RockBottom Brewpub

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Friday Wrap-up – Yellowbelly and Shiretown Brew Harvest Beers, Barnone IPA Will Soon Be Available, More Details on Picaroons’ Harvest Ale

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-09-20
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: BarNone Brewing, Beerthief, Hart and Thistle, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Shiretown Beer, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Welcome to the last Friday of the summer of 2013. It seems like just yesterday that we were kicking off the beer festival season, and announcing the patios opening. But fear not, fearless Atlantic Canadian reader, there is plenty of great beer news and information to guide us into the fall of 2013!

• Details are few, but this week Yellowbelly Brewpub in St. John’s brewed up another batch of their Republic Pale Ale using locally-grown hops. If it’s anything like previous year’s beer, it will be about 6% ABV, and feature a big citrus and pine nose from the hearty Newfoundland hops.

• Shiretown Beer in Charlo has also brewed up a beer with fresh hops, these being some wild hops from Charlo. They brewed up “Runnin’ Down the Road” Amber Ale, and the local hops will give it a spicy aroma, and plenty of bitterness. It will be available in a few weeks. Their Big Brown Ale and Buckwheat Honey Ale are both currently available at the brewery, as well as their flagship Blonde du Quai. And their expansion into bars and ANBLs across the province continues, with more and more stores being added all of the time.  Fredericton, Moncton, Sackville, the list continues to grow.

• BarNone Brewing in PEI will soon be releasing their first IPA since a brief appearance at the PEI Beer Festival two years ago. An unfiltered American IPA, it comes in at 6.5% ABV and is heavily-hopped, both in the kettle and with multiple dry-hop additions, according to brewer/owner Don Campbell. Showcasing several “sought-after” hop varieties, the beer should be available for growler fills at the brewery (every Thursday from 6-8 pm) soon. To keep updated on its release, follow Barnone on their Twitter account.

• BarNone will also be taking part in this weekend’s Kegs, Corks & Oysters event at Credit Union Place (511 Notre Dame St) in Summerside. Their beer will be used to cook and pair with famous Malpeque Oysters as part of this Fall Flavours Festival event. Tickets are $35 (+fees), available at BoxOfficePEI.

• We now have some details on this year’s Harvest Ale from Picaroons, which will be officially launched on Thursday, Sept. 26th. A Pale Ale that uses two-row base malt grown in New Brunswick, it also has a small percentage of Crystal malt which should add some caramel sweetness to the beer. As mentioned before, there will be different locally-grown hops used in each batch, coming from different farmers in Atlantic Canada; this should give each batch separate flavor and aroma profiles. According to Dennis Goodwin, Marketing Director at Picaroons, the farms providing the hops will be Happy Hopyard in Cornhill, NB (showcasing Nugget, Centennial, Cascade, Goldings, and more),  Southern Farms in Wicklow, NB, Wysmykal Farm in Chapman Settlement, NS, and possibly more to be added later. By going to picaroons.ca/myharvest (the site will be active upon the beer’s launch), you will be able to enter the batch number on your bottle’s label to find out more information regarding your beer.
• The newest beer on tap at the Hart and Thistle in Halifax is the Statutory IPA. Weighing in at 7.2% ABV and 52 IBUs, this is a juicy and malty IPA, brewed with Centennial, Cascade, and Columbus hops. It contrasts the TubberRoe Robust Porter nicely, whose flavours are reminiscent of dark chocolate and dark fruit.
• For fans of the Rockbottom Brewpub, and in beer in general, Brewmaster Greg Nash posted a video of a recent brewday for the Broken Down Special Old Bitter. It’s a behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to get from grain to glass at the Rockbottom. And remember that every Saturday at 1pm, Nash taps a special cask of beer, sometimes a different take on a current beer (blackened Fathom IPA), or a completely new one (last week’s was the Deadwood Wheat refermented with 8oz of fresh ginger).
• This coming Wednesday, the 25th, Mike Buhler (Certified Cicerone and co-director of the Beerthief Newfoundland Craft Beer Order Club) will be doing a guided tasting of six beers from the Wychwood Brewery. The event is at 7PM at Bitters Restaurant and Lounge on the MUN campus (216 Prince Philip Drive). For $24, you will receive 100mL of each Wychwood beer, an appertif of Quidi Vidi or Yellowbelly beer, a burger, and chocolate brownie. Mike is a fount of beer knowledge, and lots of fun, so I’m sure the evening will be great. To take part, please reserve your seat by emailing Tom Beckett.
Finally this week, big news from Propeller Brewing! They brewed their first batch of beer at their new Dartmouth location yesterday (617 Windmill Rd, their cold beer store has been open for a few months). It was, not surprisingly given Halifax’s lust for hops, an IPA. We hope to get a look at the new digs soon, and will certainly do a full profile on their expanded system and location. In the meantime, be sure to look for their Nocturne Dark Lager out today, released in collaboration with the Nocturne Art at Night event, taking place October 19th, 6pm-midnight around the HRM.

Friday Wrap-Up – Garrison Brewing To Hold 5th-Annual Oktoberfest, Grimross Brewing Releases New Beer, PEI Beer Festival Scheduled For September, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-08-09
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hart & Thistle, Oktoberfest, PEI BeerFest, RockBottom Brewpub, Sea Level Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. Leave a Comment

Good morning, fellow craft beer lovers!

• This September 21st, Garrison Brewing Co., in collaboration with the German Canadian Association, will be holding their 5th annual Halifax Oktoberfest. There will be lots of German food, live music, and Garrison beer and Stutz cider available. The celebrations will be spread out over the day in two sessions: a free, market-wide afternoon session, and a 19+ evening session beginning at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the evening event will be $12 ($11 for students/military), and can be purchased at the Garrison retail store, or the day-of at the location at Pavilion 20 downtown. We’ll have a more-thorough post on this soon!

