Hurricane Harvest - Pump House Anniversary - Provincial Funding - Pub Radio Show

There has been a bunch of beer news recently that has been somewhat overshadowed by yet another lawsuit filed against Brick Brewing by Anheuser-Busch In/Bev regarding their Red Baron Lime. No need to touch on it, I think anyone who reads about it in the hundreds of newspapers its been covered in knows (or should know) it's a farce.

Pub Radio Show
Canada's Pub Guy, Bill Perrie, has announced that he will be hosting a weekly beer show on Stoufville's CWIS 102.7 FM. Perrie, who recently released his 5th book on Ontario pubs, plans to invite guests from the brewing industry to do beer reviews, talk about new beers for seasonal releases, discuss styles, and more. He also plans to feature a new pub each week, inviting the owner to take part in the show to chat about their establishment in greater detail. The first taping takes place tonight and featured guests include: Rob Engman, owner of TAPS Beer Magazine, Nic Rennie - Canadian Brand Ambassador for Innis and Gunn, Al Connelly (Glass Tiger) and the Crab Bucket Orchestra, and myself, who will sit in with Perrie every week when interviewing guests. The first episode will run on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 5th) at 4pm.

Northampton Brewing (Picaroon's) Receives Provincial Funding
The CBC ran a story on Friday about Northampton's recent delivery of their Picaroon's brands to some private Nova Scotia beer retailers to "test the market" before deciding to export their beers elsewhere. Sean Dunbar, owner of the small Fredericton brewery, mentioned in the article that the New Brunswick government provided $30,000 in funding that he will use to purchase machinery to assist in labeling bottles, along with machines to load the product onto trucks. He also stated that he will be working on expanding the brewery this winter, adding more tanks and opening up a retail store.

Hurricane Harvest Double IPA - Hart & Thistle
Quick Mash Nash (Greg Nash) has posted some interesting news on his brewers blog over at the Hart & Thistle regarding the hop harvest he organized two weeks ago. On September 4th, people are invited to head to the Hart & Thistle Gastropub and Brewery to sample the beer that was produced in response to Hurricane Bill. Hurricane Harvest Double IPA, a wet-hop beer produced with the hops that were harvested before the storm hit the area, will be released for the first time at the harbour front brewery beginning at 7pm. Nash also posted updates during the brewing process for this beer, and there are some great pictures of the actual harvest to browse through.

Pump House Celebrates Their 10th Anniversary
The Times & Transcript is featuring a story today about Pump House Brewery and their upcoming 10th anniversary tomorrow, September 3rd. 10 years ago tomorrow, at 4pm, Ray Auffrey ordered the first pint at the brewpub on Orange Lane and tomorrow Auffrey will get the honour of pouring the first pint...at 4pm. In the article Pump House owner, Shaun Fraser, had some interesting things to say, including the news that he recently purchased canning machinery that will open up the possibility of export to the U.S. and into Europe. He also mentioned that he has always wanted to be Canada's first national microbrewery and with only Quebec and Saskatchewan left on his hit list, Fraser and Pump House are close to achieving that goal. And finally, Fraser mentioned that they (Fraser and his wife) are looking at franchising their pub along with introducing their own line of food products. Interesting news indeed.