Sea Level Brewing

All posts tagged Sea Level Brewing

Friday Wrap-Up – Big Spruce brews an India Black Ale, Sea Level brews Heather Ale, Celtic Knot has two new beers, Picaroons to release Harvest Ales Sept 26

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-09-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: BarNone Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Celtic Knot Brewing, Hart & Thistle, PEI BeerFest, Picaroons Traditional Ales, reLiSH, Sea Level Brewing. 1 comment

Hey, everyone! Here’s what’s happening in the craft beer world in Atlantic Canada this week (and beyond)…

• Big Spruce is brewing up a Black IPA/India Black Ale today. With a medium body, using imported organic Carafa Malt and Sinamar for colour, the beer will showcase a great citrus flavour and aroma (thanks in no small part to their on-farm-grown Cascade to be used for dry-hopping), and will weigh in at a whopping 124 IBUs! We are looking forward to try this one in three weeks.

• On Monday, a bit too late for our Hop Harvest-centric post, Sea Level brewed up their popular New Scotland Heather Ale, made with all NS-grown hops and heather (from their own hop farm and others in the Annapolis Valley). Look for it at The Port Pub (on tap and at the brewery) and in Halifax at Bishop’s Cellar soon.

• Two new beers from Celtic Knot Brewing should be available soon: both the Dark Passage Oatmeal Stout and Dubh Loki (a Black IPA previously named “Loki”) are currently going through the listing process with ANBL. Batches are standing by, and will likely be pouring at The Tide & Boar and Marky’s Laundromat very soon.

• The Halifax Cycling Coalition is hosting an event at Bridge Brewing after the Switch Open Streets event. Running from 2:30-6:00 this Sunday, there will be live music, food from the Food Wolf, and pints of Bridge Brewing available. No admission to enjoy the music, and the food and beer is cash-only. Hopefully the skies stay clear for the event.

• Don’t forget the PEI Beer Festival is this weekend, starting this evening at 6pm at the New Charlottetown Event Grounds. A detailed post on the festival can be found here; tickets are still available, so don’t wait any longer to get yours! With over 75 beers available, as well as lots of food pairings and live music, it should be a great time. Head on over to The PEI Beer Guy, who has put together some solid suggestions on what to seek out at the festival.

• Last week we mentioned that Picaroons was planning on releasing their annual Harvest Ale, where there will be several versions of the same base beer, with differing hop varieties and local hop fields used. Details are still slim, however we DO know that their official launch for the beer will be Thursday, Sept. 26th at the York St. ANBL in Fredericton. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

• Speaking of Picaroons, they plan on being involved with one of the music events planned for next week’s Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival in Fredericton. On Saturday, Sept. 14th, they will be showcasing “Bluegrass, Blues & BBQ” at the Capital Complex, which will feature southern-style BBQ, as well as live music from The Modern Grass Quartet and Sissy & The Hobos. At the Wilser’s Room bar, there will be several Picaroons beers on tap, with the possibility of one or two special releases, according to Marketing Director Dennis Goodwin. The show starts at 1 pm (doors open at noon), and the $15 admission will get you a plate of BBQ and access to the all-day live music.

• The Hart & Thistle have their newest seasonal now on tap, TubberRoe Robust Porter. Weighing in at 5.9% ABV and 43 IBUs, this beer is full of roast, dark fruit and chocolate notes from the specialty malt used, and plenty of citrus from the Centennial, Cascade, and Falconer’s Flight hops.

• Last weekend, BarNone Brewery in PEI brewed up their first IPA since they started officially selling their beer in July. Showcasing a device called the “Hop Dam” developed by DME for BarNone, the beer is “heavily dry-hopped” according to BarNone’s Twitter account, although we’re currently unsure which hop varieties were used. We’ll be sure to let you know more about this beer when we can; keep your eyes open for updates on when it will be released!

• By the way, if you’re in PEI and are looking to try some BarNone beers on tap, they’ve added another account to their list – The Old Triangle in Charlottetown is now selling their Summer Sessions Ale. Both of BarNone’s beers (Summer Sessions and Pale Ale) are still available at Cedar’s and Baba’s in Charlottetown, and at The Landing Oyster House & Pub in Tyne Valley.

• reLiSH Gourmet Burgers has become quite popular in Fredericton since they opened several years ago, and have even started other franchises in other areas of New Brunswick, and also in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. This fall, they plan on opening a new type of restaurant in Fredericton, which will pair craft beer with gourmet hamburgers. With a goal of having 6-8 craft beers on tap, as well as in bottles, they plan on opening this restaurant by late October. We’ll have more details and a standalone post on this soon!

