Spindrift Brewing

All posts tagged Spindrift Brewing

“Friday” Wrap-Up for June 30 2022 – News from Landwash, Gahan, Lake City, Spindrift, 2 Crows, Tanner & Co, Village Green, Barnone, Big Spruce, Quidi Vidi, Serpent and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2022-06-30
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, BarNone Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Gahan House (St. John's), Garrison Brewing, Halifax Pride, Lake City Cider, Landwash Brewery, New Scotland Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Serpent Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Village Green by Modern Brewer. Leave a Comment

Happy Thursday, friendos! We wanted to hit you with the blog a day early, to help you plan your drinking for this long weekend. Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates enough to make imbibing on a patio a part of all of our weekends and make sure to check the long weekend opening hours at your favourite producers and tippling locations before you go out and about! No more dilly-dallying, let’s get right to the news!

We’re starting out with a pair of collaborations based out of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, featuring Landwash Brewery. First up is one with the Charlottetown-, St. John’s-, and Halifax-based Gahan. The Bridge and Ferry is a classic Extra Special Bitter, using Simpsons Maris Otter malt and a variety of IREKS Bavarian malts to bring a full bodied, caramel sweetness pairing with UK Admiral and Godiva hops for a bit of fruit and bitterness. This one came out last week and is available in cans at the Landwash brewery and on tap at Gahan Harbourview and Landwash.

The next collaboration is Anarchy in the MP! a release with Admiralty House Communications Museum and their new Punk Rock Pearl exhibit. The beer is an English-style IPA with a Golden Promise and Caramalt malt bill pairing with two newer English hops (courtesy of Charles Faram), Jester and Harlequin, all coming together for a lovely, balanced ale with plenty of malt character, notes of marmalade, grapefruit, and a perfectly bitter finish. This one is 6.5% ABV and is available today in cans and on tap at the brewery. Check out the launch party for this at the exhibit Saturday July 2nd at the museum from 7 – 9 PM with Karaoke, BBQ and beer

Staying in collab-land, we’ve got an all-Dartmouth release with Lake City Cider teaming up with Spindrift for a Black Currant Snakebite Rosé. A classic snakebite is a British pub classic, with equal parts lager and cider, but here, our friends are mixing the lovely Killick lager from Spindrift and Lake City’s Darkside Dry, topped off with a bit of house-fermented black currant wine. At 6.5%, it brings a crisp, tart, and dry finish in a beautiful package. This is available in 473ml cans and on tap directly from both breweries!

If you’re a fan of consistent naming and delicious IPAs, 2 Crows Brewing has another in their series of juicy, saturated  New England IPA series. Coming today is Mystic Incantation. Joining the ranks of the past releases Perfect Situation, Second Situation, Another Iteration, Cause for Celebration, Vivid Imagination, Perfect Saturation, (we think that’s all of them) this version features a new, magical, mystical and delicious combination of El Dorado and HBC 630 hops.  Still super smooth, creamy, and tropical, it features flavours and aromas of pear, pineapple, raspberry, and green papaya. Out today, so there will surely be some left for you, but make sure to sign up for their newsletter, where they’ve consistently been putting out pre-orders and early deliveries for their loyal subscribers. At 6.1% and 44 IBU, find this one on tap and in cans at the brewery and online! Pop in today for one of those, and stick around for their AC Lager Tube Night!

Flying southwest from Halifax, we head to Tanner Brewing next, who have a new release in their Hive series of beverages that feature honey, which is used to make mead! (cut to 902Brewcast’s Kyle uncomfortably shuffling his feet and averting his gaze) Raspberry Rhubarb Sparkling Mead is a new release available now which leverages their house sparkling mead but with additions of raspberry purée and fresh rhubarb prior to fermentation. A touch more honey was also added before the mead was carbonated to add some more sweetness to this 5.5% refreshing and dry beverage. It’s available in 500ml bottles from both of their physical locations and their online store.

We’re staying on the honey theme, as PEI’s Village Green has a Spruce Honey Saison on tap and in cans. This is a 5.8% Saison with spruce tips that were picked in Spring of 2021 and then aged in honey (from Canoe Cove Honey) for a whole year. This aged spruce honey was then added to the whirlpool with some fresh picked spruce tips from this season. Pick this one up today directly from the brewery.  

