Flying into Toronto from Newark is relatively easy. Porter Airlines has you covered with small, puddle jumper prop planes, that literally land right outside the city center on a tiny island that houses the Billy Bishop Airport. The more frustrating part of flying into Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport is taking the ferry across the lake into the city… It’s about a whopping 100 yards (or 91.4 meters for you Canadian folks) across the lake to the mainland. We can only imagine this ferry exists because Canada hasn’t invented bridges yet.
Naturally being Beerventurers, we could not make a trip easy on ourselves so we headed all the way around the perimeter of Lake Ontario to officially kick off our long weekend.
Niagara Brewing Company (Niagara Falls, ON)
If you ever go to Niagara falls, take my word and stay stay on the Canadian side. While the Canadian side is certainly an awkward tourist trap full of wacky amusements, the NY side is a rundown piece of garbage; because NY. And while you’re taking in a view of the falls be sure to stop by Niagara Brewing Company which is only two blocks from the river walk and scenic overlook.
This 10-ish barrel brewhouse is two stories tall, with a nice patio space and live music. There were 8 drafts available, but it’s going to be a long weekend so we picked their top four and grabbed some sandwiches.
On the weaker side of the scale we had the Beerdevil IPA. There was a higher anticipation of hop and malt per the description but it did not come through as expected. The Chocolate Porter was a bit stronger than the Beerdevil score wise, but also a below average to average representation of a porter. The Pumpkin was our toss up beer; Melissa voted right amount of spice, and I voted too much spice. Pumpkin beer is just one of those styles that will never reach a consensus on what is the correct spice to pumpkin ratio.
Last up and the clear winner of the flight was the Honeymoon Peach Radler. We realize that our shandy bias does flair up from time to time, but in this case it really does deserve to be the winner. The delicious peach and ginger notes certainly overwhelmed our senses and provided a stark contrast to the three other contenders on the paddle. We highly recommend the Peach Radler.
I bet Niagara Brewing does a great deal of business and provides an offering that caters to the majority of the tourists who drop by; but Niagara Brewing Company isn’t a Beerventurer or Beersnob brewery. We survived 2.5 barrel rides over the falls at Niagara Brewing Company (out of 5).
Niagara College Teaching Brewery (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON)
Now if you’ve read the blog or seen Melissa’s maps before, you know how painstakingly Melissa plans these trips. And if you’ve read the blog or seen our Instagram posts, you know how quickly best laid plans dissolve. In this case, Niagara College Teaching Brewery was our first deviation of the trip because there was a sign on the highway that said Teaching Brewery and we had no idea that was a thing!
The brewery itself is ran by students who are taking a year round, 2 year brewmaster program. This college brewery will teach you from start to finish how to
- Brew beer (water, yeast, grain, hop studies) and how to,
- Run a business (accounting, finance, administration, supply chain management courses)
We had all 6 offerings available but let’s talk about our two favorites: The Spooky Saison and the Brew Master Cherry Pilsner. The Spooky Saison was just the halloween name for their regular Saison 101 – which is a light and refreshing beverage. The fruit and spice is a bit more subtle than we would have liked though. The Brew Master Cherry Pilsner is a tart and sweet cherry infused pils; which is we’re fairly certain is a first for us. If you get the chance to swing by this center of education, the Cherry Pils is your must try.
Niagara College isn’t your typical college, nor is the Teaching Brewery your typical brewery. The beers are safe and average, but we imagine this has to happen as part of the method of instruction; these brewmasters in training need to understand how to produce consistent beers. With this in mind we’re going to abstain from rating the brewery because this unique animal doesn’t really fit our standard criteria for ranking a brewery. And for those of you dragging non-beer people along, be sure to swing by the Niagara College Teaching Winery, and/or the Niagara College Teaching Distillery which just a few meters away in different buildings! Also, flights are free as long as you buy $10 (Canadian) worth of merch or beer!
The Exchange Brewery (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON)
If the inventor of the word ‘swanky’ owned a brewery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario; The Exchange Brewery would be it. This brewhouse looks like a high rollers suite in a casino and tops the charts with some of the more interesting beers we had on the trip.
Flights come in five, and they’re a tad pricey. But considering the amount of craft that went into these brews, I think the price is reflective of the quality. Our top three were the Dunkelweiss, Brettbier and Cerise.
The Dunkelweiss was a hearty clove and caramel flavor. The description mentioned banana notes, but we didn’t really taste a whole lot of it. The Brettbier was a brilliantly spicy, wild wit with a strong funk. I felt it was the perfect amount of sour to balance the spice, but Melissa had believed there was room for more sour. Last up was the Cerise fruit beer. If you look at our flight photos, this was the pretty beer. Aged in wine barrels on 300 lbs of cherries, this brew drank like a fine, tarty wine. Honestly if we didn’t just use carry-ons, this would have easily been our first pick up.
The Exchange Brewery at Niagara-on-the-Lake is our first Beerventurer and Beersnob stop of the trip. And if you’re a Beersnob whos looking to cellar or trade bottles, be prepared to drop some dosh here. These little mL bottles are rather pricey, but the quality is superb. The Exchange earns a solid 4.75 out of 5.
