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ENTER TO WIN WIN AN EXCLUSIVE BOXING ROCK CRAFTBEER PRIZE PACKAGE VALUED AT $250! The prize (for a winner and six friends) includes an exclusive Boxing Rock beer-and-cheese pairing and delicious sampling at Boxing Rock’s new North End location! Also includes $100 in super sweet merchandise, plus six “super special” orange growlers (which come with a lifetime discount of $2 off each growler fill) and a tour of the new brewery!
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On our cover With his new brewery in Musquodoboit Harbour, Chris Downey gets back to craft-beer basics. Photo: Steve Smith/VisionFire
Contest closes September 30, 2018 PUBLISHER Patty
Baxter
SENIOR EDITOR Trevor
J. Adams
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jamie ART DIRECTOR Mike DESIGN Barbara
Playfair
Cugno
Raymont, Darlene Watters
PRODUCTION COORDINATORS
Kelsey Berg, Emma Brennan PRINTING Advocate
Printing & Publishing
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CONTENTS
PHOTO: COLLEEN THOMPSON
Vol. 18 No. 7 | September 2018
PHOTO: MAIRIN PRENTISS
38
18
14
$100
By simply answering the questions below, you will be eligible to win $100 in product or service from the Halifax Magazine advertiser of your choice.
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
18 | STANDING ON HIS OWN As he comes to grips with his father’s legacy, Garrett Mason has become a top (and largely unappreciated) blues talent
7 | EDITOR’S MESSAGE Editor Trevor J. Adams visits basic training and considers why people join the Forces, finding the one answer he never expected
22 | HOME IN THE HARBOUR With his new venture in Musquodoboit Harbour, Chris Downey isn’t just brewing; he’s making new craft-beer converts 31 | THE NOVA SCOTIA CRAFT BEER (AND DRINK) GUIDE 2018 Our third annual roundup announces new beers and introduces new breweries. Bonus: made-in-Nova Scotia spirits and wines 38 | NO FOOD LEFT BEHIND An innovative idea cuts down on food waste and helps people eat healthier
All cards must be completed fully to qualify for the contest. Closing date: August 14, 2015. General Contest Rules: Entries sent to any address other than the one given below will be ineligible. Entries must be postmarked no later than August 14. Each entry must be submitted with a completed entry form. No responsibility will be taken for entries lost, misdirected or delayed in the mail, and no entries will be returned. Winner will be notified by telephone or email. Prize must be accepted as awarded, is not redeemable for cash and is not transferable.
ronment q Education _____________________
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16 | ENTERTAINMENT FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival, stand-up comedy, the Word on the Street, musician Ben Caplan, the Pan American Canoe Sprint Championships, and more 42 | DINING: BACK FROM THE BRINK With a new owner, one of downtown Halifax’s best live-music venues gets a second chance 46 | OPINION: STARTING AGAIN It’s hard to build a life when your education and experience don’t count and your savings are running out. Marianne Simon adjusts to her new home
Eligibility: The contest is open to any resident of Atlantic Canada who is 19 years or older except those who are employees of Metro Guide Publishing or Advocate Printing. Your name may be made available to carefully screened companies whose related products may interest you unless you request otherwise. The winner’s name will appear in a future issue of Halifax Magazine.
READERSHIP SURVEY
10 | CITYSCAPE Colin Duggan’s salty career, the story behind the murals of Mulgrave Park, and crossing the Atlantic by cargo ship
22 PHOTO: MALLORY BURNSIDE-HOLMES
PHOTO: STEVE SMITH/VISIONFIRE STUDIOS
stories?
8 | CONTRIBUTORS Meet the writers and photographers who work on Halifax Magazine
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SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 5
Weekly Green Cart Collection For the months of July, August, and September, green carts will be collected every week throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality.
halifax.ca/recycle
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EDITOR’S MESSAGE
BY TREVOR J. ADAMS Last month, I joined a group of journalists for a visit to Camp Aldershot in the Annapolis Valley, where Canadian Forces reserve recruits do basic training. Before we arrive, I think of my grandfather, who did his basic training there in 1939. I wrote in my June 2018 editorial (“The people inside the uniform”) about how he joined to support his family. His memory makes me ponder why people join up. Some just want steady work. For many, the allure is subsidized education. Others want to see the world. A few like the idea of wearing a uniform, carrying a gun, and blowing stuff up. On the day we visit, a group of air-force reservists are graduating from the six-week program, even as other candidates at various stages of training teem around the camp. They run obstacle courses, learn to shoot and maintain their weapons, throw grenades on the range, and spend hours in classrooms. We join them on the shooting range, where they blaze away with light machine guns at targets that look miles away. The candidates are hot and tired but happy and focused, attentive to the instructors, who repeat their lessons in flat, patient voices. The man in charge of the range is a barrelchested non-commissioned officer with arms like tree trunks and a voice like a shovelful of gravel. He calls the public-affairs officer guiding us “Sir,” but he’s clearly in charge. I ask who he is. “Warrant,” a candidate whispers out of the side of his mouth. “Warren? Warren who?” The candidate answers without eye contact, in a tone suggesting I’m not the brightest person he’s met today: “Warrant Officer. That’s a rank.” Warren yells at the candidates to not run on the range and I chortle, earning a frigid look. Journalistic duty outpaces self-preservation and I ask a public-affairs officer if I can interview him. “He’s very busy,” is the brisk reply. I suppress a relieved sigh. We get to shoot. It takes longer to get into the flak vest, helmet, gloves, and safety glasses than it does to squeeze off the five rounds. Even at point-blank range, aiming is ridiculously hard. I winged one of my target-attackers in the knee. Next we head into the woods where a group of candidates are learning to encamp and soldier in the wilderness. There I meet Sean McSween from Dartmouth, a 40-year-old completing his fourth week of basic training. He comes from a military family and always wanted to be a soldier. But life took him in other directions: he had a university scholarship, built a successful
career as a pharmacist, got married, bought a house. But the army was still on his mind. “People said ‘why don’t you be a pharmacy officer?’ but if I’m in the army I want to be a soldier,” he says. “I discovered last year I could still join, so I did.” McSween describes basic training as one of the most demanding experiences of his life. “I’m used to civilian life,” he says. “I was a supervisor and a professional: I’ve had a hard time being subordinate to people who are younger than me... especially in a basic-training context when it’s quite forceful.” The question of why a middle-aged man with a good career would put himself through this is so obvious he answers unasked. “I love what the Western ethos stands for and I wanted to do my bit in defending it,” he says. “I like what Canadian soldiers do at home and abroad and I wanted to be part of that.” McSween is soft spoken and earnest. We shake hands and he trots off into the sundappled woods to catch up with the rest of his
PHOTO: TAMMY FANCY/FANCY FREE FOTOGRAPHIC
Why wear the uniform?
Candidate Sean McSween (left) and editor Trevor J. Adams. tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
group. I watch him for a minute, but soon lose him amongst the multitude of uniforms. When I was thinking about why people join the Forces, I considered many types. I never considered McSween: some people just believe it’s the right thing to do. See more photos from the day on page 15.
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CONTRIBUTORS KIM HART MACNEILL Cover story Kim is a freelance journalist and editor of East Coast Living. Read her beer column on HalifaxMag.com. @kimhartmacneill
MAGGIE RAHR “Standing on his own” A freelance journalist whose work has been recognized by the Atlantic Journalism Awards and the national Digital Publishing Awards, Maggie is a proud Maritimer and mother of two based in Halifax.
MARIANNE SIMON Marianne is a freelance writer and subeditor and has published many children’s stories, articles and poems in magazines and newspapers. Her interests include teaching and conducting English-conversation classes. mariannesimon777@gmail.com
ALLIE JEHLE Cityscape Allie contributes to Halifax Magazine. She’s a fan of powerful single-sentence paragraphs and the Oxfordcomma. Send tips: alliedjehle@gmail.com or tweet @alliejehle.
JENNIFER HENDERSON “Back from the brink” Jennifer is a freelance writer living in Dartmouth. Since retiring from CBC News, she has written for The Halifax Examiner, The Coast, The Chronicle Herald, and Atlantic Business.
MALLORY BURNSIDE-HOLMES Cityscape Mallory is a freelance reporter originally from Ottawa but drawn to Halifax’s unique local arts and culture scene. She is a creative writer and poet attending Humber’s School of Writing this Fall.
