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Friday Wrap-Up for Sept 25, 2020 – News from Change is Brewing, North Brewing, Tatamagouche, Big Spruce, Tanner, Port Rexton, Garrison, Good Robot, Niche, Truro Brewing, Mountain Meadworks, Topside Brewing, and more!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2020-09-25
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 540 Kitchen & Bar, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Change Is Brewing Collective, Escarpment Laboratories, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Mountain Meadworks, Niche Brewing, North Brewing, Peppers Pub, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Saint John City Market, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Joyce, The Stillwell Freehouse, Topside Brewing, Truro Brewing Company, Uncorked Tours. 1 comment

We hope the first half of your week was not too disrupted by Teddy’s visit to the region. Thankfully it didn’t have nearly the dramatic effects that had been feared. Let’s celebrate that, and the official arrival of Fall, with a fresh batch of beer news, with more than a dozen debuts across the region coming at you today!

After announcing their presence through their first collaborative release in July, the Change is Brewing Collective is back with another beer release. This time, the group has teamed up with Dartmouth’s North Brewing to bring us The Cherry Brook Wheat. Named after the Cherry Brook community along Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore, the beer is a 6.6% ABV Wheat Ale featuring more than 100 kg of crushed cherries from Noggins Farm in the Annapolis Valley. Lightly hopped with El Dorado and Huell Melon, the beer allows the base of flaked and malted wheat, as well as the fresh fruit, to shine through. Sporting a beautiful label designed by Change is Brewing member Jayme-Lynn Gloade, the beer will be available next Tuesday, as part of a launch party at the North Brewing taproom. From 7:30 PM on September 29th, pints and cans will be available to enjoy in the taproom or to go, with other licensees in HRM also coming on board to sell the beer on draught shortly thereafter. The CiB group will be onsite to chat about the beer and their overall goal for better representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour in the beverage and food industry in our region. This release supports two important movements, with 100% of the profits from all can and draught sales going toward The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia located in Cherry Brook, as well as the CiB Brewing 101 program, where they bring the joy of beer and brewing to those communities who may not have otherwise felt welcomed. Congratulations to Change is Brewing and North on this great release!

While you’d be forgiven for thinking that this time of year is inundated with breweries releasing Pumpkin Ales and Märzens (not that there’s anything wrong with that), there are, of course, plenty of other beer styles that go great with fall weather. One example is another German style, Hefeweizen, which is definitely available in some tents during Wiesn. Sure, you may immediately picture yourself sipping on a fine local example at the peak of summer, but we feel that a delicious, refreshing Weizen is equally as appropriate on a lovely fall day, preferably out on a deck somewhere! Don’t worry, all this waxing poetic has a point – Tatamagouche Brewing has released Acolyte Weissbier, which looks like it could be their first take on the style. Brewed with lots of wheat, naturally, it was hopped lightly to 12 IBUs with Tettnanger and Huell Melon. Fermented with a dry Weizen strain, the 4.5% ABV beer is showing “aromas of pear and banana, backed by subtle clove,” with a refreshing, crisp finish. It’s available on tap at the brewery and local accounts, and they hope to have it in 650 mL bottles by mid-October. And while you’re thinking Tatamagouche and Oktoberfest, while the largest Oktoberfest east of Kitchener has been canceled (as well as the *big* one in Munich), Tata is celebrating on a smaller scale in their taproom. Visitors can enjoy $5 pours all weekend, or opt for the Maß pour (that’s 1 litre!) for $18, and you get to keep the glass! Check their IG for the latest taplist. Prost!

Speaking of styles that go great with fall weather, the team at Big Spruce Brewing has been busy harvesting from their organic hopyard for the annual release of their fresh-hopped harvest pale ale. Major Hop Lips was brewed with the freshest hops possible, added to the kettle within minutes of being picked. This year’s version was brewed with Golding, Chinook, Mt. Hood, Cascade and Centennial hops, leading to floral, apricot and pine notes. Available now for pints and fills at the brewery in Nyanza, be on the lookout for bottles in their online store next week.

Heading southwest, Tanner and Co. Brewing’s newest release is Mystery Hop Ale. The neat story behind this beer starts with Penney Hill Farm, an eighth generation farm outside of Bridgewater, the founders of which originally brought hops with them from Germany. Over time, information about which varietal(s) has been lost, but, lucky for us, the hops have thrived. Tanner hoped to make a beer with the hops last year, but the plans were derailed by Dorian. This year, luck would have it that they were able to harvest just before Teddy made its arrival. Described by the brewery as being reminiscent of a lagered ale with mild hop balance, Mystery Hop Ale comes in at 5.5% ABV, and is available at both of Tanner’s locations, and their online store. While you’re at it, grab a bottle or two of their Belgian Blonde, making its return after a six month hiatus. 

