Niagara`s Best Brewpub

dutchcanuck · Post by **dutchcanuck** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:12 pm

I had the opportunity to visit Niagara’s Best Brewpub today and I must say that I was more than pleasantly surprised. As I entered the front door the first thing that caught my eye was the merchandise behind the counter and the fridge to the right full of six packs and growlers. When I saw the growlers I was really hoping that the quality of the beer on tap would justify a purchase before I left. I was quickly shown to a table where I had the opportunity to have a pint of their pilsner. Although it was closer to an amber colour than a nice straw yellow the Saaz hops came through quite well. I was later assured by Ian, the headbrewer, he’s still “tweaking” the recipe and I’m looking forward to future variations if he is going to improve on the excellent beer they already have.

Currently Niagara’s Best has ten beers on tap (all but the bottled beers are unfiltered); a pale ale, red ale, a dark ale, a pilsner, an oatmeal stout, and a Belgian Wit in addition to their flagship beers the Lager, Blonde, Blonde Light and Brewer's Choice rotating tap. In the past I haven’t been a huge fan of Niagara’s Best Blonde, but the version on tap was excellent. I also had the “Portage” pale ale which is very much in the tradition of English bitters with Maris Otter Malt and Golding and Fuggle hops. After one sip I was reminded of the countless pints that I had across the pond in the U.K. Ian was more than happy to allow me to sample the Oatmeal stout and the Belgian Wit as well, both of which were top notch.

The brewing and bottling area is visible from the dining room providing patrons with a glimpse into the work that goes into the beer they are quaffing with their lunch. The dining room itself has a subtle rustic feel to it with lightly stained woods and hardwood flooring.

I took a quick look at the menu, which at the moment is a single double sided sheet of paper, I settled on the burger with bacon and cheese. Unlike Taps I actually had a waitress take my order and my food was at my table before I knew it. The burger was good and I look forward to coming back in the future to try the fish and chips, which I was told later, are quite good.

While I was there I had the opportunity to sit down and talk beer with Ian for the better part of the afternoon. It’s very rare to talk with someone who has such an interest in brewing as Ian does. After talking with him it became quite apparent that Niagara’s Best is going to focus on offering craft beers that are not only quality ales and lagers, but also flavourful and diverse. He has been hard at work improving the quality of the beers themselves as well as their hop profiles. Ian explained that one of the benefits of working in a brewpub instead of just a brewery is the ability to flex his creative muscle. Niagara’s Best will have a tap dedicated to Ian’s brewing experiments. The first beer up will be an IPA that he expects to tap as early as tomorrow and I believe he mentioned that it should be somewhere around 60 IBUs. I can’t wait to see and taste what other beers he can create. We talked about everything from Maibocks to Jalapeño beers to beers flavoured with Juniper. I anticipate some amazing brews to be offered there.

Much to my delight anything on tap is available in growler and I brought one home filled with their Sir Isaac Brock’s Oatmeal stout. As I sit here writing this review sipping that stout I can honestly say I believe it’s better than any stout currently available in the LCBO and would love to do a side-by-side comparison with McAulsun’s Oatmeal stout. It’s that good.
Ian’s excitement for the future of the brewpub was contagious and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for them.

In a region that up until this week had one brewpub, the Merchant Ale House, but that now has two more, Niagara’s Best can only contribute to the beer scene here in Niagara. I would highly recommend to anyone that if you have the chance, stop in you won’t be sorry. One thing is safe to say...this bartoweller will be going back again and again.

robinvboyer · Post by **robinvboyer** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:58 pm

I'm heading to Niagara for the Labour day long weekend, and I was planning on hitting up this brewpub along with Taps. Now......after reading that their oatmeal stout is as good as MCauslan's!!!! I'm very anxious to try some of their beers.

lagerale · Post by **lagerale** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 8:37 am

Nice review Dutchcanuck. Niagara's Best seems to be heading in a great direction. I've only had their Blonde and was not overly impressed, but look forward to all the other offerings.

Andicus · Post by **Andicus** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 6:01 pm

Excellent review! Like lagerale, I've only tried the Blonde, and wasn't too thrilled with it. This review has sold me, and I'll be stopping in. Great to read that they do growlers. I wish the Merchant Ale House did likewise.

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:33 pm

I drove by on Fri 3rd about 6:20. Place looked deserted, no cars and the open sign was off so we blew by. Should have stopped. Day-am!

These new offerings sound intriguing after having tasted the rather bland ale and lager.

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:26 pm

Got to try the Oatmeal Stout, enjoyable but it was from a growler a few days old that wasn't in peak condition.

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:59 am

icemachine wrote:Got to try the Oatmeal Stout, enjoyable but it was from a growler a few days old that wasn't in peak condition.

So I assume the beer is brewed off site?

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:25 am

pootz wrote:
icemachine wrote:Got to try the Oatmeal Stout, enjoyable but it was from a growler a few days old that wasn't in peak condition.
So I assume the beer is brewed off site?

Not sure, Brother in law was down there Canada Day, brought it back and I tried it Monday night. I just assumed it was from the brewpub.

hopheadbrewer · Post by **hopheadbrewer** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:27 pm

pootz wrote:
icemachine wrote:Got to try the Oatmeal Stout, enjoyable but it was from a growler a few days old that wasn't in peak condition.
So I assume the beer is brewed off site?

NO...it's all brewed right behind Pub.

Timmy · Post by **Timmy** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:36 pm

I tried the pub a few days ago.

The beer was fantastic. I had the 10 glass sampler between my wife and myself. All the beers were nice. Stand outs for me were the Cascada, Drummond Hill Dark and the Oatmeal Stout.

Food was okay I had the meatloaf that was somewhat bland. I expect it to get better as it has only just opened. Food wasn't really the reason I went there though.

The only real dissapointment was that the server said they were only offering the three beers(Blonde, Lager and Light) in bottles and the rest would only be in Growlers. I don't mind growlers but def prefer to have bottles. I hope that they reconsider this(or that the server was wrong).

BeerMonger · Post by **BeerMonger** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:16 pm

I had dinner along with some friends and each of us enjoyed our meals. I found the meatloaf tasty, there were also good reviews on the fish and chips and the short ribs. Someone started with a French Onion soup but there wasn't any cheese on top or croutons/bread, definitely not the soup as most of us know it-more like a consomme.

Also tried the 10 flight sampler-found most of the offerings to be bland, enjoyed the Daredevil Red the most and also liked the Oatmeal Stout. Reordered a pint of the Daredevil.

Be warned that this is more of a "brewrestaurant" as opposed to a brewpub and would maybe seat about 40?

Worth a drop by if in the area, lets hope they become more adventurous with their beers and not brew a Bud Light lime imitation as proposed by our waiter. That comment kind of reflects the current blandness of their beer.

The Liquor Lady · Post by **The Liquor Lady** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 4:46 pm

Ohhhh Baby! Am I wanting to try the Oatmeal stout or what! I loved Bock Extra Stout that Niagara used to make, and now there is a new kid on the block! Wellington County Imperial Stout was my second choice but now I may be in Stout heaven!

I'll be there soon to try it......and I have a great recipe to use it too......I'll post it soon.

$ · Post by $ » Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:06 pm

dropped in, had the oatmeal stout , an IPA and the "logger". Enjoyed them all. Even enjoyed the sips of my wife's blonde ale and lager light!

We stayed in the crazy part of Niagara falls. grabbed the red line bus ($6 all day pass each) and the driver dropped us off right at the brewpub.

food was decent. patio in parking lot good enough.

check it out!
oh the guy said something about a weekend taste festival in their lot for Sept.