Broue du Païen Opens in Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, NB

If you have been in some ANBL stores in southeastern New Brunswick you may have seen Bouctouche Pale Ale on the shelf. Broue du Païen started up after new years and I got to ask owner and brewer a few questions. 

MBR: Who is behind Broue du Païen? 
BDP: My name is Maxime Sonier, I’m 30 years old and I do everything from the brewing, the canning and the delivering of the product. It’s pretty much a one man operation thus far plus the occasional volunteer helper. 



MBR: What is the significance behind the name? 
BDP: Païen is a word that, when growing up in the Acadian peninsula, I would hear a lot to describe someone who could be considered a ‘’small town hick”. When I decided to leave my job as a mechanic and take on brewing full time, I grew out my beard and my wife started jokingly calling me a Païen. I wanted to pick a name that would be representative of my heritage, but also light-hearted and comedic. Broue du Païen just translates to ‘’Païen’s Brew’’ but I’m also happy to have anyone refer to it as ‘’BDP’’. Seeing as the beard helped inspire the name, I included it on the can. I have plans on changing up the ‘’Hops Beard’’ on the can to represent the IBU of each style (i.e. the Païen character on the can will be sporting a Mustache for a Lager and a long Gandalf beard for a DIPA). 

What made you want to open a brewery? 
I had been making Home Brew for about 9 years. I started off with a cheap Mr. Beer kit, moved up to partial mash kits and kept modifying the kit instructions to improve on them. Couples years after I decided to go all grain and start making my own recipes from scratch using the BeerSmith software. After multiple successful recipes I decided to take the plunge and try doing this professionally. I have always been a beer fanatic and my goal was to make beer that everyone could enjoy. To this day, I still brew for the people and not for myself. Nothing makes me happier than seeing someone enjoying my creations.

How big is your brewhouse? 
I currently have a fairly small brewhouse using a 2bbl Blichmann System, 4x 2bbl Conical Fermenters and a single 2bbl Brite Tank from Stout. As of now I’m limited to around 4000 Cans a month but I’m already looking into adding an extra 2 bbl Unitank. 

How do you plan on just selling your beer via ANBL or will there be kegs?
At the moment I’m just focusing on can sales through ANBL since I don’t have much volume but I’m not turning down the idea of potentially doing keg sales. If the demand is there, I will have to look into it. 

What styles of beer are you planning to make beyond the pale ale? 
I have lots of ideas and tailored recipes I would like to release, but realistically, it can’t all happen at once with my small set up. I’d love to have an Irish Red, IPA/Session IPA and possibly a nice crisp Lager out within the next year. I want to name each style after an Acadian Town. I started with Bouctouche seeing as it’s the nearest town to me with an ANBL. 

Anything else you would like to add? 
ANBL just provided local vendors with a letter on January 22nd indicating that they will be applying Sale Targets and Thresholds for Local products as of April 1st 2020. Some local businesses could end up off the shelves as a result of this, especially ones just starting out. It will be more important than ever to support your favourite local breweries, wineries and distilleries. Being such a small start-up business myself, I sincerely hope that this change will not affect my growth potential and my ability to try out new recipes and products. I am incredibly grateful to all who have supported me so far and hope I can continue to do what I love!

Cross Creek Brewing Announces Opening

(Oak Mountain, NB) - Cross Creek Brewing (CCB) has announced they have crossed, no pun intended, their final regulatory hurdle and will have their first beers available to the public by August 12th. 
CCB consists of  Patrick Sullivan ( technical, sales, government contact) who is originally from Saint John and now lives in Fredericton. Tom Neal ( main brewer ) who was originally from Woodstock area, but grew up in Montreal and now lives at Oak Mountain. Neal Brewer & Helena (retail experience, business, accounting and book keeping) from Stanley area and now also 
lives in Fredericton.
Patrick says "Like a lot of beer fans I tried the extract kits many years ago. Had mixed results, but I had a couple friends who were really good at it, so I realized home made beer could be pretty good. My friend Tom Neal and I talked about all grain brewing several years ago and he decided to try it and did quite well. And about two years ago he really got serious by building a larger home-built brewing system and made even more excellent beer.  That's when the plan for Cross Creek starting incubating". 
The brewery will start with a 2 BBL brewhouse but producing 1 BBL batches for now as they ease into it. CCB beer will initially be going into  kegs for bars and festivals and later bottling for ANBL later and ultimately their own tap room. They are also excited to attend Woodstock's First Town Craft Beer Festival next month. 
Patrick says they like to make ale that they like to drink,  but they expect to branch into other styles and maybe lagers eventually. Five ales they will launch with are Two Divas Blonde Ale, Cross Creek Pale Ale, Copperhead Amber Ale, Headpond Cream Ale, and Blueneck Kentucky Common Ale.
CCB will be testing the market for a while and if it's positive they will open a taproom somewhere, probably Woodstock NB. 

