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Friday Wrap-Up for June 21, 2019 – News from Bad Apple, Gridiron (formerly Matchstick), CAVOK, Unfiltered, Big Spruce, Niche, Bogside, and More!!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2019-06-21
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Bad Apple Brewhouse, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bogside Brewing, Bootleg Brew Company, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brasseux d'la Cote, CAVOK Brewing, Dildo Brewing, East Coast Craft Beer Festival, Good Robot Brewing, Gridiron Brewing, Half Cocked Brewing, Hell Bay Brewing, Matchstick Beer Factory, New Scotland Brewing, Niche Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Shipwright Brewing, The Coast, The Core by Bad Apple, The Curated Guide, The Yeast Bay, Toslow, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 3 comments

Check it, we’ve got MORE RAIN coming this weekend. Whodathunkit? So grab your bee costume, queue up some Blind Melon (yes, we’re old) and grab some beer from your favorite Atlantic Canada producers. And if you’re looking for some suggestions, well, read on!

Somerset’s Bad Apple Brewhouse has a brand new beer out this week. Citronella is a 6.5% ABV amping up of the hazy New England IPA style with the essence of a bitter & resinous West Coast IPA. A base of light malts, with lots of Citra and Summit hops throughout, the beer was fermented with a blend of the Conan and Coastal Haze yeasts for an easy drinking beer with a big nose of citronella. Grab cans of this brand new killer beer at Bad Apple’s brewery in Somerset, or at their taproom in Wolfville, The Core, at 3 Elm Avenue, open from noon daily.

Hampton New Brunswick’s Matchstick Beer Factory is undergoing a name change today, so we wanted to be sure we get you up to speed. Their name is an ode to the Flewelling Saw Mill & Match Factory that used to operate in Hampton, but it being a significant landmark in town means that other businesses in the area can take inspiration from the historical building. In order to reduce confusion, the brewery is changing their name. And so, Gridiron Brewing is born! Named after the Gridiron, a small set of rapids located on the Tusket River inYarmouth County, NS, and located near the old family homestead of Head Brewer Luke MacGregor. So be sure to update your links to include their new addresses on the web and social media (Web / Fb / Ig / Tw ), as they are going live today. And be sure to follow them on social media, as they are running a contest for tickets to the Beer on the Bridge Festival in Fredericton, July 6th. Plus another exciting development coming later this month that will definitely having you pop in to Hampton for a visit!

And while we have you, let’s talk about a brand new beer that Match…. Gridiron debuted at last week’s Sussex Rotary Brew Festival. Luckily for those of us unable to attend, they’ve sent some kegs of it out in the wild to local licensees. Moose Draw Session is a Session IPA, featuring hops from nearby Moose Mountain Hops in the Upper Saint John River Valley, and grain from Island Malt House in New Glasgow, PEI. Weighing in at 4.5% ABV and a hefty 70 IBU, you can/soon find it on tap at Cask and Kettle, Peddlers Creek, Sussex Ale Works, and the Match Factory in Hampton.

Let’s head up the Number 1 Highway to Dieppe, where CAVOK Brewing calls home. They have debuted a brand new light summer sipper this week in the taproom, Soleil d’Ete. Dubbed a “New England Summer Ale”, this 4.5% ABV beer was fermented with an iconic yeast often used in NEIPAs to keep it juicy, which is only enhanced by the generous use of Mosaic and New Zealand Wakatu late in the brewing process to reduce bitterness and enhance aromatics, to the tune of about 15 IBU. The best place to grab a sample or pint is at the brewery, though we’re sure there will be kegs of it on tap at CAVOK’s accounts across NB soon.

As almost everyone knows, Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing largely makes their bones with big and bold beers, usually featuring irresponsible hopping levels. But lest you think that limits them to IPAs and West Coast Stouts, they’ve got a new beer this week that should disabuse you of that notion. Helles Bock, or Maibock, is a German style traditionally brewed in the Spring as a shift from the very malt-forward “bread-in-a-bottle” beers that dominate the winter months. Enter Hellevator, brewer Greg Nash’s take on the style. Consistent with the tradition of the style being pretty big (and perfect for Unfiltered), it comes in at 7.0% ABV and was brewed with malt, yeast and noble hops all sourced from Germany. We don’t reckon that many German brewers have ever described a Helles Bock as “juicy” but this one is, while still having a malt-forward character befitting a Maibock. Look for this one at the brewery starting today at noon, with pints, fills and cans all on offer.

Our buddies at Big Spruce have a new barrel-aged bottle release for us, and it’s one that sounds perfect for enjoying with a little hot, sunny weather. Wild Wild Wheat is a light-bodied wheat beer that was fermented with the brewery’s Farmhouse yeast (specifically, Pin Cherry 2 of their Scotia Sauvage), and aged in Chardonnay barrels for five months. Expect plenty of floral and peppery characteristics in this 4.9% ABV beer, along with some nice oak character. It’s currently available only at the Sprucetique in Nyanza, in 650 mL bottles. And while you’re there grabbing yours, Sublime – their double-dry-hopped-with-Mosaic 5% Session IPA, conditioned on organic lime juice – is back, so you might as well pick up some of that one as well!

