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Friday Wrap-Up for April 26, 2024, The Final One – News from Around Atlantic Canada

Posted by acbbaaron on 2024-04-26
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Baccalieu Trail Brewing, Banished Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Breton Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, Foghorn Brewing, Godspeed Brewery, Landwash Brewery, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Tanner & Co Brewing, Tatamagouche Brewing, The Stillwell Freehouse, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

We’ve known you all of our lives, at least that’s how it seems… Since Canadian Beer News had their last post in December, the fellows here at ACBeerBlog have been hemming and hawing around how much longer we can do these Friday Wrap-ups. With so many breweries in the region and ourselves with kids, family, and life, we needed four people to keep this going the last few years and recently we’ve gone back down to three. We all love beer (still!) and we all love the friends, memories, trips, and community we’ve found thanks to beer across Atlantic Canada and beyond. From reading this blog, to writing for this blog, our families probably still have no idea what we’re talking about, but we are grateful for our readership and the ability to be part of this community.

Our thanks to everyone who helped us in one way or another over the last decade. Greg Delaney for starting this mess, Shawn Meek for his years of writing (even when he had a day job and a brewery side hustle), and Devon Gillis for his couple of years of contributions. All of the brewery staff who we bugged over the years for “the nerdy info”, often at inopportune times, and especially those who probably didn’t have “marketing and communications” in their job description. But especially the readers, of course; although we honestly have no idea how many people actually were reading, we had to assume there were at least a few, and that’s why we kept doing it.

What will we do now, at least on Thursday nights and Friday mornings? Probably a lot less typing. And frantically scanning social media. And complaining about how many beers 2 Crows released that week (Happy Birthday Jeremy, you made us quit! 😘). And telling Chris to, “stop looking now, we’ve got enough dammit!” The blog site isn’t going away, but you’ll probably find it gets a bit of an overhaul in the coming weeks. At the very least we’d like it to remain a record and a resource for folks going forward. We’ve also talked a bit about writing some of the pieces we never found the time to write; things about the industry, trends, opinions, brewery profiles (‘member those?!), etc. We make no commitments whatsoever, though, of course. Our social media accounts will remain, at least Instagram anyway, so if you’re looking for us, that’s probably the best way to go. Now, on to the news!

When Tatamagouche Brewing takes on a style they haven’t done before you can generally rest assured that they’re going to do it well, and we have every reason to suspect that such will be the case with their latest foray into Continental beer styles with Altbier. A classic German style, “alt” in fact translates to “old” as in, “this is the beer we used to make (before we started making lager).” Consistent with the style, you should find Tata’s version to have plenty of malty character, with biscuit and graham cracker leading the way thanks to generous use of German malts, balanced with enough hop bitterness and character from local Styrian Goldings hops to keep it from being cloying. Cold-conditioned to ensure a crisp finish, this 4.9% mahogany beauty is available in cans and will no doubt make an appearance on tap at better beer bars. Couple that with a “fresh” release of their Solitude Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, and you’ve got a full meal of Tata to enjoy this weekend!

Copper Bottom Brewing, hailing from Montague, PEI, also has a beer this week based on a traditional style that will hopefully usher in the warmer weather. Pursuit is a 4.0% Kolsch, a style that hails from Cologne Germany, and is the basis for many “Lagered Ales”. In a time that the concept of lagering and bottom-fermenting yeast was taking hold in the country’s breweries, those in Cologne were made to swear an oath to stick with the traditional ale yeast, which is top-fermenting. To compete with the crisp and clean lager beers available, however, the resourceful breweries would ferment with ale yeast, but then lager, or “keep”, the beer to keep the fruity ale character in check. Much like in 17th Century Cologne, Copper Bottom’s is also supremely drinkable, light, refreshing, and crisp. The Hallertau Mittelfruh and Saaz hops lend a touch of Old World character to the clean base of Pilsner and Vienna malts. On draught and in cans at the brewery now, and making its way across the province this weekend!

