Truro Brewing Company

All posts tagged Truro Brewing Company

The rumours of our demise were greatly exaggerated! What rumours , you ask? Well apparently we’re shit at starting rumours too, so nevermind. We’ve probably said this before, but it bears repeating: while there are four of us here at ACBB, we all have lives and jobs and responsibilities and plans, and sometimes we get to Thursday night and we realize that nobody remembered we blog and, well, it ain’t looking so good for tomorrow. Sometimes we manage to pull a post out of our collective arse on Friday morning anyway, but the last two weeks it was simply not to be. Many apologies, full refunds available in the alley out back (mind the rats). This week we’ll try to get you caught up on a little of what we missed previously, but mostly just try to get through this week’s new stuff. Be warned, though, three-quarters of the team is on the road and while you’re left with the wordy fucker (free one-year subscription to whoever guesses successfully), even he has his limits, so pardon the soul of brevity and don’t hold your breath for much wit. 

We’ll also remind you that this weekend Remembrance Day falls on Saturday, so your favorite brewery or taproom may elect to close for some or all of Saturday, on Monday, or not at all. So be sure to check socials before you make your plans. 

We’ll start this week on the South Shore of NS where Tanner & Co. Brewing has two new IPAs on the go, but ironically, “new” may not be the best descriptor for either of them. Though many know that the IPA style began in the UK over a century ago and that extra hops were generally used as a preservative for the long sea voyage to India, there have been few English IPAs of late to even try, not only locally, but around the world. So Tanner has taken up the cause of rectifying that with their aptly-named English IPA, a beer that keeps the classic British herbal and earthy hops moderate, while balancing with a prominent malt presence featuring notes of biscuit, caramel, and toffee. A rich amber colour completes the picture in this 6.5% ABV beer. Meanwhile, Tanner has also taken a much more modern IPA, one featuring Citra, Simcoe, Chinook, and Amarillo hops, local malts, and a yeast strain from Le Labo yeast lab in Quebec and then aged it for several months in oak barrels from Grand Pré Wines. The result is Barrel Aged IPA, a big beer, at 8.1%, that presents a “harmonious blend of hops and oak.” Look for both of these beers in cans from the brewery and the taproom in Chester where you’ll also stand a pretty good chance of finding them on tap. 

Fredericton’s Maybee Brewing has a new IPA this week as well, this one in the modern hazy NEIPA vein, but with a name that’s a callback to the 1970s. While some of you are wondering why anyone would refer to such ancient history, the old farts among us will no doubt have a snicker at The Knights Who Say NEIPA (and its spot-on label). Bursting with citrus, pineapple, mango, and bright orange juice aromas and flavors, they’re calling this one, “a tropical paradise in a glass.” The perfect companion to hunting for a shrubbery (one that looks nice… and not too expensive) or estimating the wingspeed of an unladen sparrow, no doubt. Find this 6.5% and 30 IBU juice bomb in cans at the brewery.

Like many breweries, we suspect even moreso in this region than in others, Mount Pearl, NL’s Landwash Brewery has long fielded questions about why they haven’t had a Red Ale available. Well now the questions can stop, at least for a while. Kicking Leaves is a perfect fall beer, deep amber in color, with notes of caramel, toffee, and a hint of rye. With an ABV of only 4%, it’s also extremely sessionable and you can pack a few for your hike in the crisp and cool fall air. This one is packaged and available only at the brewery this weekend, but headed out to all the usual spots in the coming weeks.

On another Island, Prince Edward that is, Lone Oak has released a brand new American Pale Ale. Although it contains the three most OG “C” hops from the Pacific Northwest of the US, Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook, all of the hops in this brew were local, from Lakeview Hops. Paired with a grist of Pilsner and Vienna malt, though these hop varieties are known more for citrus, pine, and dank notes, the combination, the beer, and no doubt the terroir, have come together to yield a very melony character with some grapefruit and pineapple overtones. Find this smooth and refreshing 5.2% pale ale on tap and in cans to go at the brewery in Borden-Carleton and the Brewpub at Milky Way.

