Moosehead’s New Beer Inspired By Company Founder Susannah Oland
SAINT JOHN – Susannah’s Brown Ale, a beer inspired by the original recipe brewed by Moosehead Breweries‘ founder and matriarch Susannah Oland, will be available at retail stores in the Maritime provinces, the company announced Wednesday.
The beer had only been available on draught at Moosehead’s Small Batch Brewery in Saint John. But starting this month, it will be sold in 473 ml cans in retail stores across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI.
“The retail release of Susannah’s Brown Ale is unbelievably special to the team at Moosehead, and to me and my family personally,” said president and CEO Andrew Oland in a release. “This company is steeped in history, and every one of our beers plays a role in telling our story. But it’s certainly not every day that you get to re-introduce your great-great-great grandmother’s beer. Being able to share her story through the release of this historic brew is especially meaningful to me.”
The English Brown Ale has rich malty flavours, light chocolate and caramel notes, with a balanced bitterness and 5.5 per cent alcohol. It’s inspired by the family’s October Brown Ale recipe from a time when the Olands travelled from England to their new home in Dartmouth, N.S. in 1865.
Susannah started brewing the recipe in her backyard. High demand led to her opening the Turtle Grove Brewery in October two years after they arrived in Dartmouth. That was the beginning of what has become Moosehead Breweries today. Susannah dies in 1878, having fought hard to keep the brewery going through her husband John’s unexpected death and a fire that destroyed the brewery.
The company said in the release that Susannah’s Brown Ale doesn’t just represent Moosehead’s original recipe, but it’s also a nod to the resilience of the company’s founder. The cans will have an illustration inspired by a photo of Susannah on them.
The ale is the first beer under Moosehead’s new Family Series, each of which will highlight a different member of the Oland family and their contributions to the business. The Family Series is the third beer series released through Moosehead’s Small Batch Brewery since it opened in June last year.