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Friday Wrap-Up for November 17, 2017 – News from 2 Crows, Backstage, YellowBelly, Stillwell and more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2017-11-17
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Backstage Brewing, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Boxing Rock Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, FirkinStein Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, North Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Trider's Craft Beer, Unfiltered Brewing, WestSide Beer Wine Spirits, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

 

It’s another big weekend for beer in our region, with a beer release that’s very pertinent to our interests here at the ACBB, a sudden (and welcome!) rush of canned products we totally didn’t see coming, and some killer events going on in the downtown core of Halifax. So we’ll skip the traditional commentary on the weather this week and get right into it…

• There’s a cool new beer being released tomorrow from 2 Crows, a collaboration brewed with some pretty awesome guys… us! Named Amateur Hour (well, I guess that put us back in our place), the beer features a light-coloured primarily Pilsner grist with healthy amounts of Wheat malt, Malted Oats and Spelt, and heavy whirlpool-hopped with Azacca, Citra, and Huell Melon. Thanks to two dry-hop additions of those same varieties (during active fermentation, and again during conditioning), you can expect notes of orchard fruit and melon, further accentuated by a light funk resulting from fermentation with the Yeast Bay’s glorious Brett Amalgamation, a combination of six Brettanomyces strains. Coming in at just 4.9% ABV and 29 IBUs, we’re thinking of this as a Brett Session IPA, or even a Brett Session Ale. Available on tap and in cans (check out that label by Midnight Oil Print & Design House!) at the brewery tomorrow, expect to see it around Halifax at the private stores shortly after. And a big thanks to Jeremy, Miles and the rest of the gang at 2 Crows for inviting us to participate in brewing a beer!

• Stellarton’s Backstage Brewing is sporting a rockin’ new logo this week and they’ve also got a new beer available today, one that goes to eleven. Nunmoar is a Black IPA, big and bitter, that’s been heavily hopped with Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo and Simcoe. Tipping the scales at 6.5% ABV and a hefty 75 IBU, expect it to marry a distinct roastiness to a prominent hop presence. How much more black could it be? NUNMOAR BLACK. Meanwhile, AJ and the gang have settled on opening hours for the brewery – for the foreseeable you’ll be able to visit for growler fills and merchandise Wednesdays from 2-6 PM, Thursdays 12-6 PM, Fridays 12-8 PM and on Saturdays from 11-5 PM. Even better, they’re now able to accept debit and credit transactions and the dreaded “cash only” sign has been taken down. Expect those hours to shift and hopefully expand a little once they’ve got all the permits in place for their taproom. And, speaking of growler fills, also available right now are the 5.1% ABV Pale Ale known as Daydreamer and two, count ‘em two, versions of the Headliner IPA. The first batch, where efficiency was better than expected, clocks in at 7.3% ABV and the second, matching the original specs for the beer, is 5.9% ABV. Maybe sample them both and let AJ know which version should top the marquee.

• After launching their new Takeaway shop last week, YellowBelly also released a pair of brand new bevvies. We already told you about their Blueberry Hill Milkshake IPA last week, and now we can share more details on their latest cider on tap. Bakeapple Cider is a 7.0% ABV blend, featuring a base of apple cider with the elusive bakeapple (aka cloudberry, aka if you want some, you’d better know someone!) added for a lovely crisp and tart fruit blend. Back-sweetened ever-so-slightly with some of the original cider to reduce a bit of the dryness, the cider is on tap now, and should see limited release in bottles too. And speaking of their Takeaway location a few doors down Water St from their home base, in addition to bottles and 1.89 L growler fills (new for YB), you can stay a while to enjoy samples and pints, as well as pizza from their kitchen.

• North Brewing is releasing the Fall 2017 edition of their Canadian Brewing Awards Gold Medal-winning Midnight today. They took a batch of their Strong Dark Belgian and let it sit in barrels from Glenora Distillery straight from the source (i.e., still wet and with plenty of single malt whiskey flavour and aroma to go around) for the past several months, before packaging recently. Look for a melding of Belgian Abbey flavours (fruity esters with a light toasted bread character) with the barrel and whiskey character (vanilla, caramel, wood), resulting in a 10.5% ABV fireside sipper. Midnight marks the first in a series of several special Barrel-Aged bottles releases coming from North, which will featuring some beers in the coming weeks with funkier beginnings and unique aspects.

• Up in Amherst, NS, Trider’s Craft Beer has released their newest offering, Chaga-Lug Brown Ale. Focusing on local ingredients, this earthy and crisp beer in the Northern English Brown Ale style boasts additions of honey, Chaga and hops that were all sourced locally. Fifteen pounds of Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) were harvested by Shawee, a real life lumberjack; this provided the beer with its distinctive deep brown color. Wildflower honey (over 100lbs) from nearby Nappan, NS, was added during the whirlpool for a slight tartness. And the hops came from Jeff Smith, a member of the Brewnosers homebrew club from the area, who provided roughly four pounds of backyard-grown Cascade, Galena, CTZ and Centennial to this 5.1% ABV brew. Bitterness was kept low to allow the character of the other special ingredients to shine through. It’s available for growler fills now with 500 mL bottles in the works.

