Schoolhouse Brewery

All posts tagged Schoolhouse Brewery

Is your January still dry, or strangely wet due to the weather? Unless you’re in certain parts of Cape Breton, New Brunswick or Newfoundland, it has been a weird weather start to the year with more wind and rain on its way this weekend. Look at us, typical Maritimers, always talking about the weather. Let’s talk about our other favourite thing, beer (and beer adjacent drinks, events, jobs, media, news, etc.)!

We’re kicking off this week’s beer news with an oldie but a goodie. While we’ve been celebrating lots of anniversaries and birthdays of breweries over the last few months, Pump House Brewery is celebrating their 25th year! Officially opened in September of 1999, they’re kicking off year 25 with a new beer. If you used to show up to parties or barbecues with that classic 12 pack of bottles from the NSLC/ANBL/NLC/PEILC, there is no doubt some nostalgia you have for this brewery and their big anniversary. Who doesn’t remember their first Blueberry Ale?! While we can’t believe time flies so quickly, their new beer is a far cry from those early days. Evolution is a Brut IPA that finishes clean and crisp, but still packs a lot of flavour thanks to the hop bill of Warrior, Citra, Simcoe and El Dorado. Packaged in cans, it’s 6% for an approachable beer that should appeal to all of their customers over time. Look for this in all Pump House locations and potentially some other retail locations as it rolls out over the next few weeks. 

Last week we highlighted some non-alc options for the people (Dry January or not!) and North Brewing decided to join the party in their own way. More in the category of “low ABV” than “no ABV,” Pocket IPA is an ultra light IPA coming in at 2.5% but still high on flavour and body. This small little buddy is brewed with pale malt, Vienna malt, and oats. For the hops, its single hop star is Mosaic.  With low bitterness, medium carbonation, and lots of hop aroma, this is an anytime crusher that can suit a lot of different purposes and activities, and you can put it in your pocket anywhere you go with its 355ml format. It’s available now at all of the North locations and their online store. 

The winter months are classically the time for darker beers and their associated roastier flavors and Dildo Brewing is leaning into that by releasing a brace of beers in collaboration with their neighbours around the other side of Trinity Bay, Trinity Coffee Company. First up is Cappuccino Stout, featuring oats in the grist for a smooth mouthfeel to pair with the rich cappuccino taste thanks to an infusion of Trinity coffee beans. At 5.4% you could probably go full Italian style and have one for breakfast! On the other end of the spectrum, at least the color spectrum, we’ve also got White Stout, a beer for those who like “darker” flavors but aren’t into the slight astringency that can come with classic roasty stout ingredients. Coming in at 5.8% ABV, it’s got plenty of classic stout flavor, and an additional coffee kick from Trinity coffee beans. Look for both of these new releases at the Dildo merchandise shop and their Water Street bottle shop as well.

The gang at Breton Brewing in Sydney, NS, is taking some time during these cold months to prepare for the warmer ones to come. In this case that means brewing up some small batches of lager to ensure that when the sunny weather starts to hit they’ve got the ultimate light lager to put in your hand (or your beach cooler or your softball kit bag). While version #1, which was released just before the holidays, is still pouring in the taproom, the new one is ready to go on tap and in a limited number of cans. This time it’s a Mexican lager, which usually implies perhaps a bit of corn adjunct as opposed to the rice often used in the American light lager style. Crisp, light, and clean, and weighing a paltry 4.0% ABV, as you sip you can cast your mind forward to summer and how nice it might be to neck one of these after mowing the back 40.

Continuing with the Mexican theme, but switching from lager to ale, Mount Uniacke’s Party Time Brewing has done up a new recipe called Party at Mexi’s, a 5%, 35 IBU amber ale. Haligonians of a certain age may fondly remember the days when “Party at Mexi’s” was an after work tradition on Spring Garden Road. These days Mexicala Rosa’s have relocated out to Bayers Lake Business Park, but they’re still serving some of the longest-running Californian-style Mexican cuisine in the region, and now they’ll be serving a local beer to go along with it. That’s right, Party Time’s latest has been brewed for Mexi’s themselves and they’re hoping to start serving it tomorrow (Saturday, January 13th)! You may also see it also appear at Mexi’s Moncton location in the future. 

