Uncle Leo’s Brewery

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Friday Wrap-Up – Grimross Brewing Brews a New Belgian Stout, PEI Brewing Co. Pumpkin Ale in NB, Details on New Yellowbelly Beer, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-10-04
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, PEI Brewing, Propeller Brewing, RockBottom Brewpub, Sea Level Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery, YellowBelly Brewery. 1 comment

G’day, beer friends! Time to end another beautiful week with some Atlantic Canada craft beer news…

• Stephen Dixon of Grimross Brewing recently brewed another Belgian-style Stout which should be pouring in Fredericton in the near future. Different from the previously-released Destrier Stout, the new beer has, “a little less roast, and a little more chocolate”, according to Dixon. The beer was brewed with hops from Southan Farms in Wicklow, and Maritime Malt, a malt variety from Canada Malting made exclusively from Maritime-grown barley. Remember to look for Grimross beers at the Picaroons Brewtique on Queen Street, and on tap soon at the King Street Ale House.

• As mentioned last week, the PEI Brewing Company has released their Pumpkin Ale across the Island; luckily, it has already made its way to several select ANBL stores in New Brunswick! Currently available in a few Moncton outlets, it should also be popping up soon in Fredericton and Saint John. Still no word if it will make it to Nova Scotia; we’ll be sure to let you know if it heads that way!

• Over in Newfoundland, we have some more information regarding Yellowbelly Brewery‘s soon-to-be-released seasonal beer. Revisiting their Republic Pale Ale from last year, the beer is brewed with Pale Ale, Munich, and Carastan as the base malts. A “hop bomb” brewed with locally-grown hops, it also features dry-hopping with the Australian Topaz variety, known for providing “resinous and grassy” qualities when used in this way. Coming in at 5.3% ABV, the beer should be released late next week, according to the brewery. It’ll be on tap at the brewery, and hopefully available for growler fills.

• Something very interesting from Liam McKenna, head brewer at Yellowbelly: TODAY, he will be giving a talk on beer’s role in our civilization. It is being held at Memorial University, Biochem room SN-4015 at 1pm. Beer has been much more important than most of us think, as recent articles and documentaries have shown. Essentially, you can thank your great-great-great-great-(…)-great grandfather for liking his wife’s beer enough to want to plant barley. Cheers to all you Brewsters out there!

• Sea Level Brewing‘s newest beer, the wet-hopped Hopfazupa IPA, is already available in cans despite just being released in draught form recently. Featuring fresh Cascade hops from Sea Level’s own hop farm, it has an ABV of 6.5%. If you live in Halifax, head on over to Harvest Wines, Bishop’s Cellar, or Cristall Wine Merchants to snatch some up while you can!

• With the City Harvest (cool map of the events here) happening in Halifax this Saturday, several breweries in the city have some events planned. First off, Garrison Brewing will be serving some special micheladas, a traditional drink originating in Mexico that features beer, lime juice, and various sauces, spices and peppers. For this concoction, Garrison will be mixing in a cask of their Harvest Wheat that has been infused with jalapenos. Getaway Farms will be on site selling some freshly-made tacos to go with the beer.

• Over at Propeller Brewing on Gottingen St., Chez Tess will be there for a collaboration… spiced pumpkin wraps with beer-marinated roasted vegetables. Great timing for this, as Propeller just released their Pumpkin Ale, which is now available in bottles and for growler fills at both brewery locations.

• And, lastly from City Harvest, Bridge Brewing is pairing up with Highland Drive Storehouse for a harvest vegetable and  beer tasting event Saturday evening. Bridge’s new Saison will be pouring for the first time; they will also have their Many Hands Wet-Hopped Imperial Pale Ale. The 5.5% Saison is a new addition to their year-round offering, and is similar to the Summer Ale that was very popular over the past few months, but with more hops for bitterness and aroma and Candi sugar for dryness, and they’ve dropped the orange peel.

• Bridge will also be taking part in a Beer Dinner at harbourstone sea grill & pour house on Monday the 7th. Their four beers will be paired with four courses of fresh and interesting cuisine all evening. The flyer with course and beer details can be seen here, and reservations can be made by calling 902-428-7852.

• In other Garrison news, their 3 Fields Harvest Ale has made it into some NSLC and ANBL locations, so those of us not in Halifax can enjoy this wet-hopped beer. Also, keep an eye out next week for the release of their third One Hop Beer (à la Comet and Citra). Sorry for jumping the gun last week. 🙂 It will also be available at the NSLC and ANBL stores

• There’s a new beer on tap at Rockbottom Brewpub, The Rookie. Brewmaster Greg Nash has worked with the recipe since its first release in June, and this low-alcohol (3.1%) but high hops (3.2 pounds/barrel) beer is even better. The idea behind his “American Mild” style is to pack a lot of flavour into a small beer, just like Milds in the UK, but with his own signature twist. For those of us who appreciate full flavour and aroma in a beer, and the alcohol content is a happy byproduct, this is a must-try.

