Saltbox Brewing

All posts tagged Saltbox Brewing

Atlantic Canadian Winners from the 2024 Canadian Brewing Awards

Posted by acbbdamian on 2024-06-01
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News, Beer Events. Tagged: Bogside Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Canadian Brewing Awards Conference, Copper Bottom Brewing, Dildo Brewing, Foghorn Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grand Falls Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Libra Non-Alcoholic Beer, Long Bay Brewery, Microbrasserie Ateepic, Novum Boreas Brasserie, PEI Brewing Co., Rough Waters Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Brewery by Quinn's, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 2 comments

The 2024 Canadian Brewing Awards & Conference is in the books and this year’s awards ceremony saw a very strong showing for Atlantic Canadian breweries, one we believe is the best we’ve ever seen from the region. A total of 25 medals are being brought home from Hamilton by some very proud brewers, amongst those are 7 gold, 10 silver, and 8 bronze spread across all four provinces, with seven from New Brunswick (3G/2S/2B), two from Newfoundland & Labrador (1S/1B), twelve from Nova Scotia (4G/6S/2B), and four from Prince Edward Island (1S/3B).

The biggest story for Atlantic Canada, and Nova Scotia in particular, is the 3 golds and the “Brewery of the Year” title won by Shelburne’s Boxing Rock. This is the first time since 2012 when Picaroons won, that a brewery from this end of the country has taken home the biggest prize. A huge congratulations from us to Emily and Henry and their entire team at Boxing Rock who will have something extra special to celebrate at their 11th Birthday Party in July.

Other multiple winners included Fredericton’s Grimross, Halifax newcomers The Brewery by Quinn’s, Mahone Bay’s Tanner & Co, and Tatamagouche Brewing. The full list of our region’s winners appears below. You can also view the entirety of the results at the CBAC site (check out the rad map link if you’re planning a beer-drinking trip this summer and want to sample some bangers!)

Big ups all around to all the breweries who brought home hardware to our little corner of the world and to those who stuck their noses (and wallets) out to participate. We suggest you celebrate all of them with a beer! No word yet on the location for the 2025 Awards & Conference, but we’ll keep you in the loop once we hear!

New Brunswick

Newfoundland

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

ps. We’re thrilled to be back and publishing, and have some Profiles in the works for the region’s expanding beer, cider, and mead landscape! Chat again soon!

Friday Wrap-Up for February 9, 2024 – News from Tanner, Tire Shack, Boomstick, Boxing Rock, Banished, Tusket Falls, Breton, Unfiltered, Trailway, Big Spruce, Village, Green, Saltbox and More!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2024-02-09
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Banished Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Boomstick Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Breton Brewing, Burnside Brewing Company, Garrison Brewing, North Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Village Green by Modern Brewer. Leave a Comment

We don’t know about you folks, but we blinked and somehow we’re already a third of the way through February; maybe last weekend’s snow did something to accelerate that. Speaking of which, many breweries in the region lost some business days to getting dug out, so bear that in mind when you’re picking up beer for the big foosball game this weekend (see more on that below). Also coming up soon is Valentine’s Day, which really has nothing to do with beer unless you want it to. Anyways, enjoy this week’s round up of beer news in Atlantic Canada.

Chester Basin’s darling, Tanner & Co has a brand new beer available this week, dipping into the dark and delicious end of the spectrum. At 5.7% ABV, Oatmeal Stout is robust, with roast, coffee, and chocolate notes coming though thanks to the dark malts used in the mash. The addition of oats helps smooth out the mouthfeel, lending a wonderful creamy texture. The ensemble will have you looking forward to that next sip (and next pint!). Available now in both their Chester Basin brewery location, as well as their Chester taproom, and for delivery online through their shop, too!

Speaking of dark and roasty beer, Moncton’s Tire Shack has brought back their Belgian Coffee Quad this week. Melding the biggest of the Belgian styles, known for its dark fruit, caramel, and a bit of sweetness, with some great coffee roasted by nearby Down East Coffee. That combination, as well as the 9.0% ABV, will have you praising the heavens for this lovely brew. Pop by 190 John Street to see their recently expanded taproom, and grab a pint and cans before this seasonal disappears.

On to Corner Brook, where Boomstick Brewing calls 55 West Street home. They’ve decided to kick up the hops in a big way with the release of Double Knit ImperialIPA. A light base of Pilsner malt and flaked wheat supports the absolute jumbo weight of hops used in the beer. Idaho 7, Simcoe, and Mosaic have been knitted together for multiple layers of tropical, citrus, resin, and much more. On tap right now, available in cans as well, with those being distributed on the Good Beer Highway across the province soon!

