Picaroons Traditional Ales

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Friday Wrap-up – Big Spruce Holding Homebrew Comp, New Beers from Celtic Knot, Grimross and Paddy’s Brewpub, and lots more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-11-01
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Antigonish Townhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Gahan House (Charlottetown), Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, homebrewing, Ladies Beer League, Local Connections, McAuslan Brewery, Paddys Irish Brewpub, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery, Shiretown Beer, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat Gastropub. 1 comment
Welcome to November! I hope all of last night’s tricks were fun, and your treats were Atlantic Canadian Craft Beer.
• Big Spruce Brewing is holding a homebrew competition as part of their contribution to the Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration event, put on by Local Connections in January (we’ll have a full post on it soon). The full information is available on their Facebook event, but the important details are: The competition is open to all Nova Scotian homebrewers. The style of beer is an American IPA, BJCP style 14B, one entry per brewer. Registration of intent closes November 7th, and beers are due at the brewery by December 2nd. Registration is $25, and that includes a Big Spruce t-shirt. The brewer of the winning beer, as chosen by the judging panel, will brew their beer on the 7 barrel system at Big Spruce, and be released at the event in January. So, homebrewers, start your kettles, and be sure to email Big Spruce to receive and complete the registration form.
• Celtic Knot Brewing has a new beer in the pipeline – an English Barleywine, “Toque and Mitts” was brewed with Maris Otter, Chocolate Malt, Wheat Malt, and Crystal 120 L. A dark and malty beer coming in at about 7.5% ABV, it has approximately 33 IBUs and is brewed with Willamette, East Kent Golding, and Belma hops. We’ll keep you updated as to when this beer is available; it should be out around the beginning of December, available where other Celtic Knot beers can be found, The Tide & Boar and Marky’s Laundromat.
• Details for the beers being poured at the Fredericton Poutine Festival next weekend are now available on the event’s ticket site. Grimross Brewing will be serving their recently-released Belgian Rye IPA, as well as a new beer, their Belgian Porter (details below). Picaroons will be pouring their Yippee IPA, Blonde Ale, Winter Warmer, and 104th Regiment. McAuslan Brewery will have their Pale Ale, Apricot Wheat, and Oatmeal Stout, and McClelland Premium Imports will be bringing Steigl, Erdinger Dunkelweizen, Affligem Blond, and Fruli. Unfortunately, there’s no word yet as to what beers Pump House will have at the event. There’s still some tickets to the festival available; remember, the regular ticket gets your four 4 oz beer samples, while the “Beer Experience” gives you twelve samples.
• Back to Grimross Brewing, their Belgian Porter is just about finished and ready for release. A dark brown beer best thought of as a Brown Porter fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, it is described by owner/brewer Stephen Dixon as having a roasted aroma with hints of chocolate and dark candy, and flavours that start with roast and finish with chocolate and syrup. As mentioned, it should be pouring at the Fredericton Poutine Festival, and will likely be available in growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique soon!
• And in even more Grimross news, their beers are starting to make their way to Moncton! The Belgian Rye IPA has recently been available on tap at the Tide & Boar, and has reportedly been selling very well. Dixon has confirmed that this beer will continue to be sold at the T&B for the time-being, so if you’re in Moncton and haven’t tried it yet, now’s your chance! Check out their latest blog post for more thoughts from the Grimross Team.
• Continuing with new-beer news, Hell Bay Brewing has released their new seasonal beer, Wee Heavy. A Strong Scotch Ale brewed with six different malts, it’s described by the brewer Mark Baillie as “a slightly sweet, rich and malty beer with caramel flavours and hints of smoke”. Coming it at 8% ABV and just under 20 IBUs, it’s currently available in bottles at the brewery, and should be arriving at Premier Wine & Spirits in Halifax this weekend.
• Paddy’s Pub in Wolfville has released their newest seasonal beer, S’Mashed Pumpkin Ale. Weighing in at 5.2% ABV, the beer features a bright orange colour and hints of pumpkin pie spice, backed up by clean malt flavours of pilsner, Vienna and crystal malts. Like their Acadian Cream, Raven Scottish Ale, Annapolis Valley Ale and Blueberry Ale, the S’Mashed is also available in growlers at the pub. Unfortunately, their Chimney Swift Stout is not available in growlers, as it is served on nitrogen, and this technique does not fare well in bottles.
• Meanwhile, it looks like the Gahan House Pub plans on having a new beer to release soon. Details are extremely slim, but it appears to be brewed with locally-grown hops; where exactly the hops are from, however, remains to be revealed. It appears that the beer has been brewed at the pub, and not at the PEI Brewing Co.
• If you’ve been itching to get your hands on one of those hand-crafted Shiretown Beer steins, they’re available again! This is the third release of the mugs, which are made by Monique (Bujold) Brown of Barlicoco Pottery. Only 15 were made; at $35 each, they’re going fast. They can be purchased at the brewery, or check out their Facebook page for availability.
• A reminder that Garrison Brewing is serving up some special beers as part of their King’s Wardroom Wednesday Firkin events. This week’s beer was “Jack’O’Dubbel”, a Belgian Dubbel style Pumpkin Ale. If you are a King’s student, alumni or friend of one, don’t miss out on these special one-off releases, tapped promptly at 4:30pm.
• The Antigonish Townhouse is catching up with the great demand for their in-house brewed beer, and Terry’s Best Bitter is in steady supply these days. The beer is treated like a traditional Real Ale and is cask conditioned and on hand-pump, so best drunk fresh, right at the bar, we figure. 🙂 We’ve not had a chance to try it yet, but reports are very favourable.
• Stillwell Beer Bar is hiring a couple more people for their soon-to-be-open location. They are looking for both kitchen and front-of-house folks to round out their excellent team. Check their Kijiji ad for more details. Number one requirement: must love beer! There’s been a ton of work done at Stillwell since our visit last month; we’re looking forward to sitting down for a great pint soon!
• Finally this week, tomorrow is Learn to Homebrew Day. Organized by the American Homebrewers Association, this event is aimed at new (or soon-to-be-new) homebrewers looking to learn a bit more about their hobby, but all are welcome to take part. Despite its name, the AHA is an international organization, and there are events taking place in Atlantic Canada. Support your local homebrew shop and ask if they’ll be putting on an event. If not, why not offer to do one to share the great hobby with your friends and family? Sure, they always appreciate that bottle of homebrew you bring to the party/wedding/wake, wouldn’t they like to know how you made it? In Nova Scotia, Noble Grape is showing off a partial mash brewday at their Burnside store beginning at noon, and the Brewnosers are hosting a full mash brewday in Halifax, beginning at 10am (yes, it does take a bit longer to do a full mash, but the results speak for themselves!). Come on by if you are interested in learning more.
And stay tuned early next week, as we’ve got a great interview with a couple of members of the Ladies Beer League regarding the Cask Event taking place at the Stubborn Goat Gastropub November 17th.

