All posts by Graham MacKenney

The Fredericton Craft Beer Festival: Defining ‘Craft’

This Saturday marks the 3rd annual Craft Beer Festival taking place in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It’s a concentrated look at some of the remarkable craft beer that is being brewed in what is quickly becoming a booming category in the Maritimes and North America in general. With over 190 beers to try, from more than 45 breweries, half of which are from the Maritimes, the organizers felt it was important that festivalgoers not simply have an all-you-can-drink event, but an opportunity to get an education. It’s a chance to interact with the brewers to learn what their products are all about. Continue reading The Fredericton Craft Beer Festival: Defining ‘Craft’

Lily Lake’s Pavilion Cup ‘Nothing Better Than Playing Hockey On The Ice’

Canada’s love for hockey is so widely accepted that many will say it borders on cultural cliché. From coast to coast and abroad, even the most uninitiated non-hockey fan has probably found themselves gathered in a pub, or huddled around a television, to watch an Olympic or World Junior final. There are also those of us who spend many years sitting in freezing rinks to watch sons, daughters, nieces, or nephews skate their way through pee-wee, to bantam, and beyond! I’d bet a nickel that many of these people found themselves overcome with so much national pride and fervor of competition that any passer-by would mistake them for a seasoned hockey expert. Continue reading Lily Lake’s Pavilion Cup ‘Nothing Better Than Playing Hockey On The Ice’

Hammond River Brewing: The Power of Small

There is a river that winds its way under covered bridges and through green woodlands, passing next to farmer’s hayfields, tumbling over polished rocks and sandy bottoms. It runs with trout and salmon, while fly-fishermen cast in view of curious cows and deer alike. A morning mist rises off the water’s surface, and long creeping shadows are set on its banks by a golden afternoon sun. Paradise, right? Now imagine that this is the setting for your world, where you wake up every morning with the satisfaction that you get to spend your days exploring your passion. That world exists for Shane Steeves, as he is truly living his dream. For those who don’t know Shane by name, you may know him by his beer: he is the mastermind behind Hammond River Brewing Company, the brand-new ‘nano’ brewery located along its namesake, the Hammond River, near the town of Quispamsis, New Brunswick. Continue reading Hammond River Brewing: The Power of Small