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Friday Wrap-Up for July 28, 2017 – News from Upstreet, TrailWay, Mill Street St. John’s, YellowBelly, Port Rexton, Western Newfoundland and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-07-28
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 902 BrewCast, Boxing Rock Brewing, Breton Brewing, FirkinStein Brewing, First Town Craft Beer Festival, Fredericton Beer Run, Good Robot Brewing, Halifax Seaport Beerfest, Heritage Brewing, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Mill Street Brewpub, Moncton Beer Run, PEILCC, Port Rexton Brewing Co., RockBottom Brewpub, Roof Hound Brewing, Scudrunner Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Western Newfoundland Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment
As July winds down, we’ve been blessed with some great drinking weather, which means the region’s brewers are hard at work to keep us happy. Be sure to raise a toast to them as you grab a pint on the patio or at the cottage this weekend!

• International IPA Day is next week (Thursday, Aug. 3rd), and Upstreet will be releasing a brand new beer to celebrate. Island Hopspitality 2017 may share the same name as last year’s release, but this one goes in a completely different direction, as a “Sour IPA”. Kettle-soured via Lactobacillus to ~3.4 pH, plenty of Azacca, Centennial and Sorachi Ace were added in both whirlpool and dry-hop additions, giving lots of citrus and tropical fruit in the aroma and flavour to complement the tartness, but minimal bitterness (at only 10 IBUs). As expected, this 4.5% ABV beer won’t be released until next Thursday, where it will be available for pints and growlers at the brewery, and on tap at other Upstreet accounts.

• While on the topic, TrailWay has released a new iteration of their kettle-soured hoppy ale, El Generico. This pale, sessionable (3.8% ABV) brew is constantly-changing, and made it’s first appearance in early May with a Hallertau Blanc dry-hop. This newest release was dry-hopped with El Dorado, an increasingly-popular hop variety at the brewery that has fruity, Jolly Rancher-like qualities. In addition to the hops, Apricot puree was added to the batch (at a rate of ~51 g/L) to boost the taste even more, giving the impression of “Welch’s fruit snacks and sour peach candy”, according to the brewery. Available on tap and in cans at the brewery only, this was a limited batch so won’t last long.

• Plenty of beer news coming from Newfoundland this week! Let’s start with the Mill Street Brewpub in St. John’s, who have two new beers for your enjoyment. First up is Townie Triple, a Belgian Tripel which comes in heavy at 8.7% ABV, and was hopped generously with Czech Saaz (to 30 IBUs) for balance. With aromas of “banana, cloves, orange zest, and honey”, and a flavour profile that includes “notes of chai tea, peaches, and pear”, it’s definitely meant to be enjoyed as a sipper, and is available at the Brewpub for pours and grunters.

• Next up from Mill Street is Chocolate Lab, a collaboration with the Newfoundland Chocolate Company. A “dark ale base beer” was brewed up, which then had 8 kg of cacao nibs – provided by the NCC – added and cold-steeped. While dry, light, and easy-drinking, the nibs give “big aromas of dark roast coffee, dark chocolate, a slightly oakey flavour, and a touch of honey”. At 4.5% ABV and 32 IBUs, this one is a bit more sessionable than the first beer! You can find it on tap now at the Brewpub for pints and growlers.

• Let’s move on to Yellowbelly, who have a new beer on tap that is going fast! Big Land Lager is a “Labrador tea rice Lager” that was mashed in birch sap, according to the brewery. While only 4.8% ABV, it’s big on flavour, with subtle notes of pine, spice, and lemon coming through, and a “slight minty vanilla in the finish”. It’s on tap at the brewpub (but on it’s last keg or two, so may not be around when this post is published), with a very small supply also available for purchase in 1 L bottles at the brewpub only. And for those of you attending the Halifax Seaport Beerfest, a couple of kegs were sent over from the Rock, so this will be your chance to give it a try!

• Heading Northwest to the Bonavista Peninsula, you will find yourself at Port Rexton Brewing, who celebrated their first anniversary last weekend, and have released a slew of new beers for visitors to enjoy. Shed Session is a 4.4% ABV Session IPA, featuring a bevvy of late-hopping on a straw-coloured light base. East Meets West is a 5.0% ABV Saison, featuring Honey Dew melon and Black Pepper, and was brewed as a Cross-Country Simultaneous Collaboration with Port Moody, BC’s Moody Ales. And rounding out the newest arrival is Spruce Wayne, a 5.4% ABV amber ale with spruce tips added.