Niagara Oast House Brewers (Niagara-on-the-Lake)
Just a little way down the street, and still in Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario, is Oast House in a giant red barn; you can’t miss it. The brewery is interior was certainly developed with bottle and merch sales in mind. It felt less like a brewery and more like a store. But we immediately noticed the large copper top bar and got to work.
We grabbed their most popular beers: Watermelon Gose, Barn Raiser, a Grisette and the Crop Duster. All four of these beers fell within the 2.75-3.5 on untappd so let’s just talk about the two most notable. The Crop Duster Belgian IPA is a citrus IPA fermented with Belgian yeast giving it a sweet profile; but it was more bitter than we would have hoped for. The Watermelon Gose was clearly Melissa’s favorite pick; because gose. The watermelon could have used a bit more strength, because I mostly tasted the tart but Melissa is convinced there was more flavor than sour.
Oast House was a good stop along the route for a Beerventurer, but I don’t think a snob will find a whole lot from this place. Oast was a pleasant stop and like it’s beers, earns an average 3 out of 5.
A Tale of Two Brothers
Getting to know the locals is usually our favorite thing to do at a brewery. In this case we had a classic tale of two very unique and different brothers. One brother is a successful 9-to-5 with a family and the other a free spirited world traveler who looks a lot like Chris Hemsworth. The free spirit has done a stint pretty much all over the world and during his travels he’s learned a very valuable truth; Australians are all ‘fuckin cunts’. No really, that was his biggest gripe about traveling. We also discussed a wide range of politics, favorite foods and awesome places to visit in both the States and Toronto. Interaction with strangers is soon to be a lost art, but we’re happy our Canadian friends still enjoy a bit of banter with out of towners.
Silversmith Brewing Company (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON)
Still in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the next brewery up was the Silversmith Brewing Company. This brewery was housed in a beautiful rustic building – an all brick Anglican church built around 1895. Not that we’re historians mind you.
The flight consisted of six beers, with four of them earning a 3.75 – 4.25. The four best were the Let it Ride, the Mind’s IPA, the Dam Buster and the Bavarian Breakfast Wheat. Not topping the chart was their award winning Black Lager. They’re widely recognized to have one of the best in Canada (so we’ve been told) but the brew didn’t really hit the spot; probably just style bias.
The Let it Ride Rye, and the Mind’s IPA were clearly my two favorites. Rye’s tend to be some of my favorites so again, there was some bias showing at Silversmith. The Dam Buster pale was an excellent all around English bitter that wasn’t overly bitter. Leaving Bavarian Breakfast Wheat Hefeweizen as Melissa’s top of flight. The Hefeweizen beer has the classic goldenrod hue with notes of clove and banana. Nothing really making it unique, just a really delicious beer.
Silversmith Brewing Company is on the same stretch that of road that Niagara Oast is on, just like 3km away so this is an easy pick up brewery. We didn’t find anything that was goldsmith quality, but we feel the Silversmith earns its name with a 3.5 out of 5.
Bench Brewing Company (Beamsville, ON)
At this point, we’ve racked up over 500 breweries and we tend to use other breweries as a baseline or quick comparison. In the case of Bench Brewing (Beamsville, ON), my immediate thought was wow, this place belongs in Miami. The brewery itself is reminiscent of Veza Sur for its grandeur. It’s actually kind of a shame Bench Brewing is kind of in the middle of nowhere; I felt like I was back home traveling through the dark countryside.
The beers at Bench Brewing Company brought the funk. We had six drafts; and all six brought some sort of funk to the table. Three Farmhouses, two sour ales and one Brett IPA. Really the odd man out on this flight was the Bewilder Brett IPA. The light funk of Brett was present but not overly potent and allowed the melon flavor to profile nicely. We didn’t really notice a peach or pineapple flavor though; which was advertised.
My favorite of the flight was Citra Grove Dry Hopped Sour. I know what you’re thinking; why not the IPA. To be frank, the IPA was decent but we were a little disappointed by the lack of peach or pineapple. The Citra Grove brought the Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces together to produce a nice, tart flavor along with orange, pineapple and melon notes. It was just a more solid beer than the Brett IPA.
Melissa’s favorite of the flight was a toss-up between Peach Grove sour ale, and the Appellation No. 2. Each brew had its own distinct and delicious call-sign. Peach Grove is a hearty peach flavored sour that was a bit acidic for my palate. Just thinking about this beer still makes my face pucker and mouth water. The Appellation No. 2 was a strong contrast to anything else we had on the flight because it was aged in wine barrels; giving it strong earthy and oak components. The yeast used produced a dry, wine-like finish. If you’re a wine fan, this is your must try beer.
Bench Brewing makes a wide variety of brews, but they clearly excel in the funk department. Our late fall flight provides reasonable assurance that Beerventurers and even Beersnobs will find something worth the detour. Get off the field because the best action this season is to be had on the Bench – Bench Brewing scores a 4.25 out of 5.
