Beer in the news

[mr x]

Pretty sad outfit. One of these days, I could see them on the wrong end of social media beatdown over something like this.

Sent from Tapatalk 2, a prick of a company.

[canuck]

Pretty sad outfit. One of these days, I could see them on the wrong end of social media beatdown over something like this.

Sent from Tapatalk 2, a prick of a company.

I'd LOVE to see them take a social media beatdown over something like this. It's fucking pathetic that they would go after a one person brewery over a beer name that isn't even the same! Pricks!

[mr x]

The Beer Frontier: The summer of shandys (& other fruit suds) starts now

http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/06/09 ... tarts-now/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It did not warrant its own entry in first edition of The Oxford Companion to Beer (or even a spot in the extensive index). An older dictionary yields a curt definition: “a mixed drink of beer and ginger-beer or lemonade. Origin unknown.” And it’s definitely a backyard beverage that, with a few simple ingredients, you could mix up yourself. Still, there’s a good chance you (or someone next to you) will be sipping one of the many new prepared versions of this beverage in the next few months.

Welcome to the summer of the shandy.

In truth any definition of this mix of beer and sweet or sour juice should expand outward beyond just lemon and ginger, but those are the two most popular, and there are examples of both on shelves right now. Beyond the shandy, which is strictly speaking a beer with juice added after brewing, there are also several innovative brewers who are incorporating elements of fruit and other botanicals into their brewing processes themselves this year, and with some very tasty and interesting results.

One of those is Creemore Springs’ latest entry in their seasonal “Mad and Noisy” collection. Sunny & Share (4.5%; 473mL can) is strictly speaking a saison, but with a toned down malt background that allows its Belgian farmhouse ale yeasts, hints of clove and lemon peel to shine through. If drinkability is the main criterion for judging a fruit-inflected beer, this one has it in spades, sacrificing nothing of the ale’s own character while delivering palate zingers that most people associate with cooling off.

“We don’t do a lot of ales, and we were looking for something to do for the summer, and it’s kind of a lighter style that you can enjoy a few of without feeling full,” says Bryan Egan, brewmaster of the Mad and Noisy series at Creemore. While he describes the addition of the citrus notes (in the form of chunks of dried orange and lemon peel that the wort is poured over and “steeped” in before it cools), as the defining element of the creation, Egan is quick to point out that he started by building a strong ale base with notes of cloves and other spices emanating from the specialty yeasts and Sunny & Share’s New Zealand motueka aroma hops. Only after was fruit introduced into the process.

Mill St. Lemon TeaAlong with Mill St.’s wildly popular Lemon Tea (5%; 473mL, and once again included in the Toronto brewer’s Summer Seasonal Sampler), Sunny & Share is one flank of the shandy debate — i.e., the serious, “you’re still drinking a beer” side. On the other side is the radler, or radlermass, as The Oxford Companion calls it. This drink is strictly speaking not actually beer, or created using a brewing process — but it has been around for a while, at least since 1922, when Munich native Xaver Kugler saw fit to mix 50/50 concoctions of lager and fruit juice, usually clear lemonade. Directly translated, the word means “cyclist’s litre,” and it is indeed designed to be a thirst quencher after exertion above all else. Stiegl Grapefruit Radler (2.5%; 500 mL can) out of Austria is in line with the history, and delivers an honest pop of sweet and sour, with a mellowed backbone of malts. Its low alcohol levels will be appreciated by anyone who likes to keep their wits about them while fishing off the dock, or taking a break from a big summer project. Bonus: even more vitamins than beer usually has.

The also-rans in the category include an offering from Rickard’s called simply Shandy (4.5%; 473mL can), and which is billed as “Crisp Lager with Lemonade.” Because of the inclusion of “non-beer ingredients” however, Molson-Coors was forced to list ingredients, and, well, suffice to say “cane sugar” is the true star of the show. If you were a fan of Labatt’s super-sweet Boomerang, and the lemonade malt beverages of a few years past (Twist comes to mind), this will appeal. If you enjoy the taste of beer, it’s probably better avoided.