Earlier this year, when things were “normal”, Port Rexton Brewing held a Mystery Homebrew Challenge, where they chose the ingredients, leaving everything else up to those brave enough to participate. The winner of that challenge was homebrewer Ralph Pike with Sour Belgian IPA, a beer whose name tells you most of what you need to know about it! Well, to a point, anyway. While details on this beer are a bit slim, admittedly, it is a kettle sour “backed by notes of citrus rind and tropical fruit”, complemented by a refreshing tartness and finishing with a bit of earthy bitterness. Weighing in at 6.7% ABV, you can find it in cans right now at the brewery’s taproom and their St. John’s retail shop.

The air is crispy and Garrison always delivers leading up to Oktoberfest. First up, their classic Nut Brown is available in cans for the first time. This Garrison classic is rich, dark, malty and clocks in at 5.0% and 22 IBU. Next up, it’s Knuckle Puck Lucky Punk time! Lucky Punk is a Sour IPA back for a limited time in both shops and the NSLC, coming through with some peach, apricot, lemon with a zesty and puckering sour finish. Hopped with Amarillo, Mosaic, and Bru-1, this hybrid IPA is 5.4% and 40 IBU. And back just in time for Oktoberfest is their Weinerful Wheat, their 4.6% German Wheat Ale brewed in collaboration with Jack 92.9, and in support of the NS SPCA, with $0.50 from each can sold going to support wieners, schnauzers, and animals of all origins!

And what better way to enjoy (German) beer than at an Oktoberfest event? Garrison is keeping it waterfront for a 10 day Oktoberfest extravaganza! Garrison will be teamed up with the Stubborn Goat Beer Garden from Sept 25 (today!) until Oct 4th down at the waterfront for the first time. While the beer will be pouring the entire 10 days, the fun really ramps up during their Das Big Party events each Friday and Saturday, with live bands, Oktoberfest food specials and tons o’ fun! No tickets required, so show up in your favourite lederhosen and yell Prost!, and they’ll fire you a beer in no time. Check out the full details on their Facebook event page. 

Fresh off a Silver Medal from the Canadian Brewing Awards, the good robots from…Good Robot are releasing Friendship Island. Bringing a balanced English Pale Ale character with lime citrus and floral notes, thanks to hopping with Lemon Drop, this 5.5% ABV beer will only be available on draft at the brewery. And if you’re wondering about the name, it’s a reference to a mysterious island off the coast of Chile that is inhabited by extraterrestrial life forms who operate a UFO junkyard. The fine machines at GR are also re-releasing Leave Me Blue (4.5% ABV) and fan favourite Goseface Killah (5% ABV); both are available in cans from the brewery and online!

In Hanwell, NB, the gang at Niche is firmly back in the swing of sending out kegs to those places who are ordering them and this week they’ve got something new for those tap accounts. Red Sails is a 7% ABV Red IPA built on a grist containing a fair portion of specialty malts to provided body, color and some toffee/caramel character. From there, it was hopped with Galaxy and Ekuanot and fermented with the Ebbegarden Kveik yeast strain from Escarpment Labs. Finally, it was heavily dry-hopped with more Ekuanot, as well as Mosaic. Expect a juicy brew, a touch dank and not too sweet, despite the dark amber color. You might be surprised to find this one is also hazy, which some might find a little bit odd, but we encourage you to taste it with your mouth, not with your eyes! Look for it soon at The Joyce, Peppers Pub, 540 Kitchen & Bar, and the new Uncorked Tours tasting room at the Saint John City Market.

Fall is also the time of year for the release of wet-hop beers (beers brewed with freshly-picked hops, with “freshly-picked” oftentimes literally meaning within several hours), and Truro Brewing has their own that’s now available to start off your weekend in the best way. This brew is actually a collaboration with local homebrewer Tyler Pearson, who provided the fresh Cascade hops that were used, which they’ve named Fill Yer Boots. A 4.8% ABV American Pale Ale that they’re describing as “mild with herbal hints”, you  can grab it on tap at the brewery. Truro Brewing would also like to pass on that they will soon be holding their first bottle release event, next Friday, October 2nd. They’ve teamed up with Earltown’s Mountain Meadworks to create Siren, a “Tripel-style Braggot” (beer/mead hybrid) that we’ll have full details on for you in next week’s post. But for the sake of planning ahead, we can tell you now that the event will feature door prizes, live music, samples of the braggot, and of course bottles will be available for sale.

St. John’s Bannerman Brewing has brought back a cocktail-inspired beer to their taps and cans today, ready just in time for a liquid lunch (or supper). Mood Improvement is a 5.2% ABV fruited sour, inspired by the Moscow Mule, featuring ginger and lime, and dry-hopped with Motueka. Citrus, spicy, ginger on the nose, yet light and refreshing, Mood Improvement is pouring and ready to take away now, and sure to brighten your weekend!