• A few weeks ago, TrailWay hinted that they would soon be releasing their first Milkshake IPA, and the day is today, with the launch of Velvet Fog. Brewed with plenty of oats in the mash, to enhance the haziness of the beer (although, really, when have they ever had a problem with that?), as well as the mouthfeel, the addition of a “healthy dose” of lactose powder boosts the body even more, and adds just a touch of residual sweetness. Hopped entirely with El Dorado, the brewery also threw in some peach and apricot purees, as well as some vanilla, to bring everything together with aromas and flavours of “tropical fruit, peaches, bubble gum, and vanilla”. Cans, pours and pints at the brewery starting at noon, and this one will also be pouring at their Tap Takeover at Stillwell today.

• Firkinstein has a new beer, one that features the addition of fresh ginger. Added to a Pale Ale base for a unique twist, Root Pale Ale has just a subtle hint of ginger, with a light malt backbone and a minimal hop presence. At 6% ABV, you can find it now wherever Firkinstein beers are sold. The brewery is also now applying for a beverage room licence, so expect to see them able to sell pints of their own beer (as well as guest taps for other breweries) in the not-too-distant future.

• In our weekly “heads up for the Tuesday’s Beta Brew” Good Robot blurb, we’ve got an Irish Extra Stout dropping on the 21st. Extra Sass is a 5.8% ABV brew featuring 2-Row and Vienna with Caramel 30 for sweetness and Caramel 120, Roasted Barley and Black Prinz for colouring. The balancing bitterness, to the tune of 53 IBU, is thanks to East Kent Goldings and Summit hops. Notes of coffee and dark chocolate are punctuated by a light addition of Sarsparilla root. As always, the Beta Brews are only available at the taproom for enjoyment onsite, so drop for a taste. And if you’ve got a killer idea for a beer, be sure to let them know, they’d love to have you in the brewery! No brewing experience required.

• And in other Good Robot news, after several weeks of conditioning, their first canned offering is hitting the shelves today. We’ve mentioned Craft Coast Canning, a mobile canning business based in Fredericton previously, and it’s this new business that has made this new format possible. Extra BIG-ASS Beer is the first GR beer to get the treatment, their 5.2% ABV amber Marzen/Oktoberfest style beer (and recent ACBA medal winner). Featuring Vienna, Coffee, Flaked oats and a touch of memoirs malt on a 2-Row base, the hopping is from traditional German Perle and Willamette varietals. This won’t be the last canned offering from Robie and the Robots, as they’ve hinted that more of their lower-ABV/approachable/crushable beers will soon be available this way, including their Goseface Killah Gose and Leave Me Blue Kentucky Common. Cans are available at noon at the brewery (single and four-packs), and at private stores around HRM.

• It’s also a big weekend for Bad Apple Brewhouse, as they too release their first canned products. And why not shoot for the stars, as their first two beers to get the silver bullet treatment are the Mosaic, their award-winning, and charity-benefiting, Double IPA, and their also award-winning Black & Tackle Russian Imperial Stout. Showcasing its namesake Mosaic hops, the Mosaic is an 8% bitter and aromatic brew that has been an off-and-on favourite for years, whenever owner Jeff Saunders can get his hands on those hops. All sales from Mosaic go towards Down Syndrome Nova Scotia, who make possible the Maritime Down Syndrome Family Camp at Brigadoon Village. These organizations are close to Saunders’ heart, as his son Hunter lives with Mosaic Down Syndrome. On the deep and dark side, Bad Apple’s Black & Tackle, which has won awards as both a “regular” Russian Imperial Stout and in a barrel-aged variation, is also now much more portable, so you can it lots of places and enjoy its big roast presence and 9+% ABV as winter approaches. Cans of these beers are available this weekend at the brewery in Berwick Somerset, and are also headed for the private stores in the HRM. Follow along on their social media for the exact availability details. We’ve also seen hints on Bad Apple’s social media accounts that canning these two beers is just a start and other tasty things are on the way in that format in the coming weeks.

• And lastly, but perhaps most uncanny of all (not even sorry), Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing made a splash on social media yesterday when it was revealed that they’ve gone ahead and put four of their beers into cans now available at the brewery and very soon (as in very possibly this afternoon) at Bishop’s Cellar. The flagship IPA Exile on North Street and DIPA 12 Years to Zion are joined by fall/winter seasonal Flat Black Jesus West Coast Stout and everybody’s favorite Citra bomb Double Orange Apocalypse Ale in a hoppy quadfecta. Interest was immediate from folks far and wide as the prospect of shippable Unfiltered became a sudden and unexpected reality. We suspect few will breach the borders of the province or even HRM, at least at first, as having these beers unbound from growlers will be a novelty that takes some time to wear off.

• Last week we told you about the Garrison and Boxing Rock collaboration Courage brewed in honor of Gord Downie. The response to that bear was pretty impressive, with both brewery locations and the private stores all selling out within 24 hours or so! To date, just shy of $11,000 has been raised for two charitable causes: Brain Tumour Research and Indigenous People’s Reconciliation. And hopefully that number is only going to grow, as the beer will be available in 11 NSLC stores by next week (want to know which ones? Go here and click “Check Store Availability”). It will also be hitting PEI LLC this week, and ANBL and NLL stores soon after that. And in other Garrison beer news, their Dirty Ol’ Town Black IPA has been canned and will be available at the NSLC and private stores shortly and their fall/winter seasonal Winter Warmer will be at the NSLC in bottles very soon as well.

• Tidehouse Brewing in Halifax has a new beer of their own on the go this week, called Northumbeerland. Brewed partially as a trial for a new local malt, this beer is in the saison style, and the grist is a single pale base malt. In the kettle, Warrior hops were used for bittering while Saaz were added at the end of the boil and later, post-fermentation, for a dry-hop. The saison yeast strain used was selected for its ability to dry the beer out, and it has, while also yielding subtle hints of hay and berries along with a slight tartness. This is a very sessionable beer at 4.1% ABV and you’ll find it for growler fills at tiny tasters at the brewery’s operation on Salter Street.