In Rose Valley, PEI, Barnone Brewery has announced their Summer Hours, which kick off this week! Open Wednesday 11 – 4 PM, Thursday and Friday 4 – 10 PM (yes, even tomorrow!), Saturday 12 – 10 PM, and Sunday 12 – 7 PM. At Barn One (that joke never gets old, right?!), you’ll be able to grab pints and explore their large seating area while checking out the view of the nearby rolling hills. And maybe even catch an impromptu show! So, what can you enjoy while there? How about two beers released in the past couple of weeks, including Back Forty IPA. At 6.5% ABV, balanced and battle tested, much like the doors of the barn, enduring many years of wind and snow but remaining rock solid. Or, how about their new Riptide Lager, 4.5% ABV, super-drinkable and crisp. They are holding a little contest to name their mascot (the one sunning themselves on the can), check this post to take part in the fun!

If you find yourself in Cape Breton this long weekend, Big Spruce is featuring a new release and the return of a previous Homebrew challenge winner. First up is Thirst Trap, a 6.7% ABV Apricot Milkshake IPA. Expect lots of fresh apricot flavour and some sweetness from the lactose addition. This weekend also sees the return of Heffalump, originally concocted by Halifax homebrewer extraordinaire, Ian Wheatley, during the 2018 Battle of the Wits homebrew challenge. You can expect traditional hefeweizen notes of banana and bubblegum in this 5.2% take on the style. Both releases are available in cans at the Sprucetique and for delivery through their online store

Down in the Gut, Quidi Vidi is releasing Pop’s Pale Ale. An homage to Quidi Vidi founder (and Pop to Justin Fong) David Fong, Pop’s features Magnum, Cascade, Falconer’s Flight, and Calypso hops, leading to lots of floral, citrusy and tropical notes. Cans of this 5.2% ale are available now at the Hops Shop and will see wider distribution at the NLC and convenience stores on Monday. The can design alone is worth the price of the tin!

Serpent has two re-releases with a twist this week, with both being can-conditioned for the first time. Can-conditioning (like bottle-conditioning, natch) is a process that involves unfermented sugars and live yeast doing their thing after packaging to give the beverage a natural carbonation. The first one to see this treatment is 33 their 8.75% Belgian tripel. Expect notes of sourdough bread and some candied sweetness. Next up is The Bite, their 5.2% cider featuring Annapolis Valley apples. Both beverages are available for can pours or to-go from the taproom now. 

Breweries across the region are hiring, here are two more jobs that popped up on our radar.

Landwash is looking to grow their team with the addition of a Distribution Assistant. Doubling as a delivery driver, the role will entail working with Landwash’s various retail partners across the Avalon and greater Newfoundland. Check out Indeed for the posting and details on how to apply.

Jumping islands, PEI’s Barnone Brewery is getting their on-site hospitality operations fired up for the summer and are looking for a Bartender to join their team. If the thought of interacting with happy beer drinkers at a beautiful farm brewery for 25-30 hours/week sounds like a job for you, you can apply by submitting your resume to info@barnonebrewery.com. 

Just a couple of newsbites before we let you go this week. Enjoy your weekend, responsibly!

In case you missed the news, New Scotland Brewing has joined their sibling New Scotland Clothing at their new location just around the corner at 16 Portland Street. The larger location will give them the opportunity to expand production, as well as taproom and performance space, as they continue to support local music. Running an on-site kitchen is Root Down Scullery, with the Timber Lounge Axe Throwing operating in the same building. Sounds like a perfect way to spend an evening in downtown Dartmouth!

With Halifax Pride approaching in a couple of weeks, Garrison Brewing has this week released their official (craft) beer of the festival, Queer Summer Brew. This “Proud Hazy Ale” is 5.0%, light, and bright, with citrus notes throughout. It’s available now at Garrison’s locations at Halifax Seaport and Oxford Taproom, as well as at Bishop’s Cellar.

Friday Wrap-Up for May 20, 2022 – News from Tire Shack, Rough Waters, Unfiltered, Landwash, Beausoleil and Saltbox, Church, Bannerman, Breton, North, Garrison, Candid, Lone Oak Brewpub, Canadian Brewing Awards, and more!

