Beer in the news

[NASH]

[BobbyOK]

According to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., which licenses and regulates the industry, there are 12 licensed microbreweries in Nova Scotia.

Along with Granite, Propeller and Garrison, they include Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brewery in Yarmouth; Sea Level Brewing Co. in Canning; Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery in Halifax; Hell Bay Brewing in Cherry Hill, Lunenburg County; Bridge Brewing Co. in Halifax; Authentic Seacoast (Rare Bird) in Guysborough; Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza; Boxing Rock Brewing in Shelburne and Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyons Brook, which is opening on June 29.

They lost me after this part. Does that brewery actually produce anything?

[mr x]

hmmmmmmmm, I guess they must have a license for some reason....

[mr x]

Mill Street Brewery’s Beer Hall gets little right
The 600-seat Beer Hall is a disappointing annex to the Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District.

http://www.thestar.com/life/restaurants ... right.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sometimes when I’m jogging, a small bug will fly into my mouth.

I cough, shudder and sprint away.

I react the same way to the deplorable food and service at the Mill Street Brewery’s new Beer Hall.

Each dish is worse than the last, from a naked beet salad priced at $15 to a slice of yellow cheesecake that could double as a kitchen sponge. Young servers freeze like deer in the headlights at any food or drink question, unable to answer even the softball query, “What do you recommend?” Dirty cutlery is the final straw.

I mean, c’mon. This is a 600-seat project opened in late April by the seasoned team behind the successful Mill Street Brew Pub next door.

They hired as executive chef Elizabeth Rivasplata, the former Art Gallery of Ontario sous chef who competed on the second season of Top Chef Canada. They got FAB Concepts to design the sleekly modern space with its metal chairs, long tables, spidery light fixtures and marble-clad open kitchen.

The aim is to extend the Brew Pub and foster social dining in “an ironic take on a beer hall,” says a spokesperson.

Beer halls sling sausages and draughts. The food is meant to be simple and hearty, a sop for the beer. Take Wvrst in Toronto and Wurstkuche in Los Angeles, contemporary versions that deliver a solid meal for under $20 a person.

This Beer Hall does one thing right — serving Mill Street brews exclusively, like Munich breweries do at their bierstubes — but fails the test of value, taste and identity.

Without much beer in the cooking, like its sister pub uses, there’s little to telegraph the suds theme. The 35-item dinner menu could be posted in front of any casual chain restaurant, minus the Peruvian dishes from Rivasplata’s homeland.

Even beer goggles couldn’t make a raw-and-cooked beet salad appealing. The menu lists nine elements; three are missing, including the crucial seasoning. Regardless, it is sent to the table. Ditto a $6 order of heirloom radishes free of the promised salsa verde, unless they mean those almond crumbs.

Technique is a weak spot. The kitchen turns fatty pork belly into dust. Drier still is the apple-glazed pork shank on a $29 insult to Bavarian cooking called a “pork board.” A sliced bratwurst is missing one end, a grease spot marking its place. Did it roll off? It doesn’t matter when a brought-in pretzel is the only good thing on the board.

Scallops ($24) are overcooked to the point where gnawing on the beer coasters would be preferable. A flat-iron steak ($19) comes cold and pink instead of hot and red. Seasoning is erratic, the raw salmon isn’t properly cleaned and blackened flotsam ends up in Styrofoam-like sweetbread nuggets ($12). Clean the fryer, people.

I feel sorry for the tourists who wander in here, a polyglot group carrying cameras and shopping bags. Over two review meals, I find the execution as wobbly as the surrounding brick lanes. The Beer Hall’s leaden ricotta dumplings ($12) are made worse by heavy cream sauce. Peruvian yellow hot-pepper sauce commits the same overkill on sliced raw salmon ($14).

By now, our sharing plates are unappetizingly streaked in yellow and pink. No one replaces them.

Staff received the industry standard two weeks of training, including “beer school” with brewmaster Joel Manning. The Brew Pub next door is a smoothly oiled service machine, but to differentiate the dining experiences, management “wanted to launch (the Beer Hall) with new staff, start the team off fresh. Training is continually ongoing. We are still hiring and training people,” says a spokesperson.

Yet six weeks after opening, Beer Hall servers stumble through the basics of refilling water glasses, describing beer varieties and putting the right dishes in front of the right customers.

Then someone puts a crusty teaspoon on the cheesecake plate ($10).

