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Friday Wrap-Up for February 23, 2018 – News from Boxing Rock, Big Axe, Propeller, Good Robot, Trailway, Unfiltered and more!!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2018-02-23
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Antigonish Townhouse, Battery Park, Big Axe Brewery, Big Tide Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Boxing Rock Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Lazy Bear Brewing, Maybee Brewing, Off Track Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Sober Island Brewing, Split Rock Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Storm Brewing in Newfoundland, Stubborn Goat Gastropub, Tanner & Co Brewing, Think Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

With the warm-ish weather we’ve been experiencing in the region this week we’re almost wondering if the Groundhog might have been right this year, which probably means an apocalyptic storm or four is just around the corner. To take your mind off this dreadful inevitability and the zombie apocalypse that will no doubt follow, we’ve once again collected all the beer news we could find in the region this week and put it all in one place.

• It looks like Boxing Rock has been playing around in the brewhouse lately, as they’ve just released Plum Crazy, a “plum-infused sour Porter”. Starting with a slightly-tweaked recipe of their Sunken Ledge Porter, where a portion of the mash was soured in the mashtun for 48 hours, with the remainder of the grist mashed in as normal. The resulting two worts were then combined in the kettle, and boiled as usual. After primary fermentation was complete, 120 lbs of plum puree were added for about a week, where the beer was then carbonated and packaged. The result is a 5% ABV brew that is “smooth, tart, and malty, with a bit of tannic character from the plums”. You should be able to find it in bottles now at the private liquor stores, in growlers at the brewery and farmer’s markets, and on tap at select licensees.

• Late last week, Big Axe managed to release a new beer despite receiving several new pieces of brewing equipment for their expansion. A Rye IPA, Aces & Eights was brewed with two types of rye malt: Flaked Rye and Pale Rye malt. Hopped with Amarillo and Citra, this 5.8% ABV beer is a light amber colour, with “reddish hues” (the picture we saw looked quite red!), and has a “slight peppery aroma” from the Rye additions. Look for it on tap at your favourite Big Axe account, and at the brewery taproom (which very well may BE your favourite Big Axe account, naturally!) for pints and growler fills.

• Halifax’s Propeller has a brand new beer available in cans, XPA. This “Extra Pale Ale” is their latest seasonal, hopped with Citra and Idaho 7, giving the beer “complex hop aromas of orange and apricot, finishing with a backdrop of resiny pine with hints of black tea”, according to the brewery. These 473 mL cans are available right now in both Propeller retail stores, and should be following at the NSLC sometime next week. Of course, it’s on tap at Propeller for growler fills as well, and will likely show up on tap around the HRM very soon.

• There’s another new Alpha Brew being released by our friends at Good Robot this week: All You Can Eat is being billed as a Coconut IPA. Featuring a “boatload” of toasted coconut (meticulously toasted by Kelly Costello herself), the beer has a base of Golden malt, and was hopped with both Topaz and Wai-Iti. It’s “smooth and creamy” and has an aroma matching a tropical fruit salad, with coconut! Keep your eyes open for it around Halifax, and of course you can find this 6.2% ABV, 43 IBUs newbie at the source (read: brewery taproom). But we’re not done… naturally there’s a new Beta Brew coming out next Tuesday! Creamsicale was brewed with local entrepreneur Krishna Parmar, and has a grist made up of Wheat malt, Oats, and barley, and hopped with Magnum, Mandarina Bavaria, and Zythos (to 32 IBUs). At 5.8% ABV, it tastes of “citrus and vanilla ice cream, with a very subtle hop profile”. Finally, the brewery has just finished their second canning run, so you can now pick up Tom Waits For No One American Stout in 16 oz cans at the brewery.

• Bucking tradition slightly, TrailWay released their weekly one-off a bit early this week, on Wednesday. This is their latest rendition of Binary, their rotating SMaSH (single-malt and single-hop) brew. Golden Promise is the malt of choice, and this time around they went with the Australian hop variety Ella. This hop has been seeing more and more action in many brews in Atlantic Canada, and is known for the floral and spicy aromas it imparts in beer, along with a grapefruit and tropical flavour. This batch is bigger than their typical one-off, so expect to see some cans of this 6% ABV hoppy brew at select ANBL stores, in addition to at the brewery taproom.

