While in Nova Scotia, not only did I see the tidal changes (see earlier blog), but between the high & low tides, we had to find something ELSE to do....and besides hiking, we visited various beverage making places.
My first stop was the Garrison Brewery in Halifax, the town we flew into. Most of my family went next door to the Farmers Market...but I went to the Brewery.
That is EXTRA funny to my family, as it's well known that I don't like most foods that are Green.
I got a sampler of their beer....it was good! The Seaport Blonde was my favorite.
They ALSO made their own soda, so I bought a Rootbeer to go.
I mentioned that most my family were at the Farmers Market....well they found a tasty beverage too....a MAPLE Vodka. Canada has lost of things that are Mapled Flavored.
Thankfully my sister bought a bottle for us to try....and it was good! (Note: I've tried the Maple Crown Royal and wasn't a fan)
On one of the days we had several hours to wait between low & high tides, we visited 2 wineries, a cidery and a 2 breweries!
We all rode in one BIG car, and alternated drivers, so that some could take part in various tastings. Good for me, I wasn't one of the drivers!!!
Our first stop was the Grand Pre winery (we had tried a bottle earlier in the week), It's interesting how various wineries decide to do their tastings. Some let you choose from ALL of their wines....some have certain sets. At Grand Pre, you could do a "White" tasting, a "Red" Tasting or a "specialty" tasting, which was mostly their dessert wines.
I like Red wines more, so I got the Red tasting.
After the wine tasting, we went to the Annapolis Cider company in Wolfsville.
Like the winery, you had to choose which SPECIFIC FLIGHT you were to taste. It was interesting to taste all the differences in the various Ciders! They also had gave you some corn nuts to snack on.
Thankfully the cidery was within walking distance to our lunch spot...a brewpub named Paddys. They had good chowder and a good Cream Ale (probably the best one I had on the trip)
After lunch, we still had time before high tide, so we hit another winery....
The "LightFoot & Wolfville" winery had a great location. Just outside their tasting room, they had their vineyard overlooking the water!
I got a tasting, but this time I could actually CHOOSE which wines I wanted. Once again I chose mostly reds. My favorite (I even bought a bottle) was the Fauna, a red wine they recommend we serve chilled.
Our Next stop was a brewery....Wayfarers Brewery. That wasn't part of the original plan, but I liked their logo and wanted to stop.
Since I was a wayfarer, I got a sampler
My favorite was the "Hellene" a blonde ale. I'm a rare craft beer enthusiast, as I don't like hoppy beers.
After 2 wineries, 2 breweries, and a cidery that was enough for one day.... Thankfully they were spaced out, and you don't get alot in a tasting so I avoided a hangover.
Though the next day we went to a Provincial park, and on the way back to town...hit another winery. The Blomidon winery. Then when we went back to Halifax. Some of our group wanted to see the Maritime Museum, while I wanted to hit another brewery.....Propeller Brewery. A friend of mine actually brought me back a growler from that brewery...so I had to get a sampler.
I liked their Pilsner the best. We had a bit of a walk to meet the rest of our family at the Maritime Museum, so we left after our sampler. Turns out we got there before they were done....so what to do....I looked at a map....and found that right next door was a Distillery!
So we popped in, and I got a sampler!
Unfortunately with hard liquor tastings they don't give you very much to taste. They mostly had RUM to taste. My favorite was their Rum Cream! (the one NOT on the paddle)
After we met up with the rest of my family, we went to one of the oldest breweries in North America....the Alexander Keith Brewery. Since the K in KC stands for Keith, we HAD to go there.
We chose not to do a tour, because it cost $26 bucks a person. And the odd thing, is that when your done with the tour, they drop you off at a pub. So we passed the tour and went directly to the Red Stag Pub.
I liked their flagship beer....which oddly enough was an IPA, but it only had 20 IBU'S (the amount of bitterness). In fact I liked it so much, I had 2! HA!
We went to one other brewery on our trip. I chose it because of the name!
It made me think of the JJ Abrams company...Bad Robot.
I, of course, got another sampler. They served their samplers in a muffin pan!
My favorite was their "Infinite Saturday" which was a vienna lager.
A nice place to visit....you can even bring your dog!
All in All a fun beverage tasting trip. Nothing that was "BEST EVER" quality, but lots of good, and some great.
And it may seem like we hit a lot of places.....but they have around 56 locations on the Halifax "Good Cheer Trail", and we hit 11 or so of them!
Thanks for reading and "Slainte" (what I say when I toast, ever since I went to Ireland a few years back)
K.C.-Ya!