Stubborn Goat

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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Boxing Rock, Hammond River, BarNone, Picaroons, PEI Brewing, Red Rover, Rogues Roost and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-05-09
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: BarNone Brewing, Big Axe Brewery, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brewer's Bash, Garrison Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, Local Connections Halifax, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, Paddys Irish Brewpub, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Brewing, reLiSH, Rogues Roost Brewpub, Schoolhouse Brewery, Stubborn Goat, The Pub Magazine, Tide & Boar Gastropub. 1 comment

Hello, craft beer fans! As the weather finally starts to improve a little in our region, let’s warm up your weekend even more with some beer news…

• Boxing Rock has released details on their newest brew, a Biere de Garde; this marks the first time this malty, lagered, French beer style has been brewed by a brewery in Nova Scotia. La Rive du Sud is brewed with base malts and dark caramelized sugar; it clocks in at 7.5% ABV. With “notes of biscuit, caramel, toffee, as well as tangerine, peach, nutmeg, clove and allspice”, the beer has a dry finish with a “lingering spicy aftertaste”, according to the brewery. Available in 650 mL bottles at the private stores in HRM Saturday, on tap at select bars/restaurants, and in bottles and 1 L growler fills at the brewery, get it while you can! You can read more about this new beer on the Boxing Rock blog, here.

• Hammond River Brewing has announced that they’re brewing a new beer today, an Imperial IPA (aka Double IPA) named Too Hop to Handle. Brewer/owner Shane Steeves has confirmed that the beer should come in at about 8.4% ABV and 101 IBUs (calc); all of the flavor and aroma hop additions will incorporate the Zythos hop, a hop blend that has been described as strongly aromatic, with “tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, and pine notes”. We’ll keep you updated on it’s release; it should be available sometime next month in the Saint John area.

• Over in PEI, BarNone Brewing has also brewed up a new beer. Details on Summer Solstice are pretty slim, but we do know that the strongly-aromatic Citra hop is involved. BarNone recently had a vote on its Facebook page as to whether the beer should be filtered or unfiltered; unfiltered was the strong favorite, so look for the beer to be slightly hazy, but exhibiting more hop aroma and flavor as a result.

• Picaroons has announced that they will be having their Brewer’s Bash beer festival again this year, on Saturday, July 12th from 11am – 11pm. Like last year, the event will be held at Officer’s Square in downtown Fredericton; ticket prices will remain at $25 each, with 500 more being sold this year. The date of ticket sales has not been determined yet; keep your eyes on their Twitter feed for an announcement next Tuesday. With about 60 breweries and 300 beers featured in last year’s sold-out festival, expect at least as many this year. In the meantime, they are looking for volunteers; send them an email if you’re interested! We’ll post more details on the festival as they become available.

• To celebrate the 1st anniversary of the opening of their new brewery, the PEI Brewing Co. is putting on their 1st Annual Taps & Tunes Music Festival. This 4-day festival will take place from Tuesday, May 14th to Saturday, the 17th, and involves multiple bands at multiple venues (including the PEI Brewing Co. and Gahan House locations); check out their link for full music details. No details yet on if they’re brewing up something special for the festival, but there MAY be a special cask released!

• Speaking of the PEI Brewing Co., this Saturday they will be hosting their fourth Art Battle (an event that features live competitive painting). For this battle, they plan on releasing a British Pale Ale dry-hopped with whole cone hops… that’s all we know for now, but if you’re in the area and want to give it a try, drop by for a taste!

• Red Rover Brewing has added a couple new accounts to their growing list, as their Spring Brew is now available at two new locations. Look for it on tap in Fredericton at reLiSH Gourmet Burgers at their uptown location, and in Moncton at the Tide & Boar.

• Rogues Roost has brewed up an exciting new beer, set to hit the taps late next week: a Dunkel Weizenbock. Combining the best characteristics of several styles, this 7.5% ABV beer will taste like the chocolate banana split of beer, thanks to the melding of malt, hops and yeast character. It was lightly hopped with Saaz and Hersbrucker, though these flavours and aromas take a back seat to the rich melanoidins and sour-dough breadiness. We’re looking forward to this one!

• Paddy’s Pub in Wolfville is hosting a Brewery Tour this Saturday, May 10th, at 5:30pm. Visitors will be able to learn the art and science behind brewing, by learning about the ingredients that go into your pint, the brewing process, and how to taste the beer. Tickets are $10 (available at the bar), and include a 16oz beer. We are not sure if this will be a regular event, so be sure not to miss it!