• Today Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing is bringing back a summer favourite a little early, possibly in the hopes of inspiring this unseasonably warm weather into even more unseasonable territory. You might remember Sour MFer, the kettle soured wheat beer aged on a metric fuckton of tart cherries. Well it’s back, and this time it spent some time refermenting with Brettanomyces lambicus, which is known for tending to impart a cherry-pie like character. Even better, the beer also spent several months aging on oak. Available from noon for pints and fills at the brewery and/or Charm School Pub next door. Speaking of growler fills, did you know if you bring another brewery’s growler to Unfiltered, they’ll fill it? And they’ll even slap on a high-quality vinyl Unfiltered sticker before they send you on your merry way. How incredibly controversial!!

• If you head down to Tidehouse’s tinytastybeverageroom in downtown Halifax this weekend, you’ll find a brand new beer. The Atomium is a Belgian blond that comes in at 6.4% ABV. It was brewed with Pilsner, Vienna and a touch of Aromatic malt, bittered with Perle and flavoured with noble Czech Saaz. Brewmaster Peter Lionais then chose to ferment with a pair of Belgian yeasts to create a beer with a largely fruity profile contrasted with a touch of phenolic spiciness. This beer is also expected to hit the taps at the Stubborn Goat in the coming days.

• Ol’ Biddy’s Brewhouse continues to churn out beer, belying their nano scale. Brewer/owner Keith Forbes has a couple brews bubbling away to keep the tap accounts happy. As mentioned last week (or was it the week before?), there’s a batch of Patrick O’Neil’s Irish Red coming for St. Patrick’s Day and a coffee-less version of Even Gooder Brown will be ready mid-next week, this one with a light-ish body, and chocolate, caramel and nutty flavors and an overall earthy presentation. And if you’ll be at the Fredericton Craft Beer Fest, look for Ol’ Biddy’s to make its debut at Newbie Night on March 9th. They’ll be bringing four beers at the event, Sackvegas Sour, Orange American Bastard, Disco Inferno Red IPA and a brand new one, brewed by Keith’s longtime homebrew buddy Michael Orr, Salty Fog Coconut Porter, a dark roasty beer with hints of chocolate, caramel and coconut, and finished with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt.

• Maybee Brewing is launching a new beer today, which will be the first of three over the next few weeks. Today’s newbie is Whistle Stop Belgian Pale Ale, a 6.5% ABV twist on the classic Belgian style. Amber-coloured, this brew was fermented with a Saison and Brettanomyces yeast blend, giving “upfront notes of biscuit, stone fruit, and bubblegum, with a European hop spice and citrus hop accompaniment”. Finishing crisp and dry, it will be released in kegs only for now (so look for it on tap at the brewery for growler fills, and at Maybee tap accounts in the province), but will also be available in bottles during Fredericton Craft Beer Week (starting March 5th).

• We mentioned last week (eventually…sorry guys!), that the 902BrewCast boys would be hosting a live recording of their Women in the Beer Industry Panel, an open discussion featuring Meghan Brennan (Garrison Brewing), Rebecca Atkinson (Sober Island Brewing), Laura MacDonald (Stillwell), and Kelly Costello (Good Robot Brewing). The event took place this past Monday evening and the team has already sliced ’n diced the raw tape into an episode available now. Get it direct from their website here, search it out in iTunes or your favourite alternative Podcast app, or twist the dial of your favourite podcast appliance (those exist, right?)

On top of the many events we’ve mentioned over the past couple weeks, there’s a couple new ones to throw out there today:

• Corner Brook’s Bootleg Brew Co. is celebrating reopening this week with an all-NL tap takeover. Beginning last night with a ticketed event that sold right out, it will continue into Friday and Saturday. Head down to the brewery during regular hours (4 PM to Midnight) today or tomorrow and find taps pouring from Port Rexton Brewing, Split Rock Brewing Co., Quidi Vidi Brewing Co., Yellowbelly Brewery, Storm Brewing and, of course, the hosts themselves! Flights will be available at $12 per and they’ll have 16oz pints besides. So head on down and experience a taste of the burgeoning beer scene on the Rock!