Staying in the HRM, downtown on Brunswick Street to be precise, 2 Crows has a new small batch they’ve put together for a special event at the brewery. Sickeningly Sweet was built on a blueberry and lemon sour base with a whole bunch of peaches and Nova Scotia honey added. Sweet, sour, and super fruity, it was developed with local drag star Diana B. Tease as a companion to the Canada’s Drag Race Season 4 Finale viewing party that they hosted last night. If you’re lucky, though, there will still be some of this one pouring at the taproom!

Sea Level Brewing has a new brew that has a fun accompanying video to show the process behind its production. Farmhouse Ale is their latest small batch creation that uses ingredients from their farm (just down the road from their brewery). The beer features hopes indigenous to the area that were discovered by Randy Lawrence who worked with the Harvie family (who purchased Sea Level a few years ago) to continue the use of the hops in Sea Level beer after the sale. These hops were believed to have originated with the Acadian settlers in Sheffield Mills. Additional Centennial hops were used to dial in the right bitterness and flavour. Kveik yeast was used here to bring it all together and stick with the farmhouse style that is hazy with pineapple, tangerine and pine flavours. It’s 4.6% and only available on tap at the brewery. We should note it’s also a small batch as this was the first harvest of the hops after their relocation. Try this one out now and look for it in a larger production in coming years when the hops are producing a larger yield. 

A fun contest of sorts out of Boxing Rock is our event of note for the week:

Down Shelburne way, Boxing Rock has a fun contest going on to mark Dry January’s end. To give everyone something to look forward to, they’re hosting a beer recipe contest! The goal is to design a beer that we can look forward to drinking once Dry January runs its course. 

Here’s the rub:

  1. Craft a beer recipe! (This is due 11:59 PM Atlantic Time on Monday January 15th)
  2. Create a pitch video!  (This is due 11:59 PM Atlantic Time on Thursday January 18th)
  3. Donate what you can to Feed NS. (There is a link on the application form)

If you’re the talented winner, you’ll be invited down for a brew day, given credit on the can, and provided with five cases of the end product to drink, hoard, or share with your beer-loving friends!

Check out all the details at the contest page here

Lots of places either need folks now or are looking forward to the busier months of the year; if you’re considering working in beer, peep the below for potential possibilities.

If you’re looking for work for your or someone you know, we’ve got some industry jobs in PEI, NS and Fredericton that we’re helping to get the word out!

  • Copper Bottom Brewing – Montague, PEI. They’re looking for a full-time Canning Line Operator. Check the link here to apply
  • Saltbox Brewing – Various Locations, NS. Summer Students come get your beer on. It’s only January, but they’re already looking for people to work their Mahone Bay, Bridgewater, Lunenburg and Wolfville locations for retail, packaging and events in the busy season. Check the link here to apply
  • Grimross Brewing – Fredericton, NB. They want a new bartender that can work some daytime hours. If interested, please email resumes to taproom@grimross.com.
  • Maybee Brewing – Fredericton, NB. These fine Freddy folks are in need of a part-time Taproom Server for 2-3 shifts a week, mostly evenings and weekends. You can apply in person at 559 Wilsey Rd, or email your resume to ashley@maybeebrew.com

This week we’re going to do something a little different (but something we’ll potentially do again), because there A lot of returning beers this week to breweries across the region. Coming off of the busy holiday season, it’s always nice to see what styles and old favourites are returning to the shelves and taps of our favourite breweries. Here we go with a second list! 