• Also on Saturday, Halifax is home to Open City, a city-wide event highlighting local beer, food, arts and craft producers. Several beer-centric stops will be on the go, including:
– Garrison Brewing will be hosting a pop-up by Getaway Meat Mongers, and are featuring a Test Batch IPA-based mimosa, which will pair well with Getaway’s Philly Cheese Steak.
– Stubborn Goat is hosting a Goat Fest with music and Oulton’s Farm Burger (with Ran-Cher Acres goat paneer, Sriracha slaw & bacon fat mayo).
– North Brewing is hosting the Food Wolf truck for your K-Dog fix, and featuring special pricing on growler fills.
– The Foggy Goggle is featuring $5 Propeller Pints, and Giant Foggy Spud stuffed with bacon, corn, red onion & cheese.
Check out I LOVE LOCAL‘s page for the full list, and be sure and get out and experience Open City!

• Speaking of Garrison, they are releasing a new beer today in advance of the OBEY Convention, being held in Halifax May 22-25. OBEY This Brew is a hopped-up Pale Ale, a blend of their Hop Yard and Tall Ship Amber brews, weighing in at 5.0% ABV and 30 IBUs. It will be sold in 650 ml bombers, available at the brewery, NSLCs, private stores and at hosting licensees during the OBEY Festival.

• Garrison is also one of the breweries taking part in the Local Connections Wine and Spirits Gala, taking place next Thursday, May 15, at the Halifax Club. They will be serving an Elderberry Wheat Ale, dry-hopped with whole leaf Simcoe for a piney, woodsy character melding with the berry aroma. It weighs in at 4.6% and 13 IBU. Joining them in the Craft Brewer’s Room are Boxing Rock Brewing, North Brewing, and Propeller Brewing. There are still a handful of tickets left, so jump on them now if you’d like to attend. These LC events are always a great time, lots of different flavours and tastes under one roof!

• It was a busy week for new breweries in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley: after Meander River’s announcement of their May 17 opening, the soon-to-be-open Schoolhouse Brewery was invaded by local brewer Greg Nash, Beer Tech owner Ken Greer, and The Pub Magazine’s Troy Kirkby. They brewed Principal Ale, their dry-hopped Pale Ale, and are looking to have this on tap in early June. Stay tuned here in the next little while for a full profile on Cam Hartley and the Schoolhouse Brewery!

• Chris had a chance to drop by the Heron’s Nest Cottages & Bistro Pub in Charlo for a food and beer tasting last night. Derek Leslie of Shiretown Beer lead the tasting of 9 different New Brunswick beer, including Shiretown’s Blonde du Quai, Big Brown Ale (used to cook meat balls), Honey Wheat (made with local Charlo honey, and used in the cooking of a ham), and Siren’s T’Ale (chicken thighs were roasted in this beer). Also featured were three offerings from Big Axe Brewery in Nackawic: Chanterelle Cream Ale, Maple Wheat Amber Ale, and their Double Bit IPA. The Bistro Pub always has Shiretown beer on tap, and an excellent stock of beer from around our region and around the world, and is definitely worth visiting when in the area.

And, don’t forget… it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday! Thank a Mother near you with some tasty craft beer!

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Picaroons, Great Lakes, PEI Brewing, Boxing Rock, Hell Bay, Railcar Brewing, Grimross, and more

Posted by acbbchris on 2014-05-02
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Ducky's Bar, Grimross Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Railcar Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Stubborn Goat, Tide & Boar Gastropub. 1 comment

Happy Friday everyone, another big week in craft beer in our region, so let’s get right to it.

• Last month, we reported on the announcement of a collaboration beer between Picaroons and Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery for this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards in Fredericton. We now have a few more details on the beer, as both breweries just brewed the beer earlier this week. Brewers Andrew Estabrooks (Picaroons) and Mike Lackey (Great Lakes) decided on an American IPA they’ve named Eastbound and Down IPA; it’s brewed with Maritime Malt made from New Brunswick-grown Newdale barley and “a number of delicious hop varieties” (including Citra and Sorachi Ace) often featured in Great Lakes beers. We can also confirm that a California Common yeast was pitched for fermentation, rather than the Ringwood strain commonly employed by Picaroons. Both breweries were linked via Skype on their brew day since they weren’t able to physically brew together. Look for the beer to be released at the end of May when the CBAs are here; it will be available for growler fills at the Brewtique, and in restaurants and bars in the area.

• Speaking of Picaroons, they’re joining up with The Shadow Lawn Inn in Rothesay, NB for a special beer-pairing dinner on Saturday, May 3rd. This “Offaly Good Dinner” includes six carefully-selected courses by Chef Markian, each of which is paired with a different hand-picked Picaroons beer. Tickets are $75 (tax and gratuity included); call (506) 847-7539 to reserve, or send them an email.

