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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Propeller, Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Garrison, Stillwell Beer Bar and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2015-11-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Christmas Beer Garden at the Market, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Garrison Home Brew-Off Challenge, Gray Stone Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, James Joyce Irish Pub, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Brewnosers, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 3 comments

Happy Friday, dear readers! We hope your Friday the 13th turns out better than the one in those movies. At least you’ll be drinking great beer if you grab a few of the ones mentioned below!

• Propeller Brewing released their latest One Hit Wonder late last week, named Down East North West IPA (DENWIPA). This 6.8% unfiltered IPA is an ode to West Coast IPAs, with a solid bitterness and a full blast of pine and citrus aroma. The orange-hued beer features a creamy white head, and a touch of sweetness to round out the big hopping. As with all of their One Hit Wonders, it is available at both their Gottingen and Windmill locations in growler fills only, and on rotating taps in the city, but not for long!

• Expanding on the popularity of the brew, Propeller’s Rye IPA is now available in six packs, as well as bombers. The 6.8% IPA features a generous addition of rye malt for a spicy character to accentuate the citrus aroma from the Pacific Northwest hops. For when you don’t want to drink a full 650ml of the beer, six packs are available at the Prop Shoppe, and the private beer stores, while the NSLC will continue to carry the bombers.

• And great news for those of us who attended the Prop’r Cask Nights in 2013 and 2014, they will be making a return! Propeller will be partnering with a local kitchen to cater their Gottingen St tasting room for an evening of food and fun, featuring special one-off casks and special blends for the occasion. We’ll let you know once the details are released.

• Big Spruce released their very popular Crazy Ivan Double IPA late last week. Brewed with 100% imported German malts, this orange-hued DIPA comes in at 8% ABV and over 100 IBUs, with a beautiful full hop blast on the nose. Due to the sheer volume of hops in the boil, the yield for this brew is less than standard Big Spruce brews, so don’t delay in grabbing a sample or growler at the brewery, or on tap at their accounts.

• And not shying away from the hoppier branch of beers, they recently brewed their Left Breton Organic Conspiracy IPA. This beer uses their own farm-grown organic hops, showcasing their 2015 harvest Cascade, among others. This brew first made its debut in 2013, when their good friends Brian and Rebecca from Crannóg Ales brought some of their own farm-grown organic hops. While they weren’t able to join them for this brew day, they were there in spirit.

• And look out for another conspiracy beer in the coming weeks and months, as the Big Spruce crew is invading Boxing Rock in Shelburne today for a special brewday. Taking a cue from today’s date, they are scaring up an Imperial Brown Ale named Triskaidekaphobia. This fear-inducing 9% beer will be then be conditioned on cherries and vanilla beans, with both non- and Glenora-barrel-aged versions seeing their release. A few members of the Ladies Beer League are in attendance today; follow along on their Twitter to get a peek at the mayhem.

• Distillerie Fils du Roy have released another new beer, North Shore Regiment. The beer was named after the Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that was founded in Chatham, New Brunswick; they participated in many notable battles of World War II, including the Juno Beach landing on D-Day. The beer is an English Barleywine, a Strong Ale that is rich and malty, with complex flavours that may include toffee, toast, caramel, and molasses. Fils du Roy’s take on the style IS a strong one, clocking in at a whopping 12% ABV! Bittered to 45 IBUs to help balance the strong malt character, it’s available now in 750 mL bottles at the brewery and select ANBL stores; it’s also currently on tap at all four ANBL growler stations.

• Garrison Brewing has announced the style details of their 2016 Home Brew-Off Competition, and it is American IPA with Experimental Feature. This is category is wide open to individual interpretation: as long as it uses an American IPA as its base, and falls within those style guidelines (Style 21A from 2015 BJCP details here), it’s fair game! Novel ingredient additions are encouraged, including fruits, herbs, spices, etc, with your imagination as your only limit, as long as the Am IPA characters still shine through. From the brewery, “If it clearly fits one of the 21B – Specialty IPA sub-styles, then it probably isn’t what we have in mind”. The registration forms will be available shortly (be sure to mark down which special ingredient(s) were used!), and the beers will be due February 11th, with the Awards Gala held March 3rd. So, get brainstorming on recipes, and fire up your kettles for some test batches, Maritime Homebrewers! Post your brewday, and follow along with others as they brew, using the #GHBO16 tag on Twitter.