Completing the island trifecta, we have Big Spruce Brewing on Cape Breton Island, who push it to a quadfecta with the name of their new release! Who doesn’t love a brewery collaboration? We know that we sure do; fortunately we have breweries like Big Spruce around who may love a collab even more than most and this week they’ve got a brand new beer that they put together in concert with Truro Brewing. Isle of Lesbos is an ode to lager, and they’re classifying it as a “Greek Pilsner” coming in at 4.2% ABV. While we’re not so much familiar with that particular style, we figure those with a knowledge of Ancient Greek were able to cull it from urns and pottery shards. Regardless, as the weather in this part of the world gets colder and damper, this beer could easily put you in the mind of the sunny and warm Mediterranean. So maybe throw on a toga, grab your lyre, get yourself a 4-pack of this tasty treat from wherever you get your Big Spruce or Truro Brewing, and head down to the Symposium to wax eloquent on your love of beer and Sapphic poetry.

Back to the Rock, where Bannerman Brewing of St. John’s is amongst those breweries embracing the cooler season with darker beers. Ghost Town is a milk stout, which means it’s been dosed with lactose sugar, yielding a creamier mouthfeel and sweeter presentation to balance the usual roasty flavors and aromas of chocolate and other roasty things. Add some hints of caramel and some malt sweetness as well, and you have a smooth sipper that packs a bit of a punch at 6.0% ABV. Look for it pouring on tap or in cans to go from their spot on Duckworth Street.

If you’ve been a craft beer lover in Nova Scotia for a while, you know that each fall, North Brewing partners up with Benjamin Bridge winery to produce a special beer in the saison style that showcases the magic that can happen when beer and wine collide. This year’s base beer began life as a light saison in the fall of 2022 that was co-fermented with freshly-pressed Chardonnay grape juice from BB using the Cerebus yeast strain from Escarpment Labs. It then spent the winter months into 2023 in the tank to age, after which it was naturally carbonated before packaging, which, for the first time, was done in 473ml cans instead of big ol’ 750ml bottles. Why the change? Because the bottles, especially at that size, can be intimidating and a bit of a commitment to someone who doesn’t necessarily know if they’re going to like a saison, let alone a saison/wine hybrid. Hopefully this inspires some folks to try something new! Tasting notes include aromas of lemon, lime, and orange marmalade, with a little bit of saison character and a vinous character from the grapes. Still full-bodied while finishing dry, the bitterness is quite low and it lands at 7.5% ABV. Grab it at any of the North locations you frequent!

Continuing on the long term beer project train are two new entries from Tatamagouche Brewing. First up is Rosaly, a rose hip and lychee sour. After initial fermentation this golden sour was fed into an Italian red wine foeder where it hung out for nearly two years, taking on fruity notes to complement its sour base. Six more months of aging took place on rose hips and lychee fruit, which added berry, citrus and melon notes along with a subtle floral hint. Packaged in short (341ml) cans, you’ll find this 6.1% flavorful sour at the brewery, including online ordering, and no doubt some other places that stock Tata brews. Also recently released is Carmine, the “other” beer that began as that golden sour in the red wine foeder, only instead of lychee and rose hips, this one went onto dragonfruit puree for six months. Picking up more colour than flavour from the fruit, Carmine is closer to its original golden sour character, but you can safely expect some vinous character from the barrel along with a touch of melon and stone fruit. Lighter than the Rosaly at 5.6% ABV, this one has been packaged in a bigger format, 750ml bottles, for convenient sharing. Available at the brewery directly and for online ordering.

Let’s keep the train rolling on barrel aged beers, but this time up the ante. How high? NASH high. Five whole years ago, Unfiltered Brewing’s Greg Nash made an Imperial Brown Ale that was distilled by North End Halifax neighbours Compass Distillers and matured in oak barrels until earlier this year. Unfiltered then took possession of those barrels and filled them with their Twelve Years to Zion DIPA, which matured for eight full months. They then unbunged the barrels and canned the results, which they’ve named Whiskey Beer, a delightful tipple at a hefty 10% ABV, bearing the character of the DIPA, the barrels, and possibly some of that brown ale concoction as well. Find out for yourself as they’ve just packaged a second (and final, we believe) run this week. If you’re wondering what happened to the brown ale distillate, you might check in at Compass, where we’re told they’ve got a new product called Beer Whiskey! If you’re looking for something lighter for balance, you should also know that Unfiltered’s 4% ABV Belinerweiße is back today in cans and on tap at Charm School.

What could be more different than a huge spirit barrel aged DIPA? If you guessed a non-alcoholic (0.4% ABV) cider you win! Lake City Cider in Dartmouth has spun up a lighter alternative to their long-running Christmas-spiced seasonal so that those who are refraining can still drink something with bells on. Non-alcoholic Spice Up Your Life still brings the merry with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and dried orange peel; you’ll find it bottled in 750ml bottles just like its booze-bearing sibling (which is also available now). If you’re not ready for THAT season yet though, fear not. Lake City also has a brand new Peach Cider available with plenty of soft and round peach flavor complementing the familiar apple side of the proceedings. Fairly light, at 5.5%, this one has been packaged in cans.