• Let’s finish off our tour of the Rock with a trip to the West Coast, namely Pasadena, home to Western Newfoundland Brewing Company. Their small and agile system has been working overtime lately, giving locals and visitors alike plenty of new flavours. The newest beer to be released is Green Gardens Haze, an “Oat Forward Pale Ale”, with flaked oats accounting for one third of the malt bill. The resultant base beer is creamy and hazy, with a nod to the New England IPA style. At 5.0% ABV and 25 IBUs, the late hop additions offering more in terms of flavours and aroma, than bitterness. It is currently on tap at the officially unofficial WNLBC taproom, Galliott Studios in Woody Point, Bonne Bay. And while the pilot batch of Tuckamore Spruce just kicked, we can report that there are several hundred litres of the beer set to be released in the next week or two. Inspired by the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s cartographic survey of Newfoundland, this is their take on a historically-inspired Spruce Beer, a 6.0% Amber with plenty of Munich malt to offset the resinous character of the spruce tips (added near the end of the boil). When released in early August, it will be available at restaurants in Corner Brook and Gros Morne National Park.

• Yarmouth’s Heritage Brewing Co. will be releasing their first Double IPA, Under the Patio, this weekend. This 7.5% ABV hoppy brew incorporates a simple malt bill that gives “just enough body” to support the heavy hopping rates. Speaking of the hops – and that’s the important point with this style of beer, right? – a blend of five different varieties were used throughout the brew, with the focus falling on Chinook. At 80 IBUs, expect a firm bitterness in the finish, to complement the hop aromas and flavours sure to be found. Look for it on tap this weekend at the brewery, and at establishments serving Heritage beer.
• Loyalist City‘s latest summer beer just hit taps yesterday, and we got your details right here! Peach Giant is a Berliner Weisse (a low ABV, sour German beer) that was mash-soured with the brewery’s house strain of four different Lactobacillus strains. Once soured, the brew was then fermented as usual, and once complete, saw the addition of real peaches, which triggered some additional fermentation. Now that it’s finally kegged and ready to go, expect lots of peach aroma and flavour, “complemented by a light, doughy sweetness”, all in an orange, hazy package. At only 4.5% ABV, you should be able to enjoy this one in relative quantity! Look for it today at your favourite Loyalist City tap source.

• Halifax’s 2 Crows had a few special taproom-only beer on the go this week, with Monday’s release of their collaboration with the fine folks from Everwood Ave Brew Shop , Ever Wood Aged, a Double IPA conditioned on wine-soaked oak. As of the time of printing (posting), this beer is still available, but certainly in short supply. The other new beer of note is Swan Fan Makkum, an American Pale Ale featuring loads of Belma, Citra, Hallertau Blanc, and Simcoe, resulting in a supremely smooth and quaffable 5.0% ABV and 13 IBU hazy beer. Pouring as part of the Tall Sips endeavour, the beer is named after a tall ship that co-owner Mark Huinizink worked on as a teenager. As with all of these small batches, they are only available on tap at the brewery, so drop down on Brunswick St for a pint before (or after) checking out the Tall Ships on the Waterfront. And as a heads up, watch this space for the second of 2C’s Foedre beers, to be released in cans mid-August. Featuring lots of mango and a bit of peach, this beer has us (milk)Shaking in anticipation.

• Breton Brewing brewed up a light, lovely style that’s perfect for summer drinking, a Munich Helles named Island Time Lager. Featuring malty and bready notes, this is a style that is malt-focused, with an underlying hop bitterness that keeps it from being too sweet. And at 4.3% and 14 IBUs, you’ll be able to enjoy a couple of these in the hot sun. It’s only available in the Sydney area at the moment, but look for kegs to hit Halifax in the next couple of weeks.

• In Digby, Roof Hound has a new brew on the go that we should be seeing in the very near future. Hoppy Seconds is an APA that was brewed to showcase Victory, the brewery’s favourite specialty malt. Dry-hopped in heavy amounts with Columbus and Mosaic, expect similar aromas to their previous hoppy release, The Big Stink (which uses the same hop varieties). It should come in at about 5.5% ABV; look for it at the brewpub and local accounts within the next couple weeks.

• What do you do to up the ante when you’re one of Halifax’s littlest breweries? If you’re Tidehouse on Salter Street, you build one of Halifax’s littlest tap rooms and serve beer in little glasses! Seating seven comfortably, and serving only tasting flights (for now), this as-yet unnamed hideaway could easily become a place where everybody knows your name – and your brand of deodorant. Right now they’re pouring Tidehouse favourites, but will shortly be expanding to eight taps and, hopefully, will be mixing it up with some guest beers. There are also plans to have a turntable playing Shean and Peter’s favourites, although patrons are welcome to bring in their own vinyl for everyone’s enjoyment. Right now, in addition to Tidehouse classics like The Copper and Like a MotorcycALE we know they’ve got some Sumac Smack on the go, which we told you about last week, and the Noon Moon, a citrus-driven little number. There’s also the Fuzzy Sun APA (at least what the Stubborn Goat didn’t snap up), a pale with a round malt flavour from Melanoiding and Munich malts and a smooth mouthfeel from Wheat. It features Citra, Cascade and Simcoe for a very tropical hop profile with additional notes of citrus and pine. And today will also see the appearance of a new beer called City Mouse. This is another pale ale, of the juicy persuasion, featuring Citra and Mosaic hops. You should notice apricot and mango with underpinnings of orange citrus. Honey malt in the grist provides a bit of sweetness to this 5.4% ABV and 26.5 IBU beer, which also uses wheat and oats to create a smooth mouthfeel.

