Our journey on the Ontario Craft Brewer’s Muskoka beer trail was so enjoyable, we decided to hit the trail again, this time OCB Niagara. Sure, the Falls are spectacular, but you can only spend so long being a maid or master of the mist before a powerful thirst comes calling. Even though it’s wine country we all know spitters are quitters. When we sample a beer we drink it, that’s why it’s called a drink. Luckily, for us beer drinkers, there are more taps in the area than in a Fred Astaire movie. Time for an OCB armchair brew tour of the Niagara region, no pricey bus or snooty tour guide talking about low hanging fruit.
Kudos Kickoff
The people that work at these craft brewers never cease to amaze me. No, I’m not referring to the fact that they actually serve me. What I am referring to is their knowledge of their craft and crafts, and their passion for good beer. Brewmaster pride is evident with every visit. Kudos to all the women and men who keep the taps running, and provide those perfect pours. I’m getting thirsty just talking about it. Time to beer me, in alpha order!
Out of Lincoln, Bench unabashedly calls itself “the beer from wine country”. With rows upon rows of hops adjacent to the brewery, it’s a nice respite from the miles and miles of vineyards that usually cover the area. An upscale tap room with a full list of brews and not an extensive, but quite interesting (and tasty) food menu.
They seem to attract locals and travellers alike and it was busy when we visited for lunch. Their Hopster has some pine bitters to it and was a super suds star. Their Hopster Double was more of the same, only more, another great IPA.
Blackburn’s large facility and open spaces make a great setting for a large get together, especially in the summer months with garage doors opening onto an impressive patio. Their Local Light may be the highlight of the night, we certainly enjoyed it. Screaming Tunnels would be a great Halloween quaff, named after a haunted tunnel that even to this day apparently emanates eerie cries for help.
When it comes to having a beer in Port Colbourne, give me a break. As in a Breakwall Blonde. Breakwall Brewing is located in their unassuming pub on Clarence Street in Port Colbourne. Their Hip Hop Harvest was a SMASH with us too.
According to Hemingway “In every port in the world, at least two Estonians can be found.” Sure enough, according to the most recent census information, Port Colborne has 10 Estonians.
Bridgewater Brewing
In Welland, right beside one of the canal lift bridges, so Bridgewater is aptly named. After visiting their fine establishment we had a great idea. What if the bartender at Bridgewater operated the lift bridge over the Welland Canal with one of the draft taps at the bar. Happy hour sure would be interesting. That bridge would be up and down more than gas prices in Canada. Especially if it was their Baa-Rista Stout, which garnered a super high super suds rating in our books. That bartender would be working Double Time, which just so happens to be another of their super suds we sampled.
And I ask you, friend, what’s a fella to do, Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue,
And I knew right then I’d be takin’ a whirl, Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl.
Ol’ Steve Earle had a fluttering heart for a Galway girl, and we quite enjoyed Cold Break’s Galway Irish Red Ale. Had a nice lunch there with the missus, at Cold Break, not Galway. Then there was the time we were drinking in the alley. Yep, bowling night with the whole family. Their hazy IPA was Sublime, even though the artwork on the can was surreal.
On the outskirts of Niagara Falls, no views, crowds or mist to deal with, just good beer at Counterpart. I visited their fine establishment and even took a picture of the counter, well part of it anyway, it was too big to get the whole thing in the picture. I drank their Black Hole Sun dark lager in anticipation of the big eclipse everyone was talking about while listening to Soundgarden. The eclipse was a lot of hype, when it was supposed to happen all of a sudden it got too dark to see it.
Pub food, tasty brews and a local history lesson as well. Every can tells a story. Their Shipman’s Stout was ship shape super suds. Copper Beech is not a waterfront penny arcade or a holiday destination for your local constable, but a tasty red ale. And their Morning Star cream ale shines brightly and pays tribute to the mill adjacent to Decew Falls itself.
I dropped in on The Exchange Brewery one day and picked up a couple of their fine brews. I asked the helpful man behind the bar “if I don’t like these can I bring them back and get others.” Apparently, my humour is a dry as their Fiore Pilsner although not nearly as crisp.
A fancy pants dinner with the missus and the missus in law, overlooking the Falls. What could make the evening more perfect? Apart from the obvious, how about a brew with the view, as in a nice No.2 amber from The Exchange in Niagara on the Lake.
A unique upscale farmhouse restaurant that brews its own, The Grist is a hidden gem in Niagara on the Lake. Great food and an extensive Grist List of interesting taps. For example, their Red Cream Ale was a taste treat. And their Oktoberfest Lager had us reminiscent of festing, reminesting? Go for a great dinner, check out the Grist List, then grab a couple of bottles from the beer fridge on the way out. That’s what I call a great date night.
Park by Pelham Town Square in Font Hill and find the sandwich board sign that says Kame & Kettle. Head down those stairs and make a right turn at the bottom and lo and behold you’ll find a cozy little pub/patio setup with a number of interesting beers to go with a tasty menu.