• If you’re in the Sackville area today and have always wondered what makes PEI Brewing Co. beers tick, now’s your chance to find out! Ducky’s Bar is hosting a “Meet & Greet” with PEIBC brewer Karen Allen at 5:00 pm. Karen will be on hand for about an hour to answer questions and provide info on their beers, four of which will be on tap: Blueberry Ale, Sir John A’s Honey Wheat, Cole’s Cream Ale, and Beach Chair Lager. Be sure to keep an eye on their News page for behind-the-scenes updates directly from the brewers.

• Beginning today, White Point Beach Resort  is hosting a Beer and BBQ weekend. Boxing Rock and Hell Bay will be taking over White Point’s taps all weekend long, with Boxing Rock bringing their Hunky Dory, Temptation Red Ale and The Vicar’s Cross  and seasonals Crafty Jack English Ale and Alewife’s Revenge, and Hell Bay will have three more beers to complete the lineup. Boxing Rock is kicking off the fun Saturday afternoon at 1:00, with a guided tasting and virtual brewery tour. At 4pm, Hell Bay and the White Point culinary team will be doing some pairing of their beer with barbecued treats. Both tastings are included with an overnight stay.

• Progress continues at the soon-to-open Railcar Brewing Company in Florenceville-Bristol, as owner/brewer Mitch Biggar has confirmed that he has been busy putting on the final touches – cleaning, painting, sanitizing, and receiving new equipment, with currently eight 50-gallon (~187 L) fermentors being installed. With some test batches being brewed this weekend, we hope to see the brewery open for growler fills by the end of this month! Look for a grand-opening party to follow shortly thereafter, probably sometime in the summer.

• Living in Moncton? If so, you’ve probably been drinking Grimross Belgian Rye IPA at the Tide & Boar over the past few months. If that has left you wanting more Grimross beer, good news… owner/brewer Stephen Dixon confirmed that he has delivered some of his Pugnacious Porter, a 5% Belgian-style Porter conditioned on pure cocoa and whole vanilla beans, to the Tide & Boar this week, so look for it soon.

• The Rockbottom Brewpub SMaSH India Pale Lager that we mentioned in late March has been tapped at the brewpub in Halifax. Brewed solely with Superior Pale Ale Malt and Galaxy hops (including multiple dry-hop additions), Intergalactic SMaSH’d Lager finished at 7.1% ABV and 70 IBUs (calc). Get down to the brewpub to give it a try, it won’t be around for long!

• A reminder that The Stubborn Goat is keeping up their Cask Friday event, when they have a special beer tapped each Friday at 4pm. This week’s  is Big Spruce’s Cereal Killer Sideways, their Oatmeal Stout, fortified with Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch.

• The Chronicle Herald has a nice article about Jeff and Kari of Bad Apple Brewhouse, on their history, as well plans for the future. It also mentions an upcoming Mosaic Double IPA, which will be released around Father’s Day, that will serve as a fundraiser towards the Brigadoon Children’s Camp Society. We’ll have more details on the beer closer to release time.

In closing, we thought we should mention another story reported by The Chronicle Herald concerning a 21-metre Labatt blimp that crashed northeast of Saint John. Nice to see that Big Beer is finally starting to evacuate Atlantic Canada, what with the increasing number and quality of local craft breweries!

Friday Wrap-Up – Hammond River Brewing Announces Official Launch, News from Picaroons, King Street Ale House, The Lunar Rogue, and more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2014-01-31
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Beerthief, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Hammond River Brewing, Hart & Thistle, King Street Ale House, Lunar Rogue, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Rogues Roost Brewpub, Stubborn Goat. 1 comment

Another busy news week in our region, including some regulation change in Nova Scotia that will make your life easier. Let’s dive right in!

• Terrific news, New Brunswick! Hammond River Brewing has had their four flagship beers – an Extra Special Bitter, American IPA, India Red Ale, and Oatmeal Stout (infused with Star Anise) – approved by the ANBL, meaning that they can now be sold to thirsty customers! While the beers should start popping up in the Saint John area any day now, the official launch of all four beers will be at the Saint John Ale House on Thursday, Feb. 13th. You will also be able to find Hammond River beers at Bourbon Quarter, The Barrel’s Head, and The Shiretown Publicans.

