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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Shiretown, Big Tide, Boxing Rock, Hammond River, Railcar, Sunset Heights, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-10-17
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Tide Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Cask Days, Ducky's Bar, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Railcar Brewing, Red Rover Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Shiretown Beer, Sunset Heights Meadery. 2 comments

Happy Friday folks! Another busy week in our region, with plenty of new beers, and new news to share. Grab a pint of bitter or mug of coffee, and let’s dive right in!

• Shiretown has a new beer available exclusively for growler fills at the brewery. Runnin’ Down the Road Amber Ale comes in at 5% ABV and 30-35 IBUs, and was hopped entirely with an unknown variety grown at the brewery. Featuring “a beauty grapefruit aftertaste” according to the brewery, the beer was brewed as a small batch only, so won’t last long.

• Big Tide also has a new beer, currently on tap at the brewpub. The Darkening Imperial Stout is a big beer, clocking in at 8.2% ABV and 70 IBUs. Brewed with a grist containing both 2-row and Pale Ale malt, along with lots of Chocolate malt and some Caramunich, the brewery describes the beer as “rich and malty, sure to warm you up” with the high alcohol.

• We have more details on the new Amber Ale brewed by Boxing Rock – Unobtainium is a 5% ABV beer with a dark-mahogany color, full-bodied mouthfeel, and a “malty-rich backbone supporting some unexpected hop flavors”. The hops used for this brew include Simcoe, Centennial, Amarillo, and the hard-to-find Nelson Sauvin variety from New Zealand. Known for its strong fruity flavors and aromas that resemble white wine, or gooseberries, the brewery was able to get their hands on some whole-leaf Nelson… and won’t be able to again anytime soon. So, grab your chance to try this heavily-dry hopped beer! Look for it on tap around Halifax soon, and in 650 mL bottles at all four private liquor stores in the city, and at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market.

• Boxing Rock also hosted some special visitors this week for a big brew day… the crew from Stillwell Beer Bar in Halifax made a visit to the Shelburne brewery to brew up a special collaboration beer, to be released in celebration of their First Anniversary. Details are being guarded closely, but we do know that Merci Biere is an 8.4% ABV Ale, and Smoked Malt was used in the mash. We’ll keep you up-to-date with this and other developments ahead of the Nov. 16th Anniversary party, where it will be launched, and then available in bottles shortly thereafter.

• Last month, we mentioned that Hammond River was brewing up a new beer, Imperial Vanilla Porter. Well, that 8.1% ABV beer is now ready, and pouring at The Barrel’s Head, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and the Saint John Ale House, alongside the version that has Maker’s Mark Bourbon added (exclusive to the SJAH).  Look for it to follow soon at Ducky’s in Sackville.

• Speaking of Hammond River, they’re planning another couple of new beers to be brewed in the near future. One will be an American Brown Ale; this style was chosen by popular vote on their Facebook page, beating out Black IPA and Coffee Porter. Owner/brewer Shane Steeves admits the beer will be “a fair bit bolder than other Browns here, and will no doubt be slightly out of style”. Sounds good to us! Not to disappoint Black IPA lovers, Hammond River has also confirmed that they will be brewing this style as a collaboration beer with newly-opened Railcar Brewing. Stay tuned for more news on these two beers soon.

• And while on the topic of Railcar Brewing, they’ve just announced that their retail location will be officially open for growler fills on Saturday, November 1st. Their Railcar Red and Artisan Brown Ale will be available that day; fill prices will be $5 for 1 litre growlers, and $10 for 1.89 litre, and they will happily fill any growler from any brewery!

• The first kegs of mead produced by newly-opened Sunset Heights Meadery has been delivered to Isaac’s Way in Fredericton! Queen’s Nectar is the 7.5% ABV base mead; it can be consumed as-is, or added to a variety of “mixers” to make different flavors of mead (all coming in at 5% ABV), such as Naughtea (Iced Green Tea), Shipwrecked (India Pale Mead), and Tart’n (Cranberry Pollen Angels). They’ll also be serving up some MeadMosa, which is, of course, a mixture of base mead and orange juice.