It being February, the annual Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl is up and running on the South Shore of the province, and, as is traditional, the craft brewers in the area are getting involved. This week we can tell you that Boxing Rock Brewing has put together a new brew for the occasion this year, with a name that’s a riff on one of their most popular beers. Shuck Off is a blonde ale coming in at 5% ABV. Although they’re describing it as “LOBSTERIFIC” it contains no actual lobster. That said, with a light and crisp body, it’s the perfect refreshing pairing for rich, and often garlic-butter-soaked lobster! Check out all the events at the official website linked above and grab yourself some Shuck Off at all Boxing Rock locations.

It’s time for the Superb Owl Section of this post. Many breweries have some deals on now until Sunday February 11th. You like deals? We like deals. You like the Superb Owl? We do, too! Check out your favourite local craft breweries offering some special deals for the big game. These deals are directly from the breweries, so go to the source for your stuff if you can. 

Breton Brewing

  • Lager –  Mixed 4 Pack (473ml) for $12
  • Lager – Mixed Flat (24 x 473ml) for $50
  • Black Angus IPA – Two 355ml 6 Packs for $30

2 Crows Brewing

  • AC Light Lager – Flat (24 x 473ml) for $50

Garrison Brewing

  • Tall Ship Light – Case (12 x 355ml) for $25

Propeller Brewing

  • Prime Lager – Flat (24 x 355ml) for $40
  • Azacca – Flat (24 x 355ml) for $50

Burnside Brewing

  • Toller Lager, Gold & Lite – Case (12 x 355ml) for $22

Trailway Brewing

  • Fetch Lager – $4 off a Case (12 x 355ml)

North Brewing

  • 15% Off – Newsletter code

REMINDER: Not every brewery is big enough to produce beers like this that can be brewed in quantity and sold at minimal margin or even a loss to drive cash flow. So by all means, spend some of your craft beer dollars on these deals, but maybe save a couple of simoleons to pick up something from a smaller producer for whom every can counts?

We’ll take a minute to highlight one big party going on Sunday evening, up in Paradise, NL, where Banished Brewing is doing up The Banished Bowl, with tailgate starting at 6pm leading into a private watch party. Tickets for the event are $45 each, which includes entry, 2 beer tickets, 1 meal ticket, a take-home mug, and exclusive access to additional beers from Toronto’s Bellwoods and Halifax’s 2 Crows. One of the Banished joints you’ll be able to enjoy this weekend is the return of Makes Sense, their hazy IPA, which is, “ultra fresh and tasting insane.” So Making Sense is nonsensically good, apparently!!

Here’s our last few quick hits to send you on your way for the weekend. Go Ninefs!! Yay Chiefers!! Happy Tay Tay!!

If you know anything from the last couple of years of craft beer trends, it’s that Lager is Life. Tusket Falls Brewing have two locations in Tusket and Halifax, and both are featuring three new lagers. While they brew up a new one in the tank now, they currently have Czech Pils, German Pils and Helles all on tap. The Czech is featured on a Lukr side pull and all beers are available at both locations. Let your noses and tongues pick up the classic hops of Saaz and Hallterteauer Mittelfruh along with classic continental malts from Raven and Weyermann. They’re hoping to have these available all the time, so check them out if you’re around either location.

As mentioned above, there’s a deal on some Breton Brewing lagers for a football game. If you’ve been following along with their Light Lager series, you’ll be happy (or sad) that this is the fourth and final release. Breton Lager #4 is a Light Lager at 4%. That’s all we can tell you! It’s crisp and light and available now, and as part of one of their Superb Owl deals mentioned above. We’re looking forward to seeing which of the light lager variants will be the go-to for a bigger batch to feed summer thirsts across Cape Breton Island and beyond.

Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing has a re-release a few years after its debut in 2021. This is a memorial brew to the late Paul McKinnon and Battleship PM-67 is back and available now as a tribute and memorial to the brewery’s late friend and patron. This double IPA is made with the Cryo Pop hop blend (from Yakima Chief) and is packed with tropical tastes and flavours, including pineapple, peach, and grapefruit. This is 7.5% and available at the brewery on tap and in cans. 

Break out the Silver and Black (no the Raiders aren’t in the big game!) because Bearstream is back: Trailway Brewing’s tasty West Coast IPA is back with some tweaks. Still using classic West Coast hops, this new batch beefs up the malt bill to add some toastiness and doughy body not traditionally in the style. Still piney, resinous, and citrusy, it still has the West Coast bitterness, but with a bit more malt balance in a 7% package. It’s available now from the brewery and online. 

