Bermuda
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 6:32 pm
By a pleasant stroke of luck I have now been to Bermuda twice in the last month for business, and if anyone happens to go down there I thought I'd post up what I've found.
Unfortunately Bermuda isn't much of a beer destination. I was thinking that due to it's colonial heritage there might be some British pint love, but there doesn't seem to be. It's mostly a wine & liquor type of place, with most restaurants and bars having just a few beer selections - Heineken, Sam Adams, Boddington, Stella, that kind of thing. But, there are two notable exceptions that I've found.
First, there is one brewery in Bermuda (and what I understand the only place that actually produces alcohol on the island), Dockyard Brewing. Dockyard Brewing is right next to a pub called the Frog & Onion, which is located in the Royal Naval Dockyard area of the island. The pub is a highly British-stlye influenced spot, which serves the beers of Dockyard. They have 5 regulars - a light lager, wheat, pale ale, porter and amber ale - all very nice beers.
I briefly spoke with the brewer of Dockyard (Rob) who funnily enough spent a year brewing at Neustadt in Ontario a few years back. Small world. He told me that the beers he makes are primarily to cater to the tastes of the cruise ship patrons, as the cruise dock is in the dockyard. But he's also giving a shot at some more interesting beers - he had a honey ale as a summer seasonal and is brewing a winter ale with Bermuda rum-soaked cedar planks in the aging tank. A nice spot and hopefully Rob can continue to make interesting beers in the future.
In terms of beer bars, they are virtually non-existent, but I did find one. Within the Fairmont Southampton hotel there is a bar called the Newport Gastropub and they've got a pretty good beer lineup. There's a number of draught beers - 3 from Dockyard along with Chimay, Anchor Liberty and some more standard fare. There's also a fairly decent bottled list including Chimay, Celebrator, Rogue, Yuengling and some others. Evidently the Newport Gastropub used to be called the Newport Room and was an old-school, Frank Sinatra type of place. It was 're-invented' last year with some TVs for sports and is a really nice spot for food & beer.
Other than that, I didn't find much else. Evidently the Swizzle Inn chain also has Dockyard on tap. I couldn't find any beer of note in the largest city (Hamilton) so developed a taste for Dark 'n Stormys. But when in Bermuda it certainly isn't all about the beer, but a couple of nice spots worth seeking out.
If anyone else has been, feel free to post what you've found!
Unfortunately Bermuda isn't much of a beer destination. I was thinking that due to it's colonial heritage there might be some British pint love, but there doesn't seem to be. It's mostly a wine & liquor type of place, with most restaurants and bars having just a few beer selections - Heineken, Sam Adams, Boddington, Stella, that kind of thing. But, there are two notable exceptions that I've found.
First, there is one brewery in Bermuda (and what I understand the only place that actually produces alcohol on the island), Dockyard Brewing. Dockyard Brewing is right next to a pub called the Frog & Onion, which is located in the Royal Naval Dockyard area of the island. The pub is a highly British-stlye influenced spot, which serves the beers of Dockyard. They have 5 regulars - a light lager, wheat, pale ale, porter and amber ale - all very nice beers.
I briefly spoke with the brewer of Dockyard (Rob) who funnily enough spent a year brewing at Neustadt in Ontario a few years back. Small world. He told me that the beers he makes are primarily to cater to the tastes of the cruise ship patrons, as the cruise dock is in the dockyard. But he's also giving a shot at some more interesting beers - he had a honey ale as a summer seasonal and is brewing a winter ale with Bermuda rum-soaked cedar planks in the aging tank. A nice spot and hopefully Rob can continue to make interesting beers in the future.
In terms of beer bars, they are virtually non-existent, but I did find one. Within the Fairmont Southampton hotel there is a bar called the Newport Gastropub and they've got a pretty good beer lineup. There's a number of draught beers - 3 from Dockyard along with Chimay, Anchor Liberty and some more standard fare. There's also a fairly decent bottled list including Chimay, Celebrator, Rogue, Yuengling and some others. Evidently the Newport Gastropub used to be called the Newport Room and was an old-school, Frank Sinatra type of place. It was 're-invented' last year with some TVs for sports and is a really nice spot for food & beer.
Other than that, I didn't find much else. Evidently the Swizzle Inn chain also has Dockyard on tap. I couldn't find any beer of note in the largest city (Hamilton) so developed a taste for Dark 'n Stormys. But when in Bermuda it certainly isn't all about the beer, but a couple of nice spots worth seeking out.
If anyone else has been, feel free to post what you've found!