Hi everyone! So my fiance and I will be visiting Halifax from August 15th-20th for a friend's wedding. We're arriving on the 15th, attending the wedding on the 16th, then returning on the 20th. That leaves us with a few days to enjoy the city, so we were wondering if you jolly locals had any suggestions for fun places to visit/things to do/drinking and eating spots? I've heard Stillwell is the place to go, and since we're staying at the Prince George (3 minutes away), we'll definitely hit it up. Other than that, we're completely new to the city and would appreciate any suggestions!
Will you have access to a car? Within walking distance for food there's Rockbottom Brewpub and Gahan Harbourfront. The latter is on the water and always busy. I personally prefer the Charlottetown location, but their brewer, Karen, usually has 3 or 4 unique offerings available. Stubborn Goat also has good food and several taps. Maxwell's Plum is good for cheap pub food. The must hit place is Stillwell on Barrington. They also opened a beer garden on the waterfront which is worth checking out if the weather is good. Smaller selection, but great location to spend a couple of hours. Best bottle shop in the area is Bishop's Cellar, and they also have growler fills. Garrison is nearby and has a taproom The local homebrew group has a nice map of the area: http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=...64.094238&spn=7.989176,16.853027&source=embed
Awesome, thanks! No, we will not have a vehicle for our stay, strictly on foot. Those sound like good suggestions; any activities we need to do while we're there?
Not sure who else from Halifax is on here. I'm currently on vacation in AB, but you want to walk along the waterfront for sure, maybe visit Public Gardens and Point Pleasant Park. There might even be a ferry to McNab's Island now, but there's not much to do there other than look at some old fortifications. Citadel Hill is a national historic site, so there is a fee to enter. If I think of more I'll post on here.
Hey folks! Just to tack on to this thread rather than start my own: I'm flying back home to NS for a visit. It's been five years since I've lived there, so I'm not 100% in the know on the beer scene. I'll mostly be in the Annapolis Valley (near Wolfville), but I'll probably get in to Halifax some and I'll have some time to travel around the province. What places should I have on my must-visit list? What beers do I definitely need to try? Thanks!
The Brewnosers' good beer map is always a good place to start: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...89176,16.853027&mid=z436AcjIfJsQ.ki4pZmsBOXvs If you're in Wolfville then a visit to Paddy's is highly recommended. They have a new brewer and she's doing lots of tasty new beers, plus their food is always a great value. If you're into fruit beers, their blueberry ale is the best I've had. Also in Wolfville, the Library Pub is one of the few places you can try Schoolhouse Brewing. Sea Level Brewing is in Port Williams. I find their cans are hit-and-miss but the draft next door at the Port Pub is fine. The Nook and Cranny in Truro, Townhouse in Antigonish, and Rudder's in Yarmouth are brewpubs outside of HRM, but pretty much everything else can be found in Halifax. The must-do is obviously Stillwell. You can go more than once, since their taps are always rotating. The main location on Barrington has 12 taps, but the satellite beer garden on the waterfront is good for a sunny day. If you are in town on Aug 7th they are having a GLB tap takeover at both locations - see their twitter feed for deets. Rockhead and Bishop's Cellar in Halifax are your best bets for picking up bottles. Lots of new breweries in the last few years. Right now I would recommend trying Boxing Rock (Vicar's Cross is a quality DIPA) and Tatamagouche Brewing. Also, Nash is opening up Unfiltered Brewing any day now, which will get a lot of hop heads excited. Oh, and make sure you eat a real East Coast donair while visiting.
There is a LOT to see and do here (beer- and food-wise). Rockbottom is a GREAT brewpub in the city as well as Gahan House. Stillwell is the beer bar in Halifax although The Stubborn Goat has a great selection as well. There are a lot of new breweries over the last few years: Good Robot (my fav), North, and of course Garrison, Propellor, and Granite. That's within HRM. If you're in the Annapolis Valley try Sea Level, Bad Apple, and Schoolhouse. In Cape Breton, we've got the awesome Big Spruce and the new Breton Brewing. Along the South Shore is Boxing Rock and Hell Bay. Can't forget Tatamagouche, Uncle Leo's, Rare Bird, or Meander River! There are brewpubs scattered throughout the province too (Townhouse in Antigonish, Rudder's in Yarmouth, Paddy's in Wolfville, etc). Craft beer is exploding here and almost any decent bar/restaurant has some of those on tap. For food, ohh yes! If you're staying at the Prince George, and can afford to, eat at Gio in the hotel. Incredible without a doubt. Down on Barrington are Chives and Two Doors Down (two doors down from Chives....); these are restos started by Craig Flynn, an amazing chef. In the North End is the fantastic (my fav) Brooklyn Warehouse (the chef Mark Grey is spectacular; different menu every day). Top 3 beers: Boxing Rock "Vicar's Cross DIPA", North Brewing "Burban Legend CIPA", and Rockbottom "Fathom IPA". Top 3 restos: Brooklyn, Two Doors Down, Gio.