New Maritime Beer Company Sails into Miramichi

(Miramichi, NB) - New Maritime Beer Company will be opening in the former Speedy Glass location at 55 Newcastle Blvd in Miramichi this summer. They will be Miramichi’s first full scale craft brewery with an on-site taproom. The location will contain a 15 BBL brewhouse,  taproom and retail shop. 
New Maritime Beer announced recently that their head brewer is David Draper who most recently was brewmaster at Falcon Brewing in Ontario and won a gold CBAB in 2018 for Salem Stout. They say "He brews a wide range of beers, and has a love of all things hops. With many years of experience in brewing, David is looking forward to continuing to design great beers, for a whole new audience." 
New Maritime Beer have brewed and kegged their first large scale batch of beer at Four Rivers Brewing Co. and it will be available on select taps in Miramichi next weekend. The beer is Rising Tides Citra IPA and is described as bright and fresh like a coastal sunrise, Rising Tides Citra IPA is a single hop American-style IPA that uses only Citra Hops for a bold and smooth citrus flavour, bursting with bright and juicy tropical tones with a hint of bitterness at the finish.

Smokehouse Nano Brewery Opens In Berwick

(Berwick, NS) - Husband and wife, Mike and Shelley Peters, have opened Smokehouse Nano Brewery (SNB) in the heart of the Annapolis Valley. Their official opening was in May with the first commercial tap in late June.

Mike is the brewer and has been an active all grain brewer since around 1992. He started out doing kit beers until one day they went to a private beer judging at Sea Level Brewing's owner Randy Lawrence’s place in Canning. Randy immediately had Mike hooked on all grain brewing. Around the same time he and his two brothers, Gerald and Tim, decided to register their first brew club. The Fellowship Against Repulsive Tasting Suds was registered with the American Homebrewers Association. Over the course of several years they had a dozen or so club members that would meet regularly to compare their latest brews. Several brews were sent off to various competitions with several awards being won among the 3 of the brothers. Unfortunately life became busy and the club activities diminished, but they all still continued to brew whenever they could. With the recent interest in Craft beer over the past five years and having more time Mike decided to get serious about it again.

The brewery is in Berwick on the property that Mike and Shelley have lived at for the past 23 years. Prior to them purchasing the property it was a long standing icon in the town as a meat shop and smokehouse. Attached to the main house is a large smokehouse that was built in 1958 to smoke all of the products being produced by the original owner Gordon Graham. 

The current set up is a 1 BBL all electric system that uses the HERMS process to regulate the precise mashing temperatures. There are 3 1 BBL Fermenters that are glycol looped for accurate fermenting temperature control.

All of the control process equipment is custom made on site by either Mike or Gerald who has an extensive electrical background in process controls.

SNB is currently on tap at the Union Street Cafe in Berwick and are looking to add bars and restaurants in the area. They currently only offer 20 L kegs at this time but are working on being able to provide cans and refillable bottles in the near future.

In the near future they are hoping to offer both brewery tours and on site sales as they work out the details. All of our current beers are listed with descriptions on their Facebook page.

