Horton Ridge is opening a Brewery

(Hortonville, Nova Scotia) - Horton Ridge Malt and Grain Company announced they are planning to open a small brewery at their malt house on Ridge Road. 
Owner Alan Stewart says there are two main reasons behind opening a brewery. He says "We have a gorgeous building located in a prime location, hence we will attract a lot of visitors.  Most folks are not familiar with malt, so a retail experience centered on malt alone will require a lot of explanation as to what malt is.  Folks know beer, so a retail experience with beer is more interesting, and will make the malt explanation that much easier.  Our main goal is to educate visitors on the important role that malt plays in beer production, and on the potential of the agricultural aspect of malt production." 
Mr. Stewart says the other reason is "We should be the first to know how our malt behaves in the mash tun, to provide useful info to our brewery customers. We also want to build beers around our malts with malt-forward offerings".
The plans are to only sell their beer from their facility not selling kegs offsite and competing with their malt customers. In addition to their own beer on tap they will showcase guest beer made from their malt. Mr. Stewart is no stranger to the farmers market and may use it as a wintertime venue for them to sell growlers.  Their brewer is a local home brewer who has been working with their malts from the very beginning of their malting days. 
At the moment they have plans to install a 1 BBL system, hoping that this will be large enough given that they will be only selling their beers onsite and to be in operation by July 1st 2017.

Fredericton Craft Beer Fest has a lot to offer

Fredericton Craft Beer Fest turns 5 this year and has established itself as the premier independent craft beer show in the region. It has expanded from a evening only Saturday night event to five days of events with the beer event being the crown jewel running in the afternoon and evening.
The complete schedule is below and if you are in the area there is lots to check out for the beer lover. 

March 8^th, 2017
Rock-Paper-Scissors-Beer Tournament: Time 7PM-9PM, Location King Street Ale House, Cost $5 winner take all, pay-as-you-go drinks, NB Craft Beer Happy Hour.
It’s going to be Offal! Again! : 7-10PM,  Location The Maverick Room, Cost $89 +, five course meal & 5-12oz NB Craft Beers.

March 9^th, 2017
Nova Scotia Tap Take Over: 5-10PM, Location King Street Ale House, Cost $25, 10-5oz samples and glass to take home, pay-as-you-go beers and food after.

Atlantic Canada Beer Blog Trivia: 7-9PM, Location King Street Ale House, Cost Free, Pay-as-you-go food and drinks.

March 10^th, 2017
A day of Beer education: 9-5PM, Crowne Plaza Fredericton, Cost $40 ( $30 if attending FCBF17), day of classes and lunch is provided.

March 11^th, 2017
Fredericton Craft Beer Festival Main Events: Time 12:30-4PM VIP, 1:30-4PM Regular, 6-9:30PM VIP, 7-9:30PM Regular, Location Fredericton Convention Centre, cost $55-$65.

March 12^th, 2017
Down the Keg 3KM Run: Time 11:30, Location King Street Ale House, cost $5, Complimentary beverages, Pay-as-you-go food and drinks, NB Craft Beer Happy Hour.

MBR February 10, 2017 - New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island Edition

Welcome to the February 10th edition of the report. 

Acadie-Broue released two new beers this week at Bar le Coude on the l'Université de Moncton campus. They released Tricole a Belgian Tripel and Kazakh a Russian Imperial Stout. Every one including the general public are welcome at the bar. 

Bagtown Brewing released details on its upcoming first beer. Wobbly Duck is a medium bodied English Pale Ale with a low carbonation. It is golden in colour with a moderate hop aroma and a mild bitterness. You will be able to taste a mix of fruity, earthy and malty flavours with a smooth finish. Watch for this one coming out real soon. 

Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault have released the details their new dubbel. Colonel John Baker is 6.8% ABV and available at the brewery now. Named after John Baker who the towns of  Lac Baker  and Baker-Brook, just west of Edmundston, are named after. Baker owned successful sawmills and gristmills who was a well-known pro-American activist in New Brunswick and Maine during the 19th century. Referred to as "Colonel" John Baker, a rank given him by a Maine militia, he was dissatisfied with the official Maine border, and in 1827 declared his village to be capital of the "American Republic of Madawaska". 

Grimross Brewing introduced their new Scratch series of beers. Any new recipes or one offs they will be doing in the future will be released as a Scratch beer. Scratch #1 : German Lager is now available on tap at the Brewtique and Taproom. Grimross says "This beautiful straw coloured Lager checks in at 4.7% with a slightly grainy and honey aroma with a crisp dry finish". 

Hammond River Brewing held its 3rd Annual Hammond River Brewing Home Brew Competition over the week end. The styles this year were Imperial IPA, English Porter, and Sweet/Milk Stout with home brewers being able to brew any or all of the styles. The judges spent the afternoon sampling all of the entries, and the results are in.
1st Place - Jullien Belliveau/Jean-Marc Landry from Dieppe for their Black River Sweet Stout.
2nd Place - Jullien Belliveau/Jean-Marc Landry from Dieppe for their The Golden Big DIPA.
3rd Place - Patrice Daigle from Dieppe for his Breakwater DIPA.
Jullien and Jean-Marc will be brewing with Shane real soon . 

Maybee Brewing is holding a tap takeover, at the Cask & Kettle Irish Gastropub in Saint John on Thursday February 16th. You can sample the entire lineup and meet some of the Maybee Brew crew.

Picaroons Traditional Ales has brought back Afterglow just in time for VD. This HEARTy and Full-Bodied Ale, made with Chocolate, Chili Peppers, Ginseng, Liquorice Root, and LOVE, is now on tap at The Picaroons Roundhouse, and the The Brewtique in Downtown Fredericton. Next week a small amount will hit The Picaroons General Store and at The 5 Kings Restaurant & Picaroons Brewhouse as well as a few other places around New Brunswick. It will be around for a limited time only - so make sure to grab some while you can. 


Thanks for checking out blog again this week, I am taking a little break and will be back on March 10th. See you then

Annapolis Cider have released two new ciders

 (Wolfville, NS) - 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.

Tatamagouche Brewing releases Belgian Quad - Latest in Giant Beer Series

(Tatamagouche, NS) - 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.

Roof Hound and Tatamagouche Brewing release Chocolate Sauced Imperial Chocolate Stout

(Hillgrove, NS) - 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. Les Barr says "Multiple layers of deep dark chocolate flavours". The event is on February 11th. with beer pours at 9 and music starts at 10. 

Unfiltered Brewing releases Play with Fire Smoked Imperial Schwarzbier

(Halifax, NS) - Unfiltered Brewing released Play with Fire Smoked Imperial Schwarzbier today. This monster black lager is 8% ABV and 34 IBUs and has tons of dark fruit, roasted malt, and smokey phenols.

Nine Locks Brewing releases Fathom DIPA

(Dartmouth, NS) - 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.

Good Robot and North Brewing release Moo Nay Tripel

(Halifax, NS) - 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.

Garrison Brewing launches new Star Trek/CBS release – Red Shirt Ale

(Halifax, NS) - 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".

MBR February 10, 2017 - Nova Scotia Edition

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 IBUs
A 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.

Unfiltered Brewing released Play with Fire Smoked Imperial Schwarzbier today. This monster black lager is 8% ABV and 34 IBUs and has tons of dark fruit, roasted malt, and smokey phenols.

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. 

MBR February 3, 2017 - New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island Edition

Lots of great news this week from our local brewers. 

Big Tide Brewing currently has on tap The Seaworthy IPA with an extra citrus kick, thanks to the addition of local Summit hops. They also have a special batch of the Chocolate Amaretto Porter on the way for mid February as well stay tuned for updates.

Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault are brewing another belgian-style beer, a dubbel. Details to be released shortly. 

