This second week of February is a very busy week for beer in Nova Scotia.
FirkinStein Brewing released their new DIPA known as CUT OF OUR JIB. It is 8.6% ABV and 99.5 IBU's. Available now.
Gahan House - Halifax now has on tap Captain Falcon's IPA. Fruited with real blackberries, this IPA has a lot of tropical and grapefruit notes along with citrus and berry notes and weighs in at 6% ABV and 40 IBUsA reminder that their Brew Master's Dinner, a 4 course meal with beer pairings, is on February 21. Enjoy an amazing dinner, hear from our Brewer, Chef, and General Manager, and take home a Gahan beer glass at the end of the night. Tickets are $60 each, call (902) 444-3060 for more information!
Garrison Brewing launched their new Star Trek/CBS release – Red Shirt Ale. It is an American Red ale clocking in at 6% ABV and 30 IBUs and will be sold initially at the brewery and private stores and at the NSLC later this month. It is retailing for $6.49 for a 650 ml bottle. Garrison says "Red Shirt Ale was brewed in honor of those brave but ill-fated men and women who donned the doomed red uniform. For them we raise a glass of this strong, other-worldly American Red. This brew boasts a deep copper colour and rich malt flavour, and is exploratively hopped with Millenium, El Dorado and Citra. Celebrate the hopelessly optimistic with a beer worth dying for".Good Robot Brewing released Moo Nay (Tripel), a collaboration with North Brewing Company and is a tribute to the farm that reuses their spent grain. With North's Belgian expertise and Good Robot's experimental flair, they designed and brewed a beer that feels awfully appropriate for the farmers it's named for. They say it is "soft and approachable at the forefront, then hard and boozy at the finish, with a white wine character this province is famous for thanks to the healthy addition of Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand". On tap at taproom and store. It is 8.5% ABV and 30 IBUs.
They also have three beers, Two-Penny, Butterbeer and Chaga Brown with no official release dates yet, plus APA v8.0 with Equinox hops, Barleywine, and a new Pale Ale coming soon.
Next week look for Goodwill Bot: Halifax Cycling Coalition on Monday, Blue Valentine, a sad and sexy Valentine's Day event on Tuesday, the return of Silent Reading on Wednesday and Tournament of Broken Hearts curling tournament on Saturday. Details on all these event are available on their facebook page. Nine Locks Brewing has released Fathom DIPA. Epic orange-gold hazy Double India Pale Ale has intensely hoppy aroma with citrus, melon, and floral components leads to a mouthful of resinous oily orange and stone fruit. Finishes soft and dry and is 8.0% ABV.
North Brewing have launched White Lightning, a dry hopped kettle sour Inspired by the Feisty chef and made to celebrate the opening of The Canteen on Portland and is available in 650mL bottles and weighs in at 4.8% ABV. Next week look for Zuppa Symposium Blackberry Cherrywood Milk Stout that is 5.7% ABV.
Roof Hound Brewing announced a release party for their collaboration brew with Tatamagouche Brewing. Chocolate Sauced is 9% ABV Imperial Chocolate Stout with four types of chocolate. He says "Multiple layers of deep dark chocolate flavours". The event is on February 11th. with beer pours at 9 and music starts at 10.
Tatamagouche Brewing have released another in their Giant Beer Series. The Belgian Quad is a 10.3 ABV and 35 IBU beer. The brewer says "Pilsner base malt, Vienna and cararoma and a touch of chocolate for specialty malts. We used dark candi syrup in the boil. Saaz and hallertau mittelfruh for hops. We bottle conditioned this beer into 650 ml bottles". It is available at the brewery now. Annapolis Cider Company have launched their new signature cider "Heirloom". It is now available at our Wolfville cidery and at private wine stores and the NSLC. Heirloom is an 8.1% ABV cider crafted from cool fermented juice made from traditional apple varieties such as Gravenstein, Golden Russet and Northern Spy. A final touch of freshly-pressed apple juice gives this cider its golden hue and authentic, fresh apple aroma.
They have also released their next Something Different. "Muscat Infusion” is a 7.1% ABV sparkling cider made by infusing Muscat grape skins in their apple cider, thereby combining our love of Nova Scotia apples and grapes. Muscat is the most aromatic grape variety grown in Nova Scotia and is revered for its distinct tropical and floral notes. The skins from fresh-pressed Muscat grapes were incorporated into an actively fermenting cider made from diverse apple varieties. To extract the flavour from the Muscat skins, they used a punch-down technique typical of red wine ferments to extract aroma, tannin and colour. The resulting dry cider was balanced through an addition of freshly-pressed apple juice to produce a copper-hued cider with hints of tart apples and a delightful Muscat aroma. $0.50 from each bottle we fill at the cidery will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Annapolis Valley.
The second annual Craft Beer Cottage Party, part of RANS’ Savour Food & Wine Festival lineup, is happening on Saturday February 25th at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market. The event features a live band, cottage party games such as washer toss and corn hole, plus comfy adirondack chairs and lounging areas. There is food for purchase onsite by Scanway Catering (fried chicken sandwiches, doughnuts, and snacks) in the $5 and under range.
Ticket price includes unlimited beer and cider samples and a mini beer stein to keep. Premium ticket price includes skip-the-line access and a full-sized glass beer stein to use throughout the evening and to take-home. The event runs from 7 PM to 9:30 PM. This year's festival will have 30 booths that include 2 cider and 28 beer.
Thanks for checking me out again this week. I will be taking a little winter break so the blog will be on a short hiatus until March 10th.