Melville's Strawberry Craft LagerIn that same vein, though, are Melville’s alcoholic Ginger Beer, and Strawberry and Raspberry Craft Lagers (4.1%; 275mL bottle). These have sugar added, too, but their smaller, Fruli-like bottle, and lower alcohol levels make them a nice treat. If you find you prefer more bite than sweet, the Ginger is the way to go, although kind of dangerous, since they do taste that good.

Knowing whether you’re looking for a beer with fruit juice in it, or a beer brewed with fruit is the first step to enjoying the shandy style and its related craft beer inspired quaffers. In the end, it comes down to a personal preference over the balance between sweetness and beeriness. The shandy is always sweeter, but if you make them yourself, you can adjust. Creemore’s brewmaster agrees that it’s all about personal preference — and setting, too.

“A shandy might be on the sweet side for me,” Egan says. “But some of the other fruit-
flavoured beers out there are great for a hot day at the cottage, just sitting out on the dock or deck.”

DIY SHANDYS

There’s a lesson in Creemore brewmaster Bryan Egan’s methodology for creating Sunny & Share Citrus Saison:

“We started just trying to make a base beer, with the idea that once we had something we were happy with, we were going to add some kind of peel. Lemon and orange emerged as the way to go.”

Creating your own shandys at home can take a similar course. Pick a beer you’re already a fan of, either for its strong back notes of malt, or an interesting bitter hop that isn’t too far over the top. Err towards a lower alcohol beer, but other than that, follow your palate. Next, decide on a fruit flavour that might go well with that base, either by eating some fruit alongside, or testing a few mixes. Once you think you have a match, make some homemade juice — it’s going to taste better that way, and you’ll have full control over sugar content. Then, make sure both liquids are icy cold, and mix in a 50/50 ratio to start with, but don’t feel wedded to that arbitrary number; some people like beery shandys, some prefer the fruit. It’s up to you, and it’s a beer mixer, so there are no clear-cut right or wrong answers. Here are a few suggested pairings to get you inspired:

Beau’s All Natural Lugtread + lemonade + a cinnamon stick garnish = Hot Lemontread

Mill St. Organic + orange juice + a touch of ginger ale = Breakfast of Champions

Steam Whistle Pilsner + pomegranate juice + a touch of lime juice = Pomade Pils

Wellington Special Pale Ale + grapefruit juice = Charged-up Welly

[mr x]

Hip hops: With beer’s commercial giants entering the fray, this bitter little plant has never been in higher demand

http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/06/08 ... er-demand/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Among the dozens of craft brewers’ booths and tents at last week’s 20th annual Mondial de la Bière in Montreal, one pop-up pub caught the eye: Raised on a platform, it was garlanded by plastic hop vines and adorned by giant ads for Alexander Keith’s new Hop Series beers.

In North America, Humulus Lupulus is more popular than ever before. Although the hop plant’s flower has been de rigueur for flavouring beers since the Middle Ages, macrobrewers controlling the Canadian and U.S. markets in the 20th century drastically dialed down their beers’ hop character, leaving craft brewers to take up the slack. So successful have they been that even commercial giants like Labatt (which owns Keith’s) are now brewing beers whose hops are their main selling points. The plant’s resurgence shows no signs of abating.

When added during the fermentation process, hops boost a beer’s aroma, and when boiled with the wort, they add bitterness — a flavour that, as brewer Mike Lackey notes, is “an acquired taste for North Americans. Bread, fast food — everything’s pretty sugary.” Lackey’s brewery, Great Lakes, has been brewing dependable beers such as its Red Leaf Smooth Red Lager since its founding in Etobicoke in 1987, but when Lackey started making hoppy pale ales as part of a pilot project five years ago, some drinkers were irate. “They were like, ‘What is this poison? It’s terrible.’ People came up with a lot of funny terms — ‘metallic’ was a big one. It was so foreign to a palate.”

