Picaroons Traditional Ales

All posts tagged Picaroons Traditional Ales

Happy Friday, everyone! How about some beer news for this week?

Boxing Rock Brewery in Shelburne is opening Saturday! At their location at 78 Ohio Rd, they will have their Temptation Red Ale in 1 L and 1.89 L growlers, as well as some merchandise. The storefront will be open Monday-Saturday, and there will be a grand opening soon. They will also be at the Shelburne Farmer’s Market tomorrow. Welcome to the fast growing Atlantic Canada Beer scene!

Railcar Brewing Company, set to open late this fall, will no longer be housed in Railcar 3 at the Shogomac Site in Florenceville-Bristol, NB, despite a previous proposal being accepted by the town. Owner/brewmaster Mitch Biggar has posted on Railcar’s Facebook page that he is currently weighing other location options for the brewery. We’ll be sure to post on this nano-brewery’s new location and plans as soon as we can!

• Propeller Brewing Co is opening their Dartmouth storefront at 617 Windmill tomorrow. They will have growlers and bottles for sale, and their 16th Anniversary celebration beer should be available at both stores. It is an unfiltered dry-hopped Pale Ale. Eventually, the main production will switch over to the larger 30hL brewhouse in Dartmouth, but like all good things, it’s not going to happen overnight! We hope to have more details for you soon.

• Looking to attend the Brewer’s Bash in Fredericton, hosted by Picaroons, next Saturday, July 13th? Well, tickets have been sold out for some time, but organizers are still looking for volunteers to help out with pouring samples, tending the entrance and exits, running beer and ice, and keeping the site tidy. There are two options: one 4-hour shift in the morning or afternoon, and one 5&1/2 hour shift in the evening. Volunteers would have access to the festival after their shift is completed; while evening volunteers would obviously miss most of the festival, there will be a “post-event bonus” of some sort. If you’re interested, send an email ASAP to kim@picaroons.ca.

• On July 1st, shortly after our post in last Friday’s Wrap-Up, Grimross Brewing began selling their Cheval D’Or at the Picaroons Brewtique in Fredericton. The 5 bbl batch (155 U.S. gallons) of this Saison was also brewed at this location, and is available in 750 mL swing-top growlers. Those living in Fredericton will be seeing this beer on tap at restaurants and bars in the near future, along with some other Belgian-style beers that owner/brewer Stephen Dixon has planned.

• For those of you that haven’t yet purchased your tickets for August’s Fredericton Beer Run, here’s another incentive for you: one of the prizes for this event will be a private tasting of some of Red Rover Brewing‘s ciders. This will be just one of the craft-beer/cider related prizes available, ranging from random draws to swag and other items for the top runners in each distance.

Shiretown continues to expand the locations that their Blonde du Quai can be found. Check the ANBL site for exact details, but it can now be found regularly in some stores in Fredericton and Moncton, as well as Caraquet and Tracadie-Sheila, and on tap at good beer bars Marky’s Laundromat and the Saint John Ale House.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to enjoy the warm weather with some local and cold (but not too cold!) craft beer!

It’s been a hectic week at the ACBB “offices”, here’s the important news you need to know about beer in our area:

• Tonight, Picaroons continues their Plaid to the Bone launch in Perth-Andover. Featuring their Heather Ale, the “Picaroons Castle Ceilidh” will be held at the Castle Inn. The festivities begin at 7 pm, and will include the Southern Victoria Pipe Band and Fredericton’s Highland Dancers, followed by PEI’s Ten Strings and a Goat Skin (who continue to tour New Brunswick for this beer’s launch). There will be a large “Picaroons-infused” pub menu, with food items ranging from Best Bitter-battered onion rings to grilled salmon with Simeon Jones garlic cream. The launch continues Saturday night in Moncton at Plan B (after the beer festival), where Ten Strings will be performing at 10 pm.

Mirella Amato is in New Brunswick this week, taking part in events surrounding the Atlantic Beer Festival. She is hosting two events at The Station in Fredericton today: from 1-3pm, she will be running a mock beer competition, where participants will be able to taste some winning beers from the recent Canadian Brewing Awards, learn how to judge beers, and even do some judging themselves. This event is free and open to the public. Later in the evening (6:30-8:30), Mirella will be leading a five-course tasting, highlighting the style range of beers, and how they can pair with food in some exciting and fascinating ways. Tickets are $25. As mentioned in our previous post, she will also be leading a VIP tour of the Atlantic Beer Festival, including appetizers at Pump House, limo ride to the fest, and a guided tasting of a handful of the best beers on tap at the fest.

