Windsor-Essex County Beer Enthusiasts, Unite!

[burningrome]

I get back there every few months:

Sandwich is one the better microbrews, very fresh.
Craftheads is downtown, 89 University Ave - https://www.instagram.com/craftheadsbrew , pretty good but seem to have heard they might be moving, looks like less taps than usual
Walkerville and Chapter Two are pretty close to each other in Walkerville, better IPA at Chapter Two.
Further afield - Lot 10 in Amherstburg https://lot10brewery.ca/beers/ and Banded Goose in Kingsville https://bandedgoosebrewing.com/on-tap/ are pretty solid.

The three good beer bars I can think of is Rock Bottom right next to Sandwich Brewery (Same owners?), Phog at 157 University Ave W, and Cookie Bar at 1093 Drouillard Rd on the east side
hope it helps!

[Cass]

Thanks for the notes! A fairly epic trip to Windsor Essex as the tourism board shuttled me around to see lots of stuff. Visits included:

Windsor: Chapter Two, Walkerville, Sandwich, Erie St. Gastropub, Cookie Bar, Phog, Craft Heads, The Vic, Dominion House, WindsorEats Food Hall
Amherstburg: Lot 10, Wolfhead, GL Heritage
Kingsville: Banded Goose, The Goose, Grove
Leamington: Cured Craft
Tecumseh: Frank
Harrow: Carolinia Cider
Essex: Brew

The point of the trip was A Quick Beer episode so I shot a ton of stuff and hopefully will get that together soon.

A couple of notes about Windsor: both Craft Heads and Phog are moving from downtown to Erie St. They're actually going in side-by-side in a new plaza build that is across the parking lot from WindsorEats Food Hall. So that'll make for a pretty nice three-pack of spots all right there together.

[midlife crisis]

I assume you confined yourself to one pint at each place, then!

[Cass]

I assume you confined yourself to one pint at each place, then!

LOL it was fairly rapid fire going from place to place. Not a lot of hanging around!

[JerCraigs]

A couple of notes about Windsor: both Craft Heads and Phog are moving from downtown to Erie St. They're actually going in side-by-side in a new plaza build that is across the parking lot from WindsorEats Food Hall. So that'll make for a pretty nice three-pack of spots all right there together.

Sounds like you had a good trip! Any idea on the timing for the moves?

[JerCraigs]

Apparently there is this place too that I just found on Google maps!
https://www.windmillridge.ca/

[Cass]

A couple of notes about Windsor: both Craft Heads and Phog are moving from downtown to Erie St. They're actually going in side-by-side in a new plaza build that is across the parking lot from WindsorEats Food Hall. So that'll make for a pretty nice three-pack of spots all right there together.

Sounds like you had a good trip! Any idea on the timing for the moves?

Phog has announced a last day around Christmas. I'm not sure about Craft Heads - their place is kind of weird as there's some kind of landlord dispute so they aren't brewing, but the bar is still open and they are doing a lot of comedy nights. But I think they could close anytime. Not sure about the timings for the new openings.

[cratez]

I have never thought of Windsor as a craft beer destination, but these posts would be enough for me to visit and see what's up. For a really long time Windsor was just the place you drove past on your way to the border/Detroit, so it's encouraging to hear a beer scene has finally developed there. Looking forward to checking these places out at some point.

[Cass]

I have never thought of Windsor as a craft beer destination, but these posts would be enough for me to visit and see what's up. For a really long time Windsor was just the place you drove past on your way to the border/Detroit, so it's encouraging to hear a beer scene has finally developed there. Looking forward to checking these places out at some point.

It's an interesting scene and I've enjoyed my times in Windsor. The biggest issue from a tourism perspective is the downtown, which is unfortunately where many of the hotels are as is the border tunnel. So I think for many their impression of Windsor is shaped by the downtown, which frankly does kind of suck.

But outside of downtown, Walkerville & Little Italy are really nice, and Sandwich is changing for the positive due to the new bridge.

The county is super pretty and towns like Amherstburg and Kingsville I would consider to be like the PEC of western Ontario. In fact, I was chatting to a local in Kingsville and he was bemoaning the "Toronto money" coming into town. But you can tell that the effect is the towns have stuff going on.

And, Detroit is right there! So taken all together it makes for a pretty compelling destination.