Breaking their tradition of ping ponging between styles from release to release, Niche Brewing’s followup to last week’s Paradox is another ultralight offering coming in at an extremely sessionable 2.9% ABV. But lest you think the guys have lost their flair for changing things up, Living Reflection isn’t another Session IPA, no, it’s a fruited Brettanomyces beer that trades hops for funk. Leveraging a Niche favorite, the Amalgamation blend of 6 Brett strains from The Yeast Bay, you can absolutely expect plenty of varied Brett character from this one. Managing to avoid a too-thin body for the weight with a grist largely composed of Pilsner and wheat malt, tangerine puree was added in the secondary for a delightful citrusy and fruity kick along with a touch of tartness. This one is on its way to Niche tap accounts in New Brunswick, with a chance of an appearance at Stillwell (HQ and/or BG) in Halifax.

Over in Montague, PEI, newly-opened Bogside Brewing has a new one-off that they’ve added to their taplist, to go with their flaships. Named after the salty, sour, German style that we all know and love, Gose is a 4% ABV salty, sour… oh wait, I guess you probably figured that out from the first part of this sentence. But it is! Coriander is also typically added to this style of beer, but in Bogside’s case, the coriander presence is minimal. Easy-drinking with “some nice grainy notes”, you can grab it at the brewery’s restaurant/taproom (along with some BBQ!) over the weekend, in sample, pint, or growler form.

Halifax’s Propeller Brewing continues to surprise and delight with their willingness to bring new beers to their seasonal lineup with their summer lineup of NE IPA, Galaxy, Session IPA, Azacca, and Summer Fruit Beer, Stone Fruit, all winning plenty of fans in the region. This week, though, they’ve upped the ante even a little more with a special limited release of a beer that’s been quite a while in the making. Brett IPA doesn’t have a fancy name, but it’s sure to be a complex beer. Coming in at 6.0% ABV, with some wheat in the grist and plenty of Mosaic and Azacca, as befits the IPA aspect, it was also aged for more than 8 months in red wine barrels with Brettanomyces bruxellensis. Look for plenty of hop character, with notes of tangerine, papaya and passionfruit, some complex barnyard funk, and no doubt some further complexity and tannins from the barrel. Bottle conditioned in 750 mL bottles with cork and cage and a gorgeous label courtesy of Densley Design, only 200 of these are available in total starting tomorrow at both Propeller locations. The question is, do you drink it now and get the full effect of the hops, or do you cellar it for a year or two and let the Brett develop even further? Let’s be honest, the answer is probably to buy two and do both!! A quick warning from the brewery, though, the corks used for this bottling were somewhat sub-optimal and will likely require a corkscrew to remove; they’re addressing this issue with different corks on future limited releases. And if you’re considering hitting up Propeller (or the Propeller Arcade) tonight for a pint or two, we think that knowing that tonight’s cask is their Rye IPA with Grapefruit might help you make your decision.

Bannerman Brewing, located in St. John’s, has been up and running for a couple months now, and while they’re still working at ramping up production to keep up with demand, they DO have two brand new beer releases for us all this weekend. Let’s start with Hard Yes, a dry-hopped kettle sour. Brewed with a good percentage of wheat, this tart beer was dry-hopped with heavy amount of Citra and Galaxy, which, as you can probably imagine if you’re familiar at all with hops, results in a lot of citrus and tropical character, all supported by a biscuity finish. At 5.2% ABV, you’re probably ok to enjoy one or two of these without going overboard (results may vary)! Next up is Medium Cool, a malt-forward American IPA brewed with Golden Promise, Pilsner, and Crystal malts. Dry-hopped with large amounts of Mosaic, Simcoe and Columbus, the 7% ABV beer has “notes of honey, with a rounded bitterness and a resinous, earthy hop profile”. Both of these beers should be available at the brewery right now, for pints and growler fills. And if it happens to be nice out while you’re there, take a minute and enjoy a beer on their newly-opened deck!

New beer coming out from TrailWay today, a beer they’re referring to as an “Oatmeal IPA”. Overnight was brewed with “near maxed-out recommended dosages of both malted and flaked oats”, according to the brewery. Hopped – likely intensely with, being TrailWay and all! – with El Dorado and Citra, two American varieties that TW has used with many of their other hoppy offerings, expect “melon, berries and cantaloupe” in the aroma/flavour. The oaty grist comes through in spades in the mouthfeel, lending a creamy, soft body to the beer, without being cloyingly sweet. And as with most TW beers, there’s very little bitterness in the finish of this 6% ABV brew. It’s available right now (because there’s no way this post is published before noon… NO WAY) at the brewery on tap and in cans. While there, you can also grab some Good Weather, another of their popular summer American IPAs.

If you’re around the Corner Brook area of Newfoundland this weekend, you might just want to head over to Bootleg Brew Co. They have released a special collaboration beer they cooked up with St. John’s beer bar Toslow, kinda-sorta in time for their first anniversary. Starting from a Berliner Weisse (sour wheat beer) base, the piece de resistance was a whole whack of Newfoundland berries, donated by Toslow co-owner Chris Scott’s grandmother, with partridgeberries, blueberries, marshberries and cranberries. Hence the name, A Nan Jam, seems quite fitting to thank her! 🙂 Tart from the berries as well as the souring technique, plus aromatic from the fruits as well as a generous Galaxy dry hopping, this is a complex and beautiful pink beer that we’re sure won’t last long. It’s available right now at Bootleg’s taproom, and very soon on the other side of the province at Toslow, hopefully this weekend.

