Granite Brewery at Mill Island

Granite Brewery of Halifax and Toronto will be brewing beer at Mill Island by the spring of 2007.

A brew pub and a store open 7 days a week are in the works.

History of Granite Brewery

It all began in Nova Scotia over twenty years ago now.  Kevin Keefe had been involved in the vagaries of the bar and tavern business in the Halifax area for years.  It was a demanding business, constantly trying to come up with something new to offer the customers in a relatively staid environment. 

In England, a unique combination restaurant and brewery idea caught his attention.  It was called a brewpub and it would permanently change the course of his life.  Brewpubs were in their infancy in the United States, and in 1982 the first one opened in Canada in British Columbia. At this time, Kevin Keefe was the owner and operator of Ginger's Tavern in Halifax and instinctively felt the timing was right to open Nova Scotia's first brewpub.  Undaunted by his lack of practical brewing experience, he took a crash course in brewing at Peter Austin's legendary Ringwood Brewery, where the flames of the "real ale" revolution had begun in England.  Kevin trained with Peter Austin and Alan Pugsley.  

The business grew steadily.  It was clear that the brewpub concept had longevity and was not just another fad in the fickle bar trade.  The craft brewery renaissance in Canada was showing unprecedented growth in a beer market that had been flat for over ten years.  In anticipation of opening another location, Ron Keefe trained as a brewer in Maryland with Alan Pugsley who had recently immigrated to the United States from Ringwood.   

In 1991, six years after they had ventured into the brewpub business, the brothers Keefe expanded their Granite Brewery operation to Toronto.  In 2003 the Granite Brewery switched from a brewpub licence to a full brewery licence, meaning Granite’s fine ales can now be sold to other licensees.

In 2006, Granite Brewery won the Golden Tap Awards for best brew pub or tied house in Ontario.

We are very excited about Granite Brewery coming to Windsor!