgian Ale, 8.2% ABV). Runner-up in our Homebrew Competition, the Black Box Challenge, this beer is as rare as the C-14 isotope. A strong, dark, Belgian ale made in the classic style, this beer is altogether perfectly balanced with that unmistakable Belgian character. It will have a very short half-life, so get it while you can. Carbon-14 was brewed in collaboration with Professor Jason McDougall.

Where There’s Smoke (Smoked Pale Ale, 6.5% ABV). Winner of the Black Box Challenge, our first homebrew competition. This beer is made with copious quantities of beech smoked malt, hops and steeped on cinnamon. The result is a beer that is bold, unexpected, in your face, and totally crushable. Brewed in collaboration with Black Box Challenge winner, Brian Harvey.

Try many of these, and several more (including a few past favourite from the archives) at Lion & Bright tonight, when the Boxing Rock crew drop by for a Tap Takeover starting at 5pm. And be sure to try many (all?) of what’s available, as $1 from each pint sold will be going to Red Cross Canada, in support of people affected by the fires in Fort McMurray.

• Another NS launch is a new/old beer from Good Robot. Awesome Beer, Great Job! is their own take on a Fall Saison, featuring darker malt CaraMunich 120 and Rye, spicing up the underlying Wheat and Pilsner malts. Lightly hopped with Mt Hood, it was fermented with Old World Blend from new yeast producer Escarpment Labs. The resulting beer is a hazy orange, with notes of plum, banana, and phenolic spice from both the rye and yeast character. Originally to be released in Fall 2015, due to difficulties with the beer, it was re-brewed, then re-re-brewed, and is now on tap! Check out their honest reporting of the ordeal. And keep an eye out for the launch of their American Wheat, Pryor Offences, this weekend, featuring lots of Amarillo and Mandarina Bavaria hops. And a new version of Burban Legend APA, dry-hopped with Cascade and Citra.

• There’s a new beer hitting taps from Riverview’s Celtic Knot Brewing – Monkeytown Mango Ale is a 4.5% ABV “light-drinking ale” that features the addition of real, frozen mangoes to the beer after primary fermentation was completed. Lightly-hopped with Cascade to add a bit more fruit character, kegs were delivered earlier this week to Plan B and Ducky’s. Look for Celtic Knot’s other accounts to be pouring this beer in the near future.

• YellowBelly has a brand new seasonal on tap at the brewpub, Tilt Cove Golden Nugget Ale. This APA was brewed with a mix of Canadian and West Yorkshire Pale Ale malts, along with some Scottish Carastan. Hopped entirely with the Nugget variety (including two dry-hop additions), the resulting “earthy, herbal, leafy character” comes through nicely. Clocking in at 6% ABV and 50 IBUs, this slightly-hazy beer will also be pouring at NLC Beer Expo this weekend, with a limited supply of bottles following shortly at the brewpub. In other YB news, they’ve rebrewed their East Coast Cream Ale, which should be available in about three weeks, and plan on brewing a “Summer Wheat Ale” dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace in the near future. As always, we’ll keep you updated!

• Sad news in Saint John this week, as it has been announced that Bourbon Quarter Restaurant, a true friend to local craft beer, is closing. On the bright side, BQ owner Shawn Verner is teaming up with Mike McPartland to open the Cask and Kettle Irish Pub, which they assure us will continue the BQ tradition of supporting craft beer. Located in the same space on Prince William, construction is underway now, with an opening expected in the next 4-6 weeks.

• After a year of construction and many test batches, Horton Ridge Malt is now open for business in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. Specializing in floor-malted organic malts, their first product deliveries were made earlier this week, and Cape Breton’s Big Spruce brewed up a batch of the Kitchen Party Pale Ale with the 2-Row pale malt. Look for more breweries to use the local malt very soon, including Tatamagouche Brewing. In addition to selling to breweries, Horton Ridge will also be available to home brewers looking for a local organic product. As locally-grown organic grain suitable for malting is not yet available in large enough quantity, HR has sourced the initial deliveries from outside of the province, but hopes to achieve a truly Nova Scotian-grown and -produced malt very soon. In addition to lighter barley-based malts, look for specialty and rye malts to be available in the future. For those commercial and amateur brewers attending tomorrow’s Full House beer fest, be sure to drop by their table for samples and to learn more.

A few more events worth checking out in the next little while:

• Tonight, the PEI Brewing Co. is holding Fortnight: Fundraiser for Fort McMurray at the brewery. Starting at 7 pm, it will feature “music, fun, and fundraising”, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross (and being matched by the Federal Government). One of the items up for auction is a chance to brew a full-size batch of beer with Upstreet‘s Mike “Hogie” Hogan, on the Upstreet system. Homebrewer or not, the lucky winner will be able to pick the beer style, help develop the recipe and take part in the brewing, name the beer, and ever pour the first pint at the Upstreet taproom! This is for a great cause, so get out your wallets and dig deep!

• Tom’s Little Havana is hosting a Tap Takeover today (and all weekend) by friends Bad Apple Brewhouse and Unfiltered Brewing. Featuring seven beers between the two breweries, look for some old favourites, as well as some new … well, favourites too! Look for a new collaboration American Wheat, and a pair of iterations of the Tom’s Smoked Porter, including a barrel-aged version, today through Sunday.

• A reminder from last week, tonight‘s Meet Your Maker event at the James Joyce will feature Big Tide; four BT beers will be available on tap, and brewmaster Wendy Papadopoulos will be on hand to chat about our favourite beverage!

• This year’s Inspire Arts Festival (June 15th-19th, in Moncton) will be holding their first beer-themed event, the Picaroons Craft Beer Village, on Saturday, June 18th. Taking place at the Riverfront Park in downtown Moncton, it will all start at 12 pm with the opening of the Picaroons Beer Tent; later in the afternoon, at 4 pm, the rest of the craft beer village will open, with NB breweries Bore City, Celtic Knot, Flying Boats, and Maybee also pouring their beers. Entrance is free, just pay for your beer as you go, and enjoy the live music, circus performances, fire spinning, and more that’s going on during the festival!

• The Fredericton Beer Run is returning on Monday, August 1st (New Brunswick Day)! The fourth year for the event, it will once again feature three options of either a 4, 6, or 12 km distance. Your ticket will get you much more than just another run, however! Including a custom-designed beer glass and 14 x 4 oz beer tickets, there will be over 20 breweries present with plenty of beer to choose from! This year’s run will start at the Lighthouse on the Green, at 10 am, with the beer sampling occurring afterwards at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Tickets are $60 (tax included) and are available now.