Friday, February 26, 2016

Maritime Beer Report - February 26, 2016


After a week off I am back at the report for February 26th.

The Gahan House in PEI is excited to announce they are bringing back the BrewMaster's Dinner on March 11th for an evening of Craft Beer and Local PEI Products. Tickets can be purchased at the Gahan House for $50.00

PEI Brewing are releasing their next batch of Receiver Coffee Co. Transmitter Stout next Tuesday, March 1st in the taproom! Live music, coffee samples, and great times. They also say for the first time Transmitter will be available in Nova Scotia. Stay tuned on when it's available and there are limited quantities so it won't last long.

Mama's Pub launched their own beers last week and one this week. They have:
- Dougie's Vanilla Bean Stout - (5.7% ABV, 19 IBUs) Dark beer with tons of chocolate, coffee & vanilla notes, featuring real vanilla beans, pre-soaked in Kahlúa liqueur, prior to being added to the fermentor.
- A Session at Mama's IPA - (4.2% ABV, 23 IBUs) “Dry hopped, with Comet & Citra”
- Mama's Golden Ale - (5% ABV, 17 IBUs) - “Light, crisp & really easy to drink”
- Mama's Radler - (4.4% ABV, 17 IBUs) "Simply refreshing light crisp, easy drinking ale with a sweet citrus flavour"
- British Brown Beard - (6.1%ABV & 19 IBUs) A chocolatey British Brown Ale with a slight hop presence and a rich creamy chocolate aftertaste. This is a beer that dark craft lovers should find easy to make an afternoon of!

Maybee Brewing started serving  Elevensies Espresso Stout, , 5.5% ABV41 IBU's, this week. Made with a ton of Just Us Fair Trade Organic Italian Roast coffee.

Picaroons Traditional Ales revealed its first batch brewed in the Roundhouse is a Blonde, something for you trivia buffs. They also said their Maple Cream Ale will be back next week. 

Before I leave New Brunswick, one of the town's best known brewery workers John Evans is battling cancer, and the Fredericton area Craft Alcohol Producers have come together to help support him. They gathered a few weeks back at Grimross and produced a batch of Nut Brown Ale. Many of the producers will be customizing the batch with Cask Aging / Dry Hopping / Blending. All the variations will be served during Fredericton Craft Beer Festival 2016, and to kick it off, they are hosting a pub crawl, Johnny Be Good Pub Crawl. Get all the details and tickets at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/johnny-be-good-pub-crawl-tickets-22186107244 .

Big Spruce Brewing was busy brewing with Shawn Meek creating "Meek Thy Maker" - a collaboration Red IPA. This will be released at Fredericton Craft Beer Fest March 12th in Fredericton. Big Spruce also released Coade Word: Snowmaggedon. Slow conditioned on rum soaked split vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and Cape Breton grown ginger, this years' version weighs in at 8.8% ABV and 25 IBU. They've additionally barrel aged a small portion - look for it soon. On tap now. Lastly, their new Watchtower Conspiracy DIPA, their "simul-collab"  with Stone City Ales is now available. It is 9.0% ABV and 85 IBU so it packs quite the punch. Piles of late addition Waimea, Galaxy and Amarillo hops make this an aromatic Super Bomb. They also brought Vermont Conan ale yeast in from Escarpment Labs for this beer and it only accentuates the hop flavours. 

Garrison Brewing are releasing three beers over the next three weeks in their new Garrison Cellar Series. Last week was  the Ol’ Fog Burner Barley Wine. An exceptionally mellow and complex ale, this British Barley wine is as smooth as it is chewy and rich with excellent balance. It has 11.5% ABV and  60 IBUs. This week brings Grand Baltic Porter at 9.5% ABV.  Smooth complex lager brewed coffee-black with blackstrap molasses and whole dates. A rich caramel and liquorice sweetness is balanced by specialty German hops. 
They rebranded their corporate brand Black IPA to Dirty Ol’ Town Black IPA and released it last week. Roasted malt, chocolate and coffee flavour of a stout with lasting, tangy, citrusy hop finish. Look this one at the NSLC and ANBL and is a 6.5% ABV and  52 IBUs.
Their 2016 8th Annual Home Brew-Off judging happened last Saturday at the Brewery. They reduced the entrants down to 10 who will be reduced again to a final four and a winner on March 3rd at the awards gala. 

