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Friday Wrap-Up – New Brewery to Open in New Brunswick, Plus News from Hammond River, Rockbottom, Celtic Knot, Bad Apple, North, Schoolhouse and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-10-03
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Brewnosers, Celtic Knot Brewing, East Coast Beer Tours, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Meander River Farm and Brewery, Moosehead Breweries, North Brewing, Paddys Irish Brewpub, PEI Brewing, Propeller Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Schoolhouse Brewery. 1 comment

Good morning! Yet another week full of beer news in Atlantic Canada…

• There’s another new brewery gearing to start up in New Brunswick! Currently unnamed, the brewery’s origins began in the Grand Tracadie-Sheila area of the province; the brewery itself will be located somewhere in the Acadian peninsula. It will be owned under a joint co-op/private enterprise format, the first of its kind in the province. Money is being raised, boards are coming together, and they’re looking for brewery equipment; the goal is to be brewing somewhere in the range of 5-10 bbl (155-310 U.S. gallons, or roughly 6-11 hL). We plan on having a standalone post on the brewery up soon; in the meantime, they’re currently looking for more investors in the project. If you’re interested, contact Dean Roberts for more information.

• There’s a new variation of one of the favorite beers from Hammond River Brewing out on tap – it’s the Back in Black Oatmeal Stout, but brewed with some Smoked malt to give the beer a bit of smoke in the aroma and flavor. You can currently find it on tap at Bourbon Quarter in Saint John, The Barrel’s Head in Rothesay, and 540 Kitchen & Bar in Fredericton. And speaking of Fredericton, Hammond River beers are now available on tap at the King Street Ale House; currently pouring is the award-winning American IPA, Hop Flash. And, stop by the ANBL in Kennebecasis Valley to grab a growler of the Gammie California Common, tapped yesterday.

• Rockbottom Brewpub has tapped a pair of new beers this week. With the last drop of Thulsa Doom II pouring this week, the Insidious India Black Ale has made a triumphant return. Weighing in at 6.9% and 70 IBUs, this beer features 5.8 pounds of hops per barrel (!!), featuring Columbus, Citra, Simcoe, Summit, Centennial, and German Magnum, sure to keep the hop heads satisfied. Restitution Porter is a brand new brew at the ‘bottom this week, at 5.2% ABV, featuring some nice roast, chocolate and toffee and light caramel notes, and is lightly hopped to 30 IBUs with Centennial and German Magnum hops. A smaller batch, this special brew will only last a few weeks on tap. And be sure to drop by Wednesday afternoons for the latest firkin creation from Brewmaster Nash!

• Celtic Knot Brewing has just brewed a new beer, and it’s a style that you don’t usually see in our area: a Scottish Heavy (or 70/), a Scottish session beer that is amber-colored and normally malty with a dry finish, with an optional peaty or earthy character. Owner/brewer Bruce Barton has confirmed that his take on the beer (which he brewed for years as a homebrewer) is brewed with a Maris Otter malt base, several varieties of Crystal malt, and “a wee bit of Chocolate malt”. Named Caledonia, the beer should come in at a very sessionable 3.8% ABV… it should be a great beer to drink several pints of! We’ll let you know when it’s available, which should be later this month.

• Bad Apple Brewhouse is releasing two new beers this weekend: Operation Green Ring is a 5.0% ABV Cucumber Mint beer, brewed with two members of the Brewnosers Homebrew Club, aka Delta Force Brewery. Terroir is Bad Apple/Greg Nash collaboration Wet-hop beer, weighing in at 7.0% ABV, featuring well over 100 kilos of wet hops used throughout the brew (10 hl). Unique brewing practices have given this beer a very smooth and subtle, yet delicious hoppiness. Kegs will be delivered to Tom’s Little Havana and Stillwell this weekend. It will also be available at the Brewhouse starting today for Growler fills. The Black & Tackle Russian Imperial Stout is back on tap for a limited time, and they’ve filled two red wine barrels with the beer! Look for this unique combination around Christmas.

• North Brewing is once again aging some of their Strong Dark Belgian in Glenora barrels. This beer was a big hit when it was first released; subsequent releases also sold out very quickly. Luckily for all of us, they’ve managed to get their hands on more barrels… four times as many! Look for the beer to be released in December, after an appropriate aging period.

