Making beer with Tatamagouche’s ‘magic water’

Tatamagouche Brewing Company wins three national awards

TATAMAGOUCHE — The achievements keep coming for a brewing company in rural Nova Scotia.

And co-owner Christiane Jost says it’s an example of the wonderful things happening in Tatamagouche and along Nova Scotia’s north shore.

“Winning awards is about quality and fitting certain categories correctly. Our team are perfectionists including my husband, Matt, who heads the brewing department. Anything less than perfect doesn’t get released,” Jost said.

“Tatamagouche has long been a mystery in how it keeps succeeding and thriving despite the challenges other communities seem to face,” she said. “It’s sort of an anomaly that we’re happy to be part of. It must be something in the water, and we’re making beer with this magic water.”

The brewing company is just the most recent example of business success in this community of just over 2,000. Back in March, Tatamagouche Ice Creamery announced plans to upgrade its production capacity and, thanks to a $7,500 grant from CUW, is investing in its ice cream pint filler and lidding machine, water recycler, freezer cargo van and watercooled batch and blast freezers to increase production and reduce its carbon footprint.

Jost is not surprised by the community’s vitality.

“Tatamagouche has such a strong identity and there are so many people who connect with the community, whether by living here or knowing someone who grew up here. Plus, it’s a name you never forget,” Jost said. “It’s something people are very happy to be part of.”

For Tatamagouche Brewing Company, Josh said, it plays such a prominent role on the community’s main street, something the bigger companies don’t enjoy in larger towns and cities.

“Our business plan is focusing on local, producing all our beer in one location, and how do we make this storefront a destination?” she said. “Once they stop and park their car to visit us, they don’t just come to us, they go to two or three, or four other places.”

Coming out of what was another uncertain winter, mainly because of continued COVID restrictions, the Tatamagouche Brewing Company, which recently celebrated its eighth birthday, is kicking off the 2022 summer season with a trio of awards from the Canadian Brewing Awards, recently presented in Calgary.

“It was great having the opportunity to network and socialize with other industry members in-person again” Jost said. “The beer industry relies heavily on in-person socialization so this was a wonderful way to get back into it.”

The Tatamagouche Brewing Company is no stranger to the Canadian Brewing Awards with a total of 13 medals under their belt in nearly eight years of operation.

“Winning three awards, including silver for Hierlihy Irish Stout, silver for Two Rivers Baltic Porter and gold for Ketch Berliner Weisse, with such stiff competition, is something we will never take for granted. It is a privilege to be recognized with Canada’s best,” said coowner Matt Kenny.

Nova Scotia was well represented at the national awards winning a total of nine awards; Uncle Leo’s Brewery won a gold for their Czech-mate as well as silver for their Altbier, Spindrift Brewing, Schoolhouse Brewing and Brightwood Brewing were each awarded their first Canadian Brewing Award — a bronze for Toller Gold, silver for Principal Pale Ale and bronze for the Big Lift IPA, respectively. Propeller Brewing Co. won bronze for their Arcane Dry Hopped Sour and Tatamagouche Brewing Company rounded it out winning a gold and two silvers for Ketch Berliner Weisse, Hierlihy Stout and Two Rivers Baltic Porter.

“We’re not a large province, but we’re putting out highquality, award-winning beer on a regular basis,” she said. “The quality of Nova Scotia beer is on par with others in Canada, if not better.”

Looking ahead to this summer, Jost said it’s “almost foreign” to be heading into a season with no restrictions — the first since 2019.

As the Tatamagouche Brewing Company travels back to their bustling Main Street location in Tatamagouche, their successful sidewalk patio will be making its return.

“It was a necessity during last year’s pandemic regulations to increase patronage and we are fortunate to have the village and county’s support,”said Jost. “The patios have created a dynamic energy within the community, making the village even more of a destination.”

Jost said the company has some big things on the horizon as the beer industry continues to evolve.