Good Robot Brewing launched "Ale to the Chief" this week to celebrate African Heritage Month. It is based on the White House Honey Porter that was inspired by Obama after he bought a home brewing kit for the White House kitchen. 

North Brewing released a new beer. Sauer Sagan Hat Kettle soured smash beer that clocks in at a 4% ABV. Made with Pilsner Malt and Sorachi Ace hops it is on sale now at the bottle shops and breweries.

Propeller Brewing's spring seasonal, Irish Red Ale is now available at the Prop Shop in Growlers and 650ml single serve bottles.

Spindrift Brewing released their new India Pale Lager, Riptide. This 6.5% ABV Northeast style hoppy lager is double dry-hopped to perfection. This round will be draught only but look for cans of this new year round beer in April.

Unfiltered Brewing resurrected Flat Black Jesus American stout last Friday (7% ABV 100 IBU) and today did a 2fer. They have the extremely popular First: Double Orange Ale DIPA (7.5% ABV 100+ IBUs) and an Oak-aged version of  Twelve Years to Zion DIPA (8% ABV 100+ IBUs)

The NSLC released its results  for the last quarter of 2015, Nova Scotia craft beer sales grew by more than 25 per cent to $2 million., compared to the same three months in 2014. To give the whole picture all beer rose 0.9% to $66.2M and accounted for 42.0% of total sales. The crown corporation also notes that local products account for less than eight per cent of their overall sales.

CAPS Atlantic is putting on a beer course leading to the certified beer servers exam. It is once a week for 4 weeks + 1 week to write the communal exam. The cost is $350 plus tax and includes textbook, lectures, lecture notes, and exam registration & fees and facilitation.
Students wishing to register in the 10 week April 12th Certified Beer Professional Course MUST have their Certified Beer Server Certificate, either through CAPS or other means. Get more information on their website https://capsac.wildapricot.org/page-18066

Thanks for checking out the report this week and if you are in Moncton or Halifax area on Saturday it is Péché Mortel day at Tide and Boar and Stillwell respectively. 

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

2016 Maritime Craft Beer Outlook


Last year I tried my hand at prognosticating what 2015 would bring in beer to out little corner of the world. Of course I was bang on, and by bang on I mean no where close. Well I got some of it right but a lot of brewers are very secretive, what I will let you in on is anything I know. Full disclosure, I do this for fun and it is very import to me that the brewers trust me so some have asked me to "hold back" on some information giving only generalities rather than specifics which I will comply with. 

In talking to brewers, 2016 will be another be another year of excitement. Look for more barrel-aging programs, collaborations, and of course a lot more beer. 

Prince Edward Island

Upstreet Craft Brewing opened last year and has done extremely well. They opened their doors, their beer made it into bottles, entered PEILCC and successfully entered Nova Scotia this year. When I had a chance to ask about further expansion and in particular New Brunswick, they said further expansion will be looked at this year but when and only when they have the capacity.


PEI Brewing Company says they have a full calendar of seasonals planned for this year, the most they’ve ever done, including an imperial stout, saison and other new varieties they haven’t brewed before. Look for more expansion into New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the west, they are currently available in PEI, NS, NB, AB, SK and NWT.

Moth Lane Brewing announced it is opening a 7-barrel brewing facility on the shore front located along the Conway Narrows in West Prince. To be more precise off of Route 174 Murray Road on a road nicknamed for the brewers father (Moth Lane) or Mickie Allen Shore Road. The building is currently being renovated with the brewing equipment landing around March. With any luck Islanders will be enjoying new beer by next summer.

One more project in the Charlottetown area will see another new brewery opening this year. Although the brewer asked me not to release details at this time it is clear that there will be lots of great beer in PEI in 2016.

Northern New Brunswick

Savoie's Brewhouse and Distillerie Fils du Roy are being joined in by a new brewery in Tracadie-Shelia. L'Association Coopérative Microbrasserie have hired a brewmaster, Jason Haché, who brewed at Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault late last year. The brewery will be 10 BBL in size and the gear will be arriving in May. The name and other details will be forthcoming. 

