TrailWay Brewing

All posts tagged TrailWay Brewing

Friday Wrap-Up for May 15, 2020 – News from Grand Falls Brewing, Ol’ Biddy’s Brew House, Propeller Brewing, Bannerman, Tire Shack, Post Rexton, and plenty more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2020-05-15
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 902 BrewCast, Annapolis Brewing Company, Backstage Brewing, Bannerman Brewing, Big Spruce Brewing, Bogside Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Grand Falls Brewing, Ol' Biddy's Brew House, Port Rexton Brewing Co., Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Tire Shack Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing. Leave a Comment

This has been a week of transitions in Atlantic Canada, with plenty of good news across the four provinces… We marked the opening of two breweries, New Brunswick has loosened restrictions allowing taprooms and restaurants to open for sit-down service (No Touching!), Newfoundland breweries are now allowed to do deliveries of their products (only 6 weeks after the rest of the Atlantic Provinces!), Nova Scotia has allowed taprooms to be open seven days a week now (pickup and delivery options have changed for some), and most importantly, Prince Edward Island hasn’t sunk into the ocean. Happy Victoria Day weekend! Plenty of details below, and in our Delivery/curbside pickup options page. As always, two months on, if we’ve missed something important there, or just want to chat, get in touch via email or social media (Ig and Tw preferred). Take care of yourselves! ?

The first brewery to open in AtlCan this week was Grand Falls Brewing Company, in Northwest New Brunswick. Operating a 1200 litre brewhouse at 651 Main Street, they are currently open for retail sales of cans, 2 – 8 PM Monday through Saturday. For all of the juicy details on their four three offerings (Hop Dam IPA is sold out, thanks to their thirsty local fans!), check out our Profile of them from earlier this week. Their 175 seat taproom will be opening in the coming days/weeks, once the final touches are complete, and physical distancing protocols can be maintained. Keep an eye out here or on their FB and IG pages. Congratulations!

The other brewery opening this week could perhaps be better described as a re-opening of a re-imagined brewery, in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. First opened in owner Keith Forbes’ basement in 2017, Ol’ Biddy’s Brew House was definitively a nano-scale brewery, selling beer a few kegs at a time to licensees in that area. The OG OB himself was juggling a full-time job outside of brewing, and shuttered the brewery mid-2018. Now back full-time, and with business partner Chris Balcom as GM, OBB is opening tomorrow at 111 Cobequid Road. Their hours this weekend will be 12 – 8 PM Saturday and 12 – 6 PM Sunday & Monday. While the taproom is closed due to the pandemic, cans of their eight launch beers will be available to grab and go. Look for our Profile with Fobes and Balcom coming later today.

The great news keeps coming this week, with Propeller Brewing launching a new beer, opening a new location, and switching to seven-days-a-week delivery! Let’s start with the beer….
A fun melding of two tastes are coming together in their Earl Grey Pale Ale. Using Idaho 7 and Citra hops which complement the Earl Grey tea leaves in the beer, and a first on the blog, we think, with the use of Cookie Malt, for a “tea and biscuits” flavour profile. Black tea, bergamot orange, citrus, and floral, perfect for an afternoon break from whatever you’re doing. Cans of the 5.5% ABV beer are available at the Prop Shops, or for home delivery. Pinkies up!
The next big news from Propeller is that their location at The Keep Condominiums [condominia?] (6112 Quinpool Road) will be opening this Sunday, May 17th. While the taproom will remain closed until it is safe to do so, the Propeller Quinpool retail space of cans and bottles will be open for no-contact and safe distancing sales from 12 – 8 PM, seven days a week. This is the site of their 300 litre pilot system, which will be used to test the waters of some cool experimental and one-off brews, mostly for sale onsite in pints and growlers, so the first releases of those will come when it is safe to do so.
And with the NSLC requirements of Sunday closure lifted, Propeller’s three locations will be on the same 12 – 8 PM schedule, and they are expanding their delivery to every day as well. Orders placed online before 3 PM will see same-day delivery to much of HRM, with orders to Bedford, the Sackvilles, and Eastern Passage on a Tues, Thurs, Sat schedule. So plenty of time to submit an order for the Earl Grey Pale Ale, any of their hazy hoppy offerings like Galaxy and Sabro, as well as take advantage of this weekend’s deal of Commons, where you can enjoy $10 off a flat of 24. 