STEVE SMITH Photos for cover, cover story, “Back from the brink” Steve is a photographer at VisionFire Studios in Pictou, shooting for a variety of clients throughout Atlantic Canada. visionfire.ca
TAMMY FANCY Photo for Editor’s Message, Cityscape Tammy has shot for East Coast Living, Bedford Magazine, Profiles for Success, and Our Children magazines, plus two cookbooks. fancyfreefoto.com
COLLEEN THOMPSON “No food left behind” Originally from South Africa, Colleen is a writer and photographer, plus a wine sommelier. She loves the art of a crafted cocktail and the storytelling that often accompanies it. Her work has appeared in media worldwide. She lives in Halifax with her husband and young son. monkeyweddings.com
SUZANNE RENT Cityscape Suzanne is an editor and writer whose work has appeared in The Coast, Lawyers Weekly, Canadian Business, Globe and Mail, Bakers Journal, Our Children, and more. She hosts the radio show Cobequid Magazine on 97.5 Community Radio.
MAIRIN PRENTISS Photos for “Standing on his own” Mairin is a photographer and writer in Halifax.
8 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
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CITYSCAPE PUBLIC ART
The murals of Mulgrave Park STORY AND PHOTOS BY MALLORY BURNSIDE-HOLMES
It’s hard to miss the works of art showcased on the exterior brick walls of Mulgrave Park, the public-housing community in Halifax’s North End. Chances are that you also haven’t heard much about the community member who kick-started the annual mural festival that has reignited a sense of community and pride among Mulgrave Park’s residents and brought outsiders into the neighbourhood for the first time. “I’m just trying to give back to my community in ways that I think will help,” said Jeremy Williams. Now 26 years old, he grew up amongst the walls that now bear stories that speak to the past, present, and future of the people who call Mulgrave Park home. To date, Mulgrave Park’s mural project has brought some 15 artists from across the country. The vision for the project continues to widen in scope with pending contracts for international artists, NSCAD students, and a new mural to go up within the month. When former pro-basketball player Tyler Richards (a Halifax Rainmen alum) was murdered in 2016 his childhood community, Mulgrave Park collectively grieved the loss. Williams is amongst those affected by Richard’s death, as he was a close friend and mentor and a symbol of hope and aspiration to many. Richards was close friends with Williams’s older brother, meaning Williams looked up to the professional basketball player from a
10 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
young age and saw him as proof of a hopeful future. It was Richards who inspired Williams to pursue becoming a university athlete: a goal that kept him focused on what was most important to him.
“WITH THE DETERIORATION OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD’S EXTERIOR STRUCTURES OVER THE PAST DECADE, PEOPLE LOST THAT SENSE [OF COMMUNITY PRIDE]. NOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE TO WALK THE COMMUNITY.” —JEREMY WILLIAMS “A lot of kids go to college because of guys like Tyler... seeing guys make it out,” Williams says. “I wanted to give kids a chance [to understand] you don’t have to do the whole gang, street thing, sell drugs. You can become an athlete or a musician.”
But with the death of Richards, Williams suddenly found himself stuck between dreams of professional football and to practice law and the emotional trauma of a string of murders affecting his community. Feeling unsteady on a once solid foundation, Williams wanted to do something for Richard’s family when he envisioned a mural of Richards in a public place where people could remember him every day. Thus began a multi-year, national project that has produced a free, interactive, accessible art gallery in a low-income, and therefore often overlooked, neighbourhood. One day, as Williams walked Mulgrave’s streets he sat on a staircase, a popular hang-out for Mulgrave kids, “looking at Tyler’s mural from a distance and saw BMWs, Bentleys,” the cars of upper-class citizens coming to see Tyler’s mural. In that moment Williams realized the mural was bridging a gap of demographics. “I [wished] they could see the whole community because then they may change something,” he says. “I contacted the artists who did Tyler’s mural and said ‘let’s do a mural festival’.” Jump ahead to present day. When you walk through Mulgrave Park, “you don’t realize you’re in public housing,” says Williams. “A lot of people of [an upper/middle class, white] demographic probably stereotype us as people you don’t feel comfortable being with. Now you
see that [members of both communities] are the same and really nice people…It’s breaking down stratification. That’s the whole point.” Mulgrave Park is currently undergoing reconstruction thanks to a $5-million government grant but Williams worries about gentrification. He recounts that his former elementary school used to be located across from a church and playground. Now both church and playground have been flattened and rebuilt into condominiums. Mulgrave Park’s mural project aims to prove that a public housing community with a rich history of resiliency has just as much to offer, if not more, than a new high-rise. “With the deterioration of the neighbourhood’s exterior structures over the past decade, people lost that sense [of community pride],” he adds. “Now people actually like to walk the community.” If you turn left off Barrington Street onto Duffus Street you’ll see a mural of a man holding a baby; kissing it on the cheek. At the mention of this mural of Shakur O’Shay Trevez Jefferies, Williams becomes animated. “That wasn’t [orchestrated by] me,” he says. “That’s what’s cool about it. Shakur was a great athlete and [when] something tragic happened to him, other young leaders in the community asked me how I did it [for Tyler]. They decided to dedicate a mural to him. They pulled it off all on their own.”
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 11
CITYSCAPE TRAVEL
Cargo cruising offers a unique way to sail the high seas BY SUZANNE RENT
Mary-Ann and Richard Spiteri wanted to go on a romantic cruise. But their trip probably wasn’t what you’re picturing. In April, the Spiteris spent a week on a large cargo ship before arriving in Halifax. “The idea of voyaging on a [cargo] ship appealed to our wish to do something uncommon,” Mary-Ann says in an email from her home in Malta. “To travel a long distance in a different way.” The Spiteris first heard about cargo cruising years ago when they were living in Oman. An acquaintance who is a merchant mariner told them about his travels, which sometimes included his wife. Their daughter Renée lives in Halifax and they wanted to visit. Renée’s boyfriend also mentioned cargo cruising last year, so they started exploring the idea. The Spiteris made their reservations with London-based The Cruise People Ltd. and travelled on Atlantic Container Line’s Atlantic Star. The Spiteris and a few others were the first paying passengers on that ship. They travelled from Liverpool, England to Halifax, a voyage that took seven days. The Spiteris wanted to experience tall waves and rough seas, while also enjoying a lot of down time. They read books and watched movies. They were allowed on the bridge of the ship at any time and toured the engine room. “There was very little to do and we acquired the peaceful boredom of routine,” Mary-Ann says. “Our minds stilled. We absorbed more of what we read. Slow travel was actually quite wonderful.” The cruise the Spiteris took is a new offering from Atlantic Container Line and the Atlantic Star is one of five ACL ships offering berths for
12 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
passengers. But travelling via cargo ship is not a new trend. Kevin Griffin, managing director of The Cruise People Ltd., says historically when ships arrived to North America with newcomers, they returned to Europe with coal. He’s booked a lot of Canadians for ACL’s ships, but he also has clients on other companies’ ships. One of those clients stayed aboard for 120 days. Travelling one of these cargo-ship cruises is not for everyone. A transatlantic trip can take up to 15 days. “You have to be able to take the time off,” Griffin says. “You travel by ship for the adventure.” Typically, a journey costs about $65 to $125 US per day. While entertainment is limited, passengers can spend time with the crew, have access to many parts of the ship, and can dine with the officers. Griffin says the food on board is quite good. If a crew member or passenger is celebrating a birthday during the voyage, everyone celebrates together. Griffin says the party would consist of suckling pig on a spit roast, beer, and karaoke. “You become part of the ship, really,” Griffin says. Griffin says many international students return home this way. Some passengers have a fear of flying or have health issues that prevent them from flying. Some passengers want the quiet time to write books or compose music. He had one client who was a pilot and wanted to travel around the world via a cargo ship. “He wanted to see [the world] up close,” Griffin says. Still, Griffin says, others “just want to get away from it all.” For Mary-Ann, the idea of travelling via cargo ship meant she could connect with her ancestry. Her grandfather immigrated to Canada and landed at Pier 21. “It was a nostalgic notion to get in touch with his hopes and ambitions by experiencing voyaging across the Atlantic,” she says.
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
Travelling by cargo ship from England to Halifax offered a week of peacful routine, say Mary-Ann and Richard Spiteri.