Saint John River North

Big Axe Brewing had a great year with a lot new beers, opening the Taproom in June 2015 and hiring their first full-time employee who is their new Brewing Assistant, Krystle Ford. They also say there are many surprises in store for 2016.

Railcar Brewing is going to have an extremely busy year. They have recently doubled their draught handles. There is now four permanent Railcar Taps, two River Valley Micro Taps for Growler fills. They also have six additional craft beer/cider taps for in house pint consumption.
They are also installing a new bottle and growler washer and doing some upgrades to the the brewing system. They are putting in an additional stainless steel work station for our bottling station. A cooler is being put in next to the Growler Fill window for sales of 500 ml bottles for off site consumption. Railcar currently have seven labels approved and three are now listed for sale at ANBL.
New fermentors are on order to replace the current plastic ones they are using expect them to arrive this winter.
No stranger to fighting to change regulations Railcar has officially worked out the process with Excise Canada and the New Brunswick Department of Public Safety for contract brewing. Al Bannister from Woodstock will be brewing his ales under the name River Valley Micro on their system. They are now in the process of getting him keg listings at ANBL so he can have tap listings in NB. This will be the first official agreement in the province for contract brewing and has been the result of four months of work. But the stage is set and NB can now have breweries in place that may not have a physical home, this will allow more startups to ease into production and eventually find their own permanent locations.
The big news of all is that they are currently looking for a second location in Woodstock. It will house a small brew space with their current 1.5 BBL system and will build a new 3 BBL system for the Bristol spot.

Fredericton and Area

The Fredericton craft beer scene is extremely exciting and hedging to be the best in Atlantic Canada. The six breweries in the city limits and Oromocto are new or growing. Maybee BrewingHalf Cut Brewing and Johnny Jacks Brewery opened in 2015 adding own style to the area. 

Picaroons Traditional Ales are moving to a new facility on Union Street in the Devon area from their crowded Melissa Street facility. They are redeveloping the old Gibson Roundhouse building and will contain the brewery's main operations and head office. I believe this move will open a lot of avenues to Picaroons.

Grimross Brewing who have been in their own brewery for a little over a year now have been extremely active. In less than a year they have increased their fermentation capacity by 67% with the purchase of two new fermenters from DME. The Brewtique Taproom music scene has really taken off with live acts playing regularly. They hired a new brewer who is a recent graduate from Niagara College Brewmaster Program to help Steve Dixon, who until now was making all the beer. Lastly they are having their canning system commissioned and will be putting cans in ANBL this year. 

Trail Way Brewing are expanding operations to a 10 BBL Steam Fired Brewing System from PEI's DME Brewing Solutions this year. Plans are to open the new facility at 280 Main Street in the Spring and will include a brewhouse, retail space and a tasting room.

Mama's Pub will be brewing their own beers very soon at its location on 500 Brookside Drive. They are working on three beers to start with one being a very approachable American style pale ale, another a session IPA, and finally a brown ale. 

Finally, this summer will see Gray Stone Brewing opening their 10 BBL brewhouse in which they will be creating american ales. Their currently renovating the property at 221 King Street in downtown Fredericton. 

Southern New Brunswick 

This area has been very quiet with the exception of First City Brewery opening this year. 

Hammond River Brewing had hoped to move to a commercial space in 2015 and still hopes to. Keep an eye on this brewery, his beers are too good to keep from larger scale production.

There is one more project to look for, although I can't go into details a large craft brewery will open in the Lower Kennebecasis River valley in the 7 to 10 BBL range this year.

Southeast New Brunswick

Moncton area craft beer scene saw Flying Boats Brewing and Bore City Brewing open this year bring craft brewers in the area to five.

This year will see Acadie-Broue moving to a new location and a new nanobreweries Beckwith Road Brewing and AWOL Brewery will start operations in the Moncton area. 

Cape Breton

Big Spruce Brewing has added a two head automatic filler and crowner from HDP. They have already put out their Ra Ra Rasputin and look for 650ml bombers to start in the first quarter. Also for Big Spruce it is rumored to be planning a substantial expansion for 2016.

