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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Four Rivers Brewing Co, Tatamagouche, Annapolis Cider, Garrison, Spindrift & more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2017-06-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Cider Company, Antigonish Townhouse, Battery Park, Boxing Rock Brewing, Fathers of Fermentation, Four Rivers Brewing Co., Gahan House (Charlottetown), Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Granite Brewery, Hammond River Brewing, Heritage Brewing, Long Bay Brewery, Low Point Coffee Co, Moncton Craft Brewers Collective, North Brewing, Picaroons, Red Rover Craft Cider, Roof Hound Brewing, Sociable!, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery, Unfiltered Brewing. 1 comment

Happy Friday, and the beginning of a long weekend (maybe… depending on your job I guess?)! Unfortunately, the weather isn’t looking too hot for celebrating Canada’s big 150, but don’t let that stop you from getting out and (responsibly) enjoying some of the fine local beer in your area. And speaking of fine, local beer, we’ve got some news to report on just that very subject…

• Bathurst, New Brunswick will soon be the home to its first craft brewery, as Four Rivers Brewing Co. is planning to open their doors this December. Family-owned and operated, the four owners are currently renovating an entire building to house the 15 bbl (1750 L) DME brewhouse, which will also be home to a taproom. Likely launching with a Pale Ale and Amber Ale, with plenty of seasonals and one-offs to follow, beers will available in growlers, cans, and on tap at licensees across the province. We’ll keep you up to date with Four Rivers’ progress, and will be posting a Q&A with the owners in the future!

• The kind folks at Tatamagouche Brewing don’t want us beer lovers going thirsty, so they’re releasing plenty of brews this week! Let’s get right to it by starting with the brand new ones. First up is Main St. Mayhem, a 6.3% ABV, 65 IBU American IPA brewed with Pale and Pilsner malt, and a bit of Wheat and Rye malt for some extra character. Hopped with Citra, El Dorado, Huell Melon and Mosaic, it was fermented with Vermont Ale yeast to boost that juicy character that we all love even more. Growlers are now available at the brewery, and kegs are in the wild… a limited number of cans will be released next week.

• Moving right along, Tata Brew’s latest kettle-soured Berliner Weisse is next, and they’re calling it Guava Heist. With a base of Pilsner and Wheat malt, and a touch of rolled oats, this beer was aged on organic guava purée. At a super-sessionable 3.6% ABV and 4 IBUs, look for this one to be released next week in kegs, growlers and cans. Curious what the base beer itself tastes like? Well, luckily the brewery racked off some of the “lemony, bright citrus” base beer so visitors to the tasting room could do a side-by-side with the fruited version; a few kegs have also been released to select accounts. Be sure to seek out both!

• Finally, a couple of Tata favourites are returning as well. Their RR#2, a 4.9% ABV, 18 IBU light Lager brewed with Malagash-grown hops, is out now in kegs, growlers, and cans. This time around, the beer was hopped entirely with Mt. Hood – small amounts in the kettle, but with very large hopback additions, giving “very earthy, grassy, and floral” aromas. And Sunrise Trail ISA, one of the brewery’s Session IPAs, is also back for summer, with a slightly-tweaked recipe. The grist still features 2-row and Pilsner malt, but the Wheat has been replaced with Spelt. Hopped with lots of Azacca, as well as some Falconer’s Flight, Hallertau Blanc, and Simcoe (to 30 IBUs),  this one will be around all summer at the brewery, bars, and private stores, with cans even hitting the NSLC by August!

• The latest cider in the Something Different series from Annapolis Cider is now available, for a limited time only. Strawberry Rhubarb is a delicious-sounding blend of the cidery’s cool-fermented dry apple cider with the juice of local, hand-picked ruby red rhubarb and garden strawberries, along with a bit of fresh-pressed apple juice to finish it all off. The final 6.3% ABV, pale-red, cider exhibits “bright notes of juicy strawberries paired with the bold zing of tart rhubarb”, with a crisp and refreshing finish that’s perfect for summer. The Blue Route will be the recipient of the 50 cents-from-every-fill donation for this release. Drop by the cidery today to get your fill!

• Garrison Brewing released another sour beer yesterday at the brewery. Sour to the People is a “Strong Sour Ale”, brewed with a simple grist of Pilsner and Wheat malt. Kettle-soured with a Lactobacillus pitch, no hops were added at any point in the brewing process. While the majority of kettle-soured beers tend to be in the sub-5% ABV range, this new brew comes in at 6.5% ABV, and has aromas of green apple, peach, and sweet malt, and more green apple and lemon on the palate. Drop by the brewery for a sample and growler fill, and look for this one to pop up on tap around the HRM.

• Spindrift has a new beer they just launched yesterday at the brewery, Blood Orange India Pale Lager. With a grist of Heidelburg (a very-light coloured malt), Light Munich, and Vienna, the beer was hopped to 35 IBUs with El Dorado, Chinook, Citra, and Simcoe. Aged on 900 lbs of pure blood oranges, it was then dry-hopped with more Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria… needless to say, we can expect lots of tropical and stone fruit notes to complement the citrus and red berry characteristics of the blood orange. This 5.5% ABV Lager is available now in cans and growlers at the brewery, with the cans likely trickling into private stores over the weekend.