13 Barrels Brewing Opens in Bathurst NB

(Bathurst, NB) - 13 Barrels Brewing has become the third brewery to open in the northern New Brunswick town of Bathurst. The name is derived from old Bathurst folklore from Prohibition Days when in the summer of 1920 Joseph Gammon, an upstanding Bathurst citizen who upheld the Prohibition Laws of the day, mounted a posse. They ventured up the Nepisiquit River and seized 13 Barrels of illegal alcohol thus keeping the town safe from the evils.
The new company is a family-owned business operated and managed by David and Margot Young who have extensive business and management experience. They have also been fans of locally produced craft beer for many years and have keenly watched the growth of the industry in New Brunswick over the past decade and believe Bathurst would be an ideal location to launch their brewery. 
13 Barrels Brewing Company will operate from a new 5100 square foot building on the waterfront with a 15 BBL system and a Tasting Room with a view of the harbour. 
Ben Doucet will take on the Head Brewer role and is a native of Bathurst and returns to his home town to manage brewing operations. Prior to 13 Barrels he worked at Picaroons Traditional Ales for the last five years.
Initially, the brewery will be producing four signature beers included an IPA, American Pale Ale, American Red and a New England IPA as well as specialty and seasonal brews coming in the future. Beer will be sold in the Tasting Room by the glass as well as in growlers and canned products for take-home enjoyment. 

morALE brewsters launches in Oromocto NB

(Oromocto, NB) - morALE brewsters is opening about 20 kilometres southeast of Fredericton in the town of Oromocto. The nanobrewery is a team of four serving military members and one military wife that includes Rémi Lévesque, Nicholas Matheson, Bruno Plamondon, Samuel Roy and Johanna Osborne.  They all come from different areas within Canada, NB, NS and QC, but some of them have been in Oromocto for over 15 years. 
In December 2015, Bruno and Rémi were talking about home brewing at work and Bruno suggested that it would be fun to gather a small group of craft beer fans to start brewing together. The plan was to experiment with different recipes with the idea/hope that if they come up with some good ones they could transition into a real side business.  By January 2016, they officially sat down and all five joined together.  In the summer of 2017 they were very happy with their recipes and they decided to get more serious equipment. The real reason was the reactions of their friends when they were sharing beers and their comments were so positive that it convinced them to try one step closer to a real brewery.
Currently, it is a nano brewery right in Jo and Rémi's basement and are able to offer is kegs only. Local pubs in the Oromocto area is where they want to be involved in the community.  Their first beer sold by the pint will be starting Friday August 31st 2018, and will be at Griffin's Pub in Oromocto, NB.  Being very new they want to start slow and make sure that they will be able to provide to those they offer product to. It is part of their dream to eventually have their own taproom in Oromocto, NB. 
morALE brewsters are starting with a cream ale (CORNFLAKE) because that seems to be the fan favourite and the perfect introduction for them. They have seven registered styles of beer available at this time, that they will soon be able to offer by the keg, to limited local pubs in the Oromocto area.  Those include a red IPA (RED OVER BLUE), an APA (HOPS HONOUR), a brown ale (BOOT CAMP), a milk stout (BUG OUT), a Belgium blonde (PTE BLOGGINS) and a seasonal wheat cucumber ale (9ner DOMESTIC).  They kept the list within classic styles that they were confident to reproduce with consistency.
They add "We are very excited about this venture and we are looking forward to meet all beer fans and brewers to share stories and fresh craft beer with!!!"

The Harbour Brewing Company Opens in Musquodoboit Harbour

(Musquodoboit Harbour, NS) - The Harbour Brewing Company will be opening for business on July 28th August 1st at Noon at 7955 Highway 7 in Musquodoboit Harbour. Chris Downey, who you may remember from Nine Locks Brewing and Spindrift Brewing, has opened his own brewery.
They decided to open the 1 BBL nanobrewery in Musquodoboit Harbour because "that's where we live and because they are no breweries between Dartmouth and Sheet Harbour". 
They are starting out with an all ale lineup with the focus on first brewing our beers well before expanding the variety. Downey also adds "Our philosophy is to serve the local market, work with local suppliers and businesses when we can and produce beers the Eastern shore can be proud of".
The brewery is in the former Bear Den Cafe and will be serving beer on the deck as well as selling growlers and merchandise. 