Candid Brewing in Antigonish has released a new American Pale Ale called Schadenfreude, one of those amazing words from the German language that has both a complex meaning and is terribly fun to say in an over-the-top Teutonic accent. Meaning, “a feeling of pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune,” we’ll let you scope out the branding on your own to get an idea of who they’re poking at. Featuring some modern banger hops in Citra, Loral, and recent belle of the hop ball HBC 586, you’ll find this 5.5% ABV number in cans and most likely on tap at the brewery.

Back up to Newfoundland, we have a three-way collaboration that has produced a brand new and rather interesting beer. Baccalieu Trail Brewing in Bay Roberts put their heads together with Rough Waters Brewing in Deer Lake and then they all collectively smashed skulls with homebrewers and beer lovers @mosaic.wit (who have done other collaborations with Rough Waters and Dildo Brewing as well) to produce Tree Way, a fruited sour IPA. Low on bitterness thanks to no hops at the start of the boil, and with a very restrained dry hop, this one saw the bulk of its dose of Mosaic hops late in the whirlpool, providing big hop notes to interact with açai and curuba (a species of passionfruit) to produce an “explosion of orangey-passionfruit, and a subtle touch of nostalgic fruit roll-up vibes.” This one has been canned, and you should be able to find it at select retail  locations around the Avalon Peninsula. (and, we expect, but have not confirmed, both breweries too!)

Continuing to take advantage of the foeders on hand at their facility in downtown Halifax, Gahan Nova Centre has a new small batch release available this week. Taking a portion of last year’s Foeder Aged Winter Warmer, they added red plums and continued to age the result an additional six months. Still with notes of cherry and sweet desserts, along with some tannins from the barrel, you’ll now find some tartness and plum flavors going on. Packaged in 375ml bottles, Red Plum Winter Warmer is 5.5% and is available not just in Halifax, but around the region from the to-go fridges at Gahan locations in Charlottetown, Fredericton, Saint John, and Moncton.

Speaking of Gahan, you may remember this past spring when we announced the winner of the 4th annual Atlantic Homebrew Challenge presented by Gahan House. That beer, Herr Durstig, a German Pils, was brewed at Gahan Port City in Saint John with winner Al McLeod back in August. It’s being released in cans today across the region at all Gahan locations (the abovementioned plus Gahan Harbourview in St. John’s) and also at the PEI Brewing Company taproom. A sessionable lager at 4.8% ABV, it’s golden in color and crystal clear. With a malt backbone of 100% German Pilsner malt, it features local PEI-grown Tettnang hops, for a primarily floral hop nose with hints of citrus. Grab it in cans at your local Gahan location.

As always, the release of last year’s winning beer coincides with the announcement of this year’s competition. The 5th Annual Atlantic Home Brew Challenge will once again allow for entries under two BJCP styles: 11B Best Bitter and 30A Spice, Herb, and Vegetable. The style guidelines are available on the competition website for perusal and planning purposes; competitors can enter once per style if they’re feeling particularly ambitious. Cash prizes will be awarded for the top 5 in each style as well as for the overall winning beer, which will be brewed for canned release with the team at the winner’s local Gahan location. Entries are due for drop-off by March 2nd, 2024, with judging slated and announcement of the winners slated to take place later in March. If you’ve got other questions, definitely scroll to the bottom of the competition website for the FAQ and, if your question still isn’t answered, send an email to the competition team per the last FAQ entry. Good luck to all who compete!

Would you believe that there’s TWO homebrew competitions to announce this week? What a world we live in!! Big Spruce has announced the latest iteration of what is now the longest-running homebrew competition in the region, the 11th Annual Home Brew Challenge: Pomona vs Elysium. What are Pomona and Elysium, you might ask? Well, one is a city in California, and the other is the afterlife as conceptualized by the ancient Greeks, of course! But seriously, the real answer is even nerdier: they’re new yeast strains from Escarpment Labs. Both are targeted at IPAs, especially those of the hazy variety, with slightly different characteristics. Big Spruce has secured 25 pitches of each strain for a maximum number of entries this year of 50. Entrants may submit ONE beer this year, and may submit their preference for one or the other strain, but once one runs out allocation will be what’s left. Judging and the traditional entrants’ gala will take place at the Wooden Monkey in Dartmouth on February 4th, 2024. This year there will be two winners: the top beer made with each strain will be produced on the Big Spruce 7BBL pilot system and packaged for retail. Check out the link to the official Facebook page for the competition above for more information.

