November 2017

the watch

November 2017

the watch VOL. 35 NO. 3 - NOVEMBER 2017 watchmagazine.ca editors@watchmagazine.ca online@watchmagazine.ca publisher@watchmagazine.ca TWITTER @kingswatch INSTAGRAM @watchmagz

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Nick Frew Kristen Thompson

ONLINE EDITOR Hannah Daley

CONTRIBUTORS

Fadila Chater Isabel Ruitenbeek Abigail Trevino Selina Neve Michelle Cuthbert Samuel Owen

PUBLISHER Avi Jacob

TREASURER

Trent Erickson

PUBLISHING BOARD Laura Hardy Mikylah Gillis Isabel Ruitenbeek Zoë Brimacombe TBD for remaining

LAYOUT

Nick Frew Kristen Thompson

We welcome your feedback on each issue.

Letters to the editors should be signed. We reserve the right to edit all submissions.

The Watch is owned and operated by the students of the University of King’s College.

But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people not be warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at watchman’s hand.

— Ezekiel 33:6

2 The Watch |February 2014| @kingswatch

the watch IN THIS ISSUE

editors note pages 4-5 an op-ed pages 6-7 new drinks at the wardy pages 8-11 therapy animals page 13 father Thorne profile

page 14

king’s’ new mascot

page 17

get yourself a beer page 18

The Watch | April 2014 | @kingswatch 3

Editors note Kristen Thompson and Nick Frew

For the November issue, we’ve been having some issues being able to formulate pieces that are meaningful and thought provoking.

In a time where there is so much news happening around race and racial diversity, student journalism has been difficult.

A lot of tension stems from Masuma Khan’s Facebook post about racism at Dalhousie and the backlash from her comments. Whether from the school’s reaction of her speaking out, or the harassment she’s still getting.

It’s been over a month.

At our last contributors meeting we had two students of colour step up and agree to do opinion pieces. One was in regards to Masuma Khan, the other referred to the registrars office singling out students who are visible minorities for promotional photos.

Both stories later ended up being dropped by these writers.

They feared for their safety and well being from the potential backlash that would come from writing pieces on these topics. And they were unsure of where their voice would be relevant in the conversation about race and racial diversity.

While we understand these fears, we’ve been trying to figure out a way in which we as editors can best support our writers of colour, while still maintaining our journalistic standards.

We continue to support our writers and will stand by them no matter the backlash that the magazine receives for our editorial choices.

We will support our writers in the same ways we have in the past, when it comes to issues and opinions that were published about controversial and uncomfortable topics.

4 The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch

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As always, this isn’t necessarily because we agree or disagree with our writers’ opinions or outlooks on a situation. But it does comes down to loyalty to our contributors and a need to stand up for our own ethical principles.

We want the Watch to be a space in which our writers feel that they are able to speak freely in a journalistic way. Because of this, we will always support our writers, even in situations where they aren’t comfortable writing something.

The current climate that has been created across Dalhousie and King’s isn’t one that’s allowing for open conversation about racial issues without the fear of judgment, the fear of a ruined journalistic reputation and the fear for ones safety.

Because of this, our writers that attempted to tackle these stories were faced with complacency and judgment from certain members of the community.

The other, after seeing the way in which students have been reacting to topics of controversy in the past on this campus (i.e. reactions to Masuma Khan, the issues around the Trump piece we released last fall), originally chose not to write this piece because they felt their safety and well-being was at risk.

They later changed their mind, writing the following blurb in response: “I almost didn’t publish this opinion piece because of fear. Fear of being attacked, fear of losing support from my university, and fear of letting down my parents – who taught me to keep negative comments to myself.

Well, sorry mom and dad.

It was a day after finding out I wasn’t the only brown person contacted by King’s promotional staff. After writing the first draft, I had my boyfriend look it over.

He’s been my second pair of eyes since I started writing.