  • Tatamagouche Brewing
    • Apres Cream Ale, 4.5%. After taking home a Bronze at the Canadian Brewing Awards, this beer is back in 355ml cans, but now also in a 12 pack box! Grab this in-store or online.
    • Dusk Schwarzbier, 4.9%. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen this roasty, coffee and caramel-y dark lager and now it’s back in a smaller 355ml canned format! Available at the brewery and online.
  • Sourwood CiderWABAMO Hopped Session Cider, 4.0%. This crusher is back with a new and improved recipe that is a little lighter in alcohol and acidity. Highly drinkable with citrus and floral flavours and aroma, this is in 355ml cans at Bishop’s Cellar and online from the brewery. 
  • Bannerman BrewingShore Leave Dry-Hopped Fruited Sour, 5.2%. Previously available when Bannerman first opened four years ago, this drinkable sour is dry-hopped with Mosaic and conditioned on blood orange and pineapple puree. This is available at the St. John’s brewery on tap and in cans.
  • Tanner & Co. Brewing1320 Cold IPA, 6.5%. One of the popular styles of 2023, was something that Tanner has done previously. Using local malt, the hops featured in this one is where the name comes from experimental hop variety YQH 1320 which will no doubt get a trade name in the coming year. It’s known for bringing big flavours of guava, citrus, and pineapple. 
  • Banished BrewingMirrors American Lager, 5%. The crushable king returns to cans, as this crisp lager is hopped with Saaz and Hallertau Blanc. It’s available now from the brewery and cans will be going across the province of Newfoundland through the week.
  • Schoolhouse BreweryFuzzy Peach Double IPA, 7.9%. A style that’s out of ordinary for the brewery, this big banger is back for a warm, boozy winter with a peach flavour! Grab this one from the Windsor brewery on tap and in cans. 

This isn’t usually something we post about, but it’s always fun to highlight the production and behind the scenes action of our regional breweries. Since Good Robot has been settled into their new Elmsdale location for over a year, they’ve been doing more than just brewing Good Robot beer. Take a look at this YouTube video that provides insight into what they’ve got going on in terms of equipment, canning details and capabilities of the facility.

Saint John residents (Saint Johners? Sea Dogs?) rejoice! Loyalist City Brewing has a new taproom and cocktail bar right above their existing location at 60 Water Street. The Second Story brings an elevated experience for craft beer, craft cocktails, and a very modern and refined space with lovely views of the harbour and port. We can say first hand that it’s a spot to check out if you’re in town. The current hours are 5pm ‘til Midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but extended hours and special events are soon to be announced on their Instagram page. Cheers to good news!

‘Tis the season (or saison) as they say, and as it’s only 10 more sleeps ‘til the big day, we’re all busy, busy, busy, hence the later than usual post! As a programming note here, we very likely won’t be doing wrap-up posts the next two weeks, but we are planning to have a special post going up in the meantime. So let’s get onto some quick hits about the beer news in the region for this weekend so you can tackle your to-do lists!

We’ll start out with our friends at 2 Crows opening their second location, 2 Crows Oxford. As we’ve noted before, it’s in the West End of Halifax on Oxford/Cork streets (next to On The Mat and in the former location of 4Cats Art Studio); Yeah Yeah’s Pizza has moved from their Barrington Street location to join them for slices and whole pies, alongside a full taplist. They soft-opened a week ago and have done some industry and newsletter subscriber nights, but this Saturday is their grand opening! The taproom will be open 11 AM until 11 PM with the kitchen open from 2 PM until 9:30 PM. Featuring ten taps from 2 Crows, a Sourwood cider and a Goodmore Kombucha, 2 Crows Oxford has 12 taps to serve the people! There are no reservations at this time, so show up for a slice to go, a slice to stay, a pint to stay, beer to go, whatever mix and match combo you desire!

Here are the ten 2 Crows offerings to start:

  • AC Light Lager
  • Pollyanna – Northeast IPA
  • Classic – Maritime Dry Stout
  • Fantacity – Belgian Wheat 
  • Jamboree Strawberry & Guava – Sour
  • Jamboree Blueberry & Lemon – Sour
  • Perfect Revelation – New England IPA
  • Home & Home – collaboration with Lone Oak – Hazy IPA w/ wine grapes
  • Battery Power – Hazy IPA
  • Letna – Bohemian Pilsner

In Deer Lake, Rough Waters Brewing is celebrating their birthday! Being open for four years is a great accomplishment and we’re happy they’re still around. As a celebration for the season and anniversary, they have a new barrel aged saison, High Tide. For this year it is a cherry saison that was brewed and then hung out for a year in a single malt whiskey barrel. This clocks in at 7% and is in a 750ml bottle. Looking for this in shops around Newfoundland from the east to west coasts of the province.