Friday Wrap-Up – Hop Harvest Beers Brewed in the Atlantic Region, and Other News

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-08-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer. 2 comments

It’s the Hop-Hoppiest season of all!

(sung to the tune of It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year)

It’s Hop Harvest time in the Maritimes, and many breweries are brewing and releasing special brews to commemorate. Here are a few of them:

  • Last Friday, Big Spruce in Nyanza brewed up a wet hop beer from their on-farm grown hops. Brewer Jeremy White used their Challenger and Chinook hops at all stages of the brew: in the mash tun, in the first runnings of the wort, in the boil, and even using a hopback (as the beer is cooling from the kettle to the fermenter). The beer should be available at the brewery in about two weeks.
  • Earlier this week, Shelburne’s Boxing Rock welcomed the folks from Halifax’s Bridge Brewing for a collaboration brew. They used 30kg of wet hops from Lazy Acres Farm, owned by Bridge brewer Josh Herbin, to brew their 100% Vienna Malt IPA. To get that intense fresh-hop aroma, they did not use any of the fresh cones until 30min left in the 90min boil (which gave an intense colour, as well). This IPA will be more aromatic than bitter, clocking in at about 40IBU. The beer will be ready in a few weeks, in growlers at both breweries.
  • Picaroons has started brewing their Harvest series of beers. Details are being kept closely-guarded, but we can confirm that like last year, there will be multiple brews for each hop field, using roughly the same Pale Ale recipe. You will be able to track which hops in your bottle came from which farm, a great idea for farmer, brewery, and informed drinker alike!
  • Big Tide Brewing will be brewing at least one Fresh Hopped beer at their Saint John brewpub. The hop harvest at Dunham’s Run Winery will be this weekend, so the beer will not be far behind. Named after the old name for the peninsula the hops are coming from, Indian Beach Nut Brown will be available in a few weeks, and perhaps another of their popular beers will get a wet-hop kick… Stay tuned!
  • Looking to take part in the harvest? Both Meander River Farm (Ashdale, NS) and FiddleHop Farm (in Glenholme, NS) have put a call out for volunteers to help. Contact them via Facebook for more details. We’ve done it previously, and it is a fun time. Bring some long sleeves to reduce the scratches from the hop bines.

In addition to the harvest, we have some more beer news for you:

  • Big Spruce now has a bright coat of paint, and they are working on the kitchen above the brewery. Their plan has always been to have a small restaurant, overlooking the beautiful Bras d’Or Lake, so it’s great to see this coming together. It will be primarily used for farm-to-table (and -to-glass) events, so stay tuned for those.
  • Attention New Brunswick Homebrewers: in case you missed the announcement, Picaroons will be holding a Home-Brew Challenge in the fall. Brew up a Standard/Ordinary Bitter and submit it between Nov. 1 & 15, and you have a chance at brewing the beer on a commercial scale! The $20 entry gets you a shirt, growler (and fill), and tickets to the Awards Gala on December 1. You’ve got two months to brew a test batch or two, so fire up your kettles! All of the details can be found at the NB Craft Brewers Association website. Unfortunately, it is only open to NB homebrewing residents.
  • Picaroons has just done the last bottling of their Melonhead Wheat beer for the year, marking a sad end to the summer beer season. But in addition to their Harvest beers, they will have some other seasonals coming through the pipeline soon.
  • Shiretown Beer‘s Black Currant Bitter Wheat is now available for growler fills at their Heron’s Nest Cottages location. Along with their Big Brown Ale, it will also be available at the Heron’s Nest Pub. During next weekend’s Charlo Fall Fair, they will have their Honey Wheat available, made with Buckwheat Honey from the Charlo Honeyhouse.
  • Unfortunately, it looks like the popular collaboration between Propeller Brewing and Sea Level Brewing, Alpha%Dog, won’t happen this year, due to Propeller’s upcoming expansion. However Propeller will be releasing their popular Nocturne Dark Lager mid-September (in time for the Nocturne Art at Night event in October), and then their Pumpkin Ale in October. Sea Level have received a larger canning machine, which should mean increased availability at the brewery and at Bishop’s Cellar in Halifax. Their Port in the Storm Porter has just been released, and will make it into Halifax shortly.