• If you live in Fredericton, your options for craft cider continue to grow! Red Rover Brewing has paired up with Real Food Connections (a local-foods grocery store) to make their ciders available to order online, to be either picked up at a later date, or delivered to your door (within the Fredericton/Oromocto area). Order by Tuesday to pick it up any time from Thursday  to Saturday.

• Grimross has updated us on the progress of their ongoing expansion. Owner/brewer Stephen Dixon is travelling to British Columbia this weekend to check on the progress of the 10 bbl brewing system being built by Newlands Systems, that will soon be shipped to the new location of the brewery at Bishop Dr. in Fredericton. They hope to begin brewing on the new system sometime in November, and open their tasting room the following month, where they will have growlers and cans of beer for purchase, as well as space to enjoy a pint or two. We’ll continue to keep you updated!

• After almost 10 years brewing for Picaroons (with about 4 years as the official Head Brewer), Andrew “Esty” Estabrooks has decided to leave the brewery to spend more time with his family. His position has been filled by one of Picaroons other brewers, Myles MacKenzie, who has been with the brewery now for several years. We wish Esty the best in his future endeavours!

• Ducky’s Bar in Sackville is celebrating their 25th Anniversary, and they have lots scheduled for the event! Starting last night and continuing through the weekend, they have several bands providing live music, as well as special cask offerings each night. The cask beers include Picaroons Best Bitter, dry-hopped with Chinook, Gahan Tall Poppy (Sir John A’s Honey Wheat with New Zealand Motueka hops), and a new beer from Garrison, Unfiltered Wheat, a slightly hazy, sweet and malty American Wheat Ale with ~13 IBUs and 5.4% ABV. There will also be lots of other local beers pouring (as usual), including Garrison Double Jack (it’s first appearance outside of NS) and Hammond River Harvest Ale and Imperial Vanilla Porter. Congratulations to Ducky’s on 25 great years!

• Rockbottom Brewpub is bringing back their Ultimate White IPA. Brewed in collaboration with Halifax Ultimate, this beer is a hybrid of a Witbier (Belgian Wheat Ale) and IPA (hoppy, hoppy goodness). Brewed with 2-row, Crystal 15, wheat and rolled oats, along with bitter orange peel and coriander, plus a blast of Comet, NZ Cascade, and Magnum hops, this beer features orange and citrus flavours, along with a low, but balancing, bitterness. The beer weighs in at 5.7% ABV and 8 IBUs (calc). To celebrate the new beer, a launch party is taking place tomorrow (Oct 18th), beginning at 4pm at the ‘bottom. In addition to the new beer, Halifax Ultimate member Cyra Belbin will be on hand with her award-winning Mexi Mac n Cheese Bites (as seen on CBC’s Recipe to Riches), raising money for Children’s Charities. We’ll see you there!

• Hell Bay Brewing has brought back another batch of their R.I.P.(A.) this week. Available only in growlers and kegs, look for this on tap at better beer bars around the South Shore and HRM shortly. They’ve also released a Honey Blonde recently, available in kegs, growlers and bottles.

• Cask Days is a three-day celebration of cask-conditioned beer, held annually in Toronto. Run by the folks behind Bar Volo, breweries from across Canada, and the US and UK, share their best cask beer. For the second year in a row, several Maritime Breweries will be sending up their best wares to take part, with the crew from Bar Stillwell there to serve and show off the great beers from our part of the world. We know many local brewers and good beer fans from the Maritimes will be in attendance, so if you’re free Oct 24-26, it would be worth a trip! Tickets are now sold out for the Fri and Sat sessions, however you can still drop by the Sunday “Last Call for Cask” session, to bat cleanup and grab some tasty beer.

Here are the beers the local breweries are sending up. The full list of beer from the rest of Canada, California, and the UK is also available. The list is subject to change, we know that cask beer can be temperamental!