• Battery Park is holding another one of their all-day tap takeovers next Thursday, March 1st, but this one will feature six Nova Scotia breweries, instead of just one. Small but Mighty will bring you kegs from Half Cocked, Lazy Bear, Off Track, Ol’ Biddy’s, Tanner & Co., and The Townhouse. Beers will be pouring from 11:30 am for the whole day, until the beer is gone! As always, there’s no charge to attend, just show up and enjoy some pints from some of the province’s smallest breweries! Many of the brewers will be there to soak up the praise, so don’t be shy!

• Interested in learning more about the brewing process? Saint John’s Big Tide will be hosting a Brunch & Brew on Sunday, March 25th from 10 am-1:30 pm. Head brewer Wendy Papadopoulos will educate attendees on the magic behind brewing, and you’ll also get the opportunity to take part in an actual brew day. Luckily, a two-course brunch and flight of beer is included in the ticket price ($40 + HST and fee), to keep you going! You can book your tickets here.

That’s it for this week!

– Harvey, New Brunswick’s Think Brewing has started bottling, and the first bottles (500 mL) of their Revelation IPA can be found at the Corbett Centre ANBL in Fredericton this weekend, with more locations to follow, soon.

Friday Wrap-Up for February 16, 2018 – News from Upstreet, Tanner & Co, Bogtrotter, Breton, YellowBelly, Propeller and more!!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2018-02-16
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Bogtrotter Craft Brewery, Bootleg Brew Company, Breton Brewing, Craft Beer Cottage Party, Crooked Feeder Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Halifax Seaport Farmers Market, Niche Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Savour Food & Wine Festival, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tanner & Co Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Western Newfoundland Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

Welcome to spring! Haha, nice try, winter, we’re onto you. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me eleven times, well…. I’d be a complete moron, is what. Anyway, that concludes the obligatory blurb about the weather. It’s time for beer news!

• Today, Upstreet is releasing the next entry in their Million Acres series of one-offs, Bourbon Barrel Chocolate Salted Lager. This is a very dark brown Lager aged for a year in a Buffalo Trace barrel (Bourbon), and it’s a heckuva strong one at a whopping 10.5% ABV. With flavours of raisin, caramel, toffee, and light vanilla, it finishes with a “smooth, mellowed cocoa bitterness, and balanced bourbon aftertaste”, according to the brewery. You can pick it up in cork-and-cage 750 mL bottle today at the brewery, with a limit of 4 per person (this one was definitely brewed with the intention of aging).

• The folks at Tanner & Co. are mourning the loss (i.e. running out) of their Belgian Tripel in the proper way… by releasing a new beer! American IPA is just that, and built on a grist made up of mostly Maris Otter, along with some Caramel malt to provide some colour, mouthfeel, and sweetness. The brew was hopped in the boil with Citra and Simcoe (to 50 IBUs), and dry-hopped with more Citra to give aromas of “ripe peaches, tropical fruit, and citrus”. Balanced by a firm bitterness in the finish, it comes in at 6.9% ABV and is available now at the brewery for growler fills.

• New Brunswick’s Bogtrotter, located in Rusagonis, is releasing a new beer this week, their first new release in many months. Wonky White is a White IPA, hopped primarily with late additions of El Dorado, giving candy-like, fruity characters in the aroma and flavour, to go with the bitter finish (60 IBUs). Coriander seed was also added during the brew process, to give that classic spice character expected in this cross between a Belgian Witbier and American IPA. It should be on tap shortly at the James Joyce, and will also be available for purchase in 500 mL bottles at several ANBL locations.

• Breton Brewing re-released their Valentine’s Day-inspired beer earlier this week, Cocoa Envy. A Robust Porter featuring the addition of chocolate extract sourced from organic cocoa beans, it sports a creamy mouthfeel and “just the right amount” of chocolate flavour to back up the touch of roast and coffee character. At 6.5% ABV and 37 IBUs, this one is available on tap only; you can find it at the brewery right now, and at select accounts by sometime over this weekend. In addition, the brewery will be tapping a special cask of the beer today, which has been sitting on Peruvian cocoa nibs.

