The Pilgrim Brewer
Brewing in Halifax
Halifax’s North End is home to the Interbrew-owned Oland brewery, source of Canada’s supply of Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale, and Nova Scotia’s largest brewery. This Oland brewery dwarfs the residential scale of its adjacent streets, and presents a blank wall toward several blocks in one of North End Halifax’s more compelling neighbourhoods. Additionally, the brewery is constantly overpowering the neighbourhood with the olfactory byproducts of brewing. The brewery is simply too large for its intensely urban site.
Comparative capacities of Halifax breweries (Click to enlarge)
As can be seen from the two concentric rings focused on the Oland brewery—the solid ring denoting its capacity, and the dashed ring denoting Halifax’s entire annual consumption—that brewery’s scale dwarfs the local market.
Oland Brewery wall facing Isleville Street
This thesis asserts that there are better ways to incorporate brewing into the residential character of the neighbourhood. First, the scale has to be sympathetic to the surrounding streets and buildings. If a certain quantity of beer can’t be brewed at that scale, then perhaps that can become a task for other, different regional breweries.
Second, the thesis also presupposes that the industrial production of beer has abandoned the poetic aspects of brewing, as embodied in John Barleycorn Must Die. The result has been pedestrian beer, and even less interesting architecture. The industrial shed æsthetic has permeated even the beer.
Micro Breweries
In addition to the previously mentioned Oland Brewery, there are five microbreweries on the Halifax peninsula, each with its own condition. Understanding their forms and approaches helps to illustrate this thesis’ objectives.
Sign on front of Propeller Brewery
Propeller Brewery is located in a two storey brick building at the south end of Gottingen street. It produces bottles and kegs, and sells off-sales on site. ("Cold beer at back.") In the winter of 2005, Propeller has undertaken the renovation of the main floor of the building to accommodate a public room.
Lady Hammond façade of Garrison Brewery
Garrison Brewery is located in the industrial area at the west end of Lady Hammond Road, producing both draught and bottles. It is housed in a metal shed, with no retail function.
Shingle at the Henry House
Henry House and Ginger’s Tavern are two public houses operated by the Granite Brewery, which sell draught English-style real ales. Their production, however, is in an off-site warehouse, with no relation to the retail spaces.
Exterior of Rogues Roost
The Rogues Roost Brewpub on Spring Garden Road across from the School of Architecture brews on-site in an enclosed glass room, and sells draught from the adjacent bar, adaptively inset into a two-storey former bank building.
Brewing in the rafters at John Shippey
Finally, there is the John Shippey Brewing Company, a brewpub predominantly hidden at the far end of Lydon Lynch’s Harbourside Market building on the downtown waterfront. Its brewing equipment is displayed above the food court, tucked away in the large beam wooden rafters.
The stage at Keith’s Pilot Brewery
There is also the Alexander Keith’s Pilot Brewery located downtown at the brewery market, but it is a satellite operation of the Oland Brewery, configured in a kitschy historicist fashion for the benefit of tourists. The Pilot Brewery produces small-run, seasonal brews.
Half of the Halifax breweries do not function as public houses for their neighbourhoods. The other half that serve as places of consumption do little in the way of engaging their patrons with their craft. This thesis aims to demonstrate how these are missed architectural opportunities, which would otherwise benefit the breweries, the businesses, and the neighbourhoods.