Newfoundland’s Bannerman Brewing just celebrated their first birthday, so happy birthday to them! Of course you can’t have any type of celebration in the beer world without launching a new beer (or if you do, you’re basically dead to us), so Bannerman has kindly given us Youthful Daze, a sour IPA. Brewed with Pilsner malt and flaked oats, it was kettle soured and then hopped with heavy amounts of Sabro, Citra, and Galaxy. They also added a small amount of lactose to the boil to make the beer “more cocktail-like”, and with flavours of “citrus, tropical fruit, and coconut”, it sounds like they may have succeeded. This 6.5% ABV tart and hoppy wonder is available right now, so do what you can to get your hands on some (we recommend checking out their online store). 

We enjoy getting news from Moncton’s Tire Shack Brewing, as it’s quite often more than one or two new beers that they have hitting taps… and this week is no exception! We’ve got four new beers to report on, all of which will be available from the brewery as of today. It’s easier and neater to separate them so no one gets confused:
Love at Midnight (7% ABV) – a “Pina Colada IPA” featuring additions of pineapple and coconut, to add tropical notes to those already present from the hop additions.
Hip Hop Series Vol. 2 Citra (8% ABV) – the second entry in their Hip Hop series of DIPAs, Volume 2 features all Citra hops (oh come on, you know you still love them) used both in the kettle and dry-hop, so except lots of juicy and dank flavours.
Pump Up the Jam (7% ABV) – a kettle sour dry-hopped with Idaho 7, it sports a “nice, citrusy bitterness on top of a smooth sour taste”.
Pump Up the Jam: Pink Guava Sour (7% ABV) – another kettle sour (obviously), this one had an addition of pink guava purée to give “super-refreshing and amazing tropical flavours”. This one in particular is in extremely limited supply, so that’s your warning!
All of these beers will be available for growlers and cans, with the exception of the last one, which will be growlers only. Ok, Monctonians, start your beer engines!

Let’s skip back across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and visit the lovely Port Rexton, where, coincidentally, you will find Port Rexton Brewing Co. How’s that kismet for you?! They are celebrating the Victoria Long Weekend with this year’s release in their ongoing Ten Eighty series. Back in December, they brewed up an Imperial Milk Stout, starting specific gravity 1.080 (like the name of the beer series!), with plenty of chocolate and roast malt used to bring out those same flavours and aromas in the finished beer. The addition of lactose, aka milk sugar which is unfermentable by most yeasts, allows some sweetness to remain in the final beer, enhancing the milk chocolate feel of the beer, complementing the coffee and darker chocolate malt-derived flavour. After packaging in February and the lovely nap these bottles have taken for the past few months, the 8.5% ABV beer is for sale now! If you live near Port Rexton itself, you can email (sales@portrextonbrewing.com) to organize a contactless patio-side pickup, but for those not so fortunate, order up online now, and drop by their St. John’s Retail Shop for a pickup, or, for the first time, delivery this afternoon! Those within 20km of the Torbay Rd location can opt for that, with a $40 minimum order and a $5 delivery fee.

Up in Cape Breton, you wouldn’t know there was a pandemic ruining the economy by the beer flying out of Nyanza’s Big Spruce Brewing. And to up the ante that much higher, this week they’ve got four, yes FOUR new things for you to try plus a returning summer favorite. It’s like they think they’re 2 Crows or something… Anyways, first up is the second in their line of hard seltzers: Bliss Zesty Lime is made just like the Bliss Raspberry we told you about last week: water, malt, and a touch of hops fermented clean and then passed through an ultrafine filtration process to remove almost all color and malt flavor. Add some organic lime essence and you’ve got ZIMA! We kid. What you really get is a crisp and super clean beer-based beverage with a refreshing lime flavor; and like all Big Spruce products, it’s certified organic. We anticipate there will be lots of these downed over the course of the coming summer along with Big Spruce’s returning beer this week, Silver Tart. Don’t expect anything to have changed with this one, it’s still a sour wheat beer with plenty of raspberry essence, and it’s still, we’d wager, super easy-drinking and refreshing.