A few events to tell you about this weekend and beyond, with a clear concentration of activity in downtown Halifax:

• A little bar named Stillwell opened on Barrington Street in November, 2013, and has been helping to grow the enthusiasm (and number) of breweries and drinkers alike in Halifax. They’re celebrating their Fourth Anniversary with a weekend full of events. Today from noon, the beers (and people) from Fredericton’s TrailWay Brewing will be taking over, with a full dozen beers available on tap. Old favourites and new releases (including the Velvet Fog Milkshake IPA mentioned above) will be pouring; there will be free glassware for the first 100 to show up, and the full taplist can be found here. Saturday will see the annual Stillwell Birthday event, featuring an absolutely ridiculous tap, bottle and cask selection that celebrates the best of local offerings, highlights from other parts of Canada and the U.S. and very special treats from Europe. The full list can be found here (try not to drool) and it also includes the first public pourings of Stillwell Four, the first bottle release from Stillwell Brewing Co. which, as a matter of fact, will also be available the very next day for sale at the brewery’s warehouse around back at 2015 Gottingen Street. We’ve been advised that the Four is in somewhat short supply, so there will be a signup sheet at the bar during Saturday’s festivities so you can ensure you don’t miss out. We’ll should also warn you, especially those from out of town, if you’re planning to hit the birthday celebration on Saturday, that the 22nd Annual Parade of Lights is going on downtown that evening. It has been called a “traffic apocalypse” and “the worst traffic of the year”; things start getting nutty at about 4:30 PM and really don’t start to clear up until close to 9 PM or later. So maybe plan to take a bus or cab downtown, get good and settled in, and really explore what’s on offer.

• We mentioned that Montague, PEI’s newest-and-first brewery, Copper Bottom Brewing, would be holding their official grand opening soon, and looks like “soon” is even sooner than we thought! The Grand Opening is happening tomorrow from noon-close, there’ll be live music going on all day, a TBA food truck will be onsite, and lots of other fun stuff throughout the day, including kick-the-keg prizes, brewery tours, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 pm. And if you’d like to get out to the party without having to commit to driving, the brewery has teamed up with a local company to bring you the Copper Bottom Brew Bus, which leaves from the Peakes Wharf in Charlottetown at 5:15 pm, and departs Copper Bottom at 10 pm; contact Sonya or Loralei at 902-213-5177 if you’d like a ticket, which is just $15 round-trip.

• Yes, it’s months away, but we really need to let you know that tickets for the 6th Annual Fredericton Craft Beer Festival officially go on sale next Friday, November 24th, at 11 am. This event, which is being held on Saturday, March 10th, 2018, continues to grow in breweries represented, beers poured, and overall excellence every year, so we can’t even imagine how awesome it’s going to be next March! And did we mention that Maine’s Orono Brewing will be pouring? Have this ticket link all ready to go next Friday at 11 sharp, especially if you want to get your hands on VIP tickets (which sold out in something like 2 minutes last year… no, we’re not joking). We’ll have lots more information on the event as the date approaches!

And a couple of last mentions before we let you get started on your weekend:

– A reminder that the launch party for 100 from Big Spruce, their beer made with 100% Nova Scotia-produced ingredients, is taking place at Horton Ridge Malt House tomorrow at 2 PM. Big Spruce beers will also will be taking over the guest growler taps during this kitchen party-styled event. The 100 is now available now in cans at Westside in Halifax, where a Big Spruce 5-tap mini-takeover of their growler station (including fills of the 100) started last night and is likely to continue into the weekend.
– Halifax brewpub Rockbottom has a new beer on the menu this week, an American Pale Ale dubbed Mostly Maris for the use of the venerable British malt called Maris Otter. It lends a biscuity note and a sweetness that should pair nicely with the very American hop schedule that includes Cascade, and Columbus. This beer is balanced to the hoppy side of the spectrum and comes in at 5.5% ABV and 55 IBU.

Friday Wrap-Up for September 1, 2017 – News from Meander River, Horton Ridge, PEI Brewing, Chain Yard, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2017-09-01
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, Big Axe Brewery, Boxing Rock Brewing, Chain Yard Cider, Craft Beer Attraction, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Halifax Beer Run, Heritage Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, Loyalist City Brewing Co, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Mill Street Brewpub, NLC, NSLC, Oxbow Brewery, PEI Brewing Co., PEILCC, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Schoolhouse Brewery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

With September upon us, a reminder that grain and hop harvests have started around the region, which means it will only be a few weeks until those Wet-hopped beers will be available. With a vibrant hop farm scene here in the region, we expect to see Pale Ales and IPAs made with fresh hops in all four provinces. Until then, enjoy the rest of the new arrivals and returning favourites below…

• Speaking of the hop harvest, Meander River Farm is calling for all hands on deck tomorrow morning at 9AM to help pick their hops. Drop by the farm at 906 Woodville Rd in Ashdale that morning to help out, and you may even earn yourself a sample or two!