Where 10 years ago, you made a lager as your flagship beer and then you did other stuff,” Lackey says, “you’ve got to make an IPA first

In May, Great Lakes won Canadian Brewery of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards, largely on the strength of hoppy beers such as its Crazy Canuck Pale Ale, which it distributes through the LCBO. Ontario’s provincial retailer has seen a 60% increase in sales of hoppy India Pale Ales over the past year, fuelled by what it calls customers’ search for “a more complex experience.” B.C. has been a stronghold for hoppy beers since the turn of the 21st century, and Quebec, where craft brewers have traditionally gravitated toward malty Belgian-influenced styles, is now a growth market.

Hop growers are springing up in all three provinces, but for the moment, Canadian brewers depend on ingredients imported from countries whose local hops influence their own well-known beer styles. The biggest hop-producing region in the world is Hallertau in Bavaria, where German pilsners and lagers have spicy notes. In the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., hops such as Cascade and Simcoe give the “West Coast IPA” style its defining citrusy bitterness, and in England, bitters get their name from such earthy Kentish hops as Goldings and Fuggles. Beer writer Martyn Cornell recently uncovered evidence of 19th-century Brits’ deriding U.S. hops for their “piney” character, but today’s brewers are keen to experiment with hops from around the world.

Now, more and more craft brewers are using more and more hops: “Where 10 years ago, you made a lager as your flagship beer and then you did other stuff,” Lackey says, “you’ve got to make an IPA first.” Hop shortages — particularly of proprietary hops with small yields — are becoming common. Brewmaster Jamie Mistry of Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewery notes that some varieties are already sold out for this year and even into 2014; currently he’s testing substitutions for the aromatic (and scarce) Amarillo hops in beers like the acclaimed IPA, Boneshaker. Similarly, Lackey has changed Crazy Canuck’s recipe over the years depending on the availability of Simcoe.

Still, there’s no lack of hoppy beers on shelves — just beware those that pass their sell-by date. Although hops are preservatives (and India Pale Ale gets its name from their role in helping beers survive the voyage from England to the former colonies), hop-forward beers are best consumed fresh to appreciate their character. Lackey suggests drinking them within three months of their bottling or canning.

And as commercial brewers wade gingerly into the fray (Keith’s hop series, shrugs the Mondial de la Biere’s general manager Marie-Josée Lefebvre, is “a start … For a commercial beer it’s not bad”), others are deciding it may be time to step out. Steve Beauchesne, of Beau’s Brewery in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, is plotting an International Gruit Day to celebrate beer brewed the really old-fashioned way. “The aromatics are phenomenal,” he says. “When the hop craze fades away, bog myrtle might be the very next thing.”

[Jamie D]

http://lifewise.canoe.ca/FoodDrink/2013 ... 44566.html

German brewers warn fracking could hurt beer industry
By Madeline Chambers, REUTERS

German brewers have warned Chancellor Angela Merkel's government that any law allowing the controversial drilling technique known as fracking could damage the country's cherished beer industry.

The Brauer-Bund beer association is worried that fracking for shale gas, which involves pumping water and chemicals at high pressure into the ground, could pollute water used for brewing and break a 500-year-old industry rule on water purity.

Germany, home to Munich's annual Oktoberfest - the world's biggest folk festival which attracts around 7 million visitors - has a proud tradition of brewing and beer drinking.

Under the "Reinheitsgebot", or German purity law, brewers have to produce beer using only malt, hops, yeast and water.

"The water has to be pure and more than half Germany's brewers have their own wells which are situated outside areas that could be protected under the government's current planned legislation on fracking," said a Brauer-Bund spokesman.

"You cannot be sure that the water won't be polluted by chemicals so we have urged the government to carry out more research before it goes ahead with a fracking law," he added.

Germany is Europe's biggest producer of beer and has the third-largest per-capita consumption after the Czech Republic and Austria.

It is home to more than 1,300 breweries which produce about 5,000 different beers, enough for a drinker to try a new beer for 13.5 years, according to the Brauer-Bund.