Worth a trip for sure, especially if you can swing by some of the county towns.

[cratez]

It's an interesting scene and I've enjoyed my times in Windsor. The biggest issue from a tourism perspective is the downtown, which is unfortunately where many of the hotels are as is the border tunnel. So I think for many their impression of Windsor is shaped by the downtown, which frankly does kind of suck.

But outside of downtown, Walkerville & Little Italy are really nice, and Sandwich is changing for the positive due to the new bridge.

The county is super pretty and towns like Amherstburg and Kingsville I would consider to be like the PEC of western Ontario. In fact, I was chatting to a local in Kingsville and he was bemoaning the "Toronto money" coming into town. But you can tell that the effect is the towns have stuff going on.

And, Detroit is right there! So taken all together it makes for a pretty compelling destination.

Worth a trip for sure, especially if you can swing by some of the county towns.

That is awesome to hear, Cass. I can understand the promising county vs. shitty downtown thing as Brantford and the surrounding counties are exactly the same way. Most of the decent to good breweries are in Brant County (Flux, Paris Beer, Steel Wheel) and Norfolk County (Meuse, Wishbone, New Limburg), while Brantford proper only has one solid option in Sassy Britches/Mash Paddle. It's exciting to learn that Windsor has emerged as a worthy beer town as besides Northern Ontario, it's the only area of the province I haven't explored beer-wise. Based on the recommendations I'll be making an effort to get down there sooner than later.

[Cass]

Based on the recommendations I'll be making an effort to get down there sooner than later.

And the VIA stops in Brantford on the way down there! An easy ride to head down, at least to check out the city scene!

[MatttthewGeorge]

Windsor: Chapter Two, Walkerville, Sandwich, Erie St. Gastropub, Cookie Bar, Phog, Craft Heads, The Vic, Dominion House, WindsorEats Food Hall
Amherstburg: Lot 10, Wolfhead, GL Heritage
Kingsville: Banded Goose, The Goose, Grove
Leamington: Cured Craft
Tecumseh: Frank
Harrow: Carolinia Cider
Essex: Brew

The point of the trip was A Quick Beer episode so I shot a ton of stuff and hopefully will get that together soon.

Cass, did you ever get an episode completed for this trip?

All, I'm staying in Leamington from this coming Saturday till Wednesday. Particularly curious about the ultra-local breweries in that area: Cured Craft (Leamington), Top Dog (Ruthven), Branded Goose, The Goose, and The Groove (Kingsville), Windmill Ridge (Oxley), Bearded Dog (Harrow)... comments welcomed.

[JerCraigs]

Been to several of these a few years ago but many were COVID visits where I was avoiding sitting inside.

Cured Craft (Leamington) - Nice-ish spot, we mostly stuck to the patio for our visit. Food was decent, I remember the beer more kindly than my tasting notes do.
Top Dog (Ruthven) - Do they have a bar now? The two we tried a few years ago had QA/QC issues. Hopefully they have improved.
Banded Goose, The Goose - Had a nice meal at Jack's Gastropub years ago. Other locations looked interesting but i haven't visited.
The Grove (Kingsville) -- Big shiny new space. Beers okay to decent. Food was good but we were there for an event day so can't speak to regular menu.
Bearded Dog (Harrow) - Beer okay. Nice patio, cozy looking bar area. Food looked good but we didn't eat here.

Cheers!
Jeremy

[Cass]

Cass, did you ever get an episode completed for this trip?

I bite off more than I can chew with these things and I'm behind on editing all the episodes. I'll type up some notes for you!

[MatttthewGeorge]

I managed to pop into 3 breweries while down south. Didn't stay for food or drink, just bought some beer to go.

My thoughts:
Cured Craft (Leamington) - Nice looking brewery and a decent patio (in better weather). All 4 beers I've had thus far have been bad to drain pour, unfortunately. My wife said it was the worst seltzer she's had to date
Banded Goose (Kingsville) - Nice downtown location, friendly staff. I've only had one of the beers I picked up (Flying V WC IPA) and it was just ok. In the Boneshaker (high/darker malt) type of WC, but not as good.
The Grove (Kingsville) - Big sports bar brewery outside of the main area. Really like how the retail area you just walk into a walk-in fridge. Was the busiest of the three I went to. Beer ok, wife says seltzers were ok as well.