Cape Breton brewery succeeds with electric delivery vehicles

NYANZA, NS –

Jeremy White of Big Spruce Brewing in Nyanza, Nova Scotia sells organic craft beer from an organic farm. That’s why it’s perhaps unsurprising that his brewery is among the first to start switching to electric delivery vehicles.

“Everyone stops us when they get a chance to talk about the electric vehicle,” White said.

“They want to know how it rides, why we chose it, what it looks like, how much it costs to run.”

Two of their vehicles are electric, both Hyundai Konas, and White says they are looking to add more in the future.

He says making the switch turned out to be a good business decision.

“Indeed, looking back, especially with gas prices now, it was a great decision,” White said.

Sarah Balloch, clean transportation manager for the Clean Foundation in Dartmouth, points out that this is the one-year anniversary of a new discount in Nova Scotia for users of electric vehicles and e-bikes.

“The program was officially announced on February 24, 2021,” Balloch said.

“(We saw) just under 600 EV discounts and just over 1,600 e-bike discounts, and got tons of fantastic feedback.”

Balloch says having a local company like Big Spruce switch to electric vehicles, and the visibility that comes with their bright yellow vehicles, can only help raise awareness of the alternative.

“If they can have electric vehicles as delivery vehicles, then you can really see how they can be used for everyday use,” Balloch said.

White adds there’s a little more route planning if you’re driving a long distance and there’s a need for more charging stations in the Maritimes, but he says there’s been less maintenance costs.

White plans to add electric delivery vans next and they will soon be making another eco-friendly change to the brewery.

“Visit us this year in the summer, as we have also planned a large battery of charging stations for our car park here,” White said.

“Looking forward to welcoming many EV owners here at Big Spruce.”