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 13
CITYSCAPE SMALL BUSINESS
From the briny ocean tossed BY ALLIE JEHLE
Colin Duggan is a paludier, the French term for someone who harvests sea salt. But he calls himself something different: a professional water boiler. Duggan is the owner of Tidal Salt, a sea-salt harvestry in Nova Scotia. As a political-science and psychology graduate of St. Francis Xavier University, this isn’t the career he’d imagined for himself. He was working in New Hampshire at a rehab facility for people who had dual development disorders. He had hoped it would help him immigrate to Maine to be with his wife. “The officials told me off,” he recalls. “They didn’t want people coming and taking their jobs. So I went home and I had two Keith’s left in my fridge and I told my wife, I said, ‘OK, we’re going to Nova Scotia.” Duggan and his wife Audrey moved back to Nova Scotia about four years ago. Two years later, she went home to visit family and that’s when Duggan came up with the idea of making something for her. “She’s a chef and event planner, so I figured she’d get a kick out of it, if anything,” he says.
Colin Duggan first harvested sea salt to surprise his wife; it’s become his business.
14 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
Duggan was at Lawrencetown Beach and happened to have a bucket in the car. He filled the bucket with water from the ocean, took it back to his car and drove home. “Like a lot of people these days, I pulled up a few YouTube videos and found some people who made stovetop sea salt and made [Audrey] some sea salt,” he recalls. “It got the gears turning.” Duggan adds he’s been able to find some sort of sea salt harvestry in essentially every country that has a coastline. “It just wasn’t something we were doing here and that doesn’t make sense.” He says he thinks it’s because of the limited sunshine and strict food regulations here, but he hopes Nova Scotia can overcome that. “Particularly, in Atlantic Canada, we can take advantage of our diverse coastline, we can build our brand: Nova Scotia sea salt done our way,” he explains. “If you go down the eastern seaboard in the U.S., every state has a salt producer. Every single one of them.” It took Duggan almost eight months of tinkering to come up with an appropriate method of creating sea salt. He says people didn’t
believe in him at first. “Pardon the pun, but everyone took it with a grain of salt,” he says. Tidal Salt opened in 2016 and sells 35-gram jars of fleur de sel. “We have [nine] flavours that we do; essentially we take the salt and toss in a dry component to add a flavour,” he says. “There’s also infusions and things we can do with red wine … and we do a lime flavour that comes out bright green and we put a lime zest in it and it pulls out that flavour so you get this nice kind of zip to it.” The business also sells smaller jars in gift boxes with four flavoured salts and one fleur de sel. They’re available via the website and in a few retail stores (see tidalsalt.ca for details and food-pairing ideas). Duggan’s sea salt has a much stronger flavour than table salt. He says people who have grown up around the ocean describe it as, “when you’re a kid and you get a mouthful of ocean water.” “We call it, ‘A piece of Nova Scotia,’ and that’s literally what it is. We don’t add anything to it and we don’t artificially take anything away.”
CITYSCENE
During basic training, candidates learn how to operate in the wilderness.
VISITING CAMP ALDERSHOT PHOTOS: TAMMY FANCY/FANCY FREE FOTOGRAPHIC TUCKED AWAY IN THE WOODS OF KING’S COUNTY, ALDERSHOT IS WHERE GENERATIONS OF CANADIAN FORCES MEMBERS HAVE COMPLETED BASIC TRAINING. ON THE DAY HALIFAX MAGAZINE VISITED, ONE CLASS WAS GRADUATING, EVEN AS OTHERS LABOURED THROUGH THE GRUELLING PROGRAM. SEE PAGE 7 FOR MORE DETAILS.
Candidate Sean McSween.
Air-force reservists graduate from basic training.
Candidates take a break to prepare lunch.
Editor Trevor J. Adams takes a turn on the firing range. SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 15
ENTERTAINMENT The hottest things to see and do in Halifax this month
SEPTEMBER 13 TO 20
FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival
SEPTEMBER 13 TO 16
A celebration of film, media, and music from around the world. For eight days, Halifax becomes an international mecca for the arts, abuzz with filmmakers, industry types and film lovers. finfestival.ca
Pan American Canoe Sprint Championships Some 250 paddlers from 20 countries compete in this Pan American Games qualifier on Lake Banook in Dartmouth. The international competition features a mix of paddling’s top talents and rising stars. canoeicf.com
SEPTEMBER 4 TO OCTOBER 7
SEPTEMBER 14
Cecilia Concert Series
Neptune Theatre
Back for its 30th season, Cecilia gets things started at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts with Classica Vocem, showcasing the considerable talents of soprano Measha Brueggergosman. She’ll perform works by Claude Debussy, George Frideric Handel, and Johan Halvorsen. Accompanying her are pianist Philip Chiu, violinists Jinjoo Cho and Roman Fraser, violist Rémi Pelletier, and cellist Arnold Choi. ceciliaconcerts.ca
The fall season begins this month with Shakespeare in Love: The Play. Allister MacD onald stars as the eponymous playwright, finding inspiration in the beautiful muse Viola, who is determined to appear in his next play. neptunetheatre.com
SEPTEMBER 15
The Word on the Street
Shauntay Grant. 16 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
This one-day celebration of the printed word (part of a nationwide network of festivals), returns to the Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Road. See readings, author Q&As, a sale of Atlantic Canadian books, and much more. This year’s lineup includes poet Brian Bartlett, environmental crusader Joan Baxter, photographer Len Wagg, and poet/ children’s author Shauntay Grant. thewordonthestreet.ca/halifax/
SEPTEMBER 14
Ben Caplan The folk/roots musician always puts on a memorable show for his hometown fans. See him at the Dalhousie Arts Centre on University Avenue, performing material from Old Stock. artscentre.dal.ca
SEPTEMBER 14, 15
Last Laugh Comedy Club Comic Sophie Buddle has moved across the country to take a writing gig with This Hour Has 22 Minutes, which is excellent news for local stand-up fans. This weekend, she takes the stage at the Atlantica Hotel on Robie Street, along with Trent McClellan, Kevin Shustack, Heidi Brander, Lachlan Patterson, and Kabir Singh. lastlaughcomedyclub.ca tadams@metroguide.ca
Halifax Magazine
@HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 17
| FEATURE |
AS HE COMES TO GRIPS WITH HIS FATHER’S LEGACY, GARRETT MASON HAS BECOME A TOP (AND LARGELY UNAPPRECIATED) BLUES TALENT BY MAGGIE RAHR PHOTOS BY MAIRIN PRENTISS On a mild moonless Tuesday night, a man walks down Barrington Street. Something on the chalkboard outside a bar has caught his eye. He disappears through the heavy wooden doors. Inside Bearly’s House of Blues, a few regulars lean on the bar. A crossword puzzle marked with coffee rings sits under a tray. The waitress taps her pen, a dishwasher hums. On stage in leather boots and a stevedore cap, nursing a mug of chamomile tea, is the guitar legend you’ve never heard of: Garrett Mason. When he plugs in his bass, the first commanding note drones through a boxy 1968 Fender amp. Heads turn. The crack of pool cues stop and players lean over the rail, looking on from the second floor. There is no cover charge. Oland is $4 a pint. The place is almost empty. Karl Falkenham recorded Mason’s first record at CBC’s Studio H when the guitarist was only 18 years old. “He’s one of the biggest untold music stories in Canada,” he says. “I haven’t seen anybody who’s better than him,” say producer and musician Charles Austin. Older Nova Scotians recognize the name before they hear the music. Garrett’s father, Dutch Mason, was an institution in blues across the country. Known for his ability to turn a dusty bar into a rollicking kitchen party, Dutchie earned the label “The Prime Minister of the Blues” from the legendary B.B. King. Falkenham is probably the only recording engineer to have done a record for both Masons. He was nearing the end of recording what would be Dutch’s final album when the musician suggested bringing in one more guitarist. “Oh no,” Falkenham recalls, fearing that it was “one of those ‘my cousin can sing’ scenarios.” Falkenham agreed to let Dutch’s teenage son play a couple tracks. “When he got to the studio, I couldn’t fucking believe it.” He ended up playing on every song. Mason isn’t your typical 2018 musician. You won’t find him on Twitter or Facebook. “He doesn’t even have a website, a phone number!” Falkenham laughs. “He’s an enigma.”