Friday Wrap-Up – Garrison Brewing To Hold 5th-Annual Oktoberfest, Grimross Brewing Releases New Beer, PEI Beer Festival Scheduled For September, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-08-09
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hart & Thistle, Oktoberfest, PEI BeerFest, RockBottom Brewpub, Sea Level Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. Leave a Comment

Good morning, fellow craft beer lovers!

• This September 21st, Garrison Brewing Co., in collaboration with the German Canadian Association, will be holding their 5th annual Halifax Oktoberfest. There will be lots of German food, live music, and Garrison beer and Stutz cider available. The celebrations will be spread out over the day in two sessions: a free, market-wide afternoon session, and a 19+ evening session beginning at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the evening event will be $12 ($11 for students/military), and can be purchased at the Garrison retail store, or the day-of at the location at Pavilion 20 downtown. We’ll have a more-thorough post on this soon!

• The number of beers available from Grimross Brewing in Fredericton continues to grow. Joining the Cheval D’Or and Destrier Farmhouse Stout is Ben’s Bitter Pale Ale, a Belgian Pale Ale with slightly more bittering hops, according to owner/brewer Stephen Dixon. With healthy doses of Cascade hops for bittering and flavor, and Saaz hops for aroma, Ben’s Bitter will come across as quite floral, with earthy and citrus-fruit tones, and a lasting bitterness in the finish. Currently available in refillable growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique, and hopefully on tap in the area soon.

• With the Seaport Beer Festival happening this weekend in Halifax, it’s time to start planning for the next beer fest… the Prince Edward Island Beer Festival will occur the first full weekend in September, Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th. Last year, there were two beer festivals in PEI within a month of one another; the province decided in the spring to allow only one festival this year. Details are a bit slim right now, but we’ll do a post on the event as soon as we learn more. We can report that there will be over 75 different beers available, from breweries such as Amsterdam, Garrison, McAuslan, Hop City, and Erdinger. There are several tasting sessions planned; ticket prices range from $20-$120, depending on the session. You can follow the event on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-date notifications.

• Not satisfied with only growler fills of Bridge Brewing beer? Looking to get more than pint pours at Halifax bars? Well, you’re in luck… they are now offering 19.5 L party kegs for sale, for all beers that are available at the time. There is a $100 refundable keg deposit, and pricing will be $105 for the Gus or Summer Ale, $110 for the Farmhouse, and $120 for the Strong Dark (taxes not included). Call ahead to order yours!

• Greg Nash is tapping a few special beers at Rockbottom Brewpub in Halifax today, starting at 4:00 p.m. Accompanying a few of their regular-release beers will be “X”, an Imperial Brown Ale aged 18 months on cedar wood (11% ABV); “Vintage Wreckoning”, a Russian Imperial Stout on nitro, fortified with Macallan single malt whiskey (11% ABV); the regular “Wreckoning” RIS (10.5% ABV); the popular “Oaked-Aged Double Hoppelganger” DIPA (10% ABV); and “Barrel-Aged Desecration”, an Imperial Red Ale (11% ABV). Some nice sessionable (!) beers for your weekend! Get down to the Rockbottom ASAP – these beers will only be on tap until Sunday close.

• And, in case that’s not enough big beers for you, the Hart & Thistle will be putting on Nashfest again, with several OTHER Greg Nash beers for you to enjoy! These include “Columbus DIPA”, single-hopped with Columbus (9.1% ABV); “Commissar”, a Russian Imperial Stout, this time fortified with Bulleit bourbon (11% ABV); “Hop Mess Monster v3.0”, another DIPA single-hopped with Columbus (10% ABV); “Old 87”, an American IPA with lots of Columbus and Falconer’s Flight hops (7% ABV); and “Kneecapper”, an India Red Ale, or “Red IPA” with plenty of… yep, hops (6.1% ABV). It all starts at 4:00 p.m. today, and ends at close on Sunday.

• Uncle Leo’s Brewery may have just opened not too long ago in Pictou, NS, but their beers have already made it to Halifax! Both their Red Ale and IPA became available in 650 mL bombers at Premier Wine & Spirits earlier this week. Premier doesn’t expect them to last long, so get in while you can.

• Looks like Barnone Brewing in PEI has started filling growlers. You can drop by the brewery in Rose Valley every Thursday between 6:00 and 8:00 pm; both their Pale Ale and Summer Sessions will be available for fills.

• Sea Level Brewing has extended the hours of their retail store, where you can stock up on their canned beer, as well as 1-L refillable growlers. Their official hours are now Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm, Saturday 10 am-5 pm, and Sunday 12 pm-5 pm.

That’s it for this week… have a safe and beery weekend!