• It’s also a busy time for the folks at Horton Ridge, harvesting their own rye grain, grown adjacent to the Malt House and Taproom, which will be hitting the malt floor shortly. And we imagine the trucks filled with raw grain from other farms will be headed their way shortly! Luckily, they’ve released a new beer this week to keep the delivery folks happy. PEI SMaSH is a 4.9% ABV Pale Ale, whose recipe features a Single Malt and Single Hop. The malt bill consists entirely of Queens Two-Row Barley, developed at Agriculture Canada’s Charlottetown location in the 1990’s. While not developed with malting as a priority (its higher beta glucan content undergoes the malting process a little slower than “malting grains”), but the grain thrives in our climate, making it a great choice for local farming. That slower malting process also allows Horton Ridge to take their time and work their magic. Mandarina Bavaria makes up the entire hop bill, which is used in moderation to balance the malt sweetness and add citrus aromatics, but as with all Horton Ridge beers, malt is the focus. The PEI SMaSH is also a nice contrast to their Rye’s Up Pale Ale, which features a mixed grist of 50% PEI Barley, with 25 % PEI Wheat, and 25% Rye (grown at the Malt house), showcasing the flavour profile from this special malt. As with all of the HR beers, the best place to enjoy them is at their Hortonville taproom, whose patio is still open, and you may be able to catch them harvesting the grain this weekend.

• Summer may be just about over, but it’s not too late to report on one of the latest beers from PEI Brewing Co., Sin Bin. A Witbier brewed in collaboration with the PEI Mudmen, a local rugby team, the grist contains a majority of the very-light Heidelberg malt, along with small amounts of Malted and Torrified Wheat. Hopped to 15 IBUs with Tettnanger and Mt. Hood, the wort was spiced with Indian coriander seed and orange peel, in true Witbier fashion. Outside of the norm for the style, however, the beer was dry-hopped, on Day One of fermentation, with another hop variety that they don’t want to tell you about (hint: it was used due to its similar qualities to coriander). Dry and spicy, and coming in at 5.7% ABV, you can find it on tap at several PEIBC accounts in PEI, as well as at Battery Park in Dartmouth.

• Up on Agricola Street in Halifax’s North End, Chain Yard Urban Cidery released another new blend this week. Aptly called Wild Flower, it’s a blend of apple, fruit and flowers complemented by the use of wild yeast. Cider maker Jay Hildybrant started by making a wild blueberry wine, arresting the fermentation when it reached a point where spice notes were emerging and the berry flavour was “distant”. He also created a wild apple cider base using the same indigenous wild yeast and the juice blend from Chain Yard’s Foundation (McIntosh, Northern Spy and Jonagold). From there, the cider was used to macerate lavender from Meander River Farms, just to the point before any soapy or off flavours were extracted. Lastly, the wine and the cider were blended to yield a “perfectly floral”, smooth, and easy-drinking cider that features spice and floral notes. It’s available for samples and pints at the cidery.

• There’s a new easy-drinking beer from Loyalist City hitting tap accounts in Saint John and Fredericton… Barefoot Blonde is a “New Zealand Blonde Ale” that takes your typical Blonde Ale a couple of steps further with the addition of fresh pineapple, as well as a dry-hop punch with Nelson Sauvin. A simple grist of 2-row and Wheat malt provides a light, sweet malt character, backing up the pineapple and grape notes from the fruit and hop additions. With a light bitterness to round off the finish, this 5% ABV brew should hit the spot during these last warm days of summer.

• Following the releases earlier this summer of their tasty fruited Berliner Weisse series, Guava Heist (guava) and Philaroma (cherry), Tatamagouche Brewing has another fruited Berliner available for your immediate enjoyment! Rushton’s Peach is another light (3.5% ABV), tart, kettle-soured brew, but this time it’s been aged on 100 lbs of organic apricots and 300 lbs of peaches. Sound like another perfect beer for the end of summer? Even better news: like the previous two, it’s available in cans, as well as growler fills and pints at the brewery, and at Tatabrew tap accounts.

• If you’re feeling a bit overheated and need to get out of the sun, or just want to head downstairs for some beer and grub, the Rockbottom just tapped a new beer, The Aristocrats. A 100%-fermented Brett IPA, it combines the hop characteristics of “tropical fruit, hard candy and citrus” with the “pineapple, pear, wet hay, overripe berry, and an understated Brett funk” from the yeast. At 7% ABV and 60 IBUs, it’s available now at the ‘Bottom, while supplies last.

• If you missed it the first time around, Grafted, the orange peel-infused kettle sour from Boxing Rock is back. Created by Brian Harvey, this beer won the 2017 Boxing Rock Black Box Challenge. Thanks to some process tweaks at the brewery we’re promised a deeper sourness and more orange flavour in this batch, but otherwise it’s still a 5.5% ABV beer with low bitterness, a refreshing sourness and and sweet orange finish. This is a limited release of 650 mL bottles in the province, available at the brewery and making an appearance at the private liquor stores in Halifax. We’re told that later in September it will also make its way to Prince Edward Island via the PEILCC so folks can get a taste outside Nova Scotia. In other Boxing Rock news, they’re rocking an all-new website, featuring a modern and responsive design, a list of their current beers, and online ordering for their swag shop and keg club. Check it out!

• Yarmouth’s Heritage Brewing should be releasing Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat, their last summer seasonal for the year, sometime today. A light American Wheat Ale, it was fermented for two weeks before 45 lbs each of locally-harvested rhubarb and strawberries were added to secondary. Described by the brewery as being “light and refreshing, with a naturally tart flavour and a hint of sweetness”, this 5% ABV brew will be available for growler fills and samples at the brewery only. Keep your eyes peeled for a slew of other new beers from Heritage in the near future, including a single-hop Session IPA featuring Experimental Hop #07270, a new IPA with Chinook, Citra, and Ekuanot, and a wet-hopped ale.