In case you missed it, we told you about Topside Brewing earlier this week, who debuted on tap at the Birch & Anchor in Birch Cove on the weekend. In addition, Topside has debuted their Grab a Growler program this week, and there is still time to place your order for this weekend! And for those looking to grab a pint at a bar local to the Bedford brewery, Finbars Irish Pub in the Sunnyside Mall at 1595 Bedford Hwy, has their 5 Bells Session IPA now! Named after the line signal that a diver will send to the surface, most commonly meant to signify “I have finished my work.” So once you’ve finished your work today, head on over for this 4.6% ABV, 45 IBU beer, featuring a light hop profile and just a touch of malt base to complement.

In addition to the Oktoberfest celebrations and other events mentioned above, we’ve got one more big deal happening to tell you about this week:

Although on any given day (that they’re open, anyway) you can wander down to 2 Crows Brewing on Brunswick Street in Halifax and find a bunch of delightful liquids that they’ve made, there’s always something special about a tap takeover somewhere else. Even more special is when it’s the first ever takeover at that somewhere else, so everybody is pretty pumped that on Saturday, October 3rd, you will find 2 Crows beer flooding the taps and casks at the Stillwell Freehouse! For those who aren’t aware of the beer industry in the UK, the name “freehouse” is meaningful: it contrasts with a “tied house” where a pub is obligated to buy all or some of its beer from a particular brewery; the public house is “tied” to that brewery as opposed to being “free” to purchase from any breweries whatever. Interestingly, in Nova Scotia (and pretty much the rest of Canada, we believe), that sort of arrangement is illegal, but it’s been described as “one of the most inter‐woven industrial relationships you can identify in the UK.” Pretty interesting, huh? No? Alrighty then, on with the details. The list of offerings has been set and it looks like this:

On tap:

  • Dos Cuervos – Mexican Lager 
  • Waltz – German Pilsner
  • Milosh – Helles Lager
  • Perfect Saturation – IPA
  • Matinee – Tiny Hoppy Pale Ale
  • Fantacity – Dry-hopped Witbier
  • Deux II – Sour with Cherries
  • Run by Night – Grisette with Damson Plums
  • Bedlam Bridge – Double IPA
  • Vinello – Lagered Wild Ale with Riesling Pomace

On cask:

  • Liesse – Cask-conditioned Table Beer
  • Dulwich – Cask-conditioned English Golden Ale
  • Aquifolium – Cask-conditioned Wild Ale
  • Paper Airplanes – Cask-conditioned Brown Ale
  • Keller-Refresh – Cask-conditioned Lager

No tickets are required for this event, and we haven’t seen anything about reservations, so plan your visit accordingly. Remember that COVID-19 restrictions are still in place, bring your mask and don’t be surprised if table service! Otherwise, we think this looks amazing and we hope to see lots of you there celebrating both 2 Crows and the Stillwell Freehouse!

Friday Wrap-Up for August 21, 2020 – News from Upstreet, Landwash, Niche, Truro, Route 19, Delta Force, and More!

Posted by acbbchris on 2020-08-21
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: CAVOK Brewing, Delta Force Brewing, Double Hill Cidery, Escarpment Laboratories, Good Robot Brewing, Island Malt House, Landwash Brewery, Niche Brewing, North Brewing, OktoberFest des Acadiens, Peppers Pub, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Quidi Vidi Brewery, Red Island Cider, Route 19 Brewing, Saucy Mouth, Shoreline Malting, Side Hustle Snack Bar, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Joyce, Truro Brewing Company, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 1 comment

Today marks the turn into the last month of Summer, at least as far as the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is concerned. But the realities of solar system mechanics and their impact on meteorology aside, we know that there’s still plenty of warm-weather beer drinking to be had in our region. Lucky for us, our region’s breweries and cideries are continuing to pump out top class liquids for our consumption. Read on for news about as many as we could find out about this week!

Last Friday (too late for a blog post then, sorry!), Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing dropped the latest in their Million Acres series, an ever-changing lineup of barrel-aged brews. This newest release is Million Acres – Barrel-Aged Cherry Saison, a 6.5% ABV beer brewed with malt from Island Malt House. The beer was put into barrels in January, and transferred back to steel about six months later. There, it was given a small dry-hop of Barbe Rouge (a French varietal), along with an addition of cherry purée. With a reddish colour, and aromas of cherry and leather, this bottled beer is showing off flavours of “deconstructed cherry pie”, as well as notes of grapefruit, lemongrass, orange pith, leather, straw, pie crust, and dill, according to the brewery. You can find bottles at both Upstreet locations in Charlottetown; they’re recommending that you don’t cellar this one *too* long, as it’s best-enjoyed within a few months. 

Hopping over to Newfoundland, where Landwash is excited to share details on a fresh new beer they’ve just canned, Platters Head. Billed as a hoppy Lager, the beer has a simple grist of 85% Pilsner and 15% Flaked Oats. Fermented with the Isar Lager strain from Escarpment Labs (is there a week where we DON’T mention Escarpment? [editor’s note: No]), the beer was lagered for five weeks, and dry-hopped with Amarillo and Azacca. The final 4.8% ABV brew is tasting crisp and clean, as a good Lager should, with plenty of fruit – including peaches and lemons – in the aroma, and a bit of dankness carrying over into the flavour. Congrats to recently promoted Head Brewer Alex on this release, the first he’s fully designed and brewed at Landwash! It’s available on tap and in cans; stop by the brewery for a taste this weekend (and grab some Saucy Mouth while you’re there, natch!). While you’re there, you can pick up some of their latest batch of Brackish Sour Ale, and they should have some super fresh That Much Ocean NEIPA available now as well!