• Last Saturday’s grand opening of the new location for the PEI Brewing Company was a great success, with approximately 600 people attending the day’s events, despite less-than-desirable weather. Two new beers were introduced, a Blueberry Ale, and a Mango Wheat. While both beers will continue to be available on tap at the PEI Brewing Company (the Mango Wheat for a limited time only), the Blueberry Ale will also be pouring at some bars/restaurants on the Island, and can also be found in bottles at the brewery and at PEILCC locations.

• Halifax’s The Coast website has published its annual readers’ poll results, and Garrison Brewing Company has been selected as Best Craft Brewery! Runners-up were silver and bronze medal-winners, Propeller Brewing and Bridge Brewing, respectively. As for Best Brew Pub, Rockbottom unseated previous 9-time winner Rogues Roost to win the top prize. Rogues Roost finished second, followed by Hart and Thistle. Congratulations to the winners!

• Speaking of Rockbottom, their Insidious IBA (India Black Ale) is now on tap. This beer won a bronze medal in the American Style Black Ale (also known as Black IPA, Cascadian Dark Ale, etc) category at the recent Canadian Brewing Awards. Get it while it’s … cold!

• For those of you looking forward to getting a taste of one of the new Grimross beers tonight in Fredericton, there’s some bad news… the Love Your Balls event has been cancelled. We originally reported on this charity event last Friday. Looks like we’ll all have to wait another few weeks until Grimross is available commercially.

atlbeerfest

The Atlantic Beer Festival is taking place at the Moncton Coliseum this Saturday. There are two sessions: 2:30-5pm, and 7:30-10pm. Tickets are available at the Coliseum Box Office, The Pump House Brewery or BarnYard BBQ, and online at tickets.moncton.ca. The evening session is sold out, however there are lots of tickets still available for the afternoon session. The Beer Fest is partnering with the SPCA and United Way.

Exact details on the beers and breweries are not published online (check the Times & Transcript on Thursday for a full list), but I give you some highlights from the organizers and brewers I’ve contacted.

– Fresh off a CBA medal earlier this month, Acadie-Broue will be there with their Gaboteuse Belgian IPA. However, it will only be at the Afternoon Session, that’s worth buying a ticket for the session alone!

Shiretown from Charlo, NB will be there, pouring their Blonde du Quai, Big Brown Ale and a one off RodDog’s Amber Ale. Also only there for the afternoon session, I see a trend!

Le Troue du Diable from Shawinagan, QC will be returning, with a pair of beers, that are always hits with the craft beer fans.

– Local (and almost local) breweries Pump House, Picaroons, Big Tide, Garrison and Propeller will also be there, with some special casks and one-off beers that will not be available anywhere else.

– There will be a Maine pavillion, showcasing a over dozen beer that are not available at the ANBL.

We will post the final beer list as soon as it’s available. We expect to see over 140 beers, 30% of which are new offerings not usually available in NB. Some will be launched at the Fest, so this will be your first chance to try them.

In addition to the beer, there will be food vendors (pretzels!), with a BBQ/Smoking station set up with pulled pork and sausages. There will be music by Carey Beck and the 60 LPs. Free shuttle buses leave from the Coliseum to various spots around the city (Downtown, Riverview, etc), so be sure to take advantage and don’t drink and drive!

There is a VIP option at each of the sessions: you will start at the Pump House Brewpub, and meet your guide for the session, Mirella Amato. She is the only Master Cicerone[TM] in Canada, and will be helping folks get the most out of the Beer Festival. After some appetizers and a limo ride to the Coliseum, Mirella will bring you in the VIP entrance and then spend some time tasting some of the great beer available. She will highlight a few of the best beers, do a guided tasting at several of the difference booths, and assist you in hunting down the best beers for your favourites styles. To sign up, contact the ANBL. The ticket price is $99, and that includes your Festival ticket.

We’ll be there, and hope you will too! Cheers!