2019 MAY 20 ——
From St. Paul’s Anglican Church I made my way to Alexander Keith’s Brewery (as most good church-goers do :-). It was an excellent tour that came with various varieties of beer that totaled about a pint and a half.
Alexander Keith learned the brewing trade from an uncle while still in England. He emigrated to Canada in 1817 and bought the brewery he was managing in 1820. He built a new brewery in 1836. Sugar shortages caused Keith to switch to ale and beer – thank goodness! Today, Alexander Keith’s owns over 400 beer brand globally and has won prestigious awards for his IPA (a hoppy style of India Pale Ale). He was not just a good brew master; he was Grandmaster of the Mason Lodge, he also served as mayor of Halifax 3 times and served on the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia for 6 years, until his death.
The building is really a number of connected buildings (now a mall) around a courtyard with a common roof. The walls of the buildings are exposed stone and brick. Many windows have a Gothic arch. There was one archway leading away from the courtyard that had a huge dent in the stonework. It was created by decades of horse-drawn cart wheels hitting the wall.
The tour started in a small pub where we were given a small glass of beer. Then we were shown old labels of early beers and were told a bit of Keith’s personal and business history. A replica of Keith’s personal dining room had the stag-head logo etched into the center of the table, as well as stag-head ornaments throughout. No beer allowed in this elegant room! We then went into the brewer’s sample room where the brewer still experiments with various grains, spices and fruits to create new and wonderful flavours. We had a sample of Coffee & Cacao Stout.
We walked through the mash and cooking room, with its shiny brass drums. The procedures were explained while we continued to sip our beer. The mash used to be given to the delivery drivers to feed to their horses. Today, the mash is given to farmers to feed to their livestock. One man told the brewery that his horses gallop to the fence while he is driving up the lane to his house. They can smell the mash from miles away.
From the mash room, we were taken into a dimly lit dungeon-like area used to store the barrels of beer. Today it has been converted to a period era pub. We could choose which beers (multiple) we wanted. The guides and bartenders entertained us with songs, fiddle and guitar music, with a bit of dancing thrown in. It was rarin’ to go Kitchen Party! (One of the guides told me they have to audition to be a guide) The ambiance was terrific!
In the back of the pub was a glass case with a bottle of beer that was found by a scuba diver. It is estimated to be 125 years old. A faint stamp on the cork suggests it was from the Alexander Keith brewery.
Just off from the pub part, was Alexander Keith’s office. It was a grand room with big leather armchairs flanking a big fireplace.
When the singing and music were done, we were lead through a tunnel, back to the courtyard. The purpose of this tunnel was two-fold. One, Alexander Keith’s home was above the barrel storage area. He never had to walk outside to get to his brewery. Two, the tunnel had a slight downhill decline. The barrels could be rolled effortlessly to the awaiting carts. Just before the guide opened the door for us to exit to the courtyard, she started singing “Farewell to Nova Scotia” while stomping her foot and clapping her hands. Out in the courtyard, a fellow came up to me and said that he thought the song was made up for the tour – until he saw me singing along.
I walked past Province House, where the Nova Scotia legislative assembly has met every year since 1819. It is the longest serving legislative building and is the oldest house of government in Canada.
Joseph Howe’s statue stands beside Province House. He was a Nova Scotia journalist, politician, public servant and poet.
It was a cold and rainy day so the harbour front boardwalk was pretty much deserted. None of the food kiosks were open. I took some pictures of a few interesting statues located on or near the harbour. The Sailor Statue, the Emigrant, the Volunteers, the Lebanese Statue and the Wave. When I returned a few days late, the weather was sunny and warm. I could not believe the difference. The place was super busy with kids crawling all over the playground equipment and Wave sculpture. There were long queues at the kiosks and it was nearly impossible to find a bench to sit down.
I took a side trip to St. John’s, Newfoundland to see some icebergs. See the blog: https://anoldladywithabackpack.travel.blog/2019/05/22/canada-newfoundland-st-johns/
An Old Lady with a Backpack 
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