From those light and refreshing beverages we move onto the remaining three new releases from Big Spruce this week, none of which we’d recommend crushing too many of on a summer afternoon unless you’re looking for life to get unnecessarily interesting. First up is a collaboration between the brewery and Halifax homebrew maven Ian Wheatley (that guy collaborates with errybody). A Belgian ale weighing in at a beefy 9.3% ABV, it was fermented with Escarpment Labs’ Saint Lucifer strain. Called Tripel because, well, that’s what it is, you can safely expect plenty of classic stylistic character, smooth and malty with some banana bread character and a touch of citrus along with a balancing bitterness of 30 IBU or so. Available in 650 mL bottles, you might want to plan to share one; or have a nap afterwards. And continuing with the continental European bent, the next beer up is also a beast, this one from the other side of the Franco-Belgian border, stylistically speaking. Bière de Garde is known as “keeping” beer from Northern France: brewed in the cool weather of late winter or early spring to avoid off flavors from the yeast getting too warm and then “guarded” (kept) for the summer season. Plainly named like the tripel, Bière de Garde is also plenty dangerous at 9.5% ABV and packaged in 650 mL bottles. Malt-driven, but with some hop character from the French variety Aramis to the tune of 22 IBU, expect some aromas of honey and ripe apricot along with a prominent toffee character and a long finish. And if those two bruisers weren’t enough for you, perhaps something a little lower in ABV but with more bitterness and a lot more hop character would suit your needs? Enter Old School a West Coast IPA that harkens back to the early days of West Coast IPA when it wasn’t about who could blow out their customer’s taste buds with bitterness and malt was still a thing you expected to taste quite a bit of in an IPA. At 6.7% ABV and 60 IBU, expect this beer to be, above all things, balanced. That said, don’t get the idea that there’s nothing modern about this beer: the hops used, Amarillo, El Dorado, and Mosaic, certainly don’t date back to the 80s, nor does the Vermont Yeast strain (at least not in its current form), but we suspect nobody’s going to complain about that! This one has also been packaged in bombers ready for you to order for delivery anywhere in NS!

Montague, PEI’s Bogside Brewing has a new beer in the fridge and on their virtual shelves this week, Tropical Storm Nor-Easter IPA. At 8.1% ABV it’s a commitment, but it’s also a commitment to hops, as it took a “boatload” to put this one together. In the kettle at whirlpool were Galaxy and Simcoe, followed by Vic Secret and more Galaxy pre- and post-fermentation. The result is lots of juiciness and mango, pineapple, passionfruit, and stonefruit character with a lush mouthfeel and not too much bitterness. Did you also guess hazy? Well if you did, you got it in one. Bogside Brewing is open for pickup of this beer or any of their other eleven or so canned offerings Tues – Sun, 1 – 6 PM, and The Wheelhouse in Georgetown has temporarily set up in their kitchen offering take-out options Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30 – 7 PM (which means the brewery is open then too!). Check the menu here and call in your food order!

Has it been awhile since a brewery around here has brewed an all-Simcoe-hopped DIPA? We’re honestly not sure, but now that we know that Backstage Brewing has released one, we’re in the mood for one! Brewed with a majority of malt from Shoreline Malting, Pour Some Simcoe On Me is a 7.5% ABV, 100+ IBU beer hopped entirely with, yes, Simcoe. Ah, Simcoe… you’re actually a pretty ancient hop variety in comparison to so many of the new, cooler kids, but we still adore you! You know, like your favourite grandfather, but better-smelling! Oh right, the beer. Backstage is describing it as showing off “huge, sweet citrus and pine, with a solid bitterness”. Check it out if you’re able!

Brand new hoppy beer from TrailWay this week, an American IPA named ?. No, it’s not that we don’t know what it’s named, it’s just a question mark. Personally, we’d love to be flies on the wall of a local bar to see exactly how people are ordering this beer… but we digress. ? is hopped entirely with Enigma, with a grain bill designed to showcase flavours in the bready, spicy, and toasty areas. The beer also features an addition of raw wildflower honey in the boil, with the final 6.6% ABV product showing off “loads of juicy tropical fruit, apricot and cantaloupe, while the honey introduces complexity with a sweet, floral touch”. Currently available at the brewery, they’ve also got a fresh batch of Ooz, their 8% ABV DIPA hopped with Sabro and a mix of other varieties.

Quidi Vidi continues to push out the small batch beers, with two new releases this week, both available in their retail shop for pickup. The first beer is Belgian Pale Ale, a 4.6% ABV BPA brewed with Pilsner, Vienna, CaraVienna, Victory, Dark Munich, and Acid malt, and hopped with Sterling and Saaz. Next is another European style, Biere de Garde, brewed with a wide variety of specialty malts to give the beer its signature amber colour. It was hopped with Galena and Mt. Hood, and comes in at 6.2% ABV. Unfortunately, we do not have any tasting notes for these two, so if you’re in St. John’s, you’ll have to try them yourselves!