• It’s Friday, which (usually) means that 2 Crows is releasing another small batch brew at the brewery! Crystal Rhythm is a “Brett Session Ale”, a 3.9% ABV, 35 IBUs beer fermented with Amalgamation, an increasingly-popular pitch made up of six different strains of Brettanomyces. With late boil additions of Azacca, Citra and Galaxy, the beer was dry-hopped with Simcoe and a touch of Calypso, and conditioned on lime zest. Described as “dry, crushable, citrusy, and a bit funky”, if all that isn’t enough to make you non-Haligonians want to move to Halifax, here’s something else – like the other small batch releases, it’s only available for pours at the taproom. Dang.

• Though we might be accused of stretching the credulity of “beer-related” on this one, hear us out. If you’ll recall a few months ago, we told you about the magnificent Calvados Foeders brought in by 2 Crows for some barrel-aging projects. As it turns out, beer isn’t the only thing that can benefit from some time in the barrel: a recent trend in coffee is to age green beans in a spirit barrel before roasting them. Dartmouth coffee and cold brew purveyors Low Point Coffee Co. (formerly Bottleneck Coffee) jumped on that train and hit up 2 Crows’ brewmaster Jeremy Taylor for some foeder time for a bean lot from Burundi. Already sporting notes of caramel, candy apple, lemongrass and a faintly floral aroma, it’s now been kissed by decades worth of Calvados which impart toffee and black cherry undertones and some noticeable boozy notes, especially on the nose. The gang at Low Point has brewed a small amount that you can look for to pop up around the city via keg accounts and the remaining roasted beans will be available by the bag. They recommend a one-cup method, be it pour over, siphon, aeropress, cold brew or espresso and would be happy to provide advice to you if you’re lucky enough to lay hands on some of these beans. And here’s where we come back around to beer: one of the popular uses for barrel-aged coffee beans is for flavouring big dark beers known for coffee flavours, such as Russian Imperial Stouts. So if you’re a home brewer with a RIS in the works, maybe consider some barrel-aged beans and making it an extra special batch. Meanwhile everyone else can look forward to the inevitability of a production brewery taking advantage of this new resource in town.

• Newly-opened Heritage Brewing in Yarmouth has already released a new beer, Rusty Truck Red Ale. With lots of malt flavour thanks to a grist of five different types of grain, the 5% ABV beer was generously hopped with Cascade to give a firm bitterness in the finish, as well as some citrus. Available at the brewery for growler fills on Thursdays from 4-8 pm and Saturdays from 10 am-4 pm, it’s also on tap at Yarmouth’s Sip Cafe. And if you’d like to win a Heritage gift card, share your experience with Heritage beer on their Facebook site and tag it with #HeritageMoment; the contest closes at 11:59 pm on July 1st.

• For those of you who miss having access to certain Red Rover one-offs, we have some good news to share: the cidery has announced a new Summer Series, where they’ll be releasing a different seasonal or Reserve blend every second Friday over the summer. First up this week is VeRRy PeRRy, a bottle-conditioned 7% ABV pear blend, which was packaged last year. All of the Summer Series releases will be exclusive to the Cider House in downtown Fredericton, and the Friday Farmers Markets.

• The menagerie on Halifax’s Robie Street known as Good Robot Brewing has a few things on the go this week, starting with yesterday’s return of their summer favourite Leave Me Blue, an easy-drinker in the pre-prohibition Kentucky Common style that’s much like a cream ale, but with a darker colour and more prominent sweetness. Meanwhile their Friday Cask in the Sun (possibly in-aptly named for today) will be their Goseface Killah with Watermelon and Arctic Kiwis. “But arctic kiwis haven’t come into season yet!” you say, to which the wise folks from GR respond, “yes, but we froze some last year so you could have some tasty beer in June!” Look for it to be tapped at 4 PM this afternoon. The Red IPA originally brewed for International Women’s Day back in March, Red Moon Landing, is returning next week with a minor recipe tweak to the grist (Pilsner replaces Vienna alongside Red X and flaked barley) but the same combo of GR’s proprietary bittering blend, Ekuanot and Perle. And finally, this week’s Beta Brewsday falls on a Wednesday due to GR being closed for a “Staff Appreciation Day” (read: digging another trench) on Tuesday. This week’s offering is called Re:Drella and it’s a 6.5% ABV and 28 IBU SMaSH of Red X malt and the super-versatile Australian hop variety Ella. As always, this Beta Batch was brewed by Kelly Costello, this time joined by Dan Hendricken.