Their Kickass Kame & Kettle Kölsch Plated Minivan is well worth taking for a test drive. When I last visited I asked about the name Mozzle. They told me the name of the pilsner can be best defined by using it in a sentence. “While you are here, you mozzle have a beer. The correct response is “Don’t mind if I do.” So, I did. I felt their IPA Gedit D’faKenya was a touching tribute to a picturesque African country, until our Editor clarified the homophonic nature of the name.
Right in the middle of Port Dalhousie, Lock Street’s street side pub and upstairs make for a tasty pit stop. A pint of Portside Pilsner please, was my first Lock Street sampling. With a Haggard fried chicken sandwich, extra napkins required. This brew was a high scorer at the COMDB 4th Annual Golf Meeting (AGM).
Their Industrial Pale Ale is a tribute to all the industrious hard-working trades people buildin’ boats, weldin’ hulls, patching ports and stitching starboards, bracing bows and setting sterns. Maintaining masts and sewing sails, riveting rivets, priming pumps and baling bilges. Framing the freeboard, fixin’ the freight, and fastening the foremast. Propping up the prop, resetting the rudder, adjusting the anchor, battening down the hatches, overhauling the hull and keel (over)hauling and sealing while they are at it. And once the draught is level and the whole kit and kaboodle holds water, ambling over to a near the dock Street and having a draught from Lock Street.
The Merchant Ale House and Taylor Swift both had a hit with “Bad Blood”.
Out on the town and couldn’t catch a break at Cold Break, a private party was going on and we weren’t one of their privates. Our host said, “let’s try the Merch, it’s always a good time”. Well as far as I was concerned, it was a good time to have a good time, so off we went. I partook in a Nitro stout appetizer which was strong enough to float an egg, a caffeinated quaff that hit the spot. And for dinner a Rueben sandwich so tasty that it should be hanging in the Louvre with his other masterpieces.
Their Old Time Hockey amber lager was impossible to resist so I didn’t. Great beer, tasty food, and yes, as predicted a good time was had by all.
Out of Beamsville and not far from Bench, just off the QEW highway, you’ll find Newark Brewing Co. Its name is of historic significance as Newark was once the capital of Lower Canada (Ontario). A rustic taproom has become a favoured local locale.
Focused on European styles with a Canadian flare, their Helles Lager was deemed a super suds classic.
Clifton Hill has got to be one of the most touristy streets in the world, walking up from the Falls you encounter haunted mansions, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and souvenir shops galore. There might even be a Wedding Chapel in the vicinity if you’re falling for someone, or that way inclined. A far less long-term commitment is stopping into The Niagara Brewery for a pint or two. If you’ve got the family in tow it is right beside the Rainforest Café. Hypothetically, you could leave the family in the restaurant and go next door for a quick one, although I can’t imagine anyone doing such a thing.
Their Irish Red Ale has an easy drinking malt caramel bitter sequence that is sure to please.
Niagara College Teaching Brewery
Back to school has never been so enjoyable. Way back in the day I was studying fluid dynamics, these days I’m studying dynamic fluids. I’m auditing Beer 101 and my first assignment was Niagara Teaching College Brewery’s Stout, which garnered better marks than I ever got in school, that’s for sure. NCTB has a full line up of Beer 101 basic brews. Their IPA was on display at our beer tasting baby shower (seriously).
I studied beer in college as well, although perhaps my curriculum was not as formal as the one at the Niagara College Teaching Brewery. Looking back, I recall my program was more focused on sampling. Their lessons on a can are a class in a glass.
They have a great sampling setup there although it does tend to be overrun at times with bus loads of touristy oenophiles sampling spoiled grape juice. There’s no accounting for taste.
Driving past vineyards by the dozen, all of a sudden the big red barn that is Niagara Oast House appears like a beer drinker’s oasis in a sea of grape largesse. A rustic tap room and a patio overlooking the fields, it’s a laid-back setting aimed at providing a good time for one and all. Oast has a few core brews and a number of interesting departures from the everyday.
Their country ale The Barn Raiser was raised right, a crisp clean easy drinking ale.
Just down the road from Gretzky’s place, and Oast, in the quaint town of Virgil you might find a visit to the old church quite an epiphany. Silversmith set up shop in the 130 year old church in 2011 and haven’t looked back. In 2024 the brewery won the Niagara Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award! The taproom has a selection of excellent brews and some tasty handhelds (food, not more beer) as well.
It isn’t just the business that’s winning awards, their brews garner some hardware as well. They claim The Black Lager is Canada’s most award winning Schwarzbier and I’d believe it. And their New Zealand Pale Ale was well worth the trip.
I must confess, the church in Virgil is in our good books and merits high praise.
Conclusion
And there you have it, what has been our most extensive brew tour to date. Enjoy the trip and the Falls, but make sure to quaff a few brews on the way through. Cheers.
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