Back to the mainland for New Brunswick Capital Region’s Niche Brewing’s latest release, another in their exploration of fun and exciting hop combinations. Lost in Translation is a 4.6% ABV Session IPA, with hop additions of Hallertau Blanc and Simcoe beginning in the boil, further enhanced by a heavy dry-hopping of more of the same hop pair, along with Citra. Foggy London Ale yeast from Escarpment did the heavy lifting, with the tropical and citrus vibes first and foremost, along with a touch of spiciness. As with most Niche releases, grabbing it on draught at your local watering hole is your best bet, with The Joyce in Fredericton, Peppers Pub in Saint John, and Halifax’s Bar Stillwell all the first spots to jump on kegs. And speaking of Stillwell, they are facing off against Dartmouth’s Side Hustle Snack Bar in a friendly head-to-head competition of kitchens, all in the name of raising funds for disaster relief, so we strongly encourage you to visit one or both spots this weekend. More details on their social media.

Hometown-proud Truro Brewing Co. has a couple of new beers hitting their taps over the last week, including their latest foray into the world of SMaSH (while we don’t seem to see as many of these beers these days, we figure you’re still all up to speed with what that acronym stands for), Halla Back Girl. This 5.8% ABV beer was brewed all Pale malt from Shoreline Malting, and hopped with a generous amount of Hallertau Blanc. Expect “a tropical, fruity aroma with hints of white wine and pineapple”, in a light orange, very hazy package. Also, last Friday the brewery launched Rubyfruit Grapefruit Sour, a tart and refreshing, 3.5% ABV fruited sour. Both beers are available on tap at the brewery, now.

Maybe we’ll actually be crazy and stick with one province for a moment, and move over to Route 19 Brewing, who have been experimenting on their 50 L pilot system. For those of you have been looking for a beer that tastes like peanut butter waffles covered in strawberry jelly, we guess you’re going to be excited by this one! Crunchy! is what the brewery is calling, yes, a “Peanut Butter Strawberry Jam Ale” (hey, don’t shoot the messenger, ok?). The malt used in the grist (including Biscuit, Carapils, and Honey malt) during brew day contributes biscuit and “fluffy batter flavours”, and strawberry puree was added during fermentation. What about the PB, you ask? Well, they didn’t want to overdo that aspect of the 6.5% ABV beer, so they added peanut butter extract directly into the brite tank (before carbing the beer) “one spoon at a time until the flavour was just right”. Maybe they should have named this one Goldilocks and the Peanut Butter Bears? We’ll just show ourselves out… Oh, we should also reiterate that there isn’t much of this beer around, so if you’re at all curious about what it tastes like, we recommend getting over there ASAP for a pint. And of course, those with nut allergies should avoid this one. Glad to see they’re back open after the awkward incident earlier in the month!

We go from one unusual but intriguing beer to another, stopping next at Good Robot Brewing, the place where misfit people can enjoy misfit beer 😉. Dreamed up by summer brewhouse intern Nathan, they’re going all in on a Chocolate Banana Porter named The Banana Wizard. A light 5.0% ABV Porter, fermentation was carried out by a Belgian yeast to promote banana esters and a touch of clove spiciness, on top of the rich chocolate, dark toffee, and toasted notes. To send it over the top, they dosed in some banana cream and chocolate extracts, for the full “chocolate covered frozen bananas on the boardwalk” experience (there’s always money in the banana stand!). This release is only available in cans, so fire up your Segway to head down to their Robie Street location, or order online for home delivery, and they’ll dispatch their stair car directly to your door.

Delta Force Brewing, Nova Scotia’s only Farmshed brewery, is back with a second big release after a few months creeping through the jungles and carrying out Top Secret missions. With several of the beers in this release taking months of patience to let the yeast and bugs play together, the window to grab the beers is now open! Returning are Anderlecht, their 6.0% ABV Belgian Single with Brett Lambicus, and Mean Time, their 4.8% ABV English Bitter brewed with their own shed-grown hops and fermented with Brettanomyces. They are joined by a new twist of their third release in April, the West Coast IPA Operation Stronghold, but one keg was dosed with Brett, developing some great funky notes and a touch of ester fruit character. All three of these beers are available in 500 mL bottles, at $8 apiece.