Here’s a few last quick tidbits to send you on your way for the weekend:

Trailway Brewing in Fredericton has a trio of returning favorites available now. Hu Jon Heavy is Hu Jon Hops, only MOAR. DIPA, 8%, fuller, hoppier. Then there’s a couple darker beers for the season. Beans is on the sweeter side, a 6.8% Oatmeal Coffee Stout featuring freshly roasted beans from Mill Town Roasters. Black Hops (back after a long hiatus) is a black IPA at 7% that balances zesty grapefruit with roasty character. All are available at Trailway locations and for online ordering.

Sydney’s Breton Brewing has a dark number of their own pouring again, Milk & Cookies is a smooth and slightly sweet milk stout with a “tasty hint of chocolate chip cookies.” Packaged in cans at 5.0% for sale at select NSLC locations across the province, it’s also on tap for fills and pints at the brewery.

Not to be outdone in the stout department, Wolfville’s Church Brewing Co has their Forgive Me Father American stout pouting again. Rich and chocolatey, with plenty of roasted malt flavor, it also features cold-steeped coffee from TAN Coffee. Looks like this one hasn’t been packaged (at least not yet) so you’ll have to hit the brewery for a pint.

And rounding things out this week is the biggest of the returning dark beers, Propeller’s Nanaimo Imperial Dessert Stout. Featuring all the flavors of the classic Canadian dessert, it’s a big’un at 10% ABV and in 473ml tall cans, so maybe plan your evening around that. Available at all the Prop shops and scheduled to be part of the NSLC holiday display.

Happy Friday and hello Summer! The wildfires in Nova Scotia seem to be under control and our prayers for rain were answered. With a little more mental and emotional capacity, we can focus on lots of beer news as we ramp into the busy season for your favourite beer-y locations.

The beer landscape in Newfoundland is getting a little busier, as a new brewery opens on the Northern tip of the Avalon. Bay de Verde is a community of 400 people located at the mouth of Conception Bay, about 2 hours from downtown St. John’s. And on Noonan’s Lane in BdV is the Bay de Verde Brewing Company, who are opening their doors today! Launching with a handful of beer, named in honour of the area they call home: Backside Blonde (4.5% ABV) is named after one of two harbours encompassing the town of Bay de Verde (the other being the eponymous Bay de Verde); Barter House Red (5.5%), named in honour of the building that the brewery calls home. Also available is Trail Time, an Apricot Sour. These first three will be available on draught in their taproom, as well as in cans to go. Joining them on draught only is Speckle Trout Stout, for those looking for something a little darker. And launching next week is Island Pond Ale, an IPA. The brewery is open today from 3 PM, and again tomorrow 12 – 10 PM, and Sunday 2 – 8 PM. In addition to cans and growler fills to take away, you will be able to enjoy their beer in the taproom! Much more with Kim and Co of Bay de Verde soon! We\ve updated the Good Beer Map with all of the details you need to plan your weekend adventure!