The team at Halifax’s Good Robot has certainly been enjoying the sunnier weather this week, and given the glorious space that is the Gastroturf (with more taps added this week care of Beer Tech), why wouldn’t they? They’ve got a new beer out this week that’s just right for enjoying some sun, assuming we get more at some point, and they’re calling it Viking Holiday. Fermented with a kveik yeast strain, a great choice for this time of year when temperature control gets more difficult and a quick turnaround is paramount, it was built on a grist of two-row barley and wheat and gets a delightful zing from an addition of pineapple. Reminiscent of the ever so rare Pineapple Creamsicle™, it aims to be light and refreshing at 4.2% ABV and a gentle 15 IBUs and with a fairly spritzy carbonation. Look for it on tap at the brewery for pints and fills.

Charlottetown’s Upstreet is continuing their “Do Good Resident Artist” program with the release of their newest beer, Orange Mandarin Gose. Brewed with their current RA, Peter Christenson (hailing from the state of Washington), the grist is simply made up of 2-row and malted wheat, and hopped very lightly to 5 IBUs with Herkules. While this kettle sour features the normal-for-a-Gose additions of sea salt and coriander, they’ve also added orange peel and mandarin, which contributes some nice citrus notes to go along with the tart, salty flavours of the beer. And at just 4% ABV, the refreshment factor increases even higher! If you’d like to check out Peter’s artwork, they’ll be holding an Artist Talk/Beer Release this Sunday at 2 pm, in the white building adjacent to Upstreet’s taproom, which will be followed by a trot over to the taproom to try the beer!

A couple of things to tell you about in terms of beery events coming up:

If you’re beer-motivated and looking for something to do on the evening of Saturday, June 29th, consider grabbing one of the remaining tickets for Curated Magazine’s East Coast Craft Beer Festival in the Multipurpose Room at the Halifax Forum. Tickets are $35 (plus taxes and a $1 fee) and will get you 12 tickets, each good for a 4 oz pour from 18 Nova Scotia breweries plus two out-of-province guests: Cask & Kettle Irish Gastropub from Saint John and Dominion City from Ottawa. There will also be local food on offer (cash only), live music, and taxi service. Designated Driver tickets are available for $10 at the door.

Dartmouth’s New Scotland Brewing Company is pleased to announce that they’ve partnered up with the team from Murphy’s on the Water to bring a weekly Brews Cruise on the Tall Ship Silva every Thursday night this summer from 9 – 11 PM featuring live music and New Scotland beer. Tickets are $15 and are available from Ambassatours. Meanwhile, keep an eye on Social Media to see who’s playing each week!

And a few last mentions of new releases, re-releases, and openings to help you figure out where you’re going to buy the beer you’re likely to be drinking inside this weekend:

In case you missed it during your morning commute, fellow beer-crazy cats 902 BrewCast have dropped their June Tasting Episode today. Highlighting their choices for their Nova Scotia Summer Slammers as published in The Coast, they once again curate and fawn over their favourite brews, wines, and news going around our little piece of the beer world. Check into your fave podcast app for the latest episode.

Boxing Rock has brought back Bravo!, their 6% ABV single-hopped American IPA featuring, you guessed it, the Bravo variety. It’s available in six-packs for those of you who enjoy this “perfectly bitter” beer and need more than one. They’ve also revealed that they’re currently building a taproom in Shelburne; stay tuned for more info on that project.

Tracadie, NB’s Brasseux d’la Cote is releasing their Barram Witbier this week, a silver medal winner at this year’s Down East Brewing Awards. Now packaged in cans, it’s a 4.5% ABV Witbier available at the brewery (where we guess you can also grab it on tap).

Congratulations are in order as Dildo Brewing Company has opened their St. John’s retail location today. Located at 332 Water Street, next door to good friend of good beer The Adelaide Oyster House, the retail location will be open from noon today, with sales of growlers, cans, and their deadly popular merchandise. No onsite samples or pints are available, but look as close as next door, or further down the street, to imbibe.

Up on the North Shore of Nova Scotia, in Grant (near Antigonish), Half Cocked Brewing has announced their summer hours and the opening of their patio. In addition to their usual Thursday Growler nights, check them out Fridays from 5 – 8 PM and Saturdays from 2 – 7 PM for fills, pints and flights. Hey, pop in today after you sign off for the work, why dontcha? Bring your own umbrellas if you dare sit on the patio!

Hell Bay has released their own take on a Gose, The Salty Piper (5% ABV). Brewed in collaboration with the White Point Beach Resort, the sea salt used in the brew was actually harvested from the resort. Drop by the brewery and resort for a taste of the final product.

Shipwright’s newest beer, released this week, is an Australian Pale Ale named Aussie Rules (5.5% ABV). Hopped with Galaxy and Enigma, expect aromas of “peach, pineapple, and cantaloupe”, with a touch of malt sweetness. Find it on tap at the brewery, or downstairs at the Grand Banker, both located at 82 Montague Street in downtown Lunenburg.

