Taste Halifax shuttling beer lovers between craft breweries, pubs

Taste Halifax launched the new tours this winter and plan on offering weekly runs through the summer

Image | Beer bus

Caption: Taste Halifax has offered wine tours and this winter started offering brewery-specific tours. (Radio-Canada)

Move over Harbour Hopper, there's a new ride in town.
Taste Halifax has started offering bus tours that shuttle people between local breweries and pubs on Saturdays.
Todd Beal, who writes a blog called the Maritime Beer Report, was part of a tour this weekend. He says he's seen similar tours across the United States and is glad to see Halifax catching up.
"It's been very exciting in Halifax with a whole bunch of new breweries opening, and more coming, the styles of beer is increasing and the flavours," he said.
"People are hearing about craft beer, they want to know about craft beer, they want to taste it and explore it."

Image | Beer shuttle

Caption: The beer shuttle is packed as it makes the rounds between pubs. (Stephanie Blanchet/CBC)

Taste tests included

The three-hour tours are now offered a few Saturdays a month and the plan is to do weekly runs starting in May.
Susan Downey Lim of Taste Halifax says they've sold almost every seat of the three tours so far.
"We've been absolutely thrilled with the response from it," she told Radio-Canada.
Leslie Duncan of Moncton says the tour was a draw because she and her partner often try to seek out microbreweries when they travel.
Marc-André​ Thé​riault says they joined the tour as a "weekend getaway from our day-to-day routine."
Duncan says the venture should inspire other areas in the region to start promoting their local breweries.

Image | Beer bus patrons

Caption: Catherine Roy toasts with Gabrielle Ouelette at one of the stops on the five-brewery tour. (Radio-Canada)