2 Crows Brewing
A recipes for success
BY LOLA AUGUSTINE BROWN
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE
When 2 Crows Brewing opened a second taproom on Oxford Street in December 2023, it chose the perfect partners to share a space with, Yeah Yeahs Pizza. “It’s been a really great fit,” says Mark Huizink, who owns 2 Crows with his wife Kelly and head brewer Jeremy Taylor. “They’re great people, they make great pizza, and we’re so excited to be in that neighbourhood.”
The new location has its own specially brewed beer, an Italian pilsner named Sal after Yeah Yeahs’ “dough whisperer.” Taylor explains that they knew they wanted to make that type of pilsner as an Oxford location exclusive and had it in the tanks with no idea what to name it. When the owner of Yeah Yeahs suggested they name it after Sal, it seemed perfect. “It's a crisp and bready beer that pairs perfectly with the pizzas,” says Taylor—his favourite Yeah Yeahs slice to pair with a glass of Sal is their white pizza, made with mushrooms, charred green onion and lemon.
Bring on the beer slushies
When 2 Crows opened their beautifully designed Brunswick Street taproom in 2017, the craft brewing scene in Nova Scotia was booming. The taproom is their production facility, and guests can sit admiring the hustle and bustle of brewers at work as they sip. A patio also offers the perfect spot for grabbing a beer on a sunny day.
Though having their beers on the shelves of the NSLC was always part of the plan on opening, the partners knew the importance of a taproom. “Our best interaction with our customers is in our taproom because we’re able to make sure our staff can give the customer an idea of what’s in the beer, what the profile is, what style of ingredients we use and things like that,” says Huizink.
In the summer, 2 Crows serves beer slushies, which have proven very popular. “We put our fruited sour beers into the slushie machine, and other weird and wonderful things, and although I’m a professional brewer who takes things seriously, I hate to admit how much I enjoy those,” says Taylor, “When I’m dialling it in, because you have to add a little bit of sugar to make it mix properly, I kept having to taste it and admit to drinking rather a few of them!”
Taylor has a master's degree in brewing and distilling that he studied for in Edinburgh, and had completed a business plan for a brewery in Halifax as part of that (although he is from Vancouver, his wife is from Dartmouth, and their goal was to end up in Halifax). “I had neglected the financials and just focussed on the beer aspect of things,” explains Taylor. Simultaneously, Mark, who had been living in Halifax for many years, was doing up his business plan, and being an accountant was solely focused on money. He started looking for a brewer, and a mutual introduced Taylor to the couple. They all hit it off and began turning their dreams into reality with 2 Crows in 2016.
The brewery was immediately successful if you don’t count the first 20 minutes of opening day. “We were looking at each other thinking, ‘Oh no, what’s happening, what have we done, no-ones coming in,’” says Huizink. Fortunately, they soon filled the tasting room and were warmly embraced by the local community.
Taylor says it helped that they opened during Halifax’s craft beer heyday. “If you were the new brewery on the block, people were going to show up, especially if you were producing something a little bit different. We’ve probably had more sleepless nights since Covid and the shine of craft beer has worn off a little bit than we did about opening,” Taylor says.
Recipes for success
Several beers 2 Crows opened with are still their best sellers almost eight years on, such as Pollyanna: Wild Northeast IPA. “That’s our flagship beer,” says Taylor. Huizink says that in Nova Scotia, IPAs will always rule.“If we put a ton of hops in a beer, it sells better,” agrees Taylor. Recently, their AC Light Lager has seen a surge in popularity. “But there’s a rise in appreciation for lagers in general right now, too, which I’m loving. Lagers are difficult to brew well but I enjoy the challenge of it,” says Taylor, “I enjoy drinking them too because they are so nuanced and can be so crisp, clean and lovely.”
Their Jamboree, a fruited sour, was initially developed for the Quebec market once 2 Crows started selling there but took off here, too. “We were surprised by the public’s reaction to that type of beer because people can be reluctant to try sour beers and don’t necessarily understand them,” says Huizink, “But that’s in our top three best-sellers with the Pollyanna and AC.” The brewery pushes out approximately 250,000 litres of beer every year.
As much as Taylor loves experimenting and creating new beers, not all have been a roaring success. “We’ve had a lot fall flat,” laughs Taylor, “And there have been ones that resonated with a niche crowd and they were really excited about it. So we made four times as much as we should have because, in that first quarter, it sold well, then sales dropped off.” Their barrel-aged sours, which Taylor says 2 Crows was known for, are an example. “Then the market for them just dropped off pretty quickly,” Taylor says. The turbulence is all part of the massive learning curve that comes with owning a brewery, especially in these strange past few years.
Local supporting local
From the start, 2 Crows has always committed to using the best ingredients with zero compromises. “That’s always been important to us. Over the past three years, we’ve switched to using as many local ingredients as possible. Ninety to 95% of our hops come from producers in PEI and New Brunswick, with the only exception being hops that give certain flavours that can’t be grown in the Maritime climate,” says Taylor, “Not only are we reducing our carbon footprint, but how can we cry out for people to support their local brewers if that brewer isn’t supporting local agriculture? We’re finding that local producers are producing world-class ingredients, so why would we pay to ship stuff from the prairies when we can get fresher and better right here?”
Before you even sip one of 2 Crows beers, you can’t help being intrigued by the design of their cans. Local artist illustrator Alex MacAskill of Midnight Oil Print and Design House has been responsible for the brewery’s aesthetic since pretty much day one. “We initially thought we’d have a rotating artist series for one-offs and seasonals. But in the early days, we had something in the tank and really needed an artist and were frantically looking for an artist. The lovely folks at Inkwell Boutique suggested we try Alex, and he just did amazing and it was so easy. We thought, let’s not change it,” laughs Taylor, “he’s a dream to work with, and we don’t always make his job easy.”
For now, 2 Crows is content with its brick-and-mortar growth. “The Oxford (street) taproom has worked well but it was stressful getting it up and running. We didn’t have a general contractor so we’d be in there installing cabinetry and painting ourselves which was a bit of a slog,” says Taylor. “And we are not handy at all! When
I get a call to fix things from the manager there it's just me and Google working it out.”
They have, however, been quietly working at expanding their product line beyond beer. “We recognize that people want to drink different things these days. We’ve had a lot of fun with beer and will continue to do so, but are planning to be creative with other things too,” says Huizink, “The younger generation is moving away from beer somewhat, and we want to cater to them too.” The shift includes moving into ciders, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails, and hard iced teas. “We’ve got a cider in the tanks right now that’s four weeks off being ready,” says Taylor.
Pushing out new products has historically helped with sales of existing product lines. “People will come in to grab a can of some exclusive beer we only made 200 cans of, and they’ll grab a six-pack of something else while they’re there,” Taylor says, “It helps bring us attention, and keeps people coming through the doors.” Plus, Huizink says, pushing the boundaries of what you do is one of the most fun things about owning a business. That creativity and willingness to try new things has kept 2 Crows at the top of their game for so long and will no doubt keep things fresh for their regulars while converting plenty of new fans.
2 Crows Brewing
1932 Brunswick St, Halifax
2crowsbrewing.com