This weekend the gang at Tatamagouche Brewing is celebrating nine wonderful years of providing some of our favorite barley-based liquids (and other liquids as well!), and of course that means some celebratory releases! First up is this year’s iteration of Saltwater Cowboy, their tequila barrel-aged gose. Expect perhaps a bit less acidity this year than in previous batches, but that same touch of salinity and hint of lemon to go along with the tequila character from the barrel. Next up is a pair of dark beers with a common starting point, a big, rich porter. Beginning with a grist of Horton Ridge pale malt, Munich, and Vienna, the brew team added some caramel malts for sweetness and body, and chocolate wheat and Carafa Special III for balancing roastiness. It was bittered with Magnum to the tune of about 30 IBU and dosed later in the boil with unsung hop variety Celeia before heading to the fermenter where, rather than the lager yeast used in their multi-award-winning Two Rivers Baltic Porter, it was inoculated with good ol’ US-05, but fermented cooler than usual for a still clean, but quicker result. Half the batch then went into Knob Creek Bourbon barrels while the other half was destined for Foursquare Rum barrels where they slept soundly for a year or so, picking up hints of their respective spirits and their wooden sarcophagi. After packaging, they were laid down again for a few months to take the slightly boozy edges off. At 10.1% and 9.8%, respectively, Lilith (Bourbon) and Lila (rum) are big beers, but you can still expect plenty of subtlety in their depths. Expect a smooth integration of the Bourbon in Lilith and some fruit and baking spice character in Lila, whilst both exhibit oak tannins and vanilla from the barrels. Our recommendation is to get a couple (or more!) of each, sharing and contemplating the complexity of one with friends now, and coming back again in a year or two to see how they’ve evolved. Lastly, fans of Tata’s ongoing Intertidal IPA series can rejoice, as there’s a new one hitting the shelves. Using one of the hottest new hops on the market (so new it hasn’t been given its proper name yet), this one is called Intertidal HBC 1019. While that may not quite roll off the tongue, the beer itself will likely roll smoothly down your gullet. Built off a pretty standard NEIPA grist, with pale malt and Vienna, but also haze-friendly malted oats, wheat, and rolled barley, it was mash hopped with Cascade, whirpooled with HBC 1019 along with another newer variety, Nectaron and old school Chinook, before being fermented with a yeast blend (S-33 and K-97) and then hammered in the dry hop with more HBC 1019. Expect a luscious mouthfeel, medium bitterness, and a smack in the mouth of oranges that give way to peach, melon, and hints of vanilla and coconut. All of these beers are available now at the brewery in cans or for online ordering. Even better, if you spend $95 or more within the Maritimes, or $150 or more elsewhere in Canada (except the Territories and Manitoba), you’re eligible for free birthday shipping! And if you happen to be in the environs of the brewery this weekend, definitely plan to head down and check out their on-site celebrations all weekend long.

Back in Newfoundland, Bannerman has a new tap-only release. Picture This is a cream ale that started with a base of Pilsner malt, flaked corn, caramel malt and a touch of ground coffee from Cape Broyle’s Cape Coffee roasters.  It was then dry-hopped with a blend of British and French hops before being conditioned on more coffee, this time using cracked beans. Using coffee in a lighter beer allowed more subtle coffee notes like fruit and honey to come forward, without being overpowered by the roastiness. The 4.8% ABV Picture This is on tap on Duckworth Street now for pints and growler fills, with cans coming next week.

Staying with the lovely B breweries on the Rock, Banished Brewing has released Little Jim, a Session IPA, a 4% version of their Jim Time DIPA which was dedicated to their friend that helped get the brewery up and running. This smaller version keeps the same flavours of notes of citrus, melon, and mango. It is available now in cans and on draught at the brewery and will likely be available at the shops across Newfoundland as well. But we suggest getting it at the source and trying the newly opened Best Friend Burger food truck located at the brewery to feed both your mind and soul!

Hitting the treble for the Newfoundland B breweries, Bootleg Brew Co has a new brew celebrating 20 years of Cycle Solutions serving the cycling community of Corner Brook. 20 Years Sippin’ Beers is a Hazy IPA brewed for Pete and the Cycle Solutions crews. The name comes from the anniversary shirt from the store that is a play on ”20 Years Changing Gears” shirt and the beer is a New England style IPA that is very juicy and packed with Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo hops. This is canned and available on tap from the brewery. 

The Tusket Falls crew has a new iteration of Next Phaze available now. A Hazy IPA release where they continually iterate, this is the second batch (can stamp is 06/05/23) and still focuses on the Phantasm additions. For this release there is no mash hop addition, but Citra and Riwaka are otherwise featured throughout. Using a base of a thiolized Cosmic Punch yeast to unlock that Phantasm, this should bring some big aromas of citrus and tropical fruit in a 6.4%  This is canned and available at both locations (North End Halifax and Tusket). 

We’ve got a new one from New Brunswick’s CAVOK Brewing, as they’re bringing the light and refreshing drinks for the coming season. La Coast is a light lager with lime additions at 4.3%. Perfect for the summer! This is a light lager with fresh lime puree added for secondary fermentation. This is available directly from the brewery on tap for growlers and pints and also in 473ml cans!

Chef Stephen Barrett at Seasoned Plate is kicking off the second season of Pints & Plates this week, as they release recipes for food that can be made at home, showcasing a Nova Scotian brewery and beer to pair. This week is a feature with Truro Brewing Company, using their Willow St Wheat in a cucumber salad, and pairing it with their Trackside American Pale Ale. The full recipe and story behind the brewery is out now, and check out the documentary of Pints & Plates, featuring several of this season’s breweries (plus a unique beverage with history from the other side of the world, brewed in Nova Scotia!). 

