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Friday Wrap-Up – News from Upstreet, Big Spruce, The Brewnosers, TrailWay, Picaroons, and much more!

Posted by acbbshawn on 2015-12-04
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Baba's Lounge, BarNone Brewing, Battery Park, Big Spruce Brewing, Big Spruce Home Brew Challenge, Brewnosers, FirkinStein Brewing, Garrison Brewing, Good Robot Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, James Joyce Irish Pub, Ladies Beer League, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, The Auction House, Tom's Little Havana, TrailWay Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing, Wooden Monkey, YellowBelly Brewery. 2 comments

Happy Friday! Now that everyone has cleared their driveways and warmed up, it’s time to sit back and relax with some local beer news…

• Charlottetown’s Upstreet brewery is releasing a new brew today. Black Tie Affair is a stout with a twist! To help combat the cool nights upon us, they have added a little extra to the traditional stout. Sixty litres of cranberry juice (from local producer PEI Juice Works) was added to the beer after primary fermentation had settled down; the beer was further dosed with some vanilla during the conditioning step. The inspiration for the brew came a few years ago, when Brewmaster (then-homebrewer) Mike Hogan brewed a beer for his brother’s wedding. When his sister-in-law-to-be, a culinary student at the time, was asked for a single ingredient to serve as the spark of a recipe, she chose cranberries. From that, Hogie built the Black Tie Affair. It was also one of the first beers that Joey shared with Mitch (the other two Upstreet owners), which planted the seeds of a future brewery. Black Tie Affair Vanilla Cranberry Stout comes in at 5% ABV and 25 IBUs, and will launch at the brewery this evening, after the Christmas Tree Lighting at 6pm. There will be free hot chocolate, music from Salt Licks, and a prize for the ugliest sweater.

• In other Upstreet news, their summer seasonal White Noize White IPA is returning to the lineup as one of their flagship beers. This 7% and 70 IBU beer shares the best characters of an American Wheat and IPA. On tap at Upstreet and around the island now, it will also be available in bottles very soon.  Speaking of bottles, several of the PEILCC stores where Upstreet bottles were delivered last week had to be restocked several times over the weekend. Thankfully, the Upstreet Elves are hard at work keeping them stocked, so keep an eye on their Twitter page for details as deliveries are made.

• Also debuting today is Upstreet’s “alternative drinks menu” at the taproom. For those who want to visit Upstreet with their beer-loving friends and family, but aren’t beer drinkers (those people exist?), they now have local wine and cider on the menu. Beginning today, Matos Wine and Bulwark Cider will be available for on-site enjoyment. And beginning December 9th, they will be offering a full food menu in the taproom, four nights a week (4-10pm, Wed-Sat). Local chef John Pritchard will be preparing tapas and shareable plates. And drop by tomorrow afternoon for a Pinball Tournament, hosted by the Charlottetown Pinball League.

• Big Spruce will be releasing their Left Breton Organic Conspiracy, a 7.4% Double IPA, next week. It is brewed with loads of Big Spruce’s own home-grown Cascade, Galena, and Mt Hood hops; this makes the bitterness difficult to calculate accurately, but is estimated at 80 IBUs. This brew was originally inspired by a visit in 2013 from their good friends Brian and Rebecca from Crannóg Ales, who had brought some of their own farm-grown organic hops. While they weren’t able to join them for this brew day, they were there in spirit. A cask of Left Breton, double dry-hopped with Citra and Nelson Sauvin, was sent to Stillwell and tapped earlier this week. Look for the wider release to feature additional dry-hopping from more of their own farm-grown Cascade.

• Big Spruce held their Home Brew Challenge on the weekend. 25 homebrewers submitted 45 entries in three categories: Dark Czech Lager, Altbier, and Red IPA. The top beers in each category were selected by a panel of 12 BJCP judges:

Czech Dark Lager Altbier Red IPA
GOLD: Eric Gautier (co brewer Justin Clarke) GOLD: Eric Gautier (co brewer Justin Clarke) GOLD: Shawn Meek
SILVER: Derek Stapleton SILVER: Keith Forbes (co brewer Mike Orr) SILVER: Scott MacLean & Randy Rowe
BRONZE: Justin Clarke (co brewer Eric Gautier) BRONZE: Andrew Martin BRONZE: Josh Armstrong

The Best of Show beer is Czech Yo Self Czech Dark Lager by Eric Gautier and Justin Clarke, and the Brathair Brothers will be visiting Big Spruce to brew up that beer very soon. In fact, owner Jeremy White was so impressed with the quality of the three gold medal beers, that they all may be brewed in Nyanza. Look for at least one of them to make their debut at the Local Connections Craft Beer & Local Food Celebration on January 14th. Big thanks to the judges, stewards, and the Wooden Monkey Dartmouth for hosting the judging and after party.