With pressure mounting from German industry to at least look into the option of tapping its shale gas reserves, Merkel's center-right coalition is working on a law setting out the conditions for exploration that would protect certain areas.

Given resistance from opposition parties which could block the law in the upper house of parliament, it is unlikely that a law on fracking will be passed before an election in September.

[mr x]

Q&A: Moosehead’s Oland brothers on why the time was now for their new American-style craft ale
http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/06/12 ... craft-ale/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Moosehead is one of Canada’s original family businesses. With their new Boundary Ale beer (in stores in September), the Olands are going back to their roots. Susannah Oland started brewing ales when she founded the company in 1867 as The Army and Navy Brewery, and it’s been a long journey since them to where the still independent brewer sits now. We sat down with Andrew and Patrick Oland, CEO and CFO, respectively, of Moosehead, to chat about the company’s new brew and Moosehead’s deep Canadian roots.

Boundary AleWhat would your great-great-great grandmother think of this brew?

Patrick Oland: As a brewer, comparing it to style, she’d probably find it bitterer than she made her beers. That citrusy style from the U.S.-style hops would not have been common or used in Europe at the time. English beer would always have been milder and softer. She might find it more adventurous.
Andrew Oland: One of the things that she would be a little surprised at is with modern brewing techniques. The clarity of this beer, with the filter — it looks lovely. That would be something that 146 years ago would have been a little bit more difficult.

The company started with such a strong female force at the beginning — where are the females in Moosehead today?

Patrick: Our quality control department has been generally very female-oriented. And they tend to be some of our best tasters. Brewing is actually not that much different from cooking. If you go back in history, Susannah [Oland] — while people find it a bit interesting that she was a brewer — in England at the time, it would have been very common for women to be brewers.
Andrew: It’s really interesting, because when the brewery first started it was called S. Oland and Sons, and the reason is you because couldn’t put “Susannah” on the name back in 1867.
Patrick: We’re very proud of that tradition. It’s interesting as well that Andrew’s daughter, being the seventh generation to have worked at the brewery, albeit as a student, is pretty fitting.
Andrew: We have a rule in the family — you have to work outside of the business before you come in after you’re done post-secondary education.

The brewing industry has been struggling in recent years. What’s your prognosis?

Andrew: I’m very optimistic. If you go back and look at something like California wines 30 years ago — they all came out of a box and cost $5. Now you look at where California wines are, and we have a very vibrant Canadian wine industry. I see that brewers throughout North America are putting out really good beers, and I think that’s creating a lot of interest amongst consumers.

How do you navigate those rough waters?

Patrick: I think it’s having distinctive products, supporting them, and having a full plan in behind them. And then having patience. We’ve done that. It was only 20 years ago that we launched Moosehead Lager outside of the Maritimes, and now it’s one of the biggest premium brands in the country. It takes time, it takes patience, and the key is you can’t go for every trend that’s happening. With Boundary Ale, we really feel that the time is right for Moosehead. A lot of it is timing.
Andrew: The word patience is something that I learned from my father and my grandfather, and I think, from a business perspective, sometimes companies give up a little too soon. We have a culture where we’re heavily invested in something like this, so we’re going to be patient with it. In any multi-generational business, you’re going to have ups and downs, but I think ultimately, patience gets you through those downs.

Boundary AleExplain the decision to go down the “craft beer” route.

Patrick: When you’ve been around a long time, you’re careful about trends. We look at the market as just “beer” — we don’t define. I know people think big brewery, small brewery, but those lines are kind of blurring. At the end of the day it’s about beer, and it’s about different styles. We felt our drinkers were clamouring for an ale, and we had an opportunity to bring them something that had a distinct Moosehead signature on it. That’s kind of where it came from.

The family business started in the Maritimes, but the Boundary Ale package looks very West Coast.

Patrick: For us, our heritage is the Maritimes, but we really think of ourselves as a Canadian beer. When we think of the Canadian image, there’s something about the mountains. Mountains are a quintessential Canadian kind of feeling. And the moose — we don’t have a lot of mountains in New Brunswick, but we have a lot of moose. This is really a Canadian beer. We wanted to create a signature Canadian style.