Straight outta Rothesay, Foghorn has a brand new release to satisfy your need for a summertime thirst quenching hazy IPA. Sundog is a New England-style IPA that brings all the hazy and tropical vibes you want for the summer. The malt bill for this is a blend of 2 row and Pilsner along with some oats for a smooth and beefed up body. The hops are a mix of Citra, Eclipse and HBC 1019 and the New England Ale yeast brings it all together. The beer will be available in 473ml cans on the shelves at ANBL for the next few months but they already have plans to brew it again as spring turns to summer. It’s 6% and 20 IBU, so look for it if you’re in New Brunswick for the summer!

Terp alert! With April 20th in the not so distant past, Landwash has a new dank beer called Best Buds. That could describe your blog boys, too 🙂 This beer is a very dank west coast IPA with some earthy and pine notes from CTZ, Cascade and Bru-1 hops. This beer features an addition of Pineapple Express terpenes which have a tropical, pungent, pine and fruit aroma. There are no THC or CBD products in this beer, but the flavour and aroma should be right on point! The beer is 6% and available in cans from the brewery. 

In Charlottetown, PEI, Upstreet Brewing has a new beer from their Staff Brew series of beers that are conceived by members of their staff. This time it’s Ace who’s responsible, a friendly face at both the taproom and Craft Beer Corner. Described as, “jam in a can,” the simply named Raspberry Beer is a 5.0% light pale ale dosed with raspberries for an ideal sunny summer afternoon tipple. Find this one pouring at both Upstreet Island locations and also available in cans to go.

Bannerman Brewing, of Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s has a brand new dark beer with a twist for us this week. Nine Lives is a porter that was brewed with the cats of the Bannerman staff. (Those of us who have cats know that their contribution was probably watching in disinterest and occasionally knocking something off something else) Starting with oats for mouthfeel and chocolate malts for roastiness on top of a traditional barley malt base, this one saw some aging time on blueberry and dark currant purées that contributed notes of dark fruit and berries to complement the chocolate and biscuit malty notes. Find this 4.8% gem in cans and on tap for pints and fills at the brewery and taproom.

Across Conception Bay from St. John’s we find Bay Roberts and Baccalieu Trail Brewing Co, who have a new malty one of their own to mention. Clock Tower Munich Dunkel is, well, a Munich dunkel. For those unfamiliar, it’s a dark lager style, built on a base of largely Munich malt, lightly hopped, and generally fermented cool with a Saccharomyces pastorianus strain of yeast. In this case the team at BT added a single decoction mash to bring a little extra magic to the proceedings. Named for the clocktower bells to which historic brewers would sync their mash times, this one provides the yin to the yang of Baccalieu Trail’s lighter Helles or High Water Munich helles. At 5% you’ll find there’s plenty of opportunity to consider the malty flavors, low bitterness, and crisp finish. Grab it in cans from the brewery and, we expect, anywhere else you find Baccalieu Trail beers.

North Sydney’s Breton Brewing is back with another fruited sour beer in their Let’s Jam series. Let’s Jam Cherry Lime Sour is… well… a 4.0% sour that pours a lovely pink hue, and is bursting with flavours of cherry and lime. Tart, light, and refreshing, cans and draught of LJCLS are in the taproom now, with home delivery an shipping province-wide from their website.

If you’re out and about in Halifax’s North End tomorrow, you will definitely want to pop in to the Stillwell Freehouse to check out their tap feature from Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery. This excellent Japanese- and Czech-inspired brewery rarely makes it this far east, so you should take advantage when the opportunity presents itself! Open from noon, there will be seven Godspeed beers pouring, including the debut of their Kiri, a 5.1% Belgian Witbier. 