Joining those three are a trio of debut releases from Delta Force. Operation Sommar is a Dry Stout, putting an end to the trope that stouts can only be enjoyed in Winter (we also suggest anyone who thinks that should maybe reflect on the existence of Tropical Stouts). Be transported to an idyllic place in the Swedish countryside, where you can dance around the Maypole, be showered in flowers, and dress up like a bear (whether you want to or not). Chocolate, roast, but light and lively enough to be refreshing. Operation Saison is even more refreshing, harkening back to the days when Saisons were enjoyed freely by farmhands at the end (or during) a hard day’s work in the fields. Open fermented in a former milk jug, the floral and spicy character shine through, a testament to the malt, hops, and yeast working together in harmony. Both of these beers are also in 500 mL bottles, $5 each. Rounding out the beer offerings is Operation Assay, a Pale Ale fermented with Ebbergarden Kveik yeast. This is DFBC’s first foray into a “year-round elixir”, and they invite you to follow along on their journey.

So, how can you get your mitts on these beers? The best path to success is to send them an email (deltaforcebrewing@gmail.com) with your order request, and delivery address. Orders over $40 include delivery in Halifax, and arrangements may be possible for smaller orders or other areas of the region. Keep an eye on their IG page for more details as they’re released today.

Back to Newfoundland for the latest small batch release from Port Rexton Brewing. Summer vibes continue on the Bonavista peninsula, so plan your trip to PR to Wet Your Whistle. A 3.8% ABV Session NEIPA, it’s hoppy, hazy, and bursting with great citrus character. Light bodied and crushable, it’s perfect as a rehydration helper for the hot days we’ve been having. As it’s a small batch, it’s only available at the taproom in Port Rexton for pints and growler fills (still a few options at their St. John’s Retail Shop, fear not).

Dieppe’s CAVOK Brewing has teamed up with Bertrand’s Oktoberfest des Acadien to release a beer in its honour. With physical distancing requirements making the in-person Oktoberfest an impossibility, CAVOK has stepped up and brewed a beer to allow us all to celebrate the event together, apart. Keeping true to the inspiration from the original Oktoberfest in Munich, L’Oktoberfest des Acadiens is a 4.7% ABV Märzen, an easy-drinking lager with light toast and biscuit notes, and the perfect beer to fill your Maßkrug. Available in cans at the CAVOK brewery and taproom, it will see wide distribution in ANBL stores across the province.

Down the road from Dieppe and across the Confederation Bridge, Charlottetown’s Red Island Cider is launching a new cider for your enjoyment tomorrow. Part of their Ghost Ship series of limited edition beverages, Two Farmers is made with a blend of apples from two of PEI’s apple producers, one in Prince County (the Island’s “West side”), and one in Kings County (the “East side”). Together, the apples combined with yeast to produce a dry yet complex 6.5% ABV cider with a champagne color, and a bright and vinous nose. Additional tasting notes from the cidery include creamy honey, a touch of caramel, and a tannic finish. Sounds lovely to us! Even better, tomorrow’s launch will feature a special on this cider with local oysters from 4 – 7 PM on their limited space, properly socially-distanced patio. If you can’t make it, though, the Ghost Ship series does generally make its way into bottles, so you should be able to grab some to go as well!

Speaking of PEI cider (two PEI cider posts in one week? That’s got to be a record!), Caledonia’s Double Hill Cidery has a new release of their own. IslandSide was made with apples from Arlington Orchards, and was slowly-fermented and cold aged. It’s 5.5% ABV, and is tasting “fresh and crisp, with floral notes”. It’s available in cans right now at Double Hill, and should be available very soon at PEILCC stores (maybe even in time for the weekend!). 

And a couple more short mentions before we leave you to your weekend; we hope it’s a warm, sunny and beery one wherever you are!

Dartmouth’s North Brewing has the latest in their line of sour beers available now. Raspberry Plush features a whole whack of fresh raspberries pressed in-house, resulting in a beautiful bright pink colour and a beer bursting with flavour. At 4.5% ABV, it’s a perfect patio pairing partner (partner!). Grab it online or at their store on Portland Street when you’re there for some Side Hustle side action.

Quidi Vidi Brewing released an American Amber Ale earlier this week, simply-named Amber Ale. Billed as easy-drinking, with light caramel and biscuit-like flavours, as well as a touch of fruit character, it finishes dry with a firm bitterness. Coming in at 5% ABV, it’s available now at the brewery’s Hops Shop for pickup and delivery.

Friday Wrap-Up for July 31, 2020 – News from 2 Crows, Timber Ship, Tidehouse, Lunn’s Mill, Baccalieu Trail, Bogside, Good Robot, Two Islands, Propeller and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2020-07-31
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 902 BrewCast, Apero Lounge, Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Bistro on Prince, BlackRock Restaurant, Bogside Brewing, Briny Bay Cafe, Escarpment Laboratories, Famous Peppers, Feed Nova Scotia, Four Rivers Brewing Co., Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Lunn's Mill Beer Company, Mikes Bar & Grill, New Maritime Beer Company, Niche Brewing, Peppers Pub, Propeller Brewing, Shoreline Malting, The Joyce, Tide & Boar Gastropub, Tidehouse Brewing, Timber Ship Brewing, Two Islands Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Vera Kitchen, Wheelhouse in Georgetown. 1 comment