This week marks the Fifth Anniversary of Good Robot, who burst on the scenes ala Kramer back in 2015, bringing their fun attitude, killer taproom events, charitable endeavours, oh, and beer! While the party hats and streamers were donned and tossed remotely, plenty of good vibes are flowing. No brand new beers out for them this week, though their Creature Feature Biotransformation IPA is back in cans. 6.4% ABV, hazy NEIPA with plenty of tropical vibes. GRBC is also marking this weekend by opening their doors for retail and delivery Sundays, with their new hours Mon – Thurs, 2 – 7 PM, Fri – Sun, 12 – 7 PM. Order by 6 PM for same-day delivery. And if you want to take part in the fun with one of their neat-o-rama offerings, you can order up their The Fizz, their 4.7% ABV fermented seltzer. Use code MOREFIZZNESS at checkout to save 30% off your growler fill, today until Sunday.

Your favorite beer nerds (besides us, we mean), have a new episode out this week, and it looks like if nothing else, COVID-19 has allowed them to get back to talking to actual breweries thanks to the advent of Zoom! This week’s guest is Cam MacKinnon, one of the principal folks behind Sydney’s Breton Brewing. Tune in to hear them discuss (among other things), the impacts of the pandemic on the brewery and the beer industry as a whole; just dial up “902BrewCast” on your favorite podcast app or hit their homepage here.

A couple last things to keep you busy before beer time!

Annapolis Brewing just released Dunkel, a 5.1% ABV, 21 IBUs dark German Lager; with some sweetness thanks to the addition of specialty malts, it’s well-balanced with a touch of bitterness in the finish. Their retail shop is open Saturdays, 12 – 4 PM for bottles to go!

Unfiltered has growler fills and cans available of their latest batch of Riddle of Steel, a 7% ABV NEIPA, available as of today, so be sure to load up for the long weekend. And again Monday, as they’ll be open, in case you drink it all Sunday!

Friday Wrap-Up for April 17, 2020 – News from Delta Force Brewing, Chain Yard, North Brewing, Tidehouse, Tanner & Co., Holy Whale, and More!

Posted by acbbaaron on 2020-04-17
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Battery Park, Chain Yard Cider, Delta Force Brewing, Escarpment Laboratories, Feed Nova Scotia, Holy Whale Brewing, Island Hop Company, Jym Line Glassware, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, Other Half Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Shipwright Brewing, Shoreline Malting, Spindrift Brewing, Tanner & Co Brewing, Tidehouse Brewing, TrailWay Brewing, Tusket Falls Brewing. Leave a Comment

Hi again. At least the weather is getting better? Y’know, as if we were allowed to go out and really enjoy it? Welcome to week 5 (or is it 6?) of COVID-19-related isolation and social distancing. At this point we figure most people are either totally fed up with being alone or totally fed up with the people they’re living with. And everybody’s fed up with the rules. That all said, we’re pretty sure that beats the hell out of getting sick and our sympathies go out to anyone who’s directly dealing with COVID-19 in their lives, whether it be themselves or a friend or a family member. And a huge thanks to all of those front line personnel who are keeping things going in these difficult days.

On that happy note, please find below all the new news we could find for you this week. Plus, we’ve done a total update across the entire region on our delivery/curbside pickup options for breweries and cideries. We think we’ve hit every producer out there who has changed their practices since last time! So spread a little love to them, if you’re able, and we’d appreciate a quick nudge via email or social media (Ig and Tw preferred) if anything is out of date.

The Delta Force is an elite and elusive group, composed of only the top members of their chosen field, who use whatever means necessary to fulfill their mission. For some, that may be military in nature, extracting key targets and keeping the world safe. In today’s world, having great beer flowing could perhaps be considered a critical need, hence the upcoming launch of Delta Force Brewing. Comprising a small yet capable team, Delta Force will soon be launching their first beers to the public, brewed at a classified location in the Annapolis Valley. To maintain that Top Secret information, they will however be able to bring their beer to you. For those in the Wolfville and Halifax regions, and along the 101, they will be doing deliveries once the beer is available, in the coming weeks. We will also be revealing what we can about the beers, the team, and their plans for world domination (currently on hold) sooner to launch, but you can keep an eye on their website and social media to see if any more can be deciphered. Dismissed!

Those of you who participated in donating some of your homegrown (whether intentionally or not!) apples to Chain Yard Urban Cidery last fall for a special cider… your waiting for the final product is over! After many generous donations from a variety of orchards and yards, The Backyard Project – a 6.4% ABV wild-fermented cider – is ready. Chock-full of “ripe orchard fruit and a crisp, dry finish, plus lingering herbaceous and earthy notes,” it’s a great expression of the many varieties of apples that Nova Scotia has to offer. And aside from being able to drink it, you’ll also be supporting Feed Nova Scotia, which will be receiving a portion of the proceeds. Check out their online store to order your 750 mL bottle(s).