Faithful patrons of Nyanza’s Big Spruce will be excited about the latest beer returning to taps and cans. Amärzen Grace is back and this Märzenbier is true to the traditional German lager style. German for “March Beer”, this beer is a malty, full-bodied lager that is very drinkable with notes of toffee and dried fruit. It is 6% and available on tap for growlers and pints and in cans from the brewery (in-person or online!).

The returning favourites keep on rolling as Village Green brings back one of their classic brews, Dark Mild. Forever drinkable at 3.5%, the beer has a good body with notes of chocolate and a nice sweet malty-drinkable everlasting flavour. Get this one on tap or cans to go from the Cornwall, PEI brewery.  

From the Saltbox Brewing crew, we’ve got news of a brand new location launching this summer. In addition to their other Nova Scotia taprooms in Wolfville, Mahone Bay, Bridgewater, and Lunenburg, this will be a Tantallon Taproom at the Shining Waters Marina. More details will be arriving soon, but this planned partnership will launch later this year.

Friday Wrap-Up for September 8th, 2023 – News from Tatamagouche, Tusket Falls, Quidi Vidi, PEI Brewing, North, Keith’s, Saltbox, Barnone, Stillwell Brewing, Dildo, and Hardisty

Posted by acbbdamian on 2023-09-08
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Alexander Keith's Historic Brewery, Bannerman Brewing, BarNone Brewing, Dildo Brewing, Hardisty Brewing, North Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Quidi Vidi Brewery, Saltbox Brewing, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing. Leave a Comment

School’s back in session around the Atlantic provinces, as kiddos, teens, and university dreams are all in classes. As we start to see the fall roll in with spiced ales and Oktoberfest fun, we’ve still got lots of summer weather and patios to enjoy through September. We’ll be with you through all of the ebbs and flows of the craft beer news and events, so make sure you give us a follow on Twitter (or, X now, right? Does anyone say that?) and Instagram or maybe even like our Facebook page (yes, we’re THAT old). Onto the news below!

Hitting the taps and shelves this weekend is a brand new release from everyone’s favourite brewery in Tatamagouche, Tata Brew Co. Returning to a tried and tested technique of theirs, they brewed a base beer using both Maritime-grown malt and hops before storing it away in barrels to further develop. These Sauvignon Blanc barrels contained Brettanomyces yeast, who worked their magic for eight months before packaging. These bugs imparted some citrus and stone fruit ester character, melding with the wine and grape, as well as wood notes, to complete the package. Ersa, at 4.5% ABV, is available in small cans from the brewery and for province- and Canada-wide shipping from their website now.

Tusket Falls Brewing, are back with their 3rd iteration of Next Phaze. The first one featured a good amount of Phantasm (thiol-laden Sauvignon Blanc grape-derived powder) along with Citra and Riwaka hops, while the second release turned the Thiols way down, and this current release gets rid of Phantasm completely. This one changes the yeast in this Hazy IPA to A38 Juice from Imperial Yeast. This yeast really showcases the new world hop profiles in New England-style hazy IPAs. The Citra and Riwaka hops stay the same in the whirlpool and the dry-hopping. At 6.4% ABV this sounds like a must try if you’re a fan of the series. It’s only been 4 weeks since the last release, so talk to your staff and check the canning dates! This one is available now at their Tusket and Halifax locations in cans. 

Up to St. John’s, Quidi Vidi Brewing has another release from their Sofa Sour series. This series focuses on bringing new flavours with old elegance to a well balanced base sour beer. This Blackberry Rosemary Sofa Sour features a delicate blend of blackberry and rosemary additions to balance the tartness and bring a bit of sweetness on the finish. The beer is vibrant in colour with a red/purple mix and a light pink head. This one is canned at 5% and is available at NLCs, convenience stores, at the brewery and online!

Over to Prince Edward Island for our next release, where PEI Brewing Co is celebrating Lead Brewer Tim’s birthday, albeit a few months late… OK, let me explain. For a few years, Tim was sitting on a receipt for a Baltic Porter, and the opportunity to brew it finally came up earlier this year, on his birthday! Rich in chocolate, fruitcake, and cherry notes, the 7.0% Tim’s Birthday Baltic Porter is only available on tap at the PEIBC Taproom, and for a limited time. Happy Birthday, Tim!