South we go to PEI’s evergrowing brewery. Lone Oak has a brand new release that is right on point with what the people are drinking. Nocturnal is a German-inspired dark lager. Brewed with German Pilsner malt, this dark lager is 5.2% and has some hints of caramel, while being smooth, dry and easily drinkable. This is available on tap at their three locations (Borden-Carleton, Milky Way and Fox Meadow) and available in cans to go from the Cold Beer Store at Milky Way and the main taproom in Borden. (And if you’re not from the area, like us, Milky Way is the little retail area by the main Cow’s Creamery along the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Charlottetown!)

Continuing south to Nova Scotia, Burnside Brewing (formerly Spindrift, in case you forgot!) has just launched a new small batch series called The Brew Lab. This series won’t be tied to a certain style, but gives the brewery folks a chance to try new flavours and styles and test them out on customers. The first in this series is Hazy Pale Ale and it’s available now. The baby sibling to Sea Glass (Burnside’s New England IPA), this Hazy Pale Ale is 4.5% with a lush tropical and citrusy hop character from Sabro, El Dorado, Citra, Eclipse and Comet. While keeping that strong flavour, the bitterness is medium at 35 IBU. The beer will be on tap at their 3 taproms (Dartmouth, Truro and Antigonish) and will also be available at the three private non-Bishop’s Cellar stores (Harvest in Dartmouth, West Side in Clayton Park and Rockhead on Windsor Street on the peninsula). 

Headed up Magazine Hill and off to Windsor the town, Schoolhouse Brewery has a new release that is also in the IPA Family. Blackboard is a Black IPA featuring Amarillo and Cascade hops. Using a malt bill with a combination of crystal malts, it weighs in on the heavier side at 7% but is still crisp and refreshing with a solid bitterness and bit of sweetness. It will be available on tap and cans from the brewery, on tap at various locations, and cans at the private stores mentioned above. 

The folks from Tatamagouche and their Nomad non-alcoholic brand are back! After a very popular initial run, they’re back with a new style and the launch of Nomad Witbier. All the usual flavours from the Belgian classic, namely coriander, orange peel, and elderflower highlight this refreshing and zesty beer, but in a non-alc 0.5% brew in a 355ml format! Check this one out online or directly from the brewery. 

Tanner Brewing is giving us two new releases before the Holidays. First up is a Hopfenweisse, a hybrid version of a German wheat beer and an IPA. Expect some yeast-driven banana character along with some hop derived tropical fruit and citrus notes with a 5.5% body.  This is canned and available from the brewery’s two locations and online. Second up, is a Baco Noir Sparkling Mead, using local honey fermented on Baco Noir grape skins from Grand Pré Winery. This is a 5.9% sparkling mead with lots of berry and cherry notes, which pair nicely with the sweetness of the honey. Find this in 500ml bottles online for delivery or at their two locations!

Over to New Brunswick where Tire Shack has a new one out in Moncton. If you’re like some of us, December means buying boxes of tangerines and Tire Shack’s new beer is bringing the festivity. Cranberry Tangerine Sour is a new release that uses those two exact fruits in a festive, drinkable sour. This is canned and on tap directly from the brewery. 

A short drive up to Fredericton takes us to Trailway where they’re headed in the other direction with their latest seasonal release. Italian Stout is exactly that! An 11% bold, rich, chocolate and hazelnut flavoured imperial stout. Using additions of both (although for the hazelnuts, it’s just the extract so the typical allergens are removed), this should bring the flavours of those delicious gold foil-wrapped holiday treats that get devoured during this time of year. Rich and decadent, this is a limited release so grab it in cans from their Fredericton and Saint John locations.