• If you live in Fredericton, you probably remember the opening of the King Street Ale House in November, and the Smoked Porter, Ember Ale, released by Picaroons exclusively for that location. Well, good news if you’ve been missing it – the KSAH will be tapping a cask of the original brew tomorrow at 3:00 pm. It’s part of their first “Beer, Bourbon and BBQ” event, where they will be featuring exclusive items from their smoker, bourbon, and, of course, beer! Look for future casks to pop up there from time to time; and who knows… Picaroons MAY brew the beer again in the future!

• In other Picaroons news, earlier this week they put a new beer on tap at the Brewtique. A Pale Ale, the beer is the first of four that were brewed before Christmas with different Engineering groups from the University of New Brunswick. Each group paired up with Picaroons Head Brewer Andrew Estabrooks to create a different beer style. Once the Pale Ale is out, look for the three other beers to follow shortly after; they include a Belgian Wheat, a Coffee and Vanilla Bean Stout, and the crowd-favorite, a Maple Wheat.

• And continuing on, the first beer brewed by Picaroons to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Lunar Rogue was tapped on Wednesday night. A Parcel of Rogues has finally been revealed to be an Amber Ale brewed mainly with Mild malt; some Honey malt was also used to add a “delicate sweetness” as described by Marketing Director Dennis Goodwin. A full-bodied beer, the alcohol level of 4.6% ABV keeps it fairly sessionable and easy-drinking. The beer is, of course, limited, so get down to the Rogue to have a pint or two to help them celebrate!

• With only five weeks to go before the 2nd Annual Fredericton Craft Beer Festival on March 8th, the final breweries are now confirmed, and tickets are over 80% sold out. Looks like there’s going to be a great showing from craft breweries in our region; many of these smaller breweries have limited distribution (for now), so this gives a lot of us a terrific opportunity to sample their beers! We should have a list of breweries/beers being served at the festival in the near future – hopefully next week – so stay tuned here for an update!

• Great news for Nova Scotian beer fans: the NS government announced earlier this week that Brewpubs may now fill growlers during opening hours. This means that the pubs will no longer be forced to fill growlers during off-hours, but are permitted to do so on demand. Forget having to call the day before to request a growler, or worry that the pre-filled supply might run out before you visited after work. Different brewpubs will be handling it differently (some will permit you to bring your own, clean growler to be filled, while others will still be exchanging the bottles), so best to call or tweet your local brewpub to confirm. Rogues Roost and Rockbottom Brewpubs had already been selling growlers under the old regulations, and it looks like Hart & Thistle will use the changed regulations to begin to offer them next week.

• Rockbottom Brewpub hosted their first Beer Dinner on Monday, to great praise by those in attendance. Three courses of food paired with three beers, for $30+tax and tip? Seems like a good deal to us! If you enjoyed the first one, or missed out, the next monthly dinner will be held Tuesday Feb 25. Call the pub at 423-2938 to reserve your spot now. Brewmaster Greg Nash will be on hand to chat food and beer. And a reminder that the RB has moved Firkin day to Wednesday, with a pin tapped at 4pm. And, beginning this week, they are whipping up a special dish to pair with the beer. This week’s pairing was Dry-hopped Pale Ale, paired with beer Mac & Cheese. Pop by to see what the mind of Nash has come up with next week!

• The Stubborn Goat is continuing their very popular Cask Friday today, with guest brewery Propeller offering up a pair of special brews. There will be a cask of their IPA, dry-hopped with Citra, as well as a cask of Vanilla Porter. The casks are tapped at 4pm, so get there early to avoid disappointment! Also, congratulations are in order for Propeller, as they celebrated the 100 batch of beer brewed at their new facility in Dartmouth. The expansion more than doubles their potential output, with lots of big fermentation and brite tanks to brew their core brand, and the extra space makes doing special recipes not as much of a drag on the system.

• Over in Newfoundland, the Beerthief and Beckett on Wine are hosting a terrific-looking beer tasting on Wednesday, Feb. 12th, featuring the oldest active brewery in the world – Weihenstephaner, from Germany. After a reception beer from Quidi Vidi, the tasting will begin with the excellent Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, followed by their equally-tasty Dunkelweizen and Vitus (Weizenbock). Each sample will be approximately 250 mL. Afterwards, they’ll be pouring each attendant a sample of the Belgian beer Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel – yes, it’s difficult to say, but it’s an excellent beer as well! The beers will be accompanied by fresh baguette and cold, rare, sliced roast beef; Beerthief and Certified Cicerone Mike Buhler will lead the tasting. The event will be held in the Hospitality Room at the Quidi Vidi Brewery at 7:00 pm; tickets are $28 each, with 75 seats available. To reserve your spot, send an email to tom.beckett@nl.rogers.com.