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Friday Wrap-Up – Burgers n’ Beer Events Planned for NB, Brews and News from Garrison, Propeller, Sea Level, Rockbottom, Bad Apple Brewhouse, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-03-28
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bad Apple Brewhouse, Burgers n' Beer, Celtic Knot Brewing, Garrison 2013 Home Brew-Off Challenge, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, PEI Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Brewing, reLiSH, RockBottom Brewpub, Saint John Beer Fest, Sea Level Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar. 3 comments

Happy Friday, and end of March! Don’t worry, the snow has to start melting sometime soon… right? Regardless, here’s what’s new for craft beer in our region this week:

• Despite just wrapping up the 2014 Fredericton Craft Beer Festival earlier this month, organizer Lloyd Chambers is bringing another beer idea of his to fruition… Burgers n’ Beer! Partnering with reLiSH Gourmet Burgers, there will be three small events throughout New Brunswick. The first will be held on Tuesday, April 15th in Fredericton from 8-10 pm (at the new uptown location), and will include six reLiSH sliders paired with six 8 oz pours of craft beer and cider. The tentative brewery list includes Grimross Brewing, Red Rover, B.C.’s Central City Brewing (with their Red Racer IPA representing), and Celtic Knot and Hammond River Brewing, both in Fredericton for the first time for this event! A custom 8 oz tasting glass is also included, and Adam Clawson of Red Rover will be doing a small presentation on all three of his ciders pouring at the event. Tickets are $45, taxes and fees included, and can be purchased online here. Future events are also planned for reLiSH locations in Moncton (April 29th) and Saint John (tentatively May 9th).

• Garrison Brewing has just released last year’s Garrison Home Brew-Off winner. Saint Peter’s Belgian-Style Strong Ale, a Belgian Blond Ale, was brewed with the winner of 2013’s competition, homebrewer Peter Welton. Coming in at 7.5% ABV and 24 IBUs, the beer is described as having a “hazy but vibrant orange color and a fluffy white head”, and exhibits a “smooth, spicy, and fresh aroma with notes of vanilla and banana, with the juicy flavor matching the aroma and finishing with a lingering warmth”. Look for the beer in bottles at the Garrison retail store, and at private liquor stores and NSLC stores throughout the province.

• Returning this week from Propeller Brewing is their popular Double IPA. A “heavily dry-hopped” Imperial IPA, it packs a punch at 8.2% ABV, with 85 IBUs. The brewery describes the beer as having “a huge amount of piney, floral, and citrusy hop aroma and flavors, balanced by sweet malt flavors”. You can find the beer in bottles and growlers at the Halifax and Dartmouth Prop Shop locations, and in bottles only at NSLC and private liquor stores in the province.

• Hot off the recent release of their El Rojo Diable Double IPA (which is just about gone, by the way), Sea Level Brewing is releasing another new beer. New World Alt is a Düsseldorf Altbier brewed from a recipe given to Brewmaster Randy Lawrence from a brewer friend of his in Düsseldorf, Germany. Described as a “clean, medium-bodied ale” with a background hop presence provided by the Hersbrucker hop, the beer is lagered for three weeks at zero degrees before packaging; it comes in at a very drinkable 4.8% ABV. New World Alt should be available at the brewery sometime next week, and will follow shortly afterwards at their regular outlets.

• The Rockbottom Brewpub in Halifax recently provided details on their next beer dinner on their Brewer’s Blog. Starting at 6 pm on Monday, March 31st, the three-course meal looks spectacular as usual, and features beers from brewer Greg Nash that includes Balticus, Fathom IPA, and Wreckoning RIS. Tickets are $35 and can be reserved by calling the brewpub.

• Meanwhile at Rockbottom, Nash has released some early details on two new beers that he’s brewed recently. The first is a Double IPA that is fermented with “Conan”, a well-known yeast strain in the brewing world as it is the one used by The Alchemist brewery in Vermont in their world-famous Heady Topper DIPA. The original yeast was cultured from a can of Heady Topper by one of the members of the Brewnosers, and Nash continued to grow this yeast until he had enough for a full-sized batch. Dry-hopped multiple times, the beer’s ABV will come in around 8% with 130 IBUs (calculated). The other beer is a SMaSH (single malt and single hop) India Pale Lager. Brewed with Pale Ale malt and Galaxy hops, the beer is fermented on lager yeast at cool temps, and then lagered and dry-hopped with more Galaxy. Look for this one to finish somewhere between 6.5-7% ABV, and with 80 IBUs. Both beers should be available at the brewpub sometime in the near future!

