which is a 7.3% ABV beer, and even people who don’t like beer love the tropical notes of it. Wine drinkers really love our sours.” Since opening its doors in January, 2 Crows Brewing has been very well received. But being, in essence, a fami- ly-owned and operated brewery, the real litmus test for Mark was sending beer back to his family in Europe. “My father, who lives part of the year in the Netherlands, has actually found someone over there who’s interested in putting 2 Crows beer on-tap. We’re now in the process of logistics, figuring out the specifics of shipping kegs across the pond. They love it over there!”
the tourists as well.”
“Each one of our beers is very different and each one of them has an inspiration from somewhere for sure,” Mark con- tinued. “We take various styles of beer and we add our own twist. For example, we made a pilsner but we made it an oat pilsner where we added about 35% oat malt to the recipe to give it more of a grainy taste – a bigger mouthfeel, I suppose. Basically, we’re always trying to transcend the status quo.” For 2 Crows Brewing, each recipe is a chance to diverge more from their competitors. “We’re never going to brew solely on style,” Kelly said. “People have taken to the craft beer scene so well in Halifax – and we’re thrilled with that. People love to come to the taproom and chat about beer and learn about our process. We’re coming in on maybe the third wave of craft brewers in Halifax and when you look at how people’s beer pallets have evolved – it’s incredible. Just a few years ago, people were excited about trying a new IPA, now people are interested in sours and barrel-aging and that’s why we’re always pushing the envelope here at 2 Crows.” “So before I even started the business plan, I knew we had to find someone who could brew a beer of the highest possible quality, someone who could push the envelope as far as beer styles go.” And then there’s the other half, Kelly explained. “Like Mark said, people will come to the taproom and say things like, “I don’t like craft beer, or beer at all. Do you have anything that doesn’t taste like beer?” and they’ll fall in love with one of our lighter pilsner-style beers. Or they’ll be expecting something light and I’ll give them our Wild Northeast IPA,
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SEPTEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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