Hazy pursuit: Retired navy clearance diver pours military stories into brewing business

Faced with an urge to share stories during retirement, a former navy clearance diver is pouring his experiences into a microbrewing business.

Influenced by his 26 years in the military, Blair Tobin opened Topside Brewing Company out of his Bedford, N.S., home in 2021.

“When the diver is on the bottom, he refers to the surface as topside,” said Tobin. “So that’s where the name came from.”

The business logo features a Mark V Diving Helmet along with six waves to represent each member of Tobin’s family.

Individually unique, every brew’s name is a call back to his career.

“The Old Buffer is a fairly strong kind of beer and it reminded me of my first Chief Boatswain Mate when I was a young sailor,” said Tobin. “He was old and crotchety and cranky and tough as nails, so that’s why I gave it The Old Buffer.”

Tobin completed several deployments including Afghanistan and the Arctic during his career.

Naturally, it’s not an odd site to see the navy diver turned brewer sharing his experiences over a few beers.

“I just fell in love with beer over the course of my career I guess. And then I kind of got very interested in fermentation,” said Tobin.

However, he takes pride in the lessons from the past extending into his hoppy venture.

“The determination and accountability and responsibility and all those good things that you learn over your military career really carry forward into a business,” he said.

Although the idea of being a business owner post-retirement caught him by surprise, he says it’s just another craft that fills his cup.

“As I evolve, this evolved as a future for me,” he said.

Blair Tobin is the father of CTV Atlantic’s Maria Tobin.