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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Sober Island, Gahan House, PEI Brew, Big Tide, Meander River, Propeller, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2016-05-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Fest, Big Tide Brewing, Breton Brewing, Downeast Beer Factory, Gahan House (Charlottetown), James Joyce Irish Pub, Maybee Brewing, Meander River Farm and Brewery, NS Craft Beer Week, PEI Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Sober Island Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Unfiltered Brewing. 1 comment

Happy Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week! We hope those of you in the province, or nearby, will make it out to one or more of the events happening all week, including the Cape Breton Kitchen Party in Sydney, or the Beer & Beethoven in Halifax. Check out the #NSCBW Guide we published yesterday for the scoop on the next 10 days of beer fun! And keep your eyes open for plenty of new beer alerts throughout the week; we’ll do our best to retweet and FB-share them so you won’t miss out!

• After a sneak peek at this year’s Saltscapes Expo, Sober Island is officially open, and serving beer! Their current home in Sheet Harbour, Henley House, opened yesterday for the season, so Eastern Shore fans will now have access to a steady supply of their beers. Drop by for a pint of their Oyster Stout, English Golden Rye Ale, or their very own Henley House Private Ale. This 4.8%, 34 IBUs Ordinary Bitter features all late-addition East Kent Goldings hops, and is fermented with an English yeast for a taste of the UK. Sober Island will also have a brew on at this weekend’s Stillwell Open, and is gearing up for festival season, with plans to attend the Cold Waters Seafood Festival June 4-5, and NorthumBeerFest at Pictou Lodge June 11. They are also in the process of finding a Farmers Market location for the summer, so stay tuned for that. While set up at the market, instead of growlers, they will be using Crowlers, the can-on-demand system popular in the US. These 950mL cans are great for taking on the boat, camping, hiking, or to the beach, where glass can be dangerous/forbidden. They will be installing the system in their rolling beer trailer, and will eventually institute Crowler Delivery runs to town.

• Turning now to another Island, there’s a couple of new beers on tap at the Gahan House Brewpub in Charlottetown, PEI. First up is ESB, an Extra Special Bitter that comes in at 6.5% ABV and 65 IBUs. Featuring late hop additions of East Kent Goldings and Fuggles to boost the herbal and earthy aroma, this classic British style has been pouring for awhile now. More recent is Belgium Blue, a strong (7.6% ABV) Belgian style that was fermented with a blend of yeasts, giving it a “spicy banana” aroma and flavour, according to brewmaster Trent Hayes. Be sure to stop by the brewpub soon to give both a try! And swing by the PEI Brewing Co. taproom for a taste of their newest cask, Chocolate Cherry Lager, a 4.5% ABV beer that has cocoa nibs and organic tart cherry juice added in-cask.

• In other brewpub news, Big Tide also has a new beer pouring at their location in Saint John. Cascade SMaSH IPA features a grist of German Pilsner malt, and lots of late- and dry-hop additions of the well-loved Cascade hop variety, sourced from local Darlings Island Farm. Weighing in at 5.25% ABV and 39 IBUs, this “very drinkable” beer has a “beautiful citrusy flavour and aroma”, according to the brewery. It’s available now at the brewpub for pints and growler fills. And coming soon from Big Tide is their Wild Weed Summer Ale, a 4.9% ABV, 15 IBUs Wheat ale enhanced with sweet gale, yarrow, lemongrass, cardamom, and coriander.

• Back to Nova Scotia now, Meander River has re-released their Summer Solstice Session IPA, a hoppy and sessionable beer perfect for when the warmer weather decides to stay for good! Hopped with Amarillo and Citra in the boil, it was further dry-hopped with Cascade to provide even more fruit and citrus characteristics in the aroma and flavour. This 4.5% ale is available at the brewery and Forum Farmers’ Market while it lasts. Meander River has also brought back their Scotch Ale, Surf & Turf, just in time for Nova Scotia Craft Beer Week. A silver medal winner at the 2015 Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards, it was brewed with peated malt and seaweed to give it a “smooth, savoury taste with an earthy scotch finish”; it weighs in at 6.2% ABV.

