Alexander Keith's Brewery

Alexander Keith's

"Those who like it, like it a lot"
Location	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Opened	1820
Owner(s)	Anheuser–Busch InBev
Website	www.keiths.ca www.alexanderkeiths.com
Active beers
Name Type Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale (Known as Nova Scotia Style Pale Ale in US markets) India Pale Ale Alexander Keith's Red Amber Ale Irish red ale Alexander Keith's Premium White Witbier Alexander Keith's Light Ale Pale ale Alexander Keith's Dark Ale Stout Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Style Lager Lager Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Style Brown Ale Brown ale
Seasonal beers
Name Type Alexander Keith's Harvest Ale Pale ale Alexander Keith's Ambrosia Ale Blonde ale Alexander Keith's Tartan Ale Scotch ale
Inactive beers
Name Type Alexander Keith's Traditional Lager (Rebranded as Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Style Lager for US markets) Lager Alexander Keith's Stag's Head Stout (Rebranded as Alexander Keith's Dark Ale) Stout

Alexander Keith's founded in 1820, is a brewery in Halifax, Canada. It is one of the oldest commercial breweries in all of North America. It was founded by Alexander Keith who emigrated from Scotland in 1817. Today, the brewery is under the control of Labatt, a subsidiary of Anheuser–Busch InBev. The brewery also produces Oland Brewery beers, distributed in Eastern Canada.

In April 2011, Anheuser–Busch InBev began selling Alexander Keith's beer in the United States after nearly two centuries of being available in Canada alone.^[1]

Keith's brewery produces Keith's India Pale Ale, Keith's Red Amber Ale, Keith's Premium White, Keith's Light Ale,^[2] and Keith's Nova Scotia Style Pale Ale, Keith's Nova Scotia Style Lager, and Keith's Nova Scotia Style Brown Ale for US markets. Keith's first, most popular, and most widely distributed beer is its India Pale Ale.^[3] Keith's has also produced Keith's Ambrosia Blonde, Keith's Harvest Ale, and Keith's Tartan Ale as seasonal brews. Originally brewed in the Halifax brewery, Anheuser–Busch InBev expanded production of Alexander Keith's beers to breweries in Ontario (London), Quebec (Montreal), Newfoundland (St. John's), British Columbia (Creston), and New York State (Baldwinsville),^{[1][nb 1]} in addition to the original Halifax brewery which now produces beer for all of the Maritime provinces.

Advertising

Alexander Keith's career as a politician, and the brewery's and Nova Scotia's Scottish heritage are used to market the beer. In 2002, the mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Peter Kelly, included an invitation to visit Halifax in each case of beer.

In the mid-2000s, Keiths ran a series of television advertisements showing a beer-obsessed Scotsman, sporting mutton-chops and wearing a thick grey wool sweater and kilt. This character warned other bar patrons in an exaggerated Scottish brogue that they should not spill a drop of their Alexander Keith's ale. The ads were subsequently pulled when Robert Smith, the actor who portrayed the Scotsman, was charged with possession of child pornography^[4] in 2006 (convicted in 2008).^[5]

In the late 2000s, Keiths began a new advertising campaign using the slogan "Hold True" and later, "Made to Share". These advertisements target a younger demographic.

Authenticity

Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale

Nomenclature

Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale was marketed under that name long before the bold, intensely hoppy India pale ale style gained popularity with craft brewers. Its bitterness and hop character are low to moderate, rather than the moderate to very high typical of modern craft IPAs.^[6] In the United States, the beer is marketed as Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Style Pale Ale.

Despite (or perhaps as a result of) its lack of resemblance to the current IPA standard, Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale continues to be Nova Scotia's most popular beer and the number one specialty beer in markets across Canada.

See also

• List of breweries in Canada

Footnotes

1. Although products and advertising in the U.S. are marked as originating from "A. Keith's Brewing, St. Louis, MO", this only refers to the company's nominal U.S. head office (co-located with Anheuser-Busch), not its production location.

References

1. Alexander Keith's (February 3, 2011). "Alexander Keith’s Fine Beers Grows South of the Border". Retrieved March 2, 2013.
2. "Alexander Keith's".
3. "Alexander Keith's".
4. Blatchford, Christie (2008-05-06). "Child-porn guilty plea ends Charter challenge". Globe and Mail (Toronto). Retrieved 2015-08-06.
5. Kyonka, Nick (2008-08-26). "Keith's beer ad actor jailed for child porn". Toronto Star (Toronto). Retrieved 2015-08-06.
6. http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/canadians-love-affair-with-india-pale-ale/

External links

• Alexander Keith's Brewery
• Alexander Keith's Brewery USA
• Alexander Keith's Breweriana Collection
• Alexander Keith's Brewery Tour

Coordinates: 44°38′41″N 63°34′13″W / 44.6446°N 63.5702°W