Posted by acbbdevon on 2022-05-20
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Avondale Sky Winery, Bannerman Brewing, Beausoleil Farmstead Cider, Breton Brewing, Brightwood Brewery, Canadian Brewing Awards, Candid Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Landwash Brewery, Lone Oak Brewing, Lone Oak Brewpub, Long Bay Brewery, Mosaic.Wit, New Scotland Brewing, North Brewing, PEI Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Rough Waters Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Sea Level Brewing, Secret Cove Brewery, Spindrift Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Church Brewing Company, Tire Shack Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery, Unfiltered Brewing. 2 comments

Happy Friday Beer Fans! We’ve got a busy release for you today, as breweries continue to pump out the good stuff in our region, now that patio season is in full effect. And lucky us, as we have an extra day to enjoy it this weekend! Let’s just hope Mother Nature got the memo too… Be sure to check your local breweries’ social media to confirm they are open Monday if you are in the mood for a pint or retail stop that day. Now, on with the new beer and cider news, and check the end for the Atlantic Canadian brewery performance in the Canadian Brewing Awards!

We’ll start out with a gold-medal winning brewery this week, as Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewing have scaled up a small batch hit for wide release. Not a stranger to mango purees and sours in the past, this Mango-Guava Milkshake Sour is absolutely filled to the brim with both mango and guava purees, some lactose (aka milk sugar) that is acidified to keep it balanced and super-drinkable. Think fresh-pressed juice or smoothie, and you’ll be in the right mindset! Also keep an eye out for their new Peach Seltzer available now in cans, pints and growlers. 

As for the brewery itself, we’ll give a special shoutout to Alan Norman who was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOS of 2022 in Atlantic Business Magazine. We’ve seen Mitch Cobb from Upstreet on this list before, so we’re glad the great work these breweries are doing is getting recognized. Other big news for the team is that they picked up a Gold at the Canadian Brewing Awards for their Helles Yeah! Oktoberfest Munich Style Lager.

Deer Lake’s Rough Waters Brewing Co. has a new release in its Neighbeerly series. For this one, they are partnering with Quadrangle NL, an organization working to create a 2SLGBTQIA+ community centre in Newfoundland, and with NL Beer Fans mosaic.wit on Instagram. They’ve teamed up to create a Mosaic Wit, combining the citrusy and coriander notes of a witbier with the fruity and tropical notes that come from a dry-hopping with Mosaic. This one is only available at the taproom for now, but should see distribution through Rough Water’s typical retail spots on the east coast and Avalon next week. One dollar from every can sold will go directly to Quadrangle. Check out @mosaic.wit’s Youtube channel for a behind-the-scenes video of the brewday and what they’ve been getting up to in homebrewing as well!

North Street’s favourite brewery, Unfiltered, has a few newsbites for the weekend. Up first, Double Orange Ale (affectionately known as DOA) is the wonderful 7.5% Double IPA loaded with Citra. It’s as amazing and delicious as ever. Next up, a new release, Sparkling Motherfucker, is a sparkling rosé refermented on raspberries. It comes in at a highly drinkable 4%, is low-carb, gluten-reduced and also has a bunch of electrolytes (sodium, chloride and potassium) but as they’ll tell you, it’s not a sports drink. Both of these are available on tap and in cans today. 

Hopping over to Newfoundland, Landwash also has some returning beer and some new news in the last week. First up, Caribou Hill is back in a limited release but with wide availability. This beer is a ANZAC Biscuit Brown ale in memory of the Newfoundland troops that fought years alongside the Australian New Zealand Army Corp (ANZAC). The troops had special cookies that they would get from Australia. The beer itself is 5.2% with coconut additions and is widely available at the brewery, NLC and Convenience stores.

Another returning beer is Silvern Voices. This is a dry-hopped sour that is a rotating seasonal release. A few changes for this release include the removal of lactose and really upping the Cashmere dry-hop and adding some Galaxy into the mix. They’ve even switched up their lactobacillus from their other sours to make this stand out even more.  This is 4.9% and very hoppy, bright, tart and refreshing for the summer. This is available now across the island and at the brewery. 