• Our friends at Good Robot are having their usual busy week, running the gamut of a new beer, a new variation on an existing beer, and a re-release on the docket. First, this afternoon’s Cask in the Sun (pay no mind to the weather, they’ll pour it inside and point the lights at you if you insist) takes a break from the Goseface Killah base that has served them so well in previous weeks in favour of the Leave Me Blue Kentucky Corn Beer, a summer stalwart on their taps. Corn Light Mojito sees that base adulterated (in the nicest possible way!) with organic lime and garden mint grown right there on the Gastroturf! Meanwhile the taproom has seen the return of the Skratch Plaskett Electric Tambourine Ale, originally a collaboration with Schoolhouse Brewery (who’ve lately been serving and bottling their own version of this very same beer). For those who don’t know, it’s an A/APA, or American/Australian Pale Ale coming in at 5.8% ABV and an enough-to-know-it’s-there 25 IBU. The grist side has 2-row malt, some wheat for mouthfeel and vienna for character, while the hops see high-alpha Warrior for bittering, classic American Cascade in the whirlpool and newcomer Australian Summer for the dry-hop. And finally, on Tuesday GR will remind us that Winter is coming when this week’s Beta Brewsday concoction drops. King in the North is a sessionable Black IPA at 4.5% ABV, but with a pronounced 55 IBU. Local Horton Ridge 2-row (we’re going to guess maybe the “winter” variety) and Maris Otter provide the base for the grist and big, bold, dank and piney Simcoe and citrusy Chinook are the hops.

• Boxing Rock, on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, has released another in their line of kettle soured beers featuring fruit. Joining Over the Top! (Cranberry), For the Love of Grimace (Blueberries), Grafted (Orange Peel), this week’s release, Turn of Fraise, features strawberries on top of a sour wheat base. Grab the beer in bottles at the brewery now, and look for bottles at their market locations and the private beer stores this weekend.

• We have a pair of returning favourites from Halifax’s Rockbottom Brewpub this week. Recently, they brought back their Freudian Sip Vienna Lager, a light and crisp golden lager, featuring toasted malt with spicy and herbal noble hop characteristics. It weighs in at 5.5% ABV and 30 IBUs, and is available on tap for samples, pints and growlers. Also returning after a several month hiatus is Raspberry Sour, their 4.5% ABV kettle sour, featuring loads of raspberry for a refreshing and flavourful tart beer.

• Time flies when you drink this much beer. That must be the case, as the third episode in a month of the 902 BrewCast has just been released. Continuing their tour of the South Shore, the gents dropped into the hometown of the last remaining Arby’s in Nova Scotia, Bridgewater. They met and chatted with Adam and Devin of FirkinStein Brewing, were are celebrating the opening of their retail and second brewery location. Learn all about their start, the mixed origin of their brewhouse, inspiration for beer recipes, and their plans for the future. And be sure to drop by their new spot on Main Street next time you’re in the neighbourhood. Yes, they allow outside food, including roast beef sandwiches, so just head up Dominion Street and take a left on Hight…

• Craft fans on PEI can now join their New Brunswick brethren in sneering at Nova Scotia and the NSLC. The Island’s liquor control commission, PEILCC, has officially joined ANBL in providing growler fills with an 8-tap station installed at their Gateway location (Officially Store #002, in Borden-Carleton). According to spokesperson Mark Carragher, this is part of PEILCC’s overall strategy to help promote local products and expand their craft beer selection at retail. The focus is on local products, but even now the selection includes breweries from other parts of Canada. Carragher notes that growlers have been successful in other markets and customer feedback so far has been very positive, so there’s a chance that additional stations will be added in the future. For now, you can bring any clean 1.89 L growler to them for a fill in Borden-Carleton, or purchase a growler on-site for $5. And if you’re curious what they’re pouring, you can keep an eye on PEILCC’s Twitter for tweets like this one, or you can visit the dedicated growler station page on their website for a full list.

What’s on the go this weekend and beyond?

• Tonight, Propeller is bringing back their bi-weekly Cask Night, where a new beer will be introduced on cask at their Gottingen St. location, every second Friday. Up tonight will be a Cascade American Pale Ale, dry-hopped in the cask with Falconer’s Flight and Nelson Sauvin. As before, the cask will be tapped at 5 pm; there’s only 20 L available, so be sure to show up early so you don’t miss out! What’s coming up at future Cask Nights? Well, we can give you a few teasers: how about a Pilsner hopped with Strisselspalt, followed by a DIPA, then a Porter with American Oak? As always, we’ll continue to keep you updated!