• Speaking of homebrewing, it was a great year for local homebrewers on the national level. The Brewnosers took home third place in the Homebrew Club standings (behind the CowTown Yeast Wranglers and River City of Manitoba Brewers), as tracked by Brewer of the Year site. This is thanks in large part to the outstanding performance by Annapolis Valley brewer Mark Pennell, who ended up taking home 75 medals at more than fifteen homebrew competitions during the year, and was the second-most decorated homebrewer in Canada. A special shoutout to Mark McGraw, who finished 11th in the 2015 standings with 19 medals, and the dozen-plus other members who entered and placed in the local and national competitions. All of this year’s results are collated here. Look for Pennell’s award-winning Working Man Mild to be brewed at Beau’s in Vankleek Hill in 2016, earned by winning the Best of Show at the Members of Barleyment and Beau’s Oktoberfest Competition.

• TrailWay has just released a brand new beer, and it couldn’t have come at a better time! Rascal is their take on a “big American Stout”; think dark, strong, and roasty… perfect for sipping on in the colder, snowy weather that has moved into our region. Named after co-owner/co-brewer Jake Saunder’s Black Labrador, it was brewed with plenty of specialty malts, including oats, flaked wheat, flaked barley, Crystal malt, Munich, and Black malt. Bittered to 40-50 IBUs to balance all that sweetness, it weighs in at ~7% ABV. Look for it over the weekend at King Street Ale House and 540 Kitchen & Bar, as well as Bourbon Quarter in Saint John.

• We also have a sneak preview on a new beer from TrailWay, due to hit taps next week. Currently unnamed, this one has a grist of Crystal, Munich and Rye malts, to go along with the base malt, giving it a reddish hue. Hopped into IPA territory with Warrior, Mosaic, and Summit, think of it as a hoppy Amber Ale, or Red IPA. More on this beer next week!

• It’s December, which means that it’s almost time for the annual Picaroons 12 Beers of Christmas! Starting Saturday, December 12th, a different festive beer will be released daily, until December 23rd, for growler fills at the Brewtique. As usual, each day’s beer will be announced at noon via Picaroons’ Twitter and Facebook accounts, and will officially go on sale at 4 pm (except for Sundays, when it will be launched at noon). Unlike last year, there will be no two growler per person limit; however, they are asking customers not to overdo it, as each batch is extremely limited (~360 L per batch, or approximately 180 standard-size growlers). We can probably expect a mixture of new beers and returning favourites, so keep your eyes peeled! These beers always sell out extremely quickly, so if you’re interested in certain releases, be sure to get to the Brewtique as close to 4 pm as you can.

• Hammond River has rebrewed their Two Rivers India Black Ale, a Black IPA that was originally brewed as a collaboration beer with Big Axe. This dark ale shows some roast aromas and flavours from the addition of dark malts, with plenty of hop presence as well, thanks to a bittering addition of Columbus to 77 IBUs, and late additions of Galaxy and a heavy dry-hop of Amarillo; the first batch featured all-Citra after the initial bittering addition with Columbus. It still weighs in at 7% ABV, and is currently on tap at the Saint John Ale House and the Barrel’s Head; look for it to possibly follow at other HR accounts, soon.

• YellowBelly brewpub in St. John’s has released a special brew this week. Top Shed Cream Ale is a collaboration between the crew at YellowBelly and Top Shed, a craft brewery in Bew South Wales, Australia. Eastern Australia meets Eastern Canada! This Cream Ale was brewed in the traditional fashion, using barley malt, malted wheat, and corn; the hops used were Mosaic and Pacific Gem. At 4.8% and 22 IBUs, this beer is the lightest ever brewed at YB, and is immensely quaffable. A little more on the story of East meeting East can be read at Top Shed’s blog.

• Unfiltered has brought back the immensely popular Double Orange Ale. The DOA Double IPA features huge citrus aroma and flavour from loads of Citra hops used throughout the process, with a light malt sweetness and orange colour thanks to the special technique Brewmaster Greg Nash uses on the brew. The final specs on this beer are 7.5% ABV and over 100 calculated IBUs. It will be back on tap at the brewery today at noon, and at better bars very soon. Rumours are that Unfiltered’s taproom, Charm School, will be open in the next few days, so be sure to follow their feed for more details. *Update: Charm School opened Saturday, and will be open daily (except Monday), at 4pm.