He’s a white boy from a very white, very loving and wonderful, Canadian family. He’s also an accounting major at Dal. If I can write for him, I can write for anyone.

But after reading through my 750-word unabashed and scathing criticism – a side of me he’s never seen in writing before – he looked at me with concern.

‘Are you sure you want to publish this? Aren’t you worried of what the school might do?’ he said.

Well, no, I wasn’t. Until I saw his puzzled face look up from the computer screen.

I lacked was replenished by the strong-willed and confident people of colour I confided in at school.

It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about the dozens of black, Indigenous, Asian, African, Arab, Latin, twentysomethings feeling powerless in a community that thinks it’s more convenient to look diverse, than to actually be diverse.

I wrote it for them.

To King’s’ small but mighty group of racialized students – thank you. Thank you for giving me support when I needed it most.”

I tried to convince him that I had proof to back my opinion and that it wasn’t all in my head. He believed me. But, he wasn’t sure if the university – or the public – would.

With online and offline harassment, threats and hate speech thrown at people like Masuma Khan and Lido Pimienta, it struck me that I might end up like them.

For publishing something as racially charged and unapologetic as my opinion, I wasn’t ready for the hate and criticism.

If anything were to happen to my reputation now, it could have serious consequences on my ability to find a job after university. I didn’t want to be a martyr for the cause.

These thoughts stewed in my head for days, making me second guess myself. And making me question whether it was valid for me to be upset about something as privileged as being paid for a photo shoot at a university that many people of colour can only dream of attending.

I just wanted to go to class, get good grades and land a decent job in May after graduation. But the courage The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch 5

Conveniently brown Op-ed Fadila Chater

I came home after a long, gruelling day of honours project bullshit to an email that was equally bullshit.

King’s promotional material: they misrepresent the truth.

Matt Frise, King’s communications officer, asked me if I was interested in taking part in a photo-shoot on campus for King’s’ promotional material.

Dorsa Eslami, Julia-Simone Rutgers and Itai Kuwodza were all approached by the school’s communications officers in their first year of university. It wasn’t until after their pictures were published, that they realized they were the only students of colour in their class.

Later, I found out I wasn’t the only one.

Abiezer Cuevas is a first-year student at King’s. His friends call him Eddie. Apparently so does Matt Frise, in an email almost identical to the one the communications officer sent me.

In fact, at least five other students of colour received the same copy/paste email en masse, the exact same day.

“For universities, the image of diversity is more important than to actually be diverse,” Cuevas says.

Cuevas moved to Oakville, Ont. from the Dominican Republic when he was 11 years old. As an AfroLatino living in Canada, Cuevas is familiar with being a minority in his community. He says Oakville is “not racialized whatsoever – very, very, very white.”

He was however, mildly surprised when he arrived at King’s. He thought there would be at least a few more people of colour in his class.

“I didn’t want to promote the idea that King’s is a diverse school when it quite obviously isn’t,” Cuevas says. “I think it’s important for us to say ‘no’.”

I guess Frise didn’t get the memo that targeting students of colour to partake in promotional and recruitment practices for a mostly white school is misleading.

In March, I wrote an investigative piece for the Watch about the lack of racial diversity at King’s. The students of colour I spoke with all had similar things to say about 6 The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch

In fact, it didn’t dawn on them that there are hardly any people of colour at King’s until after they arrived.

Kuwodza, an international student from Zimbabwe, did not visit King’s before deciding to travel 11,696 km and pay upwards of $30,000 a year to study at the institution. Her only knowledge of King’s and its student body came from promotional material on its website.

Now, if Kuwodza saw several black and brown students on King’s’ website she’d think it would be a diverse school.

It is not.

At the time of publishing the article, the exact number of racialized students at King’s was unclear.

In a data set collected by the King’s Student Information System, four per cent of the 2015-2016 King’s student population self-identified as a visible minority. But that number only reflects admission applications. So it’s only an estimate.