• Sit down, and prepare yourselves – Good Robot does NOT have a new beer release this week on the alpha brew side of things. No, no one is dead (that we know of), but don’t worry, it sounds like there will be plenty coming through the pipeline next week! And there’s still a new Cask in the Sun entry for today at 4 pm: Damn Fine Coffee & Cherry Pie Pale Ale (damn, that’s a lot of typing for a beer name) with Low Point cold brew, cherries, and “very, very toasted oats”. And next Tuesday’s Beta Brewsday is Hard Corgi Black Lager (4.2% ABV, 34 IBUs), brewed by Drella Green-Simony and Johnny ‘Burger’ Heighton, with Kelly Costello. Fermented with California Lager yeast to keep it clean, it’s a slightly-roasty beer hopped with Cascade and Mosaic.

• There has been a passing of the torch at Mill Street St. John’s this week, with Head Brewer Dan heading off to the Toronto Mill Street location. In his place, Matt Chevrier has taken over the reigns. However, Dan’s legacy lives on with a new release this week, Tic-N-Tuff Hopfenweisse. At 6.0% ABV and 32 IBU, this hybrid German style features banana and clove from a Weisse, with a healthy dose of hops, in this case Wild Turkey, lending Passionfruit-like character. Grab a sample or pint today, and keep an eye out for its debut on the growler station this weekend.

• The NSLC recently released their first quarter financial results for Fiscal Year 2018 and the results continue to be encouraging for fans of craft beer in the province. You might be aware that the quarter being reported here corresponds to the period starting this past April when the number of Nova Scotia Craft Beer listings at many NSLC stores jumped considerably. What impact did that have? Although overall beer sales were down 1.2% to $74.6 million and volume was down 2.7%, both significant declines over the same quarter last year, NS Craft Beer sales were up an impressive 48% to $3.2 million, a growth rate matching Q1 last year. Further, this implies that NS craft beer accounted for 4.3% of overall beer sales this quarter compared to 3.3% last year. After watching year-over-year quarterly growth decline over the course of FY 2017, it will be interesting to see whether that trend is mirrored this year or whether the wider selection will have a lingering impact. The news was also good for NS spirits and cider producers, with local spirits more than doubling sales over last year and the ready-to-drink category, which is mostly ciders when it comes to NS products, up 75.7%. Hopefully this continued growth will encourage the NSLC to continue the trend of adding SKUs and shelf space for local products, and maybe soon we’ll even see them supporting the smaller, non-bottling/non-canning producers through an in-store growler program.

• Attention AtlCan Brewers: the invitations for the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards have gone out this week, so if you have not received them, let us know! Submissions are due in Halifax October 2nd-6th, with the judging taking place October 13-15th. The announcement and Gala is happening the next Sunday, October 22nd, at the Stubborn Goat.

We’ve got brand new events, as well as updates and reminders for a whole slew of them coming this month. We strive to keep our Calendar up-to-date, and you can help us by sending heads up emails or tweets our way!

• After a wildly successful Lambic-fest last weekend, the Stillwell crew are inviting the fine folks from Oxbow in Newcastle, Maine to take over their taps next Friday and Saturday (September 8 and 9). “Loud beer from a quiet place”, Oxbow launched in 2011 and has been brewing farmhouse and eccentric beers in the woods of coastal Maine (and recently at their blending location in Portland) ever since. Featuring a full twelve-tap-takeover on Barrington on Friday, and ten taps at the Beer Garden Saturday, both locations will also receive a healthy number of Oxbow bottles to complement.

• Get ready, Charlottetown… Unfiltered is coming your way! And not just a couple of beers, but the most Unfiltered beer that has ever hit PEI at one time. Starting Thursday, September 14th, Unfiltered will be taking over all 10 taps at Hopyard. And it’s not just beer you’ll be enjoying, head brewer Greg Nash has paired with HopYard master chef Jane Crawford to create a fully collaborative food menu, to go with all those tasty beverages. Tickets for the 7pm kickoff event are available now, and be sure to keep an eye on their social media pages as hints on the food and beer pairings drop. If you’re not able to make the Thursday night event (shame on you!), be sure to drop by Friday, as there will certainly be enough great Unfiltered beers to keep C’town happy for a couple of nights!

• If you’re planning your September weekends, you might want to pencil in a little time with Garrison as their annual Oktoberfest extravaganza is coming up down at the brewery. Friday, September 15th, from 6:30 PM to 11 PM is Hops ’n Brats, a celebration of Nova Scotia Craft Beer and Sausages. A $25 ticket will get you entry, 8 sample tickets, and a commemorative glass. Additional sample tickets can be purchased on-site. Designated Driver tickets are also available at the door for $10 that include a non-alcoholic beverage. Bringing their best beers will be Garrison, of course, 2 Crows, Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Breton, Good Robot, Nine Locks, North, Spindrift, Tatamagouche, and Tidehouse. The next day, Saturday, September 16th, is the original all day, all night Oktoberfest celebration in Halifax. Garrison Oktoberfest Halifax starts with a day long all-ages free-entry party from 11 AM to 5 PM featuring traditional German food, 3 bands worth of oompah music (The Swell Guys, Die Brew-misters, and The Roving Steins) and, of course, Garrison beer! At 5 PM the kids go home and the ticketed portion of the proceedings start. For $16 you’ll get your first beer (12oz) and entry to the rest of the evening’s proceedings, scheduled to go until 11 PM. There will be dancing, games, and food will be served throughout the evening. And of course, MOAR BEER. Proceeds from the event will benefit Cystic Fibrosis research and care through CF Atlantic Canada.