We hope this week’s post finds you well, as we start the holiday weekend. Plenty of new beers to have delivered to your home this weekend, or if you’re able to venture out safely (masked up!), this is a grand time to visit a few breweries in our region. If you’re so inclined, remember that we’ve got a map listing the breweries and cideries in the region, as well as the craft-centered bars and shops. Check it out here! And remember to keep your designated driver happy at all times, to maximize your imbibing enjoyment. 🙂

Ok, we know for a fact that some of you beer geeks out there have been clamoring for an authentic Mexican Lager to be brewed in Atlantic Canada. Well, here we are smack-dab in the middle of summer (roughly), and 2 Crows has got what we need with their take on a Mexican Lager, Dos Cuervos (vetoed names include Crow-na and Crowdelo). Featuring a low oxygen mash of Pilsner and Chit malt from Shoreline Malting, plus a bit of Vienna and lots of flaked corn, they mash-hopped with Sterling, threw in some more at first wort, and finally went with a late boil addition of Motueka. Fermented nice and cool with a Mexican Lager yeast strain, they actually brewed another half batch and krausened with that one (adding some actively fermenting beer to restart the process and generate carbonation naturally). Finally adding a light dry-hop of more Motueka, they capped the tank, and eventually lowered the temperature slowly, allowing the beer to lager for 8 weeks. The final beer is tasting clean and crisp, with a little lime character thanks to the Motueka. It weighs in at a delightfully sessionable 4% ABV and 17 IBUs; you can find it on tap and in cans at the brewery, starting today.

And good news from 2C in the bakeapple world – they’ve got a brand new batch of Cloud 9 that should be ready in time for the weekend! This 5.2% ABV brew is slightly different from last year’s release, but no doubt equally as delicious. One part light hoppy base beer aged for 18 months in Sauvignon Blanc barrels with a bunch of Brett, Sacch, Lacto and Pedio cultures, another part golden sour base aged for a year in neutral ex-wine barrels, the whole blend was conditioned on the elusive bakeapple (picked by their hardworking friend Paul Smith of Conception Bay South, NL). They’re describing this batch as more wine-like than last year’s, “with smooth apricot and honey notes”. Maybe some of you even held onto a bottle or two from 2019 to compare? If not, it’s still worthwhile grabbing some, of course (try to show a little restraint this time, would ya, and hang onto some?)!

Miramichi’s Timber Ship Brewing did their best to take advantage of the slower sales period during the worst of the pandemic (well, for now, anyway), taking the opportunity to brew a beer style that requires more patience than most of your typical styles. The beer we’re talking about – Looshtauk Helles Lager – is now available on tap around town. Named after a 19th century Tall Ship that carried Irish emigrants to New Brunswick (check out the brewery’s Instagram page for more details on the history of that vessel), the beer was brewed with German-style malts, and hopped with Hallertau Mittelfruh to 18 IBUs. Fermented nice and cool, and lagered for six weeks, it’s 5% ABV and tasting clean and refreshing. You can find it on tap around Miramichi at Vera Kitchen and Bar, Apero Lounge, and possibly still at Mikes Bar and Grill. 

Looks like Tidehouse Brewing is back open for retail sales this week, (Thursday to Saturday) with several brand new beers available in cans for you to take home for the weekend. We may not have extreme details on these ones, but we definitely have enough to whet your thirst:

  • Turtles All the Way Up – Not to be confused with a previous Tidehouse release, Turtles All the Way Down, this is a 6.6% ABV Saison that was heavily-hopped with Saaz late in the boil, and conditioned on lychee.
  • Yankee Hotel Zulu – Billed by the brewery as a “simple and balanced” 6.3% ABV IPA hopped with Chinook.
  • Drive to the Sun –  Not 100% sure on the style of this one, they’re calling it a “5.2% ABV crusher” that they hopped with Tettnang.

In addition, they still have some cans of Two Can Win, a 7.5% ABV “India Saison” hopped with Loral and Saaz. They’re open 2 – 8 PM, head on over to stock up!

There’s a whole whack of news coming from Lunn’s Mill this week, if you’re looking for a Lawrencetown beer et al. fix. Let’s start with the beer portion of their news, shall we? They’ve got two new ones available in cans at the brewery, starting with a Berliner Weisse named Girl, Hold My Earrings. This one was actually originally brewing for the Brewster Fest in April of 2019, to celebrate women in the beer industry. Brewed with fresh rhubarb and raspberries, it’s a pinkish-red colour and comes in at just 4.3% ABV. Next up is Bang A Uey NEIPA, back again after a brief appearance last summer. This juicy 6.8% ABV NEIPA features “great tropical notes of melon and tangerine”, thanks to fermenting hot with Årset Kveik Blend from Escarpment Labs, and the heavy hop additions throughout the brew process (Bravo early in the boil; Mosaic, Huell Melon, and Mandarina Bavaria in the whirlpool; and dry-hopped with the same trio before packaging). Lovingly named after the driving technique oft-used outside of the brewery due to it being missed by visitors the first time popping in, they tell us proceeds will be going into their “sign fund”. Both beers are also available on tap for pints at the brewery, and we’re hearing reports of them both being available in HRM. In addition to these two beers, Lunn’s Mill has also created their own entry in the growing trend of hop-infused water with Hoppy Water, a non-alcoholic beverage made of carbonated water infused with freshly-squeezed lemon and Mosaic hops. Gluten-free, cans of this one are also available, if you’d like to round out your beer purchase (perfect for your fabulous Designated Driver to sip!).