A few pieces of beer news out of Big Spruce this week, as they have both a new one and a returning release. Starting with that new-new, Just Shilling is an 80 Shilling Scottish Ale. You may know this style as Scottish Export Ale and it is a very drinkable deep copper, malty sweet, and smooth brew. At 4.8% it’s a lovely sipper for this time of year. Next up is the return of Ykpaïha (we’ll let you figure out the pronunciation on that one!), their Ukrainian Pilsner. It features the Ukrainian Zlato Polissya hop and is a crisp, bitter beer that is floral, herbal and well balanced at 4.9%. Both of these beers are canned and available at the brewery or online. 

Bannerman Brewing has a returning favourite with Aces High. A rice lager, it is a collaboration with Namjim, the Thai dining lads who run the kitchen at Bannerman. This is a 4.5% beer with toasted rice and dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace. It is canned and available at the brewery and around the Avalon peninsula. 

A fan favourite is back from Propeller Brewing today. Revolution is their approachable Imperial Stout that is once again in cans. At 8%, this is a rich, dark, robust beer that has dark fruit, coffee and chocolate flavours and is well balanced with hop bitterness. it is available at all 3 Prop Shops, online for delivery, and Harvest, West Side, and Rockhead. It will also be hitting select NSLC locations. 

Capping off the returning beers is Alloy from North Brewing. A Champagne IPA, this is one of their more popular seasonal releases as the IPA  flavour and body come through with a very dry finish. Using a lovely combination of Vic Secret and Huell Melon hops, the flavours are predominantly pineapple and melon with some herbaceous notes. It’s 6% and available on tap at all three locations and in cans as well, in store and online.

Piggybacking off of Thursday’s Lambic and a Movie fun at the Freehouse…. Stilly HQ is back for its annual Belgianfest! On Saturday December 16th, from Noon until late, Bar Stillwell will be featuring Belgian bottle pours and draft selections from Boon, Del Dolle, De Struise, Fantome, Lambiek Fabriek, Oud Beersel and more. We also expect there to be some treats on the food menu side as well (duck fat popcorn is back!). There are no tickets and no cover for this one, they just ask you to wear some Holiday swag or ugly sweaters to get into the festive spirit.

As we finished drafting up this week’s post, we noticed the social media release from Canadian Beer News. Greg Clow will be shutting down his beloved site and it’s hard to capture in words just how much the industry and consumers have loved (and will miss!) his work. Since 2008, it’s been a completely individual effort from Greg to keep up with the ever-growing and changing industry on a national level. Seeing as a group of us sometimes struggle to keep up with just Atlantic Canada, we can speak directly to how herculean his effort has been. His dedication on a daily basis is something that so many of us have relied on and we often marvelled at how one person could do all that work themselves. Our glasses are raised to Greg and we’ll pour one out for his stalwart site. We also absolutely agree with his parting words: remember to support your favorite independent breweries through the holidays and into the new year; many of them need it now more than ever.

We are getting back into the swing of things with another post on time! As we are back to our regularly scheduled programming, this is an exciting time of year as we start to see anniversaries, seasonal releases and holiday excitement fill the air. Speaking of anniversaries, check out our post from earlier this week highlighting the incredible Bar Stillwell opening 10 years ago, where we shared the taplist for the two day event. These blog boys have spent more time at Stillwell (all locations!) than we could count and everyone in the region is happy to have them showcase drinks from near and far. Of course, there is always news from all across Atlantic Canada, so take a read through our updates below and as always, cheers!

Of course you’ll find Stillwell Brewing Co beer pouring at the Bar Stillwell birthday party today and tomorrow, and in addition to some regulars and some rarities, that also includes a brand new release. Born from inspiration gained during brewer CPR’s trip to Czechia in 2022, Stillwell 13º is a Czech-style dark lager. While you may be familiar with the German take on the dark lager style, known as schwarzbier, the Czech, properly called tmavé pivo (“dark beer”) isn’t even that common in its home country, making up only about 3.5% of Czech beer production these days. Not unlike the difference between German and Czech Pilsners, the Czech version is rounder on the palate, with more malt body and some sweetness to balance the back-end roasty notes. At its best, featuring a big and creamy head of foam, it invites both careful consideration and eager enjoyment, somehow managing to be both chewy and rich as well as dry and crisp at the same time. Does Stillwell 13º live up to that? We think so, but now you can judge for yourself. Check it out at the party this weekend at HQ, from the Lukr side-pull taps (always a different experience) at the Stillwell Freehouse and the Brewery on Kempt Rd, and now in cans to go as well. Speaking of cans, if you’re down at the brewery you’re also going to find Stillwell Pale Ale is now (finally!) available in cans as well!