• Propeller Brewing has released their newest One Hit Wonder this week. Lil’ SIPA is a 4.4% Session IPA, with 27 theoretical IBUs, but as is often the case in beer, the numbers do not tell the whole story! Massive late hopping favours aroma and flavour over bitterness, so this small package packs a massive taste wallop. As always, the OHW beers are ONLY available for growler fills at their Gottingen and Windmill locations, with select kegs sometimes sneaking out to local bars.

• After a brief hiatus, Spindrift‘s Seventh Wave Series returns this weekend. These smaller, pilot batches allow the creative minds at the brewery to run a bit wild, and brew up beers that would otherwise be impractical, or not feasible. The series continues Saturday during Open Brewery Day, with Raspberry Session Saison, a 5% beer with 6 kilograms of raspberries added to the batch. And if that wasn’t enough, it was dry-hopped with whole leaf Citra hops. Grab this beer starting at 11am tomorrow. And Spindrift will keep the Seventh Wave going all week, with a new one debuting every day (or whenever the previous beer empties). Next up is India Session Lager, a 4.4% light lager with massive amounts of Citra and Simcoe at flameout and whirlpool (while the beer chills), for a seemingly-low 25 IBUs, but with plenty of flavour and aroma from the volatile hop oils that would otherwise be boiled off if added earlier in the process. They have several 7W beers locked and loaded to release during NS Craft Beer Week, so be sure to follow their Twitter feed for the announcements.

• Fresh off the great announcement of $436,000 of ACOA funds destined for Cape Breton, Sydney’s Breton Brewing took delivery of a Cask canning machine this week, and will be packaging their core brands of beer in the coming weeks. Look for their cans to hit the shelves of the NSLC, and private stores in the first week of June. And be sure to drop by Breton tomorrow during Open Brewery Day, as they will be launching Crazy Angus DIPA. With the malt bill being an amped-up version of their Black Angus IPA, this 7.4% ABV beer features a massive citrus punch from 85 IBUs worth of hops, including the always-lovely Australian Galaxy.

• With little fanfare, Downeast Beer Factory opened Sunday. Located in the former Brewdebakers location at 612 Windmill Road, the bar and grill is currently serving product from across the province, with 14 beers and ciders on tap. In the coming weeks, they will be adding their own house-brewed beers to the lineup, including Mylde Wylde Blonde, Fiddler’s Irish Red and Game Changer IPA. Their unique building location features a drive-thru beer shop, which will allow them to sell beer to go from other Nova Scotia breweries, when it opens later in the spring.

• Speaking of openings, Stillwell has announced the new location of their mobile Beergarden: the vacant lot at 5688 Spring Garden Rd. Nestled between Bookmark and Eastlink and across the corner from the Public Gardens, it will feature their iconic converted shipping container slinging local and imported beer (upgraded to 10 taps) and handheld “Summertime BBQ” food. Their friends from Manual Food & Drink will be joining them in the space, for some sweet relief from the hot weather (think ice cream and pastries). Construction has already begun at the location, and they look to launch the space in early June.

In addition to NS Craft Beer Week, here are a few more beer events worthy of your attention in the next little while:

• Tomorrow, May 8th, Stillwell is holding the second of their Rare American Beer Series, with several bottles from Mystic Brewery in Massachusetts popping all day. The En Garde, Connards! Biere de Garde, Flor Ventus Barrel-aged Wild Beer, Saison Renaud Saison (also available on tap), and Table Beer will be available by the full bottle, or 5-7oz pours. Look for some special accompanying beers on tap, and, as always, great food from the kitchen.

• The next Meet Your Maker event at the James Joyce will feature Big Tide, and has been scheduled for next Friday, May 13th at 7:30 pm. As always, there is no charge to attend, just show up for some Big Tide beers (there will likely be four different ones on tap) and have a chat with brewer Wendy Papadopoulus!

• As part of this year’s Festival Inspire in Moncton, they will be holding a Craft Beer Village June 18th. We are still getting all of the ticket details, but we do know that Bore City, Celtic Knot, Flying Boats, Maybee, and Picaroons will all be in attendance.