King’s acknowledges it’s lack of diversity as a problem.

Their 2014 Strategic Enrollment Plan outlines ways in which they plan to tackle this issue.

But, after consulting with King’s registrar and board of governors member, Julie Green, and King’s former vice president, Kim Kierans, during my research, it became apparent to me that their goals were not being accomplished. Despite efforts in reaching out to socially and economically disadvantaged people.

I came to King’s thinking it was going to be at least a little more diverse than my country-ass, rural Nova Scotian high school. Boy was I wrong.

I arrived at King’s, desperately trying to fit in with white, upper-middle class Torontonians and Vancouverites to little or no avail.

All of a sudden, my race, my social class, my upbringing, became magnified. And to think, little 18-year-old Fadila couldn’t wait to not be the only brown girl sitting at the lunch table.

The only thing that changed about lunch was that I was sitting with richer white people.

that’s worth millions of dollars, how to not take advantage of the only students of colour in their establishment.

We told Green and Abbot that King’s needs to be honest with future students about its lack of diversity. We asked for more support groups for racialized students.

We asked for more professors of colour, and for more racial representation in curricula and social functions.

Finally, we asked them to not target us for promotional material just to fill a quota.

So, when I opened my email – months after our little discussion – to see a message from the communications officer, I was disappointed. To say the least.

For years, I’ve struggled to find my identity as a Canadian-born, Lebanese woman. I was too “white” to fit in with the Lebanese girls at DAL and too brown to fit in with the rich white kids at King’s.

There’s something disingenuous about taking the only handful of non-white students at your school and featuring them in all your promotional and recruitment material.

Not only do those pictures misrepresent the school’s social and racial makeup, it makes students of colour feel targeted because of their race.

My feature length story got a lot of attention. Not just from students, but from faculty and staff. Green sent Rutgers, Eslami and I an email asking if we could meet with her and King’s director of advancement, Adriane Abbott, to discuss ways in which King’s can “better promote and reflect diversity in student recruitment.”

I sent my fellow women of colour a Facebook message asking what they thought. We all agreed to meet. But none of us knew what to say.

The onus was on us to teach a university, an institution The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch 7

Wardroom seeks to educate Isabel Ruitenbeek

The Wardroom is the quintessential campus bar— but it’s trying to be more.

If the Wardy feels busier than usual this school year, that’s because it is. Besides hosting local bands and planning dance nights, the Wardy’s focusing on creating an inclusive space and organizing educational events.

to her as a woman of colour.

The post sparked a multitude of comments from people both in and out of the King’s community with some siding in support of the event and others in support of Rutgers.

In response, Wardroom staff and KSU executives decided to cancel the event and Rutgers met with “I want all students to recognize that this is our her fellow KSU executive members and Wardroom space,” says Brennan McCracken, president of staff to discuss how to make the Wardy more the King’s Students’ Union (KSU). As a union- inclusive and safe. owned and operated business, McCracken is also the Wardy’s spokesperson.

Rutgers believes that conversation has been put into action this semester.

According to McCracken, the KSU and Wardroom staff are working together to broaden the Wardy’s According to Rutgers, the educational events repertoire of events. show that the Wardy is more than a drunken party venue.

The goal is to reflect peoples’ different experiences at King’s, and to draw in a diverse crowd. This “It’s here to be an educational space and a change was spurred by students’ desire for a space where we can have open dialogues, have wider range of programming in the Wardroom, conversations, and I think that’s really important says McCracken. and that makes the Wardroom feel safer,” she says.

In the fall of 2016, Julia-Simone Rutgers posted on the Facebook event page for a Wu Tang themed So far this semester, the KSU’s been involved in night that was being held at the Wardroom later in planning a cultural appropriation workshop and the term. a podcast-listening session in the Wardroom.