Friday Wrap-Up for July 6, 2018 – News from Off Track, 2 Crows, Stillwell Brewing, Sourwood Cidery, Lake City Cider, Chainyard and More!!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2018-07-06
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 902 BrewCast, Bishop's Cellar, Boxing Rock Brewing, Cask and Kettle Irish Pub, Chain Yard Cider, Dildo Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Lake City Cider, Long Bay Brewery, Niche Brewing, Off Track Brewing, Propeller Brewing, RustiCo, Shoreline Malting, Sourwood Cidery, Stillwell Beer Bar, Stillwell Brewing, The Coast, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Whycocomagh Craft Beer Festival. 1 comment

Wow, what a week! With wild temperatures across our region, and some wild swings (from snowing in Gander to 30C+ in the Maritimes), we figure you’re definitely overdue for a beer! We’ve got loads of new beers and news to share with you this week, so grab the nearest pint, and have a look!

We’ve got lots of news to share from Bedford’s own brewery, Off Track on Rocky Lake Drive. First off, they launched a new beer on Canada Day named The Joy’s of Summer. This 4.25% Session IPA is full of flavour despite the low ABV, with plenty of Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Cascade hops (amounting to 48 IBUs) which is perfect for sipping all day on their new patio. Speaking of which, they’ve extended their days/hours to now be open Thursdays, so now you can get your OTBC fix all extended weekend (Thursday 12-8, Fri and Sat 12-10, Sunday 12-6). And what to pair with it? They’ve teamed up with On the Wedge at the Sunnyside Mall to provide them with lunch and dinner options Friday through Sunday (menu and hours available here). Any time, you can bring your own food, or order in from local businesses in the hood (RLP anyone?).

The gents from 902BrewCast dropped by Off Track recently, and recorded with Allan, Jon, and Matt on that new patio. They chatted about just about everything under the sun NS-beer-wise (and beyond), and broke some big news: the Off Track crew are finally brewing on their full-sized 5 BBL (600 litre) brewhouse, which means more beers in the tanks for their thirsty patrons. AND, that means a fun contest! They have already named five of their big new tanks, but need your help in naming the sixth! See if you can figure out the theme here… Newman, Puddy, J. Peterman, Bania, and Crazy Joe Davola. Tell them what the sixth tank should be, and you’ll win one of their fancy new Stainless Steel growlers (with a Phil). You can submit your answers via direct message on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook by July 14th. Get your answers in quick before some Mulva steals the best name! Listen to the podcast for more hijinx (you’ll quickly learn how Off Track got their name), and their plans for the rest of July.

We’ve got a couple of exciting tidbits concerning new beers from 2 Crows that are coming out over the next few days. First off, is the very first bottle release for 2 Crows. Dandy was brewed with Pilsner malt, Spelt, Wheat, and Oats, and hopped lightly with Calypso and Bramling Cross. The wort was soured with a mixture of Lactobacillus cultures, and then fermented in two gin barrels with a blend of Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces strains. After aging for a few months, the beer was moved to stainless and conditioned on the burnt zest of lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruit. Bottle-conditioned with champagne yeast, the final beer is “bright, tart, lightly funky, with juniper, citrus, oaky tannins, a subtle burnt/smoky character, and a firm minerality”. Weighing in at 5.1% ABV, there will be limited quantities of this one available when it’s released at the brewery tomorrow, so do not delay in grabbing some bottles! Bishop’s Cellar will also be getting a few bottles for sale, and one keg will also be tapped at the brewery tomorrow, if you’d like to give it a try on tap.

As for the second beer, it’s a new draught-only brew named Juan Canary. This “Wild Table Beer” was brewed with malt exclusively from PEI’s Shoreline Malting, and was lightly-hopped in the boil with Galaxy and Hallertau Blanc. Fermented with a blend of wild yeast strains, it was then conditioned for several months to allow that wonderful, funky yeast character to develop. It was then further conditioned on Canary melon (a type of melon that is reportedly slightly tangier than honeydew) for four weeks, before being packaged in kegs with champagne yeast. It comes in at just 3.6% ABV and 12 IBUs; you’ll be able to find it on tap by-the-glass only, at the 2C tasting room, when a tap opens up (we’re guessing tomorrow or Sunday, best to check the 2C Instagram for the latest scoop).

If you’ve been to Stillwell over the past few days, you may have noticed that they’ve been pouring a new beer from Stillwell Brewing, Easy. This one is their latest Saison fermented with their House cultures; the beer spent just two months in the brewery’s largest foedre (oak tank), making it relatively young, at least compared to a lot of other releases from SBC! They’re describing the 4.7% ABV brew as drinking “like a more-sour Stillwell 2 [ed: Stillwell’s 2nd Anniversary beer], with mostly lactic acid and a touch of quenching acetic acid”. Featuring a bright presence of hops, and tasting floral and spicy, you can get it at Stillwell HQ by the 750 mL bottle or on tap, to drink on-site; it’ll be following on tap at the Beergarden in the near future. If you were looking forward to taking some home, fear not – they will be holding a bottle sale soon, on Saturday, July 21st. We’ll remind you when that gets closer! Looks like Easy will become a regular release, as Batch 2 is already fermenting.

You may remember TrailWay Brewing releasing More Better, a Simcoe single-hopped American IPA, a few months ago. Today, they’re releasing the “big brother” to this beer, a DIPA named, naturally, Even More Better. Simcoe is once again featured prominently, but they decided to throw in a “healthy” dose of Mosaic as well, giving the beer “pleasant pine up-front, with a big juicy background”. It’s 8% ABV, and will be available on tap and in cans at the brewery today at noon.