• And in more Garrison news, their popular seasonal Martello Stout has returned for the cooler months. This year’s batch features a new recipe with a slightly higher 5% ABV, and a higher percentage of oats for a great smooth and creamy character. The chocolate and espresso notes will keep you happy while you curl up by the fire. Look for it on sale in bombers at the brewery and private stores, and on tap in our local market. Also look for their flagship Irish Red in its new branding and large bottle format at the NSLC shortly.

• Bar Stillwell is celebrating their Second Anniversary this weekend, and there will be a ton of great beers and food to celebrate. They will be pouring a full complement of local and regional beers on their taps and beer engines, including Red Rover’s VeRRy PeRRy and White Witch, aged kegs of Grimross Chantelope and Tatamagouche Rum Barrel-Aged Dreadnot, a special one-off cask of Extra Special Bitter from The Brewnosers Homebrew Club (brewed at Good Robot), as well as several great sour Quebec beers, including Trou du Diable Oude Blanche, Ze Blend and L’Ours, and Dunham Tropicale and Assemblage #1. In addition to the taps, they will be popping bottles from Jester King, Dunham, and other beauties they’ve been cellaring. Of course, Chef GR will be serving up some killer food to complement the beers, including smoked brisket poutine and the infamous boatzel.  The event kicks off when the doors open at 6pm Sunday, and there are no tickets required. We’ll see you there!

• The anniversary party will also be the debut of Stillwell’s celebratory brew, Two. Brewed at North, Two is a 4.5% “rustic farmhouse” beer, inspired by both traditional saison and modern American farmhouse brewing. It was fermented using a mixed blend of yeasts and bacteria, for waves of funky and tart/acidic characteristics, on an effervescent and light base. It was hopped with Saaz and Sterling, for a peppery and fruity nose. From Stillwell, “It was a very experimental brew but we’re extremely pleased with the results; it turned out just as we’d hoped it would. We’re very grateful to Peter at North Brewing for allowing us to brew this beer at his brewery.” The beer will be available in both draft and bottle-conditioned pours. After the party, bottles will be available for purchase at North, and if you spot it, grab it!, as we don’t expect it to last long.

• There’s a new beer fermenting at Grimross Brewing, and it should be ready in plenty of time for the fast-approaching Christmas season. Dubbel Noel is actually the same recipe as their original Dubbel; however, this time around, the beer will be further conditioned on vanilla beans. Owner/brewer Stephen Dixon expects the vanilla to “add depth and richness to the already great flavours of caramel, candy and malt”, providing a subtle – but still enjoyable – contrast to the original beer. The ABV and IBUs (6.8% and 18, respectively) will not change; look for the new beer to be released by early December.

• Speaking of Christmas, next month will feature the first Christmas-themed beer event from those behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. The Christmas Beer Garden at the Market is currently scheduled for Sunday, December 20th, from 10 am – 3 pm. Visitors to the Boyce Farmers Market will be able to take a break from the shopping and enjoy some brews from Garrison, Grimross, Maybee, Petit-Sault, Red Rover, Sunset Heights Meadery, and TrailWay. Both 4oz samples and 12oz pours (9oz for cider and mead) will be available, and there is no ticket required to attend. However, those who buy the Early Bird tickets (available at the link above) will receive a special glass which allows for 16oz pours for the price of 12oz, as well as their first four beer tickets on the house. The event will be cash-only, as are many of the Farmers Market vendors, so plan accordingly. And food from the great vendors at the market can be brought into the Beer Gardens area.

• There are two new seasonal beers soon to be brewed over at Hammond River. First off is an old homebrew favourite of owner/brewer Shane Steeves: Foghorn Coffee Porter. Brewed with a grist containing Maris Otter, Crystal 120 L, Chocolate malt, and Roasted Barley, it also features the addition of Foghorn coffee beans from local roasters Java Moose; it should come in at ~6% ABV. Next up is definitely an interesting new experiment: White Stout is brewed with a grist that includes oats and barley, and also features the addition of Foghorn coffee. The beer is further conditioned on cacao nibs, with the intended result being, you guessed it, a pale beer that smells and tastes roasty and chocolatey, like a stout! This one will be targeted at 7.2% ABV and ~37 IBUs. Stay tuned for release details on both beers over the coming weeks.

• TrailWay has brewed up a new Milk Stout, their first since their original “Imperial Coffee Milk Stout”, Double Double, released last March. Similar in some ways to Double Double, this newer “Experimental Milk Stout” made its first appearance last night at the King Street Ale House Cask Night. In fact, future releases of the same batch will continue to be cask-only; while last night’s was served in a standard cask, the beer’s next appearance will likely be served after conditioning on whisky-soaked oak chips. Featuring a higher percentage of lactose powder added in the boil, to boost the beer’s mouthfeel and perception of sweetness, it comes in at ~6.2% ABV. Keep your eyes on TrailWay’s social media pages for future cask releases! And remember that TrailWay is pouring at the Fredericton ANBL growler station this weekend; their Session IPA is on in limited supply, so get over there quickly!