Speaking of TBC, they will be moving from their current location just down the street to 72 Inglis Place in downtown Truro. Today is their last day in their current location, so help drink them dry, so they have fewer kegs to move! The new location will be opening July 8th, and therefore some events that were planned for late June have been postponed. We’ll have lots more on their new spot in early July.

For those looking to dip their toes into homebrewing, or take a breather from the tough job of making wort and stick to straightforward fermentation, BrewHQ has the answer for you! This week, they used the system at their Burnside location, which also serves as the brewhouse for Arcade Brewing in the same space, to brew up a bright and bitter wort for you to take home. Packaged in aseptic bladders, you’ll want a milk crate or other appropriate container to handle it safely for the trip back to your fermentation vessel. With an OG of 1.062, and expected FG of 1.013 (yeast and temp dependent, of course), you’ll have yourself a 6.5% ABV, 50 IBU IPA hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, for tropical and stone fruit characteristics. They are also brewing up a wort for a Blonde Ale today, so you may be able to feed two birds with one seed with a visit to 80 Thornhill Drive this afternoon! And if you prefer to visit your local homebrew shop, you should be able grab the IPA now, and Blonde later this weekend, at Noble Grape locations in Bayers Lake, Coldbrook, and Cole Harbour.

In addition to Tata’s birthday bash this weekend there’s something afoot in NS for next weekend too.

Just one event to tell you about today, but we want to be sure you grab tickets before they sell out! Lunn’s Mill is hosting a Drag Trivia Night next Friday, June 23rd. With performances from Queera Bangs and Hellebore Mandrake in between rounds of trivia about Drag, Pride, and LGBTQ+ history and culture, it is sure to be a super fun evening. And of course, Lunn’s Mill is releasing a new beer to celebrate, Peachy Queen! Based on their Charming Molly Blonde, PQ was aged on peach puree for a vibrant colour and loads of stone fruit character. You’ll have to wait until next Friday for the beer to launch at trivia, so be sure to grab your tickets today to avoid missing out!

A couple breweries in the region are looking for staff; maybe you’re the one?

The PEI folks at Barnone are hiring a Bartender and Manager, so if you’re handy to that area of the Island and love beer, shoot them a resume here. They also appear to have a new Coffee Blonde on tap, and are open Friday night (5-10 PM) and Saturday afternoon (1-5 PM) this week.

Staying with the PEI hiring news, Upstreet Brewing is hiring in Charlottetown. They’re looking for a Brewery Assistant in a full time position, welcoming people new to the industry as well as those already having worked in beer. The job is described as having the opportunity to grow with the company and experience with brewing industry jobs. Check out the listing and full details here

And here are your last beery bits before you go forth and stock up for the weekend:

The robots have been busy in Halifax, as their third location is ready to roll! Good Robot Commons is opening this evening directly across from the Halifax Commons specifically on North Park and Nora Bernard (formerly Cornwallis). The new, dog friendly, inclusive, outdoor, food-offering, beer-offering space opens up at 6 PM today (Friday, June 16). You can follow the fun at their location’s brand new IG handle.

Lone Oak continues their expansion across the Island on Monday, as they open their Lone Oak Beer Garden at Avonlea Village in Cavendish. The location features seating for more than 100, with most of it being outside on their partially-covered patio. All of the beer you’ve grown to love in Borden-Carleton, Charlottetown, and Fox Meadow in Stratford, is now close to the beach at Cavendish! Keep an eye on things through the Beer Garden account

We’ve got a few needles of news dropping out of Nyanza’s Big Spruce Brewing this week. Guava Get Me Some is a returning favourite IPA that doesn’t shy away from the guava flavour and aroma, as it uses real guava puree along with El Dorado & Mosaic hops . This is zesty, bold and refreshing. Get this one (and it’s always lovely can design) from the brewery or online. It’s 6.4% and 62 IBU. and available now.

In other news, we’ve got the first non-alcoholic beer coming out from them with Kitchen Partly. Yes, you read that right, Kitchen Partly, not Party! This is absolutely trying to match Kitchen Party note-for-note, but in a 0.5% version. This could be pretty huge for the non-alc drinkers who struggle to find their go-to NA offering, especially on the hoppier side. Look for itonline and at the brewery now, but it will also be rolled out to restaurants and other shops across the province. 

Propeller has a new pilot beer on draught at their Gottingen and Quinpool taprooms today. Brewed on the small system on Quinpool Road, Propeller Gose stays true to the German style, incorporating lots of wheat in the grain bill, light acidity from Lacto, and salt to keep the beer refreshing. Low in alcohol and bitterness, this could be a summer sipper, however it won’t last that long, so pop by either/both locations this weekend!