Hammond River Brewing says back on January 17th they threw out a post on FB asking what folks would like them to brew next. The unanimous decision by everyone was to brew a Sour. Owner Shane had to wait for a couple things to arrive, but he brewed a new Kettle Soured Blackberry Berliner Weisse. He also brewed another batch of Quicksand Jesus Russian Imperial Stout. A portion of this batch will again be aged in an Oak Barrel and will be headed to the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. 

Loyalist City Brewing are about to launch the first round of hop series beer. Two sessionable IPAs, brewed on the same day, identical except for the hops and designed to showcase the vast differences between hops from across the globe. First up in the hop series they have the classic American cultivar Cascade up against the recently released New Zealand Motueka cultivar.
American Cascade hops are synonymous with the craft beer revolution. Originally bred in 1956 from the open pollination of Fuggle hops in the USDA hop breeding program, Cascade rose to popularity in two classic American craft beer: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Liberty IPA from Anchor Brewing. The versatility of Cascade hops and their pleasant floral, citrus, and grapefruit flavor has helped maintain their status as one of the most popular American hops year after year.
New Zealand’s hop breeding program has produced some of the most unique hop varieties available on the market today, and Motueka is no exception. Originally bred from the noble Czech Saaz varietal, Motueka’s fresh crushed citrus and tropical fruit character exemplifies New World hops. Motueka’s pleasant mix of fresh lemon, lime, and tropical fruit flavor makes a great addition to IPAs, Pilsner’s and saisons.

Picaroons Traditional Ales introduced Trial and Error. A small batch experimental Belgian style Tripel. This big straw coloured beer has an ABV of 9.2% and is sweet and complex with a nice dry finish. It is now on tap exclusively at the Picaroons General Store. While supplies last. 

Pump House Brewery participated for the second year in a row in Gruit Day and are brewing Dungarvon Whooper Gruit. The Malt bill for this Gruit is based of their 4 Alarm IPA and flavoured with mugwort, sweet gale, Woodruff and wormwood. This old fashion botanical mix gives it a slight bitter herbal finish for this 6.5% ABV beer. 
"The Dugarvon is a side branch of the Renous river. Along this branch resides the Dungarvon Whooper - probably the most famous of New Brunswick ghosts. Some still claim to have heard the hair-raising, high-pitched howl that gave the ghost its name - it is the howl of murder, the smell of bacon, the echo of lumber camp injustice ."

Trail Way Brewing held their home brew-off over the week end with Pierre Gagnon and Roger Ringuette placing first and second, respectively. They say to look for Pierre's beer in the Trail Way rotation in the coming months.

Copper Bottom Brewing announced plans to open in the Eastern Graphic building in Montague, P.E.I this summer. The owners are P.E.I. folk singer-songwriter Ashley Condon and her husband Ken Spears.They plan to produce beer for the local restaurants, establish a taproom with an entertainment venue and eventually cans for the PEILCC. More details soon. 
For the full report go here.

Moth Lane Brewing says Saturday will be their usual Growler sand guitars jam session and they are also welcoming the popular food truck The Galley. Chef Norman will be cooking up some amazing eats. They also have a new beer. Weizen Up B'ye is a juicy, refreshing German-style unfiltered hefeweizen and it is on tap now. 

PEI Brewing Company says this week's featured cask is Belgian Summer, it's like a little ray of sunshine in winter. It is a 8.2% and 20 IBU beer. 

That is all I have for this week, thanks for the support and see you next week. 

MBR February 3, 2017 - Nova Scotia Edition

Hello and welcome to the Report for February 3rd. 

Big Spruce Brewing announced this week that five of their beers will be heading into cans this spring. Tim's Dirty American IPA, Kitchen Party Pale Ale, Bitter Get'er India Black IPA, Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout and The Silver tart Sour Raspberry Wheat Ale will find their way into into 473 ml cans.  Look for  Tim's Dirty American and Bitter Get'er to hit NSLC shelves in April and Kitchen Party being rolled out during craft beer week in May. Cereal Killer and Silver Tart will make it to private stores only.