Private Tours
In the State of New Jersey we always have to take a tour of a brewery prior to drinking. That’s State Law, and a sh*t law it is. However, sometimes a brewery does something exceptional, or you just want to check out its production space and a tour actually ends up providing really interesting insights into the business. This just happened to be the case at Bench Brewing.
While talking about our planned adventure to the Bartender, he brought to our attention a neat little fact: Bench Brewing is home to the largest coolship in the Northeast. Of course we had to see it to believe it, and he was more than happy to bring us on a private tour through the impressive facility, all the way up to the second level where a massive 50 Hectoliter coolship was recently installed. This impressive installation is something that we’ve never seen before, and probably won’t see again for quite some time.
The Microclimate
Before we get to the end of our first full day in Ontario (ending in Hamilton), There’s something that wine people need to know; apparently Ontario is not beer country, but fruit country. Per information from the Niagara College Teaching Brewery, we are in what’s called a microclimate. A microclimate is essentially a regional weather bubble that differs from its surrounding regions. In this case, being right on the southwestern tip of Lake Ontario produces weather conditions that significantly enhance grape and peach yields. So if you’re a wine drinker, the Canadian plot of land between Hamilton and Niagara Falls should be a destination on your list. Why? Because there are over 110 wineries between the two cities! Also distilleries and breweries for the rest of us.
Collective Arts Brewing (Hamilton, ON)
There were not many breweries that we were familiar with in the province of Ontario prior to our trip; but Collective Arts Brewing of Hamilton, ON was one of our must hit stops. If you’ve been in the beer scene for a while, Collective Arts is probably a name that you’re familiar with. If not, they are a well known Canadian brewery that produces a wide variety of funky beer wrapped in some of the most unique label art to ever grace a carbonated, alcoholic beverage.
Collective arts sits down by the docks and has a bit of a Tony Hawk Pro Skater shop feel to it. After you set the nostalgia aside, prepare yourself for several minutes of decision making because the beer list has some serious contenders; or you can just pick one of everything.
(For perspective sake, we violated our personal rule and grabbed 8 samples so we could try just about everything.)
After you’ve made your selection try and grab some space in the back room; it’s their bottle and can art exhibit. You will not be disappointed in the museum of beer while happily sipping your flight. Since we did select 8 lets just talk about our favorite 4: Strawberry Soursop, Project Guava Gose, Raspberry Dry Hopped Sour and Pina Colada Sour.
The Strawberry Soursop is a standard Berliner Weisse thats been pumped up with strawberries and soursop; which turns out to be a fruit. Never heard of the thing but here’s the wiki if you’re so inclined to learn more. Now at the time of consumption, we had no idea what a soursop tasted like but we can tell you that the beer itself was jam packed with strawberry flavor and nose while fully satisfying Melissa’s sour cravings. The Collective Project Guava Gose was mildly tart, generously guava’ed, and had just a touch of saltiness. This beer would certainly be a summer favorite; if it was summer out.
In line with the Strawberry and the Guava was the Raspberry Dry Hopped Sour. This very berry ale packs a puckering punch behind it’s pretty pink pastels. Even this perfect raspberry blended sour still wasn’t our top pick however. That spot belongs to the Pina Colada Sour. Chalk full of toasted coconut and pineapple, this lactose fermented sour ale was a flawless representation of a Pina Colada. We enjoyed it so much that it rivaled (or maybe even surpassed) our personal Pina Colada favorite; the Strangeways Brewing Pina Colada Radler.
Quite frankly this entire brewery is in Melissa territory and there is nothing that she hasn’t disliked or even considered average. Everything we drank was 4+ Untappd caps in our opinion. Collective Arts is your must visit Ontario brewery; earning a rare 5 out of 5.
MERIT Brewing (Hamilton, ON)
Last up of the night is MERIT Brewing of Hamilton, Ontario. This downtown brewery was packed Halloween evening with scantily dressed patrons and a surprising amount of zombies. The menu of MERIT was a bit generic, so we asked the bartender for the best of the best.
In order from least to most favorite we had the Repeat After Me, Chanan, Small World and Nowhere. A brut IPA is a essentially a hoppy champagne, but Repeat After Me brut IPA fell short in the hop part of IPA. Interestingly enough, my opinion of this beer is actually at odds with other Untappd users who just can’t seem to get enough of this. Perhaps it’s just too late in the day and just coming from Collective Arts our palates might be a bit shot. If you’ve tried it, let me know your thoughts.
Chanan was a bit more refreshing and flavorful than the Repeat. This dry hopped saison had a classic coriander spice and a citrus burst to the nose. The Small World hazy pale ale had an overall pleasant taste, but I’m hesitant to call it hazy despite being described as such. The low 4.5% abv made it quenchable, but this style pale has been done all before and there wasn’t much defining character in it. Last up was the Nowhere imperial stout. The potent coffee aroma, and the smooth mouthfeel made this 9% stout wash down like butter. While it wasn’t the best stout of the flight, it certainly ranked up on our favorites list from the trip.
MERIT Brewing caters to the downtown scene and probably will not offer a Beersnob anything unusual. For those of us looking to get another brewery under the belt, or if you’re passing through and need a drink, your thirst will be quenched here. The brewery earns 3.5 MERIT badges out of 5.