• We have more details on the Hants County Hops Series beers from Schoolhouse Brewery. All of the batches will feature Maritime Malt and English yeast, brewed using open primary fermenters. Batch #1 made its debut last weekend, and featured mostly Golding, with some Cascade hops. Batch #2 features mostly Galena, and will be released shortly. Batch #3 will feature Zeus, and Batch #4 features Zeus and Galena. Check out their Twitter and Facebook pages for information on when/where to grab a pint, we understand that they will all be on tap at Bar Stillwell for an event early November. Also keep an eye out for growler sales in the near future.

• Rudder’s Brew Pub in Yarmouth is holding their 9th Annual Brewer’s Dinner tonight. It will feature a four-course meal, prepared with some of their beer, and of course paired with beer to drink. The event kicks off at 7pm, and reservations are required (902-742-7311).

• Paddys Irish Brewpub has released their Oktoberfest beer this week. Orange in colour with a medium body and balanced hop bitterness, it was brewed using German malt, hops and yeast. It weighs in at 7% ABV, and is very drinkable, thanks to a month of lagering. It is currently available on tap and in growlers in Wolfville, and will be on shortly at the Kentville location.

• Propeller Brewing has released a favourite seasonal beer in the past week, the Nocturne Dark Lager. Weighing in at 4.8%, this Munich Style Dark Lager it is available now at both the Halifax and Dartmouth breweries, as well as the private stores. Rich and malty flavours are balanced with traditional German Noble hops to balance. It is brewed in support of Nocturne: Art at Night, taking place October 18th. This is a popular event, which sees the Halifax area turn into an indoor and outdoor art gallery for all styles. If you are interested in volunteering, please check here for more details.

• Garrison Brewing is releasing two beers this weekend: Their annual harvest beer, 3 Fields Harvest Ale, is returning, featuring wet hops from Ross Farm, Meander River, and Fiddle Hop Farm. This beer weighs in at 6.3% ABV. They are also releasing a brand new beer, the Double Jack Imperial Pumpkin, a 8.0% ABV darker brew featuring loads of local pumpkins. Both will be available at the brewery and private stores this weekend, and will be pouring at their stop at City Harvest tomorrow.

• East Coast Beer Tours has adjusted their Valley tour departing next Saturday, Oct 11th: they have downsized the bus slightly, and as such are able to pass along the savings to you! The price of a ticket is now only $50+HST, and still includes all of the great beer and food visits: Meander River in Ashdale, Paddys Irish Brewpub in Wolfville, and Bad Apple Brewhouse in Somerset. At each stop you’ll be treated to a brewery tour and beer samples, and you’ll also have some appetizers at Paddys and a BBQ featuring sausages from Meadowbrook Meat Market at Bad Apple. There will also be local musician CDs and other goodies given away during the trip. Tickets are still available, and you could win a pair of tickets by retweeting this post. Give the tour a try, we think you’ll have a great time!

• Rogues Roost has released their Oatmeal Stout this week. Available on tap and in growlers, it weighs in at 5.6% ABV and 40 IBUs, and features toasted oats, chocolate and dark crystal malt, and roasted barley.

• Following the release of the Indian Beach Harvest Ale last week, Big Tide has just released another fresh-hopped beer. Indian Beach Pumpkin Ale was brewed with pumpkins grown at Fullerton Farms; they were hand-prepared and roasted for the brew. With a grist featuring Pale, Munich and Carared malts, it is hopped with fresh, local hops from Dunhams Run, similar to the Harvest Ale. Clocking in at about 5.5% ABV, the beer also has cinnamon, orange peel, ginger, nutmeg, clove, molasses and local honey added for more flavor and aroma. It should be on tap at the brewpub now, and won’t last long!

• Gahan House Halifax is putting the final touches on their Peach Wit today, for release in the next couple of weeks. Two bushels of peaches from Elderkin’s Farm in Wolfville are being peeled and pitted, and added to the conditioning tank today. To keep you satisfied until then, the Pleasures and Treasures Maple Whiskey Porter and Baby Steps Belgian Ale are still on, and tasting great! Be sure to drop by Tuesday night for their special casks. This week’s will be a Double Dry-hopped IPA, so drop by and chat over a pint with Brewer Karen Allen. And don’t forget that Tuesday is Industry night, where brewery and brewpub staff get a nice discount.