Both events focused on discussing racism and In the post, she described a previous experience colonialism. in the Wardroom, where white students would sing along to racial slurs during a Kanye West themed The cultural appropriation workshop stands out as dance party. the first educational event hosted by the bar where the bar’s also been open, at least as far as Paisley She went on further to explain the ways in which Conrad can recall. this made the Wardy feel unsafe and uncomfortable 8 The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch

Conrad is the Wardy’s general manager, in charge of operations. Usually, when panels or discussions are held in the Wardroom space, the bar itself is closed.

Though you can’t mix them with alcohol at the Wardy now, Conrad says it’ll be a possibility next semester. Tea North cocktails might also make an appearance.

McCracken believes that style of educational event—where the bar is open throughout— works well in the Wardy space. It brings in people who are just grabbing a drink, and end up interested in what’s going on.

For those who really, really just want to drink and don’t feel like having their minds broadened, McCracken says organizers are open to reserving quieter nights—it’s all about what students ask for.

Funds for both the cultural appropriation workshop and the podcast listening session came out of the Wardy’s promotions budget.

Though the Wardy is owned and operated by the KSU, only the hospitality coordinator’s salary comes out of the KSU budget. All other money, to pay staff and organize events, comes from product sales.

Rutgers hopes the Wardy continues on its educational path.

“There are plenty of places in the city to go and get drunk,” she says, “but to have a space that you can both spend the night partying in some nights, and spend the night learning in some nights, is super important.”

Conrad didn’t comment on how much was spent on the cultural appropriation workshop, but says that “we’re treating events like that with equal interest as we are music.”

Another change is the increased selection of nonalcoholic drinks available at the Wardy. You can now buy three types of Tea North iced teas at the bar, for $3.50 a bottle The tea is brewed and bottled in Dartmouth. For Conrad, supporting a local business was one reason to sell these products. The other was to provide a healthier non-alcoholic drink option.

Is there a link between the focus on educational events and the new non-alcoholic drinks?

McCracken “wouldn’t say its unrelated.” Expanding the non-alcoholic drinks selection is a way to encourage students who are underage or don’t want to drink to take advantage of the Wardroom.

For those who really do just want to drink, take heart: the teas won’t always be exclusively nonalcoholic.

The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch 11

Hopping for mental health Abigail Trevino

If you spent any time at all walking across the King’s quad this fall, chances are you spotted something initially odd: a seated student surrounded by a folding metal cage. If you took a closer look, however, you would have met one of King’s most recent furry four legged creatures: Nancy the psychiatric service rabbit.

Nancy is three years old, and belongs to first year FYP student Adaline Catlin. Catlin, who hails from Boston, suffers from crippling anxiety. Back home she has a therapy dog, but when she knew she would be moving into residence in order to attend King’s, she knew she would need a therapy animal that was slightly more portable.

Enter Nancy, who was prescribed as a therapy animal for Catlin.

Nancy was the victim of rabbit dumping, the name given to the practice of abandoning rabbits outdoors. She was picked up by the House Rabbit Network of New England, and soon found her way into Catlin’s heart and home.

Nancy underwent multiple personality tests before earning her psychiatric service certification. She has a service vest, but she doesn’t wear it very often.

“Rabbits hate having things around their necks”, Catlin said.

Despite having the ideal temperament for providing companionship and psychological support, Nancy suffers from several hind leg issues due to genetic anomalies. Catlin has had three major knee surgeries, so she feels she can relate to her bunny in a special way.

“Her biggest impact on be has been a significant lowering in my day to day anxiety. When I am suffering from a panic attack – mine are almost always quite horrid and can get to the point of me being virtually catatonic – Nancy brings me back to a safe reality,” Catlin said.

Nancy lives in a repurposed dog cage on the floor of Catlin’s room. Her water bowl is a handmade piece by Catlin’s sister.

Nancy mostly lives on a diet of alfalfa pellets, Timothy hay and broccoli. According to Catlin, and contrary to popular belief, carrots and lettuce are horrible for rabbits because they contain too much sugar and not enough nutrients. She blames the Peter Rabbit children’s books for the common misconception.