Instead of the pumpkin spice, North Brewing is bringing back a release from last year with Kem Cho? This is a Spiced Pale Ale whose name means “How are you?” in Gujarati (an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat). Spiced with saffron, cardamom and some lemon additions, with the Cashmere hops complementing these adjuncts. At 4.5% this is a complex yet approachable beer that is available now at all three of the North shops or online for delivery. 

Hardisty Brewing, a nano brewery in Colby Village, recently released a special brew, a return to earlier ways of brewing, before hops were used. Gruits used other herbs and roots to impart bitterness as a way to flavour and balance the sweetness, and Char from Hardisty followed that same procedure with their most recent release. A pale malt bill was used, and lemon balm, mugwort, and yarrow were used in the boil in place of hops. The 4.3% ABV ale was such a hit with both sour beer and cider fans that it sold out at their Seaport Farmers Market table last Saturday! But worry not, there will be more Gruits, with unique herb combinations, coming soon! This Saturday, visitors to the Market will be able grab Hardisty’s Pilsner, American Pale Ale, Rye IPA, and Porter. And in the next couple of months, their storefront at 958 Cole Harbour Road will be open for pints and flights, paired with sweet and savoury charcuterie boards, as well as retail cans to go!

Hot (well, cold) off the canning line is the latest from the darling of East Duckworth Street, Bannerman Brewing. Overripe is a Sour IPA, brewed with the new HBC 1019 hop from Hop Breeding Company, imparting a lovely fuzzy peaches character to the previously soured ale. Cans are literally coming off their line at the time of publishing, so head down to East Duck this afternoon, and you’ll find no fresher beer in the province!

This weekend sees the first Halifax International Fleet Week celebrating our Royal Canadian Navy with events, tours and displays all weekend long. While there will be discounts all around at some breweries if you show your military ID, Alexander Keith’s Brewery has also brewed a Fleet Week Pilsner for the week, a classic pilsner in celebration of the Canadian Armed Forces. Coming in at 5% this is a limited edition canned release that you’ll be able to find at the bottle shop down at the old Halifax Brewery Market and also available on tap at limited bars and restaurants around Halifax. 

In a move to reduce the waste footprint of beer and its packaging, the folks at Saltbox Brewing in Mahone Bay have purchased a Hinterkopf can printer, allowing designs to be printed directly on cans, without the need for labels or sleeves. And with that, they have launched Saltbox Print Works, opening up the same possibility to breweries across the region. While direct printing was previously available, the minimum order needed to make it viable were out of reach to all but the largest craft breweries, necessitating a purchase of many pallets of cans up front. So much for changing your ABV or recipe! With the local printer, much smaller runs can be performed, allowing for flexibility in seasonal, or one-off releases, without the massive investment needed ahead of time. Speaking of time, as the steps from design to printing are extremely quick, within a matter of days or weeks, not months, the turn-around could be as quick as from between brewday when the beer details are set in the design, to the cans arriving by canning day. Currently, SPW can accommodate standard 355 and 473 ml cans, as well as slim designs. If demand from customers is there, they may consider other sizes (we vote crowlers!). While their full website is still in the works, interested breweries can check this press release, and reach out to SPW to learn more!

A few events to tell you about this weekend and the near future!

In Rose Valley, PEI, Barnone Brewery is playing host to the Disc Golf Pro Tour Discmania Open this weekend. Players from around the world are onsite to compete for thousands in prizes, and the public is welcome to come out and get in on the action! Food trucks, live music, and extended hours at the brewery all weekend. Plus, as a celebration of the PEI Disc Golf community, Barnone has released Comebacker Lager. After being hit extremely hard by Hurricane Fiona, they came together to rebuild the province’s courses. That work has paid off, as the first ever stop on the DGPT in Canada is in Rose Valley. Grab pints and cans of the 4.5% ABV Lager at the brewery all weekend. Looking to visit the course yourself after the weekend’s fun winds down, here are the details! 

Fans of Craft Beer, Tacos and Dance Parties need to look no further for a special day at Stillwell Brewing. Exploria (a Halifax based dance collective) is hosting Reverie, an all day dance party featuring some of the collective’s artists. Long-time Stilly friends Beverley Taco Service will be coming back for this event too, so there will be something for everyone. This is a ticketed event, so hit the link here to register for the event on Saturday September 16th. 

Beer and running, this is a match made in heaven! Dildo Brewing is hosting their 3rd annual community fundraiser in November, as they’re putting on The Run for Beer. This is an 8km walk/run event with the aim to engage the community and raise funds to put back into helping the town. Check their social media post here for all of the details. Registration is open now and the Dildo event will take place on Saturday, November 4th.