• Deep in the downtown core of Halifax, Salter Street’s Tidehouse Brewing is welcoming back a beer that helped them make a splash when they launched in December of 2016. Enigmatic, an ‘India Saison’ marries the yeast character of a classic Saison to the hop-forward flavour and aroma of a modern IPA. This super hoppy batch was hopped with an alliterative assault of Ahtanum, Azacca, and Amarillo for a heavy grapefruit presence with lime zest and a light floral character. Get it at the brewery while it lasts! Meanwhile, the 3 principals behind the Tidehouse brand are going to be taking a well-deserved vacation from the 7th to the 11th of July. Does that mean you’ll be without tasty beer? Hell no! Once again, local home brewers Ian Wheatley and Nick Snell have stepped up to production batches of some of their beers on the Tidehouse system and will be hosting a tap takeover while Peter, Shean and Shannon get to remember what it’s like to breathe for a few days. Lil’Wheatey is bringing a Northeastern/New England IPA featuring big late additions and a double dry hop of Citra and Amarillo  as well as a kettle sour flavoured with raspberries he’s calling The Platinum Tart. We trust that he came up with that name all on his own ಠ_ಠ just like the Lactobacillus culture he grew to do the souring. Nick, on the other hand, will be bringing Smooth Criminal, a crisp Kölsch based on Pilsner and wheat malt that features Tettnanger hops, along with a Saison he’s dubbed Lanky Bastard that was fermented on a Saison yeast blend and hit hard with Mosaic hops. The alternative experience starts next Friday; and fear not, if your hankering is for Tidehouse standbys they’ll be available alongside the guest taps.

Get your butt out the door this long weekend:

• Rothesay’s Long Bay Brewery is officially launching with a soft opening today! Starting at noon, their first two beers will be pouring and available in growlers at the brewery’s location on 82 Marr Rd. The first beer is Chalice, a tribute to the strong blonde ales brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium. Pale, dry and refreshing, it’s a 6.5% ABV, 25 IBU ale that has a “classic spicy character” thanks to fermentation with a Belgian yeast strain and a small addition of Grains of Paradise. Secondly, they’ll be pouring Bantam, a 5.5% ABV and 40 IBU American Pale Ale named for the small but mighty chickens known for their attitude. This one is dry-hopped with classic American hops Cascade and Centennial as well as relative newcomer Citra for an unmistakable citrus hop presence to balance the specialty malts in the grist. So if you’re in Rothesay this afternoon, give a thought to stopping by and welcoming the latest addition to New Brunswick’s family of independent breweries and trying some beer! And if you happen by around 6 PM, you’ll find Josh from PEI hop supplier Darlings Island Farm holding forth on the subject of hops.

• With Canada Day this Saturday, a note about the provincial stores: the NSLC is closed, as is the NLC, ANBL stores are open 10-6, and the PEILC is open. In Nova Scotia the private stores are all open, but be sure to check that your local brewery is open. Breton Brewing is holding a Canada Day Party from 1-11pm complete with live music and beer specials, Quidi Vidi is open from noon for Pints in the Gut and selling the last few cases of the Central City Across the Nation Collaboration packs.

• Tomorrow, July 1st, Battery Park is holding a Gold Medal Patio Takeover to celebrate the four Nova Scotia gold-medal winners at this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards. Pouring will be Gus’ 65m and Midnight (Glenora Barrel-Aged BSDA) from North Brewing, Stayin’ Alive from Boxing Rock, and Vohs Weizenbier from Uncle Leo’s. The taps open (figuratively and literally) at 11:30 am and will keep pouring (not literally, hopefully) through the weekend, while supplies last).

• The Moncton Craft Brewers Collective is hosting the Canada Day Craft Beer Garden tomorrow, July 1st. Located at Waterfront Park with the other Canada Day celebrations, the tent will be set up in front of the courthouse. Over a dozen beers from the area’s finest craft breweries will be pouring, so pop on down to have a few (or more) and enjoy the fireworks in the evening, along with plenty of games and food.

• Stillwell is showing their love for Canada Day at both HQ on Barrington, and the Beer Garden on Spring Garden with summer-themed taps and bottles from around the Maritimes, plus some goodies from Toronto heavy hitters Bellwoods and Burdock (pretty much the only spot outside of the brewery to feature Motley Cru, for instance). Check out the at-opening taplist here.

• Join the crew from The Townhouse Pub in Antigonish in celebrating their Fifth Anniversary on July 4th. Kick it off 4-6pm with Happy Hour and oysters ($2/shuck), two (2!!) cakes being cut and served at 5:30 and 9:00, with food and beer pairings until 10:00, and live music from OQO. It’s sure to be a heck of a time, with plenty of SUDS Club members and neighbours dropping by to wish them well.

• Drop by Roof Hound Brewing just outside of Digby on Saturday July 8th 22nd, for a screening of “Sociable!“, the ode to Nova Scotia beer and those who make it. Filmmakers Helen and Chris will be there to introduce the film and answer any questions about their wild trip around the province filming, and the NS Craft Beer scene.