The folks at North Brewing have been keeping busy in order to keep the beer flowing and our mouths/livers happy, re-brewing favourites such as Malternate Reality, Lawrencetown Surf Session, and others. While you can expect to see these canned and released again in the near future (MR hits the shelves yesterday), they DO have a brand new Double IPA available as of this week, HiFi. More of a West Coast take on the style as opposed to the super-hazy, less-bitter New England versions, HiFi was brewed with a large amount of Maris Otter base malt. Dry-hopped with El Dorado and Chinook, the total IBUs come in at around 65-70. Full of citrus and pine character, with a “balanced bitterness”, it weighs in at a hefty 8.5% ABV. Available at the brewery for ordering online now, it should also be at close to forty NSLC stores throughout next week. And a quick note that North’s sister bar and resto Battery Park is now open for curbside take-away. The details are on their site, but the Coles Notes are you submit your burger and side and beer and wine order via email before 11AM, for pickup that evening, Wed – Sat, 3 – 8 PM.

As we mentioned on social media earlier this week, Tidehouse has a couple of new beers canned and out for delivery today (yes, they’ve hopped onboard the home delivery train, to make sure you can get your TH fix even easier than before). The first beer is TV Party, a 7% ABV American IPA hopped with Idaho 7, Galaxy and Mosaic. With a firm bitterness in the finish, expect lots of orange notes, some juiciness, and a little bit o’ pine. Next is Shrug Emoji (you know, this thing ->  ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯), an American Pale Ale moderately-hopped with Czech Saaz. Meant to be a crushable beer to enjoy while you wait this all out (you may want to buy a few, then), it comes in at 5.6% ABV. This post is a little late to get you beer today, as you’re meant to call in your order on Thursday for Friday delivery (free for orders of 4+ cans), but … Great news, as there’s just enough leftover to run their curbside pickup tomorrow! Starting at noon at their spot on Salter, call (902-407-2550) and then pop your trunk to accept the beer!

Chester Basin’s Tanner & Co brewing are continuing to put out new beers and make them available despite current challenges. They also continue to leverage the oenological knowledge of head brewer Dan Tanner and take inspiration from wine styles around the world. This time up, the inspiration came from the Torrontés wines of Argentina and they’ve elected to express it in the Brut IPA style. TM Brut weighs in at 6.9% ABV and features notes of lime, pineapple, grapefruit and lychee thanks to plenty of Topaz and Motueka hops. No hops were added in the kettle until the very end of the boil, ensuring low bitterness (15 IBU) but plenty of flavour! More of the same hops were also added in not one, but two dry hop additions. This one is now available for pickup, delivery, and growler fills; check their online shop for more information on grabbing this one for consumption.

Alma, New Brunswick’s Holy Whale Brewery and Buddha Bear Cafe have been taking the opportunity to experiment in the brewery a little more these days, and have a quartet of sour beers available this week. Playing in the Cocktail realm, they took inspiration from four popular drinks, all starting from a Berliner Weisse base. Their Bellini Sour features loads of peach, thanks to the addition of white peach puree, and some Prosecco for a little extra zip. Not surprisingly, the Blue Lagoon Sour owes its colour to some Blue Curacao, and is extra citrusy thanks to orange zest added to the batch. Pina Colada Sour saw the addition of pineapple puree to this iteration, as well as coconut for the full “down South” drink, and finally Guava Sour, which showcases the puree of the eponymous fruit. All of these are 4.0% ABV, and are in short supply, so we suggest grabbing the one based on your favourite cocktail(s), or better yet, get a couple of each for a full Tiki Bar night in! Their Alma location is open for pre-order and pick up Friday to Sunday, and they are also running deliveries Thursday to the Greater Moncton Area, or pick up at their Riverview bar, via pre-order, with the details on their FB event page.

If you’re in St. John’s, you should check out Quidi Vidi’s online store to order up cans of their latest New England IPA, Unlucky #13. While we can’t provide details on where the name came from (something tells us there’s a story there), we can tell you that it was brewed with a grist of 2-row, Maris Otter, Flaked Oats, Wheat malt, Honey malt, and Acidulated malt. Hopped with a wide variety of… varieties, including Cascade, Cluster, Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, we don’t have official tasting notes on the beer, but can assume it’s a hazy one with tropical and citrus notes, as well as some pine and dank character. It weighs in at 6% ABV and 28 IBUs, keeping the bitterness on the lower end, as is typical for the style. 