If you happen to be traveling around Newfoundland this weekend, keep your eyes open for Baccalieu Trail Brewing on the Conception Bay Highway, as they’ve just released their first Double IPA, Loud Crowd. Brewed with late boil additions of Centennial and Chinook, and then dry-hopped with massive amounts of Citra and Mosaic, it’s big on bitterness, as well as juiciness, with “some floral and piney notes” to complement. Available in 500 mL bottles and on tap at the brewery, it’s on the lower end of the scale for a DIPA at 7.5% ABV, but should still be consumed responsibly!⁣

Or maybe you’re driving around beautiful PEI, and plan on traveling through Montague to check out the two craft breweries located there? If so, Bogside Brewing has cans and pints of their latest, Open Saison. With a grist made up of a large percentage of malted wheat, the wort was fermented with a Belgian Saison strain. Dry-hopped with Hersbrucker, expect the classic floral/fruity Saison characteristics, along with “some subtle herbal/orange aromas from the dry-hop”. Slightly tart, with a very dry finish (yet significant body, surprisingly), it’s quite drinkable at just 5% ABV. You can make a trip for the whole family out of it, thanks to the two food providers slinging great food onsite: Famous Peppers has moved from down the street to set up their pizza oven and provide some banging pies, and Thatcher’s Eatery, run by the folks at the Wheelhouse in Georgetown, with killer fried chicken sandwiches and lobster rolls. Open daily from noon, pop by this weekend for a pint and a scoff!

And speaking of Bogside, they were visited recently by both acbbaaron and acbbchris, but before that (possibly even before it was cool) by the motley crew of miscreants known as the 902 BrewCast, who sat down with Bogside’s Dave McGuire and Mark Patriquin for a chat during their (Prince Edward) Island getaway. Listen to it here at their podcast homesite or find it on your favorite podcast platform listed as Episode 82. And look for Episode 83 to drop in the next week or two; we believe they’ve still got some more PEI fun on tap/in the can.

If West Coast IPAs are more your thang, good news from Good Robot – they’ve brought back their Blanket Fort IPA, a classic West Coast IPA that they originally released on tap several months ago. Remember Blanket Fort? Well, it’s back… in can form*. That’s right, they’ve brewed up a fresh batch, with lots of Falconer’s Flight, Cascade, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria hops, and they canned it just so you can enjoy it at home. Wasn’t that sweet (hoppy?) of them? This 6.9% ABV brew has “an erratic mix of bright citrus and West Coast dank”, with some malt backbone to balance (thanks to a grist of Pale Ale, Vienna, and Cara 120 malt). Cans are, of course, available directly at the source… you know, the brewery.

*If you have to click on this, shame.

Parrsboro’s Two Islands Brewing has a new beer on tap this week, calling you to make the visit to their lovely location. Named simply Blueberry Weisse Ale, this 5.3% ABV beer showcases a whole lot of locally-grown and -processed blueberries, on top of a classic wheat beer base. Rich in colour and flavour, it joins a handful of other beers available on tap and in cans at their 169 Main Street location, with the sister Rising Tides Bakery right next door. The brewery is open Friday and Saturday, 1 – 9 PM, and Sunday and Monday, 1 – 6 PM. Look for the beer on tap at Bistro on Prince in Truro, Briny Bay Cafe in Five Islands, and BlackRock Restaurant in Parrsboro.

Halifax’s Propeller Brewing has a new one out, but just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s not old too! Spooky Saison has been in development for a year now (who do they think they are? 2 Crows? Stillwell Brewing?!) but it’s finally ready to meet you. Soured in the kettle before being fermented on apricots using a blend of Saison and Brettanomyces yeasts, it was then aged in white wine barrels for a full 12 months before packaging. Sour and funky, there’s also plenty of oak presence from the barrels, spicy yeast notes, a stone fruit presence from the apricots, and some white wine character. Despite this complexity and a 6.8% ABV, it still sounds to us like a lovely tipple for a hot summer’s day! And since those kinds of days seem to be in good supply lately, it should provide plenty of opportunity to put that theory to the test. Available today in 750 mL bottles from all three Prop shops as well as for home delivery.