Garrett Mason teetered on a double-edged sword: he had his dad’s reputation to launch his career but it was hard to establish himself independently. He laughs recalling a show in Digby where the sign read “Dutch Mason’s son.” But still, his father gave him his start. It was the first day of the new millennium; a New Year’s Day levee hosted by Dutchie at the Pond Classic Grill in Truro, his home base. At 17, the younger Mason was still hesitant to perform. He said he wasn’t good enough. Dutchie wouldn’t have it. “You’re comin’ out no matter what!” he said. The place was packed. It was Garrett’s first taste of the thrill and freedom of performance. It was also his first experience of being openly compared to his father, foreshadowing years of unwelcome commentary from strangers. “Drunk people in bars say whatever the fuck they want,” Mason explains, drawing on a cigarette in his
STANDING O 18 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
white station wagon on a rainy afternoon in Halifax. In a couple of hours he’s booked to perform in front of hundreds, opening for The Sheepdogs at the Cunard Centre. “I don’t even know anything different,” Mason says, of being compared to his father. And he’s heard it all: “You’re better than him.” “You’re not as good as your father.” Even “You’ll never be as good as your father.” Musician and recording engineer Lukas Pearse describes Garrett’s sound as “stoic” blues. “It is steeped in the history and yet somehow something new,” he explains. Often, this involves “multiple musical voices,” Pearse says, not only calling up a rich history, but always treading new ground. Sometimes, Austin explains “he uses his index finger as a pick.” Evoking flamenco? That’s the thing. No one can quite pin down what makes Mason’s style idiosyncratic. “I don’t know what the hell he’s doing” Austin says. ”It’s just something he came up with on his own....He’s competing with himself.”
ON HIS OWN SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 19
| FEATURE |
“It’s difficult to reconcile the complexity of his lines with what his hands look like when they’re playing” Pearse puzzles. “It seems like he shouldn’t be able to be doing what he’s doing.” And to think, this is the man who shied away when the legendary B.B. King asked to meet him. “What would I have to say to him?” Mason asks, a provincial guff escaping from him, not entirely masking regret. “I just didn’t want to be another guy bugging him.” It’s only evening, but already dark inside the Cunard Centre next to the container pier on the Halifax waterfront, where hundreds of people are milling around, waiting in line at beer tents or moving up toward the stage. “Hey man,” a guy slaps Mason on the shoulder. “We came to see you, not The Sheepdogs.” His buddies chime in, take photos, and move on. The scene repeats itself a few times. Mason half smiles his way through each exchange. He’s friendly, but he isn’t trying to make the moment linger. “Does he know?” a woman asks, just beyond Mason’s earshot. “Does he know how good he is? I don’t think he does.” When the teenaged Mason joined his dad on the road, Dutch was already in rough shape, in a wheelchair, from years of arthritis and more years of hard drinking. “It was basically a train wreck,” Garrett says. They’d go from town to town in Ontario, playing with a new band in each one: sometimes friends of Dutch’s, sometimes strangers. It was Garrett’s job to get the players they ’d just
20 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
“[GARRETT MASON IS] ONE OF THE BIGGEST UNTOLD MUSIC STORIES IN CANADA... HE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A WEBSITE, A PHONE NUMBER! HE’S AN ENIGMA.” —KARL FALKENHAM
met familiar enough with the songs to play them in time for the show that night. Some nights, by the second or third song, Dutch would be too drunk to play. The tradition of welcoming musicians on-stage to jam became an embarrassment. “They’d come up and they’d [have to] finish it.” Dutchie told him: “This is the road, son. It’s not an easy way of life.” On the night Mason turned down a chance to meet B.B. King there was more going on. It was at Montreal’s Place des Arts, during the city’s famous jazz festival. When King saw the younger Mason perform, he was impressed and asked to meet him. But Garrett had other things on his mind. On tour, nights took on a shape of their own: play, take care of his Dad, then take care of the gear. There were always people around backstage, offering drugs and booze. He was always keeping an eye on his father. “It was always a full-time thing,” Mason says. “My nerves were shot. Making sure he was safe, getting him back to the hotel.” All while “being half pissed off at him, because he was too drunk.” To make matters worse, the night they’d played Place des Arts, they’d parked on the street and he was worried their vehicle would be towed. “Thing is, when he was sober, he was the best guy in the world,” Mason pauses. “But as soon as he got one drink in him… his personality would change. And I hated that.” Any time the subject of his dad and those rough years arise, the story ends on the same notes: resolve and reverence. “He had his issues, and he couldn’t overcome them.” Mason says his father felt cornered. “And whenever he couldn’t see a way out, he took to the bottle. But I don’t blame him for that. I love him. He knows that.” Silence draws in. “It was what it was,” a half smile. “Toughened me up pretty good.” But what about B.B. King? “I probably should have met the guy,” he allows. “I probably should’ve said something.” Some years later, Pearse was at an industry event for composers at the Atlantic Film Festival. The night was meant to be for networking. But when the music kicked up, “it was ruined” he jokes. “That’s Garrett Mason,” Pearse recalls, narrowing his gaze at the stage, shaking his head, and chuckling, as the entire room fell silent for the length of his performance.
“Somehow,” Pearse remembers, “his virtuosity had increased with his casualness.” It was supposed to be background music. But it captivated everyone. In 2006, time caught up with Dutch Mason. Just two days before Christmas, the blues man died, suffering from bleeding esophageal ulcers, a decline Garrett ultimately credits to the bottle. Mason knows what it’s like to feel helpless. He’d taken breaks from drinking and fell back into it after his father’s death. “I’ve been sober five years now.” Despite Mason’s refusal to self-promote, he’s built a career. These days, life is clocked in kilometres, between his regular gigs (playing bars, festivals, parties, and Legions around the Maritimes). Though his easy-come-easy-go stage presence might suggest otherwise; he’s a perfectionist. He’s recorded two full albums that he won’t release. “I just want to make sure they’re good enough,” he says. Bearly’s is filling up. Mason’s diehard regulars: the beekeeper, the health scientist, the biker, the metal singer, the lawyer, and the brewery manager. A guy leans over to his friend, pointing at the stage. “Just watch his fingers,” he instructs. Mason switches instruments, his guitars lined up against the forest green wall behind him. His right hand, working the neck like a customizable drill is painted with ink that honours his father: “Dad” crested within a heart, below his thumb and index finger. The scene in the bar is one you won’t find in any other in Halifax: not a single cell phone is out. Everyone is listening. Mason is slowing it down now, leaving his technically dominating guitar work for a more standard piece. But always, with his own style, a persistent control, that works something like a sleight of hand. “It ain’t no secret” he sings, “but it’s still a mystery.”
Dutch Mason’s legacy still looms over his son.
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 21
| COVER STORY |
HOME IN THE HARBOUR WITH HIS NEW VENTURE IN MUSQUODOBOIT HARBOUR, CHRIS DOWNEY ISN’T JUST BREWING; HE’S MAKING NEW CRAFT-BEER CONVERTS BY KIM HART MACNEILL PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH/ VISIONFIRE PHOTOGRAPHY When Chris Downey opened The Harbour Brewing Company in Musquodoboit Harbour, about a 30-minute drive east of downtown Dartmouth, he didn’t realize he’d do as much beer education as brewing. “So how can I take a few pints of this home with me?” asks a customer looking around the small brewery. He’s not what you’d picture as the typical Halifax craft-beer drinker: white haired wearing a crisp short-sleeved dress shirt, and a hearing aid. Before today, he didn’t care where his beer was brewed; he’s here because he wants to support a new business in his community. Andrew Young, Downey’s friend and righthand man, is working the taps and doesn’t miss a beat. Within seconds he has a growler in each hand, explaining that you buy the growler, fill it, drink the beer, rinse it, and fill it again. The man smiles when Young tells him he can fill the growler at other breweries. “I could get used to this craft-beer thing,” he says, leaving with his first growler. Downey opened the brewery on August 1. “I’d say the area’s been supportive,” he says. “But it’s way beyond that. People are really excited that there’s a brewery here, and they’re showing it.” As he says that, another three locals wander in, introducing themselves as “the neighbours” and asking what this brewery thing is all about.
22 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 23
| COVER STORY |
Downey says opening day was much the same with steady foot traffic in and out all day as curious locals wanted to see the new space. Not everyone left with a growler, but most tried a few samples. That’s not including those who slowed down on the road out front to take a good long look before continuing on their way. “People here are extremely interested in local products,” says Downey. “That’s why I’m trying as much as I can to focus on local producers and suppliers.” Downey’s name is familiar to local beer fans. In 2015, he left Montreal’s Brutopia Brew Pub after 18 years to be the head brewer at Nine Locks Brewing in Dartmouth, and later brewed at Spindrift Brewing Co. in Burnside. Downey says he was let go from both jobs. “All the past history is past history,” he says. “I have no interest in reviewing any of it. When I left Nine Locks I wrote a business plan, then Spindrift drifted into the picture, so to speak, so I shelved it. When Spindrift let me go I dusted it off. I was going to do it before so why not do it now.” After stints with Nine Locks and Spindrift, Downey is going in his own direction.