• Taste of Nova Scotia is holding two special events this weekend, on Halifax Harbour’s Georges Island. The Georges Island Dinner Series is running both tonight and tomorrow, with a different theme each evening. Tonight’s event is Nova Scotia Lobster Feast, featuring a feast of local lobster, mussels, oysters, paired with Nova Scotian beer, wine, cider and spirits. Tomorrow’s event is the Good Cheer BBQ, with a more land-based menu with pork and meat pies, and even more breweries in attendance. Your ticket includes your ferry ride to the island, all of the food and drink, and the live music shows from Joel Plasket and Port Cities.

• Saturday marks Unfiltered Brewing‘s Second Anniversary, which means they are inviting the lovers (and the haters) to Charm School for an epic birthday bash to celebrate. With special pricing on all of their beers, as well as the availability of previous favourites (including on- and off-site sales of bottles of their Commissar RIS), there will be plenty to keep folks happy. Their food menu is being expanded for the evening with help from Stillwell’s Joe Martin providing some special plates from 6-9pm.

• Tomorrow, July 29th, Stillwell HQ will be hosting New Brunswick brewery Acadie-Broue, which will be pouring four different sour beers (safe to say probably the highest number of Acadie-Broue sour beers in one place, ever?). Look for the following beers to be on: Kiebitz Coti (Berliner Weisse), Reflux (Gose), Tête de Cochon (Lichtenheiner), and Boudeuse, a 5-year-old Lambic-style beer that has been blended with a Baltic Porter. If you needed an excuse to visit SW on a Saturday (we know, you didn’t), you now have one!

• If you are looking for a good excuse to visit the North Shore on Saturday, a reminder that the first North Shore Craft Brew Expo will be held at the North Shore Rec Centre in Tatamagouche from 6-11:30 pm. Tickets are still available, and your entrance fee get you started with five 4 oz drink tickets, live music from 8pm, and access to lots of local food vendors.

• Two weeks ago, we mentioned the upcoming beer from Big Spruce – Tag! You’re It! – a collaboration with Dalhousie University’s Ocean Tracking Network. Just a note to let you all know that this American IPA will be launched on Thursday, August 3rd at both Stillwell locations in Halifax (HQ and the Beer Garden), so be sure to drop by for a pint!

• Going down at Good Robot on Sunday from 5 PM – 8PM, is Moo Grass, a benefit event for Moo Nay Farms. For those who don’t know, Moo Nay is a family farm near Shubenacadie focusing on, “promoting nature and natural living conditions for both humans and livestock.” They’re also the destination for the spent grain from Good Robot’s brewing endeavours, ensuring that a large amount of brewing by-product doesn’t go to waste. Moo Nay had an unfortunate incident a few weeks back when it was discovered that someone decided to steal some livestock from their property. This event will directly help Moo Nay recover from this utterly despicable incident. Festivities will begin with a comedy set by GR’s own Dan Hendricken, followed by bluegrass, blues, country and folk from Big Country Ramblers. Food will be available, with Antonio Rinaldo of Rinaldo’s Italian-American Specialties serving up pig parts from a Moo Nay-raised Berkshire pig and, of course, plenty of Good Robot craft beer. There will be a pay-by-donation entrance fee for the event, with all proceeds going directly to Moo Nay farms.

• And attention, PEI! If you were just thinking to yourself the other day, “Dammit, I just can’t get enough Good Robot in my life”, we have some good (?) news for you! On Monday, August 7th, Upstreet will be hosting a Good Robot Tap Takeover at 5 pm. We’re not entirely sure yet what beers they’ll be bringing with them from Halifax, but since they seem to be brewing something new every week, rest assured they’ll have some interesting ones with them! Upstreet says there will be no gimmicks or games at the event, but… we just don’t believe you guys. Sorry! No charge to attend, just show up for some beers and some good times.

• August is just around the corner (gah!), which means that the New Brunswick Beer Run group will be having their annual events soon! First up is the Fredericton Beer Run on Monday, August 7th (New Brunswick Day) at 10 am – as usual, there will be three run distances available (4, 6, or 12 km), with beer available at the END of the run (sorry). Tickets are $60 and are available here. And on Friday, August 18th, the Moncton Beer Run will begin at 6 pm. Details on this one are slim at the moment, but they promise us they will be coming soon, along with a ticket link, so save the date!

• There’s a new beer festival coming to New Brunswick this fall, and it’s the first one to hit Woodstock! The First Town Craft Beer Festival will be held on Saturday, September 23rd, at the Best Western Plus Hotel. With two tasting sessions available – 1:30-4:00 pm and 7:00-9:30 pm – and twenty local breweries, cideries, and meaderies confirmed to be attending, there’ll be a wide assortment of products to sample! Your ticket gets you a 4 oz souvenir glass to keep, and unlimited pours for your session. There will be live music at the indoor/outdoor festival, Covered Bridge will be supplying chip samples at each session, and local restaurant/bar The River will be on hand, barbecuing up some tasty eats for purchase. Speaking of The River, everyone attending will be able to vote for their favourite beer of the festival; the winning brewery will have their beer on tap at The River for one year (minimum). Tickets are $55 each (tax included) and are available here (note there are also $15 designated driver tickets available). Finally, if you’re in the Woodstock area and able to drop by the Best Western, you can purchase a VIP ticket at the front desk for $65, which gets you into your session an hour earlier, a larger tasting glass, and a beer education session. Get your tickets now!