• Hammond River‘s major expansion from a 1 bbl, in-house brewery to a 15 bbl (1750 L) brewery with attached taproom is almost complete. The brewery will finally open its doors on Monday, July 10th., with the beer bar and attached patio accessible for your HR fix! All four of the first beers brewed on the new system (Gammie, Hopflash IPA, Blood Orange Hefeweizen, Blueberry Ale… and maybe even Paisley Park and the Galaxy version of The Vegas SMaSH IPA) will be pouring for pints and growler fills. In fact, you can drop by The Barrel’s Head now for a preview, as they are featuring the Gammie California Steam Ale on tap now.

Just a few more things this morning…

– Halifax’s Unfiltered has brought back another one of their classic DIPA SMaSH beer, this time the Mosaic-laden RSMA. Don’t remember what RSMA stands for? Don’t worry, a growler of this 7.5% ABV tropical fruit bomb will help you forget that you couldn’t remember. Available for growler fills at the brewery and pints and fills next door at the pub starting at noon today.
– The two local breweries taking part in the “Fathers of Fermentation” project, in celebration of the Peter Austin Brew Systems across the country. Sir John Eh-le is being released at both Halifax’s Granite Brewery and Fredericton’s Picaroons Brewery tomorrow. Check out our previous Wrap-Up for more information on the beer and project.
– Charlottetown’s Gahan House Pub has released a new concoction lately, Daily Dose Hard Root Beer. Weighing in at 6.5% ABV, it is available exclusively at the pub for samples, pints, and growler fills.

Friday Wrap-Up – Heritage Brewing, Bore City, TrailWay, Half Cut, Red Rover, Petit-Sault, Good Robot, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2017-06-09
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 902 BrewCast, Annapolis Cider Company, Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Fest, BarNone Brewing, Bore City Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Half Cut Brewing, Heritage Brewing, La Torta Pizzeria, Mill Street Brewpub, Moncton Beer League, PEI Brewing, Picaroons, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Red Racer, Red Rover Craft Cider, Roof Hound Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tide & Boar Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Trider's Craft Beer, YellowBelly Brewery. 1 comment

Good morning, and welcome to another Friday! As usual, there’s plenty of beer news to share for the week, so let’s not waste any time with preamble. Ok, truth is the site was down for awhile and we lost a lot of changes, including a witty intro, and I just don’t have it in me to try to come up with it again!

• Let’s kick off the week with the announcement of a new brewery on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Heritage Brewing is opening their doors for the first time tomorrow, at 19 Kirk St in Yarmouth. From 11-3, they will be pouring their four beer for sampling onsite, and in growlers to take away. They will be pouring their Amber Ale, Blonde Ale, Session IPA and/or Stout all day (or until they run out!). Merchandise, including clothing and glassware will also be available for purchase. Look for a full Profile with the Heritage crew Monday morning. Congratulations on your opening!

• Moncton’s Bore City is back on the board with a couple of new beers! First up is the recently-released Jus de Citra, which has been on tap at Marky’s Laundromat for a couple of days and is going fast. This American IPA is hopped entirely with, you guessed it, the beautiful Citra variety. A simple grist of Pilsner and 2-row malt, along with a healthy amount of Flaked Oats to boost the body, lets the tropical juiciness of one of our favourite hops shine through. Fermented with Conan to boost that juicy character even further, it weights in at 6.5% ABV and 68 IBUs. If it’s out at the Laundromat by the time you read this, fear not… you can always make the trek to Fredericton’s James Joyce, where it should be available on tap any time now.

• The other new beer from Bore City has been brewed and is just finishing up fermentation. Accordingly named Koalatee Pale Ale, this one was hopped with three Australian varieties: Ella, Summer, and Vic Secret. Expect plenty of citrus and tropical fruit in this brew as well; it should clock in around 5.5% ABV, and will be available within the next few weeks. As always, we’ll keep you updated!

• Now that there’s finally some inklings of nice weather in our area, those of you in Fredericton have a good excuse to head over to TrailWay Brewing to check out their new-and-improved patio. Luckily, they’ve also released a brand new beer to give you yet another excuse! Blueprint is the brewery’s latest Porter, described by the brewery as “chocolate-forward, sessionable, dry and crisp”. A popular style in the taproom (where you can pick up growlers, pints, and cans), this 5% ABV brew will also be available on tap around the city.

• Sticking around Fredericton, Half Cut Brewing has their first new beer in a while out and about the city. Tickle Fight IPA is a 5.8% ABV American IPA hopped with Warrior and Sorachi Ace, giving an “ample amount of bitterness, with lots of fruit character, including citrus, mango, and passionfruit”, according to the brewery. Look for it on tap at your favourite Half Cut tap account today.

• In cider news in the city, Red Rover has their first cask-conditioned release on at the Cider House as of this week. Paradise is a 7% ABV dry cider with a “sweet aroma of pineapple and a dry apple finish”; available only for glasses served in-house at the downtown location, be sure to drop in and try this limited released while it’s still available!