• One of Fredericton’s upcoming breweries, Gray Stone Brewing, has announced recently that their plans to open in the Capital Complex have been cancelled. Instead, they hope to open in another currently-unconfirmed downtown location, where they will still house both a 10 bbl brewery and tasting room. Currently employing three brewers, they still plan on launching with the four beers we’ve reported on before (an American Pale Ale, American IPA, American Stout and Brown Ale), along with several other styles to follow shortly after. We’ll keep you further updated on their progress; right now, plans are to open the brewery and tasting room to the public in May, 2016.

• The James Joyce Irish Pub has announced the third in their series of tap takeovers, Meet Your Makers, for Thursday, November 26th at 7 pm. After initial offerings from Big Axe and Red Rover, the next event will feature Picaroons. We’re not certain on exactly which beers will be pouring, but have been assured that there will be several one-off beers, including at least one cask. It also sounds like several Picaroons staff members will be on hand, eager to chat beer. As always, there is no charge to attend; just pay by the pour!

• Meander River released their Homegrown Wet Hopped Pale Ale a few weeks ago, but we missed announcing it when it happened. Our apologies! Good news, though, as it is currently on tap for growler fills at Bishop’s Cellar and Harvest Wines. Using a blend of their own farm-grown Cascade and Zeus, the beer was hopped exclusively using the mash tun as a hopback. This allows the characteristic taste and aroma of wet hops to shine through in the 4.2% beer. And for those heading to the brewery this weekend, look for their First Frost Cider and return of Smokey Chipotle Porter.

A few more things before we sign off this week: Speaking of growler fills, Red Rover will be making their debut on a growler filling station early next week. However, it will be not be in New Brunswick, but in Nova Scotia, with RockHead in Halifax pouring their Fall Cider. Charlottetown’s Upstreet has released their Rhuby Social in bottles, joining their Do-Gooder APA and Commons Pilsner, so now you can take their strawberry and rhubarb witbier home in a smaller format. Bulwark’s Winter Cider is back for the season, and will be available at the NSLC shortly. They have also bottled their Hopped Cider, which will be debuting at the NSLC in the next week or two. Though it’s six months away, tickets for next May’s Full House event as part of NS Craft Beer Week have already gone on sale. The event is May 14th, and once again there will be two sessions, 1:30-4pm and 6:30-9pm, and will feature as many NS breweries as can fit in the same room.

Friday Wrap-Up – Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards Wrap-Up, and News from Pump House, Fredericton Cider Fest, Railcar and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2015-10-23
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Canadian Brewing Awards, Fredericton Cider Festival, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Pump House Brewery, Railcar Brewing, Red Rover Brewing, River Valley Micro, Sea Level Brewing, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stutz Cider, TrailWay Brewing, YellowBelly Brewery. Leave a Comment

Happy Friday! We’ve got a summary of last weekend’s ACBAs, plus lots of new brews, so let’s get right to it!

• Last weekend’s Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards celebrated the high quality beers and ciders in our region. We reached out to ACBA organizer Mark DeWolf (Manager – Custom Content, Food & Drink at The Chronicle Herald) for his thoughts on the event:

“We were very pleased with the number of entries and overall quality of the beer and ciders entered into this year’s competition. This year’s Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards drew over 200 product submissions from more than 30 breweries and cideries from across Atlantic Canada. With 21 different producers picking up an award, it was clear that there is a high level of brewing and cider making in all corners of the region.  It was great seeing some old favourites and some new surprises take home awards. As an organizer, you can never predict what products and producers will win awards, all we can do is ensure that there is an equal opportunity for all the participants. To that end, the BJCP judges and volunteers should be commended. They were exceptionally professional in the manner with which they carried out their duties. Congratulations, of course, goes out to Garrison Brewing Company for winning their title as Brewery of the Year, Red Rover from New Brunswick for winning our newly created Cidery of the Year award, Rockbottom Brewpub for winning the title of Brewpub of the Year and Bad Apple Brewhouse for collecting the title of Beer of the Year for their exceptional Box Cutter IPA. We look forward to a bigger and better competition in 2016.”

