The Oxford Taproom
The Oxford Taproom
Craft Beer Destination and Community Hub
BY LINDSAY WICKSTROM
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE
Garrison Brewing opened the Oxford Taproom in November 2019 in part of the former Oxford Theatre on Quinpool Road. At the soft opening, I was delighted to see the taproom pay homage to the iconic theatre, which closed in 2017 after an 80-year run (the actual theatre space is now home to a climbing gym). The original projector, acquired from a former staff member, and the old projector room door signed by every employee since the 1960s are part of the new space.
Then there’s the fully operational Triumph motorcycle sitting proudly on a mantel, surrounded by photographs of Triumphs featured in classic movies (consistent with the theatre theme, but also very much the result of owner Brian Titus’ love of these motorcycles).
I would be remiss not to mention the cigar artwork acquired from the auctioning off of Tom’s Little Havana, from which Garrison also salvaged booths, lights, club chairs and tables for the taproom.
“That was my favourite place in the world when I moved to Halifax so I’m glad that we have a piece of it,” says Courtney Quinn, manager of the Oxford Taproom.
The taproom’s interior was impressive, but just as The Oxford was hitting its stride in 2020, the first waves of pandemic closures hit, and the bar had to adapt quickly to a COVID-stricken world.
Quinn says the pandemic nudged Garrison in specific directions, like fast-tracking the construction of their patio.
“We were going to have [a patio] anyway but with the pandemic and people not wanting to be indoors it was like, okay, it needs to happen and it needs to happen now, and it’s gotta be great and we need a lot of seating. So we started with the back patio and we were like, it’s not enough. We did the alleyway, and throughout winter we wanted to have options for people to be sitting outdoors, so we created what we call the “boathouse.” It’s the back wall of the patio that’s covered and heated (as well as our alleyway), so throughout winter we were able to actually have people sitting outdoors and feel safe.”
The Oxford patio quickly became one of the hottest patios in the city. It is fully equipped with bike parking and is also dog friendly. Notably, the entire taproom is dog friendly. Garrison even sells “dog beer” and makes doggy biscuits from spent grain. Quinn tells me that during the lockdowns, certain dog regulars would pull on their leads towards the taproom, not understanding that there was a global pandemic and that they couldn’t hang out at their favourite spot.
In the name of space, Garrison also opened the upstairs of the taproom. When I visited this spring, it was occupied mainly by students doing schoolwork.
That’s because Garrison added a coffee shop, West Ender Coffee, to the retail space of the taproom in December 2021. They realized there was a void for coffee on that stretch of Quinpool after Lucky Penny closed and grabbed the opportunity to offer another service to the community. And unlike many other coffee shops, The Oxford encourages customers to use the space as their second office away from home.
“We’re actually doing the opposite of what most coffee shops do,” says Quinn. “We have the space. So come drink coffee, go on your computer, spend as much time as you want to. Let’s focus on students who are coming in to study somewhere other than a library.” She also mentions that they offer student discounts.
West Ender is open from 8 a.m. (9 a.m. on weekends) until 9 p.m., later than most coffee shops in the city. Plus, the taproom is open until 11 p.m. (and midnight on Friday and Saturday), so people can continue to stay and work past 9 p.m.
“It’s so perfect,” says Quinn. “You get here at 9 a.m. or whatever and have your coffee and finish up your paper, do your last edit, grab a beer and hang out. It’s kind of a nice place to transition from work into play.”
They sell Staff of Life samosas and pakoras (as well as some other local confections) for a light lunch, but Quinn mentions that they also allow outside food. King of Donair and Wasabi House are neighbourhood candidates, but when I ask Quinn about the most interesting food people have brought in, she smiles and says: “I love it when people bring their leftovers.” She also beams about how particular couples bring homemade charcuterie boards for date nights.
All of this seems too good to be true: a large sunny (and partially heated/covered) patio with craft beer, an interior honouring the Oxford Theatre, and a coffee shop that allows you to bring food, your dog, and wants you to chill all day on your computer?
There was a time I doubted we would ever see bars or breweries on Quinpool Road. Before this, Freeman’s Little New York was the only bar on Quinpool, grandfathered in with a lounge license. Garrison was permitted to open a taproom thanks to the loophole of technically being a production facility (there is a teensy tiny brewery in the back).
Justin Zinck, Garrison’s manager of brand & marketing, calls it a “barrel system,” capable of brewing 100 litres at a time.
“The problem with the Seaport [location of Garrison] is that it’s big. We’re talking 30 times that. So what we’re able to do is develop recipes that we can then scale up, and if things go really well we scale up further. But we also play around back there. We had a jalapeno mango habanero red IPA. Our brewmaster Daniel loves playing with peanut butter powder so we’ve had peanut butter honey, peanut butter and molasses… it’s a fun place to produce something smaller.”
Garrison’s latest pumpkin beer was born there, as was their summer quencher, Dragonfruit Mango Sour, first brewed for the Oxford Taproom’s second anniversary.
“It flew off the tap,” says Zinck. So they scaled it up at the Seaport location, and now it’s at the NSLC. Along with Georgia Peach, it is one of Garrison’s most popular summer seasonals. It isn’t sour. Rather it resembles an adult Kool-Aid or not-too-sweet Hawaiian punch. These sorts of approachable, easy-to-drink beers are Garrison’s wheelhouse. They welcome the hesitant craft beer drinker with open arms while pleasing hopheads with brews like Big Juicy Double IPA (my go-to).
Increasingly, there has been a demand for lighter beers, and Garrison has introduced a lighter version of their iconic Tall Ship Amber. It’s a popular choice at Wanderer’s games, where it sells in a specially marked can.
“It’s a light version of Tall Ship, so it’s scaled back on the alcohol a little and brewed purposely,” says Zinck. “We didn’t just brew Tall Ship and add water to it, or brew a rice beer. It’s actually a scaled-back version which is not always easy to do, but our brewmaster is pretty crafty that way.”
In addition to Tall Ship Light, Garrison makes a Lil Juicy IPA and TWERK (tiny sour IPA).
“When I started it was hard to get people to come off Imperials,” notes Zinck. “It was the big thing: bigger, better, bolder. We made a session IPA years ago and it just didn’t go anywhere because people didn’t see the value in the low alcohol. So it’s funny how it’s come back around.”
Zinck says the market is pushing for a non-alcoholic beer. And while they do carry Libra at The Oxford, there's too much going on right now to make a non-alcoholic in-house.
Zinck says it is going to be a busy season. This past spring, Garrison was a partner for the ECMAS and the Canadian Brewing Awards (hosted in Halifax for the first time in 5 years). Plus, Garrison partook in lots of collaboration beers with other breweries.
They partnered with Jazz Fest (July 11-16) and the Outdoor Comedy Fest (July 3-9) with Jerry Seinfeld being the single largest event they’ve ever participated in.
The Oxford Taproom also acted as a hub for Mural Fest and letting artists have free reign of the alleyway. While the Seaport location is more geared to larger events (like Garrison’s annual Oktoberfest) and operates as their flagship destination, the Oxford Taproom has a much more local vibe.
“There are a lot of returning faces,” says Quinn. “We’ve become a community meet-up spot; very much a local for folks.”
The Oxford Tap Room is far from the bustling waterfront and decidedly the turf of the Quinpool Community. It is the locals who find meaning in the murals, the artifacts, and the familiar faces. But anyone can appreciate the laid-back vibes, vintage décor and delicious beer. For us, the Oxford Tap Room is just as much a destination as Garrison’s Seaport Brewery.
