Hello and welcome to the September 25th edition of the Maritime Beer Report.
Barnone Brewing notes they have a special release Sub Stanchel Wet hopped harvest Ale. Available now at the Old Triangle and Dublin Pub in PEI.
PEI Brewing Company says its Pumpkin Ale is back. Pumpkin ale seems to be loved or hated but several maritime breweries will have theirs out this month and next.
Big Axe Brewery was brewing some sweetness making a special ale using rooftop honey from Food at The Crowne Downtown in Fredericton. They say look for details coming soon.
Big Tide Brewing published that this year's fresh hops ale selections include Indian Beach Kölsch that is on tap now, Indian Beach Pumpkin Ale and Indian Beach Harvest Ale.
Celtic Knot Brewing announced that a harvest ale version of the Hopicide IPA will be available very soon. This version is generously wet hopped with Cascade hops thanks to Jeff Smith of Amherst NS. The oyster stout that they announced over the summer will be out soon.
Hammond River Brewing's Harvest Ale, brewed with fresh hops grown right there at the brewery . It is a 7.0% ABV and 70 IBUs beer and is available now wherever HRB is served.
Big Spruce Brewing released Craig Goes Yard their annual Hop Harvest American IPA that is 6.7% ABV. This beer use the hops harvested from their farm and for you beer nerds Jeremy says it was a mid-boil Chinook, late addition Nugget, followed by the wet hop addition of Goldings and Mt Hood in hop back. They dry hopped it with some Mandarina. Tasting notes on the beer are "tropical passion fruit flavour, with crisp, wine-like aromatics, this beer truly speaks to the unique terroir characteristics of our farm."
Boxing Rock Brewing have re-released The Darkness Cascadian Dark Ale for a fall release. Soon to appear in your local NSLC.
Garrison Brewing kicked off fall with the release of its pumpkin seasonal, Double Jack Pumpkin Ale. It is a 8% ABV ale and was one of my favorite pumpkin beers last year, not overly spiced.
North Brewing launched their second harvest ale "Setting Sun". It is a wet hopped saison aged on sour cherries. Hops from the valley include Cascade, Willamette and Chinook, and they aged the beer on valley grown cherries from Stirling Fruit Farms. The result is a beautiful thing. Aromas that evoke a ripe cherry orchard,notes of tart cherry followed by grapefruit bitterness and rounded out with a peppery finish.
Meander River Farm says its beer Homegrown, their once a year offering of a wet hopped brew made entirely with hops grown on the farm, is ready. The hops are picked fresh and brewed within 24 hours to create a very unique, smooth, extremely tasty golden beer with exceptional hop character. The 4.2% ABV IPA is available at the brewery this weekend alongside the last bit of Summer Solstice IPA.
Rock Bottom Brewpub has a wet hopped APA on tap upstairs at Your Fathers Moustache, it is their regular Duster APA brewed with Nova Scotia grown Centennial hops, which are a bit less piney than their Yakima counter parts with a bit of an orange / tangerine undertone.
At the Rock Bottom in addition to their regulars, and also a traditional British Brown Ale. Light semi-sweet malt body, toasted nut aromas and mild toffee flavour. Lightly hopped with earthy English varietals. Lastly they have a Märzen that is a red German lager, the classic beer of Octoberfest. A malty amber lager with a clean, rich, bready malt flavour, restrained bitterness, and dry finish.
Rudder's Brew Pub is having their 10th annual Brewer's Dinner on October 2nd at 7 PM and reservations are required. It is a 4 course meal each paired with a Rudder's beer. Get details now on their facebook page
Spindrift Brewing saw its beer launched at the NSLC this week. This was earlier than the expected September 28th date and had a lot of buzz on social media. Their flagship beer is an amber lager that weighs in at 5% ABV and is called simply Coastal Lager.
Tatamagouche Brewing as I mentioned last week released a new IPA this week called Deception Bay IPA that is a 6.2% ABV beer. On Wednesday Matt was brewing a Rye and Ginger Ale with fresh ginger and orange peel. It smelled fantastic in the brewhouse, look for this in about 3 weeks or so.
Uncle Leo's Brewery released its German Altbier this week at the brewery, get this limited release while it lasts. It is 5.2% ABV.
Unfiltered Brewing released its next beer today. Hop Riot India Red Ale is Nash's first single-varietal fresh-hopped beer, made with 200 kg of Centennial. In their pursuit of trying to source as much as possible locally they were very happy to find that the Maritime Hop Growers Cooperative could provide all the hops they needed for the batch. The hops were in the mash-tun within about six hours of harvesting, and they say you can taste the fresh hoppiness and roasted malt. It is a 7.3% ABV beer.
The Moncton Beer League is proud to bring you the first Atlantic Canadian Craft Beer Oktoberfest on Friday, October 9th at the Crowne Plaza Moncton downtown in support United Way of Greater Moncton and Southeastern New Brunswick. This event will be set up like a trade show – similar to a beer festival, but food stations will be interspersed between craft beer stations.
The regular session from 7:30-10pm allows you unlimited beer samples in your custom take-home glass from Jym Line Glassware. The VIP ticket gets you a special glass, along with an industry panel discussion and exclusive guided beer tasting in addition to the regular session. Regular session tickets are on sale for $58+fees and VIP tickets are $68+fees and are available now on eventbrite.
Thanks for checking out the news again this week and supporting local craft brewers and until next time, enjoy responsibly.