Just to toot NS's horn a little: NS has more craft breweries (brewpubs included) per provinical population than any other province. There are somewhere around ~28 in a province of ~920,000 people.
I can't believe I didn't go to more of these places in the year I lived in Halifax. Of course, some of them didn't exist yet back then. My Dad passes by Harvest Wine & Spirits in Dartmouth every day on his commute. He stopped in after work today and called me from the store to find out what of their selection I wanted Now in the beer fridge are: Propeller ESB, Propeller Revolution Russian Imperial Stout, Picaroons Dooryard Summer Wheat Ale, Picaroons Timber Hog, North Brewing Company's Strong Dark Belgian and North Brewing Summer Saison. I shared a bottle of Picaroons Yippee IPA with Dad at supper. I visited the Port Pub with my parents the last time I was in NS. We had a great meal, but I found the beers were decent to good but not all that special. So far Boxing Rock is my favourite NS brewery (I've had the U-889, Vicar's Cross and their Winter Warmer), but I'm especially looking forward to trying some beers from North Brewing Company.
Harvest Wines, Cristall Wines and RockHead have the same ownership, but the previous owners of RockHead were very beer-centric and that store still retains the best selection of the three. Bishop's Cellar is definitely going to give you a good selection of local stuff, especially North Brewing. You can browse their (mostly) current offerings at https://bishopscellar.com/beer/
I just made a very quick trip to the NSLC in Windsor, NS and was pleasantly surprised to see that they're stocking a bit more from NS breweries. I'm used to seeing the Propeller and Garrison basics, but they also had Vicar's Cross from Boxing Rock and Propeller's Double IPA that I hadn't tried yet. Progress!
When visiting family in Halifax in the spring, fellow beer lovers were talking a lot about Uncle Leo's and Good Robot though I did not have any luck tracking any of their beers down.
Good Robot does not bottle, but they have a taproom and are on draught at a few bars in HRM. Uncle Leo's bottles can be found at the private liquor stores; I don't think they are in the NSLC yet.
Ok Halifax in a nutshell. Small relatively easy walking ( summer construction can make walking and parking a mess at the best of times). Breweries: Gahan House Harbourfront – Halifax, N.S. Garrison Brewing Company – Halifax, N.S. Good Robot Brewing Co – Halifax, N.S. Granite Brewery – Halifax, N.S. North Brewing Company – Halifax, N.S. Propeller Brewing Company – Halifax & Dartmouth, N.S. Rockbottom Brewpub – Halifax, N.S. Rogues Roost Brewpub – Halifax, N.S. Spindrift Brewing – Dartmouth, N.S. (Opening Soon) Unfiltered Brewing – Halifax, N.S. Bottle Shops: Bishop's Celler Rockhead NSLC Beer Friendly Places to eat (excluding the brew pubs): Stillwell Beer Bar (twitter or Instagram will have current tap list) Stillwell Beer Garden (weather permitting) 2 Doors Down Stubborn Goat Henry House Auction House Bearly's/Ace Burger Co. Brooklyn Wearhouse Optional Locations: Tom's Little Havana The Board Room (board games and beer) * some locations are better than other much like their offerings. Its a shame your trip wasnt this week The Annual Seaport Beer Fest is currently on (Friday and Saturday) and a Great Lakes Tap Take over was Thursday at Stillwell.
Rogues Roost is closing on September 13ish (building is being torn down). As of now they plan on putting the brewing equipment into storage until they find a new location, but it could very well be the end of the oldest brewpub in Halifax. Just a thought in case it was a 'maybe' on your list.
Damn, that's too bad! It wasn't on the top of my list of destinations, but it's a bummer when 'the original' one closes.
My mother took a trip up to Nova Scotia and P.E.I. a few weeks back and it looks like she picked me some winners reading this topic! She gave me a Gahan 4-pack sampler, Gahan blueberry ale (if I don't like it my wife will certainly drink it), a few Propeller IPA's and a Garrison Imperial IPA. Cheers!