• In other Valentine’s Day beer news, YellowBelly released their own, Sheila Na’Geira, a 5.5% ABV American IPA named after an Irish noblewoman involved in “one of the oldest love stories in Newfoundland”. As for the beer, the grist incorporated a small amount of rice as an adjunct, and it was hopped and dry-hopped with a mixture of Topaz, Mosaic, and Citra to give plenty of citrus character on the palate, along with aromas of “berry, citrus, tropical fruits, and dank resin”. It’s still available now on tap, for growler fills, and in bottles.

• Halifax’s Propeller has been working on their Barrel Aged Series, and has finally released the first beer, Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout. Taking their crowd-favourite, award-winning RIS and aging it in oak bourbon barrels, the result is a big beer (8.5% ABV) with dark fruit, dark caramel, and roasted malt in the flavour, along with notes of vanilla and bourbon. Bound to have some alcohol warmth going down, it’s a great style to sip on this winter, as well as age and enjoy over time. It’s available in 330 mL bottles right now at the brewery, meaning that it’s not quite so daunting to open one up on your own, maybe even on a weeknight! Look for bottles to be available at all of the private stores by next week, along with the NSLC at the Port.

• Good Robot has the usual mix of Alpha and Beta goodness this week. Starting with the BetaBrew to be released this coming Tuesday, Dewey Dudes was brewed by Kelly Costello with local educator Shelby MacGregor. In the Altbier style, it features a grist of Pilsner and Vienna malts and Perle and Magnum hops, but cheats just a little bit with a Kölsch yeast. Overall it’s a malty and slightly bitter, but smooth German-style beer weighing in at 4.7% ABV and 31 IBU. Still on the Beta side if you didn’t make it down to GR for last week’s Treat Her Like a Lady from the sisters Costello, fear not, because you didn’t miss it! Owing to a CO2 mishap at the brewery, the beer wasn’t tapped on Tuesday and is being held in reserve for a future event. Over on the Alpha side of the house, Dewolfe of Wall Street is back, but it’s namesake is sallying forth. Jake is moving on from GR, but this 6.2% ABV APA hopped with Cascade and Mount Hood will stand as a testament to his time at the brewery. Look for it at the taproom and GR tap accounts around Halifax.

• TrailWay‘s weekly Friday release is the first of what they’re dubbing as an American Fruit Ale. Starblast is brewed to be more fruit-forward with a background hop character, instead of the other way around as exhibited in several of their other beers. Hopped with El Dorado, over 400 lbs of mango, papaya, and kiwi puree were added to the brew, giving plenty of tropical fruit juice characteristics. This 5.5% ABV beer is available at the brewery today in cans and on tap, and will most likely show up at a few TW tap accounts around the Fredericton area, soon.

• Garrison painted the town pink this week with the Valentine’s Day release of their kettle sour Pucker Up in cans. Featuring pomegranate, cranberry, hibiscus and rosehips, we expect you’ll be seeing its bright pink branding around the city for weeks and months to come. To celebrate, they’re holding an online contest to see how you \#PuckerUp. Prizes include a flat of cans, a brewery tour for 10, a 20 L party keg and two tickets to the 2018 Garrison Backlot Bash. The contest runs until 11:59 PM on Monday, February 19th. Full details can be found in this here Instagram post. Also from Garrison this week is the return of their Grand Baltic Porter. The Yin to Russian Imperial Stout’s Yang, the Baltic Porter style is one of the biggest beers, known for its rich malty sweetness paired with dark flavors such as molasses and dried fruit, caramel, and occasional notes of liquorice, all atop a clean lager character. This year’s version has come in nice and heavy, at 9.5% ABV; look for it in 500 mL bottles at the brewery and private stores. Lastly, a mea culpa on our part. Last week we reported that the Garrison Home Brew-off Challenge Gala had been moved to Wednesday, March 28th, when in reality the correct date is Thursday, March 29th. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