It’s a blessing in disguise, because desserts are as awful as the rest of the meal. With the one clean spoon between us, we sample the stale wafers sandwiching pale ice cream supposedly made with Mill Street’s Frambozen raspberry ale; it tastes just like generic strawberry. Doughnuts ($7) resemble fried cardboard.

Given the choice between midges and the Beer Hall, I’ll take the midges.

[benwedge]

According to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., which licenses and regulates the industry, there are 12 licensed microbreweries in Nova Scotia.

Along with Granite, Propeller and Garrison, they include Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brewery in Yarmouth; Sea Level Brewing Co. in Canning; Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery in Halifax; Hell Bay Brewing in Cherry Hill, Lunenburg County; Bridge Brewing Co. in Halifax; Authentic Seacoast (Rare Bird) in Guysborough; Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza; Boxing Rock Brewing in Shelburne and Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyons Brook, which is opening on June 29.

They lost me after this part. Does that brewery actually produce anything?

I took the tour a few years ago and they said they do actually brew there. It probably just supplies the Red Stag, but I vaguely recall some discussion about pilot batches.

[mr x]

Breaking Bad beer will go on sale during show’s final season, perfect for washing down your Los Pollos Hermanos
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AMC’s Emmy-winning drama Breaking Bad will follow in the footsteps of Game of Thrones this summer when Albuquerque-based Marble Brewery releases Heisenberg’s Dark to coincide with the show’s final season.

The beer, an India Black Ale, will be available in the U.S. during Breaking Bad‘s final run, which begins August 11 — though neither Breaking Bad Locations, which broke the brew news, Marble Brewery nor AMC has confirmed an exact launch date for the ale.

[adams81]

Make it a Pinkman Dark by garnishing with chili p!

[mr x]

Would-be brewer frothing mad over red tape
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1 ... r-red-tape" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Alan Bailey is hopping mad at the provincial government.

“It’s embarrassing,” said the owner of Meander River Farm in Ashdale, Hants County, in an interview Wednesday.

On his 75-hectare mixed farm, Bailey grows hops that he has sold to Garrison Brewing Co. in Halifax for the past few years.

He planned to open his own farm-based microbrewery this summer but says he has been thwarted by the provincial Environment Department, which he said recently approved a variance for a similar farm-based brewery in Cape Breton.

“I’m looking for an explanation of why the rules are different,” he said.

Bailey said he’s been told by regional department officials in Bedford that he must apply for an industrial approval for the disposal of waste water from his proposed brewery.

He said the government wants him to treat waste water from the brewing operation before it goes into his septic system, but it hasn’t given him any guidelines as to how to go about that in a way that will meet its approval.

“They haven’t given us any parameters,” he said. “How do you design something?”

Bailey has invested heavily in brewing equipment and took out a $25,000 loan from the FarmWorks Investment Co-operative in Wolfville with plans to open his brewery as a tourism destination this summer.

But he said the government’s inflexible policies, which don’t recognize the scale of different operations, have “totally killed” his plans to open on schedule.

Bailey said his proposed 20,000-litre-a-year brewery is tiny compared to other provincial breweries and wineries.

“I’ve yet to hear (about) anybody having an environmental issue with the wineries in Nova Scotia.”

He said research from the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture supports his contention that waste water from the brewery wouldn’t threaten the environment and is suitable for irrigating crops.

“What we’re proposing is safe.”

Bailey said he’s in talks with the town of Windsor about temporarily moving his brewery there, where he could dispose of waste water through the town’s water system, while he attempts to resolve his issues with the Environment Department.

Department spokesman Darcy MacRae confirmed Wednesday that Bailey was advised by department staff to apply for an industrial approval for his proposed brewery.

“A beer or wine processing plant in which alcoholic beverages are produced by the process of fermentation requires industrial approval,” he said in an email.

“There are situations in which a brewery is exempt from having to make such an application, including if a brewery has an agreement in place to dispose of waste water via a municipal system that is covered by a municipal law,” he said.

“The Department of Environment will review breweries that have received this exemption in the past to ensure they meet the regulation required for this exception.”

[LeafMan66_67]

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/busine ... ring-it-on

Propeller pouring it on

Craft brewery expands to retail, distribution and production facility in Dartmouth


Halifax craft brewery Propeller Brewing Co. expands operations across the harbour into Dartmouth on Saturday.