Lastly, but not leastly, their spring Make/Shift collaboration series released with Mysa. Mysa is the beer name, too and is a juicy double dry-hopped IPA featuring Cascade and Nelson Sauvin hops. Using the Escarpment Labs Thiol Libre yeast, expect lots of tropical, fruity flavours like from this 7.4% IPA. This beer is also available now at the brewery, NLC stores and convenience stores across Newfoundland. 

Beausoleil Farmstead, the cidery/winery out of Port Williams, teamed up with Saltbox Brewing Company for a new release last week. Hibiscus is a 6.7% ABV blend of cider and chardonnay that has been infused with hibiscus, giving the final product a subtle pink hue. Cans are out now, following a release at last weekend’s Appleseed Cider Fest in Mahone Bay. 

Celebrating their Third Anniversary last weekend, East Duckworth’s Bannerman Brewing quietly released a month-appropriate lager, Full Bloom Maibock. Brewed in the cooler months, with the plan to release in spring, the Maibock is light in colour and higher in alcohol than traditional year-round German lagers, with Bannerman’s sporting a 6.5% ABV. Leveraging the herbal and spice notes from traditional Noble hops, perfect for the malt-favouring base beer. Available in cans in house and at shops around the Avalon, and pouring on tap for pints and growlers too.

Bannerman is also wading into the Cold IPA frey, with the release of Negative Space Cold IPA. While big variations to the pseudo-style exist, at least we can get behind the end result, a tasty hoppy beer! Their take on it uses a similar malt and hop profile as a more traditional IPA, but fermented cool and undergoing an extended conditioning phase like a lager. After primary fermentation, Cascade, Centennial, and Citra were added for dry hops, giving it a distinctly West Coast vibe, with a clean and crisp fermentation profile. Draught and cans are available from the brewery now, with cans probably seeing distribution before too long.

Breton Brewing is back with some long weekend, summer-themed fun with some updates to some of their more popular offerings. Let’s Jam Sour has a new flavour, as Let’s Jam: Blueberry Pomegranate is available now. The current Strawberry Rhubarb offering has been widely available across the province for a few years and this one will also be 4.0% and available at most NSLCs. In other NSLC news with Breton, Seven Years Pale Ale is now available in 6-pack 355ml cans. 

The Dartmouth-Timberlea connectors that are North Brewing have a new release that could be a first for the brewery. Let the Gold Times Roll is a 6.0% Golden Stoute featuring some help from Rousseau Chocolatier for the cocoa nibs and Roastery 46 for some cold brew. Always a fun style that features chocolate, coffee and classic stout flavours, it pours as a golden, clear ale. This is available at all three North locations and available online for delivery.

Halifax’s own Garrison Brewing is celebrating a massive anniversary, as they’ve hit the quarter-century mark. Celebrating 25 years of beer sligning, they’ve got a new beer and a fun contest with the Halifax Wanderers. The beer is  25th Anniversary Pale Ale, a 5.5% hazy beer with a nice mix of malt and fruit-forward hop flavours. This is in a special can and available now.  Check out the Garrison IG for details on their contest valued at $2000 running until May 26th. 

Antigonish’s Candid Brewing Company is celebrating one year in business with the release of 2021. This one is an ode to classic West Coast IPAs, featuring dank, citrusy and pine notes in a 7% ABV package. Speaking of the package, fans of a certain Dr. Dre album will enjoy the label artwork produced by Maritime Grime. In addition to the release, Candid will also be celebrating with live music tonight (Friday) at their College Street taproom. Happy Anniversary from all of us at ACBB!.