• You may have noticed an announcement from Petit-Sault about a new beer of theirs, La Madoueska, which they’re referring to as an “Acadien Brown Ale”. Brewed with a combination of “Pale, Caramelized, and Toasted malts”, it has an aroma of freshly-ground coffee beans and dark chocolate, accompanied by a fairly dry finish. There will be an announcement later today  by Sebastien Roy of Fils du Roy regarding this new “style”; you’ll likely be seeing several beers brewed in this way from Acadien breweries in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the 6% ABV La Madoueska is available on tap at the Petit-Sault taproom for pints, bottles and growlers, at ANBL growler stations this weekend, and in bottles at select ANBL stores.

• Good Robot is bringing back last year’s The Shocking Pink, a Gose-Radler hybrid of sorts that they originally introduced for the 2016 OUTeast Film Festival in Halifax. Well, the festival returns on June 15th, and so does version 2.0 of the beer! This hazy, straw-coloured beer is the brewery’s Goseface Killah with pink lemonade added, as well as organic teas “Queen of Tarts” and “Fruity Oasis” from DAVIDsTEA. Tart, salty, lemony, and fruity, v 2.0 will be launched on the 15th when the festival opens; look for it on tap across the city.

• Wolfville’s Annapolis Cider has released the latest in their Heritage Series, Old-Fashioned Gravenstein. Using only hand-picked, local Gravs, they crafted a 7.4% ABV cider with a fresh apple aroma and crisp, tart, flavour. This release is available exclusively at the cidery on Main Street.

• Mill Street St John’s has released a new beer, taking inspiration from Italy. Terrazza Lager clocks in at 4.8% ABV and 30 IBUs, featuring biscuit and bread notes, with a spicy hop character from Saaz hops. Grab a pint or growler at the bar today, and at EVOO in the Courtyard, at Water and Beck’s Cove.

• Digby’s Roof Hound Brewing is putting the finishing touches on a brand new beer set to mid-next-week. Thyme to Grow a Pear Blueberry Kettle Sour is a complex and flavourful beer that will be hitting their taps, as well as licensees shortly. Featuring a light base from Pilsner and Wheat malts, the beer was soured in the kettle thanks to a healthy dose of yogourt (which contains the necessary Lactobacillus bacteria). After a couple of days letting those guys do their work, the beer is boiled to kill them off, at which point Pear puree was added. After further fermentation with a traditional yeast, Blueberry puree made its appearance in the beer. And while the beer finished its conditioning and carbonation, fresh Thyme was added to the brite tank. All of this culminates in a 3.9% ABV acidic, yet clean, beer, with a lovely thyme and fruit finish.

• You may have spotted a new publication in Nova Scotia breweries this week, the NS Beer Guide. Published independently from any brewery or organization, it aims to put the information for all Nova Scotia breweries together in one book for easy reference. Follow along on their social media pages to see where the guides have been delivered to grab yours over the next few days, as they visit all of the breweries in the province.

• On the Isthmus of Chignecto (try saying that after a couple beers), Trider’s in Amherst has a new beer in bottles. My Honey, My Heather is the result of experimentation that followed after a local honey producer approached Trider’s and asked if they wanted to do a honey beer. The beer uses a few buckets of wild honey and the team is pretty happy with the result; it also contains heather, hence the name. Meanwhile, if you’re in Halifax and you’re wondering where you might find Trider’s brews on tap, we’ve got the scoop: The Local on Gottingen has had White Ogre and Rod’s Red, The Stubborn Goat will be serving Rod’s Red as well, and the Timber Lounge will have 500 ml bottles of the Brew-Deau. More accounts will no doubt follow in coming weeks; we’ll let you know as we’re made aware.

• On the South Shore of NS Boxing Rock is holding a contest to name their latest beer, this one a Cream Ale brewed specially for the Tall Ships visit to Shelburne on August 14th and 15th as part of the RDV2017 Guest Port Program in Canada to celebrate Canada 150. Your prospective name needs to be submitted in person at the brewery (open 7 days a week, 11AM – 7PM) between June 8th and July 8th to qualify. The winner will be revealed at Boxing Rock’s birthday party celebration on July 8th. This isn’t a ballot-box stuffing style contest, it’s all about creativity, and we’ve been assured that “Beery McBeerface” isn’t in the running. We’re told that the beer itself is light and easy-drinking, with a grist comprised of 100% malt. Hopped with both European noble and North American varieties for a light bitterness and mild aroma, it weighs in at 5% ABV.

• Halifax’s 2 Crows tapped a new beer yesterday afternoon, a “super tropical” brett pale ale called Angel Eyes. Fermented with a blend of Brettanomyces strains, it’s a healthy 6.5% ABV and a solid 34 IBU. Dry hopped with new world hop varietals Azacca, Galaxy, and Citra, expect a juicy and funky presence, with a dry finish and a strong pineapple and lemon notes. Brewmaster Jeremy Taylor even gave a shoutout on Facebook to our own Shawn Meek and a similar recipe he concocted a couple of years back (but don’t tell him that, it’ll go right to his head). This is a very limited release, with only 250 litres available on tap at the brewery. And speaking of the brewery, 2 Crows now has a patio with seating for 20 out front on Brunswick Street. We suspect that a pint of Angel Eyes and a seat on the patio might be an excellent squad goal for craft beer lovers in Halifax this weekend! And if Brett isn’t your thing, there’s still some of the 2 Crows x 902 BrewCast In Theory to be had.