• Speaking of openings, after a brief hiatus, Tom’s Little Havana and sister restaurant The Fireside have opened in their new location on Birmingham Street. The number of taps has expanded, and now feature at least five local craft brews on the go, including Bad Apple, Boxing Rock, Tatamagouche, and Unfiltered. With many of the wall murals and furnishings transported from their old location, the spirit of Tom’s is alive and well in the new location.

• The Auction House on Argyle Street in Halifax has recently expanded their craft beer offerings, in a big way! Already boasting more than twenty local beer options, they recently installed a SmartBrew system in the restaurant, allowing them to produce beer onsite. They are releasing an American Amber (Her Name Was Amber) and Dunkelweizen (Bob’s Your Dunkel) under the George’s Island moniker, with more varieties to follow shortly.

• Fredericton’s James Joyce Irish Pub is opening membership into their Mug Club again, with mugs #31-48 becoming available on January 1st. The yearly membership costs $59.95 + tax, and entitles members to their own mug, 24 oz pours for the price of 20 oz, food discounts, email updates on special beers being tapped, and more. Pre-sales start on Monday, December 7th at 6 pm. And get ready for their Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest later in the month – show up at the pub with your lamest, ugliest Christmas garb between December 20th-24th, snap a photo of yourself and upload it to the Joyce’s Twitter or Facebook page to enter. The selected winner will receive dinner for two at the Terrace.

• A new documentary featuring the Nova Scotia independent beer scene will make its debut this weekend. “Craft Beer” will be airing on CBC’s Land and Sea this Sunday, December 6 at 12 noon. The producers visited several breweries and locations across the province to learn about the craft beer movement, and the people behind it. Good news for those without TVs – it is available now to watch online.

• The latest One-Hit Wonder release from Propeller will be hitting the taps later today. Jaromir Lagr is a 6.8% Imperial Czech Pilsener. Details are a bit thin beyond that, but we can tell you that like all previous OHW brews, it will only be available for growler fills at the brewery and on tap at a few spots in the HRM.

• BarNone owner/brewer Don Campbell will be hosting a beer dinner at Baba’s Lounge in Charlottetown on Sunday, January 24th at 6 pm. Baba’s has long been a huge supporter of local craft beer on the Island, and this is a perfect way to get your hands on lots of BarNone beer and some authentic Lebanese food! There will be five different BarNone beers sampled, paired with four courses. Campbell will be present as beer host, along with Ryan Abdallah as food host. You can call now (902-892-7377) to reserve your tickets, which are $49 each (price includes tax and tip) and include a sampler glass for you to keep.

That’s about it for this busy week! Good news for fans of Garrison‘s Spruce Beer that live outside of the HRM: it has hit the shelves in several NSLC stores around the province, and will be on shelves in PEI next week, and in Newfoundland and Labrador the following week. And for those in NB, fear not, it will be available on your shelves in the New Year. FirkinStein Brewing will be at the Lunenburg Farmers’ Market on Thursday December 10th and 24th, in addition to their regular delivery days. While the Triskaidekaphobia Imperial Brown Ale is not quite ready to pour, there will still be some lovely beery treats at Sunday during the Ladies Beer League‘s Holiday Brunch, including Boxing Rock’s U-889 Imperial Stout. Tickets for the party starting at noon at Stillwell are sold out, but we suspect the beers will still be available when the doors open to the public at 4pm. A reminder that Battery Park Beer Bar in Dartmouth is opening next Thursday, December 10th. The lineup will feature twelve taps, brewed both by partner North, as well as other local breweries, it will increase the local beer availability in downtown Dartmouth. Finally, be sure to drop by to visit the great folks at Good Robot; their new-and-improved Burban Legend Citrus APA, now dry-hopped for more juicy hop aroma, is currently on tap.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Fredericton Poutine Fest, BarNone, Unfiltered, Breton, Tatamagouche and much more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2015-11-27
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: BarNone Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Flying Boats Brewing, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Fredericton Poutine Festival, Gahan House Harbourfront (Halifax), Garrison Brewing, Maybee Brewing, Moncton Beer League, Pump House Brewery, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Saint John Beer Fest, Tatamagouche Brewing, Unfiltered Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. Leave a Comment