After recently opening ticket sales for the Newfoundland Craft Beer Festival, Banished Brewing has also announced that they will be hosting Banished Fest in July. On July 12th and 13th, the taps will be featuring breweries from across North America on the go, with beers from Badlands, Dunham, Lone Oak, 2 Crows, Trailway, Stillwell, Other Half, and half a dozen more. Each brewery will have a dedicated tap or two during the event, and as one keg kicks, it will be replaced by another beer from the same brewery, and will be rotated between sessions, so that there will be a new roster each time. Those in the Golden Growler club will have the opportunity to fill up on any leftover beer at the end of the weekend (should there be any!). Tickets for the three sessions are now available, grab them quickly before they disappear!

Though they’re still probably best known for their hoppy stuff, Trailway Brewing in Fredericton has very much diversified their offering in the last few years and their Czech Pilsner Yada Yada has been a big part of that. Those who love it can rejoice as it’s back in the fridges and back on the taps, with biscuit-y malt, lively carbonation, and a balancing bitterness in a 5.0% ABV package.

Big Spruce has three…Three…THREE beers returning for your enjoyment this week. Canadian Tuxedo is their 6% haskap berry-infused sour ale, this time with some additional funk from some swimming time with Brettanomyces. Blursday is a favorite hazy IPA of many, coming in at 6.6% and bursting with mango, papaya, and lychee. Wrapping things up is What Could Possibly Go Wrong, an organic double IPA at 8% based around the relatively new Nectaron hop known for imparting passion fruit, stone fruit, and pineapple characters. These are all available in cans from the source and elsewhere you get your Spruce fix.

On Nova Scotia’s South Shore, Tanner & Co. Brewing is re-releasing their Kuitbier, a traditional Dutch style of beer from the 16th century. Made with oats, wheat, and barley, much of it local, it’s got a smooth malt character paired with subtle herbal notes. Canned and ready to go from Tanner retail, it’s 4.7% ABV.

A business lasting fifty years is something to be celebrated, and Port Rexton is doing just that with their release this week. Their 5.0% Golden Ale, released seasonally, is sporting a new label designed by the folks at St. Michael’s Printshop, an artist-first print studio in St. John’s, celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. Their facilities include studio and exhibition spaces, printing and lithography services, for both established and emerging artists. Support two local businesses that support their community, with one tasty beer! Available now in Port Rexton and at their St. John’s Retail Shop, with cans and draught further afield real soon!

Thanks for reading this far, and for following along over the last twelve years of near-weekly posts! Remember, this isn’t goodbye, it’s, “We have confidence you can find a great locally-made beer near you, now go out and grab it!”. We’ll still be coming to your inbox, and the blog site, with brewery Profiles and other news on occasion, so “See You Later” until then! Aaron, Chris, and Damian

Saturday Wrap-Up for April 20, 2024 – News from Trailway, Village Green, Tusket, Tanner, Big Spruce, Propeller, Garrison, Lone Oak, and Boxing Rock

Posted by acbbdamian on 2024-04-20
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Lone Oak Brewing, Propeller Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing, Village Green by Modern Brewer. Leave a Comment

Look at us posting late again. Is it because we were out enjoying all of the lovely beers the region has to offer us? Sadly, no, once again real life intervened. After a lovely week of weather (in Halifax, anyway) looks like we’ll be blessed with yet another rainy spring weekend, as is traditional. So rather than enjoying a cold one or two in the sun while you finish that yard cleanup, maybe you’ll be sipping a couple while you organize your linen closet and wash your walls instead. So it goes. The good news is, there’s plenty of new beers for you to seek out and try this week, so without further ado, let’s tell you about them! Stay tuned to this spot next Friday for some big news from us on the future of the AC Beer Blog.

Big week for Fredericton’s Trailway Brewing, as they release a trio of new beers entering the second half of April. First is the latest in their line of fruit smoothie beers known as The Blend. This week sees The Blend: Mango, Strawberry & Banana hitting the taps and shelves. Each can is absolutely overflowing with more than 200 grams of fruit, pours a thick bright pink colour, and provides all of the vitamins and fibre needed as part of your complete dinner (or breakfast or lunch!). Cans and draught are available at both their homebase and Saint John locations.

