.All Trips / Eastern Canada / Food / North America / Nova Scotia

Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery, Halifax

24 Alexander Keitih Brewery Tour (38)

While almost certainly not as famous as it’s founder would have liked, Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery has developed a niche following throughout Canada, especially in its eastern provinces.  The brewery was created almost two centuries ago, in 1820, making it one of the oldest breweries in North America (the oldest surviving commercial brewery is John Molson’s, founded in Montreal in 1786).

Alexander Keith was a Scottish immigrant who had been a brewer in Edinburgh and London before moving to the New World.  He had an interesting career that extended beyond brewing and including being mayor of Halifax and President of the Provincial Legislative Council of Nova Scotia.  While in Canada he experimented with ale, porter, ginger wine and spruce beer, …

Read More

Tagged , , ,
.All Trips / Europe / Ireland

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland

003 Guiness Storehouse Dublin

The Guinness Store attracts hundreds of tourists every day to what’s promoted as “Ireland’s #1 visitor attraction”.  Arthur Guinness began brewing stout at St James Gate Brewery in 1759.  Within a century this complex was the the largest brewery in the world, and it still brews 10 million pints a day (although today the Guinness brewery in Nigeria is larger than its Dublin counterpart, and the Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado is now the largest single site brewery in the world).

The admission fee of about 15 Euros includes a self-guided tour of the old fermentation plant (everything is very well labeled and illustrated) and, when you’re done, a free pint of Guinness.  The old plant was refurbished in the late …

Read More

Tagged , , ,