Good morning, and welcome to your weekly infusion of what’s new in Atlantic Canada in terms of craft beer! Let’s get started…

• Last Saturday’s third annual Fredericton Poutine Festival was yet another success, with close to 500 people showing up between the two sessions. The event had sold out very quickly after tickets went on sale last August, and with ~25 beers, ciders and mead pouring from 11 different breweries, and more than 12 types of poutine being served from four establishments, bellies were full and happy by the end of it all! The Doghut Canteen took home the Best of the Fest award for the second year in a row, thanks to various styles of poutine featuring donair meat and sauce. Organizer Lloyd Chambers has confirmed that they are planning another event soon, with a tentative date of Saturday, April 2nd. Look for this Poutine Festival to feature beer garden-style seating, all new varieties of poutine, and even more varieties of craft beer… stay tuned! Finally, a reminder that tickets for the 2016 Fredericton Craft Beer Festival just went on sale; with two sessions (afternoon and evening) this time around, and several days of events leading up to the festival, it’ll likely sell out even faster than last year, so don’t wait… in fact, 250 tickets were sold today in the first five minutes after going on sale! For more info, check out yesterday’s post.

• BarNone will soon be releasing a new beer to select bars and restaurants in PEI. The Big O is a SMaSH (single-malt and single-hop) beer that features 100% organic 2-row base malt and Galaxy, an Australian hop variety that provides lots of tropical fruit characteristics. With plenty of late additions of this hop in this brew, expect this light-coloured ale to be extremely aromatic and flavourful, without much in the way of accompanying bitterness. It comes in at a very-drinkable 5% ABV, and should be hitting taps soon. Also, note that BarNone will continue to offer growlers at the Charlottetown Farmers Market every Saturday. Look for future iterations of The Big O to feature different hop varieties, with Vic Secret possibly following soon.

• There’s a new beer launching today at Unfiltered in Halifax, and it’s a big one. Flat Black Jesus is described as an American-style stout that has been brewed with locally-harvested wet hops, and further dry-hopped with several “new” Australian hop varieties. Brewed back in September, it was one of the Maritime beers featured at Toronto’s Cask Days, but the local version was further conditioned on oak until its release. With an ABV of 7%, and 100+ calculated IBUs, this jet-black beer is not for the faint of heart (but really, were you expecting any less?). Look for it at the brewery for growler fills starting at noon today, and on tap shortly.

• Also releasing today at noon is Breton Brewing’s fourth core beer, Red Coat Irish Red Ale. Featuring Pilsner and a touch of Roasted malt for colour and aroma, this 5% ABV Red Ale comes in at 25 IBUs for a nice balance to the toast and malt flavours and aromas. Look for it on tap at the brewery today, and at their accounts this weekend.

• There’s lots going on at Tatamagouche Brewing these days! Their latest specialty brew is out today: Smorter, a S’mores-inspired porter! This 6.5% ABV porter was brewed with the addition of chocolate malt, cinnamon sticks, graham crackers, and molasses right in the mash tun. During the boil, more cinnamon, as well as honey and vanilla beans, was also added. After the boil, the wort travelled through a hop back loaded with local Willamette hops. To further S’more it up, the beer was conditioned with additional vanilla beans. From brewer Christiane Jost, “A beer reminiscent of a summer’s night bonfire, but high enough in alcohol to help you forget it’s not.” Smorter is available today at the brewery in growler fills and cans, and on tap around the province shortly.

• Coming next week from Tata is another special brew, Full Circle. This American Wheat was brewed with a special visitor/collaborator in the brewery, Ceilidh Sutherland. A native of Tatamagouche, Ceilidh is co-owner of Halifax’s Field Guide restaurant, specializing in locally-sourced and -inspired plates. The beer features local Cascade hops from Northport’s Wymsykal Farms in both the mash and through a hopback, and Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria hops at the end of the boil for citrus aromatics. The 4.9% Full Circle will be released next Thursday, December 3rd, and will be making its debut during a Tata Tap Takeover at Field Guide, and subsequently in kegs, growlers and cans.

• And finally in Tata news, their Deception Bay IPA is back on tap and cans at the brewery today. The Silver Medal winning IPA at this year’s ACBAs, it is brewed with Frontenac Organic Pilsner Malt, bittered with Magnum, and late-hopped with Citra, Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria, for more juicy flavour and aromas. And they brewed up their next seasonal this week, Maple Squash Ale. Look for it to be released mid-December.

