Saint John Beer Festival

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SJBeerFest

The second annual Saint John Beerfest is taking place next Saturday, April 13th, from 7:30-9:30pm. It is being held in the Market Square Atrium, adjacent to the Hilton Saint John. VIP Tickets for the fest are now sold out (allows entry at 7pm), but there are still some available for the regular session. They are only available in person or via phone at the Harbour Station, and are $60.

The fest will feature 130+ beers, over 20% of which are not available at the ANBL. There will be roaming entertainment from Atlantic Cirque, with food from the SJAH, Smokin Pig BBQ and Grannans Seafood available. The event is also a fundraiser for Ducks Unlimited.

Beer Fountain and Beer Fans during the 2012 Saint John Beer Fest

Beer-coloured Fountain and Beer Fans during the 2012 Saint John Beer Fest

I spoke with organizer Peter Stoddard (also owner of the Saint John Ale House) about the event.

The Market Atrium seems like a solid choice for venue, can you speak about the reasons why you chose it?

Time of year is important: April can be cold, so heated underground parking, available overnight, so no tickets. It’s attached to the two major hotels uptown and easily accessed inside day or night. It is unique and has built in atmosphere. It’s also attached to all the sponsored Restaurants. It’s big enough to work, yet small enough to be intimate. Personally I love Market Square and it is Saint John’s Festival Place!

Why have you chosen D.U. as your fundraiser recipient?

I have been a long time supporter of Ducks Unlimited Canada, I am the Atlantic Spokesperson for them. We do many events and fundraisers with them and I believe the work they do can be seen and touched by everyone around.

Members of Atlantic Cirque during the 2012 SJBF

Members of Atlantic Cirque during the 2012 SJBF

Are there bands or other entertainment joining Atlantic Cirque?

We have a live DJ playing house music in the back ground with a surround sound speaker setup and upgraded versus what we had last year. The atrium doesn’t lend itself to be a great live music venue due to the acoustics, so we have opted out of that option for now.

Can you comment on non-alcoholic options at the Fest?

We will have Pop and Bottled water and I believe there will be some non-alcoholic beer options. The reality is it’s a Beer festival, so we are encouraging Taxis, again easily accessible or there is a Beerfest rate at the Hilton for people that just want to make a night of it.

Is there anything else we should know?

It’s year two, so we have learned a bit more about the flow of the space, what people are looking for and feel we have upped the bar and managed to keep the price at the same level. All of the food is included in the price of admission, we had great success with the food end of things last year and are looking at another great year for it!

Jesse Vergen of Smoking Pig BBQ at SJBF 2012 (and will be back in 2013)

Jesse Vergen of Smoking Pig BBQ at SJBF 2012 (and will be back in 2013)

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The provisional list of breweries, beers and tables has been posted to the Saint John Beer Fest Facebook page, and may change before the festival date. I see great beer from all of the Maritime Provinces, as well as some interesting imports on the list, so no one will leave thirsty!

Table #1

Garrison Tall Ship Amber Ale

Garrison Irish Red Ale

Garrison Raspberry Wheat

Garrison Hopyard Pale Ale 6

Garrison Imperial IPA

Garrison Ass Kicker IPA

Garrison Kellye’s Wild Rye’d IPA

TABLE #2

Picaroons Best Bitter

Irish Red

Dark and Stormy Night

Yippee IPA

Simeon Jones

Timberhog Stout

Yippee IPA

TABLE #3

Shiretown Blonde du Quai

Shiretown Big Brown Ale

Uncle Dunkel

TABLE #4

PEI Brewing Co/Gahan Sir John A Honey Wheat

Island Red

Iron Horse Brown

1772 IPA

Beach Chair Lager

TABLE #5

Carlsberg

Carlsberg Light

Kronenbourg

Mill Street – Tank House

Mill Street – Organic

Mill Street – Lemon Tea

TABLE #6

Saint John Ale House

TABLE #7

Coors Light

Molson Canadian

Rickards Red

Rickards White

Rickards Blonde

Rickards Dark

Creemore Springs Lager

Creemore Traditional Pilsner

Molson Canadian 67

Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale

Granville Island Lions Winter Ale

Strongbow

Newcastle Brown Ale

Molson Canadian Wheat

TABLE #8

Lemongrass Thai Fare/Pepper’s Pub

TABLE #9

Hop City Big Mouth

Hop City Barking Squirell

TABLE #10

MooseLight

Alpine

Moosehead Pale Ale

Moosehead Premium Dry

Clancy’s Amber Ale

Cracked Canoe

Moosehead Lager

Mooselight Lime

Moosehead Cask Ale

TABLE #11

Paulaner Hefe Weissbier

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Samuel Adams Spring Lager

Tennents

Twisted Tea

Magners Original Cider

TABLE #12

Bavaria Strong 8.6

Fuller’s Honey Dew

Fuller’s Porter

Hacker Pschorr Weisse Beer

Koningshoeven Tripel Trappist Beer

TABLE #13

Pump House Blueberry Ale

Pump House Fire Chief Red Ale

Pump House Scotch Ale

Pump House Special Old Bitter Ale (SOB)

