Boxing Rock, How to Start a Brewery

The captain in the age of sail dumps two bickering crew on a rock in the harbour at low tide. He instructs them to settle their differences either by boxing or by agreeing to share a beer. Either way, they have to work things out before high tide swamps the rock again.

Grand Opening sign Boxing Rock

While this story from Shelburne, Nova Scotia might be more tall than true, it makes for a great name, say, for a brewery. Thus a brewery that celebrates the camaraderie encouraged by beer is christened. That camaraderie was in evidence everywhere on the weekend of October 26 when founders and brewers Henry Pedro and Emily Tipton thanked family, friends and others who demonstrated support and belief in their business by doing everything from investing to volunteering to paint, promote the brewery and bottle beer.

Reverse Migration

Two engineers move from Ontario to rural Nova Scotia for work… sounds like the run-up to a joke, so against the prevailing wisdom is such a statement. Since the development of the Alberta oil patch, the trickle of workers from the Maritime Provinces west has become an exodus.  But business partners Pedro and Tipton are proving there are opportunities on Canada’s East Coast, even if they had to create one for themselves. They opened their shiny, new brewery in the small town of Shelburne to the great excitement of thirsty locals, regional beer enthusiasts and those keen on the rejuvenation of rural Maritime communities.

Boxing Rock Grand Opening

Following in the footsteps of Nova Scotia pioneering favourites like Alexander Keith’s and joining contemporary craft beer brewers like Propeller, Garrison and recently Hell Bay, Boxing Rock is part of a flourishing region-wide movement to locally made, handcrafted beers, spirits, wines and foods. The power of the locavore is leaving its mark on the East Coast, and pulling beer along with it.

Temptation Red ale, Hunky Dory pale ale, and The Vicar’s Cross double India pale ale have made their way one at a time to local watering holes, specialty shops and Nova Scotia government run store shelves across the province. Boxing Rock brings something unique to the table – the boldest of flavours. Hunky Dory’s ingredients include lemon peel and green tea. The star of their creative efforts is Temptation Red. The hops are daring, but the mighty maltiness balances to create an intense drinking experience with those grassy aromas from the dry hopping, a full, creamy mouth-feel and a caramel candied finish. I’ve sampled hundreds of beers from around the world and written about some of them. Temptation is simply the best red I’ve ever tasted.

Taking Their Time to Get It Right

Henry Pedro and Emily Tipton of Boxing Rock

Unlike the sailors of local lore forced to act by the rising tide, Tipton and Pedro took their time. They spent two years researching the market, visiting other breweries across the country – including Kichesippi in Ottawa and Beau’s All Natural in Vankleek Hill – perfecting recipes and calling on many a willing friend to host tasting sessions to gather feedback and build momentum. Their first choice of location was in an old wooden warehouse in the heart of Shelburne’s historic waterfront that would have seen as much foot traffic as anywhere in town. When that idea proved unfeasible, they opted for a brand new building near the highway, barely a shell when they took up residence.

Though tucked out of sight, the choice had its advantages, for example, a lot of clean, fresh water from a couple of wells. A whole lot of water and other more important liquids move around a microbrewery. As Tipton put it earlier this year, “Bottling beer is a pretty wet undertaking. There is water and beer everywhere.” One sure sign that their business is off to a good start is that Tipton changed her tune about the water supply by the time they held their grand opening. “We could use six wells now,” she said.

Starting from scratch allowed them to install customized drainage and in-floor heating beneath a concrete floor poured with the specific needs of a brewery in mind. Hoping to keep their environmental footprint as low as possible, the exterior siding was sawn from trees felled to clear the property. There’s office and retail space, a large, walk-in cooler and a cupola with exterior deck overlooking the grounds with lots of landscaping potential.

Brewing is Good for Rural Canada

Regardless of location, this company cuts against the grain of East Coast Canadians moving en masse to the oil patch and the emptying of small towns. Populations are draining from rural areas in Nova Scotia. Along with the people go the workers, the small businesses, even the government support for schools, hospitals and other services.

Ribbon Cutting at Boxing Rock by Meredith Monk

All the hard work and financial risk – Boxing Rock is up and running with a combination of personal funding, loans and investment – culminated in the Grand Opening on October 26, 2013. With three unique beers already in the stall and a couple more seasonals bottled or in development, including Many Hands, a mildly hopped ale prepared in cooperation with makers from other breweries, beer lovers can expect great things from Nova Scotia’s newest addition to the craft brewing scene and promising new business venture.

Photo Credits

“Ribbon cutting at boxing rock” by Meridith Monk – All Rights Reserved

All other photos by Darcy Rhyno – All Rights Reserved

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