• You may remember the Pucker Up Cranberry Hibiscus Wit originally launched by Garrison back in 2015. They’ve revamped the beer as a kettle sour, and have re-launched the beer as Pucker Up. This bright red beer is brewed with Pilsner and Wheat malt, and was soured with Lactobacillus bacteria, before being briefly boiled (but no hops were added to the brew). It still has the pomegranate and hibiscus notes like the original beer, and comes in at a quaffable 4.7% ABV. The brewery describes the taste as “Fun Dip for adults”, which probably gives you a pretty good idea of the flavours! Available at the brewery for tasters and growlers now, look for it to follow at local tap accounts very soon. And in other Garrison news, they’re once again putting out calls for locally-grown rhubarb! Bring your fresh, usable rhubarb in to the brewery (leaves removed, please) for a free taster, plus an in-store credit of $1 per pound (limit of 10 lbs per person).

Another busy weekend ahead of us, folks!

• Starting today, visitors to Schoolhouse Brewery‘s new Windsor location will be able to grab a full pint of Schoolhouse’s, and guest breweries’, beer.  Drop by 40 Water Street today at 3:20PM (when school lets out, off course) until 9PM, or on the weekend from 11AM. While there, pick up your tickets for their Graduation next weekend, and GradParty after the day’s “formal” fun is done. They’re hosting a Four Square Tournament that day as well, be sure to sign up early to secure your spot! And keep your eyes open for the return of favourites Skratch Plaskett – Electric Tambourine Ale and Vice-Principal Session IPA, both slated for their return next week.

• Good news (Prince Edward) Islanders! Beginning tonight, BarNone Brewery in Rose Valley is open for pints and growler fills on both Thursday and Friday evenings! From 6-10pm both nights, drop by the brewery to check out what’s newly released, what’s coming next, and take a seat upstairs in the auditorium for some great local music. Friday’s music leader is Jon Rehder, and will feature plenty of local and visiting musicians throughout the summer.

• For those in the Annapolis Valley (or looking for an excuse to head there), La Torta Pizzeria in Wolfville will be hosting a Tap Takeover by Halifax’s 2 Crows Brewing Saturday from 3pm. Featuring their core lineup, as well as several one-offs and brand new offerings, be sure to drop by for a slice and flight tomorrow. (If you can’t wait to see what’s available, checkout La Torta’s IG  for the details)

• There are few good reasons to stay close to Moncton’s Tide & Boar tomorrow morning: at 10AM they are holding the latest of their Growler Fill Mornings, when they offer some of their house-brewed beer in a take-away format. This weekend’s offerings are Pow Pillows IPA (a New England-style IPA with Citra, Galaxy, and Nelson Sauvin hops, with some lactose for residual sweetness), Hand PlantIPA (all Galaxy, and a non-flocculating yeast for a hazy outcome), and Layback Lager (brewed with rye, New Zealand hops, and fermented with a German lager yeast). And stick around until 11AM, where you can grab a pour from their single bottle of Sam Adams Utopias, the 25%ABV+ beer that drinks more like whisky than a beer. Plus those who do purchase a 1 ounce pour with have a chance to win the iconic bottle.

• Now that the Central City “Red Racer Across the Nation” collaboration twelve-pack can be found in three of the four Atlantic Provinces (ANBL, NLC, Bishop’s Cellar and Cristall Wine in NS, with PEILCC to come very soon), the dates and details for the kick-off parties are all set. Next week, the good folks from Central City will be visiting our region, pouring the collaboration beers, and having a proper East Coast time:

– June 12th at Quidi Vidi. 4:30-10PM. Sample all twelve beers, plus grab pints of QV’s collab brew too. Food onsite. Facebook Event.
– June 15th at PEI Brewing Co. 5-9PM. Live music and pints of the PEIBC collab beer. Facebook Event.
– June 16th at Picaroons. 5-11PM. Live music, collab 12-packs for sale, food and beer. Facebook Event.
– June 17th at Garrison. 1-4PM. Free samples of Garrison’s collab, plus meet the folks from Central City. Facebook Event

• After a brief stint on tap last month, YellowBelly has brought back their Ryan’s Fancy IPA, which is available in bottles at the brewery now, and select NLCs this weekend. Celebrating the eponymous iconic band that formed in 1971, the beer will be re-launched in earnest June 13th at their “What a Time – Volume 2” CD release party at O’Reilly’s Pub, at 7PM.

• The Moncton Beer League will be holding their next Urban Beer Hike in downtown Moncton June 17th. Start your afternoon of fun at Marky’s Laundromat, and hit up four other bars for a taste of the region offers. Grab your tickets today!