• Congratulations to Big Spruce Brewing who were awarded an Impact Award from Cape Breton Partnership, thanks to their significant impact on the local economy through improvements to local businesses! And speaking of Big Spruce, they are helping to organize the Celtic Oktoberfest, being held Oct 25th. In conjunction with the evening of fun, food and beer, there will be a Pumpkin Launch at the Port Hawkesbury Marina. It’s not too late to sign up your team’s trebuchet or catapult to launch a pumpkin into the Strait!

• In large brewery news, Moosehead has announced that they will be laying off about 70 workers – almost half of their hourly production employees – from their brewery in Saint John at the end of June, 2015. The brewery cites “the loss of a major brewing and packaging contract”, according to a recent story from the CBC, as the reason for the lay-offs.

• A reminder that the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards are this weekend in Halifax, and there are still tickets to take part in the fun, and to meet the special guest, Mirella Amato. She is leading a beer and cheese pairing seminar taking place 2pm Saturday afternoon at the Westin. The Gala Awards are open to everyone on Sunday at 6pm at the Stubborn Goat, followed immediately by a Beer Dinner featuring local food and beer (from North Brewing, Bad Apple and Garrison). Monday night, the Ladies Beer League is hosting a meet and greet with Mirella at Lion & Bright. Purchasing a ticket will get you a copy of her Beerology book and entry at 6pm, and the event is open to all at 7pm. And don’t forget to vote in the Stillwell People’s Choice Award, closing Saturday.

While you’re out and about this weekend, be sure to grab a pint or growler of something local: Meander River Farms has released their Homegrown harvest beer and 540 Kitchen and Bar is pouring Big Axe Rusty Axe Amber Ale.

And just a “behind-the-scenes” note: we expect to be updating the blog address to ACBeerBlog.ca this week. We hope the change will be of minimum impact to our faithful readers, and you can even update your bookmarks to the new address now (currently redirects to the wordpress.com site). Our email subscriber list should follow with us as well. Have a great weekend!

Friday Wrap-Up – Beer News from Hammond River, Petit-Sault, Garrison, Picaroons, Boxing Rock, North, Propeller, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-09-12
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beau's Brewing Co, Big Axe Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Celtic Oktoberfest, FiddleHop Farms, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Red Rover Brewing, Shiretown Beer, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

Hello, beer fans! Another Friday = another helping of beer news from Atlantic Canada. Let’s get started with more hop harvest beers, picking up from last week…

• We have more details on the recently-brewed Harvest Ale from Hammond River Brewing. The beer was wet-hopped (i.e. the hops used are used just after harvesting, instead of being dried in an oast house, or “fresh”) with Cascade hops grown on owner/brewer Shane Steeves’ property. With a grist consisting of 2-row, Carapils, and Crystal 40 L malt, the beer is expected to come in at 6.8% ABV, with about 70 IBUs. Look for it on tap at bars/restaurants in the Saint John area sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.

• The brewers at Brasseurs du Petit-Sault have a new beer on the go; they’ve managed to get their hands on some fresh Cascade and Chinook hops from a local farm in the Grand Falls area (owned by Yan and France Desjardins), which they will incorporate into a “Harvest” Bob LeBoeuf. The beer will be hopped more-heavily than normal, with more hop aroma, flavor, and bitterness (30-40 IBUs vs. the usual 22 for the beer). This new beer should be available for growler fills at the brewery, and at local bars/restaurants, by around September 25th.

• Speaking of Petit-Sault, their two flagship beers (Tante Blanche and Bob LeBoeuf) continue to move across the province – they’re now available at ANBL stores in Dalhousie, Saint-Quentin, Campbellton, Moncton, Dieppe, and Kennebecasis Valley. Check the ANBL Product Page for a location near you! Petit-Sault has also announced that in addition to the 1.89 L Growlers available for fills at the brewery, they are now offering 950 mL “Grunters” for fill ($6.50 for a one-time purchase of the Grunter, plus $5.50 and $5.75 for fills of Bob and Tante, respectively).

• Garrison Brewing has teamed up with Ontario’s Beau’s All Natural Brewing for a collaboration brew: Sweet Rye’d Harvest Wheat Ale. Brewed with Munich, Wheat, Rye, and Pale Malt, this copper-coloured beer weighs in at 6.0% ABV, and 40 IBUs, thanks to Citra, Cascade, and Columbus hops. However, Beau’s brought a special ingredient to the collaboration: bog myrtle (Beau’s uses this in a couple of beers in their lineup). Thanks to this plant, which is a very common ingredient in the bittering of gruits, a more herbaceous and spiced character comes through. Catch this Sweet Rye’d at the brewery, private stores, and NSLC very soon.

