Friday, February 27, 2015

Maritime Beer Report - February 27, 2015


Hello and welcome to the Maritime Beer report for February 27th.

PEI Brewing Company is previewing their new spring doppelbock - Re-Animator. Conditioned for a few months, sweet, malty, and a bit of heat from the 8.2% ABV. On tap now in the brewery only for a short time.

Picaroons Traditional Ales has kicked off a new series of beers, brewed by, brewed for, and named after, it's staff. The first beer in the series is an easy drinking ale named "GRIFF", brewed by Picaroons' longest running staff member and brewer, Ryan "GRIFF" Griffith. It is a 4.8% ABV Pale Ale that's moderately hopped with Willamette hops and just a little bit of Fuggles hops giving it a nice and pleasant earthy tone. Every one of Picaroons' 30 staff members will have a chance to write and brew a recipe of their very own, with some assistance and guidance from head-brewer, Myles Mackenzie, and owner/operator/brewer, Sean Dunbar. Picaroons is encouraging it's staff to let the creative juices flow freely and to be as experimental as they would like.
GRIFF went on tap this week at the Brewtique in Downtown Fredericton, exclusively for Growler fills and while supplies last.
Also Picaroons' Maple Cream Ale will be back on Monday, tune in next week for more details.

The Pump House Brewery is releasing Biere de Garde, belgian saison, soon. It is their Gold medal winner from the 2014 Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards Gold Medal Winner. It will be bottling on next week and will be available in six packs. This is a strong 6.5% ABV and 15 IBUs beer.

The 1st Annual Railcar Brewing Home Brew-Off competition has more details for Maritime homebrewers. Participants will produce a batch of Scottish Export 14C  and the beer judged best overall will be scaled up to commercial size and released as a Railcar Brewing seasonal. Submission Entrants must be homebrewers from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or PEI and cannot be produced on the premises of a commercial brewery. Beers will be judged according to BJCP 2014 Style Guidelines.

Red Rover Brewing Company are working on something a little special for Fredericton Craft Beer Festival with their friends at Big Axe Brewery. Want to find out more? They will be at our 1st Birthday Party tomorrow, and of course here next week.

Big Spruce Brewing were collaborating or is it conspiring this week with Don Campbell of Barnone Brewing in PEI. What they were conspiring up was an Imperial IPA. Look for details on this one soon.

Boxing Rock Brewing Company says they were able to find some more elusive hops for another, and possibly the last, batch of Unobtanium. It came out today at the bottle shops and brewery.

North Brewing Company has bottled its Gus' 65 M Blonde ale will be available Rockheads, Cristall and Harvest by tomorrow. They are also brewing up a secret brew with Bar Stillwell. Stillwell always seems to have great collaborations so this should be interesting.

Paddy’s Pub & Rosie’s Restaurant Wolfville are very excited to have won The Annapolis Valley Chamber Of Commerce Award for Best Bar/Pub/Lounge. Congratulations.

Sea Level Brewing has released El Rojo Diablo Double IPA. For this year’s Double IPA they have chosen a New Zealand hop called Waimea and it has intense aroma characteristics.  It has an ABV of 7.666% and a IBU of 88. 
Find it on Tap in Halifax at Bar Stillwell, Obladee Wine Bar, and Boardroom Game Café. In 355ml Cans at private stores. growlers filled in Halifax at Rockhead Wine & Beer Market and Harvest & Wines.

Tatamagouche Brewing Company says its RR#2 LAGER is back. Coming in at 4.9% ABV and hopped with Malagash grown Crystal and Mt. Hood hops! Light, floral, refreshing. Available in growlers.

The Moncton Beer League is partnering with Chef Matthew Pennell (Chopped Canada Champion) for a delectable 4-course menu of amuse bouche, appetizer, main, and dessert - each paired with a different NB beer, plus an additional welcome beer.  This is a 19+ event. Early bird tickets are on sale on now. 

Thanks for joining me again this week and until next time enjoy responsibly.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Maritime Beer Report - February 20, 2015


Hello and welcome to the Maritime Beer Report for February 20th.

The Gahan House has launched its second Home Brewer's Challenge. You have until February 27th to register and the closing date is May 15th. Get details on their facebook page.

Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault are brewing a brand new pale ale made entirely with malt from their neighbours and friends at Malt Broue in Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac. They say it is going to be ready in 3 weeks. Their diva was also busy recently brewing a maple brown ale with a few of her friends.

Hammond River Brewing's new beer has been tapped at Bourbon Quarter Restaurant & Bar. This is the winning beer from HRB's recent homebrew competition. It's a 7% ABV Winter Warmer, and due to the recent weather, the homebrewer has called it "F@‪#‎K‬ Winter". It's a deliciously spiced Winter Warmer so stop in for a pint of it.

Picaroons Traditional Ales says it is surprise beer time. Their latest brewing experiment at the Brewtique is a small batch of Scotch Ale. It is a 7.0% ABV full bodied ale that has plenty of roasted characteristics, that are all held together by an earthy Fuggles hop undertone.It is on tap at the Brewtique while supplies last.