Also new on tap and in cans is the bigger sister to the popular Ooz Double IPA… Oozier is the double-dry hopped version, which still clocks in at 8.0% ABV, but has even more hops added after the fact. Look for even more tropical fruit flavors and aromas in the form of mango and peach, coconut and even vanilla! On tap and in cans now. And if you act quickly, you can take advantage of $10 shipping for a 12- or 24-can box, within New Brunswick, as well as Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario. Score! Sorry, The Blend is not shippable due to the fact that it should be kept cold at all times, and neither is the new small batch brew available at the Union House in Saint John, Pilot Project #3, a NEIPA brewed with Cashmere hops. Lucky folks in uptown SJ!

Cornwall, PEI’s Village Green has a pair of new options on draught this week. Released on the weekend was Aussie Haze, a 6.0% Hazy IPA, featuring Australian-grown Ella and Topaz hops (along with a handful or three of Citra). Dank, resinous, and bitter, this IPA has a bit of bite to go with the aromatics and flavour in the glass. And joining it is a return to when things were Fine… This 5.7% Red Ale is a fine alternative to the hoppier side of life, with crystal and chocolate malts reminding us that the grain bill is fiercely important too! On tap, and in cans, so pop out this weekend to get more of the good stuff!

In Tusket Falls, on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, the eponymously named Tusket Falls Brewing is releasing a lager this week. This should not be surprising to anyone who’s been following the brewery as, after hitting the market with a fairly traditional lineup, then expanding their portfolio with a plethora of sours and IPAs (and sour IPAs, natch!), in the last year or so they’ve now doubled down on lager production as well. This latest release is a 4% ABV light German lager, crisp and light, built on a base of crackery Weyerman Pilsner malt and hopped with traditional Tettnanger. Dubbed Industry this one sounds about perfect for your après spring yard cleanup or just a tall cool one after a long work day. Packaged in cans, we reckon you’ll find it both at the home base and at their tap room in Halifax.

Speaking of lagers brewed by South Shore NS breweries starting with the letter ‘t’, up next is a New Zealand Pilsner from Tanner & Co. Brewing in Chester Basin. As is de rigueur for the style, this one comes out with a rich golden color, with a clean malt profile thanks to a grist of local malts, and a hop bill that stresses the wonderful white wine-esque flavors that New Zealand hops are known for. In this case, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin provide notes of lime, gooseberry, and pineapple to balance the malt. Coming in at 5.5% ABV, this one is packaged in cans and is no doubt available both at the brewery and Tanner’s tap room location in Chester proper.

Up in Nyanza, on Cape Breton Island, Big Spruce Brewing is doing that collaboration thing they do so often (and so well), this time pairing up with a pair of local musicians, Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen, to produce Made to be Played, a session IPA. Featuring newfangled experimental hop variety HBC 1019 (the name fairly rolls off the tongue), it boasts light and lively flavors of mango, fuzzy peach, and citrus zest. And at only 4.5% ABV you can safely enjoy a couple while you enjoy some local tunes. Find it in cans direct from the source.

Available new this weekend from Propeller is Prickly Pear Lagered Ale. At 4.8%, the light ale is a perfect blank palette upon which the prickly pear cactus fruit can bring its tart character, fruity ester profile, with a beautiful pink hue. Available on draught at their Prop taps in Dartmouth, Halifax, and Bedford, and in cans there, and soon at the private and government stores too.

Dartmouth’s Burnside Brewing is also releasing a brand new exotic fruit-laden beer this week, in their case melding the musky aromas and sticky sweet tropical notes of pink guava with the stone fruit and citrus tones of New Zealand Wai-iti and Rakau hops for a fruited NEIPA. Athena is hazy and bright, with a firm bitterness of 40 IBU to counter the fruity sweetness and weighs in at a solid 6%. Dosed with pink guava purée for a legitimate blast of fruit, you can certainly expect some tropical punch vibes from this one as you dream of warmer weather. Available now at all Burnside locations, and coming to all the private stores in the HRM in the coming weeks.