• Also out this weekend, Uncle Leo’s Smoked Porter. Using a variety of malts (the base is Pale, with flavour, body and aroma from Chocolate, Smoked, Crystal, and Roasted), this beer will have a lot going on, with a great malty body and smoky aroma. It weighs in at 6.8% ABV, and hopped to 31 IBUs. It will be available in bottles and growlers at the brewery starting tomorrow (weekend hours are Friday and Saturday 2-7pm), and will make it to Bishop’s Cellar and Premier Wines mid next week.

Friday Wrap-Up – Garrison Brewing To Hold 5th-Annual Oktoberfest, Grimross Brewing Releases New Beer, PEI Beer Festival Scheduled For September, and more

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-08-09
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Bridge Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hart & Thistle, Oktoberfest, PEI BeerFest, RockBottom Brewpub, Sea Level Brewing, Uncle Leo's Brewery. Leave a Comment

Good morning, fellow craft beer lovers!

• This September 21st, Garrison Brewing Co., in collaboration with the German Canadian Association, will be holding their 5th annual Halifax Oktoberfest. There will be lots of German food, live music, and Garrison beer and Stutz cider available. The celebrations will be spread out over the day in two sessions: a free, market-wide afternoon session, and a 19+ evening session beginning at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the evening event will be $12 ($11 for students/military), and can be purchased at the Garrison retail store, or the day-of at the location at Pavilion 20 downtown. We’ll have a more-thorough post on this soon!

• The number of beers available from Grimross Brewing in Fredericton continues to grow. Joining the Cheval D’Or and Destrier Farmhouse Stout is Ben’s Bitter Pale Ale, a Belgian Pale Ale with slightly more bittering hops, according to owner/brewer Stephen Dixon. With healthy doses of Cascade hops for bittering and flavor, and Saaz hops for aroma, Ben’s Bitter will come across as quite floral, with earthy and citrus-fruit tones, and a lasting bitterness in the finish. Currently available in refillable growlers at the Picaroons Brewtique, and hopefully on tap in the area soon.

• With the Seaport Beer Festival happening this weekend in Halifax, it’s time to start planning for the next beer fest… the Prince Edward Island Beer Festival will occur the first full weekend in September, Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th. Last year, there were two beer festivals in PEI within a month of one another; the province decided in the spring to allow only one festival this year. Details are a bit slim right now, but we’ll do a post on the event as soon as we learn more. We can report that there will be over 75 different beers available, from breweries such as Amsterdam, Garrison, McAuslan, Hop City, and Erdinger. There are several tasting sessions planned; ticket prices range from $20-$120, depending on the session. You can follow the event on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-date notifications.

• Not satisfied with only growler fills of Bridge Brewing beer? Looking to get more than pint pours at Halifax bars? Well, you’re in luck… they are now offering 19.5 L party kegs for sale, for all beers that are available at the time. There is a $100 refundable keg deposit, and pricing will be $105 for the Gus or Summer Ale, $110 for the Farmhouse, and $120 for the Strong Dark (taxes not included). Call ahead to order yours!

• Greg Nash is tapping a few special beers at Rockbottom Brewpub in Halifax today, starting at 4:00 p.m. Accompanying a few of their regular-release beers will be “X”, an Imperial Brown Ale aged 18 months on cedar wood (11% ABV); “Vintage Wreckoning”, a Russian Imperial Stout on nitro, fortified with Macallan single malt whiskey (11% ABV); the regular “Wreckoning” RIS (10.5% ABV); the popular “Oaked-Aged Double Hoppelganger” DIPA (10% ABV); and “Barrel-Aged Desecration”, an Imperial Red Ale (11% ABV). Some nice sessionable (!) beers for your weekend! Get down to the Rockbottom ASAP – these beers will only be on tap until Sunday close.

• And, in case that’s not enough big beers for you, the Hart & Thistle will be putting on Nashfest again, with several OTHER Greg Nash beers for you to enjoy! These include “Columbus DIPA”, single-hopped with Columbus (9.1% ABV); “Commissar”, a Russian Imperial Stout, this time fortified with Bulleit bourbon (11% ABV); “Hop Mess Monster v3.0”, another DIPA single-hopped with Columbus (10% ABV); “Old 87”, an American IPA with lots of Columbus and Falconer’s Flight hops (7% ABV); and “Kneecapper”, an India Red Ale, or “Red IPA” with plenty of… yep, hops (6.1% ABV). It all starts at 4:00 p.m. today, and ends at close on Sunday.