Ashdale Nova Scotia’s Meander River Brewing has a new beer out this week, and another set to launch next week, so we figured we’d give you a double dose today. First up is the return of Sour Mood, their dry-hopped sour. This 4.2% ABV golden beer was soured with Lactobacillus before completing fermentation with a traditional yeast, and then was dry-hopped with Citra hops (their previous version had used Mosaic). Thanks to both the souring and the hops, there’s plenty of great notes of tropical fruit like passion fruit, mango, and lemon, with a refreshing kick. And coming out soon, is Ploughman’s Pilsner, MR’s entree to a light and easy drinking lager, perfect for those looking for an accompaniment to a simple lunch enjoyed in the field, taking a break between working the rows of vegetables or grain. Another 4.2% ABV brew, the pale brew was hopped with New Zealand-grown Pacific Gem hop, a higher alpha acid (higher potential bitterness) relative of the classic Cluster and Fuggle hops. This one will hit the virtual shelves soon, but the Sour Mood, as well as a half-dozen more beer and cider, are available for ordering now on their online shop, and could be part of their Saturday delivery in HRM, Truro, Wolfville, and most parts in between, as well as for safe pickup.

We all suspected it was only a matter of time before Shipwright Brewing released their first Lager, being that their head brewer, Kellye Robertson, was originally with Spindrift back in their Lager-only days. Kellye was finally able to delve into that realm again when she brewed Peninsula Pilsner, a German-inspired Pils brewed with Pilsner and Chit malt from Shoreline Malting. Hopped to 32 IBUs with Magnum and Tradition from Island Hop Company, the beer was fermented with the Autobahn Lager strain from Escarpment Labs, and lagered for 7 weeks. At 5.2% ABV and 32 IBUs, the Pilsner has a “distinctive grain profile” with some floral notes from the hop additions, as well as a moderate bitterness in the finish. They’re offering this one in crowlers at the brewery to-go, or for delivery within Lunenburg (with options for Chester to Bridgewater likely coming next week). Rest assured there’ll be more Lagers from Shipwright in the future, but don’t miss out on your chance to try their first! 

Tusket Falls Brewing is continuing to release new canned beers (such as their Strawberry Milkshake IPA, which unfortunately – or not, depending on where you’re standing! – sold out in less than 24 hours), but they’ve also added a growler fill option. They’re selling pre-filled growlers from the taproom, and if you have a TF growler already, you can exchange yours for a full one for a cheaper price than buying a new one. They’ve got a brand new Session IPA – hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Motueka – available right now for you to test out; at just 4.6% ABV, and with flavours of lemon and white grape, sounds like a good way to creep into your weekend, no?

Fredericton’s TrailWay Brewing has taken part in a worldwide collaboration kicked off by Brooklyn’s Other Half Brewing, where all breweries taking part brew the same American IPA recipe to raise funds for local hospitality professionals. Appropriately-named, All Together is a 6.5% ABV brew hopped with Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe and Cascade. Cans of this juicy, fruity beer will be available next Wednesday, with 30% of the proceeds of TW’s version going to the Fredericton Resilience Fund. The FRF will be allocating this donation specifically to those in need within the hospitality industry (of which there is no doubt many). You can do your part next week by grabbing some cans; remember that TW is doing deliveries within Fredericton at certain days of the week, so check out their website for more details.

Lots of folks are getting into the swing of trying to bring a little levity to this lonely hellscape difficult time that we’re living in and we especially like to see it when it benefits a good cause as well. Enter Elmsdale’s Jym Line Glassware, who are stepping up with both. As we’ve mentioned in the past, Jymline are one of the businesses that helps make our regional industry what it is: even if you’ve never heard of them directly, chances are you’ve drank from a glass or poured from a growler that was branded in their facility. They’ve got a new glass they’re making available with a somewhat NSFW image and the now-ubiquitous slogan, “Stay the Bl?zes Home!” And lest you think this is merely a cynical cash-in, they’re donating $5 from every glass sold (that’s half the proceeds) to various charities around Elmsdale. The first batch of glasses sold out in a day, which means $535 is going to Caring & Sharing/Angel Tree Foodbank. They’re doing another run, though, that they’re hoping to have ready for next Thursday. No shipping is available, just contactless pickup at the shop in Elmsdale. Glasses are $10 and you can order yours by emailing dale@jymline.com; payment is by e-transfer to that address.