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The Harbour Brewing is different from Downey’s prior jobs at breweries tasked with keeping store shelves stocked with cans. This one has a one-barrel production system, enough to make about 55 U.S. gallons of beer per brew. The system is small enough for Downey to experiment and play with styles, but he’s focusing on classics first. “Some people would class that as boring or non-adventurous, but they are styles that will appeal to a lot of people and you can concentrate on doing them well.” Out of the Gate (blond weizen, 5% ABV) is a traditional wheat beer, light and crisp with slight fruit flavours. Eastern Shore IPA (6% ABV) is dry and hoppy with a mid-range bitterness that lets the aroma and flavour hops shine, perfect for those coming to craft beer for the first time. The Fly Fisherman (porter, 4.5% ABV) is a dark beer with big molasses flavours and a hint of chocolate malts. The tap list is small by necessity. The entire brewery is about 800 square feet, including tap station and brewing area all in one spartan, shiplap clad room.
Downey is focusing on brewing small-batch classic-style beers. SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 27
With its distinctive mural, The Harbour Brewing building was a local landmark even before Downey moved in.
hellbaybrewing@eastlink.ca hellbaybrewing.com
We take great pride in brewing each small batch of beer. Every recipe is created on-site using only top quality ingredients. Our ales are unfiltered, unpasteurized, contain no preservatives, and are vegan. The combination of each of our methodical brewing steps results in ONE HELL OF A GREAT BEER! We offer a $5 sample tray that consists of 3x4oz samples. Brewery tours can be scheduled by appointment. 38 Legion Street, Liverpool, Nova Scotia
28 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
| COVER STORY |
You can’t miss the place as you drive the Harbour’s main drag. It’s past the low-key Harbour Fish and Fries takeout and the Railway Museum (which now boasts a food truck), but if you hit the turnoff for Martinique Beach, you’ve gone too far. A mural on the side of the bright yellow shed depicts boats and sea birds, making it impossible to miss. A wood patio with several tables and camping canopies offers locals the only spot in the village to grab a pint. The patio offers a view of surrounding neighbours’ lawns, with a wild looking garden bed in one. It feels more like sipping a pint on a friend’s deck than a taproom patio. That’s what customer Samantha Baker likes about it. “We’ve been driving back and forth preparing for our wedding and the side of it is so eye-catching and it feels like a local, seaside craftbeer place,” says Baker, originally from Dartmouth but now living in Edmonton. “It’s so homey and casual,” says her friend Sanatha Viney on the patio. “The beer is delicious too. I got the Out of the Gate. It’s light and delicious.” As the only brewery between Sober Island Brewing on the Eastern Shore and Dartmouth’s many breweries, Downey is ready to corner and cater to the local market. For the foreseeable future, he’s focusing on growler sales out of the brewery. “You can come into [brewing] saying I want to make millions of dollars, or I want to make the best beer in the world,” says Downey. “Or you can come into it saying I want to do things my way and want to have a little fun while doing it.”
Many of The Harbour’s new customers are discovering craft-beer essentials like the refillable growler for the first time.
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
You focus on the beer, we’ll focus on the law. We’re here to help you grow your business. Margaret, Richard and Geoff will help you make strategic decisions today, that will support the success of your craft brewery in the future. Whether it be navigating regulations, determining business structure, or implementing best practices in employment and privacy matters, our experience and knowledge allow us to provide practical solutions specific to your business’ needs, so you can keep an eye on the brew. Margaret MacInnis
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BY KIM HART MACNEILL
HALIFAX MAGAZINE’S THIRD ANNUAL BEER GUIDE OFFERS YOUR TASTE BUDS A TOUR OF THE PROVINCE FEATURING BEER, CIDER, WINE, AND SPIRITS ENOUGH TO PROVE NOVA SCOTIA KNOWS HOW TO MAKE ALCOHOL. (YES, WE KNOW THAT SPIRITS AND WINE AREN’T BEER; SOMETIMES IT’S FUN TO BROADEN ONE’S HORIZONS). YOU’LL FIND NEW BEERS FOR SEPTEMBER, YOUNG BREWERIES TO SEEK OUT, AND LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS GROWING INDUSTRY ALONG THE WAY.
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 31
new brews for fall
ones to watch
AS THE CITY FILLS WITH STUDENTS, SO TOO DO THE KEGS FILL WITH NEW BEERS TO HELP US CELEBRATE HALIFAX’S FAVOURITE SEASON.
THESE NEW BREWERIES ARE MAKING THEIR FIRST APPEARANCES IN OUR BEER RECOMMENDATIONS. SEEK THEM OUT FOR OTHER OFFERINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED.
Cahoots (tart saison)
Out of the Gate (blond weizen)
Kiwi Passionfruit Sour (kettle sour) Breton Brewing Co. | Coxheath, N.S. | 4% | The third brew in the Sour Sessions series, which Haligonians have to visit the brewery to try, features kiwi and passionfruit. Brewer and co-owner Andrew Morrow says it “will pour a golden colour with a notable sour taste that will complement the kiwi and passionfruit undertones in the finish. A refreshing crisp sour beer.”
Axe Cutter (rye IPA) Bad Apple Brewhouse | Somerset, N.S. | 6.2%| This brew will feature a “pleasant, spicy finish that disappears into a soft bouquet of stone fruit,” says brewer/owner Jeff Saunders. You can find it at Bad Apple’s new location in Wolfville (3 Elm Street, behind the Library Pub). Opening day is Labour Day Weekend, and the space will feature a retail area and tasting room. Plus, Saunders is saying goodbye to growlers. “The local breweries only fill their own growlers so we’re bypassing that structure and providing an affordable yet functional package,” says Saunders. He’s nicknamed the twolitre clear plastic bottles “bottle rockets.” The bottles will be in paper bags with the brewery’s logo for branding, and to protect your beer from light.
Perfect Situation (NEIPA) 2 Crows Brewing Co. | Halifax | 5.6% | This New England IPA brings so many hops to your glass that I suspect a spoon would stand up in it. It’s also double dryhopped with Idaho 7 and Vic Secret for what should be a beer with hugely tropical aroma and flavour that feels soft in your mouth. Watch for it at the brewery Sept. 7. 32 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
The Harbour Brewing Company Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S. | 5% | This was my favourite of Harbour Brewing’s initial releases. It’s crisp and fruity, with a lightly sweet aroma. It drinks like a light session beer but pulls its weight, so don’t keep the whole growler to yourself.
PHOTO: STEVE SMITH/VISIONFIRE STUDIOS
PHOTO: TREVOR J. ADAMS
Tatamagouche Brewing Co. | Tatamagouche, N.S. | 6.2% | “We were trying to create a beer with some wine character and then use the Nelson Sauvin hops to really drive that flavour,” says co-owner Matt Kenny. Expect this blend of a four-month-old saison and 16-month-old saison to be tart and dry. The dry hopping will leave it with plenty of aroma and the Brett (a yeast known to beer aficionados for its barnyard aroma) will lend funky flavours.
Court House Coffee Stout Annapolis Brewing Co. | Annapolis Royal, N.S. | 6.3% | Annapolis Royal is changing, says brewer and co-owner Paul St Laurent. “It used to be people would come here and it was art gallery, art gallery, art gallery. Now the town is going through a bit of a revival.” He cites breweries and new restaurants like Founder’s House as part of the change. This stout offers smooth hints of vanilla, coffee and chocolate, alongside eight malts that give it a dark, smooth body. Watch for it in mid-September.
Coat of Arms (Scottish export ale) New Scotland Brewing | Dartmouth, N.S. | 5% | Dartmouth’s newest brewery offering is brought to you by some familiar faces. Brother Kevin and Scott Saccary founded New Scotland Clothing in 2014. This summer they, with business partner-brewer Mike Gillespie, opened the Alderney Drive brewery and tap room. This on-brand ale features local malts and a smooth flavour.
| COVER STORY |
tasty harvest
what the brewers drink
IF YOUR FRIENDS DON’T LIKE BEER YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES: FIND BETTER FRIENDS OR TURN THEM ON TO CIDER.