Bad Apple / Delta Force Operation Green Ring (Cucumber Mint Pale Ale)
Bad Apple Black & Tackle Wine Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout
Big Spruce Mr.IncREDible (Dry Hopped Irish Red Ale)
Big Spruce Cereal Killer (Oatmeal Stout)
Boxing Rock Temptation Red (American Red Ale)
Boxing Rock Crafty Jack (English Brown Ale)
Greg Nash/Bad Apple Terroir Wethop (Harvest IPA)
Grimross Chantelope (100% Brett Saison)
North Brewing Belgian IPA
North Brewing Winter Saison (Saison With Pepper and Ginger)
PEI Brewing Workshop (Wild Ale Barrel-Aged Saison)
PEI Brewing Blood Orange On The Tracks (India Pale Ale W/ Blood Orange)
Propeller Extra Special Bitter
Pumphouse 4 Alarm (American IPA)
Pumphouse Premium Lager (American Lager)
Uncle Leo’s Smoked Porter
Uncle Leo’s Dry Hopped IPA (American IPA)

Get on out for a pint or two this weekend; why not drop by the NBNano Takeover at Stillwell Saturday (tickets still available for the noon session), PEI Brewing Company to grab their re-release of Blood Orange On The Tracks IPA, The Stubborn Goat for their Nocturne Halifax kick-off party, or your other favourite local pub. Remember to drink local this weekend!

Friday Wrap-Up – News and New Beers from Railcar, Big Spruce, PEI Brewing Co., Boxing Rock, Shiretown, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-10-10
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Canadian Brewing Awards, Beerthief, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Celtic Oktoberfest, East Coast Beer Tours, Garrison Brewing, Local Connections Halifax, North Brewing, PEI Brewing, Railcar Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer. 1 comment

Happy long-weekend Friday, everyone! After several weeks absolutely chock-full of beer news, it looks like things have slowed down – slightly – as everyone gets ready for Thanksgiving…

• The long wait is almost over… Railcar Brewing should be supplying beer to the thirsty public very soon! They’ve hired their first full-time assistant brewer, and their first commercial brew day will occur this weekend – they’ll be brewing up a batch of their Artisan Brown Ale, a traditional English Brown with an ABV of 5% and 22 IBUs. For every growler of this beer that is sold, Railcar will donate $0.50 to the Andrew and Laura McCain Art Gallery to support art programs for youth in the community. Their Railcar Red (5% ABV, 23 IBUs) will be brewed several days later; look for their beers to be available for growler fills at the brewery soon, and hitting local restaurants/pubs on tap. They’re also expanding into a space behind the brewery, where they’ll be opening a spin-off company named Brew Offs, where they’ll be selling products made with beer ingredients – e.g. spent grain granola, beer soap, beer barbecue sauce, etc. – to avoid wastage as much as possible.

• Railcar will be at the NB Nano Takeover at Stillwell (with their Railcar Red), being held next Saturday, October 18th. During the two sessions (12-3, 4-7), some of the smallest and most innovative breweries in New Brunswick will be pouring their beers and ciders, most for the first time outside of NB. Acadie-Broue, Big Axe, Grimross, Hammond River, Red Rover, and Petit-Sault will also be pouring that day. Tickets are still available for either session, and your $15 entry will snag you a t-shirt and your first pour. If you haven’t booked them by now, you *may* not get the correct sized t-shirt (be sure to specify in your request), but at least you’ll get in the door! And you definitely don’t want to miss out on this very special day.

• Big Spruce will be holding their Second Annual Home Brew Competition shortly, so NS homebrewers, fire up your kettles! This year’s style is 6D – American Wheat or Rye. Full registration details will open very shortly, however we can tell you that entries will be due November 26th, and the judging will take place November 29th. Once again, the winning brewer will be invited to step up their homebrew recipe on Big Spruce’s 7 bbl system, and the beer will be launched at the Local Connections Halifax Craft Beer and Local Food Celebration, January 15, at the Halifax Club. With over 6 weeks of lead time, we can look forward to some great beers being submitted (maybe even a chance for a test brew to fine tune the recipe?). As in last year’s, entry is open to all NS homebrewers, and please email Big Spruce for the registration form.