Last weekend, Good Robot released 5th Chamber, a sour wheat beer brewed with boysenberries, black raspberries, and raspberries, at the Hair of the Dog event. If you missed the event, you should be able to find the 4% ABV Gose on tap at the brewery, starting… yesterday! Moving on to next Tuesday’s Beta brew, keep your eyes open for Orange You Glad, a Milkshake IPA brewed with local homebrewers Jeramy and Catherine Slaunwhite. With lactose in the boil, and hopped with Citra and Mandarina Bavaria, the beer also features the addition of vanilla (of course) and sweet orange peel. It weighs in at a low-for-the-style 4.9% ABV, and 56 IBUs. Finally, next Thursday will see the return of Burban Legend APA (5.9% ABV, 42 IBUs).

Let’s change gears to cider now, with lots of news to share with you this week. Agricola Street’s Chain Yard Cider has a few new blends available these days, including the first releases from their new Vault series, availalbe in 750ml bottles (rather than on tap or in cans). Pippin is a 9.0% ABV single varietal Cox Orange Pippin dry cider, five months in the making, and full of flavour. They’ve also released Pippin & Russet, using a blend of Cox Orange Pippin and Golden Russet apples, which finished sweet at 7.1% ABV. They have also introduced Cyser Sunrise, a blend of their Foundation cider and a strawberry wine. And finally, Funk 141 is a 6.5% ABV unfiltered blend, fermented with Brett for funky and barnyard aromas and flavours familiar to those who already seek them out in beers. While some of their ciders are available on tap at restaurants and bars and in the private stores around HRM, heading to the source is probably your best bet to try them all.

Although we haven’t had a chance to mention it yet, cider and mixed-fermentation mavens in HRM very well might be aware that there’s a new cidery in the city, one that’s doing things a little bit differently. Sourwood Cidery is now producing small batches of cider at 6070 Almon Street. Focused on making sour ciders and fermenting on the wilder side, their ciders are “raw, unfiltered, and funky.” They are currently selling 6 varieties at their place, all in 750 mL bottles that have been bottle-conditioned. Be aware that they’re only open Wednesdays from 6 – 8 PM for these sales, though. You can also find Sourwood ciders on the bottle list at Stillwell on Barrington and, hopefully, soon at Bishop’s Cellar and a new place opening up later this year in the Hydrostone, The Ostrich Club. Occasionally some cider will be kegged; up to this point the Stillwell Beergarden has been the destination for every one of these. Looking ahead, they’ve got some stainless in the mix now, a 10 bbl brite tank which will allow them to do a 1000 L at a time of a carbonated cider they’re calling Small World (a younger version of their Old World); it should be available in kegs and cans in the next couple of weeks. Here’s a list of the bottled ciders they’ve got on the go now; we’re sure we’ll be hearing more from this crew in the coming weeks and months (and hey, maybe we’ll get it together and do a full profile!):

  • Old World – Fermented dry with a saison yeast
  • Hopwild – Sour cider dry hopped with Citra
  • Old World Sour – A sweet blend of apples fermented dry with Sourwood’s house culture of sour microbes
  • Hopwild – Sour cider dry hopped with CTZ (aka Columbus) and Citra
  • Gravenstein – 100% Gravenstein apples fermented with Sourwood’s house sour culture
  • Ginger – Sour cider steeped with ginger

And it’s not just Halifax that’s boasting a new cidery. Lake City Cider is now turning out cider in Dartmouth at 35 Portland Street, although they’re not yet open to the public at that location. Currently available every Saturday at the Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market in the outdoor tent as well as on tap at The Canteen, they are also on rotation at Battery Park. Look for their tap room to open soon where you’ll be able to enjoy all their products. All of the cider is produced using 100% NS apples and includes the following three core brands:

  • Nieforth Original – named for Nieforth’s, an institution of downtown Dartmouth and previous inhabitants of the space Lake City occupies. Pressed from a blend of apples, this bold cider comes in at 6.8% ABV and is packaged in 750 mL bottles
  • Darkside Dry – balanced and refreshing, this 7.5% ABV dry cider is available in 750 mL bottles and pairs well with rich foods such as scallops or grilled or roasted meat
  • District 5 – Lake City’s first canned offering is a blend of freshly-pressed 100% Nova Scotian apples intended to be a steady and sure cider that weighs in at 6.0% ABV

The gang at Lake City has also advised us that they intend to rotate through a series of limited edition seasonal ciders as well through the year. We look forward to having the chance to tell you more about Lake City in the coming weeks!

Just a couple of events to tell you about this week:

Long Bay Brewery in Rothesay is celebrating their First Anniversary this weekend, and want to give YOU the presents! Drop by their spot at 82 Marr Road today or tomorrow, 12-8PM, and with every growler fill, you will receive a free LBB glass (or your regular loyalty discount). And if you drop by tomorrow, you’ll be able to enjoy some live music and BBQ in addition to your free gift. Congratulations Sean and Co!