SOMETIMES THE BEST BEER IS ONE A FRIEND RECOMMENDS. HERE ARE FOUR OPTIONS THAT NOVA SCOTIA CRAFT BREWERS THINK YOU SHOULD TRY NOW.
Haskap (wild apple cider) Sourwood Cider | Halifax | 6.3% | New on the scene this spring, this two-man operation has largely flown under the radar. Jake Foley and Kyle O’Rourke focus on aged and wild ciders to add a new depth to the local market. In September, find them at their new Cornwallis Street location. This cider is aged in oak barrels on haskap berries. The naturally occurring yeasts on the berries fire up a second round of funky, wild, and unpredictable fermentation. As a result, Foley says it’s damn near impossible to replicate a batch, so each one you try will be unique.
First Cut IPA Lunn’s Mill Beer Co. | Lawrencetown, N.S. | 5.5% | “My current favourite,” says Emily Tipton, co-owner of Boxing Rock Brewing and president of the Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia. “Super fresh and delicious, well balanced, and refreshing.” This pale, slightly hazy and hop-forward beer appears on tap in Halifax from time to time. Catch it if you can.
Pucker Up (kettle sour)
The Dayliner
Garrison Brewing | Halifax | 4.9% | “It’s crafted with the utmost attention to detail to bring a plethora of flavours together to create a unique sour ale,” says Andrew Morrow, co-owner of Breton Brewing Co. This beer gets its pink hue and puckeringly tart flavour from pomegranate, hibiscus, rose hips, and cranberry. Sip this seasonal while it lasts.
Maritime Express Cider | Kentville, N.S. | 4.5% | According to cider maker and co-owner Jimi Doidge this semisweet cider will be juicy with lots of apple flavour, smooth with slight carbonation, and very easy-drinking. This cidery will be worth the wait when it opens in October. The tap room is located inside a historic former luxury hotel owned by the Dominion Atlantic Railway.
Alloy (Champagne IPA)
Beehaven
North Brewing Company | Halifax | 6% | If you grow weary of hoppy, hazy New England-style IPAs, Lucas Mader, retail beer manager at Bishop’s Cellar, has the antidote: “It’s a new style of IPA emerging, where an enzyme is added after fermentation that eats up every last bit of remaining sugar, giving a very light and crisp mouthfeel. IPAs can lean on the sweeter side sometimes, so this is a refreshing alternative.”
Cask 16-57 Boar’s Back Cider | Harmony, N.S. | 6.2% | This aged cider offers a history lesson in traditional cider making. Fresh apples are pressed using a traditional rack and cloth press. The juice is stored in oak barrels, in a cold fermentation shed for months, and bottled with a small amount of sugar to allow further fermentation and natural bottle carbonation. This sparkling cider features a blend of ciders from three different barrels: Russet, McIntosh, Cortland, Honeycrisp, Northern Spy, Rhode Island Greening. Find it at Bishop’s Cellar while you can.
PHOTO: TREVOR J. ADAMS
PHOTO: TREVOR J. ADAMS
Malagash Cidery | Malagash, N.S. | 7% | A cidery on a first-generation family farm grows copious heritage apple varieties, pears, plums and small fruit along the Northumberland Strait. This honey-infused cider is made from a mix of over 30 apples (many heritage varieties) grown on-site. It’s lightly sweet and highly bubbly.
Nieforth Original Cider Lake City Cider | Dartmouth, N.S. | 6.8% | “Right now, I’ve got a 750-ml bottle of Lake City Nieforth Original in the fridge,” says Brian Titus, owner of Garrison Brewing. “For a producer that just opened its doors, this is a remarkably clean, crisp and balanced cider with just a touch of sweetness. Nice change from all the great local craft beer I have access to.”
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 33
| COVER STORY |
Grape expectations
The hard stuff It hurts to write this, but sometimes you just don’t feel like drinking beer. For those rare occasions, Nova Scotia produces an array of spirits. Try these favourites.
Before Nova Scotia was awash with craft beer, there was a fast-growing wine scene. We asked Heather Rankin, sommelier and co-owner of Obladee Wine Bar, Jenny Gammon, sommelier and brand, communications and event manager at Bishop’s Cellar, to share their favourites.
Gin Wild Compass Distillers | Halifax Called “wild” for the hand harvesting of the Nova Scotia juniper picked along the coast. This small batch gin is sweet with a hint of pine and a juniper aroma. It won gold at the New York International Spirits Competition, double gold at the Denver International Spirits Competition and silver at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Blomidon Cuvée L’Acadie (2012, sparkling)
JD Shore Black Rum
Old Bill (2016)
Blomidon Estate Winery | Habitant, N.S. This boutique winery in the Annapolis Valley produces 100% Nova Scotian grapes and wines. “This one is a bit more austere than their softer-styled Crémant with classic citrus and pear aromatics, some rich toasty notes and a fine but lively bubble,” says Rankin. Pair with fresh Atlantic haddock.
Halifax Distilling Co. | Halifax A favourite at the downtown distillery’s house bar, this black rum is rich and dark with notes of burnt sugar and molasses. It’s distilled in Halifax, and then blended with Caribbean Rum. Try it with Propeller Brewing’s ginger beer for an extra dose of Halifax.
Luckett Vineyards | Wolfville, N.S. Renamed from Black Cab after a trademark dispute, this wine retains its bold flavours, if not it’s witty label featuring a taxi. “This is one of the boldest and fully bodied reds I’ve had from our region,” says Gammon. The grapes are dried before the wine is made, creating a concentrated and spicy flavour.
Small Lot Cabernet Franc Rosé (2017, small lot) Benjamin Bridge | Gaspereau, N.S. “A wild-fermented natural wine with no added sulphites and no filtering,” says Rankin. “Fruity, herbaceous, and floral on the nose with a surprisingly weighty palate of fresh herb, black cherry, rock salt, and a brisk, clean acidity.” Serve chilled on a patio for best results.
Bubbly Rosé (2018, sparkling)
Homemade Apple Pie Liquor Cold Stream Clear | Stewiacke, N.S. This liquor combines vodka made with 100% Canadian grains and local spring water, plus Nova Scotian apples. It’s lightly spiced and then sweetened for the pie-in-a-bottle flavour. Find a recipe for the Spiced Apple Martini on the distillery’s website.
PHOTO: TOURISM NS
PHOTO: TOURISM NS
Lightfoot and Wolfville | Wolfville, N.S. “People think of rosé as a summer wine, but it works so well with fall harvest foods,” Gammon says. Several types of locally grown grapes are fermented separately and then blended to reach a fruity, floral, and highly aromatic final product. Brilliant pink with fine bubbles.
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
34 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
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craft beer of Nova Scotia Gahan House Located on the Halifax Waterfront, there’s no better place to enjoy a handcrafted ale with an incredible view. Our beers are brewed in the Maritimes and are available on tap and in Crowlers to take home. With seasonal beers arriving every week, we have something for every beer lover out there.
Historic Properties, 1869 Upper Water Street, Halifax, NS 902-444-3060 halifax.gahan.ca
Propeller Brewing Co. Propeller Brewing Company has been a proud North End neighbour since our founding in 1997. Stop by for a pint or flight in our Tasting Room at our Gottingen Street Brewery, with special cask releases every Friday. Full cold beer stores on Gottingen, and on Windmill Road in Dartmouth.
Coastal Lager
2015 Gottingen Street, Halifax NS drinkpropeller.ca @PropellerBeer
SPINDRIFT BREWING COMPANY A brand new take on Spindrift’s debut brand. We’ve reduced the bitterness and made a European Amber Lager that is light copper in colour, mild toasty and caramel malt character and just enough hopping for balance. It is a highly drinkable beer with elegant effervescence and a smooth finish. Taste it again for the first time. 5% ABV.
21 Frazee Avenue, Burnside Industrial Park, Dartmouth, NS 902-703-7438 spindriftbrewing.com
Hurricane IPA
SPINDRIFT BREWING COMPANY Spindrift’s signature IPA captures every element of hop character one would expect from a classic west coast style. Expect big flavour and aroma, as well as an off dry finish. We designed this beer for every IPA lover and with easy consumption in mind. 6.2% ABV.
21 Frazee Avenue, Burnside Industrial Park, Dartmouth, NS 902-703-7438 spindriftbrewing.com
Off Track Brewing Located in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Off Track Brewing is a small microbrewery that prides itself on providing an excellent variety of interesting beer. With a selection that includes IPAs, stouts, wheats and pales, you will always find a beer to suit your tastes. Enjoy a pint on our patio and a bite from On The Wedge Pizza.