Wouldn’t you know it, there’s a third HRM brewery melding fruit and beer this week as Garrison comes at us with Mango Dragonfruit Sour once again. A stalwart summer brew over the last few years, as always it brings real mango and dragonfruit to a sour base built off a grist of Pilsner and wheat malts. At 5% ABV, it’s not going to rock your world with booze, but it might with fruit flavor and a tang. Boasting a rich red-purple color, it’s intended to taste like summer in a can. Look for it in cans at Garrison locations and the private stores in the HRM, and soon at the NSLC, ANBL in New Brunswick and NLLC in Newfoundland as well.

A quick hit from Lone Oak Brewing, who have released Lush West Coast IPA, just in time for 4/20. The first, but probably not the last, of their beers brewed with TERPS, a new strains of yeast from Escarpment Labs, developed to enhance stone fruit and citrus terpenes in the resultant beer. More from Escarpment on the yeast here.

We’re ending the week back on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, where Boxing Rock makes their home. Once fiercely against cans for several reasons, they surprised everyone (or no one) by introducing cans to their portfolio four years ago (coincidentally on April 1st…). Well, they have announced that they are packaging their latest made-for-aging release in the last of the bottles they had remaining in the brewery, so this is your chance to purchase a little bit of history! Clock Work Imperial Stout is big and bold at 10% ABV, featuring rich roast and chocolate notes, and is available in both 355mL and 650mL bottles at both the Shelburne Taproom, as well as their Windsor Street location in Halifax. Keep those eyes peeled for a barrel-aged version to be released at Christmas!

Boxing Rock Shelburne and Halifax also have fresh cans of their Brass Monkey Cold IPA, the winner of their “Legendary Empty Tank” beer competition held in January. This was an “everything but the beer” contest, in that entrants shared their beer recipe, and opined on the beer and its place in the BR line-up, but no actual beers were brewed or tasted. Brad Smith’s winning beer is 6.7% ABV, and can be purchased this weekend!

Thursday Wrap-Up for March 28, 2024 – News from Trailway, Garrison, Ateepic, Tanner & Co, Gahan Nova Centre, Gahan Atlantic Home Brew Challenge, Big Spruce, Arcade, and more!

Posted by acbbdamian on 2024-03-28
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Arcade Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bishop's Cellar, Gahan Atlantic Home Brew Challenge, Gahan House (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Microbrasserie Ateepic, Sonnen Hill, Tanner & Co Brewing, TrailWay Brewing. Leave a Comment

Happy Thursday y’all! Thursday?? Yup! We figured we’d give ourselves a break from all of the beer writing tonight/tomorrow morning, so that we can enjoy a little break. While many breweries and your favourite taprooms and bars will be closed for Good Friday and/or Easter Sunday, it’s best to check their social media for the details on their opening days/hours if you are in need of an emergency four-pack or respite from the family. Plenty of new releases to tempt you today, so let’s jump right in!

Fredericton’s hop heads Trailway Brewing are back with another play on their flagship Hu Jon Hops, this time catering to those who like it hot… Hu Jon Heat! Keeping the hop schedule of the HJH that is beloved across the region, habanero and mango were added to give a solid infusion of capsaicin, pepper flavour, as well as a fruit sweetness to round out the beer. At 6.6% ABV, we figure this will go well with your asian-inspired dishes as well as on its own. On draught and in cans at Trailway now, with distribution coming soon!

In Halifax, Garrison Brewing is reminding all of us to Hold Fast in these wild and crazy times. This 5.5% pale ale features a straight-ahead malt bill of pale malt augmented by a portion of wheat, and was hopped in the kettle, and again post-fermentation, with Bravo, Chinook, and Lemondrop. Hazy-gold in appearance, you’ll find citrus on both the nose and palate in this medium-bodied and lightly bitter beer. It is available on tap and in cans at both their Seaport and Oxford Taproom locations, with 473ml cans also coming to the NSLC, Bishop’s Cellar, and the other private stores in HRM.