Up in the Valley there’s beers afoot, especially in Wolfvegas (that’s Wolfville to non-Acadia students), where Church Brewing decided to do all the things at once, including two collabs! First up, continuing their established history of putting out styles with high drinkability, is Marie, a 4% American Cream Ale, which means it’ll be light, crisp, and fairly dry, perfect for crushing after a hard afternoon of yard work. Then comes Pilsberry, a cranberry Pilsner, combining another very dry and crisp style with the lovely thirst-quenching tartness of cranberries in a 4.5% ABV package. Expect this one to have a hint of pink and to pair well with sitting in the sun on a patio. Also bound to be a hit with the patio drinking crowd is Life After Death, a collaboration with Avondale Sky Winery. Dubbed a “sparkling rosé sour” it’s a beer fermented with Champagne yeast for an ultra dry presentation, and then a conditioning on pinot noir grape skins from the winery. Tart, with some cherry pie flavours, the draught version of this one is quite different in ABV from the bottle conditioned version, with it pouring at 5.5% off the taps and more like 6.2% out of the bottle. You’ll have to visit the brewery to try a pint and then compare with some bottles you buy to take home! Lastly, the other collaboration this week is with up-the-Valley neighbours Schoolhouse Brewing in Windsor. Combining both breweries’ penchant for good beer with fun names they’ve come up with Bible School Dropout, a German Bock. Like all good Bocks, this one leans heavier on the malt side than the hops, and at 6.5% that’s going to mean sweet and smooth on the palate, but it’s also a lager, so you can still expect a fairly dry finish that beckons another sip. You can grab this one in cans from both breweries.

Big congratulations to Lone Oak, who open their Lone Oak Brewpub location at 15 Milky Way in Charlottetown today at 5 PM! With seating for more than 150 inside and out, there is sure to be room to accommodate all drinkers this fine weekend. While reservations are not being taken during the busy season, a quick call to check capacity as you’re headed out the door (and to be put on the waitlist) is a good idea and encouraged (902 892 0600). The brewpub is open from 11 AM seven days a week, and operating until 10 PM or later (the kitchen closes an hour or two before the pub). When visiting, you will be hit with the familiar aromas of the same crew behind The Abby kitchen at their Borden Brewery location, aka Terry Nabuurs and Co. Live music and fun all weekend long, with Matt Hannah and Jeff Doherty taking the stage this evening. Keep an eye on their IG page for more details. Congratulations to Dillon, Jared, Spencer, and the Crew on today’s opening!

A few quick hits from the old crows today, 2 Crows Brewing, ever the supporter of the Halifax classic Bluenose Marathon race weekend, will be opening early on Saturday (10am) and Sunday (11am) to host any post-race celebrations and gatherings. Pastries, coffee and beer, will join a new Electrolyte-based Hop Water in addition to Letna being back and widely available through the summer.  The new Hop Water will only be available at the brewery. 

New Scotland Brewing has a returning cider this week as Barracks is back in a small batch release. This is a 6.2% dry English cider using apples from the Valley. Get this one directly from the brewery! And congrats to the New Scotland Crew who announced that they will be making the move to a new location, offering more space for production, taproom, and music performances. Details coming soon!

Let’s leave you today with results from the Canadian Brewing Awards, announced in Calgary on the weekend. The region’s brewers did quite well, with more than a dozen breweries, representing every Atlantic province, bringing home the hardware. The full results are available here, and be sure to pick up a bottle or can of these beers the next time you stop into your local brewery!

  • 1. European Style Lager (Pilsner)
  • 2. European Style Amber to Dark Lager
    • Silver – Uncle Leo’s Altbier
  • 4. Kellerbier/Zwickelbier
  • 8. Baltic Porter
  • 11. Belgian-Style Abbey Ale/Pale Ale
  • 15. German-Style Sour Ale
  • 17. Porter
    • Bronze – Grimross Brewing Co. Pugnacious Porter
  • 19. Irish and Scotch Ales
  • 21. English Bitters
  • 24. Dry Stout
    • Silver – Tatamagouche Brewing Co. Hierlihy Irish Stout
  • 27. North American-Style Lager
  • 33. North American-Style Blonde or Golden Ale
  • 35. North American-Style Pale Ale
  • 37. American-Style India Pale Ale
  • 40. American-Style Imperial India Pale Ale
    • Gold – Copper Bottom Brewing Parkman Ave
  • 43. American-Style Sour Ale
  • 51. Barley Wine-Style Ale

Friday Wrap-Up for April 22, 2022 – News from Port Rexton, Trailway, Tatamagouche, Candid, Tire Shack, Spindrift, Propeller, Garrison, Battery Park, Bar Brewdock, 2 Crows, and much more!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2022-04-22
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Bar Brewdock, Battery Park, Bootleg Brew Company, Brave Noise Beer, Brewery by Quinns, Candid Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, Discover Global Geopark, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hill Top Hops, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Tapestry Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing. Leave a Comment

We’re back to our regularly scheduled programming bringing you all of the beer news you want (or need?) from around the Maritimes. Today is Earth Day! This is your friendly reminder to recycle your beer cans and bottles, use growlers, drink in the dark, bike to buy your beer, use your beer boxes and cardboard for arts and crafts! In all seriousness, many of our local craft breweries have many green and renewable initiatives that they would be happy to talk about. How you spend your money is important and we’re lucky to have many sustainably conscious breweries available to us. Onto the news!

