Nine Locks Brewing
"The idea of the brewery was first thought of by myself (Shaun). I own the Rockbottom Brew Pub in Halifax and over the years we had developed some amazing beer recipes. Customers constantly told me that our beer was the best they ever had and that they wished they could buy our beer in the NSLC. After years of hearing this I decided to take the leap and make it happen. Danny O'Hearn, my cousin, and neighbour, were sitting beside my backyard campfire one night chatting about the beer business and where craft beer was heading. I told him about my plans for a new brewery, and I asked him if he wanted to be a partner in the new brewery and he jumped at the opportunity. Danny had been in the beer business working for Moosehead Breweries for about 30 years and had a wealth knowledge of the industry, as well as many contacts and personal relationships with people in the industry that he had build over the years."
"Nine Locks Brewing Co makes 99% ales and throws in the odd lager usually for one offs or seasonally. We use only the highest quality malts and hops that are available to us and do not filter any of our beer but instead allow the beer to clear naturally over time. We feel this is beret for the beer as filtering can strip a lot of the flavours that we want left in the beer. We also do not add any preservatives nor do we pasteurize our beer. If I was to describe our beer overall I would say that our beer is as true to the styles they represent. We don’t over hop our beer just to over do other breweries, or produce beer that is over the top just to stand out from the crowd. We produce beer that is approachable, refreshing, and drinkable."
" Our Head Brewer’s name is Jake Saunders. Jake got his feet wet by brewing at home in a bucket before he started working at Rogue’s Roost on Spring Garden Rd. From there he went to the Rockbottom Brew Pub as the head brewer and after graduating from the American Brewers Guild and Institute of Brewing and Distilling, moved to Nine locks as the head brewmaster. We also have two assistant brewers, Connor MacLeod is a native of the South shore of N.S. He worked at Garrison brewery for a number of years packaging beer until he decided to make brewing his career. Connor left Garrison and went to Berlin Germany where he obtained his Brewmaster certificate at VLB brewing Institute. Connor is passionate about the blend of tradition and innovation that craft beer fosters. Emily Keeler is the newest member of our brewing team. Emily is also from the South Shore and has worked as an assistant brewer at a number of excellent breweries in Nova Scotia learning her trade. Emily also received her Certificate in Brewing from the London Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London UK.
Shaun O’Hearn (owner) has been in the restaurant industry since 1995 where he was the managing partner at Your Fathers Moustache Pub and Eatery. He also opened Dolly’s Billiards on Spring Garden Rd, as well as the Rockbottom Brew Pub also on Spring Garden Rd.
Danny O’Hearn (owner) worked for 30 years in the beer industry for Moosehead Breweries. In 2006 he opened the Rockbottom Brew Pub and ran that for ten years before opening Nine Locks Brewing Co."