May is quickly becoming a month of beer tripping for me: during the first weekend of the month, I wander Toronto's beer scene; last weekend was the bus trip; and, yesterday I took a little impromptu tour of our northern brethren.
First stop was Hockley Valley Brewing & Malting Company in lovely Hockley Valley, Ontario. Hockley Valley is a quaint little village just north of the city. All in all it consists of about three small artisan shops, a general store, and (attached to the general store) the smallest brewery I think I've ever seen. The brew house is maybe 500 square feet. I have yet to try the beer, so I'll leave comments for latter.
Next stop was Creemore. Man has that place grown, and there seem to be fermenters tucked into every corner. The brew house is gorgeous. They have a copper kettle set in the front window. Nothing was going on yesterday, but apparently you can watch them brewing during the week. The tour was fun and interesting. Our tour guide worked on the bottling line (cleaning the bottles actually) so we got a nuts-and-bolts tour of the washer. Her knowledge of the brewing process, however, wasn't quite as in depth. (That's not a criticism, just an amusing observation—it amused me anyway—of how different tours give different perspectives.) As for the beer, well we've all had it, but it is never as good as fresh from brewery.
Next stop was Neustadt—that is, eventually, after negotiating the maze between Creemore and there. The town of Neustadt is very picturesque, and the brewery is lovely. It's housed in what was the oldest still operating brew house in the country until Labatts poured all sorts of money into the Keith's location in Halifax (right they actually brew there). They owners are friendly and helpful (just don't mention the Internet). They've added a new beer to their line up, Bruce County Premium Lager. I haven't tried it yet, but I bought some, and, if I remember correctly, it is on tap at the Esplanade.
Finally found a little place in Fergus, Ontario of which I've never heard--Grove Mills Brew House & Inn. They certainly are not a brewpub but have two house taps, a lager and a light lager, that are "brewed locally." Don't know if the waitress was being evasive. I pressed for more information but that was all she would tell me or knew. Actually, she seemed more interesting in flirting with the guy at the table beside me who she thought looked like a cross between George Clooney & the bachelor (he didn't). She almost completely ignored me the first time I asked about the beer, excusing herself for a minute (that turned into ten). Then old George & his girlfriend get their food a good ten minutes before we do, even though we ordered first. Word of advice to those in the service industry--don't ignore the middle-aged guy with a job in favour of the twenty- ish hunk, think about who might tip better (especially when the hunk is on a date).
Anyway, I'm ranting. All in all they day was fun, though I didn't really drink much beer (that's for today). I guess the question is, where to next weekend?
Joe
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We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!