• Garrison is also brewing up a couple more Harvest-themed beers in the next little while: their popular 3 Fields Harvest Wet-Hopped Ale will be brewed this weekend. Hop picking will take place Saturday, and the beer will be brewed Sunday. Hops will be coming in from Ross Farm Museum, Meander River Farm and Brewery, and Fiddle Hop Farms. If you would like to take part in the fun, volunteers are needed at Meander River in Ashdale to help with the hop picking, starting at 9am. Or, you can help de-bine the hops right at the brewery, from 2-5pm. Come on out for good times and refreshments!

• We don’t have many details on their other harvest beer, but we do know that it features some gourds from the Howard Dill Farm! Also, for our homebrewing readers, they have announced the style for the 2015 Home Brew-Off Challenge, 12B Robust Porter. With the competition judging not taking place until Spring, that gives you plenty of time to do some test batches.

• More Harvest beer news! Not to be outdone, Picaroons is once again releasing their Harvest Ale next Monday, September 15th. This year’s release will feature seven different beers, all hopped with a variety harvested from various local farms. There will be three different Cascade beers, one each of Centennial, Galena, and Goldings, and one “Kitchen Sink” beer that will have a little bit of everything! Check out the special Harvest Ale webpage, and click on the link matching the code on your bottle to find out more about where the hops for that were harvested. Look for it to pop up at bars/restaurants in the area, as well.

• Shiretown is taking a slightly-different approach to Harvest beers – they’ve gathered hops from several local sources (including some grown on their own property) to brew up a series of “Harvest Fruit Beers”. Two of these beers will be Strawberry Delight, brewed with local strawberries and two different hop varieties grown on Nature’s Estate Farm, and Wild Blueberry Wheat, brewed with local wild blueberries and another undetermined hop variety. Look for these (and their other Harvest beers) to be released in the near future.

• Finally in Harvest beer news (for this week, at least!), Boxing Rock and North Brewing have brewed up their second annual Many Hands Pale Ale conspiracy. However, this beer is a twist on the traditional Pale Ale, with one hundred pounds of locally-grown buttercup squash added to the mash. Two-row and amber malts make up the grain bill, while the hops are a combination of over ten pounds of Chinook from Boxing Rock’s own fields (in the mash), with Cascade (first-wort), Mount Hood, and Centennial from LaHave Natural Farms. The beer weighs in at 6.5% ABV and 37 IBUs, and will debut later this month.

• Propeller Brewing is adding a new beer to their core line up, Organic Ale. This Blonde Ale weighs in at 4.5% and 20 IBUs and is brewed with Certified Organic Pale and Pilsner malt, and Certified Organic Centennial hops. The light-bodied and refreshing beer features a clean finish, and a hint of citrus hop character. The Organic certification comes by way of Atlantic Certified Organic, a nationally-recognized certification cooperative. The Organic Ale is available starting today at both the Halifax and Dartmouth brewery locations in bottles and growlers, and will be in six-packs at the NSLC shortly.

• After recent voting by the public on two different Coffee Stouts released by PEI Brewing Co., they’ve decided on a winner! Transmitter Stout is their Sydney Street Stout blended with 10% locally roasted and brewed coffee from Receiver Coffee Co. in Charlottetown. The 5.6% ABV beer made its debut at last weekend’s PEI Beer Fest, and is currently available on tap at the brewery, and in limited-release, wax-dipped 750 mL bottles at the brewery now, and shortly at the PEILCC. And bumping up their Sydney Street Stout even further, they have filled two Jack Daniels barrels with the beer, for a special release around Christmas.

• The 2nd annual Fredericton Poutine Festival is fast approaching! Held on Saturday, November 8th, it will once again take place at the Delta Fredericton. Featuring all-you-can-eat poutine from several restaurants, there will also be at least 15 different beers from local breweries, tentatively including Big Axe, Grimross, Hammond River, Petit-Sault, Pump House, Railcar, Red Rover, and Shiretown, as well as Unibroue, Le Naufrageur, and McClelland Premium Imports. Tickets will go on sale this Tuesday, September 16th at 2:00 pm; you’ll be able to purchase them online when the official website goes live that day. We’ll have a standalone post with more info on the festival that day; in the meantime, check out our write-up on last year’s festival here.