Another brewery on tap at Stillwell HQ this weekend will be 2 Crows, who will be debuting/sneak peeking at least two new beers on Barrington Street. Debuting at noon today is an as-of-yet-unnamed new IPA (ask Josh for the name when you pop in), in the juicy and hazy vein of the series kicked off by Perfect Situation back in 2018. Wheat and Oats help to keep a lovely smooth mouthfeel, as does capturing the carbon dioxide given off during fermentation using a spunding technique. That base beer is a fluffy pillow to allow the hops to shine through, mainly Columbus added during the mash and early boil, then Citra, Hallertau Blanc, and Nelson Sauvin added as the wort was cooled post-boil, with more Citra and then Rakau added during active fermentation. Speaking of, a blend of Verdant Thiol Libre yeasts were used, the latter unlocking the much sought-after biotransformation of the hop aromatics to give super-tropical notes. Pop by this afternoon to avoid disappointment!

As the initial kegs are kicked at Stilly, one of the next to be tapped is a sneak peek at one of 2 Crows’ anniversary beer, officially coming in early 2024. Alright Alright Alright is a follow-up to their OK OK OK, the Fruited Farmhouse beer released last year, featuring NS Sea Salt from the folks at OK Sea Salt. Once again, this year’s version spent plenty of time in a foedre, allowing those funky and tart notes from their house cultures to work their magic. Massive amounts of raspberry purée, complemented by freshly zested and juices limes, plus the aforementioned OK Salt, round of the flavour before packaging for natural carbonation in the can and keg. You’ll be the first to try it at Stilly this weekend, so keep an eye on their and 2C’s social media for the bat signal.

Never slowing down, the 2 Crows Brew Crew have once again traded places with their Front of House staff for the second of their Brewed by Servers, Served by Brewers release. Tonight at 6PM in the 2 Crows taproom, Everett, Miles, and Jeremy will be pouring up Brother Jiles, a Cranberry and Orange Hefeweizen, the recipe designed and brewed in October by Declan, Leandra, Esmé, and Tessa. The small batch of this light, zesty, and juicy beer is only available on tap, and probably will not last all evening, so be sure to drop by to give those brewery recluses a fun time. 🙂

2 Crows teamed up with their pals at Banished Brewing in Paradise Newfoundland, for a pair of collaboration beers, with 2C’s half hitting the taps this weekend. Home & Home is the absolutely fitting name for the beer on both sides of the water, with a base of barley, wheat and oats, and layers upon layers of hops. With the Halifax version seeing additions of Columbus, Citra, Hallertau Blanc, and Nelson Sauvin before fermentation, with more of the same early- and post-fermentation with the same hops (plus Enigma). As they are wont to do, the brewing team at 2 Crows pulled in another Nova Scotia producer for an added level of complexity and flavour, as they collected freshly-pressed red wine skins from Annapolis Valley’s Lightfoot & Wolfville, and rehydrated them to create a piquette. Blending that into the beer offers a bit more fermentable sugar for natural carbonation just before packaging. Big notes of red fruit, blackberry, and of course grapey goodness, with the big hop aromatics to match. Home & Home is available now on tap and in cans on Brunswick Street, and the 2 Crows Crew is also celebrating with a Launch Party at The BG Halifax, the waterfront beer garden at Summit Plaza tomorrow. Front 12 – 5 PM, there will be samples flowing during their Sip & Shop market, plus treats from Vandal Doughnuts.

More on the story of Home & Home, is the great collaboration between Banished’s long time label collaborator Paul G Hammond and 2 Crows’ pal Alex MacAskill of Midnight Oil, who themselves collaborated on the labels for the releases in Newfoundland & Labrador and Nova Scotia. The folks behind the marketing and social media have also banded together, and you’ll see plenty of fun posts coming from Tessa and Jason in the coming days. Banished’s release will be coming next week, with their Home staying in the straight Hazy IPA style with citrus, tropical, and stone fruit flavour profile from the hops used throughout. It must be hazy season in Paradise, as H&H will join the recently released Makes Sense and Occasionally Hazy IPAs, for an all-out hoppy good time.