Friday Wrap-Up for March 27, 2020 – News from The End of the World (tentative), Church, Copper Bottom, Heritage, Sea Level, Sussex AleWorks, Backstage and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2020-03-27
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: 2 Crows Brewing, 902 BrewCast, Backstage Brewing, Copper Bottom Brewing, Escarpment Laboratories, Heritage Brewing, Millstone Harvest Brewhouse, Off Track Brewing, PEILCC, Propeller Brewing, Sea Level Brewing, Shoreline Malting, Spindrift Brewing, Sussex Ale Works, The Church Brewing Company, TrailWay Brewing.

Well, this is definitely a different week than usual on the blog. First off, for those of you in health care and other essential businesses, keeping us and our family and friends safe, the lights on and trucks moving, a massive thank you from the ACBB family.

For many, beer is a happy diversion from work, while for others, it is their work! Kudos to those who are still able to support the brewers and cidermakers by ordering beer for delivery and pickup safely, but most important at this time is to keep everyone safe and healthy.

A logistical note: to keep from having to update multiple pages several times per day as the situation and the way breweries are dealing with it changes, we’re going to stick to one: last week’s Wrap-Up will be our itemization of what breweries and cideries across the region are doing in light of the current situation. It will be our reference for what’s open and closed, how to safely pick up product from their location, and order beer delivery at home. It’s been updated a ton since we sent it out last week, so do take a look for the latest details. And if there is anything missing or out of date, we’d appreciate a quick nudge via email or social media (Ig and Tw preferred, Fb often gets missed).

Let’s start our day in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where Church Brewing calls home. They are shining a light through the darkness this week with Illuminate Kveik Pale Ale. Light-coloured and -tasting malts offer a base for the bounty of hops used in this beer, starting from a light bittering addition of Magnum, before massive dry-hopping of Mosaic and Vic Secret. These offer big flavour and aroma of citrus, tropical notes of mango and papaya, which are only enhanced thanks to the kveik yeast employed. As a refresher, this family of yeasts originated in Norway, and after thousands of generations of use (yeast, not people), has become something totally distinct from other brewer’s yeast: very high temperature tolerant (traditional ale yeasts tend to give off some unpleasant flavours when fermented too warm, whereas as kveik thrives in it), with some lovely fruity characteristics presented, thanks to its production of esters. This particular yeast was sourced through Guelph’s Escarpment Labs, who have been researching the history and microbiology of this family for a while, and have the nerdy ahem important information on it. This beer used their Voss Kveik which gave them plenty of those juicy characteristics, and stays a bit hazy. At 5.0% ABV, and low bitterness, this is a beer you can use to light your way in these uncertain times… Available at their retail shop for 

Montague, PEI’s Copper Bottom brewery likes to celebrate spring with a saison they call Better Weather. Although they’re not able to celebrate the coming season in the same way as usual this year, they’re still bringing that farmhouse ale to market for folks to enjoy. This year, they went with a French Saison yeast for a very crisp and dry beer, highlighting their use of Shoreline Malting 2-row. With some fruity esters completing the picture, expect this 5% ABV and 25 IBU beer to be refreshing but still interesting on the palate. You can get it from them via their webstore for pickup as well as via walk-in (social distancing enforced) at their retail location. You can also get it via delivery island-wide from their delivery service (check their Fb page for details on that!). And when this whole mess blows over, you can safely expect it to be on the shelves at select PEILC stores too.

In Yarmouth, Heritage Brewing has a new beer available for delivery in the tri-county area. They took their Blueberry Grunt, a lightly sour blueberry ale they released last fall, and replaced a portion of blueberries with cranberries, to give us Cranberry/Blueberry Sour Wheat. A mix of lightly tart and lightly sweet (but tipping more towards tart, thanks to the cranberry addition), this 5% ABV brew is refreshing and light, just the thing to get you into the Spring mood as you sip it on your deck. Check out our details from last week on how you can get some of this brew delivered to your door; their taproom is also open for retail sales.

Sea Level’s Port Williams location may be closed, but they are still working hard to produce great beer at their Millstone Harvest location in nearby Sheffield Mills. The latest to be released is also one of the first that features the sole us of their own malt and hops, grown right onsite. Millstone Harvest Pale Ale uses their own farm grown barley, malted at nearby Horton Ridge malt, to create Pilsner, Pale, and Honey malts. And from their hopfield comes Cashmere, Cascade, and Glacier hops, coming together for a “light, refreshing, everyday beer”. While they will be sending cans to NSLC locations across the province soon, you can grab growler fills at Millstone Harvest at 9146 Hwy 221 in Sheffield Mills today. Just remember to call (902-582-2337), email (sealevelbrewing@gmail.com) or DM them on their social media accounts in advance, and take advantage of their “Card in the Yard” pickup option. Hit them up the same way for more details on their delivery options.