Chris from Brew York visited our neck of the woods last weekend, as he made a tour of a half-dozen breweries in the St. John’s area. He has highlighted them on his Instagram, as well as included a cheeky ranking of the five macro-brewed-Newfoundland-exclusive beers in this week’s Substack. Read more there!

Could this be our last weekend of winter? It just might be! The clocks change again soon, we’re in the midst of a snowy weekend and it will be March Break before you know it. Are we always talking about the weather? Sometimes! But let’s start talking about the wonderful beer and news from across our region! Let’s kick it off with a few releases celebrating International Women’s Day 2023, which is being marked next Wednesday.

Let’s start our day in Fredericton, where Trailway Brewing is celebrating IWD2023 with the release of Physica Raspberry Cream IPA. Named after the text written by Hildegard Von Bingen in the 12th century, she is thought to be the first to add hops to beer (much more on Von Bingen and Physica in this article). Walking in Von Bingen’s, and the thousands of women instrumental in the evolution of beer over the centuries, steel-toed rubber boots are the women of Trailway who designed, produced, and packaged Physica. Using plenty of hops (namely El Dorado and Mosaic), the IPA was conditioned on Raspberry, giving it plenty of fruit, light sweetness, and a lovely creamy mouthfeel. Physica is out now at the brewery on draught and in cans, and look to local licensees to enjoy in your neighbourhood. A portion of the profits will be going to Women in Transition House in Fredericton and Cloverdale Centre for Women in Saint John. Donations are also being collected all month long for these organizations, at their Fredericton taproom, and the soon-to-open Union House Taproom in Saint John. Give early, and often!

Sydney’s Island Folk Cider House is also celebrating and supporting women with an IWD2023 release, Embrace Equity. This Honey & Lavender Cider is available at the taproom for samples, pints, and in bottles to take away. Part of the proceeds are being donated to Every Woman’s Centre, a non-profit promoting, developing and supporting the enhancement of women’s lives in Cape Breton Communities. Drop by Island Folk’s spot on Nepean Street to imbibe and support today!

On to the Hub of Nova Scotia, where Truro Brewing Company recently hosted Char of Hardisty Brewing for a brewday to celebrate Queer Women in the NS Brewing Industry. Taking inspiration from another popular fizzy drink, root beer, Char’s wife and business partner in Hardisty, Laura, put together an appropriate blend of spices and herbs to best recreate the in a beer. On the brewday, Jana of TBC hosted Char to make the final product a reality. The result is Wicked Roots, a 5.0% ABV Dark Ale. Heavily spiced both in, and after, the kettle, to bring out a vibrant root beer character. The beer is dropping early next week, it will be available on tap and in cans at Truro Brew Co, cans from Hardisty, and on tap at better establishments in the region, including Battery Park and Good Robot’s Robie Street taproom. [Ed note: we originally wrote that Laura was with Truro Brewing Company, and apologize for that mistake]

Switching to another charitable release, Big Axe Brewery has released Big Axe Bitter. Owner Peter Cole was prompted by drinks writer Craig Pinhey to brew the style, after the two had been speaking of their mutual loss of a parent to Alzheimer’s Disease. Pinhey spoke highly of the UK Bitter style, recalling the time he and his brothers took his father back to his hometown of Blackawton in England, and sharing pints in the many old pubs of the region, shortly before his father’s passing. Starting from a well-developed homebrew recipe provided by Pinhey, Cole made it BA’s own, but certainly kept the backbone of the original style, including some flaked maize and Maris Otter and Special B malts. A portion of the can sales will be going to Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick, and you can learn more from Cole himself in this video clip.

Heading up to Newfoundland, and Deer Lake in particular, we find that Rough Waters Brewing Company has a new beer on the go. Definitely not so seasonable with the weather in our region this weekend, but maybe a nice inspiration to think of warmer times ahead, Tangled is a lime gose that was brewed with both lime and sea salt, which should give you some margarita vibes even if laying on a beach chair right now is not an option. In keeping with Rough Waters’ overall environmental awareness it’s also a beer with a cause, with $1 from every can purchased going to the Atlantic Healthy Oceans Initiative and specifically their Zero-Plastic Waste Gros Morne program. Look for it at the brewery now, in Deer Lake at the Big Stop and Corner Brook at the NLC and it’ll be available on the East Coast in the coming weeks!