• For complicated reasons that have been well-covered by mainstream news sources, it’s been awhile since we’ve brought you any new beer news from Quidi Vidi in St. John’s, but they’ve gone and bought themselves a shiny new 3 BBL (360 L) pilot system and have gone back to their experimental roots! Looks like they already have a few news beers in the pipeline; we don’t have the fine details yet, but can provide you with at least a bit of a tease of what they’ve been releasing. Their first beer released on this new system was their Crab Apple Saison, which featured the addition of 300 kg of locally-picked crab apples to give a bit of tartness to the beer. There are several kegs of this one available so look for it to pop up over the next while. They also brewed up Calm Tom’s Double IPA and Mad Mike’s Big Bag Belgian (should that be Big BAD Belgian? No idea!). Unfortunately no details at all on those two. ?We’ll keep bugging them for more on future beers!

We’ve got some updates on beer events over the next few weeks; here’s what’s going on in our region for the next little while:

• Speaking of Quidi Vidi, As part of the Clarenville Wintertainment festivities up the road from St. John’s in Clarenville, NL, White Hills Resort will be hosting Brewtine this Saturday night, February 17th from 7 PM to 10 PM. There you’ll find six different poutine variants, Buffalo Chicken, Turkey Dinner, Chicken & Waffles, Pulled Port, Port & Meat Pie, and Donut, each paired with a 5 oz craft beer from Quidi Vidi or Port Rexton Brewing. Live music will be provided by 3 Shades of Grey, and there will be a shuttle service from the event centre picking up at 6 PM and returning after the event. Tickets are $59 + fees & taxes and can be purchased online.

• And also going down on the Rock this Saturday night, but on the west side of the island, Crooked Feeder Brewing Co. is hosting a Craft Beer Tasting from 9 PM to 12 AM as part of Corner Brook Winter Carnival. Although Crooked Feeder aren’t quite ready themselves, with renos and permitting still in process, they’re going to get people together at Swirsky’s to talk and taste beers from Bootleg Brew Co., Yellowbelly Brewery and Western Newfoundland Brewing Company. Live music will be provided by GIRLS. Only 100 tickets are available for this event, so act quickly if you’re interested; $20 gets you 4 6 oz samples, with additional glasses available for $5 cash. To get tickets you can message Crooked Feeder on Facebook, or visit Country Road Convenience, Empire Atlantic, Village Music Inc. or Newfound Sushi.

• One last reminder on the live Tasting Episode scheduled by the 902BrewCast this Monday, February 19th, at Garrison Brewing. The panel will include women involved in the NS beer industry, and will be recorded live in front of… you! Just show up (it all starts at 6 pm), with no tickets needed. The taps will be flowing, so feel free to have a beer or two! If you’re not able to attend, look for the episode to be available online later in the week.

• Have you been thinking to yourself lately that it’s been a while since those layabouts at Stillwell have done anything to make you sit up and take notice? Well it’s that time again: if you’re into American Farmhouse Ales, especially ones that are all-Brett fermented, sour, blended, aged in wood, and/or fruited, you might want to block off next Saturday, February 24th from Noon until you can drag yourself away – Denver, Colorado’s Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project will be in full effect, featured on all 12 taps and with bottles besides. And, as always, special snacks dreamt up specifically for the event will be wending their way out of the kitchen. Do you appreciate brewing artistry? This is where to find it. Look for the complete tap list (and perhaps bottle list as well) to be posted on social media this week.