For those of you in Sussex, you may already be taking advantage of the beer-to-go option at Sussex Ale Works. If so, great! If not, we encourage you to do so, and want to take the opportunity to also point out that they are still brewing new beers, and have just released their latest, a Belgian Dubbel named 13 Fathoms. Details on this brew are extremely light; however, we can tell you that they’re describing it as “sweet and smooth”. We wish we had more, but maybe it’s enough to pique your interest? Who doesn’t love a good Dubbel, right? Anyhoo, it’s 7.8% ABV and can be ordered online and picked up at the brewpub; check out last week’s post for further details on making your order. 

Back to Nova Scotia, where Backstage Brewing has launched Photograph, what was supposed to be a new beer for the Nova Scotia Craft Beer Festival. An American IPA hopped entirely with Mosaic, at least those of you in the Stellarton area may be able to give it a try! At 6.6% ABV and 60 IBUs, expect lots of delightful Mosaic character – tropical and stone fruit, citrus, mango, etc. – available for growler exchange at the brewery, 12-6 pm Monday to Saturday. They also hope to have bottles in the near future.

Nothing brand-spanking-new from TrailWay this week, but we will mention that their very popular DIPA, Sensible Nonsense, has been freshly-canned and is now available for delivery to anywhere in Fredericton, or pick-up at the brewery (and further distro across the province soon). Citrusy and dank, 7.6% ABV, and all sorts of hoppy.

In Halifax, 2 Crows Brewing has brought back one of their more subtle beers, the Refresh Lager. This delicate 4.8% ABV lager is a full two month process, starting from Shoreline Malting Pilsner (along with a lil bit of chit malt and flaked rice), dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc, then krausened (using new beer to give the yeast some reinforcements), before lagering for 8 weeks. Like great BBQ, this one is done low and slow. And like great BBQ, it’s worth the wait! It’s available now at their retail shop with click-and-collect, as well as online delivery within HRM, as well as province-wide, and also elsewhere in Canada (yup!). And for those homebrewers looking to try and recreate this at home, there are no secrets when Jeremy Taylor is behind the wheel, here are all the details you need. Maybe drop him off a bottle/growler when it’s safe to do so, wouldja? Oh, and if you’re looking for a fun way to spend your afternoon, listen to Jeremy and Nick who appeared on the latest episode of Rival & Queen, getting hosts Ashley and Sarah up to speed on all things beer.

Speaking of podcasts, our favourite local beer podcast 902 BrewCast may be respecting the social distancing order, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still releasing episodes! Their March 2020 Tasting Episode is a great summary of how breweries are dealing with the shutdown of their licensee customers, closure of their own taprooms, and change in buying options for customers. Plus, they chatted about dipping into their beer cellars to enjoy something solo or with pals (you know, sometime in the future). You can stream it on their website, or check your favourite podcast app this morning, because you already subscribe to it, right? Right?!?

During all this craziness, expect to see a serious drop in collaboration brews, for obvious reasons! On the bright side, a collab brewed before the sh*t really hit the fan, will be available over the next week. Scotia Lager was brewed as a collaboration between Off Track, Propeller, and Spindrift at Propeller’s brewery. Featuring a simple malt bill of Superior Pilsner and a little bit of Crystal, it was hopped throughout the boil with Loral and Tettnang, to 38 IBUs. Fermented with a classic German lager strain, and then lagered for a period of time, it weighs in at 5% ABV. Expect some spicy, floral, and herbal notes thanks to the hop varieties used, all in an approachable and easy-drinking package. This beer was submitted as the annual Made Here By Us beer for the province; it didn’t get selected, but the breweries decided to brew it anyway, and now you get to try it! It will be available in cans at all three breweries over the next few days (whether for delivery or pickup, however they’re operating), and will be popping up at NSLCs as well, with the official launch coming Monday!

We at the ACBB had been planning to hold a big Trivia Night at the Auction House next Friday, in part to help kick off Nova Scotia Craft Beer Month, but with restaurants and bars closed, we obviously won’t be doing that! However, we still want to get together with all of you, share some beers, give away a ton of prizes, and have a fun time. Sooooo, we’re going to give online trivia a shot! Next Wednesday, April 1st, at 8 PM, we will be holding the trivia remotely/virtually! We’ll have plenty of head scratching questions, of course plenty of amazing prizes from our brewery pals. For those, we’ll mostly be connecting you with the brewery directly, to ensure no contact. OK, the way to win is to sign your team up in advance, and that way we can keep track of everyone. Click the link here! Plus there’s more info on the FB page for the event. We can’t wait to see you Wednesday!