• The end of November also marks the end of Movember, the hairiest month of the year. That also means that Quidi Vidi’s extremely popular Fogtown Lager will soon be no more. But fear not, YYT beer fans, as they will be releasing the last 35 dozen of the beer this Saturday at 1pm. They’ll also be hosting the end-of-month Mo’ judging Sunday afternoon at 2pm, complete with live music, food, and of course, beer! And there are plenty of prizes and perks left to be won by those who donate and/or raise a few mo’ bucks for the cause… check out their Movember page for more details. Congratulations to QV, the top-raising brewery world-wide! This week also saw the release of Quid Vidi’s Christmas seasonal, Mummer’s Brew. Named after the practice of dressing up and visiting friends and neighbours, to sing, tell stories, or jokes, this Amber Ale weighs in at 5% ABV; it should be available at the brewery now.

• Gahan Halifax has a pair of new brews on tap this week at their waterfront location. First up is a Gingerbread Beer. Light in alcohol, at 4.3%, the beer features lots of cinnamon, ginger, and clove character, reminiscent of the popular baked goods. Lightly hopped to 35 IBUs, it works especially well in a glass with a cinnamon/sugar rim! Also on tap is an English Mild. Served at a medium-low carbonation, as it would be across the pond, this is a malt forward beer with a great roast character, and supremely sessionable at 3.7% ABV. A higher bitterness, around 50 IBUs, helps to keep you wanting more. Both beers are also available to take home in growlers, along with Gahan’s other locally- and Island-brewed offerings.

• The Pump House has re-released their Schwarzbier, a German-style Black Lager. While black in colour, traditional Schwarzbiers are brewed to have only subtle hints of chocolate and coffee, with a clean finish to make the very drinkable. The Pump House beer comes in higher than most beers in this style, at 7.5% ABV. It’s currently on tap at the brewpub in Moncton, and is available at all four ANBL growler stations this weekend.

• Speaking of beer re-releases, Boxing Rock U-889 is back again! This popular Russian Imperial Stout is big and bold, featuring over 600 kg of malt, a two hour boil, and plenty of hops to help balance all that sweetness. In addition, 22 gallons of “strong, cold-brewed coffee” from Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op was thrown in, along with 20 pounds of Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans, for over two weeks. The result? An 8.89% ABV, 65 IBUs black monster of a beer, with lots of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and caramel aromas and flavours. As the brewery aptly puts it, think of it as a “dessert in a glass”. Available now in 650 mL bottles at the brewery, all four private stores in Halifax, and select bars and restaurants. As always, supplies are limited, so pick it up while you can!

• Bulwark Cider will be releasing their latest product late next week. Their Oak-Aged Cider is 7% ABV, starting from a clean base of Annapolis Valley apples, and aged on American oak for six months. The wood added some toast, vanilla, and caramel-like qualities, without any residual sugar to the dry cider. The cider is packaged in clear 750 mL flip-top bottles, with a beautiful etching designed by Meredith Bangay, and voted on by the public at Stillwell during Nocturne. This very limited run will be only available at the NSLC, with one sole keg available at Stillwell in the near future. We also have a bit of information some of Bulwark’s future releases. Making a return, will be their Ice Apple cider (previously named Northern Compass), a higher ABV cider, as well as the very popular Sour Cherry cider, that was released in the summer. We’ll fill you in when they become available!

• AB-InBev has announced that they will be brewing once again in their Keith’s Brewery Market/Lower Water Street location in the new year. The brewery space, which has not produced beer for several years, will be undergoing major brewery upgrades, to the tune of $1.5M, and the hiring of a new brewmaster for the location. Due to customer demand, and perhaps feeling the heat from the expansion of local craft breweries (both in number and market share), they are promising to produce “small-batch, innovative brews” in this location, available at local bars and the NSLC. At their planned 2,000 hectolitre capacity, this would certainly put them on the big side of “small”. The new facility should be putting out beer in mid-Spring 2016.

• Tickets for the 2016 Saint John Beer Fest are now on sale. As always, they expect to have plenty of craft beer available to sample, along with options for food to purchase from local establishments, and live entertainment throughout the festival. Once again taking place within the atrium of Market Square, the festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 16th. There are two ticket options: general admission from 7:30-9:30 pm for $63.96 per ticket, and a VIP ticket for $74.52, which gets you in at 7 pm to sample some “limited specialty brews”. We’ll have more info on the Fest for you as it gets closer!

