Draught Pro Halifax

[Shawna Erholm]

It will have picnic tables and lots of lighting and plants," said co-owner Chris Reynolds. "There's going to be our shipping container which is a draught beer delivery mechanism and a little kitchen."

According to Tracy Barron, with Service Nova Scotia's Alcohol and Gaming Division, the concerns of citizens are taken into account. However, in terms of obtaining a liquor licence, she said her department is really only concerned that alcohol is consumed in a safe and legal manner.

Halifax is a wonderful city for a beer lover to have a good time in. The people are friendly, the pubs are cozy and the beer is delicious. Recently I spent a few days taking in the sights of Halifax and the surrounding regions of Nova Scotia, and I was thoroughly impressed. This Bar Towel "On the Road" report will discuss my impressions (albeit highly incomplete) of the Halifax beer scene, as I experienced it. This is intended to be a work-in-progress; more trips will be required to complete this report.

Halifax, a city whose population is dwarfed by Toronto, (363,000 compared to many millions) actually has more brewpubs. Halifax is home to (as far as I can tell) three brewpubs. Toronto precisely two - however, this figure can be argued to three if C'est What is counted (they don't actually brew on premises - only ferment). Toronto's only brewpubs are Denison's and the Granite Brewery - which itself is a Halifax import - more on that later. Regardless, the fact that Halifax has three brewpubs to call its own is pretty amazing.

First up was Rogue's Roost. This is a very unassuming pub, located in an office building that fronts onto Spring Garden Road, one of Halifax's main downtown streets. The pub is quaint, with a long bar and a number of tables that look out onto Spring Garden. The brewtanks are located at the end of the establishment, and are viewable through large glass doors and windows. Many walls of the pub were decorated by nautical maps of Nova Scotia, which was reminiscent of the Map Room in Chicago.

Rogue's Roost offers a number of unique home-brewed beers, featuring regularly featuring: Rogue's Red, Bulldog Brown, Raspberry Wheat, Cream Ale, Oatmeal Stout and IPA. Seasonal brews include Peated Porter, Pale Ale, Barley Wine and Imperial Stout. During my visit, all of their regular brands (except for the Oatmeal Stout) and the Barley Wine seasonal were available on tap. I found their beers to be quite flavourful, with the favourites being the Barley Wine, IPA and Raspberry Wheat. Rogue's Roost is an excellent brewpub, which should be at the top of any beer lovers' to-do list during a trip down east.

We next traveled to the Granite Brewery (which is within walking distance of Rogue's), on Barrington Street, an area that is experiencing a rejuvenation of sorts. The Granite is located in the historic Henry House, which adds to the pub's English-style atmosphere. The Granite is divided into two sections: a sit-down restaurant upstairs, and a pub downstairs. Having only time for a quick sample and a snack, we ventured to the pub downstairs.

The walk downstairs virtually transported me to an English pub. It was cozy, dark and comfortable, with exposed brick and beam everywhere. This is a place where you could easily whittle away the hours without any idea of what is happening in the outside world.

As most of you probably know, the Granite Brewery in Halifax is the sister pub to the Granite in Toronto. The original pub is the Halifax location, founded by Kevin Keefe (brother to Ron, the proprietor of the Toronto location). Due to this close relationship, the beers from the two pubs are very similar. The Halifax Granite offers a selection of beers that Toronto beer connoisseurs will be familiar with: Best Bitter, Best Bitter Special, Peculiar, Ringwood and Keefe's Irish Stout. The beers tasted quite much like what I was used to in Toronto's Granite. So, although the Granite may not offer anything "new" to a seasoned Toronto drinker, this is a great little pub, and worth visiting where the Granite started in Canada. The Granite also has another location in Halifax, located at 1662 Barrington Street.

Halifax is also home to many, many pubs. Although I did not have sufficient time to tour many of them, I do not believe that there are many, if any, "beer bars" that we are used to in Toronto. Although many pubs support local microbreweries Propeller and Garrison, you will probably not find many interesting beers in Halifax beyond the standard Canadian mass-brews and popular European imports.

