5 facts about St. Patrick's Day in Halifax

St. Patrick's Day is upon us and with approximately one in fourNova Scotians who have Irish roots, it's always a bigcelebration. 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 theirbusiest 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 at7 a.m. and breakfast is involved.

Durty Nelly's starts with a traditional Irish breakfast ofeggs, 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'sbartender Niall McGuinness, is to hold the glass at a 45 degree angle.Fill it to three quartersfulland then let it settle or sit for 119 secondsthen 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 topour hundreds of pints today.Durty Nelly'sorderedextra taps to deal with the demand.

Guinness sales up

Denise Corra, the communications specialist from NovaScotiaLiquor 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 ofcalls for service" onSt. Patrick's Day from noisecomplaints toliquor offenses.

In an e-mail to CBC News, Const. Dianne Woodworthwith the Halifax Regional Policesays calls for service on March17have"remained relatively consistent over the years with calls increasing generally starting at11a.m.and continuing for much of the day until declining at approximately7 p.m."