• We’re just about two weeks away from the annual Halifax Seaport Beerfest and the list of breweries and beers has been released for public consumption. And what a list it is! There are 370 brands represented with a record 113 producers in the mix! This year they’re also nearly doubling the number of Atlantic Canadian beers, which will represent 43% of the total. They’ve also managed to increase ciders by 68%, which along with beer options, has them at 42 gluten-free options available. A full 56% of the brands are not available through the NSLC, so this is a chance for folks, especially those from more rural parts of the region that don’t have a private liquor store or a happening craft beer bar, to sample a wide range of local and non-local products. And you may be used to seeing local organizations like the Ladies Beer League and the Brewnosers Homebrew Club at their information tables, but this year they’ll be serving at the new TAP LOCAL! booth which will see 8 taps rotating through 24 special one-of kegs over the course of the 3 tasting events. Tickets are still available (and there will be some tickets available at the door), but we suspect once folks start perusing the beer list tickets might start disappearing quickly! (We’re honour-bound to point out that the list is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, but we don’t figure it could change drastically).

Finally, one more thing before you head out for your (late) lunch…

– Scudrunner Brewing, set to open late summer/early fall in Gander, is looking for an Assistant Brewer and Bartenders to join their team in the near future. Reach out to them via email, or in person at the brewery space to let them know you’re interested. We’ll have all of the news fit to print as they get closer to their launch.

Friday-ish Wrap-Up – News from One Way Brewing, Acadie-Broue at Le Coude, Mama’s Brew Pub, Unfiltered, North Brewing and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-11-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Acadie-Broue, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Bogtrotter Craft Brewery, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Mama's Brew Pub, North Brewing, NSLC, PEILCC, Picaroons, Red Rover Craft Cider, Stillwell Beer Bar, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good afternoon, and welcome to a special Thursday edition of the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog! With tomorrow’s holiday, we decided to release this week’s news a day early…

• One Way Brewing is coming soon to historic Ginger House, located on Truro’s Prince Street. Three local entrepreneurs will be launching the small brewery in the spring, complete with an on-site tap room, as well as growler and keg sales. Brewing on a 5 hl (4 BBL) system, they will be concentrating on supplying beer fans and bars in the local market. We’ll have more details closer to launch, but in the meantime check out the articles in Truro Daily News and CBC online.

• The University of Moncton’s brew pub, Le Coude, has been going strong for a couple of months now, ever since Acadie-Broue has set up shop! Lucky residents of Fredericton will be seeing some AB popping up in the city, as they recently sent four different beers to the James Joyce. Included are: Valdrague Weizen, their 5% ABV take on the classic German Hefeweizen style; Tintamarre, a 6.6% ABV Belgian Saison; La Bringue,  a 5% ABV American Brown Ale; and La Picasse, a 7.3% ABV Baltic Porter that hasn’t been brewed since in more than two years. As always, these beers won’t last long, so be sure to keep track of when they’re being tapped!

• Mama’s Brew Pub isn’t letting the cool weather prevent them from brewing summer beer styles, as they’ve recently released their take on a Belgian Witbier, White Citrus Bomb. The grist is made up simply of 2-row malt and Flaked Wheat, and lightly hopped to 18 IBUs with Hallertau. Brewer Ryan Kingston also added “a cheesecloth sack the size of a basketball” full of freshly-grated orange zest (for those of you who haven’t grated multiple oranges, this takes awhile!), and a small amount of coriander.  Featuring plenty of citrus aromas and flavours, as the name implies, it comes in at 4.3% ABV. And for Mama’s fans who may not make it to the brewpub as often as they’d like, their Crowler machine and cans have arrived, so look for off-site sales to begin in the near future.

• Today will see the launch of the latest Greg Nash SMaSH at Unfiltered Brewing. Touted as the fourth in the series (although we had counted four already: DOA, All Falc’d Up, Deity, and RSMA), Danko features two-row malt and copious quantities of the Simcoe hop, a variety known for it’s potent, woody, musky-like-cat-pee-but-in-a-good-way aroma and passionfruit, pine and berry flavour notes. The name, credited to the brewery’s own Emily, reflects both the word “dank,” often used when describing Nash’s hop-forward creations, and Rick Danko, bassist for The Band and one of the more famous products of Simcoe, Ontario. As with all Unfiltered SMaSH beers, it comes in north of 100 IBU and somewhere in the vicinity of 7.5% ABV. Given the nature of the hop and the likely quantities involved, this is another that’s likely to flirt with some more savoury notes in flavour and aroma. You’ll have to grab a growler at the brewery or a pint (or three) at Charm School Pub to find out. Get on it!

