When the package arrived, we were intrigued. Beer from Nova Scotia—what could this mean? Would it be a bit like Moosehead and other big brand Canadian beers? Happily, that is not what “Nova Scotia style” means.
We tried the Nova Scotia Style Lager, Pale Ale, and Brown Ale. Much to our surprise, the first two of these beers were not very distinct from one another. They taste like siblings from the same beer family. (Pardon the cannibalistic imagery.) Both were of low viscosity, lightly hopped, and light on malt. (Rating ***) The Brown Ale was surprisingly sweet. With the very mild hops and the limited effervescence, we found it not particularly appealing. (Rating **3/4)
So far as we can tell, “Nova Scotia style” here means British style. None of these beers was heavy on malt or hops. They are assuredly not sweet, nor are they particularly bitter. Our estimate is that British beer fans and consumers of thin American lagers (Miller, etc.) might find these brews interesting.
Alexander Keiths’ brews became available in the United States in April 2011. What is quite unclear is whether the beers available in the United States are made in Canada or not. The bottles read “”A. Keith’s Brewing, St. Louis, MO” and the American version of the Keith website (http://www.alexanderkeiths.com/) also says the beers were “Brewed by A. Keith’s Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO.” Since A. Keith is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, well, one has to wonder if this is being churned out by Bud’s brewers. Yet, to add to the confusion, this blog post (and this one) by the company might mean that the beer is being made in Baldwinsville, New York. As our own F. Sot Fitzgerald so often has declared, “The thick plottens!”
You can read more at: http://www.keiths.ca/index.html