The Whycocomagh Beer Festival will be celebrating its Second Year on July 21st, 7-9:30 PM. Happening at the Whycocomagh Waterfront Centre as part of the Whycocomagh Summer Festival, there will be beer from Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Breton, Garrison, North, Tatamagouche, and Uncle Leo’s all under one roof, plus wine from Jost. Tickets are just $20 at the door, and the venue has expanded to let even more folks in than last year.

We’ve got a few more news bites for you this week before we sign off…

– Shelburne’s Boxing Rock has teamed up with Capt. Kat’s Lobster Shack to release the ultimate pairing to their lobster plates. Over Aft Ale is a Cream Ale available exclusively at this Barrington Passage spot, but if you ask nicely at the brewery, they’ll fill a growler of it for you too! 🙂
– After launching late last week, Dildo Brewing Company has added a fifth beer to their rotation. Blue Eyed Buoy is a take on their Root 80 Blonde, featuring loads of blueberries added during conditioning, for a fresh and fruity presence. Grab it on tap and in growlers at the brewery today!
– After its release at The Toast the Coast event a couple of weeks ago, Garrison is releasing their This Beer is Toast! in bottles today. As a reminder, this 5.5% ABV Saison featured more than 100 kilos of toasted bread in the mash, adding to the Pale Ale and Wheat malts used. Lightly hopped to 20 IBU with Hallertau and Cascade, bottles are now available at the brewery, and at the private stores next week. $0.50 from each bottle is going to Feed Nova Scotia, to help their efforts to combat food insecurity in the province.
– Niche Brewing has brought one of their first beers back to the taps this week, Mines of Wallonia. This is their 3.6% ABV Grisette, generously hopped with Hallertau Blanc, and featuring some lovely fruity esters and light spiciness from the Saison yeast. Look for it on tap around Fredericton, including the newly opened RustiCo, as well as Cask & Kettle in Saint John, and at Halifax’s Stillwell.
– Propeller has brought back their summer favourite, Hefeweizen (5.3% ABV); you’ll be able to find this cloudy, spritzy, banana-and-clovey brew on tap and in bottles starting today. And check back with us next week, when we’ll have more info on a variation of this beer that will be released soon.
– Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing has released the latest batch of DOA Double Orange Ale SMaSH today, featuring boatloads of Citra hop through the process. Using a combination of Cryo-extracted hops (higher Alpha Acid in less vegetal material) with standard harvest, this 7.5% ABV, 100 IBU, Double IPA will have you singing out for more.
– Upstreet is releasing their newest Neon Friday beer today, DDH Oat IPA with Idaho 7 (6.5% ABV, 50 IBUs). Brewed with Golden Naked Oats and toasted oats, it’s double-dry hopped with Idaho 7 to give “a fresh aroma of light orange and apricot”.

Friday Wrap-Up for June 8, 2018 – News from Stillwell Brewing, Propeller, 2 Crows, Tidehouse, Good Robot, Unfiltered, and more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2018-06-08
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, Annapolis Brewing Company, Good Robot Brewing, Heritage Brewing, Horton Ridge Malt & Grain, PEI Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Red Racer, Saltbox Brewing, Scudrunner Brewing, Spindrift Brewing, Stillwell Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Coast, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Yarmouth Craft Beer Festival. 1 comment

With two of your three writers traveling this week, we’ve decided to forgo the fancy introduction and get right to the important beer news. Wait, did I just write an intro without trying? Perfect. My grade 12 English teacher would be proud. Or sad that this is the height of my writing career these days… Anywho, here we go!

• We begin this week’s news with another new bottle release from Stillwell Brewing, a beer that follows with others they’ve released in the past, but also heads in a slightly different direction. Poptones started off as a hoppy pale ale when it was brewed last September, with a grist of Pilsner, Wheat, and Oat malts. Hopped in the kettle with Sterling and Saphir, it was fermented with a clean, American yeast strain. Once primary fermentation was complete, the beer started heading down a more-familiar road for SWB, as the brewery’s house cultures were pitched in the beer, where they were allowed to slowly do their work over the next three months in the tank, attenuating the beer further and working their magic in other flavourful and aromatic ways. Dry-hopped with more Saphir, the beer was then bottled (with a portion actually transferred over to barrels for some further aging; heads-up for this one in the near future), and is now ready for purchase. The brewery describes it as having “a nice hop bitterness, flavour, and aroma, with a light acidity from the house cultures and a really cool, rustic kind of fermentation character”, with a more-pronounced Brett funk that many of their other releases. You’ll be able to pick up bottles of this 5.3% ABV summer-drinker tomorrow at the brewery from 12-3 (2015 Gottingen, enter via the parking lot around the back); rumour has it that you’ll also be able to find some bottles of Gosh 2.0 and Preach, and maybe even some others as well!

• Around front/upstairs in the same space, Propeller Brewing has released the latest in their Gottingen Small Batch series, with yesterday’s tapping of Love the Way We Love. This American Wheat features loads of Mosaic hops (complemented by Azacca), for papaya, pineapple, and mango fruit nose and flavour in a 5.0% ABV package. As with all beers in the GSB line, these are only available on tap, with growler fills available at both their Windmill and Gottingen Street locations, plus pints on Gottingen and at licensees around the city. A portion of the sales are being donated to the neighbouring North End Community Health Centre. They are celebrating the release with a special cask of it today from 5PM, with a Mosaic Double Dry-hopped version, with pretzels from The Cake Lady for your pairing enjoyment. And you can enjoy LtWWL and a handful of other locally-produced beer and cider as part of Toast the Coast!, a Tap Takeover June 21 at Stillwell Beergarden celebrating The Coast’s 25th Anniversary.

