Long time readers will remember that in the springs of 2011 and 2012, I spent considerable time in Halifax. At the time I reported occasionally  on the beer happenings on the east coast and my general observations about craft beer in Atlantic Canada.

When I was there, Nova Scotia had 9 breweries/brewpubs, mostly in Halifax. The biggest, of course, were Propeller and Garrison and they were the only ones reliably available across the city. You might find a bottle once in a while of Hell Bay or Sea Level, who were new and quite small. The brewpubs were of varying quality. It was a decent beer scene, but small and unremarkable in many ways.

I was back in Halifax for a couple days last week. And I was struck by the change. In my absence, 12 new breweries have opened up in the province, and there are 5 more in the planning stages. Most of the new breweries are quite small and only serve their local community, which is fine. However, the availability of locally brewed beer in pubs and stores had jumped significantly.

I only had a couple of days so could only dip my toe into the new beer world of Nova Scotia, but what I did sample impressed me. In general I think the quality of the beer has gone up – rivalling some of the best in Canada – and without question the range of available styles has expanded.

My first pint upon arrival happened to be  Big Spruce Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout (brewed in Baddeck on Cape Breton). It was a full-bodied stout with a touch of coffee roast. Over the next couple nights I tried beer from North Brewing (Halifax), Boxing Rock (Shelburne), Rare Bird (Guysborough), and Uncle Leo’s (Pictou). I also stopped by the new Gahan House Halifax, the new brewpub from PEI Brewing, located in the location of the now-closed Hart and Thistle in the Historic Properties.

North Brewing may have been the most intriguing. They appear to focus on Belgian-inspired beer but use base beer unusual for Belgian beer. In addition to Belgian IPA, Belgian Dark Strong and a couple farmhouse ales, they offer up a Belgian Milk Stout and a Belgian Coffee Brown. While I found the farmhouse a bit too assertive, the Dark Strong is particularly noteworthy (the Milk Stout awaits opening at this point).

Boxing Rock also stood out for me. One evening I had their Temptation Red Ale and it stopped me. It is best described as a hybrid of a red ale and a pale ale. Soft toffee and caramel arise upfront to be quickly followed by a fruity, zesty hop flavour. Not too much bitterness, but enough to add a bit of zip to the end of the beer. Quite original. Their Crafty Jack English Ale, a brown ale, is also quite well done.

I wish I had more than a couple of nights to explore the new dimensions of Halifax’s local beer scene. Next time I think I should rent a car and get out of Halifax to try some of the nano-breweries and small local brewpubs that scatter the Nova Scotia countryside these days.

The last remaining question his how? How has this small province built such a noteworthy beer scene is such a short period of time? Well, in part it is just the times – craft beer is growing everywhere. But it is more than that. Alberta is gaining new breweries as well, but at a much slower pace. That boils down to a couple of things. First, is government policy. The Nova Scotia government perceives breweries as local economic development and treats them as such. They have lowered barriers to start ups and help with market development. The Alberta government (at least until last week) has been quite passive when it comes to beer.

It also doesn’t hurt that  most of the breweries opening up in Nova Scotia are tiny. Some of them are nano-sized. By being small, they lower their upfront capital needs considerably, allowing for a faster transition from planning to brewing. Most of the planned Alberta breweries are traditional micro-sized, meaning more headaches up front.

Alberta can learn a thing or two from scrappy Nova Scotia when it comes to beer. And maybe with a new era in Alberta governance, that might just start happening.