Let’s kick off the week with a brewery celebrating Earth Day in a few different ways, Port Rexton Brewing. New in cans and on tap today is Discovery Global Geopark Juniper Ale. Named after the UNESCO-recognized Discovery Global Geopark that encompasses several sites on the Northern Bonavista Peninsula, this collaboration beer is 4.2%, and features additions of coriander, orange peel, as well as the eponymous juniper, as well as dashes and drips of honey, cinnamon, ginger, and star anise. The resulting beer is low in bitterness, but with enough fresh citrus and juniper character to contrast any malt and yeast sweetness. Sales from cans and draught (no growlers of this release due to its batch size) will benefit the park, elevating their education and program development.

If you’re looking for the perfect time to visit Port Rexton, btw, today is the day, as they are hosting two big events in the taproom today! At 3 PM, they are hosting their first monthly Pints & Pick-ups event, where they are encouraging folks to help beautify Robin Hood Beach just over the hill from the brewery. Gloves and bags are provided, and those who help pickup will receive a free beer in the taproom for their efforts! Under-age folks are welcome too, there are plenty of non-alcoholic options too. And stick around (Oh My Cheeses will be there!)/come back for Earth Day Trivia in the taproom at 7:30 PM.

The Juniper Ale joins a pair of other new/returning beers to the taps and retail shop this week. The latest in their gluten free line is Gluten-Free Raspberry Sour, a 4.3% sour, chock full of raspberry aroma and flavour, thanks to the additions of the fruit puree to the base beer. The sour joins Whitecap Session IPA, which returns for the Spring after a fall/winter hiatus. Just 3.8% ABV, but full of peach and pineapple aromatics, in a hazy and smooth base. Cans of both of these releases are also be available at their St John’s Retail Shop, open now for the weekend.

The crew at Trailway has a new one out this week and as you’d expect, it’s a hazy, juicy … actually, we are being told that this release is in fact an English-American hybrid take on an amber ale. Chancy’s Pub Ale pouts a deep amber colour with a creamy head. Showcasing malt notes of tasted barley, biscuits, toffee and caramel, you can also expect enough hop bitterness to keep things in balance, but still approachable and sessionable. Chancy’s comes in at 5% ABV and is available now in cans at the brewery. If you’re in Fredericton, drop by the taproom to try half-litre mugs from the side-pour tap and also keep an eye out for it on cask in the near future. And we couldn’t give you the latest TrailWay news without also mentioning the return of one of their most beloved IPAs, Green Island… 6% ABV, featuring hop character of pineapple, papaya, melon, and peach, with a soft mouthfeel. Cans, pints, and growler fills of Green Island are available now!

Back with another release from their ongoing series, Tatamagouche Brewing has released Intertidal: Mosaic this week. A solid IPA built around showcasing the big hop flavours, the grain bill uses Horton Ridge pale malt, along with their malted wheat and chit malt, along with some German Vienna malt to balance and support the heavy handed hopping. For the hop bill, Bramling Cross and Cascade are the mash hops, then Mosaic features in the whirlpool with some small amounts of El Dorado and Cascade to help showcase the Mosaic flavours. Using an English ale yeast to bring up the fruit forward, soft and full bodied, the beer is finally finished with a massive Mosaic dry hop with a touch of Vic Secret as a lifter hop. The end result is a 6% IPA full of bright flavours and delicious aroma of grapefruit, peach, berries and mango. Look for this directly from the brewery, order online or check your favourite private stores for 473ml cans. You’ll probably catch it on tap at some of your favourite Halifax establishments as well. 