Here are the winners in the individual categories:

#1) N.A. / European Style Lager
Gold Hop City Barking Squirrel Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
Silver Bohemian Style Pilsener Propeller Brewing Company
Bronze Alpine Moosehead Breweries Ltd.

#2) German Specialty Ales
Gold Rise ‘n’ Stein Heffewiezen Garrison Brewing Company
Silver Uncle Leo’s Altbier Uncle Leo’s Brewery
Bronze Stirling Hefeweizen Breton Brewing Co.

#3) UK Specialty Style Ales
Gold Bulldog Brown Ale Rockbottom Brewpub
Silver Raven Ale Paddy’s Brewpub
Bronze Uncle Leo’s Red Ale Uncle Leo’s Brewery

#4) N.A. Specialty Ales
Gold Bitter Get’er India Black IPA Big Spruce Brewing
Silver Ol’ Fog Burner Garrison Brewing Company
Bronze Sir John A Honey Wheat PEI Brewing Company

#5) Belgian Style Specialty Ales
Gold Simone et Hebert Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault
Silver La Buckdjeuve Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault
Bronze Maxime Albert Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault

#6) N.A. Amber / Red Ales
Silver Blue Heron Extra Special Bitter Sea Level Brewing Co.

#7) Fruit & Field Beers
Gold Thai Wheat Pump House Brewery
Silver Rhuby Social Upstreet Craft Brewing
Bronze Smashed Pumpkin Paddy’s Brewpub

#8) Pale Ales
Gold Vic Park PEI Brewing Company
Silver English Ale Hell Bay Brewing Co. Ltd.
Bronze Gimme Citra Big Spruce Brewing + Stillwell

# 9) Stout / Porter
Gold La Vaca Loca Barnone Brewing
Silver Revolution Russian Imperial Stout Propeller Brewing Company
Bronze Oatmeal Stout Rockbottom Brewpub

#10) India Pale Ale
Gold Box Cutter IPA Bad Apple Brewhouse
Silver Deception Bay IPA Tatamagouche Brewing Company
Bronze Fathom IPA Rockbottom Brewpub

#11) Experimental
Gold IPA Gastronome Garrison Brewing Company
Silver Surf & Turf Meander River Farm & Brewery
Bronze Uncle Leo’s Smoked Porter Uncle Leo’s Brewery

#12) Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer
Gold Barrel Aged Grand Baltic Porter Garrison Brewing Company
Silver Zirable Acadie-Broue Inc.
Bronze Rum Barrel Aged Dreadnot Tatamagouche Brewing Company

#13) Standard Cider & Perry
Gold Ship Builders Cider Cider House
Silver VeRRy PeRRy Red Rover Craft Cider
Bronze Stutz Original Cider House

#14) Specialty Cider & Perry
Gold Fire Cider Red Rover Craft Cider
Silver The Blues Red Rover Craft Cider
Bronze Stutz Wild Blueberry Cider House
Beer of the Year/Best of Show: Box Cutter IPA – Bad Apple Brewhouse
Brewery of the Year: Garrison Brewing Company
Brewpub of the Year: Rockbottom Brewpub
Cidery of the Year (new): Red Rover Craft Cider

Congratulations once again to the winners, and to all of our local breweries and cider houses for continuing to step up their game and improving the environment for local beer fans. Now on to the rest of our scheduled program…

• We finally have some news on the new IPA from Pump House; SPCA IPA was brewed in support of the Greater Moncton SPCA, and was officially released at the brewery yesterday. Heavily-hopped (with almost four times the amount of hops as their regular-release IPA) with a blend of “atypical hops”, this amber-coloured beer has an aroma of “grapefruit and citrus, paired with subtle hints of dark berries and a touch of phenol”, according to the brewery. The bitterness comes across as intense, yet with a “pleasingly palatable” flavour. Weighing in at 7% ABV and 50 IBUs, it’s available now in 500 mL bottles, exclusively at the brewpub in Moncton; a portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the GMSPCA. And Pump House’s Pumpkin Ale is out again; you can find it on tap at the brewpub, and possibly at select accounts in the province.

• The first annual Fredericton Cider Fest is being held tomorrow at Brewbakers, starting at 12 or 1 pm (depending on your ticket). Featuring approximately 25 different ciders from six producers (including Fredericton’s own Red Rover, winners of Cider House of the Year at last weekend’s ACBAs), the sold-out VIP tickets allow early entry at noon, as well as access to an info session, but there ARE still some regular-entry tickets left, which include unlimited samples and a special tasting glass. Red Rover will have two different cask ciders, one of which is their Hop Back in Time, a 7% ABV semi-dry cider that has been dry-hopped with a secret blend of varieties. With earthy and citrus notes in the nose, including hints of apple, the hops mix perfectly in the flavours to provide a slight bitterness and grassy notes on the finish. This one-off was brewed specifically for Cider Fest, so be sure to get your tickets if you haven’t already, so that you don’t miss out! For more info, check out our earlier post.