Have a fantastic weekend! If you’re in the Moncton area tonight, the Moncton Beer League still has some tickets left for their Flights ‘n Bites: Whisky & Beer Edition; taking place at the Alma City Club from 7-10 pm, there will be several pairings of various scotch and whiskies, Pump House beer, and food items. If you’re in Sackville, be sure to drop by your ANBL growler station this weekend, as Flying Boats will have a small amount of their Dixie Clipper IPA pouring once one of the taps is freed up; look for that to occur around Saturday or Sunday. Maybee Brewing has officially brewed their first batch of beer (their American Amber, Roseway Red) on their new DME system; those of you in Fredericton can expect to see it on tap and in cans sometime in December, around their official launch. Upstreet Brewing‘s bottled beer (Commons, Do-Gooder, and Rhuby Social) are now available for purchase outside of the brewery, at select PEILCC locations. And a reminder that Garrison’s Spruce Beer will be released today at the brewery, and tomorrow at NSLC stores. And to celebrate they are tapping casks of it and their Winter Warmer (along with mulled cider and hot chocolate) tomorrow beginning at 11am at the brewery, with all proceeds going to the Christmas Daddies Charity.

Friday Wrap-Up – News from Propeller, Big Spruce, Boxing Rock, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Garrison, Stillwell Beer Bar and more!

Posted by acbbchris on 2015-11-13
Posted in: Friday Wrap-Up. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Christmas Beer Garden at the Market, Distillerie Fils du Roy, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Garrison Home Brew-Off Challenge, Gray Stone Brewing, Grimross Brewing, Hammond River Brewing, James Joyce Irish Pub, Meander River Farm and Brewery, North Brewing, Picaroons, Propeller Brewing, Red Rover Craft Cider, Stillwell Beer Bar, The Brewnosers, TrailWay Brewing, Upstreet Craft Brewing. 3 comments

Happy Friday, dear readers! We hope your Friday the 13th turns out better than the one in those movies. At least you’ll be drinking great beer if you grab a few of the ones mentioned below!

• Propeller Brewing released their latest One Hit Wonder late last week, named Down East North West IPA (DENWIPA). This 6.8% unfiltered IPA is an ode to West Coast IPAs, with a solid bitterness and a full blast of pine and citrus aroma. The orange-hued beer features a creamy white head, and a touch of sweetness to round out the big hopping. As with all of their One Hit Wonders, it is available at both their Gottingen and Windmill locations in growler fills only, and on rotating taps in the city, but not for long!

• Expanding on the popularity of the brew, Propeller’s Rye IPA is now available in six packs, as well as bombers. The 6.8% IPA features a generous addition of rye malt for a spicy character to accentuate the citrus aroma from the Pacific Northwest hops. For when you don’t want to drink a full 650ml of the beer, six packs are available at the Prop Shoppe, and the private beer stores, while the NSLC will continue to carry the bombers.

• And great news for those of us who attended the Prop’r Cask Nights in 2013 and 2014, they will be making a return! Propeller will be partnering with a local kitchen to cater their Gottingen St tasting room for an evening of food and fun, featuring special one-off casks and special blends for the occasion. We’ll let you know once the details are released.

• Big Spruce released their very popular Crazy Ivan Double IPA late last week. Brewed with 100% imported German malts, this orange-hued DIPA comes in at 8% ABV and over 100 IBUs, with a beautiful full hop blast on the nose. Due to the sheer volume of hops in the boil, the yield for this brew is less than standard Big Spruce brews, so don’t delay in grabbing a sample or growler at the brewery, or on tap at their accounts.

• And not shying away from the hoppier branch of beers, they recently brewed their Left Breton Organic Conspiracy IPA. This beer uses their own farm-grown organic hops, showcasing their 2015 harvest Cascade, among others. This brew first made its debut in 2013, when their good friends Brian and Rebecca from Crannóg Ales brought some of their own farm-grown organic hops. While they weren’t able to join them for this brew day, they were there in spirit.

• And look out for another conspiracy beer in the coming weeks and months, as the Big Spruce crew is invading Boxing Rock in Shelburne today for a special brewday. Taking a cue from today’s date, they are scaring up an Imperial Brown Ale named Triskaidekaphobia. This fear-inducing 9% beer will be then be conditioned on cherries and vanilla beans, with both non- and Glenora-barrel-aged versions seeing their release. A few members of the Ladies Beer League are in attendance today; follow along on their Twitter to get a peek at the mayhem.

