5 facts about St. Patrick's Day in Halifax

St. Patrick's Day is upon us and with approximately one in four Nova Scotians who have Irish roots, it's always a big celebration. Here are some interesting facts about St. Paddy's Day in Halifax.

Busiest day for Irish pubs

For Irish Pubs, like Durty Nelly's, it's their busiest day of the year, with long lines forming outside the door before opening.

They have ordered 180 kegs of beer in preparation for the big day.

Pubs open early

Irish pubs open early at 7 a.m. and breakfast is involved.

Durty Nelly's starts with a traditional Irish breakfast of eggs, fried potatoes, beans, brown Irish soda bread, bacon, white and black pudding.

The perfect pour

Avoid an overly foamy pint. The secret to pouring a proper pint of Guinness, according to Durty Nelly's bartender Niall McGuinness, is to hold the glass at a 45 degree angle. Fill it to three quarters full and then let it settle or sit for 119 seconds — then complete the pour.

McGuinness says Guinness is easily the most popular drink, "just because it's an Irish drink and everyone wants to go to their Irish roots on on St. Paddy's Day," he said.

McGuinness expects to pour hundreds of pints today. Durty Nelly's ordered extra taps to deal with the demand.

Guinness sales up

Denise Corra, the communications specialist from Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, says their four different brands of Guinness sell well throughout Nova Scotia

In 2015, $108,000 worth of Guinness flew off their shelves.

Busy day for police 

All of this green, Irish fun keeps Halifax Regional Police hopping. They get an "elevation of calls for service" on St. Patrick's Day — from noise complaints to liquor offenses.

In an e-mail to CBC News, Const. Dianne Woodworth with the Halifax Regional Police says calls for service on March 17 have "remained relatively consistent over the years with calls increasing generally starting at 11 a.m. and continuing for much of the day until declining at approximately 7 p.m."