• Halifax’s (and Dartmouth’s) North Brewing is releasing a special mixed fermentation beer today. Wiley Boys II is the second iteration of Wiley Boys Dark Saison first released in July, in celebration of owner Peter Burbridge’s best friend’s wedding. Six hundred litres of the original brew was given an extra pitch of Brettanomyces from Escarpment Labs, as well as a large addition of Nova Scotia-harvested strawberries from Beet Rouge. This new blend was allowed to further ferment for three months, and has been conditioning for another month in bottles. The Brett adds a leather-like and funky contribution, with the strawberries and underlying dark chocolate notes coming through as well. Available at both locations today, this 7.0% ABV beer is for sale only in bottles, with a special nitro-primed keg to be released at Battery Park‘s First Birthday Party December 9th. The artwork on the label is a photo taken by Trevor Allen.

• Details are now available for Stillwell‘s annual birthday celebration beer. Brewing once again at North in Halifax, Stillwell 3 will be similar to last year’s Stillwell 2, a rustic farmhouse, fermented with their “house blend” of yeasts and bacteria, however the underlying beer is markedly different. From Stillwell’s Christopher Reynolds, “Traditionally, many saisons were quite bitter, quite hoppy in aroma and flavour, and bittered with high quantities of low-alpha acid hops. For Stillwell 3, we found some Styrian Goldings that were a scant 1.8 AA and used them to bitter to 32 IBU.” The higher bitterness lowered the acidity, and allowed the Saccharomyces yeast strains to shine through and show off more classic Saison character with fruity esters and spicy phenolics. The beer was heavily dry-hopped, and if drunk fresh will be reminiscent of traditional Saison beers from Belgium, or if left to age, the hops will fade and Brett will take over, as with the famous Orval. The beer will be launching at Stilly’s party on November 20th, and will be joined by a slew of beers from across the Maritimes and beyond (late update, the draught and special bottle list has been released). Bottles of Stillwell 3 will also be available for sale at North Brewing’s retail stores at that time.

• We now have the details on the 3rd Annual Hammond River Brewing Homebrew Competition, open to all homebrewers living in the Maritimes. This BJCP-certified competition will involve three beer styles: Imperial IPA (category 22A), Sweet Stout (16A), and English Porter (13C). The entry fee is $10, with any or all three styles open for entry for each participant. The first-place finisher will receive a $75 gift certificate for the Saint John Ale House, and will get to assist in the brewing of their beer on the Hammond River system, for release to local tap accounts. There will be 2nd and 3rd prizes offered as well. More details and entry forms can be accessed through the link above; all entries are due at the brewery by February 3rd, with judging taking place on February 5th.

• Picaroons has announced that the taproom at their Fredericton brewhouse location (912 Union St.) will be opening later this month. The Roundhouse will be serving pints of Picaroons beer, as well as other New Brunswick craft beer, cider, and mead, and will also have brewery merchandise for sale. Pairing with the taproom will be the Real Foods Café, which will offer “an ever-evolving menu of lighter fare and grab-n-go items”. Growlers will also be filled at the new location and bottles will be available for sale; when opened, expect the taproom to be open seven days a week. We’ll keep you updated on the date, and hours, when known.

• You knew with everything that happened Tuesday night, there had to be an election-themed beverage produced somewhere. Well, Red Rover must have seen the writing on the wall that almost everyone else missed, as they released a new keg of cider yesterday, Trumpty Dumpty. On tap at the Ciderhouse only, this 7% ABV cider was infused with hibiscus, a type of flower often used in tea, providing a tangy flavour; they also added some Thuya Gin, from New Brunswick’s Fils du Roy. No word yet on if the cider is orange or angry; be sure to let us know if you’re lucky enough to have a taste!

• Fredericton’s newest nano-brewery, Bogtrotter, has released Malty Muskrat, their first Imperial IPA. Their biggest beer to-date at 8.2%, it was highly hopped to 100 IBUs with Warrior, Amarillo, and Simcoe. You can find it exclusively on tap at select locations in the city, including the James Joyce, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and Graystone Brewing.

There’s yet a few more beer-themed events coming up over the next month that we’d like to mention:

• Upstreet is bringing back Black Tie Affair, their Vanilla Cranberry Stout, and is holding a Rocking Release Party to celebrate, next Thursday, November 17th from 6-10 pm. A three-course, Prix Fixe menu Black Tie Dinner (featuring Black Tie Affair in the recipes, of course) will start the night at 6 pm, followed by live music at 7 pm. Admission is free, with donations being accepted for the Rwanda Craft Brewery Project. While there, be sure to check out their latest on-tap-only small batch, Berliner Weisse (4.5% ABV, 8 IBUs), which was kettle-soured with grain; future iterations, with various dry-hop additions, will follow.