• Red Rover has some big news for cider fans in Saint John this week – starting this Sunday, Sept. 14th, they will be present at the weekly (until mid-October) Queen Square Farmers Market for 1 L flagon exchanges. From 9:00 am – 2:00 pm, you will be able to exchange empty flagons for full ones ($12), or purchase prefilled flagons for $18.50; the first offerings will be Spring Brew and Summer Brew. And if you’d like to try some Red Rover cider on tap, they’re now available at the Saint John Ale House!

• There’s a new blended beer pouring at the Pump House brewpub in Moncton; Black & Blue is a combination of their Blueberry Ale and Muddy River Stout. It’s on for a limited time, and only at this location, so stop on by for a pint before it’s gone.

• Big Spruce Brewing has released Tim’s Dirty IPA this week. Brewed with Chinook, Nugget and Simcoe hops, this beer weighs in at 84 IBU and 6.8% ABV, and we here reports that it’s even better than last time! It is available at the brewery for growler and Yapper fills, and will be on tap at your favourite establishments province-wide. This beer was first brewed in January, as the winner of Inaugural Home Brew Competition, to coincide with the Local Connections Craft Beer and Food Celebration. Good news, as both the Competition and Celebration are returning! The Celebration is taking place January 15th, 2015 and early-bird tickets are now on sale. The competition will be taking place at the beginning of December, and we will be sharing details on how to enter when available.

• If you live in Newfoundland and have been enjoying the recent YellowBelly cider, Yellow Mellow, on tap at the brewpub, good news! It is now available in bottles – 1 L fliptops – at the brewery only. Stop by and pick some up, so you can enjoy some cider goodness in the comfort of your own home.

• Big Axe Brewery is now offering 950 mL Grunters (in addition to Growlers) for fills at the brewery in Nackawic. Prices are $5.50 for the purchase of an empty Grunter, and $7.50 for fills. Grab a Chanterelle Cream Ale, Shakesbeer Chocolate Oatmeal Stout or the Simon Saaz Summer Ale before it’s done for the season. Look out for their next seasonal, coming soon!

• Meander River Farm and Brewery held their first Shareholder-only cask tapping at the brewery this week. Their Wheat Beer had been dry-hopped with Glacier hops, and the cask infused with peaches and ginger, and primed with local honey. For those who don’t want to miss out on the fun next time, be sure to check out their Community Supported Brewery Program. They are looking for volunteers to help with the hop harvest tomorrow, beginning at 9, so why not drop by for some fun. Refreshments will be provided!

• Celtic Oktoberfest is being held, Saturday, 25 October 2014 from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM, at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre. Featuring beer from ten NS craft breweries, and food from some of the best Cape Breton and NS restaurants, this all-inclusive evening will be a great time. A Kitchen Party is nothing without music, so there will be several bands playing that evening as well. We cannot give away too many details just yet, but we are able to announce that a Pumpkin Launch competition will be held that weekend, and is open to groups wishing to take part. We’ll have more information on the Oktoberfest, and surrounding events, next week.

• And in a further update on the progress of the ANBL Growler Program, they now have a webpage where you can check to see what is currently pouring at the three pilot stores. Keep in mind that days and hours when you can get your growler filled are limited to Thursdays and Fridays from 4:00 pm – 8:30 pm, and Saturdays from noon – 8:30 pm, though these may change due to customer demand.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Meander River, Pump House, Celtic Knot, Rare Bird, PEI Brewing Co and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-08-22
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, Antigonish Townhouse, Authentic Seacoast Brewing, Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Celtic Knot Brewing, King Street Ale House, Lion & Bright, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, PEI BeerFest, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Railcar Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat, Tatamagouche Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. 2 comments

Happy Friday, everyone! Yet another busy week of beer news for our region, so let’s get to it!

• Meander River Farm and Brewery is back with another one-off beer. After the great success with their first special brew, Honey Brown, they have quickly followed it up with their Wheat Ale. An American-style wheat beer weighing in at 3.8%, the beer features the newer Belma hop, giving citrus and strawberry characteristics. Much like their Honey Brown, it won’t be around for very much longer. Take a drive out to the brewery today (4-7pm) and this weekend (11-5 both Saturday and Sunday) for a taste of it and their Lunchbox Pale Ale, and keep an eye out at your favourite watering holes in Halifax (Stillwell and Lion & Bright). Once it’s gone, it won’t be back until next summer!