• Railcar Brewing will be celebrating their 1st Birthday on Saturday, October 31st. Drop by the brewery from 12 – 10 pm for cake and special pricing on pints and pitchers; the first 50 customers will also receive a free growler with purchased fill. Railcar has also just released Shogomac Stout, brewed with plenty of dark, roasted malts for a jet-black colour and coffee/chocolate aromas and flavours. Hopped with two additions of Southan Farms Goldings and one of Fuggles (to a total of 44 IBUs), it comes in at 5.8% ABV; you can find it now at the brewery and the James Joyce in Fredericton.

• Speaking of Railcar, they’ve had a guest brewer drop by and brew up a batch of Pale Ale, which is currently being poured as a guest tap at the brewery. Al Bannister is the owner of River Valley Micro, a homebrew shop in Woodstock, NB, who plans on opening his own brewery sometime in 2016. He recently brewed his Trout Pout Pale Ale on Railcar’s system, a 6.6% ABV and 43 IBUs beer hopped with Amarillo and Centennial. Bannister hopes to brew a Blonde Ale and American IPA (both with hops from Southan Farms) at Railcar in the near future, with other styles to follow. Drop by Railcar if you’re in the area, and get a sneak peek from this upcoming brewery!

• The season’s creeping to a close, but there’s still some Harvest beers hitting the shelves! Hell Bay has just released their High Tide Harvest Ale, hopped entirely with locally-grown hops from High Tide Hops Farm in Dayspring, NS. This 5% ABV ale showcases a “rich, malty body”, and “peppery notes” from the European yeast strain used for fermentation. It’s currently available at the brewery for growler fills, as well as on tap at Stillwell and White Point Beach Resort, and this weekend’s sold out Celtic Oktoberfest.

• Yellowbelly Brewery in St John’s is celebrating Oktoberfest with their newest beer … Oktoberfest! This is the first time YB has brewed a lager, taking a detour from their standard ale offerings. Brewed in the traditional Fest Bier style, this 6% ABV grain bill features Pilsner, Munich and Vienna malts, and was hopped with Styrian Goldings and Saphir to about 28 IBUs, and then allowed to ferment and condition cold for a month before hitting the taps. The resultant beer is very smooth with a nice noble hop character to complement the malt base, and as such is very easy to drink. And while at the pub, be sure to grab some of their Deep South, now in bottles to take away.

• Petite Riviere Vineyards has released a new cider in their Stutz lineup: Stutz Chai Spice. Featuring a special blend of Black Pepper, Cardamon, Cinnamon, Ginger, Madagascar Vanilla, and Star Anise, steeped in the cider post-fermentation. The base cider is 100% Annapolis Valley pressed apples, and uses the same blend as their standard Stutz, but with a lower residual sugar level. The spicing level is quite present, while allowing the bright apple notes and typical cider crispness to shine through. In addition to the pleasant flavour and aromas from the Chai spice blend, there may also be some relaxation and digestion benefits to the spices. The Chai Spice is available at the NSLC, along with the standard and Blueberry blends, as well as their Farmers’ market booths and shop in Petite Riviere.

• Grimross has released their Singel, another beer in their Belgian Abbey series. Brewed as a low-alcohol (4.8% ABV) and easy-drinking, flavourful ale, this beer is along the lines of what the Abbey monks brew for their own consumption, instead of for sale to the public. Very dry, and with a “clean malt aroma and crisp light mouthfeel”, it’s similar to their previously-released Monk’s Choice earlier this year. Look for it on tap at the brewery, and at better beer establishments in New Brunswick.

• There’s been rumours for months now, but TrailWay confirmed late last week that they will be undergoing a move and major expansion over the coming months. They have already ordered their 10 BBL (310 gallons, or ~11 hL) steam-fired system from DME, and will be opening on Fredericton’s north side sometime next spring. We’ll have more info for you as progress continues… cheers to more TW beer 2016!