• Distillerie Fils du Roy have released another new beer, North Shore Regiment. The beer was named after the Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that was founded in Chatham, New Brunswick; they participated in many notable battles of World War II, including the Juno Beach landing on D-Day. The beer is an English Barleywine, a Strong Ale that is rich and malty, with complex flavours that may include toffee, toast, caramel, and molasses. Fils du Roy’s take on the style IS a strong one, clocking in at a whopping 12% ABV! Bittered to 45 IBUs to help balance the strong malt character, it’s available now in 750 mL bottles at the brewery and select ANBL stores; it’s also currently on tap at all four ANBL growler stations.

• Garrison Brewing has announced the style details of their 2016 Home Brew-Off Competition, and it is American IPA with Experimental Feature. This is category is wide open to individual interpretation: as long as it uses an American IPA as its base, and falls within those style guidelines (Style 21A from 2015 BJCP details here), it’s fair game! Novel ingredient additions are encouraged, including fruits, herbs, spices, etc, with your imagination as your only limit, as long as the Am IPA characters still shine through. From the brewery, “If it clearly fits one of the 21B – Specialty IPA sub-styles, then it probably isn’t what we have in mind”. The registration forms will be available shortly (be sure to mark down which special ingredient(s) were used!), and the beers will be due February 11th, with the Awards Gala held March 3rd. So, get brainstorming on recipes, and fire up your kettles for some test batches, Maritime Homebrewers! Post your brewday, and follow along with others as they brew, using the #GHBO16 tag on Twitter.

• And in more Garrison news, their popular seasonal Martello Stout has returned for the cooler months. This year’s batch features a new recipe with a slightly higher 5% ABV, and a higher percentage of oats for a great smooth and creamy character. The chocolate and espresso notes will keep you happy while you curl up by the fire. Look for it on sale in bombers at the brewery and private stores, and on tap in our local market. Also look for their flagship Irish Red in its new branding and large bottle format at the NSLC shortly.

• Bar Stillwell is celebrating their Second Anniversary this weekend, and there will be a ton of great beers and food to celebrate. They will be pouring a full complement of local and regional beers on their taps and beer engines, including Red Rover’s VeRRy PeRRy and White Witch, aged kegs of Grimross Chantelope and Tatamagouche Rum Barrel-Aged Dreadnot, a special one-off cask of Extra Special Bitter from The Brewnosers Homebrew Club (brewed at Good Robot), as well as several great sour Quebec beers, including Trou du Diable Oude Blanche, Ze Blend and L’Ours, and Dunham Tropicale and Assemblage #1. In addition to the taps, they will be popping bottles from Jester King, Dunham, and other beauties they’ve been cellaring. Of course, Chef GR will be serving up some killer food to complement the beers, including smoked brisket poutine and the infamous boatzel.  The event kicks off when the doors open at 6pm Sunday, and there are no tickets required. We’ll see you there!

• The anniversary party will also be the debut of Stillwell’s celebratory brew, Two. Brewed at North, Two is a 4.5% “rustic farmhouse” beer, inspired by both traditional saison and modern American farmhouse brewing. It was fermented using a mixed blend of yeasts and bacteria, for waves of funky and tart/acidic characteristics, on an effervescent and light base. It was hopped with Saaz and Sterling, for a peppery and fruity nose. From Stillwell, “It was a very experimental brew but we’re extremely pleased with the results; it turned out just as we’d hoped it would. We’re very grateful to Peter at North Brewing for allowing us to brew this beer at his brewery.” The beer will be available in both draft and bottle-conditioned pours. After the party, bottles will be available for purchase at North, and if you spot it, grab it!, as we don’t expect it to last long.

• There’s a new beer fermenting at Grimross Brewing, and it should be ready in plenty of time for the fast-approaching Christmas season. Dubbel Noel is actually the same recipe as their original Dubbel; however, this time around, the beer will be further conditioned on vanilla beans. Owner/brewer Stephen Dixon expects the vanilla to “add depth and richness to the already great flavours of caramel, candy and malt”, providing a subtle – but still enjoyable – contrast to the original beer. The ABV and IBUs (6.8% and 18, respectively) will not change; look for the new beer to be released by early December.