275 Rocky Lake Road, Bedford, NS 902-835-9292 @OffTrackBedford
GARRISON BREWING Since 1997, Garrison has strived to create exceptional craft beer – real beer made with passion, hard work, and East Coast pride. Garrison beers are premium, distinctive, and always full of flavour, with an exceptional range – crafted in the historic and vibrant Halifax Seaport. From clean and crisp brews like Tall Ship East Coast Ale to boundary-pushing specialties like Spruce Beer, each Garrison flavour is distinctive in taste and experience.
1149 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS 902-453-5343 garrisonbrewing.com
| FEATURE |
NO
AN INNOVATIVE IDEA CUTS DOWN ON FOOD WASTE AND HELPS PEOPLE EAT HEALTHIER
F D LEFT BEHIND STORY AND PHOTOS BY COLLEEN THOMPSON Over the past year, a bootstrapping socioeco startup, founded by Laurel Schut and Lindsay Clowes called FOUND Forgotten Food, has harvested and collected 12,980 kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables from 12 Nova Scotian farms and delivered them to some 13 food banks and community organizations around Halifax, the Annapolis Valley, and Truro. Every year approximately 44,000 Nova Scotians rely on food bank assistance. One in three kids from single-parent households in Nova Scotia experiences food shortage everyday, according to Canada’s Food Report Card issued by the Conference Board of Canada. One in three. An astounding 40% of the food we grow and produce never even makes it onto our plates. Perfectly good food goes unharvested, plowed back into the land or composted. The FOUND founders met while doing their masters at Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies, both researching aspects of food production in Atlantic agriculture, when they had an idea. The goal was simple: help eliminate food waste by harvesting food left behind, collecting leftover fruit and vegetables from farmers’ markets, and gleaning fruit trees and overabundant backyard gardens. A bunch of other benefits quickly followed: a reduction in the impact on the environment, a market for unharvested produce, a tax deduction for farmers, and fresh food for Nova Scotians in need. “I’m from Ontario and Lindsay is from Maine and we were motivated and inspired
38 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
by the success of food-waste organizations across Canada, there are more than 95 across North America, mainly collecting food from restaurants and grocery stores,” says Schut. “We were totally surprised to find there wasn’t already an initiative like ours in place in Nova Scotia. There was no real plan for FOUND in the beginning. It was really a case of, let’s see if this idea we have, works. We figured it was an easy idea that people would get behind, and so we just started, literally a few days after we had defended our theses.” And people were quick to get behind them. They soon connected with a local homeowner who gave them 23 kilograms of rhubarb that would otherwise have been thrown away, piled it into their car and showed up at Parker Street Food Bank in Halifax’s North End. “When we arrived and explained who we were and what we were trying to start, the woman working at the food bank started to cry,” says Schut. “She told us that food banks barely ever receive fresh produce, and most of what is received is almost always on or near the ‘best before’ date. It was such an impactful moment for us, seeing this ‘waste’ be truly valued and appreciated.” A large proportion of the food waste, that constitutes a $31-billion problem in Canada, happens before food even hits the produce aisles. Historically food waste has been thought of as a problem at the consumer end or grocery-store level, but it starts with farmers who are often unable to sell a substantial portion of their produce. Often fruit and vegetables are left in the field and referred to as a “walk-by,” because the farmer simply walks past it. It never reaches the food
Lindsay Clowes (left), Laurel Schut.
supply chain and is marked up as a loss. This is where FOUND steps in. “Originally, we were going to focus on urban areas and glean fruit trees,” says Schut. “But we quickly found out there are a lot of logistical barriers to harvesting food from fruit trees in people’s yards and there is much more food going to waste on farms. We realized we’d have a much larger impact if we focused on farm fresh food.” Often the result of a supply vs. demand mismatch, or the economics of harvesting a crop costing more than what farmers can get for it, or simply unpredictable weather – there is almost always food left in the fields. “We’ve had farmers who were surprised at how well a crop did and didn’t expect to grow so much of it,” said Schut. ”Sometimes it’s because mechanical harvesting, although efficient in terms of time is often inefficient in terms of picking up every last potato. Often it’s because our preferences as consumers
“WE WERE TOTALLY SURPRISED TO FIND THERE WASN’T ALREADY AN INITIATIVE LIKE OURS IN PLACE IN NOVA SCOTIA.” —LAUREL SCHUT
dictate what gets sold and what doesn’t: like sweet potatoes that are too small, or carrots not straight enough. Working with farmers has two effects. “Volunteers have the chance to see where their food comes from directly, and gain an appreciation for our local farmers and maybe even become interested in agriculture themselves,” Schut says. “The farmer benefits from the provincial tax credit of food donated to registered food banks and charities. Almost every time we’ve visited a farm to harvest, the farmer has come out to chat and help our
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 39
| FEATURE |
Volunteers visit farms around the province, harvesting left-behind produce for local food banks.
40 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
volunteers. I think they truly see the benefit to what we’re doing and want to help and be as involved as possible.” Since that first delivery of rhubarb, FOUND has grown into a vibrant volunteer driven organisation with seven core members and over 200 volunteers, who help harvest fresh food that would otherwise stay in the fields. Everything from potatoes and squash to cherries and apples have been collected and delivered to food banks directly or through Feed Nova Scotia. “Farmers contact us directly if they have any food that could be put to good use. We’ll then send out an email to our volunteer list and organise harvests quite quickly, within a couple days of being contacted. We now have volunteer groups working in HRM, the Valley, and Truro,” said Schut. “It’s important we make lasting relationships with farmers to further our impact. More farmer
relationships not only means more food donated, but it also means more people are getting out into the field and learning about agriculture and creating a direct relationship with their food source.” Currently FOUND’s structure is divided into a series of small hubs of volunteers. The goal for 2018 is to expand the number of communities across the province working towards reducing food waste by creating a Community Harvest Program. The program will allow any community in the province, or beyond, to act as a FOUND champion and start collecting food in that location. For volunteer opportunities, surf to foundns.com.
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
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DINING
back brink FROM THE
42 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
WITH A NEW OWNER, ONE OF DOWNTOWN HALIFAX’S BEST LIVEMUSIC VENUES GETS A SECOND CHANCE
PHOTO: STEVE SMITH/VISIONFIRE STUDIOS
BY JENNIFER HENDERSON
A couple years ago, Karen Spaulding learned her favourite live-music spot, in one of Halifax’s most storied buildings, was closing. Three years of relentless construction at the Nova Centre across the street pushed The Carleton to the brink. Despite winning national accolades such as Best Small Music venue during Canadian Music Week in 2017, collecting a bushel of East Coast Music Awards, and nurturing local talents like Joel Plaskett and Roxy & The Underground Soul Sound, owner Mike Campbell had declared personal bankruptcy. The former MuchMusic host was about to lock the door. That’s when Karen Spaulding, the owner of a local software company, picked up the phone and had her lawyer call Campbell’s lawyer. “We were going to lose what I thought was an iconic venue in Halifax and I thought jeez, somebody better do something about this!” says Spaulding. “The Carleton was able to bring in amazing large talents such as Blue Rodeo and Ron Sexsmith, but also offer a platform for up-and-coming local musicians. I would often come as a single woman or with friends and I always felt welcomed and comfortable. That combination of live music and just a hangout joint really appealed to me.” Spaulding’s affection for The Carleton and decision to purchase the business puts a new spin on “buying it for a song”. But the sale price was only the first $120,000 she put into it. The Carleton building dates back to 1760. It was built as the home of Richard Bulkeley, an influential administrator known as “the Father of the Province,” who served with 13 governors and lieutenant-governors, including city founder Edward Cornwallis. Bulkeley was a genial host and music fan who played the church organ at St. Paul’s Anglican Church across the street.
Before she rescued it, The Carleton was one of Karen Spaulding’s favourite hangouts. SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 43
DINING
A revamped menu emphasizing seasonal flavours is one of many changes at The Carleton.