• Details are still very slim, but we can report that Bad Apple Brewhouse has brewed a new DIPA. Supposedly bigger and hoppier than the crowd-pleasing Conception DIPA that was pouring at the FCBF this month, this should be one heck of a beer! Stay tuned for more details as the beer approaches completion/packaging.

• The PEI Brewing Co. has started a new “Cask Program” run by brewer Karen Allen. We’ll have some more details in the near future, but for now they’re sending three pin casks to Halifax early next week to be tapped at Stillwell sometime soon. The first cask, Cherry Blaster, is the same sour, barrelled Saison that’s been served before, but instead of dry-hopping this one, they’ve added a tart cherry concentrate. The second cask is Business Lunch IPA, a “sessionable pale ale” dry-hopped with Mosaic and Cascade. Finally, Spray Tan Imperial IPA is a DIPA that has been double dry-hopped; first with Cascade and Falconer’s Flight, and then with Centennial in the cask. Keep up-to-date with Stillwell’s tap list on their Twitter feed.

• And a reminder that the 2014 Saint John Beer Fest is fast approaching! This year’s event is once again being held at the Market Square Atrium in downtown Saint John, on Saturday, April 5th. It was just reported this morning that all tickets are now sold out (including regular admission and VIP). The brewery/beer list has recently been posted on their Facebook page linked above. We hope to have a more detailed post on the festival sometime next week!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Hart & Thistle, Railcar, reLiSH, Picaroons, Grimross, Garrison, Sea Level and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-02-21
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, North Brewing, Paddys Irish Brewpub, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Pump House Brewery, Railcar Brewing, reLiSH, Rogues Roost Brewpub, Sea Level Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar. 1 comment

Good morning, everyone! Lots of craft beer news to get into this week; unfortunately, we have to start with some sad news…

• Earlier this week, owner Bruce Keith announced the closure of the Hart & Thistle Brewpub in Halifax. Unfortunately, their beautiful waterfront location sees a drastic slowdown outside of the summer months, and that was not enough to sustain the business year-round. It’s also unfortunate that we are losing a place where Brewmaster Greg Nash was given free reign to put together some experimental and wild beers, including the Hop Mess Monster (and her annual offspring) and Commissar RIS (which was still on tap upon closing, the beer’s fate is sad to think about). Thank you for five great years, H&T!

• Bringing us one step closer to tasting their beer, Railcar Brewing is opening their merchandise section, located at the brewery at 9172 (Unit 6) Main St. in Florenceville-Bristol, NB. Stop by to check out the renovated location, and pick up a variety of Railcar merchandise for sale – including four different logoed glasses, men and women’s shirts, hats, railway spike bottle openers, and six-pack craft beer holders. The hours will be Tuesday – Friday, 5:30 pm – 8 pm, and Saturdays 9 am – 5 pm.

• Last September, we posted about reLiSH (a popular gourmet hamburger franchise that originated in Fredericton) planning on opening a new restaurant that featured craft beer. Well, after a few delays, it looks like that restaurant will finally be opening tomorrow in the Knowledge Park complex of Fredericton! They plan on having 9 beers on tap, up to eight of which will be craft beers from Atlantic Canadian breweries (including Picaroons, Pump House, and PEI Brewing Co. when they first open). One of these beers is going to be designated as “people’s choice”; the next keg tapped will be chosen by popular vote through reLiSH’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. They also plan on having multiple bottled craft beer choices available.

• We mentioned last week that Picaroons would soon be releasing their seasonal Maple Cream Ale, a 5% ABV beer brewed with local maple syrup from Briggs Maples. Details for the official launch party are now available: it will be held on Saturday, March 1st at the York St. Train Station, from 11 am – 3 pm. Featuring all maple, all the time, there will be samples of the beer available, as well as maple food and “maple music” (no, I’m not exactly sure what that means). The beer will then be available at the ANBL, Brewtique, and restaurants/bars in the area.

• While on the topic of Picaroons, they’re going to be having a tap takeover at Bar Stillwell in Halifax on Saturday, March 15th from noon – 5 pm. Details on specific beers are still being kept under wraps, but we know that there’ll be 12 taps and 3 casks devoted entirely to Picaroons, so rest assured they’ll be bringing something special! Brewmaster Andrew Estabrooks will be on hand to answer questions and talk beer. Tickets are $10 each, and include a one-off glassware for the event and your first taste. Reserve your tickets at the bar, or email tix<at>barstillwell.com.