The brewer is opening a retail, warehouse, distribution and production facility at 617 Windmill Rd.

“Dartmouth is begging for the growler,” spokesman Andrew Cooper said in an interview Tuesday, referring to the company’s popular take-home jugs of speciality brew.

He said the brewery is keen to open in Dartmouth and is getting lots of advance inquiries from fans.

“We knew when we started planning we wanted to include a retail component as we expanded across the harbour,” Cooper said.

The new site, scheduled to open on the 16th anniversary of the microbrewery, will compliment operations on Gottingen Street.

It will feature a 30-hectolitre brewhouse and two 120-hectolitre fermentation vessels with the capacity to potentially double production, and lots of storage and retail space.

“We require increased production to meet current demand, rather than for developing new markets,” Cooper said.

The brewer anticipates adding 10 staff to a workforce of 22 as a result of the expansion.

Most of the new jobs will be on the retail side.

The Windmill Road location will eventually become the principal brewing site for the company launched in 1997 by John Allen with two brands, Pale Ale and Extra Special Bitter.

These days, the brewery produces six year-round brands and four seasonal labels.

“It could be a number of months before we are into full brewing production in Dartmouth, as this will be a phased-in process,” Cooper said.

The microbrewery wanted to consolidate some operations after continuing to grow, he said.

It rents space at three locations and has trouble meeting demand out of its Gottingen Street brewery.

“The added capacity will be there for us as we require it,” Cooper said.

Propeller plans to introduce this weekend a 16th anniversary brew, which Cooper described as an unfiltered dry-hopped pale ale.

Propeller did not have a business occupancy permit in hand for the Windmill Road location as of Tuesday afternoon but was sticking to the plan to open Saturday.

“We hope to open the retail side of the new operation Saturday and will keep people informed of any last-minute changes via social media,” Cooper said.

BILL POWER BUSINESS REPORTER

[Eagleray]

If the retail store is to open Saturday is the Sleeman store store has to be gone?

[LeafMan66_67]

If the retail store is to open Saturday is the Sleeman store store has to be gone?

Why? They are different buildings, across the street from one another.

Sent from my Q10 using Tapatalk 2

[Eagleray]

Oh..I was not aware. That's great news then!

[mr x]

Sleeman plant sparks purchase talks

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The parent company of Sleeman Breweries Ltd. is negotiating with several potential buyers interested in purchasing and producing brew at the Dartmouth plant, an official confirmed Wednesday.

Successful negotiations would keep the plant in production after Sleeman Breweries pulls out to consolidate production at its Guelph location later this month.

“We’ve had several parties express interest in the Dartmouth plant and we are in a process of pre-negotiation,” Pierre Ferland, a Sleeman vice-president, said in an interview.

The status of these preliminary talks has encouraged Sleeman Breweries to delay a decision on the future of the plant by a few weeks, Ferland said.

Parent company Sapporo International of Japan announced in March it was getting out of Dartmouth and shifting production of Sleeman products to Guelph.

At that time, Sapporo said the Dartmouth plant would be closed and 32 employees would lose their jobs unless an appropriate buyer could be identified by July.

“At this point, we are looking at about another couple of weeks before making a final decision,” Ferland said from Guelph corporate headquarters.

“We said when we announced the production consolidation we would make every effort to find a buyer interested in proceeding with production and saving jobs at the Dartmouth plant.

“We’ve delayed the process at Dartmouth and remain flexible on an end date of production there as this may facilitate a smoother transfer to a new owner.”

He said he could not reveal the names of the parties interested in the former Maritime Brewery plant that was purchased by Sleeman for about $3 million in 2000. Sapporo acquired Sleeman in 2006.

The Dartmouth plant produces about 27,000 hectolitres of brew for Sleeman annually but has the capacity to produce much more, according to sources familiar with the operation.

“Production is continuing at the plant,” Ferland said. “Quality and production levels there are very good.”

An announcement on the plant’s future could be expected before the end of July, Ferland said.

[benwedge]

I'm rather surprised that Propeller didn't buy this, but maybe they wanted too much for it? Propeller moved next door, in a brand-new, custom-built shop. I can't imagine that that was cheap.

[LeafMan66_67]

I'm rather surprised that Propeller didn't buy this, but maybe they wanted too much for it? Propeller moved next door, in a brand-new, custom-built shop. I can't imagine that that was cheap.

