Granite Brewery

It all began in Nova Scotia in 1980. Kevin Keefe became continually interested in the unique combination of brewery and restaurant that was popular in England. In North America, brewpubs were basically unheard of and Kevin, owner and operator of Ginger’s Tavern in Halifax, instinctively felt the timing was right to open the first brewpub in Nova Scotia. Undaunted by his lack of practical brewing experience, he took a crash course in brewing at Peter Austin’s legendary Ringwood Brewery, an open-fermentation system, where the “real ale” revolution had begun in England. Kevin trained with Peter Austin and Alan Pugsley. Keefe’s first batch was served in April of 1985. Reaction was mixed at first, since Ginger’s regulars were unfamiliar with something as un-Canadian as “real ale”. However, within the year, Kevin’s brews began to gain acceptance by the locals and the uniqueness of the brewpub concept slowly became more popular. This was the very beginning of the craft brewery renaissance in Canada.