• For the warm weather lovers amongst us who are already looking forward to summer, the annual Savour Food & Wine Craft Beer Cottage Party is just around the corner. This year they’ve got an impressive 35 participating craft breweries and cideries from around the province and a few from beyond our borders. The event is now two weeks away, on March 3rd, from 7 to 9:30 PM at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market. Beer-friendly food will be available for purchase from Shwarma Stop and Bramoso Pizza, a live band will be playing up on the mezzanine, and you’ll find some classic games around the place. Tickets are $65 + taxes and include all your beer samples. So grab your favourite plaid, comb your beard, and get ready for a good time with beers and ciders from: 2 Crows Brewing, Alexander Keith’s NS Brewery, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop’s Cellar, Boxing Rock Brewing Co., Breton Brewing, Bulwark Cider, Chain Yard Urban Cidery, Elderkin Cider Co., Firkenstein, Garrison Brewing Co., Good Robot Brewing Co., Granite Brewery, Hell Bay Brewing Co., Lazy Bear, Lunn’s Mill, Meander River Farm and Brewery, Granville/Creemore, Nine Locks Brewery, North Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing Co., Pump House Brewery, Roof Hound Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewery, Shipbuilders Cider, Sober Island Brewing, Spindrift Brewing Co., Tatamagouche Brewing Co., Tidehouse, Trider’s Craft Beer, Uncle Leo’s, Upstreet Craft Brewing, and Wayfarer’s Ales.

That’s about it for this week! Nice to see things slow down just a touch (for our sakes, anyway). Couple more things before we let you leave to enjoy your long weekend…

– Niche Brewing has just re-released the first beer of theirs that hit taps in late December, Single Origin (5% ABV), a Coffee Sweet Stout). Look for it at the James Joyce and other tap accounts in the near future. They’re also sending a keg of their Hibiscus Sour Ale, Ruby Tuesday, to Stillwell today, to go on tap sometime soon.
– As we hinted a couple times over the past month, Ol’ Biddy’s Brewhouse has a new tap account, Freeman’s on Quinpool where they’re currently serving up the Saturday Night Fever IPA. Meanwhile Keith is already looking forward to St Patrick’s Day, with an apropos brew already in the fermenter.

Friday Wrap-Up for December 29, 2017 – News from Niche, Propeller, North, Good Robot, Bad Apple Brewhouse, and much more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2017-12-29
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Annapolis Brewing Company, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Battery Park, Benjamin Bridge, Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Niche Brewing, North Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, PEI Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Saltbox Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tanner & Co Brewing, The Good Robot FemmeBrew Competition, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Here we are at the last Friday Wrap-up of 2017; time flies when you’re drinking beer and taking names. The past 52 weeks have seen our regional scene continue to develop and evolve, with a couple breweries closing up shop, many more than that opening across all 4 provinces, and tons and tons of new beers released, from easy-drinking, lightly-hopped, low-ABV session beers, to intensely complex barrel- and foedre-aged mixed fermentations occasionally featuring fruit, and everything in between. We’ve attended some incredible events at our favourite venues, stood in line for beer releases and even had the chance to read a book about beer in our little corner of the world. And it looks like 2018 is going to bring even more of the same. Halifax will host the Canadian Beer Awards in May, we know of several more breweries in the works with plans to open in the coming year, and we’ve no doubt the regions brewers will continue to up the ante in terms of quality and innovation. Thanks to everyone who continues to read our weekly scrawl (as unwieldy as it sometimes gets when there’s 4,000 words to get through) and we’ll be sure to toast you all with some of our favourite local beers on New Years Eve.

• We’ve mentioned Hanwell, NB’s, Niche Brewing previously, and we can now announce that their beer is available to the public! Their Single Origin is a Coffee Sweet Stout, and hit the taps at a few spots across the province for the first time last night. This 5.0% ABV Stout features lactose in the recipe for a light sweetness (lactose is not fermentable by most yeasts) to enhance the roast and chocolate character of the malt as well as mouthfeel, with an addition of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans from Fredericton’s Jonnie Java Roasters after primary fermentation was complete, to lock in the coffee flavour and aroma. The beer is now available at Fredericton’s James Joyce Irish Pub and Saint John’s Cask and Kettle, with Moncton’s Tide & Boar looking to tap it at any moment. Keep an eye on Niche’s social media for the latest buzz on the beer, and we’ll have a full profile with the gang behind Niche in the next day or two. Congratulations Rob and Shawn!

• A little while ago, Propeller released the latest of their Gottingen Small Batch beers, Hazelnut Oatmeal Stout. This 5.5% ABV stout was brewed with flaked oats, chocolate malt, and roasted barley, and features hazelnuts added to the recipe as well. Chocolate, roast, and nut flavours and aromas punctuate the underlying creamy semi-sweet beer. It is available in growler fills at both Propeller locations, and by the pint at the Gottingen Street taproom, and at a few spots across HRM. And keep an eye open for cans of their Double IPA and Extra Special Bitter on the shelves of an NSLC near you!