• Speaking of Christmas, next month will feature the first Christmas-themed beer event from those behind the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. The Christmas Beer Garden at the Market is currently scheduled for Sunday, December 20th, from 10 am – 3 pm. Visitors to the Boyce Farmers Market will be able to take a break from the shopping and enjoy some brews from Garrison, Grimross, Maybee, Petit-Sault, Red Rover, Sunset Heights Meadery, and TrailWay. Both 4oz samples and 12oz pours (9oz for cider and mead) will be available, and there is no ticket required to attend. However, those who buy the Early Bird tickets (available at the link above) will receive a special glass which allows for 16oz pours for the price of 12oz, as well as their first four beer tickets on the house. The event will be cash-only, as are many of the Farmers Market vendors, so plan accordingly. And food from the great vendors at the market can be brought into the Beer Gardens area.

• There are two new seasonal beers soon to be brewed over at Hammond River. First off is an old homebrew favourite of owner/brewer Shane Steeves: Foghorn Coffee Porter. Brewed with a grist containing Maris Otter, Crystal 120 L, Chocolate malt, and Roasted Barley, it also features the addition of Foghorn coffee beans from local roasters Java Moose; it should come in at ~6% ABV. Next up is definitely an interesting new experiment: White Stout is brewed with a grist that includes oats and barley, and also features the addition of Foghorn coffee. The beer is further conditioned on cacao nibs, with the intended result being, you guessed it, a pale beer that smells and tastes roasty and chocolatey, like a stout! This one will be targeted at 7.2% ABV and ~37 IBUs. Stay tuned for release details on both beers over the coming weeks.

• TrailWay has brewed up a new Milk Stout, their first since their original “Imperial Coffee Milk Stout”, Double Double, released last March. Similar in some ways to Double Double, this newer “Experimental Milk Stout” made its first appearance last night at the King Street Ale House Cask Night. In fact, future releases of the same batch will continue to be cask-only; while last night’s was served in a standard cask, the beer’s next appearance will likely be served after conditioning on whisky-soaked oak chips. Featuring a higher percentage of lactose powder added in the boil, to boost the beer’s mouthfeel and perception of sweetness, it comes in at ~6.2% ABV. Keep your eyes on TrailWay’s social media pages for future cask releases! And remember that TrailWay is pouring at the Fredericton ANBL growler station this weekend; their Session IPA is on in limited supply, so get over there quickly!

• One of Fredericton’s upcoming breweries, Gray Stone Brewing, has announced recently that their plans to open in the Capital Complex have been cancelled. Instead, they hope to open in another currently-unconfirmed downtown location, where they will still house both a 10 bbl brewery and tasting room. Currently employing three brewers, they still plan on launching with the four beers we’ve reported on before (an American Pale Ale, American IPA, American Stout and Brown Ale), along with several other styles to follow shortly after. We’ll keep you further updated on their progress; right now, plans are to open the brewery and tasting room to the public in May, 2016.

• The James Joyce Irish Pub has announced the third in their series of tap takeovers, Meet Your Makers, for Thursday, November 26th at 7 pm. After initial offerings from Big Axe and Red Rover, the next event will feature Picaroons. We’re not certain on exactly which beers will be pouring, but have been assured that there will be several one-off beers, including at least one cask. It also sounds like several Picaroons staff members will be on hand, eager to chat beer. As always, there is no charge to attend; just pay by the pour!

• Meander River released their Homegrown Wet Hopped Pale Ale a few weeks ago, but we missed announcing it when it happened. Our apologies! Good news, though, as it is currently on tap for growler fills at Bishop’s Cellar and Harvest Wines. Using a blend of their own farm-grown Cascade and Zeus, the beer was hopped exclusively using the mash tun as a hopback. This allows the characteristic taste and aroma of wet hops to shine through in the 4.2% beer. And for those heading to the brewery this weekend, look for their First Frost Cider and return of Smokey Chipotle Porter.

A few more things before we sign off this week: Speaking of growler fills, Red Rover will be making their debut on a growler filling station early next week. However, it will be not be in New Brunswick, but in Nova Scotia, with RockHead in Halifax pouring their Fall Cider. Charlottetown’s Upstreet has released their Rhuby Social in bottles, joining their Do-Gooder APA and Commons Pilsner, so now you can take their strawberry and rhubarb witbier home in a smaller format. Bulwark’s Winter Cider is back for the season, and will be available at the NSLC shortly. They have also bottled their Hopped Cider, which will be debuting at the NSLC in the next week or two. Though it’s six months away, tickets for next May’s Full House event as part of NS Craft Beer Week have already gone on sale. The event is May 14th, and once again there will be two sessions, 1:30-4pm and 6:30-9pm, and will feature as many NS breweries as can fit in the same room.