The Pump House Brewery has released for a limited time Black Voodoo Ale, a smooth dark ale with a bite of a rattlesnake. In fact it is a blend of their 4 Alarm IPA and Muddy River Stout and will only be available through the end of the month.

Railcar Brewing Company will be closed until March 17th because they are on the move. Not far just across the street where they will be taking over the bottom floor of 2 Curtis Road underneath A.C. Sharkey's Pub. The new area will consist of a glassed in brewing area and a craft beer bar as well. More space will allow for more tanks as well. 

Boxing Rock Brewing Company has a new beer out. Wild Axe Bohemian Pilsener is 5.7% ABV made with our local lumberjacks in mind. It is a traditional bohemian pilsener, brewed exclusively with Saaz hops and fermented long and aged cold for a perfect pilsener taste. 
Boxing Rock brewed with Andrew "Esty" Estabrooks, former head brewer at Picaroons recently. The Next Chapter is a Rye IPA brewed with New Brunswick malt comes in at 6.3% ABV, This will be released at Fredericton Craft Beer Fest and released at ANBL. 

Garrison Brewing has partnered with Beer Thief, Newfoundland’s' special order beer club to create an exclusive brew - Imperial Chocolate Stout - especially for Canada's easternmost province. At 10% ABV, the Imperial Chocolate Stout was brewed big and bold for the time year and for Newfoundland’s craft beer fans.  Fans in Nova Scotia can also try this unique specialty brew in 650ml bottles starting this weekend either brewery fresh at Garrison Brewing or all four private stores.
Garrison is also releasing "This IS Radio Wheat!" for CKDU 88.1 FM's 30th birthday. A 4.6% ABV wheat beer at the brewery.
The first wave of judging is going on tomorrow for the Brew-off, hope is to narrow the 80 entries down to 12. 

Propeller Brewing Company has a couple of One Hit Wonder Series brews out. 6 More Weeks is an amped up Brown Ale is light bodied, rich in earthy, piny and spicy hop flavour. The dark malts used in this brew add a dash of roast characters that add a delicate creaminess. This beer is loaded with hop bitterness that doesn’t linger with plentiful hop aroma.  This is a 5.5% ABV 82 IBUs beer. Next up is Imperial ESB, is now available and is  6.2% ABV. Lastly the 2015 edition of their Irish Red is out today, now available at both locations in 650ml bottles.

Rock Bottom Brewpub has brought back its award winning Wreckoning - Russian Imperial Stout
Screams crème brûlée with roasted malt and dark fruit then quickly settles into an amazing complexity of tenacious flavours. Layer after layer; toffee, dried fruit, hops, vanilla, dark caramel and chocolate. Her luscious bouquet, soft mouth-feel, alcoholic warmth and silky legs will leave you callin' for more. Finishes with superb tannin balance. A strong 10.5% ABV and 100+ IBUs only available in 7&12 oz portions.

Rudder's Seafood Restaurant & Brew Pub is closed for renovations for a week of two, watch here for updates.

Schoolhouse Brewery has a new fermenter coming at the end of March. Should help in production and trying some new beers.

Looking for something to do Saturday night? Pop by the Ladies Beer League Presents "Rocks Off" event at the Mayflower Curling Club and help us raise funds for Stepping Stone. We'll have 5 craft beers and 1 craft cider on tap, curling lessons from 8-10pm, oversized board games from The Board Room Game Cafe, wonderful bites from The Food Wolf, and a CKDU 88.1 FM dance party from 11pm - 2am. And the best part...It's free admission!

Adam Bower is having the 3rd installment of Winemaker vs Brewmaster series at Grand Banker in Lunenburg. This local Taste-Off is between Luckett Vineyards & Garrison Brewing Co. Pete Luckett, owner of Luckett Vineyards and Daniel Girard, brewmaster of Garrison Brewing will each receive our culinary team's 5 course menu in advance, with the mission to put their best pairing forward for each course. 5 Wines, 5 Brews, 5 Courses $80 (+tax & gratuity). Tickets available at the Grand Banker or by calling 902-634-3300.

Moncton area Beer League is planning a New Brunswick craft beer dinner you won't want to miss on Saturday, March 21. Details coming soon.

Strides N Suds is a new ,exclusive event to bring our craft beer and running communities together to raise funds for JDRF. The day will consist of a 5 or 10 km running race along the beautiful First Lake Trail in Lower Sackville and end in a social with samples of craft beer and entertainment. Registration begins at 10:00 am until 11:30 with Run beginning at Noon. MUST BE 19 Years and older to participate.

One last note, Harvest Wine and Spirits in Dartmouth has added four beer taps for growler fills called the Beer Parlour. Watch facebook for what is pouring.

Thanks for joining me again this week after my mid winter break. Until next time enjoy responsibly.