• Speaking of Big Spruce, they have two new beers in the pipeline; the first one is Das Sprucebier, an Oktoberfest (aka Märzen) brewed with 100% imported German malt, including Vienna, Pilsner, Munich I, and CaraMunich. It clocks in at 5.9% ABV and 23 IBUs, and is hopped with both Magnum and Challenger, the latter of which is grown on-site at the Big Spruce farm. The second beer, Smoking Jack, is their first seasonal Pumpkin ale. Featuring their own farm-grown, organic pumpkins that have been smoked for 5 hours outside the brewery  and added to the mash, the beer was then conditioned on cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg… that had been soaked for 72 hours in Flor de Caña Centenario dark rum. And, of course, the rum itself was then added to the beer for good measure! This one weighs in at 5.4% ABV and 22 IBUs. Das Sprucebier is available now, and the Smoking Jack will be released just in time for the Celtic Oktoberfest, being held October 25th in Port Hawkesbury, NS (more on that later in the post). Both beers will be available for growler fills at the brewery, and at select bars/restaurants in the Halifax area as well.

• The PEI Brewing Co. is holding their annual Oktoberfest celebration next weekend on Saturday, October 18th. Like last year, the event will be held throughout the day, with an artisan market, music, and lots of sausages and beer for purchase. Included in the beer offerings is a new cask brewed for the occasion: Big Jimmy Brown is their Iron Bridge Brown Ale aged on bourbon-soaked oak chips, “primed” with Creme de Cacao; it clocks in at 6% ABV and ~30 IBUs. Their popular Growler Challenge (where contestants compete to see who can hold a full growler of beer at arm’s length for the longest period) begins at 2:00 pm, and later in the evening, starting at 8:00 pm, their first Art Battle of the season will be held. This will be followed by live music starting at 10:30 pm, featuring Rich Aucoin and PS I Love You. Entry is free during the afternoon; tickets for the Art Battle and after party are $10 and can be purchased online.

• And while on the topic of the PEI Brewing Co., their popular Sydney Street Stout is now back in liquor stores across the Maritimes, and on tap at select locations.

• Boxing Rock has just brewed a new beer, an Amber Ale fall seasonal hopped with “a very special hop, believed to be unobtainable”. They’re keeping details under wraps for now, but we’ll have more info for you next week! For now, look forward to a beer featuring a hop that “really makes it a special brew”, according to owner/brewer Emily Tipton. They hope to have the beer released before the end of this month. And we see that they are brewing up another batch of U-889 today, which is their ACBA Gold-Medal winning Russian Imperial Stout.

• Shiretown recently brewed a revised batch of their Siren’s T’ale; this one was brewed with a new hop variety, Goldings, from Southan Farms. Owner/brewer Derek Leslie has confirmed that this variety may become a permanent substitute in future brews of this particular beer. In the meantime, when the beer becomes available, if you’d like to try it to compare to previous batches, look for bottles with batch #146 indicated on the label.

• We have some more details on the North Brewing Winter Saison. Their popular Saison will now be a year-round beer (weighing in at 5.5% ABV), however the orange and coriander from the Summer brew is being swapped out for Winter’s ginger and black pepper. We had a chance to try it on the weekend, and quite enjoyed it!

• Sea Level Brewing has released their latest seasonal,  Punkin Grinner Ale. Brewed for the first time last year, this beer features local produce, including baby pam pie pumpkins grown on the Sea Level farm. It weighs in at 5% ABV, and features local honey and Annapolis Valley hops. We can also confirm that it’s available now at the Port Pub and brewery, and will be in the Halifax Private Stores this weekend.

• A reminder that the Beerthief Special Brew Label Contest closes today. Be sure to send your entry along to Mike to be entered. Garrison Brewing’s special brew will be released in January, to Beerthief members in Newfoundland and Labrador only.