Northern and Eastern Nova Scotia

At Rare Bird Craft Beer they completed a eight million dollar expansion in 2015. It will be interesting what happens with the new capacity.

Tatamagouche Brewing is working on the facilities for capacity and visitors. They are joining the two buildings they currently have, upstairs will a social area with more room to browse around, bigger tasting area, and easier access for beer pick up. They are also adding a small patio to enjoy. Underneath the library they are adding a 110 hl fermenter to keep up with demand in the summer time. as well as increasing the size of two other fermenters. They changed Deception bay IPA to a full time beer and will be adding to the Giant Beer Series this year. Lastly they will be continuing with North Shore Lagered Ale at the NSLC and hopefully adding another listing of single cans.

Coming to Truro is High Tide Brewing this year. The current plan is to open a 15 BBL brewery and is currently working through paperwork. 

Nova Scotia South Shore 

Last year say Boxing Rock Brewing significantly increased its fermenters and added an extension to their building. This should make supply of core brands stable and allow for mor seasonals, or at least I hope. Hell Bay Brewing obtained a new bottling machine which we are seeing the results by its availability in the NSLC. Lastly Firkinstein Brewing opened its doors in the Bridgewater area with their strong ales. 

New brewery opening this year is Saltbox Brewing, building a 10 BBL brewhouse and intends to sell kegs, growlers, grunters and bottles at 363 Main Street in Mahone Bay. 
Annapolis Valley to Digby 

Paddy's Brewpub is building a new production brewery in Windsor. This new facility will do the bulk of Paddy's beer production with the current brewery in Wolfville doing special projects.

Wayfarers' Ale will be opening in Port Williams this summer with the completion of a new brewery building on the Cornwallis river.  They will be brewing up to ten different beers and lagers on a 20 BBL system.

Lazy Bear Brewing is opening a 3 BBL operation in Smith's Cove, NS this summer. They will be making English and American Ales with initial sales from growlers at the brewery and at the farmers market in Annapolis Royal.

Roof Hound Brewing revealed it is opening a reported 7 BBL operation in Hillgrove, Digby County. The brewery will also include a 40-seat restaurant serving up pub food. They hope to have 10 taps which will have an IPA, brown ale, amber ale with rye, as well as seasonal and experimental beers.

Halifax Regional Municipality 

Last year was an incredible year for HRM with the opening of four new breweries and big expansions at three others.

Dartmouth area came to life with Spindrift opening and North Brewing's opening a second location. This  year will see the opening of Nine Locks Brewing in its impressive new space on the Waverley Road next to the Mic Mac Tavern. Nine locks will be initially brewing four beer styles: an IPA, an Extra Special Bitter, a Porter and a blonde.  Watch for them in the NSLC as well this spring in singles for ESB, singles and 4 packs for IPA. Two other projects are Downeast Beer Factory brewpub on Windmill Road in the old Brewdebakers location and a new 1 BBL operation opening this summer in the downtown area.

In downtown Halifax there is a large production brewery hoping to open later this year, look for announcements coming in the next couple of months. Olands will brewing small batch beer again in the old Keiths brewery property on Lower Water Street starting in April. 

North of the city there are two new breweries looking to open in the Elmsdale, Enfield and/or Mount Uniacke areas. Lastly a very exciting project on the Eastern Shore is starting up. The project hopes to come to fruition in 2017 as a destination brewery that promotes local products and eco-tourism. This year they will be brewing in a temporary location until the brewery is built next year.

That is all I currently have, enjoy the 2016 beer year.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Maritime Beer Report - February 12, 2016

Welcome to the February 12th edition of the Maritime Beer Report. 

Barnone Brewery was serving its 'Vic's Secret Sessions' ale on growler night this week. It is a 4.8% ABV session beer. 

PEI Brewing was bottling the next edition of Ice Boat barrel-aged stout. Coming in at 8%, they say it will be a great Winter warm-up brew.