Hop To It Brewing : More than Just the 19th Hole

A small craft brewer north of Moncton is currently serving a single customer in Irishtown but hoping like others to grow. I recently got to ask owner and brewer Luke Rasmussen of Hop To It Brewing a few questions about his operation and plans 

MBR: What made you want to open a brewery?
HTIB: I started getting into craft beer and wondered about the process of making it. I spent a few months researching equipment and how to use it effectively until I decided on what I want to try and do. The plan was to build my own electric brewing system and just brew for fun as a home brewer. After about 5 months of sourcing, buying parts and assembly, I had a mostly functioning brewery.
The subsequent months were spent making all manner of different beers as I tried to learn everything I could about the brewing process. The golf course across the street got word of my little adventure and offered a tap if I could get a license to sell.

MBR: "How hard could it be to get a license?"
HTIB: About 8 months of red tape hard.

MBR: How big is your brewery?
HTIB:The brew house is 21 Gallons and I have 2 different fermenters. One is 42 Gallons and the other is 14 Gallons each with a matching brite tank.

MBR: Do you plan on selling your beer beyond golf courses?
HTIB: Definitely, the seasonal nature aside, most average golfers are not going to a golf course to experience craft beer. It's just a bonus for a few that happen to enjoy both. Once I have a steady production schedule, I'd like to be on some of the rotating taps in the Moncton area.

MBR: When did you open?
HTIB: September 5th 2017 is when I poured my first commercial beer.

MBR: What styles of beer are you planning to make?
HTIB: Currently I make a kolsch-like beer and a pale ale with plans to make an IPA and a smokey beer in the near future.

MBR: Anything else you would like to add?
HTIB:I'm hoping to move to town sometime soon so I can have a constant water supply. Currently storing city water in 7 gallon jugs
I'm also looking into the possibility of canning some of my beer, although I will need some larger storage tanks first.

Thanks Luke for your time and you will find Hop To It on tap at Maplewood Golf & Country Club

Bent Nail Brewery To Open This Year Near Ski Martock

The Hants Journal reports Bent Nail Brewery will be opening this year at 4499 Highway 14 (also known as Chester Road) in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

The Hants Journal says "Beer brewed at the Bent Nail Brewery will be made in a smaller, two-barrel system – something Steven (Dodge) calls a nano-brewery.

“We’ll probably have four or five varieties on tap, with some year-rounds,” Steven said. “Certainly an IPA, an English cream ale, we may go with a light Belgian beer. Then we’ll have some seasonal beers, probably a pumpkin ale at harvest time.”

Steven said he’s hoping to try new things and be a little creative with the seasonal and limited releases.

They’ll also have growlers and grunters for folks who want to take some of the brews home with them."

Read the full article here Bent Ridge Winery and Bent Nail Brewery hoping to achieve something new in Valley vine scene

Picaroons Traditional Ales releases new version of Pivot

Photo from Picaroons 

(Fredericton, NB) - Picaroons Traditional Ales have released the 14th iteration of their Pivot series. This time they moved away from the big bang tropical and citrus hops and ventured into a melon territory using only two hops: Ekaunot and Huell Melon. Upfront there is a pleasant mild bitterness from the Ekaunot, followed by some honey dew, berry, and grassy notes before it winds down with a medium dry finish.

Stillwell Brewing Releases Glou

Photo from Stillwell Brewing 

(Halifax, NS) - Stillwell Brewing will says to come by the brewery this Saturday, April 14th between 12:00  and 3:00 PM and Sunday between 12:00 and 3:00 PM for the release of GLOU.
Glou is a blend of barrel-aged saison and a sour foeder-aged beer, that were both brewed back in May 2017, to which Stillwell added New York muscat grape skins from Blomidon Estate Winery from near Canning, in Annapolis Valley for re-fermentation in oak. They say "Inspired by skin-contact wines, this beer is hugely aromatic, floral, woodsy & bright, with great acidity and tannic structure, and is, as we aim for all of our beers, complex yet highly drinkable".
Stillwell Brewing is in the red warehouse behind Propeller/Staples/7 Bays on Gottingen St. 

Valonray Farmhouse Brewery Opens In New Brunswick

 (MacDougall Settlement, NB) –  Valonray Farmhouse Brewery says "After almost a full year of hard work, we are proud to announce that will be opening our store front for direct sales" . They opened on Saturday at 749 MacDougall Road in MacDougall Settlement with five beers, Single, Pale, Blonde, Saison and Triple, that were all open-fermented and bottle-conditioned. 