Describe the perfect setting for someone to drink Boundary Ale.

Patrick: I can tell you right now — it’s at the cottage, on the deck, on the dock, just kicking back. A nice sunset, having a drink, maybe a barbecue. Or, with the combination of the maltiness and the bitterness, in the wintertime, this would be a fantastic beer to have at a ski chalet or something.

Andrew: My father, Derek, says that beer is a reward for hard work. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just mowed the lawn, it’s Friday night and you’ve finished a tough week of work, or you’re getting together with friends. To me, it’s every time that you’ve worked hard and you’ve accomplished something and you want to reward yourself and celebrate your success.

[TimG]

Some dousy comments in there:

"The clarity of this beer, with the filter — it looks lovely." - Just lovely..

"We look at the market as just “beer” — we don’t define. I know people think big brewery, small brewery, but those lines are kind of blurring." - Umm, no they aren't really.

"We wanted to create a signature Canadian style." And they did (are going to do) this how?

I wonder how much corn they're going to use in this..

Tim

[brufrog]

I'll be popping by to taste it tomorrow I think. Pretty sure it us all grain. Would not be surprised if it is the same recipe as Hop CIty Big Mouth. Specs look similar. But this is brewed here in Saint John.

[pet lion]

Beck’s Brewery created a beer bottle that’s playable like a vinyl record
http://www.aux.tv/2013/06/becks-brewery ... yl-record/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jayme]

Old school cartridge style record! Now if only they'd put that kind of effort into brewing good beer...

[brufrog]

I tried Moosehead Boundary at the brewery today, on tap. It will be launching soon here in NB on tap. Bottles hopefully in September, nationally. One interesting thing I learned is that I have already been drinking this beer for 6 months! It became the base beer for their cask ale back in October, for their 200th cask party. I knew they had brewed a special all grain batch, darker, with much more body, much more English is style, but I thought back then it was a small batch just for the cask ale. Turns out it was this new beer. It is not a West Coast style pale ale, but rather a darker amber, without any intense floral citrussy hop character. It is 5.3%, so more of an ESB I suppose (?) and, while it does have some west coast hops, it seems more dominated by Fuggles and Goldings. It is quite bitter, and, as I suspected, all-grain, a blend of various malts, with quite a bit of specialty malt. As some of you know, one of their brewers, Mark Dobson, is an English brewer who brewed for Tetley for years,a nd loves real ale. He is the reason Moosehead agreed to make proper cask beer for the Ale House, and he does a fine job. I had one today after coming from the brewery. The cask version is quite different, as it is unpasteurized, naturally carbonated, and dry-hopped. It seems less bitter due to the lower CO2, and rounder. I love it. In short, I think Boundary is a great effort, tho I much prefer the cask version, and hopefully a sign of things to come.

[mr x]

I guess we'll see what the market says now. I hope to god they put half as much effort into marketing it as the did for Crackhead Canoe. Only NB on tap for now?

[jeffsmith]

Crackhead Canoe

[CorneliusAlphonse]

Cool. I'll try it whenever it's available

[jeffsmith]

I'm looking forward to trying it as well. It's always nice to have more choices when grabbing a six pack at the ANBL or NSLC.

[mr x]

Label sucks bigtime though.....business as usual in this country (well, most of it anyway).

[jeffsmith]

Label sucks bigtime though.....business as usual in this country (well, most of it anyway).

Far better than standard MH labels, from a graphic design point of view. Whether they'll appeal to the public is another story altogether.

[mr x]

First thing I thought of when I saw that label was 'I need a new Remington', lol.

Sent from Tapatalk 2, a prick of a company.

[jeffsmith]

First thing I thought of when I saw that label was 'I need a new Remington', lol.

Sent from Tapatalk 2, a prick of a company.

Quite possible that a large part of their current customer-base would be interested in that.