• Toot toot! Final call for East Coast Beer Tour’s Valley Tour! Check out their bus tour to the Annapolis Valley, scheduled for tomorrow, October 11th. Tickets are now only $25, and include transport, three brewery tours complete with beer tastings, snacks and lunch. Now’s your chance to visit Meander River, Paddys Irish Brewpub, and Bad Apple Brewhouse, and leave the driving to someone else!

• The latest Local Connections Halifax Magazine is on its way to the printers, but the digital version is now available for reading. In it, there is an extensive Craft Beer section, featuring Garrison Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Schoolhouse, the Atlantic Canada Beer Awards, and much more.
• Tickets are still available for this month’s Celtic Oktoberfest, being held in Port Hawkesbury on Saturday, Oct 25th. A nice write-up in the Chronicle Herald highlights many of the local food and beer vendors whose products will be offered that evening. Remember that your ticket includes beer AND food, as well as great local entertainment. And be sure to check out the Pumpkin Launch that afternoon on the Port Hawkesbury marina. If you’ve got a team of like-minded designers and builders, sign up to take part!
• Barley, Hops and Mash, a workshop for Craft Brewers, is taking place October 24th at Acadia University in Wolfville. The brainchild of Springboard Atlantic, it seeks to pair brewers with scientific researchers, for mutual benefit. Perhaps a brewery has a question about hops utilization in their system, a lab or research group is available with the tools to perform the experiments and analyze the results. Gary McMullen (President and Founder of Muskoka Brewery) and Joel Alex (Founder and President of Blue Ox Malt House) will give Keynote talks, and then brewers and researchers will give short 3 minute/1 slide presentations on their research needs and abilities, respectively. The seminar is free, and is aimed at established or in-development breweries.
• What a weekend! Chris was thrilled to have been one of the organizers for the inaugural Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards held last weekend. Saturday was a long day of judging, with the 18 judges tackling over 170 different beers, submitted by 28 different breweries. The hard working stewards kept the beer moving and the judges busy, going quite late into the night. Once the dust settled, the results were tallied, and announced at the Stubborn Goat, Sunday evening.
Here are the results, and we offer our sincere congratulations to all entrants. What a great celebration of our brewing community!
Brewery of the Year*: Bad Apple Brewhouse
Brewpub of the Year*: Rockbottom Brewpub
Beer of the Year: Pump House Barleywine
Stillwell‘s People’s Choice Award: Big Spruce Cereal Killer Stout
Category Gold Silver Bronze
North American & European Style Lagers Hop City Brewing Co. Barking Squirrel Tatamagouche Brewing Co. Lagerhosen Propeller Brewing Co. Bohemian Style Pilsner
German Specialty Beers Uncle Leo’s Vohs Weizenbier Paddys Irish Brewpub Dom Arthur
UK Specialty Beers PEI Brewing Co. Iron Bridge Brown Gahan House Iron Bridge Brown Paddys Irish Brewpub Raven Ale
North American Specialty Ales Barnone Black Eye Pale Ale Boxing Rock Hunky Dory Pale Ale Barnone Sessions Ale
Belgian Style Specialty Ales Pump House Pompiers à Vos Garde North Brewing Summer Saison Grimross Chantelope
North American Amber & Red Ales Boxing Rock Tempation Red Barnone Substanchel Garrison/Beau’s Sweet Rye’d Harvest Wheat Ale
Fruit & Field Beers Rare Bird Pumpkin Ale Rogues Roost Raspberry Wheat Bad Apple Brewhouse Operation Green Ring
Pale Ales Bad Apple Brewhouse American Pale Ale Moosehead Boundary Ale Garrison Brewing Hop Yard Pale Ale
Stout & Porter Rogues Roost Oatmeal Stout Big Axe Shakesbeer Chocolate Oatmeal Stout Pump House Muddy River Stout
Strong Stout & Porter Propeller Brewing Co. Revolution Russian Imperial Stout Bad Apple Brewhouse Black & Tackle Rogues Roost Imperial Stout
India Pale Ale Rockbottom Brewpub Fathom IPA Big Spruce Tim’s Dirty American IPA Barnone IPA
Imperial IPA Bad Apple Brewhouse Mosaic Double IPA Boxing Rock The Vicar’s Cross Double IPA Garrison Brewing Imperial IPA
Strong Ale Pump House Barleywine North Brewing Strong Belgian Dark Petit-Sault Bob Le Boeuf
Experimental Beers Boxing Rock U-889 Russian Imperial Stout Garrison Brewing Honey Lavendar Ale Big Spruce Hoppuccino Coffee IPA
Wood & Barrel Aged Beers Propeller Brewing Co. Lambic Garrison Brewing Barrel-Aged Grand Baltic Porter Bad Apple Brewhouse Barrel-Aged Black & Tackle
* Brewery and Brewpub of the year were determined by the number of points earned by four pre-assigned beers (as chosen by the brewery). Both categories were hotly contested!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Tatamagouche, Gahan House Halifax, Hammond River, Picaroons, Shiretown, Pump House, and so much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-09-19
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, BarNone Brewing, Big Axe Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Halifax Oktoberfest, Hammond River Brewing, King Street Ale House, NB HopSpiel, North Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Railcar Brewing, Red Rover Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Shiretown Beer, Tatamagouche Brewing. 2 comments