Photo from Valonray Brewing

Valonray's aim is to offer Belgian style barrel-aged ales with ingredients used from local sources, with some ingredients grown directly on the premises with the goal of becoming an authentic Belgian style, farmhouse brewery within the next few years. Eventually they will expand to barrel aged sour beers, such as lambics and gueuze style ales, which can take years to develop and produce. They currently have four whiskey barrels and plans on doing a bourbon barrel triple soon. The tap room will be located on the premises with views of the hop fields which are on the farm of owner Philippe Fontaine, whose family has owned it for seven generations, and wife Allison Fontaine with an expected opening in the summer 2018.

Photo from Adam Jones

The brewery is located just 5 km from the Northumberland Straight, 10 km from the tourist destination town of Shediac and 20 km from Moncton. They currently have hours for Friday and Saturday but say they will be expanded over the summer.
Watch for more updates on Valonray's Facebook page. 

Thanks to Adam Jones for checking out the brewery and sending me the details. 

Flying Boats Brewing Opens Taproom and Retail Store in Dieppe

(Dieppe, NB) – Flying Boats Brewing has recently moved its production facility from his garage in Shediac to a modern 15 BBL facility at 700 Malenfant Blvd in Dieppe, New Brunswick's fourth largest city. 

Photo from Jason Babineau

Photo from Jason Babineau

Photo from Jason Babineau

The brewery has been in operation at the new location for a over a month now and on the week end opened a taproom and retail store on location. On Saturday there were eight taps flowing for pints, 4 oz samplers and growler fills. There was Dixie Clipper IPA and Empress Irish Red Ale available in 473 ml cans with S-55 coming soon. 
They have initially posted hours of  11:00 AM to 7:00 PM from Wednesday to Friday and 11:00 to 5:00 PM on Saturday. For more details check Flying Boats Facebook page.
Thanks to Jason Babineau for pictures and info from the opening 

Shipwright Brewing Opening in Historic Lunenburg

(Lunenburg, NS) - The Grand Banker Bar & Grill will be adding Shipwright Brewing Company to their operation in the summer of 2018. Owner Adam Bower has wanted to open a brewery for a while and finally put the plans into motion. 
The first phase will be renovating the empty space on the main level of the Grand Banker & Brigantine Inn building at 82 Montague Street, which was once used for retail space and a storage room. This area will house a brewing system and also serve as a retail space that will be able to provide samples and purchase growlers to take home. The brews will also be on tap at the bar in the restaurant for onsite consumption. There will also be 4 additional taps to bring the bar up to 17 in total, so they can continue to provide a large lineup of local craft breweries and rotating taps from around Nova Scotia.
The second phase will be the opening of a larger brewery later this year at 301 Victoria Road, which was originally known as the "Fish Net", a diner that holds a lot of memories for the owner Adam Bower; who was born and grew up in Lunenburg. This location was purchased this winter, and will enable them to produce a much larger volume, while continuing to brew onsite at the Grand Banker location, smaller batch unique one-off and seasonal brews. Retail sales and consumption onsite will be available eventually at both locations.

Off Track Brewing Opens in Bedford Nova Scotia

(Bedford,NS) - Off Track Brewing opened at 275 Rocky Lake Drive just before Christmas becoming the first modern craft brewer in the town. Partners Allan MacKay, Matt Scott and Jon Saunders had a great opening with demand out stripping what their pilot system could produce.
The brewery also houses a tap room and retail space in which they offer growler fills, flight sales as well as pint sales as well as Off Track merchandise. The new brewery is going to be a 5 BBL operation with four fermenters when they arrive next month giving more stability in their beer availability. Off Track brews straight ahead approachable beers that appeal to the masses. When I visited they had a pale ale, brown ale, IPA and a pretty great peanut butter stout.
The hiatus ended today with hours posted every Tuesday on social media. 

Four Rivers Brewing Opens in Bathurst NB

(Bathurst, NB) - Four Rivers Brewing says the wait is finally over. We are open Friday from 12-8 PM and Saturday from 12-5 PM with their regular hours coming shortly.They have their American Pale Ale (APA) and American Amber Ale (AAA) both available. Growlers will be available for fill/take-out. with more beer styles on the way in the coming weeks. 