One pub worth visiting is Maxwell's Plum, located in downtown at 1600 Grafton Street. Maxwell's claims to have the largest draught selection in the Maritimes, and they are probably right. From a sheer volume perspective, their selection is impressive. From my count, they had 56 beers available on draught when I visited, the vast majority of which being mass Canadian brews and European imports. However, they did feature and excellent selection of local microbreweries on tap, including Propeller Pale Ale, ESB and London Porter, and Garrison Irish Red, Martello Stout, Barrack St. Brown and McNab's Pale Ale.

Downtown Halifax has numerous pubs, all within close proximity of each other. Unfortunately, I was unable to visit many of them, so I'll have to update this report after future trips (the new and promisingly-named Halifax Alehouse awaits, along with visits to Propeller and Garrison.)

In closing, one side note about the Halifax trip. When wandering around downtown I happened to stop into a used bookstore, and stumbled upon quite a gem. I discovered an original edition of Michael Jackson's Good Guide to Beer, published in 1977. This book has since been updated a number of times, but the original is quite a treat, to read about what the world beer scene was like before the emergence of microbreweries. This discovery reminded me of Halifax in general: you never know what you may encounter in this fine city.

Terp alert! With April 20th in the not so distant past, Landwash has a new dank beer called Best Buds. That could describe your blog boys, too ? This beer is a very dank west coast IPA with some earthy and pine notes from CTZ, Cascade and Bru-1 hops. This beer features an addition of Pineapple Express terpenes which have a tropical, pungent, pine and fruit aroma. There are no THC or CBD products in this beer, but the flavour and aroma should be right on point! The beer is 6% and available in cans from the brewery.

After recently opening ticket sales for the Newfoundland Craft Beer Festival, Banished Brewing has also announced that they will be hosting Banished Fest in July. On July 12th and 13th, the taps will be featuring breweries from across North America on the go, with beers from Badlands, Dunham, Lone Oak, 2 Crows, Trailway, Stillwell, Other Half, and half a dozen more. Each brewery will have a dedicated tap or two during the event, and as one keg kicks, it will be replaced by another beer from the same brewery, and will be rotated between sessions, so that there will be a new roster each time. Those in the Golden Growler club will have the opportunity to fill up on any leftover beer at the end of the weekend (should there be any!). Tickets for the three sessions are now available, grab them quickly before they disappear!

Up in Nyanza, on Cape Breton Island, Big Spruce Brewing is doing that collaboration thing they do so often (and so well), this time pairing up with a pair of local musicians, Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen, to produce Made to be Played, a session IPA. Featuring newfangled experimental hop variety HBC 1019 (the name fairly rolls off the tongue), it boasts light and lively flavors of mango, fuzzy peach, and citrus zest. And at only 4.5% ABV you can safely enjoy a couple while you enjoy some local tunes. Find it in cans direct from the source.

Available new this weekend from Propeller is Prickly Pear Lagered Ale. At 4.8%, the light ale is a perfect blank palette upon which the prickly pear cactus fruit can bring its tart character, fruity ester profile, with a beautiful pink hue. Available on draught at their Prop taps in Dartmouth, Halifax, and Bedford, and in cans there, and soon at the private and government stores too.

A quick hit from Lone Oak Brewing, who have released Lush West Coast IPA, just in time for 4/20. The first, but probably not the last, of their beers brewed with TERPS, a new strains of yeast from Escarpment Labs, developed to enhance stone fruit and citrus terpenes in the resultant beer. More from Escarpment on the yeast here.

An award-winning pub behind the Victoria Theatre, opened in 2014. Upon entry there is a traditional oak tiled bar with wooden panelling throughout. Expanding to the left, there is abundant cosy seating in multiple rooms. Offering nine rotating ales from a wide range of breweries alongside eighteen keg lines, a choice of Belgian and world beers and two draught ciders. Many beer-themed events and tap takeovers occur, including the celebrated annual dark beer festival, Back in Black.Awards

Details indicate only approved and checked traders can carry out the work requested to meet the criteria. Types of improvement that qualify for the grant are also split into primary and secondary measures the voucher must be used to install at least one primary measure which can be insulation and/or low carbon heating

After at least one primary measure has been installed, the voucher can be used to help cover the cost of a list of secondary measures which contains things such as double or triple glazing, draught-proofing and energy efficient doors.

But officers from WYTS are concerned the door may be left open for illegitimate traders to exploit the trust of consumers who would like to access a voucher to get home improvements made cost-effectively.

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