• Let’s stay inside Halifax – and within walking distance, actually – with 2 Crows. They, too, have ventured a little outside their standard brew day (wait, does 2C even HAVE a “standard brew day”?) and created a refreshing, dry-hopped Lager. Named, appropriately enough, Refresh, this is their first Lager in some time. Brewed with German Pilsner malt, 25% Flaked Rice, and a touch of chit malt, it was hopped in the boil with Hallertau Blanc, to just 12 IBUs. Fermented cool with the Weingenstephan 34/70 Lager strain, the beer was lagered for close to two months before being dry-hopped with more Hallertau Blanc, and Huell Melon. The result is a 4.8% ABV crusher that has notes of “lemongrass, cucumber, gooseberry, and honeydew melon”. It was just canned this morning, and should be on sale at the brewery (also on tap) by the time you read this!

• Moving on to friends/arch-rivals of 2C, Tidehouse Brewing are releasing their very first Russian Imperial Stout, named The Sex (oh, those crazy kids!). It’s not like June has been that warm anyway, so why not sip on a 11.9% ABV dark beer? Featuring a mega-grist of Maris Otter, Midnight Wheat, Malted Oats, Carafa II, Pale Chocolate Malt, and Roasted Barley, it was hopped with Northern Brewer to help balance all of that roast and sweetness. After fermentation was complete, they decided to go with maybe a little more sweetness, and added a touch of Port, and raspberries! You can find this one on tap at the tiny tasting room starting today, and also in bottle form for aging/sharing/all the rest… at that ABV, we recommend against drinking an entire bottle by yourself. We’re not “Putin” you on (sorry)!

• The yang to The Sex’s yin is also being released today, Brew Swillis Hoppy Light Ale. Straw in colour thanks to the base malt of Pilsner, Carapils, Flaked Rice and Flaked Corn, this 4.5% ABV beer was bittered with Warrior at the beginning of the boil, and features aromatic/flavour hopping from Cluster and East Kent Golding. Light in body and colour, but still flavourful, this draft-only brew will be the perfect one to pour from your growler after mowing the lawn or doing some spring cleaning this weekend.

• Over to Robie St., where the fine people at Good Robot prepare to release their latest Beta Brew, Oh Captain, My Captain. Collaboratively-brewed with Meaghan MacDonald, this kettle sour was brewed with Pilsner malt, Flaked Oats, Red X, and Rye malt. Roasted beets were added to the wort during the first, brief boil; the wort was then soured overnight. Boiled again the next day, and hopped with Polaris to 40 IBUs, the wort was fermented out, and then pomegranate juice was added in two steps. The beer comes in at 5% ABV, and will hit taps next Tuesday. We also have a sneak preview for a special beer that will come out next Friday, Halifax North. Right now, we can tell you that it’s a collaboration beer (more on who with, next week), and it’s GR’s first Double IPA. We do have some recipe details: the grist was made up of Golden Promise, Maris Otter, Vienna, and Flaked Barley, and it was hopped and dry-hopped with Southern Passion and African Queen. Weighing in at 7.7% ABV and 90 IBUs, look for more info here next Friday, when the beer is released.

• And just a stone’s throw away, Unfiltered is launching a brand new Double IPA today at noon, Inducement. This “fruity, hoppy, and hazy” 7.5% ABV brew was hopped with (undoubtedly, plenty of) Mosaic and Falconer’s Flight, so rest assured the beer is full of tropical, fruity goodness as advertised. Nash also threw in a little Honey malt in the grist to give the beer just a touch of sweetness, to help balance all the hop presence that we can expect. Drop by Charm School today to pick up your pints and growlers.

• Ok, time to move out of the big city and visit Annapolis Brewing Co., where their brand-spanking new taproom is officially open! Located at 302 St. George St. in Annapolis Royal, the location will have eight Annapolis brews on tap, along with a few guest beers and ciders from other breweries/cideries in the province; wine and kombucha can also be purchased. You can stay for flights and pints, and/or leave with growlers and 355 mL bottles. While food isn’t available on-site, you’re more than welcome to order in or bring your own! Their hours are 12-8 pm Sun-Thurs, 12-10 pm Friday, and 10-10 on Saturday. And keep Saturday, June 30th on your calendar if you’re in the area, as they’ll be holding their grand opening (with live music) on that day.

• Let’s leave Nova Scotia for today and cross the ferry to PEI. Charlottetown’s Upstreet has two new beers for us as of today, both of ‘em split off from a single kettle sour. The first one is Dry Hopped Sour with Motueka, a 5.5% ABV brew featuring the lovely New Zealand variety (Motueka, if it wasn’t obvious enough to you!), which gives this particular beer aromas of lemon and pine, according to the brewery. Followed by a creature of a different sort, Strawberry Rhubarb Sour drops the hops and goes with an addition of strawberry and rhubarb juice (the same, actually, that they use in the flagship Rhuby Social). “Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with sweetness”, it’s here just in time for patio season (maybe?). Both beers are available today on tap and in growlers at the Upstreet taproom and at Craft Beer Corner. And as a little preview, there was a third split from that same original kettle sour… stay tuned for what they’re doing with that portion in the near future.

