Friday, July 14, 2017

MBR July 14, 2017 - Nova Scotia Edition


We are a couple of weeks into summer and out local brewers are busier than ever. 

On July 20th Nine Locks Brewing will be at Battery Park Beer Bar for a Tap Takeover. They will be bringing:


  • ESB - This classic English pub ale has a burnished copper colour with an aroma of toast, honey, and pear. A broad malt body featuring kilned coffee and toffee. East Kent Golding and Fuggles hops give this English style ale a subtle spiciness, which compliments its strong malt backbone. Pairs perfectly with crispy appetizers and of course, fish & chips. 5.6% ABV / 35 IBUs
  • IPA - Big, bold, and bitter! India pale ale was fashioned to survive the long voyage from England to India during the British colonization. Citrus, tropical fruit, pine, and floral hop flavours and aromas overpower the malty sweet body. First wort hopped, hop burst, and then dry hopped, our flagship IPA pairs perfectly with all things spicy or cheesy, and poultry or fish. 6.9% ABV / 70 IBUs
  • PORTER - Delicious easy drinking London style porter. Dark brown with a restrained chocolate biscuit character derived from a combination of black and chocolate malts and roasted barley. Aromatic and medium bodied with a toasty toffee finish. Pairs well with grilled steaks and chocolate desserts 5% ABV / 25 IBUs
  • SPICED ALE - A dark amber ale with a full body and residual sweetness, the spices combine to give a unique flavour to this sessionable offering. A malty backbone provides mouth fullness balancing the crisp spicing. 5.2%ABV / 12 IBU
  • CREAM ALE - Smooth, full-bodied amber ale. Tight white head on top of a mildly fruity beer. Caramel notes preside with a subtle hop finish.Traditional English hops provide both mild bitterness and hop flavour. Nitrogenation provides great cascade and aids the smooth palate fullness. 4.8% ABV / 15 IBU
  • SCOTCH ALE - Reminiscent of the Scottish ales of the 1700s and 1800s this strong, dark beer with ruby highlights is deeply malty. A smooth body exhibiting caramel with hints of dark grains leads to a crisp finish. 7.1% ABV / 22 IBU
  • CHOCOLATE STOUT - This chocolate stout is smooth, dark and full-bodied. Chocolate dominates the palate with notes of coffee and roasted grain. Hopping with East Kent Goldings provides a balanced finish. 6.1% ABV / 28 IBU
  • BREWER’S CHOICE - 100% Horton Ridge malt, Belgian chocolate and Black Cherries combine to give a mix of fruit and chocolate on the palate and a lingering finish.  5.6% ABV / 14 IBU
  • SMaSH and GRAB - All wheat malt with 100% Amarillo hops gives this hazy blonde a defining grapefruit palate finishing with a characteristic wheat beer astringency. 5.8% ABV / 22 IBU
  • GINGER RYE - This dusky red ale is full-bodied, with subtle caramel notes and a restrained ginger presence on the palate. The finish is long combining the cereal astringency of the rye and wheat with the assertive spiciness of the ginger. ABV 5.6% / IBU 15
  • FATHOM DOUBLE IPA - Fathom is an epic, orange-gold, hazy, double India pale ale brewed for hop heads and hop novices alike. It’s not fashioned to kill anyone with hops, rather to give the best hop experience possible. It has an intense hoppy aroma, featuring citrus, melon, and floral components leading to strong orange and stone fruit flavours that finish soft and dry. First wort hopped, hop burst, and two-stage dry hopped. We’re not talking over-the- top bitter, but instead, an incredibly flavorful and easy to drink, memorable pale ale. 8.0% ABV / 90 IBUs
  • GINGER GLEN - Ginger rye aged in single malt Glenora barrels for 3 months. The ginger aroma is followed by a palate dominated by the single malt with a base of rye and ginger. 5.7% ABV / 15 IBU
  • DUBBEL BARRELED - Belgian Dubbel with blood oranges aged for 4 months in Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels. Citrusy aroma gives way to a mouthful of Bourbon with hints of spicy orange as the mouth empties.