Niche Brewing Opens This Week in Fredericton, NB

Photo from Niche Brewing

(Fredericton, NB) - Announced back in September Niche Brewing have cleared the new brewery legal hurdles will have regular beer releases coming in the new year. That being said they just kegged their first beer, which was the second brewed on their 2 BBL system. Single Origin is a Coffee Sweet Stout is 5% ABV that is described as "a dark beer brewed with lactose powder to give it a lingering sweetness to balance the roast and chocolate character. After primary fermentation, we added freshly-roasted coffee from Jonnie Java Roasters in downtown Fredericton, to really boost the coffee aroma and flavour in the beer."
They hope to be delivering kegs over the next few days, and will post via social media on where you can find them on tap. Niche asks if you’re eating or drinking out to ask if they are on tap, and maybe even requested it if it wasn’t, you’d be doing them a favour to get the word around about a new business.
They will have two other beers ready to package shortly.

Tusket Falls Brewing Opens for Business

Photo from Tusket
Falls Brewing

(Tusket, NS) – Tusket Falls Brewing opened its doors on the week end . The owners of Nova Scotia's latest craft brewery are Melanie Sweeney and Jeff Raynard, who returned to the area after working a decade in Alberta. 
They received help on their first brews from Ryan Moncrieff, head brewer at Ribstone Creek Brewing,  and Aaron Hogarth, owner of Hogarth Malting. The brewing duties for the 20 BBL brewing system will fall upon Jeff and his sister Brandy Landry. 
Tusket Falls Brewing is located at 20 Slocomb Crescent in Tusket, about 15 minutes outside Yarmouth off highway 103. It features a taproom, retail space and will have 2 decks in the summer. 

Photo from Tusket Falls Brewing

The beers currently available include Crack of the Rock Golden Ale 4.8% ABV, Twice Barrel Shotgun Oatmeal Stout 5.5% ABV, Hanging Oak Red IPA 6.3% ABV and Smoked Kiack Smoked Ale 5.6% ABV. 
Look for one of their cans to hit the NSLC in February and another one in the April timeframe.

Brasseux d'la Côte Opens New Facility

(Tracadie, NB) - L'Acadie Nouvelle reports Brasseux d'la Côte opened it new facility. The one million dollar project required the support of 43 investors from the Acadian Peninsula of New Brunswick, as well as loans and grants. For now, three beers are brewed and customers may purchase growlers for filling. The brewery is hoping to have cans available before Christmas to be sold on-site and at ANBL stores.
There is no plans to have a tap room at the brewery, only retail sales with a plan for rapid expansion growing from its current five fermenters to 15 by the end of next year producing 200,000 liters of beer by 2018. The project in Tracadie began about five years ago after the establishment of a beer cooperative in the area.
Read the full article here https://www.acadienouvelle.com/actualites/2017/11/22/nouvelle-microbrasserie-de-tracadie-voit-grand/

Gahan House Restaurant & Brewery Announces Fredericton Location

(Charlottetown, PE) – Murphy Hospitality Group (MHG) announced that they have recently purchased Vault 29 in Fredericton, New Brunswick effective January 1, 2018 and will be bringing The Gahan House Restaurant and Brewery to Fredericton in spring 2018.
The restaurant, which will be located at 426 Queen Street, will feature a 120 seat dining room, two seasonal outdoor patios and a 5 BBL brewing system from DME Brewing Systems. The restaurant will also feature an oyster bar with a variety of fresh, local oysters.
The Fredericton restaurant and brewery will be the fourth Gahan House location, with sister locations currently in Charlottetown, PEI, Halifax, NS, and recently Saint John, NB with the third New Brunswick location is slated to open in downtown Moncton in 2018.
Kevin Murphy, President of Murphy Hospitality Group stated “We are very excited about the purchase of Vault 29 and the conversion to a Gahan House Restaurant and Brewery. Fredericton is a craft beer destination and we very much look forward to being part of this scene.” Murphy added “Fredericton has been very good to us in the support of our beers in the NB Liquor stores. We want to support communities that support us and look forward to giving back to the economy of NB.”
MHG noted that they will be hiring approximately 40 staff prior to the opening in March.