Upstreet Craft Brewing is introducing their next seasonal release, Eighty Bob a Scottish Export Ale that weighs in at 4.5% ABV and  20 IBU's. Be the first to taste it at their Valentine's Day beer launch this Sunday between 12-4 PM. Upstreet says "This Scottish Export Ale has a deep red colour and a rich malt flavor with fresh notes of toffee, caramel, raisin and nuts."

Bore City Brewing has released their next beer and it is a porter. Spacetime Odyssey, has been tapped at the Laundromat! Brewed with Galaxy hops and some dark roast coffee. 

Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault says Patrice Godin of Acadie-Broue in Moncton came to brew with them this week. They brewed a doppelbock that will arrive in April.
Canon Franchetti is now available in bottle format at the brewtique as well as growler fills.It will also be available at Alcool NB Liquor growler stations on February 19th. 
They are taking part again in the Pink Boots Society's all-women brew day and they're looking for a candidate to complete the team. If interested contact Petit-Sault by February 19th. 

Flying Boats Brewing has released Lovers Quarrel IPA. The brewer says "Bittered with Columbus hop, flavoured with Chinook and Cascade along with late boil additions, it was dry hopped with Amarillo and Centennial." They go on to say "A big hoppy beer with lots of various background hop flavors." It is a 76 IBU and 6.0% ABV beer. It is an interesting story on how the name came to be. The story:
At the beginning of my brew session a few weeks back, one of the circuit breakers kept tripping in my electric brew panel causing a "quarrel" of sorts between me and the panel. After two and a half hours of troubleshooting, I finally found a short in the electrical heating element, which I then replaced. Having lost the better part of the day, I decided to change my brewing plans and did a one-off IPA recipe. A friend suggested to name the beer "Lovers Quarrel IPA" after hearing of the ordeal.
Grimross Brewing was brewing a Brett Saison with yeast from Canadian Yeast Lab Escarpment Labs. They were using a New World Saison blend. 

Big Spruce Brewing announced that they will be participating in a 4 course meal and Beer Social at the Stubborn Goat in Halifax on February 21st. Tickets are limited and are  $47.95 plus HST per person.
MENU
Salad - Green Papaya Salad (Tom Sum) - cilantro, lime, chili, mango and dried shrimp
Appetizer - Grapefruit & Halloumi - seared halloumi cheese, pink grapefruit, fennel, crostini
Entree - Fried Chicken - key lime, thyme, cabbage slaw, biscuit
Dessert - Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta - creme anglaise, whipped cream

Boxing Rock Brewing revealed The Next Chapter Rye IPA is back. Coming soon to a bar near you and they are sending some of this to Select bars in New Brunswick.

Breton Brewing launched their third seasonal this week. Cocoa Envy is a Robust Chocolate Porter with a slight hint of cinnamon, perfect for your Valentine's weekend. Look for it at the brewery and select taps across Nova Scotia.

At Garrison Brewing this week they had guest brewer Dave Martin in brewing Mr Robusto, last year’s Home Brew Off Winner. Speaking of that the 2016 8th Annual Home Brew-Off is coming up with judging next week and the Gala at Garrison on March 2nd. The style this year is Experimental American IPA.
Shack Wacky is on Tap at the Brewery. This Light American Pale Ale – 5.2% ABV, Some Apple Juice, but a load of Orange juice. Aroma of Orange juice with hints of lemon and other citrus fruits, mild malt flavors with a fruity mainly orange-like finish.


Good Robot Brewing doesn't like Valentine's Day. They what they do like is Filthy, dirty sex jokes. And Motown music. That's why Good Robot is slightly ashamed to present Sex Machine, a Valentine's Day party for those who don't know what else to do on their day off. Look for Motown music. Beer-infused treats. Sex toy bingo. Tarot card readings. Maybe something educational. And Coitusy Call - you buy your secret crush a pint, we text them anonymously saying, "Someone at Good Robot likes you and bought you a pint," and wait for the results. 
They have also launched the Good Robot Glee Club. For $87/year ($100 taxes in), you’ll get:
A custom Glee Club 18oz mug for their taproom18oz Good Robot pints priced at the usual Good Robot 16oz/12oz rate ($5.65 + tax)$3.70 (lowest legal price) 18oz pints on your birthday$1 off 2L growler fills (and $0.50 off 1L grunter fills)10% off merchandiseExclusive Glee Club eventsChance to brew with the brewer
North Brewing finally released its seasonal, Belgian Milk Stout. This 5% ABV beer is now available at the breweries. They also added a teaser saying Dartmouth Dark 2 is fermenting away.