• The second public presentation of Sociable!, will be taking place next Friday, November 18th, at Boxing Rock Brewing. The party in Shelburne kicks off at 6pm with free brewery tours, with the film starting at 7pm, and following up with a Q&A with the filmmakers. Free snacks and beer samples will be available too! For more information, check out the Event page.

• The Inaugural Cape Breton Beer Fest is happening November 19th at the Cruise Terminal in Sydney. There will be fifteen breweries, cider houses, and distilleries from around the province in attendance for the Afternoon (2:00 to 4:30 pm) or Evening sessions (7:00 to 9:30 pm, with VIP tickets available for 6:00 pm entry). Grab your tickets online today.
• Battery Park will be hosting Nyanza’s Big Spruce on December 1st, in the third in a series of NS Brewery Tap Takeovers. As in the previous editions with Tatamagouche and Boxing Rock, they have also teamed up with the visiting brewery on a collaboration brew. This month’s beer is a Nova Scotia-themed mad scientist’s dream: a Donair Beer, aged on raspberries. The Battery Park kitchen created, cooked, then dried and powdered donair meat, and added it to the mash tun, with the grain required for an Imperial Stout. After primary fermentation, the beer will age on raspberries. Blood Donair is the name of the beer, and it will debut during the tap takeover, along with plenty of Big Spruce’s favourite and award-winning beers.
Have a great long weekend, and tomorrow, remember to think of those who gave – and continue to give – so much, and raise a glass of craft beer in their honour. In closing…
– Boxing Rock‘s Bohemian Pilsner, Wild Axe (5.7% ABV), is back again on tap, and in bottles at the HRM private liquor stores.
– Hammond River has rebrewed their Into the Dark Hawaiian Porter (6.3% ABV, 38 IBUs), brewed with cacao nibs and fresh, toasted coconut; it should be appearing on tap within the next couple of weeks.
– Garrison Brewing has released the next two beers in their winter seasonal portfolio today; their 7.5% ABV Spruce Beer, made with locally-harvested spruce and fir, on a full bodied-ale featuring molasses, and the 7.0% ABV Winter Warmer, brewed with cinnamon and clove spice additions, for a beer worthy of enjoying around the fire. Both beers are available in 650mL bottles at the brewery today, with release to the private liquor stores and NSLC next week.
– Keep your eyes, and ears, open for a local beer-themed podcast dropping next week. 902 BrewCast features three local beer fans, Kyle, Philip, and Tony, talking about the latest releases in our region, and interviewing local brewers and industry folks. Subscribe now, and look for the first pair of episodes in your favourite podcast app next Friday, November 18th.
 – For those who want to try this highly sought-after beer, the PEI Liquor Commission currently has bottles of Sam Adams Utopias on their shelves at two locations. At $200, this is not an everyday-drinker, but certainly something that can be cellared long-term, and pulled out at special occasions. They are also carrying the CRAFT BeerAdvent Calendar, a collection of 24 new-to-Canada beers, to be opened during December.
– Not to be outdone, the NSLC will be releasing eight bottles of Utopias at The Port signature store November 19th, also priced at $200.

Friday Wrap-Up – News and Brews from YellowBelly, Picaroons, PEILCC, The Coast, Pump House, Big Spruce, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-03-14
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Garrison 2014 Home Brew-Off Challenge, Garrison Brewing, Ladies Beer League, Le Naufrageur, PEILCC, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Saint John Ale House, The Coast, YellowBelly Brewery. 1 comment

Good morning, beer lovers! We hope everyone had a great week… how about some local beer news to lead you into the weekend, and a St. Patrick’s Day Monday?

• The YellowBelly Brewery and Public House has re-released their Paddy’s Pale Ale. This 6.2% ABV beer is actually a Rye IPA; brewed with rye malt, Carastan, Munich, and a large percentage of Canadian Pale Ale malt, it is hopped with Galena and Cluster varieties – including two dry-hop additions – to about 60 IBUs. Described by Brewmaster Liam McKenna as having a very fruity aroma, slight peppery rye character in the taste, and a bitter finish, it’s on tap now; bottle availability is still up in the air.

• Picaroons is planning a tap takeover at Plan b Lounge in Moncton on Friday evening, March 28th. All of the taps will feature Picaroons beers, one of which should include a special dry-hopped version of their Yippee IPA. Gravity Strike will also provide live music. Just a reminder, too, that the sold-out Picaroons tap takeover at Stillwell is tomorrow, March 15th; more info on that event in our previous post.

• While on the topic of Picaroons, they’re holding a special event at the Saint John Ale House on Saturday, March 22nd. “Maple Mania” starts at 6:30 pm, and features a multiple-course, maple-infused dinner from chef Jesse Vergen (who also took part in Top Chef Canada). There will also be live traditional fiddle music, followed by other entertainment. Of course, there will also be Picaroons Maple Cream Ale pouring… on cask! Tickets are $60 (price includes at least one beer) and can be purchased at the Saint John Ale House; there are a limited number available, and the event is close to sold out.

