North End Halifax/Elmsdale Nova Scotia
Good Robot cans the final can of beer in its Robie Street location in preparation for the launch of a larger, more efficient brewery in Elmsdale, NS. Robie Street Taproom will remain open.
The last can of the award-winning Creature Feature IPA came off the canning line from Good Robot Brewing Co’s Halifax brewery in May. All of the brewing equipment will now be dismantled and shipped out to their larger and more efficient brewhouse in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, 20 minutes north of Halifax.
Good Robot Brewing, voted Best Brewery, Best Brew Pub and Best Business Giving Back During the Pandemic by The Coast Readers’ Choice Awards, has been brewing quirky beverages on Robie Street since 2015.
“This is the end of a chapter. Seven years ago we were building this thing, just the three of us. If only we knew then what we know now. Thank god she stayed together as long as she did,” says co-founder Angus Campbell.
Good Robot will be auctioning off the final can of the citrusy, tropical IPA, and donating proceeds to their Goodwill partner, Black Women in Excellence. “It’s a chance to own a piece of Good Robot history, while also supporting a good cause,” says marketing manager Lindsey Davidson.
Meanwhile, the Good Robot brew team is excitedly building their new beverage facility in Elmsdale which will be fully operational very soon.
With lots of behind the scenes support, the Elmsdale facility will feature an automated mash filter. Made in the United States, this device will be the first of its kind in craft brewing production in Canada. New equipment will also include a tunnel pasteurizer, industrial centrifuge, and modernized canning line.
Campbell says, “our efficiency of converting grain to starch will be increased from 75% to 99%. It’s less waste while creating more beer so we’ll be able to produce a diversity of beer unlike anywhere else in Canada at the craft scale.”
The expansion to Elmsdale will also include a retail space and beer garden, as well as co-packaging services to allow other breweries to take advantage of the new technology. Co-founder Joshua Counsil says, “we want to create more camaraderie in the industry through co-packaging opportunities with other producers who don’t want to risk their livelihoods with expensive new equipment.”
With new efficiencies, innovative processes, numerous environmental benefits, and co-packing opportunities, Good Robot hopes their Elmsdale facility will help strengthen Atlantic Canada’s presence in the national and international beer, cider, and wine markets.
“The sky’s the limit,” adds Campbell.