Things are afoot at Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider. The cidery and perennial Best of Halifax favourite is in the midst of renovations to its Portland Street taproom, where it formerly shared a space with Brightwood Brewery. The latter closed its taproom in late March, citing “personal circumstances” and a need to restructure the business after a summer that “did not go as planned.”
“We really need to kind of pause and refocus our efforts,” Brightwood co-owner Ian Lawson told CBC News at the time. “We’ve had so many different revenue streams over the years and they keep changing.”
The Brightwood space has sat empty since then—but it won’t stay that way for long, according to Lake City Cider’s general manager Russel Layden.
“We’re hoping by spring that we’ll have a brewery of our own,” he tells The Coast.
Rumoured to join the new venture is Halifax brewer Adam Campbell, who has been leading the efforts at Revelry Beer Co.—the in-house brewing label of The Brewery by Quinns, which also provides beer to Quinn’s Arms and The Brown Hound—since 2022. A veteran of Halifax’s craft scene, Campbell has also brewed for Propeller Brewing Co. and worked for Alley Kat, Grizzly Paw and Blindman Brewing in Alberta. Earlier this year, he won silver and bronze at the Canadian Brewing Awards for Revelry’s blonde ale and double IPA. (Lake City Cider hasn’t commented on Campbell’s potential involvement.)
The Brewery by Quinns is currently for sale, along with all of its brewing equipment.
Work is already underway on the new Portland Street space. We’ll have more updates as they come.
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This article appears in Dec 1-18, 2024.