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| Here we come Ontario! Time to Get Polk'd! |
One year ago, we embarked on a 4 day birthday celebration by visiting 20 plus Ontario Craft brewers and really kicking off an amazing year that has seen my palate and list of friends grow. I could not have envisioned what a year in beer would bring to my life, but the people I have met, the experiences I've had and, oh yes, the beer I've tried have truly transformed my life. It was an eye opening experience and this year, as with everything I do now, it is going to be bigger and better.
An ambitious plan of hitting 50+ breweries on the 2nd Annual Polkapolooza tour will begin on Sunday March 12th with the long drive east to the Nation's capital. Ottawa is home to many fine and growing brewers and it behooves me to start my tour and celebrate this country's 150th birthday at the same time. The route is still in flux but the following breweries are on the list for Day 1 :
- Beyond the Pale Brewery - Kickoff at BTP for noon. Join us and raise a pint for this weeklong celebration. The caravan will commence!
- Tooth & Nail Brewing Co.
- Big Rig Brewing
- Whiprsnapr Brewing Co.
- Bicycle Craft Brewing
- Dominion City Brewing
- Broken Stick Brewing
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| Join me for a pint at one of our stops! |
Many will be quick stops at the bottle shop as time is of the essence on day 1. We will be staying in the area and hope to meet up with friends we haven't met yet for a few pints, food and laughs in the evening. Nothing is set in stone and my love of talking beer is sure to put my plans to the test. Ottawa is full of national treasures and of course many amazing restaurants and brew pubs. I am sure we will be making a few other stops along the way.
On Monday, March 13th, we will continue east to one of my all time favourite places in Ontario Craft Beer and kick off a long and often circuitous ride home to the Hammer. Changes are possible, but this is what we have so far : |
| It has to be Beau's! |
- Beau's All Natural Brewing Company - VanKleek
- Tuque De Broue - Embrun
- Rurban Brewing Co. - Cornwall
- Ganonoque Brewing Co. - Ganonoque
- Stone City Ales - Kingston
- County Road Brewing Co. - Hillier
- Wild Card Brewing Co. - Trenton
- William Street Beer Co. - Coburg
- Manantler Brewing Co. - Bowmanville
Yes, yes and yes!
We will be on the road for two days and then return home for a little respite before heading north to revisit one of our trips from last year and to connect with some friends, new and old. But that's the post for another day. Stay tuned as the rest of our tour takes shape and on Thursday we will release the final 30 plus stops. I am pretty sure we will be at a brewery near you sometime that week, so why not join us when we come to your town and celebrate all that our Ontario Craft Brewers have brought into our lives. See you soon!
Raise your glass and your standards,
One beer at a time.
Cheers!
Polk
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| Oh Canada! |
Based on where these breweries are and where you are coming from you may want to consider visiting them in this order:
ReplyDelete1) Big Rig - Kanata Brew Pub (be careful to not go to the restaurant on Pinecrest - it's expensive and not the same experience as the actual brewery in Kanata).
2) Whiprsnapper - West End, close to Kanata but on the way into the city.
3) Beyond the pale
4) Tooth and Nail (about 1 km from beyond the pale - our favourite)
5) Bicycle
6) Dominion
7) Broken Stick (pretty tiny brewery, nice people).
You will basically end up going west to east this way and won't be back tracking at all.
Mrs. Crafty :)
Try and slide in Mackinnon Brothers Brewing on day 2! It is between Kingston and Hillier and we'll worth the trip!
ReplyDeleteI work on the road in this area and hit these breweries all the time... I'm assuming being that it's a Monday, they won't be open and that's why they aren't on the list but Napanee Beer Company (Napanee), Northumberland Hills (Cobourg) and Mackinnon Brothers (Bath) make consistently better beer than all but one or two breweries on this list - if you have the opportunity to get to them - sometimes they are open by chance if the brewers are there - they are definitely worth prioritizng.
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