Friday Wrap-Up – PEI Brewing Co Oktoberfest, Picaroons Tap Takeover, Big Tide Pumpkin is back, New Beers from Sea Level and Garrison and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-10-25
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Hart & Thistle, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Railcar Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. 5 comments

It’s the last Friday of the week, which means it’s time for more Atlantic Canada Beer news!

• This Saturday, October 26th, the PEI Brewing Co. is holding their Oktoberfest celebration at their location in Charlottetown, from 1-6 pm. With no charge for admission, there will be live entertainment and lots of food and beer for purchase; they will also be providing tours of the brewery for half-price. In addition, they will be holding their 1st Annual Growler Challenge! For $10, entrants will have a growler filled with the beer of their choice. All contestants will then hold the full growler at arm’s length, parallel to the ground; the person who holds out the longest without bending their arm wins a $100 gift card from the Murphy Hospitality Group (which can be used at the brewery). All contestants get to keep the growler afterwards, of course!

• Speaking of the PEI Brewing Co., it looks like their popular Lobster Ale from this summer is going to continue to be available through the coming months. While this Saison will still be found in bottles, it will likely start turning up on tap at the brewery and other restaurants/bars in the Maritimes. It’s currently available at many ANBL stores in New Brunswick as well.

• Tonight, Picaroons will be hosting a tap-takeover at Wilser’s Room in downtown Fredericton. Starting at 5 pm, all twelve taps will be dedicated to Picaroons beers, including their latest seasonal release, Harvest Ale, as well as special releases Plaid to the Bone and 104th Regiment. Live music by Nick Ferrio starts at 9 pm.

• And while we’re on the subject of Picaroons, they’ll be releasing their very popular Winter Warmer seasonal on November 1st. Based on the English Barleywine style, it clocks in at 7.3% ABV. No events are planned for the official release as of yet; follow them on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated!

• If you missed Big Tide Brewing‘s Pumpkin Ale brewed with fresh hops last month, good news! Brewer Wendy Papadopoulos has confirmed that a second batch has been brewed, again with locally-grown pumpkins that have been roasted in maple syrup and spices. While there were no more “fresh” hops left to use in the brewing process, Cascade and Hallertau hops were added to the boil; the 5% ABV beer also has cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander and ginger added in the brewing process. Get it at the brewpub (available on tap and for growler fills) before it’s gone!

• Garrison Brewing have released two fall favourites this week: their Martello Stout and Winter Warmer. With notes of chocolate and coffee, the Stout will be available for growler fills and bottles. The Winter Warmer, brewed with cinnamon and clove, and with notes of plums and dark fruit from the dark demerara sugar used, and a little more warming at 7.0% ABV, will be available in bottles only. Both are available now at the brewery, and bottles will be filtering out to the private stores shortly.