In Edmondston, NB, Microbrasserie Ateepic is celebrating sugar season with a new release this week. Camp Malin is a Maple Scotch Ale, featuring plenty of locally-sourced ingredients. The traditional grain bill was enhanced by some malt that was smoked in-house, and the beer was aged on maple chips charred on their grill. Both maple syrup from Sucrerie du Petit Camp as well as SylvAcer whiskey-infused maple syrup were added to the beer for a one-two punch of the sweet stuff. It is available at their golf course taproom on draught to enjoy onsite and in growlers, with a limited run of cans coming soon as well!

Chester Basin’s Tanner & Co Brewing has a new beer on tap and in cans this weekend, just in time for their Saturday HRM deliveries (hint, hint!). Brux IPA uses a yeast, known as Sacch Troi, that was previously thought to be Brettanomyces, due to its ability to form a pellicle and it’s significant fruity ester production (sorry, our nerd is showing). Kicking up the fruit factor another notch are Mosaic, Motueka, and Chinook. At 6.5%, this is a refreshing and easy-drinking IPA, and alo features locally grown and malted grains!

Despite the release date, we must assure you the following is not a joke!
One keg, one day only: Gahan House Nova Centre Head Brewer Ryan has thrown the Reinheitsgebot rules into the Halifax harbour, and is releasing Hot Dog Lager. Brewed well before any convenience store announced some sparkling water bullshit, this Pale Lager was brewed using hot dog water, and mashed with hot dog buns. Obviously not vegan-friendly, this 5.5% beer will only be on tap Monday, April 1st, and we imagine will go well with a burger or the chorizo penne. Sorry, no cans of this extremely limited brew, but you may be able to convince the staff to fill a growler of this glizzy beer!
Seriously, we promise that was not a joke!

Speaking of Gahan, their Atlantic Home Brew Challenge wrapped up last weekend, with judges from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia having the hard (ya right!) job of picking the best beers submitted in the (BHCP style 11B) Best Bitter and (BJCP Style 30A) Spice, Herb, and Vegetable categories. After the dust settled, Dave Gamble took top spot with his “Bitter Afterthought”, and Greg Rogers won the SHV title with his “Triple Beats”, a Belgian Tripel with Beets. Rogers’ beer was also the overall winner, which means he will be brewing up this beer at the Hub City Gahan location later this year, for a limited release. Congratulations to all of the entrants and winners, and big thanks to Gahan Beer for continuing to hold the competition and inspiring the brewers of tomorrow! More details are available here.

As we enter spring, we are seeing the return of some perennial favourites, including Big Spruce’s Cerberus IPA. Originally crafted as a three-heading conspiracy between NS Organic breweries, this year’s release is all Big Spruce, all the time! As in previous years, however, this is a one-shot deal, so you’ll be best served to grab this 7.5% ode to Galaxy, Mosaic, and Simcoe as soon as possible. Pouring at the brewery and a couple of better beer bars around the HRM today, cans will be coming next weekend to your favourite retailers.

Arcade Brewing in Burnside has been brewing up a storm recently, and have just introduced cans to their lineup. While enjoying a hand pulled pint of their real ale at their 80 Thornhill Drive location is always great, especially enjoyed while banging the flippers in their pinball room, you can now take cans of their Arcade Ale (4.1% British-style Pub Ale) and Peculier Ale (5.2% North Yorkshire-style Dark Ale) home to drink later.

Finishing off today is a heads up that Bishop’s Cellar has a quartet of new beers from Caledon, Ontario’s, Sonnen Hill. With generations of brewing experience, they take things slow and steady. On Bishop’s shelves tomorrow are the Heart Lake Pils, Frank Lager Franconian Lager, and two spontaneously-fermented offerings: No Worry and Riesling Beer.