I’ve written here a few times how much I miss the craft beer scene back in Nova Scotia. I don’t drink a huge quantity of beer, but when I do have a pint or two, I like to try “new to me” beers and while I was living in Nova Scotia I never ran out of something new to sample. Fast forward about a year and a half, and when I got back to Halifax, I had a lot of catching up to do.

Not only was I excited in trying some new beers, but I was also thrilled to get a beautiful spring day to visit a place that had materialized since my move. The Stillwell Beergarden on Spring Garden Road is something that I wish someone here in Saskatoon would replicate just off Broadway. A very simple menu of grilled food, ten taps of Atlantic Canadian beer, and what I can imagine would be a lovely evening spot with the overhead patio lanterns – this is my kind of place. I sampled two beers on my lunchtime visit – the “Malternate Reality” from North Brewing (probably my favourite Halifax brewery) and “Dunder” an Australian pale ale from Trailway Brewing in Fredericton.

Less than ten blocks away from their outdoor location, the original Stillwell on Barrington is somewhere I stop by to visit on every trip back to Halifax. My favourite beer bar in the world (and I’ve visited a few) bar none. On this return, I tried another from Trailway Brewing (left, their “Green Island” New England IPA) that was without a doubt my favourite beer during my trip. Sadly, Trailway didn’t exist when I lived in Halifax – two beers in and I’m a huge fan of this outfit. The beer on the right is “Daytimer”, a sour, from Unfiltered Brewing in the north end of Halifax. It’s a great summer beer.

On my first night in Halifax, I stopped into Bishop’s Cellar to pick up some hotel beers – all of these were new to me. The two on the left are from a brand new brewery in the city – Two Crows, the one of the right from Wayfarers – again, new since I moved. My favourite of these was the “Cellar Slammer”. A new beer from a favourite Nova Scotia brewery of mine… I’d have a fridge full of these at all times if I could.

With all of the new, sometimes you need to head to an old favourite. Propeller is one of the founding fathers of the amazing craft beer scene in Halifax and was my go to selection a couple of years ago. Their new tap room on a rainy afternoon made me a bit homesick, as did sampling some of their beers. Old favourites and new alike, these four mini glasses tasted like Halifax to me.