• Sea Level has released their fourth wet-hopped beer of the season, their Punkin’ Grinner Ale. This is a new creation for brewmaster Randy Lawrence, clocking in at 5% ABV and amber in colour with a unique balance of spicy and sweet. It features all local ingredients with roasted baby pam pie pumpkins from Sea Level’s own gardens, honey from Cosman & Whidden and Cascade hops grown on the Annapolis Valley floor. It is available now on tap at the Port Pub and in 1 Litre refillable growlers at Sea Level Brewing. Cans should be on their way to Halifax for this coming weekend, at Harvest Wines and Spirits, Cristall Wine Merchants and Bishop’s Cellar. Also take note that this will be the last Sunday that the brewery will be open for the year, so take advantage of the nice fall weather and go for a drive to the Valley this weekend.

• Uncle Leo’s Brewery and Big Spruce Brewing are both taking part in the Swine & Stein event at Pictou’s Palace Theatre this Saturday, 5-10pm. Your ticket ($15 in advance from Uncle Leo’s or Stone Soup Cafe, $20 at the door) gets you inside for a massive pig roast and great entertainment from local artists. The beer is extra, but we know you won’t mind paying for these two excellent breweries’ beers.

• The Hart & Thistle Gastropub will be celebrating brewmaster Greg Nash‘s 29th (again!) birthday in style tomorrow. Starting at 11am, they will be serving up a special burger, pork belly sliders and smoked brisket sandwiches. Oh, and beer too: the currently available Dank & Stormy DIPA, as well as a special 2012 keg of Commissar RIS. It will also mark the tapping of the 2013 edition of Hop Mess Monster, Nash’s ode to hops. This year’s beer clocks in at 11.5% ABV and 533 IBUs (calc), and features hops anywhere and everywhere throughout the brewing, fermenting and conditioning period. The ACBB will be in attendance, so come say hi!

• It looks like Railcar Brewing has finally found a new location for their brewery! After plans fell through to open in Railcar 3 at the Shogomoc site, owner/brewer Mitch Biggar recently announced on his Facebook site that the brewery will be located in the rear unit at 9172 Main St. in Florenceville-Bristol. With 1800 square feet available, Mitch plans on opening the retail store and tasting area by the end of the year, with the brewery hopefully producing beer sometime in early 2014.

• Bridge Brewing will be releasing their fall seasonal tomorrow, a Belgian IPA. The beer clocks in at 6.5% and 60 IBU, from the Centennial, Chinook and Brewers Gold hops. This is a very interesting style, with the spice and fruit character of the yeast blending very well with the hops. And don’t forget that they’ve extended their hours: Open Monday to Thursday 12-7pm, and until 9pm Friday and Saturday, and open 12-6pm Sundays.

• If events in Charlottetown, Fredericton, Pictou, or Halifax aren’t enough to satisfy you, don’t forget about Boxing Rock‘s Grand Opening Saturday in Shelburne. There are still spots available on their free tours, and there will be lots of fun activities, food and beer to celebrate their opening. Check last week’s post for more details.

• Premier Wine & Spirits in Halifax, purveyors of great beer, wine and spirits in Halifax, is looking for part-time clerk people. They are looking for folks to work 15-20 hours a week, and of course a knowledge (or love!) of beer and wine is a big plus. Drop off your resume at the store at 1535 Dresden Row between 10-8.

• The latest offering from the Newfoundland Artisanal and Craft Beer Club (aka Beerthief) is closing this Sunday. The brewery being highlighted this go-around is Muskoka Brewery, after a very successful offering in the summer. Their Dark Ale, Craft Lager, Twice As Mad Tom IPA and Winter Jack (Tennessee whisky barrel-aged Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout) are all up for grabs. To sign up and/or put in a request, contact Tom Beckett.

• Late addition to Friday Wrap-up: A reminder that signup to the Picaroons and New Brunswick Craft Brewers Association Homebrew Challenge is due November 1st. Beers can be dropped off Nov 1-15 at the Picaroons Brewtique on Queen Street. More info is available in our previous post. Good luck to all NB Homebrewers!

Another week with lots going on! Have a good weekend…

Friday Wrap-Up – Fredericton Poutine Festival Being Held Nov. 10th, PEIBeerGuy Tasting at The Landing Tonight, New Beer at Hart & Thistle, and lots more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-10-18
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bridge Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Grimross Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery. 3 comments

Good morning folks! Who feels like some beer news?