• The date for the second annual Atlantic Canadian Craft Brew Oktoberfest has been set for Saturday, September 24th at the Lion’s Club in Moncton. Featuring many local breweries pouring beer alongside local food stations, the 7:30-10 pm session (tickets $58+fee) will allow unlimited beer samples and a custom take-home glass; VIP tickets ($68+fee) will get you in at 6 pm, along with a special glass, guided beer tasting, and access to an industry panel discussion; a portion of the proceeds will go to the United Way. Keep your eyes on the event page, as tickets will go on sale sometime in July.

And in closing this week:

– Congratulations to Red Rover for winning medals at this year’s Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition! Their Blues, Fall, Fire, and White Witch all took home bronze medals at this competition. In celebration, they have (or had!) all these award winners available at their Cider House on Queen Street.
– Maybee Brewing has released their new Birdseye Pale Ale and recent Elevensies Espresso Stout in cans; a currently-ongoing issue with ANBL’s ordering system has prevented cans from hitting ANBL stores this week, but there’s still lots available at the brewery’s location on Wilsey Rd, so drop in to pick some up this weekend!
– The James Joyce recently registered their venue on the popular beer app/website Untappd, which means their entire draught list, event schedule, and more is available and updated in real time! Check it out here.
– Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing is releasing a new batch of the Double Orange Ale (DOA) today. This batch of the 7.5% ABV SMaSH was fermented with a famous Vermont yeast for even more juicy goodness. Grab a growler when the brewey opens at noon, or a glass at Charm School from 4pm.

That’s it for this week; have a great weekend!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Red Rover, Big Spruce, Picaroons, PEI Brewing, Garrison, Rare Bird, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-04-29
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Authentic Seacoast Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bore City Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Breton Brewing, Ducky's Bar, Federation of Beer, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Saltbox Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday everyone! Let’s hope that was the absolute last throes of winter this week, and we can proceed into spring now.

• Red Rover recently launched a new hopped cider, Hop to It, that is currently available in a very limited supply. Similar to their Hop Back in Time cask cider which was released at last fall’s Fredericton Cider Festival, this batch was “hopped with English varieties, blended to enhance the apple aromas, providing a slight citrus taste in the flavour”. As mentioned, only a very small amount of this 7% ABV cider was produced (400 L total); you can find it available for flagon fills at the Ciderhouse (at their new location at The Abbey on Queen St.) and at Red Rover market accounts, with one keg going to both the James Joyce and Saint John Ale House. If feedback is good, there’s a good chance we’ll see this pop up again, in bottles at ANBL stores.

• Big Spruce recently filled some Glenora Single Malt whisky barrels with their Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout, and that beer is ready for the world. Available exclusively at the Nyanza brewery, the stout features great aromas from the barrel on a base of the lovely coffee and chocolate stout, with a big of an alcohol jump to 5.5% ABV. Growlers and samples are available at the brewery now.

• A sure sign of warmer weather to come is Big Spruce’s other release this week, Silver Tart! This 4.5% ABV sour ale features loads of raspberries, for a great combination of aroma, flavour, and an acidic kick. Available on tap at the brewery, it will also be on tap at Battery Park, Good Robot, Primal, and Stillwell in the coming days. And keep an eye on Bishop’s Cellar’s Beer Page to see when they tap their shipment for growler fills.

• Picaroons has released the first beer in their Staff series in over a year, Iain’s CanadIain Stout.  Brewed by Iain Brannigan (one of the brewery’s cellarmen), this 7% ABV ale is “assertively roasty, with a well-balanced hop bitterness which goes down quite smooth due to the velvety nature of the generous helping of oats in the recipe”, according to the brewery. It will be available for growler fills only at both the Brewtique and General Store.

• Over on the Island, the PEI Brewing Co. has a new cask tapped at the brewery taproom; Way She Gose is, yes, a Gose, a slightly tart/sour ale brewed with coriander, and sea salt made by their own Al Douglas, from sea water off the north shore of the Island. If there’s any of this 4.5% ABV beer left, it won’t last long, so get down to the brewery to give it a try! Also, later today the brewery will be officially releasing their latest seasonal, Setting Day Saison, in cans. Light-bodied and golden-coloured, with high carbonation, this 3.5% ABV Belgian ale exhibits aromas and flavours of spicy phenolics and fruity esters. Feel free to show up at the brewery between 5-7 pm to celebrate its release with cans, taps, and music! It will also be popping up on tap at select PEIBC accounts.