Happy Friday beer fans! Another busy week in our region, just when we thought things were winding down for the summer!

• Tatamagouche Brewing Co has brewed up an Oktoberfest beer for the 35th Annual North Shore Bavarian Society Oktoberfest, being held next Friday and Saturday, Sept 26&27, in Tatamagouche. Dubbed Lagerhosen, this amber lager weighs in at 5% ABV, and uses Hallertau Mittelfruh hops to keep that traditional Noble hop character. The best way to enjoy this brew is during one of the three sessions in the beer tent with one thousand of your closest friends. If you can’t attend (or want more after the weekend), it will be available Wednesday in bottles and growlers at the brewery and on tap shortly. Prosit! Also keep your eyes open for a beer brewed using their home-grown hops. Unlike some breweries in our region, they have dried theirs, thus extending their lifetime. It will be hitting the taps in the fall, and we’ll be sure to share the details when available.

• Gahan House Halifax is releasing a pair of new beers this weekend. Today, their Belgian Pale Ale hits the taps. From head brewer Karen Allen, “It is very light and very easy drinking, with subtle Belgian yeast characters of clove, spice and fruity esters, with just a little Mt. Hood dry-hop for added character. 4.8% ABV and 35 IBUs”. Tomorrow is the launch of a very special beer, Maple Whiskey Porter. This beer is a scaled-up version of the beer Allen brewed at Niagara College, and brought to her interview at PEI Brewing Company (there’s a note to all you want-to-be brewers!). The base of the beer is a medium-bodied porter, with NS Maple Syrup and Wiser’s Whiskey added during conditioning. This beer will come in at 5.7% ABV and 50 IBUs. Next up is another batch of the Hippy Cousin IPA (brewed once again with the NZ hop Waimea), and shortly thereafter, a batch of Peach Wit, made with two bushels of Annapolis Valley peaches.

• In other Gahan news, this Tuesday will be the first “Brewster on the Bar”, with Allen tapping a special cask every Tuesday at 6pm. This week’s cask will be Coffee Porter, starting from the same base beer as the Maple Whiskey Porter, but with more coffee aroma and taste. This makes three days/spots in Halifax with weekly Cask Nights: Tuesdays at Gahan House, Wednesdays at Rockbottom Brewpub (tapped at 4pm), and Friday at The Stubborn Goat (4pm). And these spots join Henry House and Bar Stillwell where one can enjoy cask beers all week long.

• Coinciding with Gahan’s Cask tapping is their Brewing Industry Night, where every Tuesday from 5-9pm, folks in the local brewery/brewpub community can enjoy staff-priced pints. Show them your paystub, business card, tattoo, “bottle line hands”, etc to take advantage of this offer. And if you don’t have a job in the brewing community, but want one, Gahan is hiring! They are looking for a General Manager for the bar, hopefully someone with a couple years experience. If you’re the right candidate, send off an email with your resume.