Spindrift Brewing says his week our 7th Wave draught release is a Lichtenhainer. A predecessor to the Berliner Weisse, this is sour, smokey wheat ale is an old style rarely seen style. It is smoke forward with a punch of lactic acidity.

Stillwell Beer Bar had a couple of announcements this week. They are releasing two beers this week end. On Saturday they release "Millie", an experimental saison brewed at North Brewing with beetroot, dry-hopped with citrusy hops, fermented very dry and tart. On Sunday they will debut of their Tatamagouche Brewing collaboration "Englishish", a kind of west-coast style pale ale made with mostly English ingredients.

Enjoy responsibly and until next time enjoy responsibly. 

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Upstreet Craft Brewing releasing Eighty Bob Scottish Export Ale

(Charlottetown, PE) - Upstreet Craft Brewing is releasing their next seasonal release, introducing Eighty Bob a Scottish Export Ale that is a 4.5% ABV and 20 IBU's beer. It will be released on Valentine's Day between 12 Noon and 4 PM at the brewery, 41 Allen Street in Charlottetown.

Upstreet says "This Scottish Export Ale has a deep red colour and a rich malt flavor with fresh notes of toffee, caramel, raisin and nuts".

Big Spruce Brewing releases Ra Ra Rasputin RIS


(Nyanza, NS) - Big Spruce Brewing has announced it is releasing its first bottled product this week. Ra Ra Rasputin is a Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout that aged for two months in Glenora Single Malt whisky barrels. 
The first bottling run was on their new Canadian made DFC2 fully automatic two head filler from HDP
Ra Ra Rasputin weighs in at 10.5% ABV and 41 IBUs and will be released on Thursday February 11th in 650 ml bottles only at the brewery with a limit of 12 bottles per person. There will also be a few limited kegs heading to The Stubborn Goat GastropubStillwell and Battery Park Beer Bar.

Maybee Brewings opens its retail store


(Fredericton, NB) - Maybee Brewing, whose beer started flowing in December, opened its retail store on February 5th. They are between Windoor and Synergy Training Center at at 559 Wilsey Road in Fredericton. They are open Monday to Saturday from Noon until 8 PM for purchases of cans and growler fills. They currently have Roseway Red, Work Horse IPA, and a very limited amount of a brand new unreleased beer, Belgian Tripel.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Documentary seeks to capture NB craft beer scene


Behind the scenes interview with Steven Dixon, owner of Grimross
Brewing Company  in Fredericton. (Shauna pictured right)
(Fredericton, NB) - Two film makers, Alex Vietinghoff and Shauna Chase, are producing the documentary "Beerocracy" on the growing craft brewing industry in New Brunswick. They have been filming since November 2015 and say it is coming along well. 


Alex Vietinghoff grabs a shot of the 3D-printed taphandles at Red 
Rover Ciderhouse in Fredericton

Thus far have done twenty interviews of beer makers and beer lovers and aim to complete the project this spring after a crowdfunding campaign that will happen likely in March. The production is exploring whether New Brunswick can be a major beer tourism destination in Canada, the economic impact of these breweries on the small province and whether the NB industry can handle any more breweries. 

They are using a tagline "Be(er)...in this place",  play on the New Brunswick tourism slogan, "Be...in this place". Check them out on their official channels:

Website:  www.beerocracymovie.com 
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/beerocracymovie
Twitter account: www.twitter.com/beerocracymovie

Friday, February 5, 2016

Maritime Beer Report - February 5, 2016


Welcome to the February edition of the beer report.

PEI Brewing says it will soon bottle the next edition of our Ice Boat Barrel Aged Stout - a Russian Imperial. 

Grimross Brewing has released a new beer for their Maritime Series - Maritime Black IPA. It is on tap at the Grimross Brewtique & Taproom. They say "If you like it black and hoppy, come get some." This is a 6.7% ABV and 61 IBUs beer.