• Halifax’s Garrison Brewing has a pair of new beers out this week. Their Sugar Moon Maple Ale is made with maple syrup from Sugar Moon Farm, adding to a base of Maritime Malt and some darker malts, for a toast and caramel character from this amber-coloured beer, lightly hopped with Millenium and Willamette. It is available at the brewery in bottles now.

• Returning today is Garrison’s Klignon Warnog Roggen Dunkel, a Dunkelweizen (German dark wheat) featuring a healthy addition of rye malt. This is an official Star Trek beer, brewed under the Federation of Beer name, featuring clove and banana aromas and flavours, along with a light sweetness from Munich malt. Available at the brewery in bottles beginning today.

• Guysborough’s Rare Bird has brought back their Maple Ale this week. Brewed not with water, but exclusively with maple sap as the base liquid, the beer celebrates the running of the sap with the cool evenings and warm days. Additions of syrup bump up the flavour (and alcohol, slightly, to 6.5%), and hops offset the sweet character, for a well balanced brew.  It is currently available at the brewery, and will be at Harvest Wines & Spirits this weekend.

• There’s lots going on at Halifax’s Rockbottom: they recently launched their latest new beer, Rye Pale Ale. Weighing in at 5.7% ABV, the beer feature rye malt in the grain bill, for a light spicy character, and experimental hop ADHA-529, for flavours of orange and black tea. It is available on tap, and in growler fills to take away. Look for a pair of new beers in the coming weeks, with Japanese Lager debuting next week. This 4.5% ABV beer was brewed with rice, and the lagering process leaves the beer with a clean, crisp, and snappy character, with notes of peach and lemon in the finish. Mid-May will usher in their Maibock, a higher ABV blonde lager, coming in at 7.2% ABV. The pilsner base malt shines through, as well as some toasty/caramel character, from light specialty malts. And for fans of their Fathom IPA, look for a variation in the hops used, which will alter the flavour profile slightly. The batch on tap now features massive amounts of Amarillo hops at flameout and dry-hop, lending a big citrus aroma. The next batch will feature Summit for a dank resinous base, with Cascade and Falconer’s Flight for grapefruit hop blast, and finshing “with a huge El Dorado/Mandrina Bavaria fruit-loop dance party”, according to Brewmaster Jake Saunders. All of these late- and dry-hop additions preserve the volatile essential oils in the hops, promoting flavour above bitterness (enhanced by the isomerization of the alpha acids in the boil). Be sure to get on both batches to get the full experience!

• Soon-to-open Saltbox Brewing in Mahone Bay has launched their Pioneers Club. For your $40 enrollment fee ($10 per year subsequent), you will receive an exclusive t-shirt, early notification of new beer releases, invitations to educational seminars, and a 10% discount on merchandise (beer excluded). Also this week, Sb announced that their brewmaster has been hired, Jeremy Fehr, a graduate of the Niagara College Brewmaster program. Also a highly-decorated homebrewer, he was most recently brewing at Neustadt Springs Brewery in Neustadt, Ontario. Look for the brewery to launch on Main Street Mahone Bay this summer.

• In a story with repercussions for beer lovers nation-wide, the judge is ruling today in the case of Gerard Comeau, the man charged in 2012 when he brought a dozen cases of beer into New Brunswick from Quebec. CBC had a reporter in the courtoom, live-tweeting the proceedings. He had been charged under the New Brunswick Liquor Control Act, limiting the amount of alcohol to “liquor not in excess of one bottle or beer not in excess of twelve pints “. He pleaded not guilty, and went to court to fight the law, which is in opposition to the Constitution Act of 1867. Section 121 of the Act states, “All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.” In the judge’s ruling, he concluded that the Fathers of Confederation intended inter-provincial free trade, and that evidence presented in the trial has altered the nature of the debate on the term “admitted free”. The announcement was just made, and the charges against Comeau have been dismissed.