• Capping off the Second Anniversary celebration of their sibling beer spot Battery Park, North Brewing released the 2017 edition of Saison de Pinot yesterday. The 7.1% ABV beer/wine hybrid features a Saison as the beer base, with 220 litres of Benjamin Bridge‘s own Pinot Meunier grape must added in secondary. This year’s grape harvest lends a more notable tart acidity to the must, which does translate to the final product. Fermented using two different Sacc. yeasts (Cerevesiae and Boulardii), the finished beer was lightly dry hopped with Hallertau Blanc, and has been bottle conditioning for the past 8 weeks, and is a perfect candidate for further aging in a cellar, to enjoy the flavours and aromas that develop over time. We suggest buying a pair (or more) and enjoying one now, and another in several months when the hops will have faded (maybe even wait until BP’s Third Anniversary!).

• Halifax’s Good Robot Brewing has announced that they are holding their first homebrew competition in Spring 2018. GRBC is already well-known known for encouraging those sometimes passed over or left behind by the modern brewing scene with their CommuniBrews and Goodwill Bot events, and this competition is no different. Female Brewsters are credited with promoting and keeping alive the art and science of brewing, before often being barred from activities involving the production of alcohol. To celebrate the earlier times, they are presenting the The Good Robot FemmeBrew Competition. Open to all women, and female-presenting, non-professional brewers, entrants are encouraged to dig into the past with “pre-prohibition” style recipes, choosing beer styles from before the industrialization of brewing. No “can and kilo” kits, please, an original recipe is the way to go (but modern ingredients such as malt extract are OK to enhance the beer!). There is no fee to enter, and you are asked to register online by Feb 1, with your entries (four 341ml bottles preferred) due March 1 at the Good Robot Retail Shop (aka Beer Later). This is a BJCP-registered competition, and entrants will receive feedback on their entries. For those women previously interested in the hobby, this may be just the nudge needed to try their hand at recipe development and brewing! Winners will be announced at Good Robot’s FemmeBot celebration on March 7th, and there are plenty of prizes up for grabs. If you have any more questions, please contact Kelly C for more details.

• And in new beer news at GRBC, the latest iteration of their Damn Fine Coffee and Cherry Pie is on tap for growlers and pints now. Version 4.0 is a step in another direction for this Coffee Pale Ale, featuring the use of Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee, prepped by the fine folks at Low Point (whoa, twice in one post??). This varietal has notes of honey and citrus, with a floral nose, helping to bring the beer closer to that eponymous “Cherry Pie” flavour, according to the brewery. To launch this latest batch, they are holding a bit of a contest, where a single cherry is hidden somewhere in the taproom every day this week: if you can spot it, you’ll win yourself a gift card for a free beer.

• Somerset’s Bad Apple Brewhouse has released a handful of their full time and seasonal offerings in cans recently, thanks to the Craft Coast Canning mobile unit. Now available in the handy format at the brewery (open 1-6PM daily), are: Alternate Ending, a 5.0% ABV Altbier; Black and Tackle, their 9.0% ABV Russian Imperial Stout; a 6.0% ABV Hard Apple Cider, made from local apples; Honey Wagon, a 5.0% ABV American Wheat; and Mosaic, their flagship 8.0% Double IPA. Many of these will also be available in Halifax at Bishop’s Cellar very soon.

• One of the newest breweries in Nova Scotia, in one of the oldest European settlements in the country, Annapolis Brewing Company, has some big plans coming for 2018. First, they’ve already got a production expansion in the works, with four new 5 BBL (roughly 6 hL) unitanks on their way to the brewery now to meet increased demand as the year goes on. They’re also currently looking for a location to build a new building to house the brewery, which will be even shorter on space with the new tanks. The team is also working on developing a Craft Beer Farmers Market concept for the new year, the first of its kind in the Province. It will see breweries and perhaps craft distilleries set up on the Annapolis Royal Farmers Market grounds on Sundays from May 13th to October 14th from 10 AM to 2 PM and provide a one stop shop for patrons in the area to buy beer. Tables will cost $20 per week and any breweries that are interested can reach out to paul@annapolisbrewing.com. Look for more information about the market to be publicized throughout the winter as they prepare for their first Craft Beer Farmers Market in Spring!