• September 3rd will mark the 15th Anniversary of the Pump House Brewery, and they’re celebrating it with a new endeavour! On Sept. 3rd, they will be brewing a Stein Beer at the brewery in true fashion. During the Middle Ages, there were very few options for heating wort (the malty, sugary liquid that will become beer) to a boil, due to the lack of modern-day brewing equipment and direct-heating techniques. Luckily, German brewers discovered the method of heating granite rocks (“stein” is German for “rock”) to superhigh temperatures, then dropping them in the wort in wooden kettles to produce a vigorous boil over several minutes. This is the exact method that the Pump House will use to brew their new ale, Stonefire Ale, on their Anniversary. The beer will eventually be bottled as a limited release of approximately four thousand 750 mL bottles sometime in October. Keep an eye on their Facebook page, as they’re holding contests for chances to win an invite to their “Rock Drop” Launch Party on Sept. 3rd.

• Celtic Knot Brewing is re-releasing one of their inaugural brews, Not Joe Average Pale Ale. This American Pale Ale has had some revisions, according to owner/brewer Bruce Barton. While still coming in at 5% ABV, the bitterness has gone up slightly, with the IBUs increased from 19 to 30. Also, the aroma and flavor hops are now made up of Cascade and Centennial (well known for their fruity and citrusy characteristics). The beer finishes slightly drier than the original version, according to Barton. Look for it soon at bars/restaurants that carry Celtic Knot beers, including new account Plan b Lounge (with one rotating tap) in Moncton.

• Barton is also brewing up the new Ring of Fire beer today, featuring 40% Smoked Malt (along with 2-Row, Munich, Cara Aroma and Roasted malts to an Amber colour, 16 SRM), and hopped to 18 IBUs with Tettnang and Fuggle hops. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire! For the heat, Barton will be using Habanero and Jalapeno peppers in the boil, and might add some in secondary as well, depending on the results. Look for this one on tap mid- to late-September.

• Rare Bird Craft Beer has released their latest seasonal, Spruce Beer. It is their modern take on this style of beer with some history in our region, both on shore, and on the ships that visited Guysborough harbour. Building on a medium-bodied Pale Ale base of 5.5% and 47 IBUs (from Cascade and Galena hops), Black Spruce buds were added to the boil for a bright spruce nose. Currently on tap at the Rare Bird Pub, look for it in bottles at the private stores soon.

• In the brewing world, the approach of fall means one thing… the brewing of pumpkin beers, and the PEI Brewing Co. just brewed theirs! The grist contains Canadian 2-row malt, Munich, Victory, Extra Special Roast, Caramunich 60 L, and some malted rye, and the beer is hopped exclusively with Comet hops to 25 IBUs. As for the most important part, the pumpkin, 30 lbs of yellow summer squash were sourced from MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, PEI, with the balance made up of unspiced, canned pumpkin and squash due to limited availability of pie pumpkins this time of year. Luckily, brewmaster Chris Long was able to find many high quality spices from Kate the Spice Lady for the brew, including “150 cinnamon sticks, about 80 cloves, almost 100 allspice pods, 10 whole nutmeg, and 10 lbs of fresh ginger” for each batch. The beer clocks in at 5.8% ABV; look for it in bottles and kegs in the near future across Atlantic Canada.

• Next Friday, August 29th, Edmundston’s Resto-Bar Le Deck will be holding a Picaroons tap takeover that will also feature guest taps from Brasseurs du Petit-Sault and live entertainment from The Carson Downey Band. No word yet on exactly which Picaroons beers will be pouring (they will have 5 taps dedicated to their brews), but we can confirm that both flagship beers – Tante Blanche and Bob LeBoeuf – from Petit-Sault will be present, as well as the recently-released limited edition of their collaboration brew with Acadie-Broue, L’effrayab’ Tintamarre. There’s no cover at the door; it all starts at 10:00 pm.