Fredericton’s Half Cut Brewing has a dark and roasty beer out this week, perfect as a morning pick-me-up or to finish off your day. Tire Fire is an Irish Dry Stout, and served on Nitro at the brewery, so you can enjoy the lovely cascading bubbles™ (probably) as the beer settles. Your patience will be rewarded with big roast and chocolate notes, along with a touch of earthiness from the hops. That nitro treatment means it is both creamy and dry at the same time, enticing you to take another sip (or pint).

Stop in at Moncton’s Tire Shack today, and you’ll see something distinctly aquamarine pouring from the taps. Channeling the blue waters of an island paradise where there isn’t 25 centimetres of snow on the ground, Brewers Henry and Murray cooked up a 5.0% Mango and Guava Sour, bursting with tropical stone fruit and citrus aromatics. But why the blue-green colour? Spirulina, a flavourless algae that is thought to be high in antioxidants, and even higher in happiness-inducing power. Grab Santorini on tap and in cans to go this weekend, before it sails away for good!

In Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley we’ve got a couple of new ciders to tell you about. Up first, in Kentville at Maritime Express, is the latest in their STORM series, this one inspired by Hurricane Fiona last fall, which had a devastating effect on the Valley’s apple crops, with 10-30% of apple crops lost to wind. Leveraging these storm-caused “drops” from local farmers has two impacts: it helps the farmers get some return on what would otherwise be lost crop, and it also has an impact on the cider itself, because early season fruit has less sugar and more tannins. Made from Honeycrisp and Gravenstein apples, this one is semi-dry and comes in at 5.8% ABV. It’s also got a charitable angle, with $0.50 of each 750ml bottle sold going towards The Portal Youth Outreach Association, “a safe space for youth to receive support and access programs.”

Meanwhile, in Annapolis Royal, East Coast Cider Co has a new cider of their own as well, a semi-sweet cider that wears its blueberry content proudly with its pale purple color. Featuring a subtle blueberry flavor and aroma, but maintaining a crisp finish, you’ll find this 6% ABV beauty, known simply as Blueberry Cider on tap and in cans at the brewery/cidery.

Antigonish’s Candid Brewing is trying to keep your identity (and dance moves) safe from the prying eyes at TikTok, by releasing Californication this week. Straight from Silicon Valley, this Pale Ale is solidly in the “West Coast” style, favouring hop bitterness and crispiness, over the haze and soft mouthfeel. At 5.4% ABV, it certainly punches above its weight. Grab it in cans, as well as on draught, at their taproom on College Street today.

The Year of North Brewing continues tomorrow, March 4, as the Cole Harbour brewery takes over the dozen taps at Barrington Street’s Bar Stillwell. From noon til sell-out, there will be a full complement and variety of styles on display, from their old-school Gus’ Blonde, Pip Pip Cheerio English Porter, Pear Core Values Cider, and a special release debuting tomorrow, Larger Than Larry. Keen-eyed Beer Detectives may be able to sort out what this beer is all about, taking inspiration from their Lawrencetown Session IPA, but increasing the alcohol and hops, to produce a 6.0% New England IPA. Look for this to be available on cask for enjoyment all day!

Great news for beer lovers in St. John’s, the Gahan Harbourview has now become fully operational, and is selling their own in-house brewed beer! Head Brewer Jordan is ready to show off what he’s been doing with a Behind the Brew event next Wednesday. Join Jordan in trying more than a half-dozen beers across the flavour spectrum, while pairing it with different food stations, including oysters, fish tacos, sliders, and more! This is a ticketed event, so grab yours today!

A couple more things before we dismiss you this week…

As they’ve done a couple of times previously, the homebrew-heads at BrewHQ in Burnside are selling some fresh, pre-made wort, for those of you looking to brew your own at home. As it is the season, and you could turn it around in a couple of weeks, they have cooked up an Irish Stout just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day. The specs are ~1.045 Starting Gravity, with an expected Final Gravity of 1.011 (YMMV, of course), for a 4.5% ABV Stout. Low bitterness, to about 30 IBU. Check their social media to be sure everything goes without a hitch this morning, then pop by to grab your aseptically-sealed bag o’ wort (bringing a milk crate or something similar will help with transportation).

Finishing up the week with some out-of-town brewery news, Bishop’s Cellar has brought in a fresh shipment of goodies from Fairweather Brewing of Hamilton, ON. Five beers are in the fridge as of today, including a Schwarzbier, Pale Ale, IPA, Fruited Sour, and a dessert Imperial Stout. Check BC’s page for the full rundown, and to order yours for NS-wide shipping or delivery!