Hammond River Brewing released Nut Red Ale. Shane says it is "A malt forward Red Ale with wonderful toasty, biscuity, and nuttiness both in flavour and on the nose. A very easy drinking English style Red Ale". It weighs in at 5.1% ABV and 33 IBUs.

Maybee Brewing's retail space is open for business. You can come visit the brewery at 559 Wilsey Rd and get some growlers and cans. Please note there is no sign yet but they are across from York Steel and between Windoor and Synergy Training Center. This week end they have Roseway Red, Work Horse IPA, and a very limited amount of a brand new unreleased beer, a Belgian Tripel.

Picaroons says Afterglow Aphrodisiac Ale is coming back. The ale is made with Chocolate, Cayenne, Ginseng Root, and Liquorice Root and will be on tap at The Brewtique and at a handful of other taps around New Brunswick starting next Monday February the 8th.

Big Spruce Brewing are taking over the taps at Bishop's Cellar this weekend. Look for Kitchen Party Pale Ale, Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout, Read between the Pines IPA, JAC the SIPA sour IPA and Left Breton Organic Conspiracy Double IPA. It is on Saturday and Sunday with free samples at select times

Boxing Rock Brewing brought back Unobtanium Intrepid Amber ale. Look for it at Rockhead and other privates soon

Good Robot Brewing released Samsquamptch! Smoked Ale, a down-to-earth, smoky yet approachable beer. This homage to to our favorite sons The Trailer Park Boys is a  5.2% ABV and 27 IBU beer.

Propeller Brewing released a new One Hit wonder today called Black Heart IPA. 6.3% ABV 90 IBU's . Cool label on this one with a design is a play on David Bowie's new album Blackstar Cover

Tatamagouche Brewing says Oyster Cloister Stout, a 5.3% ABV beer, is back. Growlers available at the store now and cans coming. Brewed with Malagash hops and oysters giving a subtle saltiness.

Thanks for checking out the beer news again this week.

Propeller Brewing releases new One Hit wonder - Black Heart IPA

(Halifax, NS) - Propeller Brewing has launched its newest One Hit wonder today called Black Heart IPA. The beer is 6.3% ABV and 90 IBU's and sure to make you forget Valentines Day is approaching. It has another great label design as an homage to David Bowie's new album Blackstar cover work.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Uncle Leo's Rocks out with new ale

(Lyons Brook, NS) -  Uncle Leo's brewer Karl Whiffen thought it'd be fun to do a pale ale. Introducing Jam Session Pale Ale, it is a 5.0% ABV, about 35 IBU's and is bittered with magnum hops and uses cascade as a late addition hop and for dry-hopping.  
Look for it at Stillwell Beer Bar, Stubborn Goat, Lion & Bright, Tom's Little Havana, Battery Park Beer Bar and Eatery and Bishop's Cellar (for growler fills) on tap.  Will be in growlers at the brewery and they'll have a few bottles as well. It'll also be available at the New Glasgow Farmer's Market while it lasts.

Wayfarers' Ale to start pouring beer in Port Williams this summer


(Port Williams, NS) - Wayfarers' Ale will be opening in Port Williams at the start of the summer with the completion of a new brewery building on the Cornwallis river.  They have had a huge amount of support from the local community, restaurants and pubs and will be brewing up to ten different beers and lagers on a 20 BBL DME system.  Spokesperson Chris Killacky says "This is very much a community brewery that is designed to support the local area and economy, host local events and the focus will be on good quality beer using some unique recipes in traditional styles".  


Wayfarers' Ale has vertically integrated by associating a 5 acre hop farm, Fundy Hops, that was planted and should produce its first hop crop to coincide with the 2016 opening year and has plans to expand to 20 acres.  

The brewery sprang from the collective work of the Wayfarers' Ale Society, a club for members interested in brewing craft beers.  One feature of the brewery will be its south facing deck and wharf as well at it's closeness to the The Port Pub, Planter Ridge Winery, Sea Level Brewing and Barrelling Tide Distillery which increasingly make Port Williams a destination place to visit and taste unique Annapolis Valley foods, beers, wines and spirits.