Have you heard? Pilsners are all the rage in the Atlantic Canada beer scene this year after years of being somewhat of an underappreciated style in these parts. On a grander scale, our region is a little ahead of the game in that regard, which is why you may not have actually “heard” anything, but you definitely may have noticed a bunch of crisp and refreshing lagers on the shelves at your favorite brewery or other source of local independent beer. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying them too; we truly believe the overall quality has been stellar! The latest brewery to bring out a Pils is Uncle Leo’s up in Lyon’s Brook, NS. Now if you know Uncle Leo’s you no doubt know that one of their great strengths is traditional German ales like their award-winning Vohs Weizenbier and Altbier and their Ceilidh Kölsch. So you might expect their first entry into the Pilsner market to be in the German style. Well you’d be wrong about that, as they’ve decided to start with a Bohemian Pilsner they’re calling, aptly, Czech Mate. Very traditional, featuring Saaz hops and coming in at 5% ABV, you’ll find it at the brewery now in cans for takeaway or growler swaps or for home delivery via their online store!

Up in Bathurst, Four Rivers Brewing has debuted a new beer, perfect for those hitting the links, or maybe fibbing their score after the fact… Mulligan is a 5.0% ABV Golden Ale, clean, crisp,with a nice malt character and medium mouthfeel. Look for it on tap at the golf course, naturally, and of course at the brewery for pints and growler fills. If you pop into the latter, you’ll be rewarded with the opportunity to pick up their two newly released barrel-aged beers, as there are a few bottles still available (but they won’t last long!). Their first foray into barrel aging, they opted for a stout beer as the base, and chose two very different approaches to the barrels. La Grande Hermine is the stout aged in a Shiraz barrel, allowing the bold character from the wine to give the stout bold grape and lightly tannic character. Eau de Vie saw the stout aged in a Cognac barrel, with notes of vanilla and spirits enhancing the base beer. We suggest picking up a couple of bottles of each and sharing amongst your bubble! 

Miramichi’s New Maritime Beer Company has a couple of new beers pouring in their taproom this weekend, which will also be alive with music and comedy this weekend. First, the beers! Beaubears Chocolate Brown is named after nearby Beaubears Island, and features pleasant chocolate notes enhancing the base Brown Ale. New Maritime was also part of Isolation Nation, a nationwide effort by BSG Canada, Rahr Malting, and Hops Connect, to brew a beer to help out during these difficult times. Using Canadian-grown 2-row and Sasquatch hops, this 5.0% ABV SMaSH will be popping up at a few more breweries in our region over the next little bit, too. The New Maritime taproom will be hopping all weekend long, with DJ L’Arkadien spinning live on the patio tonight 5 – 9 PM, an acoustic set by Dillon Ryan tomorrow 6- 9 PM, and a double-header comedy show Sunday evening at 7 PM with Jimmy MacKinley and Matt Richardson (tickets needed for that one). And we’ve got a Profile with New Maritime coming next week, after our visit earlier this week, so stay tuned to learn more about them!

With COVID-19 ruining all the things, we are sad to report that Halifax’s Unfiltered Brewing will not be holding their annual birthday party at Charm School Pub this year. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not going to celebrate. And because they love us (or at least some of us), part of that celebration is giving us a break on beer this weekend. Tomorrow at the brewery you’ll find $1 off cans, $2 off snarls, and $4 off growlers (glassware is trade-in of Unfiltered-branded jugs only), and they’ve got a full slate of beers on offer including the return of their Mosaic-laden RSMA (Ridiculously Superior Mosaic Ale because to hell with the Provincial liquor “authority” and their stealth taxes). Smooth, tropical, and 7.5% ABV, same as it ever was, which is a good thing.

A few more beers to get you excited for the weekend (is it 5 o’clock yet??)

For those who’ve been missing their fix from Hanwell, NB’s Niche Brewing, the beers are definitely starting to flow again. Up this week is the return of In Limbo, their light and refreshing 3.8% ABV mixed-ferm Grisette. An excellent showcase of their house culture and a wonderful beer to crush in the sun. Find it in Fredericton at The Joyce, in Saint John at Peppers pub, and in Moncton at the Tide & Boar.

Charlottetown’s Upstreet Brewing is celebrating Pride PEI with an in-person and online Trivia going down this evening. Kicking off at 7 PM, you can play along online, or reserve your table and move your bubble onto their extended patio. Check out the FB page for more info,and here’s the direct link to reserve a spot. We highly recommend making the trip in, that way you can enjoy the Rainbrew Strawberry Lavender Farmhouse Saison, coloured with the vibrant butterfly pea flower, or the latest batch of their Commons Pilsner, tasting great if we do say so ourselves!

And finally this week, back in Halifax, Garrison Brewing has brought back the modern version of one of their longest-running brews, Razzberry Wheat. Still 4.6% ABV and 12 IBU, still refreshing, and still tasting of raspberries, it’s on tap at Seaport and Oxford Taprooms, in cans, and as part of their “Summer Fun Pack” of four beers (only at their retail locations). And in other Garrison news, sales of their Stay the Blazes Home beer and glassware have managed to raise $28,158 for Feed Nova Scotia!!