Gahan house

The restaurant/brewpub brand now has locations in all four Atlantic provinces

 

 

Anyone who likes good pub food and beer in Atlantic Canada should be familiar with the Gahan House locations, which include the original historic Charlottetown location (est. 2001), as well as pubs in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton in New Brunswick, St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Halifax, Nova Scotia (pictured below).

“The Gahan name originated in Charlottetown,” explains Ben Murphy, CEO of Murphy Hospitality Group, “from John Gahan, who was an Irishman who immigrated to P.E.I. in the 1860s and built the building that now houses the Gahan House Restaurant, Oyster Bar and Brewery.”

The Charlottetown, Saint John (Gahan House Port City) and Fredericton (Gahan House Riverside) restaurants are all in historic buildings, which really feels right for the brand, given its origin and initial location. They have strived to maintain this brand in the new builds. “For sure it was a challenge,” says Murphy about the Halifax location in the new Nova Centre, “but we wanted to put a flagship store at this location which we consider ground zero in Atlantic Canada for business, corporate, tourism, sports etc.”

They faced a similar challenge in Moncton, where Gahan House Hub City is in another high-profile location next to Canvas Hotel and the ANBL Expérience boutique wine store. Then there’s the St. John’s Gahan House Harbourview, another new building on the waterfront. “In these locations we have taken certain elements in our design,” says Murphy, “such as brick, and incorporated it into the interior look.”

Their previous Halifax location was right on the harbour, part of the tourist-friendly Historic Properties. “The waterfront location was also a great location,” he adds, “but we were restricted with the size and age of the restaurant and long-term viability of this location, as it will be under future redevelopment. We rebranded this location to Pickford and Black Seafood Restaurant in the interim until the redevelopment is done at Historic Properties.” Though the name has changed, it still has one of the best waterfront patios in Canada.

One constant at Gahan House, besides the excellent fish cakes (above right), is the high-quality service. You are always welcomed when you arrive, and your first drink order is taken and brought quickly. It is fast and friendly and they know how to serve children. “Service is something we live, eat and breathe in all our locations,” says Murphy. “It is part of the culture we have created over the years. When we open a new restaurant, a dedicated team assists in the opening and training of the staff. Management are trained at the original location in Charlottetown to ensure that this culture is embedded in the new location.”

Many have noticed that the menus are essentially the same at all locations, which makes things easier for their team. “The chefs also have some flexibility with specials offered in their location,” Murphy notes. “Gahan prides itself on using local products as much as possible and making most menu items from scratch.”

The same goes for their brewers, as each location has a small brewery. “Individual brewers are encouraged to use their creativity in designing new beers at individual locations. They also have the resource of other brewers in the company to collaborate with for new beer recipes.”

Gahan House is a solid, successful Atlantic brand offering dependable consistency with its beer, the food and service.

 

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Distillerie Fils Du Roy

2023 Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year celebrates the region’s Irish roots

 

 

Less than halfway through the year and 2023 has already been a great one for Petit-Paquetville’s Distillerie Fils Du Roy. Their Fort Beauséjour Peated Single Malt Whiskey was named Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year at the 2023 Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition (CASC). They also won CASC Gold for their New Ireland Whiskey.

The CASC is the only national spirit competition reserved exclusively for artisan spirits, bitters and zero-proof spirits, from independent Canadian producers. This is the first time that a distillery outside of British Columbia has garnered this prestigious designation. It’s a big deal for the New Brunswick industry.

You may notice the Fils Du Roy is labelled as whiskey instead of whisky, which is normally used in Canada. “It’s in honour of the Irish patrimony we have here in the Acadien Peninsula,” explains distiller and the man behind Fils du Roy, Sébastien Roy. He points to local family names like Burke, Carey, Carroll, Coughlan, Downing, Finn, McGrath, McWilliams, Murphy, Nowlan, O’Connell, O’Donald, O’Hearn, O’Keefe and Riordon.

Roy was very surprised with the honour for his peated whiskey, as this was their first experiment with peated malt. They used local New Brunswick barley, malted on-site and smoked. “The peated malt is kilned the same way as unpeated malt,” he explains, “but it is then ‘peated’ (infused with smoke from burning peat) for up to 60 hours. New Brunswick peat is burned and the smoke is blown into the drum until the barley is heavily peated.”

After mashing the grains and fermenting the wort (the liquid extracted from the mashing process), they use their still to produce high alcohol “new make” whiskey. They ensure a lot of copper contact to avoid sulphur compounds and produce a rich, smooth whiskey. They dilute that to 70 per cent alcohol before transferring into oak barrels.

“Unless it’s destined to be sold as a single cask during the final step,” notes Roy, “I blend selected multiple barrels from the distillery. The barrels are matured for at least three years beforehand, but generally far longer. The peated malt spirit was aged in new oak barrels (charred to varying levels) for four years. The whiskey was unfiltered.”

Judges at CASC loved the whiskey for its “smoke, apple and juicy citrus on the palate with some creamy vanilla on the mid-palate” as well as its “fruit and smoke with barley and malt in the background.”

The whiskey, which was available at the distillery for $150 a bottle, is currently sold out. Roy plans to recreate the recipe, after they have increased their peat smoking capacity.

 

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For now and Alvvays

Canadian band has roots in the Maritimes but is winning fans around the world

 

 

The 2023 Juno award for Best Alternative Album was given to Blue Rev, an album of shimmering guitar and synth pop by Alvvays. Although based in Toronto, Alvvays has Maritime roots. Lead singer and co-songwriter Molly Rankin is from Judique, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (yes, she is related to THAT Rankin family) as is keyboard player and neighbour Kerri MacLellan. The other three original members of the band were from P.E.I. Formed in 2011, Alvvays had good success with their eponymous debut in 2014, then hit big in 2017 with Antisocialites, winning the Juno for Alternative Album of the Year, and getting shortlisted for the Polaris Prize.

The name Alvvays (pronounced Always) was chosen because, according to Rankin, it had a “shred of sentiment and nostalgia.” There was already a band named Always, hence the odd spelling.

Although Rankin has Celtic roots, it is not obviously evident in her songs or sound, which owe more to the jangly guitar of Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and other U.K. pop bands she loves like Teenage Fanclub and Camera Obscura (who had the amazing single “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken”—a tribute to the legendary Lloyd Cole). Some might also hear The Cocteau Twins, and she says she loves The Magnetic Fields.

The next few years brought changes to the lineup, with drummer Phil MacIsaac and bassist Brian Murphy leaving, but they added Abbey Blackwell on bass and Sheridan Riley on drums. From an NPR interview in 2022, “she and fellow guitarist Alec O’Hanley—also her partner and co-songwriter—took the time afforded by isolation during the pandemic to lean into a fondness they share for what she calls ‘woozy, bendy guitars…’”

The resulting songs led to Blue Rev, released in late 2022. If you’re curious, Blue Rev was a sort of energy drink Molly remembered from high school. It does seem appropriate, as the record is full of energy, as well as her gorgeous vocals and that beautiful guitar sound. Lyrically, it is more ambitious than most pop these days, as evidenced by clever songs like “Very Online Guy” and “Pomeranian Spinster.”

Blue Rev has charted very well in Canada and the United States, making many Top 100 lists (including the author’s Top 10). They were touring across Canada in March, with plans to hit the U.S. and England, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Germany, including some big festivals.

Catch them if you can. Tickets will be increasingly harder to find, from now to Alvvays.