[brufrog]

I think it will be on tap across the Maritimes. I like the branding, personally. It has the moose, but it is clearly NOT an extension of another brand line, which is very smart, because the only thing it has in common with their other beers is that they use the same ale yeast as the Pale Ale/Clancy's/Ten Penny (defunct) line.

[hogie]

I had a feeling this beer was related to their cask. I tweeted them earlier in the week but never heard back. Water St Fish & Chips in Charlottetown is supposed to bring this in, and it may be there already, but I haven't been by to check yet. I love the Pump House IPA but after a couple, you need a little break from the hops so the Boundary will be a nice alternative.

[mr x]

The drinkers and dreamers guide

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http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/the-drin ... id=3911008" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


The labels are quite nice, the best I've seen out of the maritimes AFAIAC, but maybe they should try coming up with names that aren't already in use. Particularly Temptation.

...Vicar's Cross DIPA (8.5 percent), of which Pedro would only say is "what you'd expect, but with a completely different character." I'm intrigued. "We don't make something that directly competes with what's out there," explains Tipton. "We want to grow craft beer...Nova Scotia's beer-drinking population deserves more variety."

Really? You're making a DIPA that doesn't have the character of a DIPA and doesn't compete with other DIPA's.

[jeffsmith]

They've definitely got a great graphic designer working for them. Those labels would really stand out on the NSLC shelves.

[mr x]

Thirsty work: N.S. craft brewing has seen ‘dramatic’ growth


http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1 ... tic-growth" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These are heady days for Nova Scotia craft brewers.

Once a decidedly niche sector, the province’s craft beer industry has grown exponentially, says industry veteran Kevin Keefe, founder of Halifax’s Granite Brewery Ltd. and president of the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia.

“It’s been pretty dramatic in the past year,” he said in a recent interview. “Craft beer is growing in double digits.”

Keefe, a Halifax restaurant and bar industry veteran, founded Granite in 1985, when there were few commercial craft brewers in North America, let alone in Nova Scotia.

“I read an article about a (craft) brewery in Vancouver (and) thought it was interesting,” said the former owner of Ginger’s Tavern, who operated a brew pub there and at the Henry House after honing his brewing chops at an English brewery.

Keefe co-owns a Granite Brewery brew pub in Toronto with his brother and operates a standalone craft brewery on Stairs Street in north-end Halifax that specializes in English-style real ales available in local restaurants and at an on-site store.

Craft beer only accounts for about two per cent of total beer sales in Nova Scotia, which are dominated by major international names such as Coors and Budweiser, Keefe said.

But established craft brewers such as Granite, Propeller Brewing Co. and Garrison Brewing Co. , which have strong local followings, have been joined recently by a number of new industry entrants.

According to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., which licenses and regulates the industry, there are 12 licensed microbreweries in Nova Scotia.

Along with Granite, Propeller and Garrison, they include Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brewery in Yarmouth; Sea Level Brewing Co. in Canning; Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery in Halifax; Hell Bay Brewing in Cherry Hill, Lunenburg County; Bridge Brewing Co. in Halifax; Authentic Seacoast (Rare Bird) in Guysborough; Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza; Boxing Rock Brewing in Shelburne and Uncle Leo’s Brewery in Lyons Brook, which is opening on June 29.

There are also four brew pubs in the province — Halifax Hops Ltd. (Rogue’s Roost), Rock Bottom Brewery and Hart & Thistle in Halifax and Paddy’s Pub & Rosie’s Restaurant in Kentville — according to the liquor corporation.

Keefe attributed the expansion of craft brewing in the province to a number of factors, including changing demographics.

“People are drinking less as they’re getting older and they’re looking for something better, unique.”

Keefe said the local food movement has had a significant impact on the craft beer industry, which is attracting younger consumers interested in knowing where the products they consume originate.

Peter Burbridge, owner of Bridge Brewing Co., opened his Agricola Street microbrewery in Halifax in January.

The Dalhousie University MBA graduate, who previously managed Java Blend Coffee Roasters’ wholesale business, said he sells everything he makes, about 900 to 1,200 litres a week, to local pubs and restaurants and through his brewery store.