Good Robot Brewing has their third SMaSH beer coming out. It is SMaSH Meowth and features Rakau hops. The American IPA 5.5% ABV and 45 IBU and you can find it at the brewery.
Beta Brewsday next Tuesday will feature a beer brewed by Erica Fraser. Sour Mumma Bloomfield is a hopless, malt-forward herbal beer that has naturally gone sour and strangely tastes a bit like apple pie even though there are no added ingredients in it to make it taste that way.

Unfiltered Brewing has brought back Double Orange Ale DIPA back for fills and pints today. The beer is 7.5% ABV and 100+ IBU. 
Unfiltered Brewing and Beau's Brewery of Eastern Ontario brewed a collaboration beer. EPH Bomb Double IPA will be the 8th release in Beau's Ottawa 2017 series, interpreting Canada's 150th from coast to coast, through beer googles. They will be raising funds for Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank (www.parkerstreet.org) with this release. The limited-edition 9% ABV and 75 IBU beer will be available in Halifax: 
Schoolhouse Brewery have released their first summer seasonals. Summer Break is a Witbier weighing in at 4.9% ABV that is a mixture orange peel and coriander were added to PEI grown malted wheat from Horton Ridge and Maritime Malt. Pouring as a pale haze, this smooth wheat beer is all that’s good about summer. Coriander and orange play together in the background before a dry finish leaves you wanting to relive Summer Break. 

Propeller Brewing has been extremely busy as they roll past their 20th anniversary. The currently have Sacramento Common out. Rich, amber coloured ale, utilising lager yeast fermented at ale temperatures. Bold toast and caramel characteristics, light fruits and lingering hop bitterness. Northern Brewer is the traditional hop of The California Common style and it is used solely in this ale. It weighs in at 5.5% ABV and 39 IBU. 
Released on Wednesday was Hopfenweisse. A fusion of a German style wheat beer with a new world IPA. Aromas of tropical fruit, passion fruit, banana, and gooseberry are evident as this brew has been generously late-addition-hopped with Simcoe and Nelson Sauvin.  Carbonation is lively with a hazy golden yellow color and medium body.  Bitterness is subdued by fruity and tropical flavours with a slightly dry finish.It is a 5.8% ABV and 48 IBU beer.
They also "Refreshed" their DIPA and will show the first installment of Propeller's new branding and will be on shelves next week with Propeller's Double IPA. New labels & bottle capson 650 mL bottles and has 300% more dry-hop.

2 Crows Brewing has a big release tomorrow morning. They say Crosswired, their first foeder aged beer is juicy, funky, winey, a bit tropical, notes of crushed gooseberry and stone fruit with underlying bright tannin/oak Calvados (brandy+apple+vanilla+fruity) character. They are releasing cans and it will be on tap in their tap room. They are also releasing a small amount of cans for sale at the private stores in Halifax. 

Big Spruce Brewing announced they brewed a new seasonal beer, one they have been conspiring for some time with their new friends at Ocean Tracking Network. Tag! You're It! will be a light bodied, super juicy, late addition IPA that features boat loads of Mosaic and Citra hops.
They are donating $0.50 of every can sold, whether it be at their brewery or via the private beer and wine stores, towards research geared at protecting endangered ocean species. Expect a release date late July or early August.

Boxing Rock Brewing released Tropic Thunder tropical stout at Rock Head Wine & Beer Market, Bishop's Cellar, and Harvest Wines and Spirits. You'll also find it on tap at The Brooklyn Warehouse. It's also available at Liquid Assets at the Halifax Stanfield Airport. It is fruity, slightly sweet and refreshing and comes in at 6% ABV with a hint of orange peel in the finish. This beer was a finalist in the Black Box Challenge by brewer Jason Currie. Get it while you can.

Hell Bay Brewing have brought back RIP(A), the IPA straight from Hell. The small batch beer is a healthy 7.2% ABV and  85 IBU that is loaded with hops. Limited quantities.

Saltbox Brewery has a refreshing summer beer at the brewery. Backyard Rhubarb is now on tap with very limited quantities.

Chain Yard Cider introduced Ginx its newest cider. Juniper berries, jonagold and spy apples play on your palate in this delicious cider Featuring Ironworks gin, organic lime juice and Nova Scotia apples. Pouring now in their tap room.

Have a great week end and see you next week.