Polkapolooza Craft Beer Tour 2017 Review - Day 1 in Ottawa

Lady Polk and her Drunk kick Polkapolooza off with a trip to Ottawa!

This year's Polkapolooza tour started on a beautiful Sunday morning as the sun crept into the day. Up and on the road before it crested the dawn, we loaded up for the first leg of the journey, which would encompass almost half of our drive for the week. The purpose of everywhere we went in the next seven days was to meet up with fellow Ontario Craft beer supporters and highlight different regions to encourage people to step outside their normal beer routine and explore all there is to offer in this beautiful province. My mantra has always been "Drink Local" and while it is always best to support your local brewer, it does you a world of good to see all the amazing things and meet the awesome people that make up the larger craft beer community.
  Trying to decide what breweries to visit and which to skip was probably the hardest part of planning this epic odyssey but rest assured that the places we missed will stay on my radar until I visit them in the future. Heading east to begin, today's post will be all about our day in Ottawa...

  Driving down the highway towards our goal that was 5 hours distant, Kat and I enjoyed the changing winter scene, the peace of being on vacation and of course, the rather eclectic music choices of local radio stations ( I now know all the words to Ed Sheerhan's Shape of You?!?) (Don't judge, it's a good song). Stopping as little as possible, we rolled into the Nation's Capital almost on time and our first stop, Beyond the Pale Brewing.

Polk's in the window

  While we had hoped to meet up with some enthusiasts like ourselves at some point on the tour, Ottawa represented right off the bat when we arrived. Online friends Kevin, Lorie, Mikey and soon after we walked in the door, Nathan, made us feel at home even before our first beer. What a happy surprise to have some local, and not so local, friends to join us for our trip around the beer scene in this quickly growing craft region. Brewer and owner Shane joined us and we sampled our way through their offerings. He pulled out a rare bottle of their Pink Funk and it was a universal hit with all of us. Talking about BTP's move to a larger facility in the coming months, Shane also extolled the burgeoning scene in Ottawa and gave us some ideas on our stops as the day went on. Nathan had to say his goodbye's but put 4 beers from Kichesippi Brewing in my hands as he left to make him the first beer saint of the tour. 

Shane from BTP and the Polkapolooza Ottawa Crew

A delicious and surprising treat from Shane!

  Mike, Lorie and Kevin stayed with us as we made our way just around the corner for stop 2, Tooth and Nail Brewing. Long held by many people I know as the best Ottawa brewery, their 355 ml. cans are a hit with everyone, not to mention the delicious beer contained within. 

Stop 2/50 at Tooth and Nail. Sweet storefront.

When we arrived at this chic craft beer store front, we were greeted by even more virtual friends turned real life drinking companions. The Crafty Couple and Brad from Brew Donkey sat down as we got a flight and a bite in the very cool pub setting and kept the conversation full with stories from the scene in their town. It was a pleasant surprise to receive even more beer saint gifts as we parted ways, the community continues to shock even me with it's generosity.  As we were heading out the door, I stopped to buy some beer and with all of their choices I was wondering if I could by any one I wanted or if they only sold in 4's or 6's, like some other breweries do. I was told that I could buy one of anything, no requirement to by multiples at all. Not only a great beer, but a solid business plan to allow us to buy what we like, in the quantities we want. Cheers to Tooth and Nail for their decision to allow freedom of choice in this area...also, amazing beer to boot.

Hanging with the Ottawa crew at Brew Donkey!

A quick walk across the street to the Brew Donkey storefront and Brad did likewise with a few beers from his stash and we talked about the future of his very fine Beer tour company. I made a promise that next time we head east we will reach out ahead of time so he can join us and make our trip even better. Thanks to Brad and the Crafty couple for making the second stop of our tour so memorable.



Getting moving at Bicycle Craft. Stop 3!

   A trip across town found us at one of the newer craft breweries in town, Bicycle Craft. An IPA heavy board made me smile and think of all my hop head friends back in the west. Instagram friend Bughee and his lady joined us for this stop and we flighted up and talked of our experiences so far. This bright and airy location seemed like a cool place to hang for a bit and the beer was solid.

   A young brewery, its offerings were fresh and hoppy. The Velocepide IPA made its way into my hands thanks to Beer Saint Kevin and we left for the last stop our friends would be making with us.

Nice lineup. Grabbed a sample of everything and a howler of DIPA to go!



Flights on flights...on bicycles.

A renovation underway and a great place for a pint!

   Dominion City brewing had been a strong recommendation from everyone we met and while our company had dwindled to just Kevin, Lorie, Kat and I (Mikey had to head out), we were still full of excitement over a great day. The taproom at the brewery was under some construction, but the service was beauty. Trying a flight and some delicious snacks, I was struck by how every brewery was putting its own spin on Ottawa beer while bringing a small town local feel to the room. The east coast IPA, sadly only on tap, was a huge hit with Kevin and I, while the porter was making Mrs. Polk smile. Saying our goodbyes with promises of future adventures as the year goes on, we made our way to the hotel to freshen up before our final stop in town and dinner with some of Kat's family, who happened to be in town on vacation at the same time.

Can you see the haze in number 3? Beauty!

   It was a pleasant surprise to find Kat's sister Jenn, brother in law Cam and the kids in Ottawa, so we made plans to meet at Big Rig Kitchen Brewery for a pint and some dinner. A fan of their offerings already in the LCBO, I looked forward to trying the food and perhaps a few beers not available elsewhere.

heading into Ottawa Senators territory! Good food and beer to come!

   I recommended Cam get a flight so he could figure out which beer best suited his palate and he went with their solid and crushable Brown ale after trying a little of everything. Kat went with the Midnight Kissed the Cow stout and I couldn't help but order the Alpha Bomb to kick off this final stop.

Starting with a pint of Alpha Bomb, a hoppy gem

Baltic Porter and Shepherd's Pie was a great combo

  Dinner was delicious, with the Shepherd's Pie going down with a relish into my belly. We even took a shot at the intriguing beer cocktail flight on the menu. Not usually a huge fan of mixing beer with anything but other beer, I must admit I enjoyed the citrus vodka/IPA mix, as well as the Hefe/Gin concoction. Kat really liked the combo of a stout and Amaretto, two of her favourite libations in one glass. Give it a shot, but maybe share with a friend, that's a lot of ABV in one flight.

Not sure about the beer cocktails before but was sold on the IPA with citrus vodka and the Hefe with gin .

Good portion sizes, quick and friendly service and once again, excellent beer, make this Ottawa institution a fine way to end our day. Besides, we had the longest and most distant drive the next day. Sleep was a precious commodity this week and we knew when it was time to say goodnight.

Solid Tap list with something for everyone

   It was a real eye opener to the scene in Ottawa and while it isn't a day trip for most, it would be a great way to spend a weekend. We missed quite a few breweries due to them being closed and the fact that I didn't think we would be spending so much time at each stop. I did not expect to have people show up and want to hang out with us and that was the biggest surprise of all. We will make our way back here in the summer to revisit a few of these spots and also to hit up so many of the ones we missed. Thank you to everyone who made the kickoff to Polkapolooza 2 such a great day.
  The goal of exploring Ontario Craft beer was off to a rousing start and day 2 was going to prove to be an eventful one as well. More on that another day...


Make your next beer run a little more epic
Break your routine and Explore everything Ontario Craft Beer has to offer.
You will be happy you did.




Cheers!




Polk