• On July 1st, 2013, Grimross Brewing released their first beer, Cheval D’Or, a ~5.2% ABV Saison. Brewer/owner Stephen Dixon has confirmed that he has recently re-brewed this beer; equipment upgrades have provided better temperature control while brewing, so that recipe targets have been hit more efficiently. He also mentions that the carbonation of the beer has been improved over the first batch. Look for this beer to be available soon on tap at the King Street Ale House, and in 750 mL re-fillable growlers at the Brewtique. It will also be making an appearance at the sold-out Fredericton Craft Beer Festival in two weeks!

• This week, Garrison Brewing released their popular seasonal Black IPA. Weighing in at 6.2% and 48 IBUs, this beer is the best of their hoppy and bitter IPAs, together with the roast character of their Martello Stout. This beer won gold at the 2010 Canadian Brewing Awards, and is available at the private beer stores in the HRM, as well as at the brewery.

• Sea Level Brewing in Port Williams, NS is releasing their El Rojo Diablo Double IPA late next week. Brewmaster Randy Lawrence chose a New Zealand hop as the centrepiece of this bold, hoppy brew. Its bitterness is balanced with a tropical fruit sweetness and the levels of taste boasts crushed black pepper. The beer weighs in at 7.666% ABV and 88 IBUs, and will be available in the Halifax private stores, as well as on tap at the Port Pub. It may also make it to Stillwell in Halifax.

• Congratulations to Paddys Irish Brewpub & Rosie’s Restaurant, who won Best Bar/Lounge at the Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce “Valley’s Best” event earlier this week. Well done! Their Fitz’s Belgian Dubbel is still on tap, but is going fast, so now is the time to enjoy it – the flavours are really nicely matured now. They also have an IPA in the works, so stay tuned for more details on that.

• The German Bock we mentioned previously is now on tap at Rogues Roost, and is tasting great. The final specs are 6.8% ABV and 24 IBUs, with lots of malt backbone, and some dark fruit notes. Their Pilsner will be released next week, as well as a new batch of their Porter.

• The folks at North Brewing (formerly Bridge) had a busy first week under their new moniker. Using their new fermenters and modifications to their original Psycho Brew system, they were able to push through a massive brew day: 1330 litres of their Saison! Congratulations, and we’re sure this will mean more access to their beer on tap and in growlers at the brewery and Alderney Market.

• CTV Atlantic highlighted the explosion of interest in Cask-conditioned and Real Ale in Halifax this week with a piece on their news hour. Lots of familiar faces and places are highlighted in the piece; just remember that Kevin Keefe at Granite Brewery has been brewing Cask Conditioned beer in our city for 30 years. Cheers to great beers!

• While the specific conference talk/presentation/gala schedule has yet to be released, we have confirmation that the 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards are being held May 29th-31st. This is the first time the CBAs have been held in the Atlantic Provinces, and will be at the Fredericton Convention Centre. While the conference may not be open to everyone, there will certainly be some events in town that will highlight the great brewers and beers from our area, as well as around the country. As the event gets closer, we’ll be posting more information on what they have planned for this year.

Atlantic Canadian Beer Blog Holiday Gift Guide 2013

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-12-16
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brewnosers, Everwood Ave, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Great Canadian Beer Expo, Noble Grape, Paddys Irish Brewpub, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Saint John Beer Fest, Sea Level Brewing. 2 comments

Happy Monday! We hope that everyone stayed safe and warm over the weekend. With the first real snow falling in the Atlantic Provinces, our thoughts turn to Christmas and other reasons to get together with friends and family. Why not get the beer-lover on your list something special from your local brewery? We’ve compiled a list of fun and interesting brewery- and beer-related gifts, to make any Cerevisaphile happy on December 25th (or any other day of the year!).

Gift Baskets

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Several breweries in our region are doing up gift baskets, including Boxing Rock in Shelburne, NS. They have several basket examples in the $30-$80 range, but are also happy to tailor them to your exact specifications. Baskets can include 1.89L growlers, 1L growlers, trucker hats, toques, glassware, t-shirts and long sleeve shirts, books, magazines, cards, bottle trays, magnets and keychains/bottle openers. And of course, beer! Their just-released U-889 Russian Imperial Stout is a great beer to sip beside the fire on a chilly winter night. You can contact them via email or phone (902-494-9233 ext 3, ask for store manager Carmen) to order.

propellerbasket_final

Propeller Brewing in Halifax also has a few gift basket options available. Their $50 Gift Baskets include a sixpack of beer, t-shirt, Two single 650ml or 500ml beer (their Revolution Russian Imperial Stout is a great choice here), 2 bottles of pop (Ginger or Root Beer), two glasses, a bottle opener and 4 pin-back buttons. They are happy to mix and match customer baskets as well, to fit any budget. Drop by their Halifax or Dartmouth locations to check out the options.

