HALIFAX, NS – In the couple of years that they’ve been open, Rockbottom Restaurant & Brewery in Halifax (no relation to the similarly named American brewpub chain) has received some criticism regarding the quality of its beer. Much of this stemmed from the fact that the beer was not truly brewed on site, but instead fermented from a wort prepared at a brewery in Vancouver and shipped across country, where it was transferred to fermentation tanks and pitched with dry yeast for the final step in the process.
Luckily, the owners came around to recognizing the poor quality of the product that was resulting from this process, and recently installed a proper all-grain brewing system on site. They also hired brewmaster Greg Nash – known for his hop-heavy experiments at the Hart & Thistle, where he continues to work as well – to come in and oversee their new brews.
According to a recent post on Nash’s Rockbottom Brewer’s Blog, the first batches of beer from this new system are now ready, and will be unveiled next Monday, December 5th at 10:00 AM. The initial beers will include American Weizen (5.0% ABV 12 IBUs), English Style Brown Ale (5.5% ABV 17 IBUs), West Coast IPA (6.9% ABV 70 IBUs), American Stout (6.7% ABV 70 IBUs) and West Coast Double IPA (8.0% ABV 100+ IBUs).
There will also be some changes made to the food menu, including the addition of a cheese board and a roasted garlic beer cheese soup, the latter made with a recipe supplied by Nash. Beer will be used as an ingredient in more menu items than before, and a selection of bottled beers from other breweries will also be on offer.