Picaroons Traditional Ales

Lore & Background

The Picaroons brand takes its name from a common tool used in the logging industry in New Brunswick. The brewery was started in 1995 as the Northampton Brewing Company Ltd. in Fredericton. In 2010, Picaroons partnered with The Bar Towel, an Ontario craft beer website, to distribute its beers in Ontario for the first time. In 2016, the brewery opened a new tap house and brewery at Fredericton's historic roundhouse in Devon, and also opened a second location called The General Store on Saint John's historic Canterbury Street.

Picaroons produces several year-round and seasonal ales. Brewing uses malted barley imported from England and Germany, as well as whole hops from England, New Zealand, and the North American west coast. The particulars of each batch—including ingredients, start date and time, and specific gravity of the water—are logged online for public access. Year-round beers include Best Bitter, Irish Red, Simeon Jones River Valley Ale (an amber ale), Blonde Ale, Man's Best Friend (porter), Yippee IPA, Feels Good Imperial Pilsner, Timber Hog Stout, 506 Golden Ale, 506 Pale Ale, 506 Dark Wheat Ale, Swallowtail Light, and Pivot Imperial IPA. Seasonal offerings include Maple Cream Ale, JED IPA, Dooryard Summer Ale (organic), Melon Head, Pride Apricot Ale, Harvest Ale, Upstream Ale (introduced for a conservation society), Winter Warmer, Xmas Tree Pivot Imperial IPA, and Blitzen Coffee Stout.

Reader's Guide

Picaroons Traditional Ales holds significance as a regional craft brewery that helped pioneer online community engagement in the Canadian beer industry. Its 2009 launch of PicaroonsPub.com, an online social network, was among the first such efforts by a Canadian brewery. The brand's 2011 Brewery of the Year award at the Canadian Brewing Awards recognized its quality across a wide range of year-round and seasonal beers. The brewery's commitment to transparency—logging batch details online—reflects a broader craft beer trend toward consumer education. Its expansion into Ontario in 2010 through a partnership with The Bar Towel marked a key step beyond its home province. The opening of two new locations in 2016—the roundhouse tap house in Fredericton and The General Store in Saint John—solidified its physical presence in New Brunswick. The brand's name, drawn from a logging tool, ties it to the province's industrial heritage. Picaroons' beers, brewed with imported malts and hops from multiple continents, demonstrate a global sourcing approach while maintaining a local identity. The brewery's legacy is that of a small but influential player in Canadian craft brewing, known for both its product range and its early adoption of digital community-building.

Did You Know?

• The Picaroons brand name comes from a common logging tool used in New Brunswick.
• In 2016, Picaroons opened a tap house at Fredericton's historic roundhouse in Devon.