• And great news for those of you who live in Fredericton and would like to try L’effrayab’ Tintamarre… a keg or two has been delivered to the King Street Ale House, and should be pouring now! It won’t last long, however, so best head there for lunch today. 🙂

• And back to Picaroons, their annual release of UPSTREAM Ale will be hitting shelves at the beginning of September. This 4.5% Pale Ale is crisp and clean, like the wild waters of the famous NB Salmon Rivers. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this beer will go to the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation to help preserve those rivers. And available shortly thereafter will be Picaroons’ series of Harvest Ales, featuring wet hops grown on local farms.

• This week, brewer Josh Herbin at North Brewing Company started experimenting with cask conditioning and adding flavour infusions to their very popular Saison. He prepared infusions using black peppercorn and candied ginger, and has dosed two of the casks with different concentrations. To a third cask, he added both of the infusions and some of the ginger and pepper to further “dry spice” the beer to measure its effects on the final product. No word yet where they will be available, but when they hit the taps/bar tops mid-September, we’ll be sure to share the details.

• Uncle Leo’s Brewery is launching a new growler format today, a 750ml Flip Top Growler. These new growlers are $5 for the glass, and $5 for a fill of any of their IPA, Smoked Porter, Red Ale and Vohs Weizenbier. Until Sunday, August 24th (or while supplies last), when purchasing two or four 750ml growlers, you will receive a free two- or four-growler tote. Please note that they ask folks to not return their 1.89l growlers until after the weekend, when they re-open on Wednesday, August the 27th.

• The Beerthief Newfoundland Special Order Beer Group is holding a tasting next Thursday August 28th. ShakesBEER in the GUT is a fundraiser for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival in St. John’s, and will give attendees the chance to try four exclusive international offerings available only at the tasting: after starting with a choice of a Quidi Vidi beer, Certified Cicerone Mike Buhler will guide participants through Sorachi Ace and Local 2 Ale by Brooklyn Brewery, and Hiver and Dorée from Meduz Brewery. Tickets are available online for $50, and include snacks, door prizes and live entertainment.

• Tatamagouche Brewing Co is holding a contest! Their Brew Crew is putting together an Oktoberfest Lager to be released in the coming weeks, and they want you to name it. We don’t have the recipe details just yet, but you can enter by replying to this tweet or instagram with your best shot. The contest is closing soon, so be sure to enter today. The winner will win a free party keg rental from the brewery. Only those 19 years or older may enter.

• New Beer Alert! Big Spruce Brewing has released their International Coffee Conspiracy, the Hoppuccino. As mentioned previously, this beer was brewed with help from Phillips Brewing from Victoria, BC and  Cafe Milagro from Costa Rica. Coming in a bit bigger than originally reported, the beer weighs in at 7.3 % ABV and 80 IBUs from Simcoe and Chinook, and features lots of whole bean coffee in the boil, and then a second cold extraction infusion, added post-fermentation. Grab a sample and growler at the brewery today, and ask for it at your favourite local bar.

• After some delays due to ANBL regulation changes that were mostly dropped late last week, Mitch Biggar of Railcar Brewing is back on track! This week he brewed a test batch of the first in his “Derailed” series, a Maple Bacon Porter. Using Chocolate and Cherrywood Smoked Malts in the grain bill for characteristic aroma and taste, he also added New Brunswick Maple Syrup and Smoked Bacon in the boil. Wow!

• And finally, in case you missed yesterday’s post, we’re currently holding a contest to win two tickets to any of the three sessions at this year’s PEI Beer Festival on Sept. 5th and 6th. All you have to do is take a picture of one of the beers that will be pouring at the festival (a list of breweries and beers is available on their website), and Tweet it/share it to our Facebook page, with the hashtag #PEIBeerFest. The contest will continue until next Thursday at 11:59 pm; we’ll announce the winner in next week’s Friday Wrap-Up on August 29th. Only one entry per person, please!

Drink locally this weekend! Head on out to Antigonish Townhouse tonight at 5pm to enjoy another of their one-off casks of British Bitter, to the Stubborn Goat for a Friday Firkin of Boxing Rock‘s The Vicar’s Cross Double IPA, or King’s Arm Pub in Kentville who now have Schoolhouse Brewery on tap. And we hope to see lots of you tomorrow at noon at Stillwell for the launch of Propeller Brewing’s Raspberry Lambic. Folks from Propeller will also be there from 1-3pm taking pre-orders to be picked up at the Gottingen St location Sunday (1 bottle max), before it goes on sale to the general public at both locations on Monday (limit two bottles per person).