Despite the difficult times we’re currently experiencing, there are plenty of good news stories to be found in the beer industry these days. From the expansion of delivery options available (well, 3 outta 4 provinces ain’t bad), to the community coming together to support each other even more often, more is often being done with less. One of these good news stories is the continued steps toward opening by breweries in all four Atlantic provinces, with the latest being in Nova Scotia. Delta Force Brewing is today’s Good News Story, as they launch their brewery and beer store. Just like the US military group of the same name, they are shrouded in secrecy, but we managed to pull back the veil just enough to bring you more information. Best to destroy this device after reading, though, lest they come after you!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?
We are basically the brewing equivalent of an elite special forces team – fly by night secret brewing missions conducted by mysterious operators. The world will know when beer is available to buy, but no clue who, how or where it came from.
How did you get into the world of beer?
Each of the mysterious people involved first became interested in beer while at University. Brewing was a result of, well, wanting cheap beer! Kit and kilo was the name of the game back then. One of us started making our swill with their father, the other with a guy named Brian (who was actually named Geoff). Eventually the two became united in their production of swill – shortly thereafter it was decided to learn to make good beer or quit. The rest is history.
What made you decide to take the steps into opening a brewery?
Well, at a certain point we realized if we didn’t just open a brewery, then we’ve wasted a hell of a lot of time.
What is the culture or ethos of the brewery?
Fly by night and keep your friends close, but enemies closer.
Can you tell us about the beers you have launched with today?
We have two beers that we intend to release regularly. Anderlecht is a 6.0% ABV Belgian single that goes through secondary fermentation/conditioning with Brettanomyces Lambicus. Mean Time is a 4.8% ABV English bitter, dry hopped with hops grown at the brewery. It also goes through secondary fermentation, though the strain of Brettanomyces is going to change batch to batch.
We will also continuously be experimenting with what we call our Operation series. The first of which is Operation Stronghold – a West Coast IPA with more than a dozen different hop varieties. Lots more to come!
Enough talk, how can people get your beer? On tap at licensees? In a secret unmarked location? Bottles via non-contact drone delivery?
When was the last time you went to a bar? Yeah, they’re all closed. Sigh. Given the current state of the world, who really knows. Our focus will be bottled product, with at least our first release distributed via home delivery.
Have you had any assistance from other breweries/people in Atlantic Canada (or elsewhere)?
Not directly, but we’ve been around the industry for many years and learned from many, many different people along the way.
Where do you hope to see your brewery in the next 2-3 years?
Ideally on top a mountain of skulls collected from our vanquished foes. You know, the usual.
Do you have an approximate opening date?
Now…..ish. [ed note: duh]
Let’s get nerdy! Tell us about your brewhouse and facility? What size/manufacturer/type of system are you be brewing on? How about expected output?
We like the folks at this blog, and to tell you… well I think you see where this is headed.
We appreciate that! We’ll just say “brewing in a farmshed, somewhere in Nova Scotia”. How about your brewing history?
This is our first official commercial venture, but we’ve been kicking around the HRM homebrew/beer judging scene for over a decade.
Do you have a favorite beer style, beer, or brewery you enjoy drinking?
Fortunately, there are far too many good local breweries to list and we wouldn’t want to leave anyone out. As far as styles, we’re down to clown with anything well made.
How about favourite style or ingredient to brew with?
We brew exclusively with traditional farmshed ingredients.
Thank you to G and J from Delta Force for the fun Profile. As you can tell, these guys list to joke around (it IS beer, after all), but we can tell you that their beer is no joke, and worth grabbing. Those in HRM (this delivery area may be a bit flexible, reach out them them!) can take part in the fun by jumping on the launch beers, available as a trio, delivered to your door this weekend for $25. Just fire them an email (deltaforcebrewing@gmail.com) with your request, name and address, and they’ll let you know the total, and the schedule. Keep an eye on their website , as well as Social Media (Fb, Ig, Tw) for the latest news, plus we’ll do our best to keep uncovering the mystery and sharing it with you all!