• There are still tickets available for Newfoundland’s Craft Beer Attraction, presented by the Newfoundland and Labrador Artisanal & Craft Beer Club. With Grand Tastings taking place 7-10 PM Friday and Saturday, Sept 22 & 23 at St. John’s Curling Club on Mayor Avenue. There will be more than 100 different beers available on a pay-per-pour basis. The Premium Tour is taking place at 12:30 Saturday, hosted by Certified Cicerone Mike Buhler, and will feature 21 beers from across the world. A guided tasting of Sam Adams Utopias, and a Brewmaster’s Luncheon featuring Trou du Diable, round out the events on the weekend. Check out the full beer list and grab your tickets before they sell out!

• The Canada Beer Run is happening in Halifax on Sunday, September 24th. Held in several cities across the country, the Halifax Beer Run involves non-competitive running to four different breweries (approximately 10 km total). With a pre-drink at 11 am, runners will then proceed to Propeller, Garrison, Spindrift and Good Robot, with 20 minute breaks at each stop for some beer sampling. Sound crazy? Well, we’re pretty sure that’s what they’re going for! It costs $65 to participate, which includes a shirt and swag, race bib, brewery party favours, beer run buff, and a finishing medal. For more details on specifics, check out the link above. Registration is open now.

• The James Joyce’s first-ever sour beer tap takeover, Tarte Diem, was a huge success last weekend, with Big Axe‘s Seaberry Sour taking first place from the panel of three judges. Following up with second and third place were Acadie-Broue‘s Tête de Cochon Lichtenheiner and Unfiltered‘s Daytimer, respectively (and an honourable mention to Upstreet‘s Island Hopspitality 2017). If you missed out on the fun, don’t worry… they’ve already set the date for next year’s event, Tarte Diem II – 2 Sour 2 Acidulous, on Saturday, August 25th.

A few returning favourites, new releases, and casks to let you know before we sign off today

– As we teased last week, 2 Crows has a new beer dropping today at noon, Promiseland Double IPA. This juicy, hop-forward beer, features Citra and Simcoe late in the boil, during active fermentation (biotransformation for the win!) and during final conditioning. Grab the 8.3% ABV, 64 IBU, DIPA at 2 Crows today on tap (samples, pints, and growlers) and in cans, with cans also hitting the HRM private stores shortly.
– Lawrencetown’s Lunn’s Mill Beer Co has dropped a new beer today, Roadside Attraction Pale Ale. A 5.0% American Pale Ale featuring 100% Cascade hops, the lighter malt body lets the hop floral and citrus characters shine through, with medium bitterness. Grab it at their taproom today!
– Fredericton’s Picaroons has released the latest in their Pivot DIPA Series, with Pivot #6. Keeping to the 8.0% / 80 IBU specs as previous releases, this version features Mosaic and Warrior hops for tropical and candy-like aromas. As with all of these releases, they can be found at their locations in Fredericton, Saint John, and St. Andrews, with delivery to the ANBL expected early next week.
– TrailWay has re-released their Green Island American IPA (6% ABV), with some slight tweaks to the hop additions, resulting in strong pineapple flavours, according to the brewery; available on tap and in cans at the brewery.
– Unfiltered releases their Front Line Rocker DIPA (8% ABV) at Charm School today, for growlers and pints; look for it to pop up around the HRM on tap as well, and select establishments in PEI and NB.
– Upstreet‘s seasonal Pumpkin Ale (yes, it’s that time again), Gravedigger (6.5% ABV), drops today (bottles and kegs);
– At Schoolhouse in Windsor, NS, their Cask Friday beer this afternoon is their witbier, Summer Break, with blackberries and raspberries. Sounds like a lovely beer to sip on the first day of September.
– And not to be outdone on the cask front, Halifax’s Propeller will have some of their Organic Blonde Ale aged on the Japanese citrus fruit Yuzu on tap this evening at 5 PM. But wait, there’s more! Tomorrow at 2 PM they’re tapping a special 20 L keg of their Cascade Pale Ale that will be dosed with fresh Cascade hops picked less than 24 hours before. You won’t find beer with fresher hops than that.
– And on the Rock, Yellowbelly has their East Coast Cream Ale, a collaboration with Top Shed Brewery in Goonengerry, NSW, Australia, back on tap and available at the brewery in bottles as well. Limited bottles will also be going to the NLC tomorrow. Kangamoose is on the loose!

Friday Wrap-Up for August 11, 2017 – News from Bagtown, Bore City, Trailway, Tidehouse, Seaport Beerfest & More!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2017-08-11
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Bagtown Brewing, Bore City Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Craft Beer Attraction, Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection, Garrison Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Halifax Seaport Beerfest, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, James Joyce Irish Pub, Ladies Beer League, Newfoundland Labrador Artisanal and Craft Beer Club, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good morning, all! Welcome to yet another beautiful Friday, and another week chock-full of local beer news. Let’s get right at it, which really saves me from having to think of something clever to say, anyway!