“Beatrix Potter did not do her research,” she said.

While Nancy is primarily around to help Catlin with her anxiety, she has also had a positive impact on the happiness and mental

of health of other King’s students.

Nancy is a popular feature at study snacks sessions on Sunday nights in the manning room.

Friends and even acquaintances of Catlin’s have asked her to bring Nancy along to not just study snacks, but also to other more informal study sessions.

“She has provided immense comfort to the student body both in groups and in more intimate settings,” she said.

“One day a female friend reached out via text and told me she was having a challenging mental health day. She asked if I could bring Nancy to her room and if the two of us humans could spend time together with Nancy’s company.”

Nick Hatt, dean of students, agrees that having service animals around campus is beneficial to students, and believes that having a system in place to allow for these animals is essential.

“We’re actually just in the process of coming up with one. We work on an individual basis with the students who identify any kind of medical need,” he said.

While Nancy is far from the first therapy animal to live on campus, she is unique in that she’s a rabbit. In the past, for the most part, the only animals that have lived on campus have been cats.

“We want to support our students in any way that we can,” said Hatt. “I think other students appreciate the animals as well.

Look at how popular Casey is!”

Students that require special supports or accommodations are asked to state so in their applications for living in residence.

While this will not affect a student’s placement in residence, it will allow for residence staff to properly prepare for students with needs, and to be able to point them in the right direction.

Students requiring other forms of support while at King’s are encouraged to make an appointment with Dal Health.

Free and confidential counseling services and peer support are also available on the first floor of the Academics and Administration building most days of the week, with hours posted on the door.

The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch 13

Every rose has its Thorne Selina Neve

It isn’t hard to draw parallels between the wizardly and witchy universe of Hogwarts and the enchanting life of the University of King’s College. That is particularly so with Father Gary Thorne acting as King’s very-own Dumbledore double.

That being said, the beloved chaplain is passing on his wand. He playfully said that “the community probably needs a young chaplain, with fresh ideas.” Regardless, Thorne has graced the King’s community with so much over the years and will leave behind a campus forever indebted to him.

Throughout his eleven-year run at King’s he has fostered life-long relationships, pioneered significant initiatives and undergone invaluably formative experiences.

Sitting down with Thorne (in his very Dumbledore-like office I might add), he reflected with me on his time at King’s, and outlined three poignant memories.

He began by taking me back to Easter 2007, when he was also serving as a Reservist Military Chaplain. The King’s Chapel was hosting the annual Resurrection Party, which continues into the early hours of the morning. Thorne left the party early and crawled into bed. Moments later, he was awakened by a phone call.

This phone call brought disturbing news from just west of Kandahar City in Afghanistan. Six young soldiers had been killed, including one he knew well from Halifax.

He described the frenzy that unfolded after the call.

“I had to work at getting local Chaplains involved in giving next-of-kin notifications. There’s a media freeze, the media wouldn’t report on any of this until after nextof-kin had been notified, so nobody knew about it.”

When he returned to the campus for Easter Day service, he had to push through the intense rush of emotions and remain silent in front of two military members of the congregation. They were friends with the Sergeant who had been killed.

14 The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch

“I remember walking up the aisle saying the sentences of scripture for Easter, which have to do with resurrection, knowing that these people had died.”

The next significant moment for him was after he retired from the military in 2013. He decided to hold a Requiem Mass in the chapel, which he said was “for the 24 young people from Atlantic Canada who had died in Afghanistan on my watch.” And for each of whom he conducted or supervised funerals.

The final standout moment from his time at King’s was when the Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir sang the Missa Gaia/Earth Mass. Thorne was enthusiastically taken aback by the reaction, as people were “totally and thoroughly engaged with an earth mass.”

