Taking brewing to a whole new (SEA) level

There’s a lot brewing at Sea Level Brewery, located in Sheffield Mills in Nova Scotia’s beautiful Annapolis Valley.

Sea Level Brewery was founded in 2008 by Randy Lawrence, who has a reputation for producing quality products with an Atlantic flair. He had long been a proponent of growing his own hops, and enlisted friends and local farmers Matt and Carolyn Harvie, who live and farm just outside of Canning, to assist in that process. Matt has been growing hops for Sea Level Brewing for more than 10 years and has expanded that production with plans to plant more varieties in the future.

Keeping with the whole farming family theme, son Lucas is the hop farmer and looks after that side of the farming operation. He sources other hops from Fundy Hops in Berwick as well as from several other smaller growers in the Valley. They started introducing malting barley into their crop rotation three years ago. 

Growing quality malting barley in Atlantic Canada is challenging, as
it prefers drier, warmer growing conditions. Most malting barley used in NS craft beer comes from central or western Canada. The Harvies expanded barley production last year with excellent results.

Daughter Nicole’s personal experience with Sea Level Brewing began a number of years ago. She was a close childhood friend of Randy’s daughter and started working for Randy in the Port Williams retail shop. Soon, her boyfriend Joe Schagen also started working part-time with Randy.

As Randy decided to sell the business, the Harvies opted to diversify their farming business by introducing malting barley into the crop rotation of wheat, corn and soybeans. They officially purchased Sea Level in the fall of 2018 and decided they needed to build a bigger brewhouse. They opened Millstone Harvest Brewhouse, the new home of Sea Level Brewing, in the middle of the family farm, in late 2019. Nicole is now general manager for both locations. The Port Williams site remains a retail space and will be home to their small artisanal brewhouse for trying new recipes.

The Harvies designed their new location to include a tasting room/taproom similar to those at wineries, where they also offer tours.

With Randy’s retirement, Nicole’s now-husband Joe has become the head brewer. The family continues to brew their customer favourites: Blue Heron ESB, Port in the Storm Porter, Blueberry Pail Ale and other seasonals.

Randy Lawrence has always been a big supporter of using local and producing farm to table products-—even before farm-to-table became a catchphrase. The Harvies have expanded upon that concept by combining brewing and agriculture into one
harmonious business model. Among their uniquely Nova Scotian craft
beers is the signature Millstone Harvest Pale Ale, now available at select NSLC locations.

Opening a business during COVID-19 has certainly been a challenge and slowed down a few plans for the new location. However, the Harvies plan to have food trucks on site this summer, which will be a welcome addition and complement to their patio. They’re also planning to host various events such as weddings, markets and live music on the grounds, with the eventual easing of restrictions. They did manage to have two weddings on site before the shutdowns—one of them being Nicole’s own in September of 2019.

Visit the brewhouse at 9146 Highway 221, online at Sealevelbrewing.com or call 902-582-2337.