• Don’t forget today is the first of the Meet Your Makers tap takeovers at the James Joyce; Big Axe will be on hand starting at 7:30 pm with ten taps pouring, including their newest beer, Anaphylactic Ale. Brewed with 3 kg of the rooftop honey produced on top of the Crowne Plaza, it also features the addition of lemon thyme that was picked locally at Big Axe. It comes in at 6.5% ABV and 26 IBUs. After its launch at the James Joyce, it will also be available at the Saint John Ale House and Tide and Boar in Moncton.

• As part of tomorrow’s City Harvest, Garrison has invited the crew from Morris East and their portable wood-fired pizza oven from 10am -4pm to share some great pizza and beer. And to complement that already-winning combination, Miller’s Kettle Corn will also be in the house. To celebrate, Garrison has created a special one-off cask of Sour Cherry Stout. They filled a cask with their Martello Stout, and used the juice from sour cherries to prime/condition the cask. There is only one of these casks, and is therefore only available for onsite consumption. Drop by between 10am to 4pm to enjoy the full pizza, popcorn, and beer experience. And speaking of Garrison, drop by harbourstone sea grill & pour house to get a taste of the Gastronome IPA beer they brewed for them, which debuted last night. Also, check I Love Local’s page (and Twitter) for a full list of City Harvest activities across the HRM, many more of them featuring beer, including a discount on growler fills at North Brewing.

That’s it for this week! Hammond River has just kegged up their latest batch of Too Hop to Handle, their 8.4% ABV and 162 IBUs (calc) DIPA; look for it at their tap accounts any day now. And keep an eye open for a special aged cask of their Sterke Monnik Belgian Quad, being tapped at Port City Royal Saturday, October 31st. Bad Apple Brewhouse teased a picture of them dry-hopping their latest batch of Mosaic Double IPA, we expect it to be released again in November. All of the proceeds from this beer are donated to local support groups for families and those living with Mosaic Down Syndrome, including funding for attendance to Brigadoon Village. Firkinstein Brewing have also begun selling at the Lunenburg Farmers’ Market Thursday mornings, in addition to their Hubbards Farmers’ Market stall on Saturdays. While they may not be at this coming week’s market (Oct 29) due to space availability, they will back permanently going forward. Look for them on tap at Bridgewater Local Tap House and the Grand Banker in Lunenburg very soon! Sea Level Brewing has brought back their Port in the Storm Porter for another year, available now at the Port Pub, brewery, and private stores; their Punkin’ Grinner Ale should be out now as well. And Bar Stillwell has announced that their Second Anniversary party will be taking place Sunday, November 15th. No tickets are required, just show up for some special beers they’ve been cellaring, and some great food to match. We’ll have more details on the party once they are available, including a new beer release or two.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Tatamagouche Brewing, Unfiltered, Big Spruce, Picaroons, and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2015-10-16
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Atlantic Canadian Brewing Awards, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseurs du Petit Sault, Celtic Oktoberfest, Hammond River Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Lion & Bright, Picaroons, Red Rover Craft Cider, Stillwell Beer Bar, Tatamagouche Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing. Leave a Comment

There are several new beer releases this week, plus some events worth attending, coming up in the next couple of weeks. Let’s get right to it!

• Tatamagouche Brewing has been busy recently, and we all get to reap the rewards. Firstly, they have released an additional number of bottles from their Giant Beer series, featuring Giantess Barleywine, Baltic Porter, and Rum Barrel Aged Dreadnot Black IPA, joining the last few Russian Imperial Stout bottles they had released last month. These are the last bottles from the initial run, and would do very well with a few months of cellaring due to the higher alcohol content. We received word that a new batch of barrel-aged Dreadnot will be out shortly, after spending some time in Ironworks rum barrels.

• Another specialty beer from Tata out again is their Horns Over Hooves Double IPA, brewed with the crew from Stubborn Goat. For the first time, this 8.0% ABV and 80 IBU beer will be available on tap, in growlers, AND cans, with the latter available soon at the private stores in Halifax. And, in another first, Tata has sent a shipment of beer to the NSLC. Cans of their North Shore Lagered Ale will be available throughout the province in the coming weeks, allowing drinkers from Yarmouth to Sydney to enjoy their wares. Hopefully this helps to continue the trend of greater access to NS craft beers at the NSLC.

• And finally in Tatamagouche news, their latest new beer was released yesterday. Ging’ Sync : Rye, Rye, Rye is a 5.5% ABV and 17 IBUs ale. On top of the spicy rye notes from the malt bill and Cascade and Willamette hops in the base beer, 6 kg of ginger and sweet orange peel was added in the kettle and hopback, for a ginger spice and citrus aroma. Another kilo of ginger was added during the conditioning stage to amp up the ginger aroma and bite, for a true Rye and Ginger character. Their firkin for Cask Days (more on that below) features even *more* fresh ginger, along with caraway seeds, for a heightened Ging’ Sync experience. And keep an eye open for a barrel-aged version of the brew, Giant Beer: Dark n’ Stormy, out in the coming months.

