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CTV News
30-04-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Nova Scotia brewers pay tribute to industry pioneer with new brew
Nova Scotia brewers are raising a glass to the late Kevin Keefe, a pioneer in the industry, with an English-style bitter. 'When you think of English styles, he was the guy, and he represented that so well in Nova Scotia,' says Kellye Robertson, a production manager at Good Robot Brewing Company. Keefe founded Halifax's Granite Brewing, the first craft brewing in Nova Scotia. He passed away in 2024 and left behind a legacy for those in the industry. 'Kevin was like a beer dad for everybody in this industry because he was the first,' says Robertson. 'He added so much to the scene here, when you're drinking a great craft brewed beer at a pub somewhere in Nova Scotia, honestly, I'm not sure how much of that would have been in place if it hadn't been for somebody like Kevin,' says Brian Titus, with Garrison Brewing Co. 'He started doing this in 1985, and he was completely unique in what he was doing and a lot of us looked up to that and said if he can do it, what the heck.' Robertson and Gordon Vale of Good Robot created the 2025 'Together We Brew' beer in collaboration with dozens of brewers across the province. 'The concept for Kevin, somebody put it out there, and immediately everybody said heck yeah let's do it,' says Titus. 'Our chance to really show him that he was appreciated for what he did and making sure everyone knows what he did and keeping his legacy going,' says Vale, Good Robot's head brewer. Robertson says they produced around 4,000 litres of 'Together We Brew,' which is about 8,500 cans. 'It has a bit of a bready body to it, nice and full. It starts off rather sweet, a bit caramelly, it's very malt-forward. You are going to get a nice toasty, roasted kind of finish. The aroma is very rich and roasty and it's just a really unique, very quenching brew. Low carbonation, so it won't make you feel too full and easily enjoyed,' Vale describes it. The beer hit the shelves at the beginning of April. The 'Together We Brew' initiative also serves as a way to kick start beer season. 'We produce a batch, and it gets released and we raise a few thousand dollars for the association, which then goes to marketing it to make it stronger and better for all these other local businesses,' says Titus. The brewers say they are impressed with the positive response they have received about the beer so far. 'Honestly, we have been getting nothing but awesome feedback from both our peers and general social media intel,' says Robertson. The funds made from the beer are beneficial for the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia (CBANS) and the industry. 'Having that funding to go back into the organization, whether it be through education and training, I know is always a big part because all these breweries, they started off as small size, now they're medium size and now your large-scale breweries. Each time you hit one of those goal posts there are more learning curves, so the more resources we can obtain and use through CBANS to help us as a whole makes us all that much better,' says Robertson. This year was different, as it was the first year 'Together We Brew' carried a special meaning. 'This is the first that we have done (something) quite like this. It is great to have that extra layer of meaning and deeper back story,' says Titus. Brewers say it's a beer that represents Keefe and his unique style perfectly. 'Even to this day, when I have English beer styles, I always think of him and have fond memories of the last couple decades,' says Robertson. 'It's a really great beer, it's a bit of an older style. That's kinda where he came from, was more the U.K.-style beers,' adds Titus. For brewers across Nova Scotia, Keefe was seen as the leader, the pioneer and for who many looked up to. 'An absolute inspiration… cranky old guy, but absolute heart of gold and so much back knowledge and experience and we have all learned something from Kevin over the years,' says Titus. The 2025 'Together We Brew' beer is expected to be around until mid-summer, according to Robertson. When the stores and brewers are sold out, it's gone. 'It is one and done, it's a moment in time and like the creativity with that particular brewing and that particular group that was there, that's the best part about making beer sometimes,' says Robertson. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New brew pays tribute to pioneer of Nova Scotia craft beer industry
Craft brewers in Nova Scotia are paying tribute to the man who helped kick-start the industry in the province with a new beer made in his honour. Kevin Keefe, who died in 2024, was the founder of Halifax's Granite Brewery, which was the first craft brewery in Nova Scotia when it opened inside Ginger's Tavern in 1985. The 2025 Together We Brew beer, a nod to the beers Keefe made at the Granite Brewery, is an English-style bitter that is "bready and full-bodied with a balanced bitterness," says the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia. Joshua Council, a co-founder of Good Robot Brewing, which produced the beer in collaboration with dozens of other breweries that are members of the association, says it's nice to pay tribute to a man who had all the time in the world for him when he was starting out in the industry. "We wouldn't be here in this province if it weren't for the initial strides he made. So at a time when the [industry] is getting hit with some turbulence, economic conditions and so on and so forth, it felt right to pay homage to the person who made it happen in the beginning," said Council in an interview with CBC News on Saturday. He said Keefe had a lot to do with how Nova Scotians became open to the complexities of craft beer, drawing many people away from the traditional beer that was the norm and pushing them to develop more colourful palates. Kevin Keefe is shown in a CBC News story from the early 2000s. (CBC) "He was serving to downtown Halifax in the gritty and grimy days of the late '80s and early '90s," said Council. "He brought this bold, strange English style with these weird techniques and this exotic open fermentation that very few breweries practise today or then and put it in front of people who were domestic drinkers who drank something familiar and somehow managed to convert them." Council said 6,000 litres of the limited-edition beer have been produced and the brewery is already down to the final 1,000 litres just a few weeks into the release. Debbi MacDonald, the executive director of the craft brewers association, said a small percentage of each sale will help fund scholarships and bursaries offered by the organization, including one that aims to get underrepresented populations involved in the industry. The beer is now available in liquor stores and taprooms across the province. MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
27-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
New brew pays tribute to pioneer of Nova Scotia craft beer industry
Craft brewers in Nova Scotia are paying tribute to the man who helped kick-start the industry in the province with a new beer made in his honour. Kevin Keefe, who died in 2024, was the founder of Halifax's Granite Brewery, which was the first craft brewery in Nova Scotia when it opened inside Ginger's Tavern in 1985. The 2025 Together We Brew beer, a nod to the beers Keefe made at the Granite Brewery, is an English-style bitter that is "bready and full-bodied with a balanced bitterness," says the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia. Joshua Council, a co-founder of Good Robot Brewing, which produced the beer in collaboration with dozens of other breweries that are members of the association, says it's nice to pay tribute to a man who had all the time in the world for him when he was starting out in the industry. "We wouldn't be here in this province if it weren't for the initial strides he made. So at a time when the [industry] is getting hit with some turbulence, economic conditions and so on and so forth, it felt right to pay homage to the person who made it happen in the beginning," said Council in an interview with CBC News on Saturday. He said Keefe had a lot to do with how Nova Scotians became open to the complexities of craft beer, drawing many people away from the traditional beer that was the norm and pushing them to develop more colourful palates. "He was serving to downtown Halifax in the gritty and grimy days of the late '80s and early '90s," said Council. "He brought this bold, strange English style with these weird techniques and this exotic open fermentation that very few breweries practise today or then and put it in front of people who were domestic drinkers who drank something familiar and somehow managed to convert them." Council said 6,000 litres of the limited-edition beer have been produced and the brewery is already down to the final 1,000 litres just a few weeks into the release. Debbi MacDonald, the executive director of the craft brewers association, said a small percentage of each sale will help fund scholarships and bursaries offered by the organization, including one that aims to get underrepresented populations involved in the industry. The beer is now available in liquor stores and taprooms across the province.