As for what’s going on in the world of beer events in the coming weeks…

• There will be a special announcement at Breton Brewing today at 1pm. Mark Eyking, Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria will be making the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. In the spirit of local cooperation, beers from Big Spruce will also be available, taking over half of Breton’s taps. After the announcement, stick around for music from Angelo Spinazzola until 4:30pm, and come back for their Music on Tap! event with Robert White, 6-9pm. UPDATE: The event was an announcement that ACOA will be investing $436,000 in Big Spruce and Breton, to aid in their growth. Big Spruce is constructing a 5000 square foot building to expand their production facilities, while Breton will be purchasing a pair of fermentors, and a canning line. Full details here.

• Propeller’s next Prop’r Cask Night, featuring Krave Burgers, scheduled for tonight at the brewery’s location on Gottingen St. from 6-9 pm. There are still tickets available ($30 each, online or at the brewery), which include appetizers from Krave paired with several samples of Propeller beers, including a sneak-peek cask of their three-way Organic Collaboration DIPA Cerberus (with Big Spruce and Tatamagouche) their special cask ale that will be tapped at approximately 6:30 pm.

• The first in Stillwell‘s Rare American Beer Weekend Series is happening this weekend (April 30th and May 1st); this no-tickets-required event will feature Alaska’s Anchorage Brewing Company, with bottles of several of their “bright, funky, layered beers” being poured. In addition, several kegs of sour beers from Quebec breweries Dunham and Trou du Diable will be pouring.

• It’s not Father’s Day yet, but attention all Dads looking for a day off! Good Robot is holding their first Dad Day Afternoon this Sunday, May 1st at the brewery on Robie St. Featuring lawn games, a MarioKart tournament, haircuts and trims, and BBQ from Black Sheep Restaurant, it’s the perfect excuse for fathers to get together, drink some beers, and enjoy themselves… because they never do that any other time, right? 🙂

• Ducky’s Bar is holding a Beer and Food Pairing Dinner on Sunday, May 1st, from 5-7:30 pm. Hosted by Craig Pinhey, there will be four courses paired with four beers from different New Brunswick breweries, including Petit-Sault, Celtic Knot, Flying Boats, and Fils du Roy. Tickets are $45 each and are available at Ducky’s and Napul’è, with sales ending tomorrow night.

• Next Thursday, May 5th, Upstreet Brewing will be holding their Charlottetown Invasion tap takeover at Halifax’s Seahorse Tavern. Five Upstreet beers will be pouring from 10 pm to close, paired with live music from Charlottetown bands Sorrey, Raccoon Bandit, Coyote, and Whaleskin.

• Next Friday, May 6th,  is the start of NS Craft Beer Week. Kicking off the week on Friday is the Cape Breton Kitchen Party, hosted by Big Spruce and Breton Brewing, they have invited 10 NS breweries to Sydney for a right good Kitchen Party. Food and live music round out the beers, and the party is sure to keep going elsewhere in town once the event is over! Also on the 6th (and on Saturday, the 7th, too) Beer and Beethoven is returning again this year. With special guests The Irish Descendants, the event will have 6 different breweries in attendance each night, pouring their wares during a sampling period at the beginning of the night, and continuing for sales for the rest of the evening. Saturday the 7th is also Open Brewery Day, where breweries across the province will be opening their doors, holding brewery tours and events all day, to celebrate the local craft. Look for a full post and update to our NS Craft Beer Week Calendar and Map early next week.

A few parting shots this week:

– Bore City has been busy brewing, and will be re-releasing three of their beers – Night and Day Black IPA, Equilux APA, and Marécage Belgian Saison – at the Tide & Boar very soon, with both Night and Day and Marécage also pouring at Marky’s Laundromat in the near future. And for our Fredericton readers, look for the return of Equilux APA and Spacetime Odyssey Porter at the James Joyce this weekend.
– TrailWay has finished installing their new brewhouse, and will be brewing on the new system for the first time this weekend. Congrats! Look for the brewery and taproom to officially open sometime next month.
– We can expect more Petit-Sault beer to be hitting the market soon, as they’ve recently added two more 60 bbl (~70 hL) fermentors to their brewhouse. These additions will allow the brewery to brew more of their extremely-popular La Kedgwick, a Pilsner that undergoes a 6-week lagering period; meeting this demand will free up space for brewing their other flagship beers, as well as new one-off releases.