• Also note that the pumpkin beer brewed last month by the PEI Brewing Co. is now available; you can find it at liquor stores across PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia under the name Gahan Pumpkin Ale. For more info on this beer, check out our previous post.

• And in other pumpkin beer news, Propeller‘s Pumpkin Ale is currently on tap at the Prop Shop, and also hits stores today in 6-packs. Go get some!

• Things are staying busy over at Hammond River, as more new beers continue to be brewed. First up is a Pumpkin Ale, La Maitresse, brewed with fresh pumpkin and lightly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice; it clocks in at 5.3% ABV and 23 IBUs. Look for it on tap in the area in about 2 weeks. And this weekend, owner/brewer Shane Steeves will be brewing an “Imperial Vanilla Porter”, a strong beer targeted at 8.1% ABV and 35 IBUs. Shane also plans on adding Maker’s Mark Bourbon to several kegs of this beer, for a Bourbon version that will be available exclusively at the Saint John Ale House. Stay tuned for updates to its availability.

• In other Hammond River news, after demand from beer-drinkers in the province, they’re going to be participating in the ANBL Growler Program. Their California Common, Gammie, will be available for growler fills at the Kennebecasis Valley ANBL, starting on October 2nd, with other Hammond River beers likely following thereafter.

• To celebrate the recent annual release of their Harvest Ale, Picaroons is holding a Harvest Ale Launch Party later today at the Train Station on York. From 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm, there will be several batches of Harvest Ale available for sampling (there were a total of 7 different batches brewed), wood-fired pizza from Milda’s, and some live bluegrass music, courtesy of local musician Alan Jeffries. No charge to attend, just show up and enjoy some beer and atmosphere! For more info on this year’s Harvest Ale, check out last week’s post.

• Shiretown has once again rebrewed their Black Currant Wheat, a fuchsia-colored wheat ale brewed with Brewers Gold hops and local black currants. Coming in at a lower ABV this time (4%) and about 20 IBUs, the beer is available now for growler fills at the brewery, and should be on tap this weekend at Isaac’s Way in Fredericton.

• Along with lots of Harvest ales being released lately, keep your eyes open for Oktoberfest beers… one that has recently found shelves again is Pump House Oktoberfest. Coming in at 5.5% ABV and about 12 IBUs, this malty Lager-style beer can be found at ANBL stores across New Brunswick, at the brewery in Moncton, and on tap at select locations.

• We only told you about it last week, but the epic collaboration between Boxing Rock and North Brewing will be hitting the taps tomorrow! Many Hands Pale Ale will be available at both breweries in Shelburne and Halifax, their Market stalls at Seaport, Alderney Landing and Shelburne, and on tap around the province. Featuring over one hundred pounds of buttercup squash, and bags and bags of wet hops throughout the brew, this is a special brew! It weighs in at 6.5% ABV and approximately 37 IBUs (wet hops haven’t had their AA measured, so brewers have to use their best guess).

• Sea Level Brewing in Port Williams has released their latest much-anticipated seasonal, New Scotland Heather Ale. This hybrid brew features fresh and wet Cascade, Fuggles and Hallertau hops from brewmaster Randy Lawrence’s farm, and 6 kg of locally-grown heather in the boil. It weighs in at 5% ABV, and approximately 20 IBUs. Find it on tap across the Valley, including at the Port Pub, Spitfire Arms, and Luckett Vineyards, and in Halifax at Bar Stillwell, Obladee Wine Bar, Agricola Street Brasserie, and Auction House. Cans are available at the brewery and the Halifax private stores.

• If you’re living in New Brunswick and feeling a bit jealous of the recent launch of East Coast Beer Tours in Nova Scotia, cheer up, and get ready for the River Valley Beer Tour! Organized by the people behind the King Street Ale House, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, and Eat New Brunswick, the inaugural bus tour is scheduled to be held on Saturday, November 1st. The all-day tour will include visits to several breweries in the region; the tentative list includes Railcar, Big Axe, Grimross, Hammond River, and Picaroons, with sampling of beer at the breweries… and even on the bus! A boxed lunch from the KSAH will also be included. Details are still being ironed out, but expect tickets to go on sale this Monday, with 40 spots available (check for the link that day through the KSAH, FCBF and ENB links above). Organizers are hoping for the tour to happen several times a year, with different breweries being included. We’ll keep you updated on the tour as the date approaches!