The fine folks from Antigonish have two new beers available now for your enjoyment. First up from Candid is a beer release in conjunction with Andre Pettipas and the Giants and a special music event, (that already happened, but the beer is still available!) Live at the Elmo is a beer tribute for the upcoming album release featuring a show from the iconic Toronto music venue, The El Mocambo. The beer is a 4.5% Pale Ale inspired by the tropical palm tree logo from the venue. The beer is tropical in aroma and flavour and nicely crushable at 4.5%. This is available in cans and on tap from the brewery.

Another one available now from Candid’s 88 College Street taproom and retail spot is Zeitgeist! Another one at 4.5%, Zeitgeist is a 4.5% pilsner with some complimentary dry-hopping from a few different German hop varieties. This is also available now in cans and on tap at the brewery. 

Back in New Brunswick, Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewing is featuring a new release and a returning favourite. Rolling fresh out of the tanks is Sun Kissed Mimosa Sour. This 6.5% sour ale uses a carefully selected yeast strain to dry out the beer and features additions of fresh orange juice. This week also sees the return of the fan favourite, Killed By Death. This hazy Triple IPA is excessively hopped with Mosaic, Citra and Vic Secret, leading to a 10% TIPA that just begs to be sipped on a lazy Friday night. Check out the taproom now for both of these releases in cans and on tap. 

In Dartmouth, Spindrift Brewing has released the Brave Noise beer that we previously mentioned they were working on. Put in the hands of Sophie Zimmer, their full-time brewer, she and brewer/quality supervisor Kristi White elected to direct the proceeds towards a mental health organisation that provides access to counselling for abuse, specifically men’s abuse of their domestic partners. Look for the beer in cans only at both the Spindrift taproom in Dartmouth and Oak Manor in Antigonish; and also look for a QR code on the can that will direct you to Spindrift’s Code of Conduct, which is part of the accountability aspect of the Brave Noise movement.

Propeller is giving us a little preview of summer this week with the release of Passion Fruit Sour Ale. The kettle sour process gives a tangy profile to compliment that big passion fruit notes. This one is available in cans as of today (Friday) at the three Prop Shop locations around HRM and also for delivery/shipping on their webstore. While we’re talking about Propeller, we should also mention their Azacca Session IPA is back in all of its compact, sessionable glory. Cans of the 4.5% ABV SIPA that showcases the Azacca hop are now available year round!

Let’s kick off our Events section with a reminder of Propeller and Garrison Brewing’s collaborative 25th Anniversary Tap Takeover at Battery Park tomorrow… From opening at 11:30 AM until late, you’ll be able to grab ten different beer from each brewery, including several debuts hitting the taps for the first time, particularly the Battery Park X Garrison X Propeller collaboration that may *only* be available at BP tomorrow due to its size. Look to Propeller’s IG page for more details on this one later today.

East Duck St John’s Bar Brewdock is celebrating their First Anniversary this weekend, after a wild 12 months of pouring the best beer in Newfoundland and beyond, paired with great local fare! To celebrate, they have brought back the Boss Hogg burger that placed third in the Downtown Burger Battle. And of course they are featuring some great thinks to drink from both home and away, including freshies from Lab City to Corner Brook to Quidi Vidi and all points in between. Plus some visiting goodies from Ottawa’s Dominion City, as well as the lovely Pearl Morissette Winery. Check out what’s on tap here, then head in to celebrate with the crew! And more celebrations will be in order soon, as their “cousin” brewery, Banishing Brewing in Paradise, has received most of their brewhouse gear, so will be brewing beer in the coming weeks!

Halifax’s 2 Crows Brewing doesn’t have any new beers to talk about this week, but they’ve surely got some events to talk about, so no respite for our typing fingers. Up first is Bike & Brew, an event that combines two of the 2C team’s favourite activities, cycling and drinking beer. Teaming up with Long Alley Bicycles and Halifax Cycling Coalition, the event will take place on April 30th. A couple of technicians from Long Alley will be on hand from 11AM to 2PM conducting half tunes which run $50 and include your first beer (sending you on the way to being half cut). Only 12 of these spots are available, so head to the sign-up page for full details and to get yourself one of those slots! Tune-up or not, for those who are riding, at 2PM the Cycling Coalition will be leading a 5km community ride around the north and south ends of the peninsula before returning to the brewery for a post-ride beer. If you’re really keen you can RSVP by DM’ing the Halifax Cycling Coalition Ig account or y’know, just show up and get your ride on! 