• Uncle Leo’s Brewery may have just opened not too long ago in Pictou, NS, but their beers have already made it to Halifax! Both their Red Ale and IPA became available in 650 mL bombers at Premier Wine & Spirits earlier this week. Premier doesn’t expect them to last long, so get in while you can.

• Looks like Barnone Brewing in PEI has started filling growlers. You can drop by the brewery in Rose Valley every Thursday between 6:00 and 8:00 pm; both their Pale Ale and Summer Sessions will be available for fills.

• Sea Level Brewing has extended the hours of their retail store, where you can stock up on their canned beer, as well as 1-L refillable growlers. Their official hours are now Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm, Saturday 10 am-5 pm, and Sunday 12 pm-5 pm.

That’s it for this week… have a safe and beery weekend!

Uncle Leo’s Brewery Has Successful Opening Canada Day Weekend

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-07-04
Posted in: Profiles. Tagged: Uncle Leo's Brewery. 1 comment

Over the past weekend, Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyons Brook, NS (2 minutes outside of Pictou) opened to great crowds of local beer lovers and visitors from all over the province, despite the spotty weather. We traded emails with co-owner and brewer Karl Whiffen, who, along with his wife Rebecca (also co-owner), were thrilled by the interest of good beer fans.

uncleleos_logo

ACBB: Could you give us some background about how this all got started?

Karl Whiffen: A little over two years ago, my wife and I were driving by the old “New Scotland Brewery” and noticed a for sale sign. We’ve both wanted to own our own business for some time and the idea of owning a brewery really intrigued us. Little did we know at the time that there would soon be a small explosion of breweries in Nova Scotia. It’s a good time to be a craft brewery.

Were you doing much homebrewing before you decided to go pro?

Not as much as most people would expect, I suppose. I got into all grain brewing about three years ago.

Who was Uncle Leo?

Uncle Leo was my Great Uncle. He lived in Newfoundland and supplied beer to the local residents in my old hometown. This was during the 40’s and 50’s in rural Newfoundland. You couldn’t go to the local beer store back then, so you went to Uncle Leo’s.

uncleleos_brewhouse

What type of brewing system do you plan on using initially?

We will be using a direct fired 10BBL system.

Do you have any partners involved with Uncle Leo’s Brewing?

Yes, my wife.

Have you had any assistance with other breweries in the area through the whole process?

Yes. I would like to thank John Allen at Propeller who was kind enough to allow me to work at his brewery and teach me about the workings of commercial brewing equipment. I’d also like to thank our consultant Greg Nash of the Rockbottom BrewPub and the Hart and Thistle.

Tell me a bit about Uncle Leo’s initial beers. Are you planning on concentrating on a particular style, or styles of beer?

For now we are coming out with a red ale and a west coast style IPA. Down the road I’d like to add seasonal beers and I have a beer in mind as a tribute to my Uncle Leo.

uncleleos_building

Do you have a favorite beer style? Brewery? Beer? Any hobbies outside of brewing?

Not really. I guess I’m biased towards British ales, but i’m open to anything, really. What I really like is trying new beers; I think that’s pretty normal for craft beer drinkers. If I ever get the time again, I’d really like to get back into sailing.

From whom have you learned the most in respect to brewing?

I guess most of what I know at this point is self taught, or stuff I learned from online forums and such. I think I’m getting a pretty good education from Greg Nash, too. That guy’s a great brewer. There’s a lot of depth to his knowledge.

Is there something specific that got you into the world of craft beer?

Probably my uncle (not Leo) who lived in England for awhile. When I lived in St. John’s, Newfoundland about 20 years ago he would take me to all the smaller pubs and bars there. Wherever he could find imported British beer. I guess that’s not necessarily craft beer, but it developed my taste for beer outside the mainstream. I don’t remember my first craft beer. It was probably a Golden Rye from the New Scotland Brewing Company.

How was the launch on the weekend?

It was great! We sold out of growlers on the first day.  Our nearest estimate is over 500 people during the 2 day opening.  We expected to be busy but not lined up to the road all day.  It was incredible.  We were filling in that back as fast as we could and still couldn’t quite keep up.

 

Uncle Leo’s Brewery is open afternoons Wed-Sun, with brewery tours bookable Wed-Sat evenings. Their website has a great map with the Craft Breweries of Nova Scotia on it, so you can plan your vacation to the great breweries across the province.

Uncle Leo’s beer will soon be available at the NSLC, and on tap at local bars. They’ve got more growlers on the way to replenish their stock. Be sure to follow their website, Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest news.