I think i read somewhere that even with the Propeller expansion, the Sleeman Brewery is still much much larger than Propeller's needs .. not to say they won't have to expand in the future though ...

[jherbin]

I'm rather surprised that Propeller didn't buy this, but maybe they wanted too much for it? Propeller moved next door, in a brand-new, custom-built shop. I can't imagine that that was cheap.

they gutted an existing building. I think it was around 3M.

[benwedge]

I'm rather surprised that Propeller didn't buy this, but maybe they wanted too much for it? Propeller moved next door, in a brand-new, custom-built shop. I can't imagine that that was cheap.

they gutted an existing building. I think it was around 3M.

Yeah, when I say "custom-built" I mean everything but the walls.

[benwedge]

I'm rather surprised that Propeller didn't buy this, but maybe they wanted too much for it? Propeller moved next door, in a brand-new, custom-built shop. I can't imagine that that was cheap.

I think i read somewhere that even with the Propeller expansion, the Sleeman Brewery is still much much larger than Propeller's needs .. not to say they won't have to expand in the future though ...

It seems Sleeman is currently producing approximately what Propeller will be capable of brewing in their new space, but it's possible that Sleeman's brewery is so large that the investment wouldn't have made sense.

[jherbin]

They'd already bought their new brew house (from Arizona, if I recall correctly) and 2 more 80 HL fv's when I was there in 2012, bringing their tank total to 16 (6 of which were 80 HL fv's). They'd have quite a surplus of gear if they went and bought a whole new brewery on top of everything they already owned. Most of whats going into the new space is gear they already owned I'm pretty sure, with the original tanks and brewhouse from 1995 staying on Gottingen for one-off's and seasonals. I'm excited to see the new setup, I can only imagine how much more efficient/clean it must be compared to ye old brewery.

[NASH]

According to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., which licenses and regulates the industry, there are 12 licensed microbreweries in Nova Scotia.

Along with Granite, Propeller and Garrison, they include Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brewery in Yarmouth; Sea Level Brewing Co. in Canning; Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery in Halifax; Hell Bay Brewing in Cherry Hill, Lunenburg County; Bridge Brewing Co. in Halifax; Authentic Seacoast (Rare Bird) in Guysborough; Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza; Boxing Rock Brewing in Shelburne and Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyons Brook, which is opening on June 29.

They lost me after this part. Does that brewery actually produce anything?

They used to brew Keith's IPA down there, then dump it, since it wouldn't be the same as the real deal. Nothing brewed there would ever be sold, orders from headquarters (so I heard from an insider in the early 2000s). Turn me loose in there, I'll brew up some 1913 IPA. Fuck, I might even go 1860 on it for them

[NASH]

I'm rather surprised that Propeller didn't buy this, but maybe they wanted too much for it? Propeller moved next door, in a brand-new, custom-built shop. I can't imagine that that was cheap.

I think i read somewhere that even with the Propeller expansion, the Sleeman Brewery is still much much larger than Propeller's needs .. not to say they won't have to expand in the future though ...

Propeller was already into their expansion when it went up for sale. IMO it's definitely not too big. Similar to HPsauce's brewery. Not.Too.Big. It doesn't matter what they produce, they brewed 27k hl/yr, capacity was 35k hl/yr, of yellow water. That means in real beer terms it'd be about 1/2 that, and you don't need to max out a brewery. But then again, there is the Union too....

[jherbin]

I didn't think sleeman's had a union, and even if they did, the workers (and contract) don't go with the equipment, they go with the business. Propeller almost got to experience that scenario first hand!

[jherbin]

As an aside, ETA in years til Molson/Coors et. al. buy out Propeller? Is that their goal in moving into Burnside? Who else can buy that business with its current value?

[mr x]

Boxing rock was on maritime morning. Might be on the archive later today.

Sent from Tapatalk 2, a prick of a company.

[BobbyOK]

As an aside, ETA in years til Molson/Coors et. al. buy out Propeller? Is that their goal in moving into Burnside? Who else can buy that business with its current value?

Can't see that happening. Unlike Molson/Coors other craft purchases - Granville Island, Creemore - Propeller's beers don't lean as mainstream and Propeller's biggest fans would jump ship pretty quickly if they sold out. I've been speculating for a while that Molson would pick up Pump House though. Pump House has been pushing for National distribution while Propeller has been more picky and choosy about its exports.