Shortly after buying The Carleton, Spaulding installed a new stage, new bathrooms, and AC in the kitchen. The L-shaped room boasts great sight lines and a crystal-clear sound system for music fans. To complement walls of exposed gray stones (reportedly shipped here after the fall of Fort Louisbourg), she redecorated the restaurant and bar in shades of indigo and blue. Plush seats and banquettes have replaced the tavern-style captain’s chairs, evoking a retro lounge vibe, which pairs with the designer cocktails from mixologists Jeff Van Horne and Matt Doyle of The Clever Barkeep. For Spaulding, turning around The Carleton quickly became an all-consuming task. “My family and friends joke about it,” she laughs. “But once that call had been made to the lawyer, it was like going to the SPCA to get a kitten: you’re doomed!” The intense, two-month reno was put on pause halfway through. Appropriately, it was so a show could go on. The songwriters’ festival, In The Dead of Winter, migrated to The Carleton after The Company House closed. IDOW organizer Dana Beeler says the Carleton owner and staff were “extremely accommodating,” charging the Festival only for the use of the professional sound tech and helping IDOW with a benefit concert that raised $2,000.
Fortunately, Karen Spaulding has a steady cash flow from her day job. The Liverpool, N.S. native has an MBA and returned home to be closer to family after working on the West Coast. She worked as divisional controller for Maritime Life and then became a silent partner in Metaworks, a local software developer. Metaworks patented a handheld app for mobile phones that allows brand-name companies to collect and report information from the field. Imagine Stanfield’s or Nike hiring someone to
The historic Carleton building dates back to 1760. 44 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
check inventory and in-store displays to see how their merch is being promoted. Meanwhile, The Carleton is celebrating a milestone it almost didn’t see: its 10 th anniversary. Ticket prices for live shows have remained in the $15 to $30 range but music doesn’t pay the bills. Spaulding, a self-described foodie, knew that if the Carleton were to survive, it had to strike a culinary power chord, attracting more diners. So she lured Michael Dolente back home after years in Toronto,
PHOTO: JACQUELINE ANNE PHOTOGRAPHY
The Carleton has new décor but the same music-loving vibe.
where the Red Seal chef prepared mostly Asian and French cuisine at the Shangri-La Hotel. Patrons addicted to The Carleton’s signature matchstick fries with aioli sauce were tickled to see they’re still on the menu. But Dolente has replaced pub grub with more upscale offerings: risotto and handmade gnocchi, sustainably caught fish, local braised beef short ribs, and refreshing sorbets concocted in-house. At lunch, you can still order a burger, but now you can also try a poké bowl of marinated raw salmon, edamame, and avocado atop aromatic rice. And the “KFC”? It’s a Korean Fried Chicken sandwich. Dolente got married at The Carleton in June. He credits the homemade pastas and tomato sauce his Italian grandmother prepared when he was growing up in Bedford with igniting his passion for food, which he now expresses in globally-inspired dishes using local ingredients. “I want the Carleton to be known for great food as well as great music,” he says. “I want the food to be refined but still approachable.” Where Dolente really gets to shine is during The Carleton’s monthly fine-dining evenings called “In Concert With…”—a kind of jam
session for chefs. The first such event teamed Dolente with Mark Gray of Dartmouth’s The Watch That Ends The Night. They created a (sold out) eight-course gourmet meal featuring charred octopus, classic beef sirloin in bordelaise sauce, and tiramisu with cognac (price, including wine, tax, and tip was $135/ person). See The Carleton’s website for the listing of upcoming food and music events. Spaulding is a seasoned business pro but new to the hospitality trade. She retained Mike Campbell to book and manage entertainment. He still hops on stage to introduce musicians and comics who play the intimate 100-seat room, reminding newcomers The Carleton is “a listening room” that respects performers: no talking during the show, please. “I’m very happy I’m still part of The Carleton,” says Campbell after introducing a solo U.K. beat-boxer who used to play with Canada’s Crash Test Dummies. “It felt like unfinished business. I’m not a religious guy but there’s a certain karma thing I believe in and honestly, if Karen hadn’t dropped out of the sky when she did, I wouldn’t be in this city anymore. Now ... we’ll have a chance to see whether all the
work that’s gone into it [the reboot] was worth hanging in for.” In the heady 1970s, the building housed The Jury Room and the Press Club, where media hacks congregated for drinks and gossip. Those days are gone, and Campbell wryly observes, so are most of the traditional media those journos worked for. But that also makes it more difficult to reach potential patrons, who prefer to stay home and watch Netflix than seek live entertainment. Campbell and Dolente agree getting the word out and putting bums-in-seats is the biggest struggle for any restaurant or live music venue. Will people drift back to the patios of Argyle Street now that the detonations, detours, and dust from the Nova Centre construction are over? “Karen is in it for the long haul,” Campbell says. “If she were a skittish owner who started to freak out because everything wasn’t going her way immediately, then we wouldn’t be here right now. She knows its an investment in the future and it’s a long, long game. We’re hoping all of the improvements made here and on the street are going to pan out for everybody because there’s a lot at stake.”
tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine
SEPTEMBER 2018 halifaxmag.com | 45
OPINION
STARTING AGAIN IT’S HARD TO BUILD A LIFE WHEN YOUR EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE DON’T COUNT AND YOUR SAVINGS ARE RUNNING OUT
BY MARIANNE SIMON I remember when my husband told me we had gotten our papers to immigrate from India to Canada. “Oh, at last!” I heaved a sigh of relief. The next six months saw feverish preparation for the big move. We forgot the long wait, endless form-filling and collecting documents. All I could think of was I was going to be near my daughter. Earlier, I must have visited Canada more than 20 times. Every trip was enjoyable. But this was different. I was coming to Canada for good. The thought of being with my only daughter convinced me to give up a comfortable life and a well-paying job, and sell off most of my personal belongings. I was sure I’d find a suitable job in Canada. In August 2017, I landed in Halifax looking forward to a cozy new life. The excitement lingered for a month or two. When it wore off, the stark reality dawned on me that I was unemployed and our savings wouldn’t last long. The sight of the fast-depleting bank balance sent chills up my spine. There’s a world of difference between being a visitor and an immigrant. As a visitor, I came and went whenever it pleased me, but as a permanent resident, I had to run around making sure all my documents were in order. Banking, health insurance, renting an apartment, finding a job: everything seemed urgent and there was no time left for anything else. Our stress rose considerably, a kind of loneliness and desperation set in. Helplessness
46 | halifaxmag.com SEPTEMBER 2018
and frustration filled my waking hours. And I began to wonder whether the move was worth all the effort. The two major problems I faced were lack of contacts and an inability to find work. I was told my academic qualifications were not recognized here, my years of work as a writer, reporter, and newspaper subeditor didn’t count because I had no Canadian work experience. I was reduced to being almost useless. Really? Am I so ill-equipped to survive in this country? I wondered. Listening to those discouraging words didn’t help boost my morale. A sense of inadequacy washed over me. I filled my days taking refresher courses at the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS). After six long months, ISANS helped me to find work as a substitute EPA (Educational Program Assistant) for children with special needs. I was elated. Finally, I was going to earn some money. It was a good feeling. It gave me immense satisfaction when I helped a child in a classroom with her reading or numbers, or helped feed a young boy in his wheelchair, or doing whatever was necessary. I loved it all. All the same, finding assignments wasn’t easy. I spent hours surfing the web. Often, I got only three hours of work, maybe six on a really good day. I’d spend four hours daily travelling by bus to and from a school, earning less than $100 for six hours of work. There were days when I couldn’t find any assignments.
Soon I realized this job alone would not put food on my table. Please don’t get me wrong. I love my work. These children remind me to be grateful for all the blessings I have: a normal life, a healthy body and sound mind, education, and most of all, the opportunity to work. For me, work is prayer. Then one fine morning, I received an email from the Connector Program asking me to contact Halifax Magazine editor Trevor Adams. (This Halifax Partnership program helps newcomers to the city connect with long-time residents to build their professional networks). I jumped at the opportunity and I’m happy to say meeting Trevor was one of the nicest things that has happened since I came to Halifax. It was he who suggested I write about my experience in Halifax as a newcomer. Despite the difficulties, I appreciate being in Canada and having my family together. I am grateful for the few friends I have made, who are helping me to find my feet in this new country. The natural beauty of the land and the changing seasons fascinate me. Fall is my favourite season with its myriad colors. The clean air, an orderly life, adherence to rules and the freedom to move around are some of the benefits I enjoy here. Often I think of all the immigrants who are struggling to make a living here, just as I am. I can empathize with them and what I have to say to them is, in Robert Browning’s words, “The best is yet to be…” So, take heart, keep up your efforts, better days are coming.
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