Unfiltered Brewing

THE BEST beer in Nova Scotia, not even close. If you ever get a chance to try to DOA, don’t miss it. The brew-​genius himself, Nash, can often be found enjoying a a cold one in the testing room. Any true beer fan living in or visiting Halifax shouldn’t miss this place. Light on marketing, heavy on quality beer.

No samples and you can’t return the growlers. Beer is alright but I’m not going to leave a clean empty growler in my car all the time for when I want to get a growler filled on my way home. Makes no sense.

Exceptional beer, for well crafted hop forward styles in Nova Scotia these guys and Bad Apple are the only games in town. Unfortunately they are also maybe the most expensive growler fills I have seen in Canada, bought a fill of the berlinner (super tasty stuff) it came up to $ 18… for a fill of 3% berlinner with some mosaic thrown in for dryhopping. There is maybe not a cheaper beer to make than a berlinner weisse, even with mosaic thrown in this does not compute.
TL:DR Exceptional Beer, Prices are just a notch above reasonable.

In from Seattle for a brief visit, I was steered to HFXs north end to check out craft brewers there. Unfiltered doesn’t have a license for tasting, but I had to try their brand spankin-​new fresh hopped «Hop Riot» India Red Ale, so I got a 1L ‘taste’. It’s true (duh): fresh is better. They report all the hops are from PEI, but the key is local and fresh, and the complexity of the flavor of the hops in this brew basically kicks arse. In WA and OR there is definitely a cultish following of fresh-​hopped, in-​the-​moment beers that ‘expire’ very shortly after they’re made. Not sure what the local hop supply is like out here, but Unfiltered’s Hop Riot IRA is a delicious beer that (if it hasn’t already) could easily convert locals to the fresh hop tribe.

TL;DR Nash the brewmaster/​founder is to hops what Micheal Bay is to explosions!
I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed a local brewery yet! I will remedy that with a review of the newest kid on the block, Unfiltered Brewing. I would consider myself a staunch supporter of the local craft beer scene and followed Unfiltered’s opening closely. These guys picked a great location right in the hipster heart of the North End– only a few blocks from fellow brewers Good Robot and North Brewery. I’ll break this review into two parts the business storefront and, of course, the beer
I read a recent interview from a local mag on the owner/​brewer who apparently has been fired/​quit due to personality (his) conflicts from almost all the other breweries in town. There was a quote in the article that to paraphrase said that they weren’t trying to be the customer’s friend which I though was an odd position to take. I put preconceptions aside and dropped into the store to give Unfiltered Brewing a try.
Couple things right off the bat I wasn’t impressed with: they don’t do samples. If I haven’t tried your beer before how will I know what kind that I might like; and, even between batches, the same beer can taste different from a small brewery. I always appreciate the opportunity to try before buying. The guy working at the counter assured me that I’d like everything which I found assuming to say the least. Note: Unfiltered doesn’t do deposits like every other craft brewery in town; you have to buy the bottle from them because, as their website explains, they «don’t do that deposit $hit». Dollar sign my addition. «Hmmm… I thought to myself what if I don’t like the beer that means I am stuck with the bottle». I went with the smallest $ 6, 1 litre «snarl». I liked hops but knowing that these guys are heavy on the hops I picked the beer with the lowest hop content the Hoppy Fingers APA. I found the hops to be way to bitter; like twist-​up-​your mouth, make a face strong. I did find it got more palatable towards the end of the bottle. Although, not what I am looking for from a beer when I am sipping away at a growler for the afternoon or evening.
Since then, I have tried the Exile on North street (similarly too hoppy) and Daytimer which was way too full of citrus for my tastes; like grapefruit juice and beer mixed together,
All in all, I found the Unfiltered offerings to be way to hop-​heavy with overpowering flavours. Checking over their website and even the back of their bottles I was surprised to see swear words; including liberal use of the f-​bomb. Sure, okay I’m not offended but I don’t think you should have to use profanity as part of your marketing strategy; THE BEER should be able to stand on its own. Looks like in-​your-​face marketing to sell similar in-​your-​face tasting beer.
Well, I guess the article was prophetic: the beer nor the policies are customer friendly; at least to this customer. But hey but I later discovered that I can get the snarl filled at Good Robot so that’s something.