Brews News: Choose a brewery with a view
Some of the most pleasant places for a pint aren't big players.
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Do you like it quaint when you quaff? Crave a view with your brew? Craft brewers have you covered.
Some of the most pleasant places for a pint aren’t big players. They’re smaller spots with decent beer that is unlikely to be entered in tasting competitions. They’ll add to the ambiance by hiring local musicians. But the ace up their sleeves is the view, from waterways to farmland with nary an autobody shop, parking lot or busy street in sight.
Looking to blend serenity and suds? If you’re in Southwestern Ontario, here’s where to go.
Bayfield Brewing. The Lake Huron village between Grand Bend and Goderich is a magical place where the charming main street was revitalized two years ago without losing the things that made it special. Bayfield Brewing – its beers include Hazy Sunset New England IPA and Bayfield Blonde Lime – is a special spot. You’ll want to score a spot on the porch for people-watching. And if you want to be close to your brews, you can stay the night in accommodations above the brewery. Think of it as a beer hotel, alas without a tap line in your room.
Bayside Brewing. As Bayfield Brewing is to Lake Huron, Bayside Brewing is to Lake Erie. A cute spot in Erieau, there’s a view of the bay and across the water is the under-rated Rondeau Provincial Park. The pizza’s great and the beer, mostly brewed off-site, includes crowd pleasers such as Long Pond Lager along with more niche beers such as Horizon Sour.
Port Stanley Brewing. It’s only its first summer, but wow. Located on the harbour, this new brewery in a restored historical building was hopping on a summer Monday night when local singer Lucy Morgan (and her fan/dad) had the mike. Thumbs up for the dunkel. In addition to its own brews, well-chosen guest taps rotate through including a lager from the esteemed Paris Beer Co. There’s a food truck on the patio as a less expensive option to Riva, the more upscale Italian restaurant that shares the building.
Stonepicker Brewing. Farm fields, a patio stage and tables shaded by trees and a tractor on the wall. What’s not to like about this novel rural brewery near Forest. Beers include Oops It Fell Out, a pilsner made with barley malted on site. There are also seasonals sold by a glass such as Bloops, a beer brewed with local blueberries. Some Stonepicker beers pop up off-site in places such as Craft Farmacy in London and the Lake Hound in Grand Bend.
Twin Pines Orchard and Cider House. Cider, music, trails and apple trees? It’s hard to imagine a sweeter spot than Twin Pines near Thedford. Hammer Bent Original is your starting point. Twin Pines ciders are complementing the beer offerings on the boards of several area breweries including Powerhouse in London, Refined Fool in Sarnia, Torched in Grand Bend and Jobsite in Stratford. Twin Pines isn’t alone in the Thedford-area cider game. There’s also Shale Ridge, an estate winery and cidery. where the offerings range from Purple Rain (a peach, apple, chamomile, butterfly pea flower, lavender hard cider) to sober-sipping Apple Water made on the farm. Did we mention Shale Ridge has a Nordic spa?
NEW AND NOTED
Is summer nearing its end when the last batch of cerveza is brewed? London Brewing is wrapping up the Mexican lager season with a final batch of the year, Co-branded with Taco Fest (happening at Covent Garden Market this weekend (Aug. 22-24), it’s a lime lager that should still be available at the brewery after the festival.
Moosehead – remember the time it delivered a 1,461-can presidential pack to a school reunion party in London? – is back with a new round of patriotism. The Elbows Up Armchair is a Muskoka chair with armrests that raise to help Canadian beer drinkers keep their elbows up.
It’s the dog days of summer and breweries are showing love for pups. At Powerhouse in London, it’s Pup Social, Rescue Edition, on Aug. 24 with an invitation to bring your rescue dog. Dog rescue charity K9 Safe Space of Stratford will be there. In Guelph, Wellington Brewery has Pupside, a limited edition IPA can which raises 50 cents for each can sold for Tango’s Lead Canine Rescue.
Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London.
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