I can remember turning nineteen, the legal drinking age here, in the autumn of [date redacted]. My family and I were making a Thanksgiving trip to King’s Landing, something that has become a bit of a tradition. The leaves were at the height of their colour, the days were still warm enough to comfortably stand outside without a coat, provided one remained in direct sunlight, and in a moment suitable for a Norman Rockwell painting, or perhaps a Garrison Keiller story, my dad bought me my first beer. It was a Simeon Jones River Valley Ale from Picaroons, brewed specially for the King’s Head Inn in honour of the former Saint John mayor and brewer. It was the first of many that have followed in the years since, but there’s always something to be said for firsts, even in something so inconsequential as a beer. I’m glad that my memory of that experience will forever be tied to a place that I have always cherished, a beer more flavourful and unique than most, and from my father in a celebration of my (somewhat debateable) adulthood.

We have a long tradition as beer drinkers here in the Maritimes, and a history of beer brewing that’s almost as long. Picaroons is a relatively new addition in a recent wave of smaller crafter breweries, but Sean Dunbar, owner and brewer at the Fredericton based business, tells me  Continue reading Picaroons: Saving New Brunswick With Beer →