• Bagtown Brewing, Sackville’s local brewery formed and brought to market by Mount Allison University students, has been granted their Brewery Agency Store licence, meaning that they are now able to sell growlers of their beer at their brewery location on 62 Main St. They had their official opening yesterday, where they filled their branded grunters (0.95 L) and other brewery’s clean growlers (in both sizes) with their Wobbly Duck English Pale Ale. They also debuted a new beer, an unnamed Belgian Pale Ale (4% ABV, 22 IBUs) that has “toasty, earthy, and light citrus” notes; they held a naming contest during their opening, but we still haven’t heard on what they decided to go with. There were also rumours that they may have gotten to tapping another new one, a 3.9% ABV, 45 IBUs session British Golden Ale named SubtleTEA, which was brewed with green tea leaves. If you missed the launch party, no worries! In the future, they’ll be open every Thursday and Friday from 4-10pm, Saturday 9am-2pm, and Sunday 5pm-midnight; keep an eye on their social media pages for when these hours go into effect. They’re also accepting keg orders, so be sure to bug your local bar/restaurant to get some Bagtown on tap.

• Next Tuesday, August 15th is National Acadian Day, and Moncton’s Bore City is once again releasing their Fricot Belgian Pale Ale to celebrate. Based on the Acadian chicken stew of the same name, the grist is made up of Pilsner malt, CaraRed, and Munich II, along with dehydrated potato flakes (10% worth!). Hopped with Summit, Czech Saaz and Hallertau Blanc to 50 IBU, a “generous amount” of Summer Savoury spice is steeped at the end of the boil to give even more of those Fricot aromas you Acadians crave! Finally, the beer was fermented with a Belgian yeast strain to produce spicy phenolic character to complement the rest of the brew. The final beer clocks in at 6.5% ABV Only three kegs are available, with two heading to the Laundromat, and one to Les Brumes du Coude… both locations will be tapping the beer on August 15th.

• Fredericton’s TrailWay Brewing has a new entry in their “Seeing” series of one-hopped American IPAs, with Seeing Enigma (6% ABV). An Australian hop variety, Enigma has only been around a couple of years in quantity, and has some interesting descriptors that include raspberries, redcurrant, and tropical fruit. Drop by the brewery to try it on tap or pick up some cans; like the other beers in this series, it’s a limited release and won’t be around for too long.

• Halifax’s dainty downtown destination, Tidehouse Brewing, released two new beers this week and have another on the way. The first, in the historical Belgian farmhouse style known as Grisette, sees a simple grain bill of Pilsner and wheat malts coming together with Perle hops for an easy-drinking, hazy brew they’re calling Grisette Family Vacation. Utilizing multiple Saison yeast strains to bring out appropriate flavours for the style, it clocks in at 5.1% ABV and hit the taps earlier in the week. Next, tapped yesterday, and with a name beer fans of a certain age might associate with a Wise Old Owl, To-wit! To-woo! is a Witbier given both traditional orange peel and coriander and non-traditional Citra hops at the end of the boil. At a light 4.6% ABV, it’s based on a grist of mostly Pilsner and wheat malts, with some flaked oats and Horton Ridge Munich malt added for good measure, making for a refreshing beer with a pleasant mouthfeel and a light citrus finish. And possibly as early as late this weekend, the gang will release a new “somewhat” Northeastern-style IPA called El Galaxarillo into the world. Hit hard with El Dorado, Galaxy and Amarillo hops at both whirlpool and a few days into primary fermentation, it features Canadian 2-Row malt and Horton Ridge Munich. Although light-bodied, it boasts 55 IBU, with passion fruit and other tropical flavours, and it packs a punch at 7.5% ABV. Look for these and other fine beers on tap in the Tidehouse tasting room and for growler fills besides.

• And speaking of Horton Ridge, the Bearded Beer Trio from 902 BrewCast sat down with Al Stewart, Connor Stewart, and Stephen Mastrioanni to learn about this important local malt producer’s origins and first year, as well as their new endeavour of a small brewing system to showcase the wide variety of flavours available from their malts. An exciting tidbit mentioned during the episode is the shift from malting barley from the Prairies to grain grown in our region, with PEI being at the forefront of that movement. And toss the 902 boys a vote in the Coast’s Best of Halifax poll going on now.

• Tatamagouche’s Tatamagouche Brewing has brought back a sour old friend this week, Philaroma. Continuing their line of Berliner Weisse beers, this kettle-soured wheat beer was aged on Organic dark cherries to give a deep pink colour and plenty of fruit character. Available on tap at the brewery for samples and growler fills, it has also been released in cans, available now at the brewery and at the private stores in HRM. And while you are visiting the brewery this weekend, be sure to grab a taste of their pilot batch of a Stout with a little something special added in: barrel-aged cold brew coffee. Using a barrel from the the distillery, green coffee beans were aged for several weeks, before being roasted and used to prepare a cold brew concentrate. That was added into the conditioning stout, and gives a blast of roast and coffee, as well as plenty of vanilla and spirituous flavours and aromatics. This beer is available in only a very small amount, so a little taste will have to do, until a future larger batch will be released.

• You may recall a “happy accident” occurring at Good Robot last year… What’s that? Which one? We need to narrow it down for you? 😉 During a brew of their flagship Tom Waits For No One, the kettle burner went kaput, and a new beer – The Fermenter Has Been Drinking – was born! Well, version 2.0 of that beer is now on tap at the GR taproom. With a “malty backbone heavy on the dark roast coffee” (thanks to the use of ten different malts in the grist, and the addition of cold-brewed Java Blend Sumatra Gayo coffee), and a dry finish, this 7.5% ABV, 49 IBUs American Coffee Stout will also be pouring at this weekend’s Seaport Beerfest. And in other GR news, next Tuesday’s Beta Brewsday will be Copper Top, an Amber Ale of sorts with hop additions of Nelson Sauvin, Vic Secret, and Saaz. Finally, today’s Cask in the Sun will be Corn Light Honey Basil, which is their Leave me Blue with local honey and basil added. Get drinkin’!