Cole Harbour’s North Brewing has made a name for themselves in social and community involvement over the years they’ve been in operation and this week they continue their work in that vein. Not surprisingly, there’s a beer to talk about, as they’re releasing All-In, a (very) light beer at 3% ABV. A limited release, it was brewed in collaboration with United Dartmouth Football Club (UDFC) as part of their event entitled, of course, “ALL-IN” that runs this weekend and features Canadian Olympic soccer gold medalist Erin McLeod. W-Inspire was started by UDFC as a full-day conference in Nova Scotia with a vision to empower female leaders in sports. ALL-IN is the latest event in its evolution into a, “platform for women and gender-diverse individuals in soccer to connect, learn, and inspire one another.” North has pledged $0.50 from each can of the refreshing All-In beer sold to UDFC to help continue the W-Inspire program; you can grab it at all North locations or order online. You can read more about this weekend’s event at UDFC’s site.

Small but mighty Shipwright Brewing Co in Lunenburg, NS, punches above their weight again this week with a brace of new releases. Up first is Rye’T Aweigh, a “session rye ale” that marries a slightly sweet rye malt profile with an array of modern hop varieties, namely Topaz, Ella, and Loral, which bring citrus (lime), melon (honeydew), and tropical (papaya) notes. With a coppery red color, it’s lovely to look at and at 4.6% you may find it tasted like another. Also available is the latest American IPA from Shipwright, one they’re calling Shore Thing. Golden Promise malt is the bulk of the malt side of this one, with some Vienna added as well. The hops are stalwart Citra and modern continental variety Huell Melon. Fermented with their house Kölsch yeast, this one definitely brings the citra character, but with some sweet melon notes for balance. A firm bitterness of 56 IBU keeps things in check and it weighs in at 6.9% ABV. Both of these beers are available on tap for pints and crowlers to go at the brewery, and expect them both to be available at the Shipwright Taproom as well, where you can pair it with your favourite pizza.

Despite the shared UK roots across the Atlantic region, it’s pretty safe to say that only Newfoundland & Labrador keeps alive the tradition of mummering. It can, in fact, be argued that NL is the modern home of the tradition such as it stands in the world today. More intense than caroling, and with plenty of room to get fun and/or weird, it’s mostly a means to have a good time and be sociable with one’s neighbours, whether they be next door or a ways down the road, and possibly while wearing your underclothes on the outside. To celebrate the grand tradition, Quidi Vidi is releasing Mummer’s Cream Ale, a simple and easy-drinking brew that, at 5.3% ABV, should allow you to have a couple without getting yourself into too much trouble. You can grab it at the brewery or at select NLC’s and convenience stores next week to celebrate the 15th annual Mummer’s Festival which starts next Saturday. You’ll also be able to enjoy it at Quidi Vidi for their costume party on December 1st, right in the middle of the festival; grab your tickets on the brewery website.

In cider news, Lake City Cider of Dartmouth continues to put out releases targeted at the holiday season, and with our friends south of the 49th parallel heading into their big turkey weekend next week, it’s the perfect time for Cranberry Cider. Made with cranberries from Terra Beata Farms, this 6.8% rosé cider is a perfect accompaniment to turkey dinner and/or pumpkin pie. Find it in cans in their shop on Portland Street and at some of the private stores in Halifax as well, or order it for delivery within the HRM or shipping to the rest of the country.