Garrison Brewing announced it is kicking off the festivities for their 20th year with a series of anniversary collaborations. All of the brewing will take place at their location across from the Seaport Market, and will be brewed on the original equipment that we started with 20 years ago.  The first collaboration is going down during the day on February 3rd, with North, Spindrift, and Good Robot. They’re keeping tight-lipped about the name, style and release date for now. 
Garrison is also currently running a sale on Winter Warmer, it’s $1.50 off  making it $12.99 for a 6 pack.

Boxing Rock Brewing have brought back their home-brew competition, the Black Box Challenge. Registration is through Eventbrite and you can get started here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/boxing-rocks-black-box-challenge-2017-tickets-31485652434
They also released a brand new beer, Henry's Cream Ale. It is now on tap at all better craft beer bars and in bottles in the private stores. It is a mixture of noble and new world hops and comes in at 5% ABV.

Downeast Beer Factory now have the new Hibernation Russian Imperial Stout on tap that 8.5% ABV and 80 IBU beer. 

Propeller Brewing has Irish Red is back in 650 ml bottles, available at both shops. Growlers fills will be available soon. 

Townhouse Brewpub invited Half Cocked Brewing in to collaborate on a beer for the Antigonish Montessori school fundraiser. Brewed on the Sabco it's a 5.8% extra pale with a nice floral nose leads to hits of pine and citrus while a rich malt profile brings balance to create very enjoyable beer. Look for it on tap on Saturday. 

Hell Bay Brewing is hosting Cocoa & Malt-Chocolate and Dark Beer Pairing on February 14th. Indulge in deliciously rich Chocolate Cakes, Tarts, Truffles and Mousses all paired with a variety of Dark Ales from Hell Bay and other Nova Scotia Breweries. Experience deep sweet cocoa and milk chocolates paired with rich coffee and roasted malts. It is $25+hst per person. Please call 902.356.3556 to reserve

Tatamagouche Brewing made Oyster Cloister oyster stout for the third year. 200 salty Malagash oysters from Malagash and Tatamagouche Bay naturally grown oysters and clams are used during the boil as well as Horton Ridge Malt and Grain Co. malt. The malts balance the oyster's saltiness and give the beer its dark colour and intense aroma while the oysters are added to produce a totally unique flavour profile.

Tidehouse Brewing released Baltimax Baltic Porter this week. A rich, malty brew made with a base of Munich malt layered with caramel and dried fruit flavours from darker malts. Stronger in alcohol and having an orange-red tinge to its dark brown appearance, this makes for a fantastic wintertime beer. Finishes dry. It weighs in at 6.8% ABV. 

Thanks for checking out all the beer news this week. 

Yarmouth to host Craft Beer Fest This May

Mile East Productions will be hosting a Craft Beer Festival and Hop Run on May 27th at Rodd Grand Yarmouth in Yarmouth. The company who has been organizing event in the southwest Nova Scotia region for the past seven years will will have an afternoon and an evening session as well as a 1,2 and 3 mile Hop Run. 
The format for the Hop run event, which precedes the fest, is you drink one beer, then start your first mile. Looping back around to the start point you will either finish and drink your victory beer or have your next drink before heading out for your next lap. Do up to three laps and drink up to four beers. The proceeds from the run will be going to a charity. 
The fest is a ticket event where each ticket get you a beer sample or food sample (food from Grand Hotel). General admission gets you five tickets while VIP gives you ten sampling tickets as well as access to the VIP area. There is also a designated driver ticket available. 
When I spoke to Rick Allwright he said he initially hoped to get 15 brewers to attend and it quickly shot to 12 confirmed and left him with the opposite decision of where he may have to cut off brewers.
Tickets available now with early bird pricing until February 15th at http://www.yarmouthcraftbeer.com/