Friday Wrap-Up – FCBF summary & News from York County Cider, Red Rover, Annapolis Cider Company, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2016-03-18
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Annapolis Cider Company, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Boxing Rock Brewing, Breton Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Good Robot Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Newfoundland Labrador Artisanal and Craft Beer Club, Nine Locks Brewery, Paddys Irish Brewpub, PEI Brewing Co., Picaroons, Pump House Brewery, Red Rover Craft Cider, Spindrift Brewing, The Nook and Cranny, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery, York County Cider. Leave a Comment

Good morning! We hope everyone is recovering from a busy past week – with the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival last Saturday and yesterday being St. Patrick’s Day, there’s probably some recuperating to be done! Well, sit back and have a read…

• This year’s fourth annual FCBF was a huge success, as usual! Here’s a few stats to sum it all up for those of you who unfortunately were not able to attend:
– 1500+ attendees over two sessions (afternoon and evening), 50 volunteers.
– 52+ breweries, 200+ beers, ciders and mead, and 200 brewers and suppliers on-hand to pour and chat.
– $2000 raised for Mosaic Down Syndrome, and $20,000 to Team Diabetes.
– A new FCBF app was launched and very-well received.
Next year’s Fest Week has already been set, and will run March 5-12, 2017. Aims for next year are to build up the afternoon session even more, and offer more events throughout the week leading up to the festival, with several tap takeovers tentatively planned for across the city (think: NB, NS, and PEI pavilions of beer). And if you’re an FCBF Alumni (i.e. have attended all four FCBFs), look out for something special coming your way in 2017!

• Fredericton’s second cidery, York County Cider, officially opens for business today! After debuting their ciders at last Saturday’s FCBF, the storefront to their cidery – located at 418 York St. – will open to the public today from 4-7 pm. They will be selling 1.89 L growlers of their ciders, and will also be filling 1.89 L, 1 L, and 750 mL clean growlers from other breweries (prices for fills are $15, $7.50, and $6, respectively). Five different products will be available:
– In The Beginning, an original dry
– Sweet William, a semi-dry
– An Apple a Day, cider hopped with Falconer’s Flight
– Ginger Snap, made with real, fresh ginger
– Like an Academic, featuring 100% New Brunswick-grown blueberries
All of the ciders are made with locally-grown apples, and come in at 6.5% ABV. Glassware and t-shirts will also be available for purchase, and the storefront will be open all weekend (Friday 4-11pm, Sat noon-11 pm, and Sun noon-6pm). Be sure to drop by to fill a growler or two!

• And while on the subject of Fredericton cider, Red Rover opened their new storefront location last weekend. The Abbey Cafe is located downtown at 546 Queen St., and will have multiple RR ciders on tap for 5 oz samples, 12 oz pours, and flagon fills, along with a tap dedicated to guest cider in the future, and one tap dedicated to craft beer. Open 12-9 pm Monday through Saturday, the location also has equipment dedicated to 1500 L fermentation capacity, acting as the cidery’s pilot system, allowing RR to experiment with new styles. Note that the original Ciderhouse (880 Hanwell Rd) will still be the home of the majority of the cider-making and equipment, but will no longer be a location for flagon fills. If you’re downtown this weekend, head on in and check out the new spot!

• Even more cider news! Annapolis Cider Company has announced that they will be opening this April in Wolfville, NS. Co-founded by Gina Haverstock, winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, and Sean Myles, Dalhousie University apple researcher, the cidery and accompanying tasting room will be found on Main St. in Wolfville, where their ciders will be available for samples and in refillable bottles. Also on the team is manager Katie Barbour and cidermaker Melanie Eelman, who also has a PhD in Chemistry. Their first two releases will be Juicy & Sweet, a 5.6% ABV cider that combines dry-fermented cider with freshly-pressed apple juice, and Crisp & Dry, a 7.7% ABV cider that leans more heavily on cider, but still includes a “touch” of apple juice. Visitors will be invited to enjoy tours and tastings, and will be able to view the cider making process directly from the tasting bar. We’ll keep you updated on their progress; in the meantime, be sure to follow along with their Twitter account for more news.