• For those of you living in PEI, there’s some good – albeit, odd – news if you’re looking for bottled beer after the PEILCC has closed their doors for the evening. CBC News reports that restaurants on the Island are now allowed to sell takeaway PEI-brewed beer (after they’ve applied for the appropriate licence, of course), up to 12 bottles per person (or two bottles of wine or spirits). The catch? Well, you have to actually “purchase and consume a full-course meal” before you can take away the beer. Whether this means you have to clean your plate, we’re not sure! And we won’t even get into the whole “Is soup a meal?” argument. Hours of sale are restricted from 9 am to midnight.

• The Coast is currently conducting their annual Best of Halifax awards, where readers get to vote for their favorite eating and drinking establishments in Halifax, and more. Make sure you check out the online survey, and vote for your favorite beer-related categories, such as Best Brew Pub, Best Craft Brewery, Best Beer Selection, etc.

• Speaking of The Coast, they’ve just released their annual Beer Guide Edition, highlighting the important place beer plays in the city’s identity. Look for great articles about learning to drink and enjoy beer (hint, try many styles and brewers before deciding you don’t like a certain type of beer), Stillwell Beer Bar, the continued rise of women in the beer industry, a breastfeeding mother’s search for new beers, and much more.

• The Pump House Brewery is getting ready to release their seasonal Maple Ale again. Brewer Scott MacLeod says that this year’s batch is very smooth, and a bit less sweet than last year’s; it has an ABV of 5%. All of the maple syrup used in the brew was locally-sourced, from Maritime maple sugar camps. It will be available on tap at the brew pub location, and will be available in bottles across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, within the next two weeks.

• Nyanza Cape Breton’s Big Spruce has brewed up a Scotch Ale to celebrate their first anniversary. Brewmaster Jeremy White has designed it to be a true Scotch Ale, hopped to about 26 IBU with Goldings, with lots of Roast Barley goodness on the palate. From Jeremy, “We intend to cask as much of it as possible, and age/fortify it with Glenora single malt. All Cape Breton, all local.” Once we have details on the beer’s release, we’ll be sure to pass it along.

• Yesterday, Propeller Brewing Company released their newest seasonal beer, Irish Red Ale. Weighing in at 5% ABV, and hopped with Willamette, the beer is meant as  “a tribute to the classic red ales of Ireland”, according to new Brewmaster Josh Adler. It is available now in 650mL bottles and growlers at both Propeller locations, and as well as the private stores. It will also be on tap around Nova Scotia.

• A reminder that the Ladies Beer League will be brewing with Emily Tipton at Boxing Rock tomorrow, taking part in the International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day. They’ll be brewing up the “Alewife’s Revenge”, their take on the Unite Pale Ale, featuring local cranberries. The fruits of their labours will be available beginning April 17th in growlers and bottles at the brewery and markets, and in bottles at the private stores, along with a few kegs around the province. The charities benefitting from a portion of the sales will be the Pink Boots Society and Shelburne County Women’s FishNet. The FishNet is a non-profit support network for Shelburne County women, seniors and youth. Its mission is to support women and their families in reaching their full potential as community citizens.

• Last, and certainly not least, the gala for the Garrison Brewing Home Brew-Off was held last night at the brewery. There was a great turn-out for the event, that saw 76 different Weizen’s vie for the title of best in show. This year’s winner was Jason McDougall of Halifax, congratulations! This homebrewer has been brewing for more than ten years, but this was the first time brewing a Weizen (and also the first time entering a contest!). Chris had a chance to try the winning beer, and it was certainly worthy! All of the four finalists’ beers were great, and Kirsten & Keely, Roger, and Ed were very deserving of their Final Four placement. One noted absence was the winning beer from 2013’s Home Brew-Off. Unfortunately, while winning brewer Peter Welton was in attendance, his Saint Peter’s Belgian-Style Strong Ale was not quite ready for primetime. As Brian and Daniel said at the festivities, you cannot rush a beer, so they decided to let the fermentation and conditioning finish in due time. Look for this 7.5% ABV Blonde to hit stores and bars late next week. Brian also spilled the beans that they will be doing their first brews at their new location across the street next week. This 30hL brewhouse will effectively triple their production, and allow for continued expansion across the country. We’ll have more details soon.

• A late addition to the blog: The winners of the “Best of the Fest” for the 2014 Fredericton Craft Beer Festival have been announced. Several hundred ballots were cast electronically after the fest, and the favourite Breweries of the Fest were Le Naufrageur (Carleton-sur-mer, Quebec), Boxing Rock Brewing (Shelburne, NS), and Bad Apple Brewhouse (Somerset, NS). Congratulations to the winners, and all breweries in attendance!

Have a great weekend, and a great St. Paddy’s Day! Remember, say “no” to died-green beer, and celebrate the holiday by drinking some good, local craft beer!