• Just across town, PEI Brewing has launched a new brand this week, Rix Light Craft Lager. The beer is named in honour of Bill Rix, who opened the short-lived Island Brewing Company in Charlottetown in 1986, the first brewery on the Island in decades. While it may have been a little ahead of its time and did not survive the decade, it had planted the seed of a local brewery for others to take up. The beer is very light in body and colour, and at 4.0% ABV, definitely an easy drinking brew. The beer is available at the PEILCC now, and there are launch parties being held across the province during the month of June, to help introduce the brand.

Speaking of events, there’s lots going on this weekend in our region, so be sure to get out and support your local brewery and good beer bar…

• Horton Ridge Malt & Grain is celebrating the First Anniversary of their brewery and taproom tomorrow, with food, fun, and beer. They will have Asado Wood Fired Grill onsite with plenty of chicken, ribs, sausage, brisket, and elote to keep you happy, with live music from 3-5PM and 7:30-9:30PM. The beers will be flowing, too, with plenty of their own brews as well as a couple of guest taps and cans, all brewed using their own malted grains. Drop by to tour the brewery and malt house. Congratulations to the Stewart family!

• If you wanted to try the Red Racer Across the Nation 12-pack, now’s your chance, as it is available in our region. If you wanted to taste all 12 of them in one sitting, and learn more about the beers and styles while doing so, consider signing up for the Collaboration Beer Tasting being held at Upstreet Brewing tomorrow afternoon. This ticketed event will have Certified Cicerone Bryan Carver pouring and chatting about each of the dozen beers from 2-4PM at Upstreet. Pop by to try Upstreet’s Salted Caramel Lager, 2 Crows’ Coast 2 Coast Ancient Grain Saison, TrailWay’s Three Beasts American IPA, YellowBelly’s Me Ol’ Trout East Coast Cream Ale, plus 8 others from across the country.

• Heritage Brewing in Yarmouth is celebrating their One Year Anniversary this Sunday, June 10th. From noon until 5pm, drop by their 19 Kirk Street location for samples and growlers of their beers, including their fan favourite Scotia Prince, a 6.0% ABV New England IPA. They will be serving cake, having some fun contests, before their move to their new location on Main Street later this month.

• And speaking of Yarmouth, next weekend is the Yarmouth Craft Beer Festival, being held at the Rodd Grand Yarmouth Hotel. The weekend kicks off Friday night with a 2.5k or 5k Hop Run through downtown Yarmouth, where participants are congratulated with a medal and a cold glass of beer. The festival itself is Saturday June 16, with two sessions happening that day: Afternoon 2:30-4:30PM, and Evening 7:30-9:30PM. General admission tickets get you in the door, your tasting glass, and your few few beer tokens (with more available for purchase after you use those). VIP tickets are available, allowing entry 30 minutes earlier, plus more 10 vs. 5 tokens, and an extra pint glass and bottle opener to take home. More than 100 beers from 15 breweries from across the province makes for a great day out. Beer pong onsite, plus a chance to win a brewery swag pack. Grab your tickets here before it’s too late!

• Mark your calendar and make plans to visit Tatamagouche Brewing next Saturday for their 4th Birthday celebration. With several brand new beer releases happening Friday and Saturday, the fun is happening all day with live music that afternoon and evening (including a ticketed concert at 7PM that evening). Route 6 Food Truck is onsite that day as well to keep you happy. We’ll have more details on the new beers next Friday!

• If you’re on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, be sure to drop by Saltbox Brewing to check out their Soapbox Races next Saturday the 16th. 28 cars have registered to take part in the all day event, as they will race down Clearway Street in Mahone Bay. Plenty of beer will be flowing, and food trucks will be set up onsite as well. All proceeds are going to the Bayview Community School Breakfast Program.

We’ve got a few Newsbites to leave you with today before you head out for a pint today:

– The seasonal Watermelon Wheat Ale, Melonhead, from Picaroons should be popping up in stores and on tap about now, with a new spokescat on the label (Henry Smith), and in cans for the first time. Also, Pivot #16 is now available; this time the rotating-hop(s) 8% ABV DIPA features Fuggles, Northern Brewer, and Willamette.
– For beer fans in St John’s who would like to try beer from the province’s latest-to-open brewery Scudrunner, but unable to make the trip to Gander, you’re in luck! They’ve dropped off a couple kegs of their Scudrunner Red to Blue on Water Hotel, at 319 Water Street, and the beer is pouring now.
– Spindrift’s latest Seventh Wave release is And The Hazy Sea. This 5.1% ABV fruited Witbier features blueberries and lemon zest to complement the coriander used in the boil. Lightly hopped to 17 IBU, this beer is available for growler fills at their Frazee Ave location now, and at the Toast the Coast event on June 21.
– Fredericton’s TrailWay had their Red Racer party earlier this week to celebrate the release of their Across the Nation collaboration brews, including the Three Beasts American IPA which represents the province of NB. As we mentioned in an earlier post, TW decided to brew that same beer on their own system, and it’s available now in limited quantities on tap and in cans at the brewery. Full of Mosaic, Citra and Galaxy, it comes in at 6.6% ABV.