• Mahone Bay’s Saltbox Brewing is looking to expand their roster, adding folks to all facets of the brewing and serving of beer. If you are the right person for the job, inquire here.

• After a very successful launch to their growler evenings yesterday, Half Cocked Brewing in North Grant, NS, have announced that they will keep the good times rolling every week, making Thursday from 4-7 PM the time to drop by the brewery for a tour, a quick sample, and to grab more for enjoying at home. And keep an eye on their social media as their beers have been making appearances on the Guest Tap at Antigonish’s Townhouse Pub.

Lots to keep you busy this weekend (like every other weekend)!

• There are still a few tickets available for tonight and tomorrow‘s Seaport Beerfest, giving attendees the chance to try (or try to try) more than 350 beer and cider from local and out-of-region producers alike. One of the cool things that we are involved with is the Tap Local booth, where breweries not otherwise attending (or those attending have put aside a special keg) will be on rotation throughout the Fest. Put on by the Brewnosers and Ladies Beer League, drop by the table to catch beers from Moncton’s Tide & Boar, Fredericton’s TrailWay, a special collab with 2 Crows and our own accbchris, and much more. We’ll be pinging out over social media as the different kegs are tapped, to get you pumped!

• Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewery is joining the weekly one-off fun, with a new tradition of Cask Fridays. Every Friday at 4 PM they’ll tap a cask, probably a firkin (41 litres), but possibly a pin (20.5 litres) of something new, special, or just different. For their inaugural edition, this week’s vessel will contain Grapefruit Principal Pale Ale. Due to the limited quantities available (not likely to last beyond the end of the day), pints only of these beauties, no growler fills. So if you’re in Windsor on a Friday afternoon, your post-work pint just took a turn for the interesting.

• Continuing their once-a-fortnight tapping, Propeller Brewing‘s Gottingen Street location will be offering up Cask Night again this evening. From 5 PM, grab a pint of their Pilsner, cask-conditioned and dry-hopped with Strisselspalt hops from France. This hop is in the vein of the iconic Noble hops of Europe, offering spicy and herbal aromas, with a touch of citrus and fruity characters. As always, there is only one cask, so arrive early to avoid disappointment!

• With the crew in town for the Beerfest, the folks from Ontario’s Beau’s Brewery have to decided to make the most of their time here. After yesterday’s fun at Stillwell‘s Beergarden, they will be holding a second Tap Take-over at Good Robot Sunday. From noon, the tractors are pushing the robots off the taps, with plenty of beers not otherwise available in our region. And, in true GR form, there will be fun and games all day. Live music, cartoon and caricature drawing, and much more. Check the Events Page for more info.

• The Fredericton Ladies Beer Connection have announced their next event, which will take place on Wednesday, August 16th. The Ladies n’ Beer Social will take place at the James Joyce Irish Pub from 6:30-8:00 pm; for $10.50, you will get a flight of six different New Brunswick craft beers. And, of course, you’re encouraged to stick around afterwards for more beers, of which there are always plenty! Space is limited, so please RSVP to freddyladiesbeerconnection@gmail.com if you’re interested.

• Speaking of beer and the fairer sex, the Ladies Beer League turned four a while ago (how is that possible… didn’t they just form that group?), and will be holding a Belated Birthday Party at RockBottom on Wednesday, August 16th (maybe there’s something with that date…). Details are slim at the moment, but the fun starts at 7 pm, and rest assured there will be special beer pricing with your LBL membership!

• The third annual Upstreet Block Party is coming next week on Saturday, August 19th, and it’s looking like a chock-full schedule as usual! There will be no fewer than six bands providing live music, with plenty of activities throughout the day, including a pop-up barber shop, lawn games, retro video games, an artisan market, and more! Of course, there will be a beergarden for the adults, and lots of games, face painting, and a soda bar for the kids. It all starts at noon, and, as always, admission is free, so be sure to drop by and take part in the fun!

• Tickets now on sale for Newfoundland’s next big beer event, Craft Beer Attraction. Put on by the folks behind the Newfoundland and Labrador Artisanal & Craft Beer Club, the Craft Beer Attraction will be taking place Sept 22 & 23 at St. John’s Curling Club on Mayor Avenue. The two day event will see Grand Tastings 7-10 PM each evening, with more than 100 different beers available on a pay-per-pour basis, plus three special events and tastings, including a guided tasting of Sam Adams Utopias, and a Brewmaster’s Luncheon featuring Trou du Diable. Grab your tickets today, and get excited!

A couple more notes today:

– Boxing Rock’s Three Sheets Cream Ale was released on Tuesday in celebration of the Tall Ships coming to Shelburne. It’s available at their retail location as well as their Farmers Market stalls.
– Garrison is re-releasing their Honey Lavendar Ale (7% ABV, 16 IBUs), a summer seasonal brewed with English Lavendar from Meander River Farm, and wildflower honey from Shubenacadie’s G.G. Smeltzer & Son. It’s available in 650 mL bottles, with just a few kegs heading out to select accounts.
– Picaroons has released Pivot #5 (8% ABV), with this iteration showcasing El Dorado, Mandarina Bavaria, and Pekko hop varieties, giving “complex herbal and floral aromas, with lighter citrus notes”.