Prince Edward Island

[Ralphus]

I'm in PEI this weekend and visited the Montague liquor store. My expectations were incredibly low.. I was hoping to find some Urquell if I was lucky - but was shocked to see the following:

Orval
Waterloo Dark
St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Gahan Red & Honey Wheat
Plus a bunch of others I can't remember.

All in all the selection was surprisingly ok. Some Garrison might have been nice but I was not expecting anything like Orval, nor the Ontario/Quebec local options.

[phirleh]

When I was driving through New Brunswick this summer I came across a ton of Orval at a NBLC store in Oromocto, I was quite surprised. Perhaps there is a busy agent in the maritimes supplying it.

[Provost Drunk]

I'm contemplating a trip out to PEI in August to visit a buddy. I've never been before. Any recommendations for bars/breweries/beers to check out? I'd be staying in Charlottetown but willing to travel a bit if there's something worthwhile.

[JerCraigs]

http://www.ratebeer.com/places/canada/p ... island/60/
http://www.ratebeer.com/breweries/princ ... and/60/39/

[Provost Drunk]

http://www.ratebeer.com/places/canada/p ... island/60/
http://www.ratebeer.com/breweries/princ ... and/60/39/

Thanks - ratebeer is actually my usual starting point when planning beer destinations for a trip. There doesn't seem to be too much listed (and the answer may simply be that there isn't much out there) but I figured it was worth canvassing the BT community to see if there have been any new developments that are flying under the RB radar.

[rejtable]

I'll contact my sources in the motherland and get you an update.

Brewnosers has a pretty active board as well if you want other feedback.

http://www.brewnosers.org/

[rejtable]

Ok, feedback from a local beer geek:

Breweries:
PEI Brewing Co worth a visit.
Upstreet: tasting room is cool.
Barnone (in Rose Valley not Charlottetown)

Pub:
Best pub (for his money) in C-town = Churchills.
New bar called Hopyard (he hasn't been yet), sounds cool.

Apparently Barnone often have bands and growler fill parties on Thursdays.

Are you driving down? Lots of options on the way.

[Provost Drunk]

Ok, feedback from a local beer geek:

Breweries:
PEI Brewing Co worth a visit.
Upstreet: tasting room is cool.
Barnone (in Rose Valley not Charlottetown)

Pub:
Best pub (for his money) in C-town = Churchills.
New bar called Hopyard (he hasn't been yet), sounds cool.

Apparently Barnone often have bands and growler fill parties on Thursdays.

Are you driving down? Lots of options on the way.

Thanks! I looked into HopYard and it sounds promising and a nice addition to my hit list (which already included PEI Brewery Co and Upstreet). I'll see about getting out to BarNone as well. I'm looking at biting the bullet on airfare as driving from Toronto would take a while. Would be a great trip if planned correctly with stops in Quebec and New Brunswick on the way but I'm afraid I don't have the time for it this year.

[duckdown]

Glad I found this, our annual 2 weeks summer vacation in the east coast takes us through PEI this time and I was hoping there would be something worthwhile there

What's the pub situation like there? What hours are last call? Any bars that stay open late? I like to go until 3am

[El Pinguino]

Hopyard is fantastic. Was in PEI just a month or so ago. It's probably the best spot to go, fun vibe and good food too.

Upstreet isn't anything fancy, but has a very open, welcoming vibe. They usually have an interesting local (PEI/NB) guest tap on alongside their own beers, which I quite enjoyed.

PEI Brewing Company has a massive complex, which is impressive, and bottles of some of their limited edition brews in their retail store. Good spot to at least visit for samples.

Barnone is pretty good, and when I was there a month ago their hours are basically "open Thursday afternoon only". So the better option is to visit the Charlottetown Farmers Market on Saturdays, where Upstreet and Barnone both sell their current beers.

If interested, the root beer from Barnone is one of the best out there....almost as good as Nickelbrooks. Things have changed a lot in the past few years since Gahan House was the only real option.

[Provost Drunk]

Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it out to PEI after all. But thanks to everyone who provided their insights - I've passed along the highlights to my friend who is temporarily living out there so your efforts will not go to waste!