“Small is better,” he said.

Burbridge said he and other Nova Scotia craft brewers are riding the wave of the local food movement that is sweeping North America.

“Nova Scotia is catching up,” he said.

Jeremy White, owner of Big Spruce Brewery in Nyanza, Cape Breton, said there is a solid rationale for craft brewing in Nova Scotia.

“Look at the numbers,” he said.

White said Big Spruce, launched in April, is the only certified organic on-farm microbrewery in the Maritimes.

“We’re the only farm-to-table beer that restaurants can get on tap in Nova Scotia,” said the transplanted Ontarian. “It’s a cool story.”

Shelburne’s Boxing Rock Brewing Co. is scheduled to open within weeks.

Co-owner Emily Tipton said she and business partner Henry Pedro, both chemical engineers originally from Ontario, did two years of research before launching their brewery.

“What we saw in other provinces like British Columbia and Ontario is exactly the type of growth we’re now starting to see in Nova Scotia.”

Tipton said craft beer accounts for 13 per cent of total beer sales in B.C. and five to six per cent in Ontario.

“Consumers are clearly looking for something more interesting and better tasting than what they’re getting from more mass-produced beers,” she said. “We want more people drinking better beer.”

Tipton said brewing craft beer is more like cooking than manufacturing.

“It’s made by hand,” she said. “It’s a large-scale kitchen.”

Garrison and Propeller, Nova Scotia’s two largest craft brewers, are expanding to meet growing demand for their products.

Garrison, in its 16th year, recently announced a $2-million expansion of its operations on the Halifax waterfront, necessitated by six consecutive years of double-digit growth.

The expansion will allow the brewery to triple its production.

Garrison president Brian Titus said craft beer is the only segment of the beer market that is growing.

“Craft beer is on fire,” he said.

Titus said beer consumers have developed more sophisticated palates and, for example, are demanding brews that match different foods.

He said that taste shift has been noticed by restaurant and bar owners, who are increasingly turning to craft brewers for new products.

“Licensees are being asked for what’s new, what’s local,” said Titus, whose brewery makes 26 beers.

Propeller, the province’s largest craft brewery, is also expanding its operations as a result of six straight years of double-digit growth.

John Allen, who founded the business in Halifax in 1997 and is expanding to Dartmouth, attributed the sector’s tremendous growth across North America to changing consumer tastes and to the buy local movement.

“I don’t think it’s mysterious,” he said, noting that San Diego county alone has 22 craft brewers.

Allen said federal excise tax reductions and lower Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. markups have made the local craft beer sector more accessible and viable for new entrants.

“The economics are better,” Allen said.

Greg Beaulieu, vice-president of government and public affairs with the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., said the Crown corporation has tried to get out of the way of brewing entrepreneurs while still meeting its regulatory obligations.

“We try to find ways to make things work for small producers,” he said, noting that the sector makes a real contribution to the provincial economy.

Beaulieu agreed that the buy local movement has had a huge impact on the growth of the sector, noting that small producers such as Bridge and Hell Bay were “swamped” when they opened and sell everything they make locally.

“Consumers want to know where things come from,” he said, adding that quality and taste are important ingredients in the success of the province’s craft brewers.

Garrison and Propeller are the only Nova Scotia craft beers currently sold in NSLC outlets, but Beaulieu said the system is flexible and operators such as Sea Level, which sells cans out of its shop and through Halifax’s Bishop’s Cellar, one of the province’s four private liquor stores, could find space in select NSLC outlets.

Nova Scotia craft beers are also available at the province’s other three private liquor stores: Cristall Wine Merchants and Harvest Wine and Spirits, both in Bedford, and Premier Wine and Sprits in Halifax.

[mr x]

Greg Beaulieu, vice-president of government and public affairs with the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., said the Crown corporation has tried to get out of the way of brewing entrepreneurs while still meeting its regulatory obligations.

What a fucking joke.

“We’re the only farm-to-table beer that restaurants can get on tap in Nova Scotia,”

What does this mean?