• Speaking of Railcar Brewing, they have just received their Brewer’s License from the province yesterday, completing another hurdle towards opening in the coming weeks. And how did brewer Mitch Biggar celebrate? By brewing, of course! He will be brewing up a Harvest Ale and Pumpkin Ale, and working on his Shogomoc Stout, featuring potatoes (Railcar is in Florenceville-Bristol, after all!). Look for those beers and more in October.

• And in other New Brunswick beer-fun news, yet another event is being planned for Fredericton in the future – NB HopSpiel will be feature outdoor curling and a beer garden, and will be held in February of 2015 as part of FROSTival (Atlantic Canada’s largest winter celebration). More details will be available next month; in the meantime, you can reserve your spot now via the link above. Sounds like another great time from the people behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival!

• Red Rover has a new cider in the works, a “Weiss Cider” designed to create a craft cider with a profile similar to a German Weiss beer/Belgian Wit, according to co-owner/brewer Adam Clawson. A 7% ABV, semi-dry cider was aged and blended with fresh cilantro (picked from Wellwood Farm in Saint John) and orange zest… sounds tasty! Look for it to be available by mid-October.

• Our friends at Bar Stillwell have been busy, cooking up some exciting events for us all to take in. Firstly, in conjunction with the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards taking place Oct 4-5 in Halifax, they will be holding a People’s Choice vote. The public will have a chance to choose their favourite brew from those registered in the Awards.
In early October, Stillwell will be introducing Brasserie Dunham from Dunham, Quebec (about an hour outside Montreal). Their innovative brews have won awards across the country, and this will be the first time they are available on tap in the Atlantic Provinces.
On October 18th, they will be hosting a New Brunswick Nano Brewery Tap Takeover. Featuring at least six small breweries that have opened in the last few years, the taps and casks will be full of New Brunswick goodness. Acadie-Broue, Big Axe, Grimross, Hammond River, Petit-Sault, Railcar, and Red Rover are all taking part. Ticket details will be available soon.
On the weekend of October 24th, the entire Stillwell crew will be heading to Toronto to Cask Days. They’ll be bringing with them more than a dozen casks from our favourite Atlantic Canadian breweries, and will be showing folks in the Big Smoke the high quality brews we are making in our region. We’ll be sharing those beer details closer to the event.
November 16th marks the One-Year Anniversary of Bar Stillwell, and they will be pulling out all of the stops to celebrate (and we’re all invited!). They’ve got several special kegs they’ve saved specifically for this event, will be holding a special beer release (yup!), and special by-the-glass beers they’ll be cracking open. As if we needed another reason to visit, amiright?

• If you are looking for more beers and suggestions on what to do this weekend, the Halifax Oktoberfest is taking place Saturday at the Halifax Seaport, in front of Garrison Brewing. Organized by Garrison and the German Canadian Association of Nova Scotia (GCA), the event starts at 9am with the opening of the “Kinderfest” open to kids of all ages to enjoy fun, games, music, and great food. The beer tent opens at 11am, with the ceremonial tapping of Garrison’s casks of Unfiltered Wheat Ale happening at noon. At 7pm, the tent transforms in to a 19+ establishment, with more music and food and fun until midnight. All proceeds from the entry to the festival and tents go to the Halifax & Region Military Family Resource Centre and the GCA.

• And after all that, there’s still several new beers coming from Atlantic Canadian breweries, and more events! We weren’t able to find out details for today’s post, but look for more soon on a new wet-hopped Amber ale – Sub_Stanchel Amber – from BarNone Brewing, a Harvest Ale from Big Axe, a pumpkin beer from Big Spruce, and Port Hawkesbury’s Celtic Oktoberfest. Stay tuned next week for more details!