Now, I know I was supposed to get all the way to Saint John's but in case you don't know (like I didn't) it's a serious (and expensive) bitch to get up there if you don't have a car.... so I decided that getting as far as Halifax is good enough for me! Newfoundland will have to wait for another trip.... which means there HAS to be another trip!
The microbrewery I hit up was Garrison, which opened up in 1996 and is located right by the famous Pier 21. I chatted with Sam the bartender, whose zombie apocalypse beer pick (Belgian IPA) was not available for tasting, so I had some of their Unfiltered Imperial IPA instead. Tasty!
Glorious!!!
Next up, I went to the Heart and Thistle brewpub, which is all the rage in Halifax, to sample their Catholic School Girl IPA:
It's an IPA infused with orange and ginger... and man, you get that ginger! It's a bit more of a savoury beer in my mind and the ginger sends a nice warm jolt from the back of the throat to the cockles of the heart. That being said, the orange offers a refreshing quality to the beer.... I wouldn't sit and drink it on the patio when it's +30C, but I can see it as a nice patio in the fall beer.
First night in Halifax I went out with some cool people I met at my hostel and we went down to the Lower Deck Pub (the place to be on Sunday nights, dontchaknow?). The Keith's is poured freely and large dudes circle the crowded, long picnic tables with mugs of it ready for the drinking! By the time the band started the place was completely full and you find yourself singing and clinking glasses with those around you..... it was exactly how I imagined the east coast to be!
And of course I went on the Alexander Keith's tour.... There is nothing really said about the modern making of the beer but the tour is kinda like going to Fort Edmonton Park or the Ukrainian Village: people dress up and sing and give you some beer. It's worth the $18 ticket. If you go to Halifax do the tour. You'll have fun!
So, there you have it! The Great Canadian Beer Adventure 2011! Hope whoever the hell actually reads this thing had fun following along!
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