The summer is underway and we’re starting to see more of what Newfoundland will look like in the coming years as the operating breweries continue to expand their beer offerings and as many new breweries are receiving and installing their brewing equipment. Let’s take a another virtual trip across the island to see all the newest developments.

Eastern Avalon Breweries

First, some sad news. Motion Bay Brewing Co, in planning in Petty Harbour have announced that they will not be continuing with their brewery project. Their commitment to the brewery scene here and enthusiasm won’t be forgotten.

In more exciting news, Quidi Vidi Brewing Company has begun canning operations with releases of their Day Boil Session IPA, Three Seasons Saison, and Folk’d Up Folk Festival Pale Ale all moving quickly off the shelves at the brewery and NLC locations. It will likely be a while until these are truly available in abundance, but for Quidi Vidi three new beers in only about a month all in cans is a huge step forward.

Continuing with breweries in operation, YellowBelly Brewery and Public House, now has a second public house: a new location at St. John’s airport. The space continues the cozy pub vibe of their Water Street location with the added bonus of letting you have a beer before your flight. They also have brewed a new cream ale for the Regatta. Meanwhile, Storm Brewing has their usual brands on offer at the NLC.

The Firehall has, as evidenced by them covered with tarps outside their Duckworth Street location, received their tanks and seems still under heavy construction. Hopefully more information will be coming our soon about The Firehall, as an opening is hopefully pending for the fall.

Ninepenny Brewing is deep – literally, from the looks of their instagram – under construction with concrete being poured and coated over the last few weeks. Meanwhile, Landwash Brewery has their sign up on their Commonwealth Ave location and are preparing to receive their brewing equipment in the next few weeks from DME in PEI. (Again, for clarity, the author of this list is a co-owner of Landwash Brewery.)

Western Avalon Breweries

On the western Avalon we have an opening! Dildo Brewing Co. is now open for customers. After a very busy first few weeks and a menu reduction, it seems like Dildo is off to a great start. Meanwhile, Baccalieu Trail Brewing Co., has posted pictures of their equipment and are in the process of commissioning it. They will likely be the next brewery open the the public in the province… though there are several contenders to give them a run for that title.

Finally, Brigus Brewing Co. has posted some beer names on their Facebook including Brigus Blueberry Blonde and Bartlett’s IPA, however, no further information about the project has been released.

Eastern and Central Breweries

In exciting news for someone making these maps, there has been no change in the breweries in eastern and central Newfoundland and, even better, all are open and operating!

Port Rexton Brewing Co. just celebrated their second anniversary which featured a huge range of their barrel aged beers. It seems – at least from the lineup for their anniversary – that barrel aged and funky beers are becoming a larger part of Port Rexton’s brewing portfolio.

Scudrunner Brewing Co has officially launched in Gander with a small tasting room and a range of more English-inspired beers. They have been pretty active in seeking out accounts, sending kegs into St. John’s with beers showing up at Blue on Water, Adelaide Oyster House, and Merchant Tavern. The tasting room is a welcome layover in Gander if you’re in the area.

Meanwhile, Split Rock Brewing, has been continuing to entertain in their Stag Head Pub with live music and lots of different beer options. They have sent their Red Sky Red Rye down to the Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV “Pier Garden” on the St. John’s harbour front if you’re looking to try their beer closer to town.

Western Newfoundland Breweries

It’s impressive how many breweries are opening in the west of Newfoundland and how many are showing real progress. Considering that of Newfoundland’s small population of only just over half a million with two fifths of that on the Eastern Avalon and only thirty thousand in the Corner Brook area, Western Newfoundland could find its way to one of the highest per capita beer destinations in Canada.

One to note is Boomstick Brewing Co who have broken ground on their water main construction. While they have remained somewhat quiet about their development, this construction has prompted their addition to the list. Lose one, gain one.

The two operating breweries in the west have continued along their growth plans with Bootleg Brewing Co offering a new beer, Breaker Room Grisette, at Chinched Bistro and Western Newfoundland offering their “crowlers” through NLC locations.

Secret Cove Brewing Co in Port au Port East is in the race with Baccalieu Trail Brewing to be the next new brewery in the province, with both having equipment rigged and onsite currently. It will be interesting to see which of the two is the first to pour beer this fall.

Meanwhile, Crooked Feeder hasn’t updated much since their last pictures of a pilot system being fabricated and installed and RagnaRöck Northern Brewing Company Ltd has been selling t-shirt and dog treats while home brewing, but have not submitted an environmental assessment meaning their production is likely over a year our still.

Into the End of Summer…

It’s been a busy few months! For those looking for the newest of the new, Dildo and Scudrunner are both now open, so plan a trip and check them out. The operating breweries in Newfoundland now include: Quidi Vidi, Storm, Yellowbelly, Port Rexton, Western Newfoundland, Bootleg, Split Rock, Dildo, Scudrunner, bringing us to nine (9) operating breweries.

Who is going to be number ten? Right now both Baccalieu Trail Brewing and Secret Cove Brewing Co have equipment in place and on site, so one of those is a strong contender. The Landwash Brewery is expecting their equipment in the next few weeks and have completed most of their construction to be ready to both serve and brew beer, so their install might happen quick enough to try to catch up. These three will almost certainly be open this year, putting the number up to twelve (12).

By the end of the year The Firehall and Ninepenny will likely round out the eastern Avalon section (bringing us up to 14), while Crooked Feeder might well be serving beer by the late fall too (which would make 15). From the current information is is unlikely that Brigus, Boomstick, or RagnaRöck will be open this year, especially where two of these breweries have not filed environmental assessments to the provincial government yet.

So, mid-summer 2018 we have nine operating, with five or six gearing up to serve beer by the end of the year. The race to ten will be fun to watch, as will seeing if we can hit the fifteen mark this year.

I’ve tried to link as many instagrams and social media accounts as possible. Be sure to follow along with these accounts and the hashtag “#NLCraftBeer” to keep up with these new projects and to find out the latest about all the breweries in Newfoundland.