• Unfiltered Brewing is releasing another SMaSH (single-malt and single-hop) Double IPA today at the brewery. All Falc’d Up was brewed with 2-row base malt and plenty of Falconer’s Flight hops; Falconer’s Flight is actually a combination of several different varieties, giving heavy amounts of tropical, citrus, and floral notes. Weighing in at 7.5% ABV and a calculated 100+ IBUs, this should be the perfect beer to replace the extremely-popular previous SMaSH DIPA, Double Orange Ale. Hop on down to the brewery today to get your growlers filled!

• Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza is holding a beer lunch/beer launch today. Starting at noon, they will be serving up slow-roasted pig, courtesy of local farm Forever Green Organic Farm. This 80kg heritage breed pig will be paired with Apple/cabbage slaw, Gallo Pinto featuring Big Spruce-farm grown beans, along with pico de gallo and tomatillo sauces, mole and others. And to wash it down, the Smokin’ Jack It Pumpkin Beer will be launched at noon. Joining the taps will be their latest specialty brew, Gimme Nelson, a conspiracy brew with Bar Stillwell. In the same vein as their Gimme Citra beer from the summer, this 5.7% ABV and 34 IBU American Pale Ale features loads of the New Zealand hop, Nelson Sauvin, late in the boil and in dry hopping, for an emphasis on the aroma and flavour of the hop, rather than the bitterness. And speaking of launching, throughout the afternoon, they will be using their trebuchet to launch pumpkins into the Bras d’Or lake (or as close as they can get them ;)). From 2pm, their house band, Asaph Deuce, will be keeping everyone entertained. Don’t worry if the weather doesn’t look too friendly, there is a tent set up in the parking lot just in case. As such, people are asked to park on Yankee Line Rd.

• Over in New Brunswick, Picaroons has released a couple of new beers for growler fills at the Brewtique. First up is Ginger Ale; consisting of a “wide and varied malt bill” made up primarily of Pilsner, Wheat malt, and Rye malt, along with “significant amounts” of Munich and Vienna, it was lightly hopped with Amarillo and Mt. Hood. In addition, real ginger root was added both in the boil and the hop percolator, along with generous helpings of lemon peel and Rooibos tea. All this comes together to give the beer a slightly sweet taste, similar to a fall ginger tea, with a “pleasant herbal finish” according to the brewery. This amber-coloured ale weighs in at 6% ABV and ~20 IBUs. Pics has also just put out their Magnum PEI, a hop-forward American Amber Ale that has been hopped with fresh Magnum from My Father’s Farm in Pownal, Prince Edward Island. Only a single batch was made; as mentioned, it’s available at the Brewtique for growler fills until it’s gone.

• Speaking of Picaroons, they’re holding a Harvest Ale Dinner at Lion & Bright in Halifax on Sunday, October 25th from 6 – 9 pm. The $50 ticket price includes three courses with beer pairings, with all food featuring freshly-harvested local ingredients. Picaroons’ Tony Goss will be hosting the dinner, telling the story behind every beer that will be paired throughout the evening. Only 45 tickets are available; they can be purchased at the event link above.

• Petit-Sault is releasing yet another brand new beer today, Simone Hébert, a Belgian Dubbel named after “an important land owner” in Edmundston in the early 19th century who stood up to American commissioners who claimed his lands were on American territory. Brewed with a little bit of Chocolate malt and plenty of dark Belgian candi syrup to give it the style-classic notes of dark fruit and mild chocolate, it comes through as “rich, malty, and fruity with a surprisingly dry finish”, according to the brewery. Hopped lightly with Willamette and Hallertau to 20 IBUs, it weighs in at 7% ABV. This one will be available only at the brewery for growler fills, so get over there to give it a try!

• Tickets are selling quickly for October 24th’s Celtic Oktoberfest in Port Hawkesbury. Featuring unlimited sampling from seven breweries and one winery (Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Breton Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Hell Bay, Tatamagouche, Uncle Leo’s, and Eileanan Breagha Vineyards), food from ten different local producers is also included (Barykin Bistro, Buschmann Free Range Bio, Clove Hitch Bar & Bistro, Dancing Goat Cafe & Bakery, Fleur De Lis Tea Room, Governor’s Pub & Eatery, Louie’s Cosy Corner, Martin’s Fine Bakery, Miller’s Tap & Grill, and the NSCC Culinary Program). And of course, live music throughout the evening from Nuallan and Beech Hill. Grab your tickets today, it will be a blast!