• Grimross has a new beer out, Brett Saison. Fermented and conditioned for over a month with a blend of a Belgian Saccharomyces strain and a Brettanomyces strain, it’s a light golden, dry beer that exhibits “rustic” Saison characteristics, along with some light funk and fruity character from the Brett. If you’re able to purchase a growler to hold on to, you’ll most likely notice the Brett character increasing over time, as the yeast will continue to eat some leftover sugars. Weighing in at 6% ABV and 21 IBUs, this light and refreshing beer is available for growlers fills and pints at the brewery, and is on tap at select locations.

• There’s some new-beer news coming from Pump House this week. First off, they’re releasing two more beers in bottles at ANBL stores next week, one of which is Muddy River Stout: a long-time tap-only beer, it’s an Oatmeal Stout featuring lots of roast, Espresso, and chocolate in the aroma and flavours, and still manages to weigh in at a sessionable 4.5% ABV. The other is Best Friend Märzen Lager; not to be confused with their Oktoberfest seasonal, this is a different beer altogether that uses Hallertau hops for bittering (18 IBUs) and aroma to complement the “strong nose of sweet malt aromas” and a “pleasant sweetness from Vienna and aroma-friendly malts”, according to the brewery; it clocks in at 5.5% ABV. Finally, PH released a Black Irish IPA yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day. A big beer at 8% ABV and 65 IBUs, this dark IPA was dry-hopped with Warrior. On tap at the brewpub while supplies last, it can also be found at the new SJ East ANBL growler station this weekend.

• Halifax’s Good Robot has released their latest CommuniBrew beer in the SMaSH Bros series: Rakauchu IPA. SMaSH beers feature a Single Malt and Single Hop, and for his beer, local homebrewer Miles Bishop chose Munich malt for a light body with a touch of toast/bread/caramel flavours, and New Zealand Rakau hops. The hops were added throughout the brew, including first wort, and several additions late in the boil, for a pleasing bitterness and big nose of berry, citrus, and pear. As with all of the CommuniBrew beers, they are brewed on GR’s Sabco Brew Magic system, so there will only be one keg of the beer available, at the Taproom. And at a very sessionable 5.5% ABV, we suspect it won’t last long!

• In fact, look for GR’s next CommuniBrew beer to be tapped this weekend, The Cookie Jar. Developed and brewed by homebrewer Keith Forbes, this 8.2% White Stout is a hybrid of styles: the beer features big portions of Wheat malt and Oats to add mouthfeel and complexity to the Pale base, with a light bittering charge of Warrior to balance. The addition of Brown Sugar, Cinnamon sticks, Cocoa nibs, Lactose, Toasted Coconut, and Vanilla Beans take it to the next level, however! The resultant aroma and flavour is reminiscent of a Specialty Stout, with the appearance of a Pale Ale. Taproom only, folks!

• Paddy’s Irish Pub has a pair of new beers on tap, at both their Kentville and Wolfville locations. Their Black IPA is a 5.7% ABV dark beer, with a nod to American IPAs, featuring plenty of Falconer’s Flight hops for a robust 67 IBUs, and berry, citrus, and stonefruit characters in both aroma and flavour.  Their very popular Oatmeal Stout has returned: rolled oats give this 5.0% ABV beer a smooth mouthfeel, with the dark kilned malts lending notes of choclate and coffee. Both of these new brews are on tap at both locations, for both pints and in growlers to take away. And keep an eye out for a brand new beer, coming soon: Rye Saison. This 5.0% ABV pale saison was fermented with a Belgian yeast strain for big fruit and spicy characters, with a pepper note enhanced by the addition of malted rye.

• In more Paddy’s news, they will be hosting their second Brewer’s Dinner, Tuesday April 5th, 7-9pm. It will feature four courses of food, each carefully paired with one of Brewer Kirsten MacDonald’s creations from the brewery:
1st course: Spring salad with Blueberry Ale dressing
2nd course: Acorn squash stuffed with quinoa
3rd course: Beef Wellington (veg option: Veggie Wellington)
4th course: Sticky toffee pudding
The event will be taking place in the Brewer’s Hall, upstairs at their Wolfville location. Tickets are available at Paddy’s Wolfville now.