He points out that an environmentally-conscious community at the Chapel is a top priority for him. That is why he established an easy way to “remove your shoes before nature,” through the Chapel’s popular outdoor retreats.

Thorne began the retreats in 2007 and by 2010 there was a Thanksgiving Retreat, Fall Retreat and Winter Retreat, with additional trips throughout the year. He said these retreats allow students to “be in dialogue with and submit themselves to the forest, to the lakes and to the rivers” found in Nova Scotia’s backcountry.

Throughout his time at King’s he has helped many young wizards and witches “develop wings.” And he said he has gleefully seen them eclipse his expectations; teaching him along the way.

He has now grown his own wings, and is preparing to take on one more chance to live his vocation elsewhere.

He said it is his “last chance at being faithful.”

Thorne hopes the Chapel’s influence has brought the entire College a sense of humility, peer support and an understanding of the importance of a healthy community.

The King’s blue devil Michelle Cuthbert

Don’t be alarmed if you enter the Kingdome this year and encounter a little Blue Devil. He’s friendly, and might even give you a high five if you ask nicely.

Brendan was also visiting home at the time, and his mother and grandmother revealed their plan to him. He was unsure at first.

Mocha is a one-year-old Shih Tzu puppy and the unofficial Blue Devils mascot. He belongs to the family of Brendan Balcom, a second year at King’s who plays both soccer and basketball for the Blue Devils.

“I’m not one for having a dressed up dog,” he says, but after Brendan saw Mocha in the costume he conceded that, “it did look kind of cute.”

Brendan’s parents, Rena and Richard Balcom, live in Shelburne, NS, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Halifax. Despite the long drive, they have rarely missed a King’s soccer or basketball game – home or away– and Mocha always comes with them.

“We call ourselves the King’s superfans,” says Rena. “It was only appropriate that Mocha be the mascot.”

They got Mocha in November of 2016, and he’s been attending games ever since. In fact, they picked Mocha up on a Tuesday and by the weekend he was with them in New Brunswick, cheering on the basketball team.

First, he was snuck in by a carrying case. And then, when he got bigger, Rena carried him in and sat with him on her lap. Although some facilities won’t allow Mocha in, the Balcoms always bring him along anyway, for good luck.

Rena says all that matters is that “he’s on the premises somewhere.”

“He wasn’t allowed on the field at UNBSJ and they lost so I figured there’s got to be something there,” she says.

In October of 2017, inspiration struck Rena.

“I was online, and I saw one of those Halloween costumes for dogs,” says Rena. “But it just dawned on me that there’s a devil costume, but why can’t we make it a blue devil?”

And so, the mascot was born. The weekend before Thanksgiving, Rena’s mother came down to visit from Cape Breton, and the two of them spent six hours creating Mocha’s Blue Devil costume.

Mocha is the first of his kind. According to the university archives, the basketball team adopted the name Blue Devils in the 1970s, slowly followed by other varsity athletics. But they have never had a mascot.

The Balcoms brought Mocha to Brendan’s soccer game the next weekend, and the response was unanimous.

The people love him.

“I knew it would be cute but I didn’t realize other people would notice it too,” says Rena. “The girls’ soccer just loves him; they make such a fuss over him.”

Mocha loves his costume too, especially when he’s outside. It keeps him warm while he watches soccer. His favourite part is the stuffed tail.

“He goes around and around and around in circles trying to get his tail and then he just chews on it,” says Rena.

Mocha knows a lot of tricks already. He can high five, dance, and he will jump over Rena’s legs on command.

But he’s going to learn another trick especially for Brendan’s games.

“I’m going to try to teach him to cheer, so if I cheer he’ll bark,” says Rena.

Now that soccer season has ended, you can catch Mocha at the Kingdome watching basketball. Rena hopes that Mocha will help lead the team to victory.

“I just hope he brings a little luck to them and a little inspiration,” she says.

