“Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.” Frank Funn’s St. Patty’s Day philosophy is pretty accurate, March 17 has become an all-inclusive reason to celebrate. But what he’s celebrating on Saturday is slightly different. Sure, he’ll be dressed in green…and maybe shamrocks too, but he'll also be celebrating the well-worn 125-year-old Saint Patrick’s Church. For the […]
Drink
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Halifax’s beer ambassador
This St. Patrick’s Day, remember how lucky you are to live in Canada. Chuck Gillis wishes he had what we all take for granted: While we sit here in our ivory towers drinking all the Garrison and Keith’s we want, he’s stuck in Texas, unable to get either. And he loves Garrison and Keith’s. Gillis […]
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Home brew disasters
Halifax Explosion Tripel as told by Steve Trickett I finished brewing a Belgian tripel and transferred it into a carboy. I attached a blow-off tube to the bung and ran the hose into a jug of sanitized solution to catch any runoff, then called it a night. Next morning, the yeast cake had bubbled up […]
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The happy hopper
Sea Level Brewing’s owner, Randy Lawrence, is known for his motto: “Don’t be loco, drink local.” The Port Williams brewer, one of the first microbrewers in the Maritimes, has been championing the possibility of an all-Nova Scotia beer for many years. But it took travelling close to 6,000 kilometres to Washington State for Lawrence to […]
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Brewery tours de force
There are five large-scale breweries operating in Halifax—one brewery for every 77,000 people—producing brews ranging from mass-market lager to niche-market barley wine. There is something for everyone. Three local breweries welcome the public inside for tasting’s and, in two cases, education about brewing. Here’s all you need to know to choose the right tour for […]
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The friendliest holiday
Tom Dobbyne just bought himself a green bowler hat. Now he’s on the hunt for a green suit to match. Actually, any old suit will do. He says he can “go to Value Village, and just spray paint a suit green.” After all, if you are going to start St. Patrick’s Day with breakfast and […]
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Can’t wheat
Before Kendra Hoskin was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2009, she says she was a “huge beer drinker.” After the diagnosis, because most beers are brewed with wheat, barley or other gluten-based grains, she switched to cider. But the rise of wheat allergies has brewers making some changes, too. The NSLC now sells three different […]
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March madness
If you follow current affairs at all, you know that March Madness is all about the NCAA tournament and the iconic brackets of teams competing. Even though I don’t follow basketball, I get it. But my ears perked up recently when I met a friend of a friend who was throwing her own March Madness […]
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Getting home
Transit Metro Transit deserves major kudos for its New Year’s Eve service, which is completely free after 8:30pm and has extended hours, with some buses running as late as 2:30am. The ferry continues to run every half-hour well past midnight; the last boat leaves Dartmouth at 1:30am, then departs back to Dartmouth from Halifax at […]
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New Year’s take two
You’ll likely be recovering from the previous night out, but if you can manage to drag your self out of the house (and bed) by 3pm…you should probably hit the levee scene. Every host has a different take on the traditional day-after gathering for reflection, looking forward and sharing stories of the night before, but […]
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The wine province
Acadie Vineyards 2007 Prestige Brut A gold medal winner at the 2010 Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards, this has a classic yeasty, bready nose, complimented by floral notes from the L’Acadie grape. A serious sparkling wine, but costing less than Champagne, it has creamy mousse and strong lees (yeast) contributions owing to the 30 months […]
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A celebration of the province’s wine country
This year marks the sixth annual Nova Scotia Fall Wine Festival, which kicked off at Lunenburg County Winery on September 15 and runs to October 16, featuring over 45 events spread around the region’s wineries, restaurants and farmers’ markets. There are wine and food pairings, wine tours with Go North Tours, cooking classes and—of course—grape […]