• Shelburne’s Boxing Rock has brought back two previous favourites this week. The first is La Rive Du Sud, a 7.5% ABV Bière de Garde. Based on the style originally (and still) brewed in Northern France, it is a malt-forward beer, with light toasted and caramel malt aromas meeting a slightly sweet finish with a touch of Noble hops. It is available at the brewery now in bottles and growler fills, this weekend at the Farmers Market in growlers, and on tap at better beer bars and restaurants. Also re-launching this week is Wild Axe Bohemian Pilsner. This 5.7% ABV is keeping it traditional, brewed with 100% Bohemian Pilsener malt and Czech Saaz hops. The extended lagering process leaves a crisp and refreshing beer that is supremely drinkable. The beer with be launched at Timber Lounge, a new Axe Throwing space on Agricola St, and will also be on tap around HRM, and in bottles at the private beer stores.

• Truro’s Nook and Cranny has released a new brew pouring this week. Their Amber Ale was produced on their DME Smart Brew system, which allows them to ferment beer right on the premises, adding in their own take on base recipes and styles. For the Amber, they dry-hopped the beer with Cascade, Centennial, and Galaxy hops, for a solid hop punch with stone fruit character. This 5.5% ABV and 55 IBUs beer is only available on tap at their pub on Prince Street.

• Attention St John’s (and the rest of the Rock) Good Beer Fans! The Inaugural St John’s Brew Fest is coming your way! Presented by some of the same people behind the Newfoundland Labrador Artisanal and Craft Beer Club (NLACBC, formerly Beerthief Beer Club), they’ve been sharing their passion for great beers to the public for several years, so a Festival is the next logical step. Featuring more than 60 beers from 20+ breweries (and the number is growing weekly), many of which are not otherwise available in the province, the three sessions will feature low entrance fees, and a pay-per-sample pricing scheme. This will encourage thoughtful enjoyment, rather than “trying to get one’s money worth” by drinking as much as possible. The event is being held June 17 & 18, with three sessions (one Friday evening, two Saturday), and tickets will be on sale Monday March 21st.

• From one Island to another, Upstreet Brewmaster Mike Hogan (from Prince Edward Island) is visiting Cape Breton Island’s Breton Brewing today for a collaboration brew. Inspired by the upcoming East Coast Music Awards, being held in Sydney April 13-17, they are having a jam session of their own today. An Extra Special Bitter, it features Maritime Malt, and New Brunswick-grown Golding hops. The beer will be launched at Breton at the start of ECMA weekend, and the Upstreet team, along with several of their beers on Breton’s guest taps, will be onsite to celebrate.

That’s it for this week! As usual, a few final notes:
– Picaroons had several variants of their Timberhog stout (such as Ginger, Coffee, and Chocolate Vanilla) available for growler fills at the Brewtique yesterday for St. Paddy’s Day; there may still be some available, so be sure to stop by if you missed out.
– Speaking of St. Patrick’s Day beer releases, there will be no 7th Wave series release at Spindrift today, as they did a special release of Dry Irish Stout yesterday for the holiday.
– Gahan House Halifax is on the lookout for a Brewer at their Historic Properties location. There are a few details on their Facebook page, and interested folks should contact them ASAP, in order to work with Karen Allen before she leaves.
– YellowBelly Patrick’s Pale Ale was released this week, featuring Cascade hops throughout the process. It is available on tap, as well as in bottles at the bar, and the NLC.
– PEI Brewing Co. has brought back their 8.1% ABV Doppelbock, Reanimator, which is available now in cans at the brewery; it will follow soon at PEILCC stores, with the ANBL not far behind.
– Nine Locks is starting to release some of their beers in cans: ESB is available now at the brewery, with IPA following shortly on Monday evening, and their Porter and Blonde Wednesday evening.
– Due to a trademark dispute, Somerset’s Bad Apple Brewhouse will now be selling their beer outside of Nova Scotia under the name Mosaic Brewing Co.; but if you’re in NS, don’t worry, the BAB name still stands! Check out their link for more details.