The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch 17

To beer or not to beer Samuel Owen

Often when the thirst strikes a fine young King’s student, it is far too easy to wander down to the basement of A&A and grab a pint at the “best student hang-out.”

Do not mistake me, I love the Wardy. We all love the Wardy: good-priced beer, delightful staff, and comfy couches. It’s hard not to.

However, this November I propose taking a short break from that pint of Irish Red, or Tall Ship served to you by the beautiful Dave Woroner, go out, take a risk, and explore.

There are 11 craft breweries in Halifax alone, so this is the ideal city to start drinking craft beer – if you haven’t already.

Unfortunately, in a city famous for its pubs, a lot of the more established venues of Argyle Street and the like have yet caught on to this trend.

Durty Nelly’s, Cheers, and the wrongly-named Ale House, all serve watered-down, flavourless macro lagers. Even if these bars serve craft, it is most likely to be a toss up between Garrison and Propeller.

Let’s face it, as much as I enjoy the Irish Red at the Wardy, these two breweries do not provide as much excitement and innovation as the younger breweries on the scene.

Nevertheless, I am not writing with a purpose of persuading you to avoid such places, if one wants to explore the Halifax craft beer scene one should, in my humble opinion, go to places that offer craft beer, hopefully good craft beer to boot.

Luckily for you, I have compiled a list of four breweries or bars that I feel not only serve deliciously good brews, but also suit students’ needs as a place to escape campus, a place to relax with friends and a place to momentarily forget about assignments and final exams.

The Henry House, 1222 Barrington Street There isn’t a cozier place to be in Halifax than in the basement of the Henry House on a cold winter day. Having a pint in this British-style pub is like being hugged by a friendly bear. Warmth and happiness fills your stomach as you down the Granite Extra Special Bitter. Whether you are looking for a cozy and quiet place to read by yourself or to hangout with friends, the Henry House is the place to be.

18 The Watch | November 2017 | @kingswatch

2 Crows Brewing Co., 1932 Brunswick St. After opening 10 months ago, 2 Crows has fostered a dedication to quality craft beer. You know you’ll be drinking something unique and tasty if you make the well-worth-it trek over. If you are lucky, your visit will be on a brew day, you’ll walk in to the warm aroma of fomenting malt, to a small tap room adjacent to a large brewery. This brewery is the place to go for those who wish to formalize themselves with the brewing process.

Committed to educating their consumers, 2 Crows encourages people to walk-in, take a tour, and talk to head brewer Jeremy Taylor. They encourage those who work for them to brew small batches of their own. They see themselves as leaders on the frontiers of the craft industry, dedicated to making quality and unique brews. Try the Pollyanna Wild Yeast New England IPA or the Oat Pilsner.

Stillwell Beer Bar, 1672 Barrington Street If you are new to the Nova Scotian craft beer scene the first stop you should make is at Stillwell. With 12 taps showcasing the best Nova Scotia, and sometimes the best the country has to offer, it is rare to have a bad pint there.

On a winter’s eve, take a visit to what is, in my humble opinion, the coolest bar downtown Halifax. Fantastic music, good food and there isn’t a more friendly and patient staff in Halifax.

If it is your first time at Stillwell go to the bar, sit down, and ask the bartender for a suggestion. They are as friendly as they are knowledgeable.

Unfiltered Brewing, 6041 North Street Tucked away in an unattractively small plaza on North Street, Unfiltered is the place to be for IPA nerds. If you like hoppy beers you’ll like Unfiltered. If you don’t like hoppy beers that is because you have yet gone to Unfiltered. Unfiltered is not just the brewery name, it is embodied in a place where it is free to speak candidly. Exile on North Street is, hand to God, one of the best fucking IPAs I have ever enjoyed.

You drank enough shitty beers in high school, you go to King’s, and now it’s time to drink the good stuff. Halifax has plenty of it.

Instead of going to the Wardy this Friday, I implore you to go out and enjoy some beautiful brews in this beautiful town.

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