Ross Farm Museum Hops to It

A couple views of the delicious hop vines growing at Ross Farm Museum:

Ross Farm Museum

Ross Farm, NS

Aug. 25, 2013

Ross Farm Museum

Ross Farm, NS

Aug. 25, 2013

Check out this *.pdf on Garrison's site (takes a while to load, be patient) which describes how these hops make their way into Garrison's Hopyard Pale Ale which features wet (fresh) hops grown right here on the South Shore.

This article is interesting and so is the comment thread.

I'm loving the craft brewing activity in Nova Scotia.  From Boxing Rock in Shelburne to Bridge Brewing in Halifax it seems like every time you turn around, another great micro brewery pops up.  Long may this tradition continue!!! 

First proper pint

Within hours of landing in Glasgow, it didn't take too long before I had sampled my first pint of cask ale.

I sampled Kelburn's Goldihops ale.  It was smooth and malty with a nice hop'y finish...as one would hope and expect.  


Cask ales are not carbonated like North American beers making them more of a gulping drink rather than sipping mouthfuls of foam and maybe a little beer.  Also, casks are stored at cellar temperatures rather than refrigerated. This seems to unlock more aromatics and reveals more complexity in the ale's flavour.  If you have a basement in your domicile, I recommend storing your beer down there.  Put some in the fridge for your friends from Ontario who insist drinking beer at near freezing temperatures. 


Needless to say, my first experience with a traditional Scottish ale was not my last.  Bottom's up!