• We don’t want the summer to go by too quickly (hey, we’ve earned it!), but a reminder that tickets for this year’s Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Oktoberfest (being held on Saturday, September 30th) go on sale today at noon. Featuring unlimited beer samples from many local craft breweries, there are two ticket options available: regular tickets get you entry from 7:30-10:00 pm and a takeaway glass, VIP tickets get you in at 7 pm, and “VVIP” tickets get you a special glass, access to an industry panel discussion, and a guided beer tasting. Ticket prices range from $58-$75+fees, and are available here. Check out the link for additional festival details. As in the past, funds will help support the United Way of Greater Moncton.

Just one more more beer to keep an eye out for this weekend:

– Attention, Halifax  beer drinkers: keep your eyes open for a new Tidehouse brew, Simcoe Krush (5.2% ABV, 30 IBUs), an American Pale Ale focusing strongly on Simcoe hops.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Gahan Halifax, Red Rover, Grimross, Tidehouse, Graystone, Foghorn, Good Robot, Big Spruce, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2017-04-28
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Chill Street, Foghorn Brewing, Gahan House (Saint John), Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Good Robot Brewing, Graystone Brewing, Grimross Brewing, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Tidehouse Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Welcome to another Friday, and another dose of the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog! After an extremely busy week last week (close to 4,000 words of news to share), things have quieted down a little this week, as the build up to Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week continues. But there’s still some stuff going on in the beer world, so let’s get to it!

• On the Halifax waterfront, Gahan Halifax has a couple of new brews coming to tell you about. The first is a Kettle Soured Brown Ale called Impatience based on their Iron Bridge Brown and brewed with a visiting Spencer Gallant from PEI Beer Company. Soured with Lactobacillus, hopped to 20 IBU, fermented, and then aged on raspberries, Morello cherries and strawberries, it features fruit flavours mingling with chocolate notes from the darker malts along with a lactic bite, so expect this 5.3% ABV brown to be thirst-quenching, yet complex. A very limited release will see a couple of kegs served at Gahan and the rest being distributed to licensees. Keep your eyes peeled for it to show up on the wall at Stillwell and potentially other locations.

• And to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in style, Gahan will be cracking their first kegs of Cerveza Maritimo, a Mexican Lager, next Friday on May 5th. Featuring a characteristic element of flaked yellow corn to the tune of 20% of the grist, it was fermented using the White Labs Mexican Lager strain, yielding a very dry and clean beer, perfect for patio season. It’s an extremely sessionable 4.5% ABV and a very light 12 IBU. Only two batches of this are planned, so if you see yourself sitting at a waterfront patio on a Halifax summer day with a well-made crisp light lager in hand, Gahan will have your hookup. You can get yourself a (weather-dependant) preview next Friday from opening!

• And in very preliminary news from Gahan this week, they’ve just announced that they will be opening a location on Prince William Street in Saint John, NB, this fall. We’ll have more details on this as we gather them, of course. This will be the second (or first, actually) Gahan House location in New Brunswick, as the Murphy Group is developing a location in downtown Moncton to be opened in the next twelve months, inside of a boutique hotel.

• Red Rover was in attendance at the 12th annual Great Lakes International Cider and Perry (GLINTCAP) competition last weekend in Grand Rapids, MI, and won two major awards, a first for the Maritimes! Their Summer took home 1st Best in Class (Modern-Dry), and their Barrel Reserve #2 (which will be released publicly this coming summer) won 2nd Best in Class (Specialty). With over 1200 entries, GLINTCAP is the world’s largest cider awards, so winning two awards is definitely no small feat! Congratulations! A little birdy also told us that Red Rover has some kegs going to PEI this week for the first time ever — if you’re a cider fan on the Island, keep your eyes peeled to see where those might turn up!

• Good news for fans of Grimross‘ Scratch beers, their ongoing series of one-offs – they’ve brewed up Scratch #4 and released it earlier this week at the brewery taproom. A Vienna Lager brewed with 80% Vienna malt in the grist, it was lightly hopped with Magnum and Saaz. With a light amber colour, and a malty sweetness nicely balanced by a low bitterness in the finish, this 5.1% ABV, cool-fermented beer is meant to be easy-drinking and consumed in quantity. Drop by the taproom for a pint and growler fill today!

• Downtown Halifax’s littlest brewery Tidehouse is releasing a brand new beer today at their Salter Street brewery/retail location, and at tomorrow’s Halifax Forum Farmers’ Market. Red Right Return is a 6.0% Red IPA, featuring a base of 2-Row, Mild and Red X malts, with a touch of Munich and Chocolate malts for colour and flavour, and Wheat malt for body. The hops chosen for this darker IPA were Cascade and Falconers Flight, added late in the boil and post-fermentation, for lots of citrus and pine and tropical fruit notes, but still sporting a healthy 55 IBUs. The name is a nod to the marine mnemonic to keep right of red marker buoys as you navigate your vessel home. As with all of the TH releases, these are small batches, so best to grab a growler today to avoid disappointment! It *might* show up on tap around Halifax, but better to be safe than sorry!