• On Sunday, November 10th, the Fredericton Poutine Festival will be held at the Delta Fredericton. Featuring all-you-can-eat poutine (over ten different types from four establishments), there are two sessions: a “Family Session” ($25) from 12pm-3pm, and a “Beer Session” from 6pm-9pm. The Beer Session has two options – a regular ticket ($35) that provides four 4 oz beer samples (in addition to the standard unlimited poutine and non-alcoholic beverages), and a “Beer Experience” ($45) ticket that gives you twelve 4 oz beer samples. At least 15 different beers from local breweries Grimross, Pump House, and Picaroons will be poured, as well as from McAuslan Brewery and McClelland Premium Imports. Tickets can be purchased here; the event is already over 85% sold-out, so don’t wait much longer to get your ticket!

• This evening,  the PEI Beer Guy is hosting a beer tasting at The Landing Oyster House and Pub in Tyne Valley, PEI. It will feature six beers of all different styles, paired with food from The Landing’s kitchen. Stephen was kind enough to give us a preview of the beer: Blanche de Chambly (a Belgian-style Witbier), AffIigem Blond (a Belgian Blond), Gahan’s Pumpkin Ale (a dunkelweizen with pumpkin), St. Ambroise‘s Oatmeal Stout, Barnone‘s IPA, and Mort Subite Kriek (a cherry lambic). As he told us, this is probably the first time a sour beer has been available in a restaurant or bar in PEI. Tickets are a steal at $30, so buy them online here, or call The Landing (902-831-2992) for details.

• Good news for craft beer fans in Moncton: Celtic Knot Brewing now has all four of their beers in rotation at both The Tide and Boar and Marky’s Laundromat. Hopicide, Not-Joe-Average, Dark Passage and Dubh Loki will all be cycling through on tap at both locations, so stay tuned to their Facebook pages to find out when your favorite(s) is/are available!

• A new beer is now available at the Hart & Thistle Gastropub on the Halifax Waterfront. Dank & Stormy is a juicy double IPA, weighing in at 8.2% and 83 IBUs (courtesy of lots of Centennial, Cascade and Columbus varietals). The hopping rate is massive at 6.2lb/barrel (over half a kilo per 23L homebrew batch), which means lots of late and dry hops to live up to its Dank name. The TubberRoe Robust Porter is still on as well, but who knows for how long!

• Also from the mind of Greg Nash, we have further information on his beer to appear at the Cask Days in Toronto this weekend. His IPA was actually brewed on the 10 gallon pilot system at Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyons Brook. An American-style IPA, weighing in at 6.8% and 66 IBUs, and a nice golden colour (7 SRM). That sounds like a great beer for a cask.

• The Belgian Rye IPA from Grimross Brewing that we reported on last week is still available for growler fills at the Picaroons Brewtique, and we now have some more information on the beer from owner/brewer Stephen Dixon. A rye IPA fermented with Belgian yeast, it pours a copper-brown color, and has aromas of orange, floral and candy. Hopped with Cascade, Willamette and Amarillo, and dry-hopped with Amarillo alone, it finishes quite dry, while exhibiting flavors of “rustic rye and spice”. The beer weighs in at 6% ABV.

• Bridge Brewing has extended their retail hours, so it should be easier for Halifax residents to drop by to purchase growlers, party kegs, and brewery swag. They are now open from 12-9 on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-6. Wednesday and Thursday hours remain the same, 12-7.

• After a successful soft launch earlier this week, the Stubborn Goat Gastropub will be opening today at 6pm. Reports from the event were very positive, and we hope to have a full report on the beer and food offerings for you shortly. In the meantime, follow along at their Facebook and Twitter pages.

• If you do not already have plans for this evening, there is a Winemaker vs. Brewmaster Dinner taking place at the Halifax Club. Beginning at 6pm, the $89 event allows the two Masters (Propeller‘s Brewmaster Bobby Zacharias and Blomidon Estate Winemaker Simon Rafuse) to show off how well their drinks pair with the five courses of food prepared by the Halifax Club‘s Chef Nelson.

• After an extremely successful summer with no time to breathe, Boxing Rock is finally ready for their Grand Opening! Saturday, October 26, from 12-6pm at their brewery at 78 Ohio Road, Shelburne, NS will be a fun afternoon of celebration, with tours and tastings for adults and face painting for the kids. The official ribbon cutting will take place at 12:15pm, and tours starting at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30. To make reservations for tours please call 494-9233 ext. 3 Tuesday – Saturday from 12-6. Congratulations to Emily and Henry and the entire Boxing Rock Family!

• We received some insider information that this weekend’s Rockbottom Firkin will be a London-style Porter.  Head on down at 1pm Saturday for the tapping of the firkin.

• Today, the folks from Crannóg Ales are visiting Jeremy and the gang at Big Spruce to brew up a collaboration beer. The two Organic breweries (the only in the country) will brew an Imperial IPA, that will feature BC Galena and Cascade hops, grown on Crannóg’s hopfield. Check their Facebook page throughout the day for pics of the action, and then the brewery in a few weeks to buy growlers of this tasty coast-to-coast collab.