Pump House Cadian Cream Ale

Pump House Premium Lager

TABLE #14

Erdinger Weissbier

Erdinger Dunkel Weissbier

Affligem Blonde

Fruli Strawberry White

Stiegl Lager

Mort Subite Kriek

Mongozo Premium Pilsner

Stiegl Radler

Palm Amber Ale

Delirium Tremens

TABLE #15

Grannan’s

TABLE #16

Bud Light Platnium 6 pack

Bud Light Platnium 650 ml bottle

Michelob ultra 12 pk bottles

Alexander Keith’s Hallertauer Hop Ale

Alexander Keith’s Cascade Hop Ale

TABLE #17

Propeller IPA

Propeller Exrta Special Bitter

Propeller Double IPA

Propeller London Style Porter

Cask Dry Hopped ESB

TABLE #18

Tidal Wave Douple IPA

Sandpiper Pilsner

TABLE #19

St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale

St. Ambroise Pale Ale

St. Ambroise Scotch Ale

St. Ambroise IPA

TABLE #20

Smoking Pig BBQ

TABLE #21

SLEEMAN CLEAR 12 CANS

SLEEMAN CLEAR 12 BOTTLES

SLEEMAN HONEY BROWN LAGER 12 BOTTLES

SLEEMAN ORIGINAL DRAUGHT 12 BOTTLES

BLANCHE DE CHAMBLY 6 BOTTLES

EPHEMERE POMME 6 BOTTLES

SAPPORO 4 PACK

TABLE #22

Grolsch Lager Can

Pilsner Urquell

Peroni Nastro Azzuro

American Vintage Hard Iced Tea

TABLE #23

Guinness Draught

Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale

Harp Irish Lager

Smithwicks

Guinness Black

TABLE #24

Innis & Gunn Blonde

Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer

Innis & Gunn Spiced Rum Finish

Hello beer fans! Another busy week in Atlantic Canadian Beer News.

  • Picaroons‘ Easter Keg Hunt is on now! Search around downtown Fredericton, NB for the 4 painted kegs and snap a picture of yourself to win a prize. Check their Facebook Page for more details.
  • Also, with their upcoming Melonhead release, they are looking for a photogenic kitty to grace the label. Email them a picture of your favourite cat, and it could be famous!
  • Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza, NS is ready to open, and is having a pair of parties to mark the occasion. Saturday April 6th 4-8pm at the Bras d’Or Yacht Club in Baddeck, and Saturday April 20th 7pm at The Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth (upstairs at the Alderney Ferry Terminal). Come out to support the Atlantic Provinces’ newest brewery!
  • Last week, Propeller Brewing Co released a new 1L flip-top Growler, for when you only want one litre of your favourite beer. Fill it with their Double IPA or current One Hit Wonder Black IPA (only available in growlers at the Prop Shoppe on Gottingen in Halifax for a limited time).
  • Not to be outdone, Garrison Brewing Co released their own version, a 1L “Growlito” this week. Think of these as a three-pack of beer, for when you have to be up early the next morning 🙂
  • Garrison has released their 2013 Ol’ Fog Burner, as well the 2012 Barrel-Aged version, which spent 9 months in Glenora Distillery barrels. Only 1000 bottles of these available, so make your way to the brewery to pick them up.
  • Following up on a recent post, Mike Buhler has launched Beerthief.ca, complete with forums for chatting about the beer scene in Newfoundland, as well as homebrewing and everything else. Keep up to date with the next offerings from the Newfoundland Beer Club.
  • The Saint John Beer Fest (April 13 at Market Square in Saint John) VIP tickets are sold out, but there are still regular tickets available through the Harbour Station. We are eagerly awaiting the brewery and beer list, and will release our interview with them next week.
  • Shiretown Beer‘s Blonde du Quai is now available in 500mL bottles. Since their move to Charlo in January, they’ve been busy, including “Best of the Fest” at the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. Congratulations and keep up the great work, Derek and Tim! You’re helping folks in Northern New Brunswick drink great beer.

Stay tuned for more news and profiles as we keep our eyes and ears open. If you’ve got any news or events we should cover, please leave us a note.

The Atlantic Canadian beer festival scene continues to grow with the latest edition being the Saint John Beer Festival.   The inaugural event will take place on April 14th from 7-9:30 at the Market Square Atrium.  Tickets, which are $49.50 each,  will be limited due to the size of the location and are available at the Harbour Station box office.

I’ll post more information about the event as it becomes available.  Check out their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter (@SJBeerFest) for more information.