I had the pleasure of getting an early tour of the Spindrift's brewery that is tucked away on Frazee Avenue in Dartmouth's Burnside Park. Brewmaster Kellye Robertson, who is a native Nova Scotian and worked previously at Beau's Brewing and Garrison Brewing, was my guide. As you enter the front door it is not hard to envision the bright southern facing space being inviting to patrons buying beer, getting growlers filled and sitting enjoying a beer after work.
Passing through the space you enter a hall and pass the cooler and a window which allows a view into their lab. As you walk into the expansive brewhouse I was impressed with towering fermenters and size of the start-ups 25 BBL brewing area. Rob Green, the General Manager, is quite proud that all the brewing equipment from DME is Canadian made and the canning and kegging system is from Cask Brewing Systems of Calgary. In fact Spindrift tries to source as much as they can locally.
The plant is state of the art and will support quality brewing and a great deal of control to Kellye during her brewing days. Spindrift plans to do things a little different. They are producing one beer year-round and perhaps 5 or 6 seasonals which is quite different than what we have seen in our region. Their flagship beer is Coastal Lager that weighs in at 5% ABV. It was shipped to the NSLC last week and hit the shelves this week at four stores so far if 473 ml cans available as singles and four packs.
Other plans on the drawing board are a barrel aging program, which I for one am excited about, a few other secret items and believe it or not expansion if things go as planned.
Welcome Spindrift Brewing to the Nova Scotia craft beer community.
Hello and welcome to September 18th edition of the Maritime Beer Report
Big Tide Brewing's head brewer says it is just about time for her favorite brewing day that uses fresh hops, and fresh pumpkin and soon their Indian Beach Pumpkin Ale will be on tap.
Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault released Bonhomme Sept-heures Pumpkin Ale this week. They used more than 60 lbs of pumpkin and squash, 2 lbs of spices and all kinds of other good stuff. It clocks in at 8.6% ABV and is the strongest beer they have made. Available now at the Brewtique.
Hammond River Brewing Company were making the season's first Breakfast Stout. Oats, Java Moose Coffee, Chocolate, Cacao Nibs, Applewood Bacon smoked right here at HRB, and a few Eggs and Grits to top it off. This delicious 8% ABV Imperial Stout will be available soon.
Picaroons Traditional Ales says their 2015 Harvest Ales will start pouring next week. This year they have 7 different batches from 6 different local farmers, all made with a different local hops, all with the same local grain. Once again you will be able to find out about your Harvest Ale by checking out the batch code on the side of your label and going to http://picaroons.ca/myharvest/
Big Spruce Brewing says that its collaboration with Stillwell Gimme Citra is back. It is described as a nice hoppy beer and comes in at 4.7% ABV. Available now at the brewery and select taps.
Breton Brewing were busy this week brewing their first seasonal called Celtic Colours Maple Lager. Look out for this beer around Cape Breton during the Celtic Colours festival! The Maple Syrup they added came from Acadian Maple Products in Nova Scotia.
FirkinStein Brewing started selling their beer this week. It is not available at bars yet but they have opted to start with home delivery in the Bridgewater, Mount Pleasant and Conquerall Mills areas. They are charging $8 for the bottle and $12 for the beer then you own the bottle and refills are just $12 after that. They're beer is called Nor'easter Ale and is a strong beer weighing in at 7.5% ABV.
Garrison Brewing says they got a boatload of Cinderella Pumpkins from their friends at Howard Dill's Pumpkin Farm in Windsor for the next batch of their Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Good Robot Brewing is introducing the 5th addition to their lineup, Leave Me Blue Kentucky Corn Beer. In celebration of this on Sunday, October 4th, they will be hosting a good ol' fashioned hootenanny at the brewery complete with pig roast, bluegrass music and of course beers.
Sea Level Brewing notes that Hopfazupfa is back for fall. This is a 6% ABV American IPA. They are sad to announce that they are not making the New Scotland Heather Ale this year. They couldn't get enough heather & Randy won't compromise.
Tatamagouche Brewing released the next edition in their Giant Series, it is a Russian Imperial Stout coming in at 8.5% ABV. It is hopped with Pacific Gem and Chinook. Also Tatabrew is bringing back its award winning Lagerhosen and a new IPA called Deception Bay IPA that is a hefty 6.2% ABV.
Uncle Leo's Brewery says its Pictou County Harvest Ale made with fresh hops from Bramble Hill Farms. It is a 5.7% ABV limited quantity ale that is available in growlers only.
Looking for something fun to do in Moncton next week end? Moncton Area Beer League is doing a beer hike that will visit five local watering holes for beer and food samples. Tickets are $49 to join in on the fun.
New Brunswick Beer Tour is running their River Valley Tour again on October 17th from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM . Join King Street Ale House owners Doug Williams, Eat New Brunswick and the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival as they explore NB Craft Beers and Ciders. Along the way you will have samples and food from King Street Ale House and visit and sample at three breweries.
Ever wonder what it would be like to practice yoga inside the serene walls of a brewery, backdropped by massive stainless steel tanks? No? Ok, well even if you haven't thought about it before, here is your chance to do that at Upstreet Craft Brewing on September 26th from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM. For $15 you will get 1-hour practice and a glass of beer.
Looking to expand your beer knowledge and get certified for personal or professional reasons? CAPS- Atlantic is offering two courses this fall. The Certified Beer Server course is designed to prepare students for the Certified Beer Server exam, the first level of certification in the Cicerone program. It is 1 evening a week for 4 weeks in September and October for $260. The Certified Beer Professional course is designed to prepare students for the Cicerone certification exam. It runs 1 evening a week for 10 weeks and costs $1240. Courses run consecutively, and can be taken individually or as a 14-week package. Check the website for registration forms.
Thanks for letting me share the news again this week, Until next week enjoy responsibly.