• The folks at Fredericton’s Graystone went down to Rothesay to pay Foghorn Brewing a visit and collaborate on a new beer. Roxie is an American Wheat Ale hopped with Huell Melon and Simcoe that comes in at a very easy drinking 4.5% ABV. Hopped to 35 IBU for a medium bitterness to balance the wheat, it also features mild notes of melon and strawberry. Definitely a summer sipper for the patio! You’ll find it on tap at both breweries and stay tuned, as Graystone is planning to brew a second version in the near future.

• There’s another new Beta Beer release coming from Good Robot, which will be released this Sunday, April 30th during their A Night at the Hog’s Head event. And if you’re in any way a Harry Potter nerd, you probably already know what it’s going to be named, right? Yep! Butterbeer is a “full-bodied and creamy” Scottish Ale brewed with Wheat and Honey malt, and hopped with Saaz and Tettnang to 11 IBUs. Featuring a large addition of lactose powder for some additional sweetness, as well as some nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to attempt to duplicate what those crazy teenage wizards and witches were imbibing… except we don’t think theirs had alcohol, did it? Either way, the Good Robot version is pretty sessionable at just 4.2% ABV. As with all Beta releases, only a small amount (2 x 20 L) will be available in the taproom, so don’t miss out! Check out the event link for more details on other Harry Potter-themed activities that will be going on Sunday.

• And in news that we think will resonate with true brewing geeks in the region, GR’s Erica Fraser is heading to Montreal for the Siebel Institute Brewing Microbiology course. This is an intensive two-week course that is designed to arm those who take it with both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to set up an effective quality control/quality assurance program in a brewery. We look forward to seeing the positive impacts of Erica’s newfound knowledge at Good Robot and expect other breweries may look to her for some knowledge sharing as well.

• With Big Spruce getting their increased production and canning line on the go, and with Tweets like this one hitting the wire, it seems like an opportune time to remind everyone of the futility of saying “never”. To celebrate, you might sneak on down to Bishop’s Cellar, where a few cans of Tim’s Dirty IPA made an early appearance yesterday afternoon. Be fast though, what’s left is not likely to last long today! This is the first wave of their canned product to be made available, which will expand to include Kitchen Party Pale Ale and Bitter Get’er India Black IPA (these three will be on the NSLC shelves in May), with Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout and Silver Tart to be canned shortly and available at the private stores exclusively. Cans of Tim’s Dirty are already at the brewery in Nyanza (and may see Kitchen Party later today), along with bottles of the 2017 release of Ra Ra Rasputin Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, so we suggest dropping by the brewery to pick them up.

• Propeller Brewing‘s latest One Hit Wonder is Vienna Brown, their own take on the classic Vienna Lager. At 5.5% ABV and 15 IBUs, the stats may read the same as traditional VLs, but the Prop Crew left out some of the dark malts that can be found in Continental versions, and opted to use an ale yeast rather than the traditional lager. According to Prop, “the result is a dry, malt-forward, lightly-hopped sessionable beer of substance. Perfect for an early spring day in Nova Scotia”. As with all their OHW releases, you’ll have to go to the brewery (either Gottingen or Windmill) to grab a growler of it, or get lucky and spot it on tap at one of a couple bars.

Just a couple of events to mention this week as we prep out NSCBW post for Monday…

• Schoolhouse Brewery is officially opening the doors of their Windsor location this weekend, with the retail location open 11-8 both Saturday and Sunday. Growlers and bottles are available for purchase, and flights of samples are available as well. Drop by 40 Water St to get schooled!

• As if there weren’t enough events going on during Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week, kicking off 10 days of beer fun around the province is an Upstreet Tap Takeover at Battery Park on Thursday, May 4th. This all-day, no-charge-to-attend event will feature 14 beers (and 1 soda!) on tap from the crew at Upstreet. The full tap list will be revealed as the week goes on via Battery Park’s Twitter feed, but we’ve heard rumors that you’ll find all the core beers and recent seasonals, at least one cask, a nitro pour and then two very special favorites including a last keg ever; but the crowning glory may very well be a special “dessert” beer that Hogie brewed up special for the occasion. Speaking of Mr. Hogan, while he and the crew are in the province he’ll be brewing with the team at North Brewing something special for an event at the Upstreet Taproom in June.

• The next Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection social is happening May 10th at the Picaroons Roundhouse. Meet other beer fans at Pics’ new brewery location for a tour of their spot and a flight of beers. Find out more details on the FB Events page, and be sure to RSVP via email to secure your spot (these always sell out!).

A couple more things before we sign off this week:

– Nackawic’s Big Axe Brewing released Solstice this week, a 5.0% ABV Witbier. Brewed in the traditional style, it is available at the brewery, and James Joyce Pub in Fredericton, now. And keep an eye out for a new sour to be released in the next few days. We’ll have all of the details next week!

– Chill Street have launched their social media pages on Facebook and Twitter this week, ahead of their launch this summer. Located in the Elmsdale Sobey’s, they will be serving beer and cider fermented using a SmartBrew Ferment on Premise system. These allows the retailer to purchase wort made elsewhere, with the final steps of fermenting and packaging done on site. Look for growlers and cans to be available in the coming months at their location, and we’ll keep you up to date with their progress.