If you’re not into cycling, but you are into drinking beer, 2C still has you covered, especially on Thursday nights, as they’ve announced that for the foreseeable future the Tube Nights they’ve hosted a couple of times before are now going to be a regular Thursday thing! Show up any time after 5PM, order a tube of AC Light Lager, and ask for a magic coaster. As long as you leave the green side of the coaster facing up, the crew will continue to refresh your 9.5oz tube with more beer. Turn the coaster over to the red side when you need a break or are finished. Staff will maintain the tally and you’ll pay a paltry $3.50 per tube consumed. 

A few short newsbites before we dismiss you for the week…

One of NL’s littler breweries, Bootleg Brew Co in Corner Brook, has a brand new beer to suit your present circumstances: Currant Situation is a black currant and lemon meringue sour with plenty of tartness and a graham cracker finish coming in at 5% ABV. This one appears to have been canned, but we don’t see it available for online orders yet, so for now you’ll have to stop by the brewery to grab some.

Good Robot has brought back their ThemBot beer this week, and it’s bigger and better than ever! The 5.5% Sour Beer features even more guava and blackberry than their initial release last year, and in the spirit of sharing even more love around to everyone, has now upped the release to a 473 ml can. You can pick them up, or enjoy it on tap, from their retail/taproom on Robie Street, or order some online for local delivery! You can also grab a glass or pint at Lower Sackville’s TAPestry Beer Bar, where GR’s Liam will be guest bartending for the evening, ready to share stories from his time working in beer across the world.

We mentioned a couple weeks ago about Lunn’s Mill doing ЧЕРВОНІ ОЧІ (Red Eyes) American Amber Ale in support of the Brew for Ukraine initiative, and now we’re able to tell you the beer is being packaged today and will be available to order through their online store, or directly at their taproom in Lawrencetown and The Station in Bridgetown. While the pre-orders did bite into the availability, there’s still plenty to go around.

The crew at Tusket Falls has a new DIPA release this weekend. Featuring Strata, Mosaic and Citra hops, the 8% ABV Modern Creation, is available on tap and in cans at the Tusket Falls and Gottingen Street locations now. 

Looking to get into the beer business? We’ve got a few options for you this week!

Montague’s Copper Bottom Brewing is gearing up for the summer rush by hiring on folks to fill positions in both the taproom and brewery. Taproom Servers are needed to keep the good beer flowing, and Production Staff are in demand as well, to ensure the taps never run dry! And, for those folks who aren’t able to visit Montague, Summer Sales Representatives are needed to bring on new Island licensees (and keep the existing ones happy). Check their website for all of the details, including how to apply. 

Quinn’s Arms Pub opened on Halifax’s Quinpool Road in August 2021, and has been filling an English-Gastropub-sized hole on Quinpool ever since. They have recently announced that they will be launching a sister brewery, The Brewery by Quinns, just a couple of doors down. Details of the brewing side of things are a little light now (but we’re on the case!), however we do know that they are in the process of hiring folks for both Front and Back of House, as they extend out to a beer garden and keep pouring both their own beer as well as local favourites. Kitchen staff should hit up Chef James Millar, and Front of House should contact Manager Hollee Angelucci.

One more thing this week…

Unfortunately, we have to end the blog on a bit of a sour note this week, as one of Annapolis Valley’s breweries, Hill Top Hops’ Brewhouse was broken into not once, but twice during the last week. After breaking in the door and entering Friday night to size up the place, they returned Saturday night to steal a television, alcohol, destroying the jukebox to extract the money, as well as stealing equipment from the brewery. While the two events were captured on video, that will not restore the lost efforts and sense of safety in the building. We as a brewing community can help, however, by visiting their Brooklyn location (7232 Highway 14 West Hants, adjacent to the Tidal Bore Farm Market), and staying for a beer and buying more to take away. You can read more on their Facebook page. We’re wishing the Peters family a speedy recovery and resolution from this setback!

(Thanks to those of you who pointed out last week that the KOFI link does not get passed on from website to email, so here it is, if you feel like tossing us a few pennies to pay for the hosting and drinking fees the blog requires)