• The number of beers available from Grimross Brewing in Fredericton continues to grow. Joining the Cheval D’Or and Destrier Farmhouse Stout is Ben’s Bitter Pale Ale, a Belgian Pale Ale with slightly more bittering hops, according to owner/brewer Stephen Dixon. With healthy doses of Cascade hops for bittering and flavor, and Saaz hops for aroma, Ben’s Bitter will come across as quite floral, with earthy and citrus-fruit tones, and a lasting bitterness in the finish. Currently available in refillable growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique, and hopefully on tap in the area soon.

• With the Seaport Beer Festival happening this weekend in Halifax, it’s time to start planning for the next beer fest… the Prince Edward Island Beer Festival will occur the first full weekend in September, Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th. Last year, there were two beer festivals in PEI within a month of one another; the province decided in the spring to allow only one festival this year. Details are a bit slim right now, but we’ll do a post on the event as soon as we learn more. We can report that there will be over 75 different beers available, from breweries such as Amsterdam, Garrison, McAuslan, Hop City, and Erdinger. There are several tasting sessions planned; ticket prices range from $20-$120, depending on the session. You can follow the event on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-date notifications.

• Not satisfied with only growler fills of Bridge Brewing beer? Looking to get more than pint pours at Halifax bars? Well, you’re in luck… they are now offering 19.5 L party kegs for sale, for all beers that are available at the time. There is a $100 refundable keg deposit, and pricing will be $105 for the Gus or Summer Ale, $110 for the Farmhouse, and $120 for the Strong Dark (taxes not included). Call ahead to order yours!

• Greg Nash is tapping a few special beers at Rockbottom Brewpub in Halifax today, starting at 4:00 p.m. Accompanying a few of their regular-release beers will be “X”, an Imperial Brown Ale aged 18 months on cedar wood (11% ABV); “Vintage Wreckoning”, a Russian Imperial Stout on nitro, fortified with Macallan single malt whiskey (11% ABV); the regular “Wreckoning” RIS (10.5% ABV); the popular “Oaked-Aged Double Hoppelganger” DIPA (10% ABV); and “Barrel-Aged Desecration”, an Imperial Red Ale (11% ABV). Some nice sessionable (!) beers for your weekend! Get down to the Rockbottom ASAP – these beers will only be on tap until Sunday close.

• And, in case that’s not enough big beers for you, the Hart & Thistle will be putting on Nashfest again, with several OTHER Greg Nash beers for you to enjoy! These include “Columbus DIPA”, single-hopped with Columbus (9.1% ABV); “Commissar”, a Russian Imperial Stout, this time fortified with Bulleit bourbon (11% ABV); “Hop Mess Monster v3.0”, another DIPA single-hopped with Columbus (10% ABV); “Old 87”, an American IPA with lots of Columbus and Falconer’s Flight hops (7% ABV); and “Kneecapper”, an India Red Ale, or “Red IPA” with plenty of… yep, hops (6.1% ABV). It all starts at 4:00 p.m. today, and ends at close on Sunday.

• Uncle Leo’s Brewery may have just opened not too long ago in Pictou, NS, but their beers have already made it to Halifax! Both their Red Ale and IPA became available in 650 mL bombers at Premier Wine & Spirits earlier this week. Premier doesn’t expect them to last long, so get in while you can.

• Looks like Barnone Brewing in PEI has started filling growlers. You can drop by the brewery in Rose Valley every Thursday between 6:00 and 8:00 pm; both their Pale Ale and Summer Sessions will be available for fills.

• Sea Level Brewing has extended the hours of their retail store, where you can stock up on their canned beer, as well as 1-L refillable growlers. Their official hours are now Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm, Saturday 10 am-5 pm, and Sunday 12 pm-5 pm.

That’s it for this week… have a safe and beery weekend!

Today is National IPA Day!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-08-01
Posted in: Beer Holidays. Tagged: Celtic Knot Brewing, Hart & Thistle, PEI Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub. 4 comments

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Happy IPA Day, everyone! This now-annual “national beer holiday” celebrates what is arguably North America’s favorite beer style (by craft beer lovers, anyway). It was founded in 2011, and over a short time has already become a much-anticipated day of summer. Breweries and beer bars all over the world hold events and release special beers to celebrate the India Pale Ale, whether it be American, English, Imperial, Black, White, Red… and so on. Ashley Routson (@TheBeerWench on Twitter), one of the founders of IPA Day, explains what you can do to share your IPA love:

“On August 1, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes and thoughts on IPA with the world. Be sure to tag your posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and other social media platforms with the #IPAday hashtag.”

Meanwhile, here’s  what’s planned for today by a few participating breweries in Atlantic Canada:

• Would Greg Nash miss IPA Day? He’s brewed up something special that will be pouring at the Rockbottom in Halifax: Oak-Aged Double Hoppelganger. This DIPA has an ABV of 10% and a calculated IBUs of 305, with tons of Summit, Chinook, Centennial, and Magnum hops. As expected, no growler fills on this bad boy.

• And, moving on, Nash also brewed up something hoppy for the Hart & Thistle. Toning it down to 7% ABV, the Old 87 (an American IPA) has about 50 IBUs and showcases lots of Columbus and Falconer’s Flight hops, heavy in both flameout and dry-hop additions.

• Off the mainland, the PEI Brewing Co. will be showcasing the IPA all day at their brewery in Charlottetown. Their original 1772 will be available on tap and in bottles, of course, but the brewers have also concocted two cask versions to serve to Islanders looking for more of a hop fix.

We’ll be enjoying several IPAs later today… don’t let us be the only ones! Prepare your palates for some shredding, and celebrate the wonderful world of hops.