• Next week will mark the 11th Anniversary of Cask Days in Toronto. Put on by the family crew that owns Bar Volo, it is a celebration of Cask beer. Thanks to the folks at Bar Stillwell, there will be more than a dozen Maritime beers available at the fest again this year. The full list of beers is available here. We reached out to the breweries to find out more details on which beers they would be sending. There are several new beers on the list that we will share the details of, when they are released in our region.

Big Spruce: Bitter Getter India Black IPA and Gimme Nelson American Pale Ale, collab with Stillwell.

Boxing Rock: The Darkness Cascadian Dark Ale and Vicar’s Cross Double IPA

Breton Brewing: Celtic Colours Maple Lager

The Brewnosers: Special Bitter

Garrison Brewing: Imperial Chocolate Stout and Vulcan Ale – Genesis Effect Red Session IPA

Hell Bay: English Ale

North Brewing: TBA

PEI Brewing: Island Vibes American Pale Ale and Roll Out The Barrels (Barrel Aged Lager w/ Brett)

Pumphouse: Thai Wheat

Tatamagouche Brewing: Rye & Ginger

Unfiltered Brewing: Exile on North Street IPA, Flat Black Jesus American Stout, and Twelve Years To Zion Double IPA

Upstreet: Gravedigger Imperial Pumpkin Ale

• Attention Halifax beer fans! Tomorrow marks the last day of the 2015 season for the Stillwell Beergarden, so be sure to drop by for a pint. We reached out to co-owner Andrew Connell for his thoughts on its inaugural year on the waterfront:

“I was personally really surprised at the response from people in and around Halifax. We wanted to create a space for ourselves to hang out, somewhere outside with an awesome view and good beer on tap. When we opened it felt like people had been waiting for that exact thing for way longer than I realized! At the height we were really surprising ourselves with the amount of beer we ordered from individual breweries every week. The problem became not having enough keg room space to have enough beer for a busy weekend! Halifax based breweries saved us, emergency keg deliveries several times a week just to keep up with demand – they were awesome. The response of the community in Halifax was incredible and we definitely put craft beer in to a lot of people’s hands who were completely new to the idea – I’m sure you can appreciate that it always feels great to do that and to be on the front line supporting Nova Scotia craft beer. As far as next year goes, if we are able to do the Beergarden again, we just want to raise the bar for the whole experience. The best selection of Nova Scotia craft beer that we can get our hands on, more variety on the snack side and we’ll invest in making the space more fun (lawn games!) and more comfortable.”

We’re certainly looking forward to seeing them on the waterfront again next year, showcasing the best the NS breweries have to offer, to locals and visitors alike.

• Boxing Rock will be hosting a Harvest Party at their Shelburne brewery tomorrow. From 1-4pm, they will be holding free brewery tours, live music, serving up beer sausages, and have pumpkin-themed games for the whole family. At 2pm, co-owner and -brewer Henry Pedro will give a presentation on the Science of Beer. Expanding on his Mash talk at the Discovery Centre event during NS Craft Beer Week, he will go into more detail on the entire process, sure to satisfy both the brewing novice and beer nerd.

Have a fantastic weekend! Hammond River has a couple of favourites that have returned to tap accounts: both the Imperial Vanilla Porter (including the Bourbon-version) and Imperial Breakfast Stout (this time with more bacon!) should be available at better beer bars in the Quispamsis/Saint John region, and hopefully at the James Joyce at some point as well. Red Rover has also re-released their very popular Fall Cider, a 7% ABV semi-dry cider that has real cinnamon sticks added in secondary. If you haven’t tried Petit-Sault’s Oktoberfest, La Padrix, yet, it’s currently at all four ANBL growler stations. Hell Bay‘s
hop harvest beer will be released shortly, featuring fresh hops from local Dayspring hop farm. Also, look for 6-packs of their English and Dark Cream ales at the NSLC, replacing the 500ml format. Best of luck to all entrants in this weekend’s ACBAs. With 200 entries from across the Maritimes, the judges have their work cut out for them! We’ll be sharing the details of the winners next week. And from the folks organizing the ACBAs, a reminder that their Cicerone prep course for Certified Beer Server and Certified Cicerone are beginning this week. Get in touch with Peter Goneau for more details.