• In new beer news, Annapolis have a brew in the works that’s passed out of the testing phase and is scheduled to enter production in 2018. Goodwill Amber is a red-hued beer that strikes a fine balance between malty and hoppy. Vienna malt is featured on the grist side for a bready and toasty character and it’s been hopped with classic American varieties Willamette and Cascade with modern Amarillo completing the picture. Look for it to land on tap at 5.3% ABV and 36 IBU in early 2018. Also in the pipeline, although the recipes haven’t been finalized quite yet, are a Vanilla Coffee Stout and a Hefeweizen.

• On the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Chester Basin’s Tanner & Co. Brewing has a few new beers on the go these days. Up first is a small batch of their Hefeweizen, this time a little lighter at 4.6% ABV with lots of clove presence and some banana and bready notes. Next up and available is their Milk Stout, a big one at 7.7% ABV with a full mouthfeel and creamy texture. Described as “very filling,” It features aromas of coffee, vanilla and chocolate, with prominent espresso, vanilla, and even a bit of cigar character on the palate. And still available is their Saison, at 6.8% ABV, dry, and with prominent notes of lemon and black pepper. The brewery is considering keeping it in production throughout the year.

What’s going on this weekend???

• Sunday is New Year’s Eve, so expect plenty of extra drinking going on…. just about everywhere. Meanwhile, if you’re in Mahone Bay, drop by Saltbox Brewing for live music from the Eclectic Garage Band. The brewery will also be launching two new ciders on NYE, one made with Russet apples, and the second (being released at midnight) with Burgundy apples.

• Hammond River Brewing in Rothesay is also ringing in the New Year with a Beer Dinner, pairing six courses of food with with six of HR’s own creations (plus a pint of your choosing to start the evening). Brewmaster Shane Steeves and Executive Chef Colin McCarten will be on hand to chat about each course and pairing. With only 30 tickets available, it is sure to be an intimate event. The fun kicks off at 6PM, and you can grab your ticket at the Hammond River taproom, or call ahead to reserve yours today. Check Facebook for the full menu.

• With New Year’s Day comes several Levee Day events in Atlantic Canada, which always amounts to several hours, or even up to a full day of drinking, eating, and celebrating… what better way to bring in the New Year? In PEI, both the PEI Brewing Co. and Upstreet are holding their own activities on Monday, January 1st. PEIBC will be serving up beer and live music from noon-2 pm, and has their PEIBC Levee Bus picking up and dropping off at several locations (check their FB page for exact times and where to be). Over at Upstreet, they’re re-releasing Top Stamp, their crowd-favourite Amber Lager, while celebrating Levee Day with their 2018 Kick-Off, a full day of live music, brewery tours, staff-priced pints, brunch, and beer cocktails. They open at 10 am, with music starting at noon.

• Not to be outdone over in Halifax, Stillwell is holding their own Levee Day Celebration, starting at noon. With special beers pouring all day – including the second release of Stilly Pils, as well as Lambic by the glass – expect a special menu featuring new tasty treats to pair with whatever you have in your glass.

Happy New Year! Have a safe and beer-filled evening on Sunday. Before we go, a couple last things…

– Ol’ Biddy’s has released their newest American IPA that we reported on two weeks ago; look for Saturday Night Fever (6% ABV) at Stillwell, Battery Park, and the Mount Uniacke Pub.
– The latest iteration of TrailWay‘s ever-changing Kettle Sour, El Generico (3.8% ABV), is available as of today. This one was brewed with orange juice concentrate, lactose and vanilla, and was conditioned on fresh orange zest; slightly acidic and reminiscent of an Orange Creamsicle, it’s available in cans and on tap at the brewery.