Of the major beer families of the world, the ones that seem to be found the least in these parts over the last few years are the B’s: the British and the Belgians. Despite three breweries having opened in the region specifically targeting Belgian styles, none managed to make that work, so we’re left with the occasional singel, dubbel, or tripel, plus whatever saisons are around and the occasional long-term sour. On the British side, sure, we’ve got some porters about, but especially since the demise of Granite Brewing, the great traditions of Bitter and Mild are not terribly well-represented (though we nod to Tatamagouche and Sober Island, who’ve done both). Enter Propeller Brewing in Halifax, who recently brought back their London Porter, we note, and who are now releasing Dark Mild. True to the style, this is a small beer, at only 3.5% ABV, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s low on flavor. Plenty of roasted malt flavours marry with balancing sweeter notes of toffee, caramel, and dark fruit. Easy-drinking and with a deep mahogany color, you’ll find it packaged in 473ml cans at all the Prop Shops as well as the private stores in Halifax that don’t start with ‘B’.

Why yes, there are events happening outside of Halifax this weekend! Truro Brewing is throwing it way back this Saturday with a Medieval Renaissance. The day will feature vendors and friends featuring handmade goods and services. The music will be folk and Celtic themed and you’ll be encouraged to dress in theme to partake in the ale and mead at the brewery. This is an all ages event and is free to enter!

And in Annapolis Royal, Annapolis Brewing is hosting the 2023 Cask in the Sticks event. With eight breweries from across the province bringing forward their wares in this traditional serving format, you’ll be able to enjoy traditional as well as innovative offerings from Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, East Coast Cider, Horton Ridge, Lunn’s Mill, Roof Hound, Schoolhouse, Sober Island, Tatamagouche. The event starts at 7 PM tomorrow, so grab your ticket today to avoid missing out!

The Cole Harbour brewery, Hardisty Brewing, is moving to a new home on 958 Cole Harbour Rd, to have their own space open to the public in a little strip mall. They’re in the last stages of construction, having moved their brewing equipment this week, and are gearing up their food offering, consisting of charcuterie boards and other snacks. Stay tuned here and to their socials for the latest updates, but we are excited to have the nano-brewery get a little bit bigger!

Now into the returning beer section! Unfiltered is proud to bring back the wonderfully named RSMA! Of course, cheekily named in jest of Nova Scotia’s lovely provincial Retail Sales Markup Allocation, this is a big Double IPA single hopped with Mosaic for tropical flavours and backed with 2-row and cara-pils malt. It’s 7.5% and should be just as delicious as you remember. It’s available now directly from the brewery and on tap at their Charm School next door.

While snow and skiing will be coming soon, so will Martock IPA from Schoolhouse Brewing. Previously known as Private Session,  this is a West Coast Session IPA  featuring a combination of juicy, citrus, grapefruit and a light haze. This 5.3% IPA should be available next week at the brewery at NSLCs in the Valley area of Nova Scotia. And of course you’ll be able to get it at Ski Martock when they open up for the season. 

Staying with the theme of returning brews from Nova Scotia breweries, Big Spruce brings back One Hundred. This is a 100% local to Nova Scotia beer with the yeast, malt and hops all originating from the home province of Anne Murray. This is a wild ale thanks to the wild yeast strain from Big Spruce’s certified organic farm in Nyanza. The beer itself is 4.9% and has wonderful floral and sweet candy aromas, backed with a light, effervescent and well carbonated feel. This is available now in cans from the brewery, home delivery or shipping Canada-wide, and watch for it around private shops in HRM.

‘Tis the season for one of our favourite styles as Garrison Brewing is bringing back All Lit Up, a Winter Warmer (or Festive Strong Ale as it says on the can) that brings the warm flavours for the cold season. The beer is lightly spiced with notes of brown sugar, cinnamon, clove and strawberry jam, but is predominantly a rich caramel flavour with a warm finish. The malt bill brings together Pale, Munich, Caramel and Chocolate malts with Brewer’s Gold hops bringing the low bitterness at 20 IBU. It’s 7% so it’s still drinkable and a nice slow sipper. This will be at all of the private shops in HRM and provincial stores in Newfoundland, PEI and Nova Scotia. 

If you’re in the mood for a tasty treat anytime of the year, let’s remember that it’s always Lager Season. Tatamagouche Brewing has a returning beer that’s back in cans and kegs. Arvo is a Helles Lager with traditional German Pilsner malt with a bit of hops to balance it out and keep it bready, spicy and floral. Arvo is 4.6% and available now!