Breweriana

garrisongear

There is no shortage of breweries selling tshirts and glassware in our region, so why not choose something a bit unique to put under the tree this season? Garrison Brewing in Halifax has several items that certainly fit that bill: they sell everything from soap to tin signs to put up in your home bar. Plus their Spruce Beer is a great way to get Christmas in a bottle!

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Big Spruce Brewing in Cape Breton also has some great items available: how about a forged steel double-growler holder, spent grain granola, or Picante Kitchen Party Pale Ale Pickled Carrots? Drop by their brewery in Nyanza or the Cape Breton Farmers’ Market every Saturday in Sydney River to grab these and more unique gifts.

PEIBrewing

Another brewery with a variety of gift options is PEI Brewing Company. Every day from Dec 10-21st they have been offering up a different free gift or special price on their gift ideas, including coffee mugs and free tours of the brewery. Check out their retail store for more details. And look for their 6.5 % Bock, infused with vanilla bean, bourbon, and oak chips, available soon in growlers at the brewery and Gahan House Pub.

Specialty Beers

You’ve got a basket/stocking full of  tshirts, hats and glasses, so what about the beer to go with all of that? Well, your local breweries have you covered as well!

As mentioned above, Russian Imperial Stouts are popular this time of year, as well as other darker, more robust beers, or beers using spices not normally chosen in the warmer months. Quidi Vidi brewery outside of St. Johns’s, NL, has brewed up their Winter Ale, a dark rich ale, brewed with coriander, cacao and vanilla. Look for it at the NLC. Paddys Irish Brewpub have released their Frost Biter Winter Warmer, with notes of chocolate and weighing in at 6%. Pick up a growler to share! And Sea Level Brewing will have their High Street Wee Heavy available shortly in cans and growlers. Weighing in at 6.3%, it features a complex malt body and slight smokiness in the finish.

picaroons

Picaroons Brewing in Fredericton is taking it to a whole other level, with their annual 12 Beers of Christmas event. From the 12th to the 23rd of December, they are releasing a new beer daily, only available in growlers at their Queen St Brewtique. Check their Twitter or Facebook pages at noon for the announcement, and be sure to show up promptly at 4pm (or earlier), as they sell out quickly! So far this year they’ve released their Dark & Stormy Night infused with orange and dark chocolate, their Yippee IPA with spruce tips, Timber Hog Stout with vanilla/hazelnut/chocolate coffee beans and their Blonde beer infused with cranberries. Also look for snazzy locally-produced wooden coasters at the Brewtique, great stocking stuffer material!

Event Tickets

If you are looking for more of an event-based gift, why not choose tickets to some of the upcoming beer events or festivals? Over the next few months, there will be several events worthy of your attention. The Fredericton Craft Beer Festival is taking place at the Fredericton Convention Centre March 8, 2014, and will feature the festival debut of new ciderhouse and breweries in the region (Red Rover and Hammond River). Less than a month later, on April 5th, the Saint John Beer Fest takes place at Harbour Station, and will help to thaw off some winter freeze. A new festival in the Maritime provinces is the Great Canadian Beer Expo, in its first year. It will be visiting Sydney, Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Charlottetown, with two nights in each city. Tickets for all of these festivals are on sale now!

Homebrewing

Why not turn your beer-enthused friend or family member onto homebrewing? Getting started is very simple, all you need is a bucket and a kit to make good beer at home. For those looking to do a bit more, Halifax homebrew shop Everwood Ave has everything a new brewer (or seasoned veteran) would need, from grain and hops, to kegging and bottling equipment. For someone who likes to experiment with out-there styles, maybe a one-gallon all-grain kit is the way to go (in case an experiment goes wrong, very little is lost; or for brewers with very limited space)? They will ship anywhere in the region (and beyond), and if you order today it will arrive before the 24th. Home beer and wine makers are both served by Noble Grape, with several locations throughout the HRM, Annapolis Valley and Fredericton, NB, including many that offer onsite winemaking. They also carry the Festa Brew line of wort kits, which is a great way to start onto a path to brewing. The direct them to the Brewnosers forums for great resources from fellow homebrewers, always happy to help out new brewers.

We hope this brief list of gift ideas helps to spark something for you this gift-giving season. Remember to support your local brewery, keeping jobs in our region. Please leave your favourite beer-related gift ideas in the comments!