Polkapolooza Craft Beer Tour 2017 Review - Welcome to The Polkapocalypse

The end of a long and winding road for Polkapolooza 2017.

  Choosing where to finish the 2017 Polkapolooza tour was not an easy task. While we would be able to reach our goal of visiting 50 Ontario Craft brewers, it was less than a quarter of the bricks and mortar places that existed. I wanted to spend an evening at a final stop that would allow us to figuratively put up our feet and relax after the long journey we had been on. Lucky for us, the south western portion of the province provided not only the right amount of breweries to get us to that magical number, but some good friends and a few surprises at the very end. I had originally planned to head as far south as Windsor, but after consulting the incredibly useful and integral to the trip map at the Ontario Beverage Network, I realised that would not be possible. I put a pin in that area for a future trip and we loaded up the car for the final time early Saturday morning.

1st Stop!

  First up was a stop at one of 5 new to me breweries (out of 8) on this day's trip, Upper Thames Brewing Company. Walking in, we were greeted by the weekly Beer and Yoga group that was just finishing up. Something I'd love to try myself, it looked like everyone was relaxed and enjoying their first pint of the day. The décor was decidedly outdoorsy with canoes hanging from the ceiling containing the light fixtures giving it a cool river vibe. Grabbing a couple of flights, we settled in and talked to the friendly staff about our week and where we were headed. As with almost every stop, they gave us some suggestions on where to head next and some points of interest along the way. We enjoyed our brief sojourn from the road, but knew we still had many stops to make before we reached the end, so we bade farewell and headed back out towards our next Brewery.

First Fight of the day!

  A unique place was in our sights as we drove to Norfolk county : Peanut legend John Picard, and his Ramblin' Road Brewery Farm. Long a tourist destination for their delicious snacks, it became apparent that the growing craft beer industry in Ontario was a logical next step when you have a giant farm and thirsty, peanut loving people to help. We were greeted warmly by a couple of Ramblin' folks, including Granny, who insisted we come upstairs and meet John himself, who was manning the grill in the restaurant above the taproom. A little surprised that the brains behind the entire operation would be hard at work making burgers for the hungry visitors, when I got to talking with John, you understood why. He talked of an honest and hard working group of people who not only enjoyed the labour of love but the beer as well. He was a blue collar, truly down to earth guy and if we didn't have so far to go, I would have settled in for one of those delicious looking burgers and a few pops of my own. We took our leave with a six pack, some salty snacks and a promise to come back when the Hop garden was in full swing. Make this one part of a day trip to Norfolk and I think you'll find yourself smiling like we were. Make sure to say hi to Granny, she's pretty awesome all by herself.

Stop #2! Ramblin' Road was all about stocking up!

  Returning to a place I had visited solo back in the summer of 2016, we drove into New Limburg Brewing and took a seat at the bar in the converted school room for a little rest before the next leg of the long day. Established as a haven for Belgian inspired craft beer, the staff was quick and courteous, with time to chat about how they are always going back to the masters of the style to remind themselves the level of perfection they were after. Kathryn laughed at how weird it felt to be drinking beer in an old elementary school and we looked forward to coming back for some patio drinks as the weather warmed. Winners of my favourite Dubbel and Blonde Ale for last year, I was happy to see their Quad was in stock and after our all too brief rest, we loaded up more bottles and drove on toward St. Thomas for the next leg of the day.

Such a cool looking brewery at Stop #3, New Limburg!

    A big seller in the LCBO and makers of the delectable Black Coal stout, Railway City Brewing were an hour's drive away, but we took our time and enjoyed every moment. Spring was slowly awakening in the small towns and farms we passed and as we pulled into the parking lot, we knew it was time for a pint.

Stop #4 was the very busy Railway City!

The taproom was jammed with a bachelor party outing and the tours they conduct on the weekends, but the staff remained cheerful and quick to help get your glass filled despite the seeming chaos all around us.

Saturday afternoon was rockin'!

We settled in for a flight each and then met the soon to be departing Sonya, who made the day at Railway City even more fun with her enthusiasm for all things craft beer. It was to be her last day at this brewery before heading off to work for Barrie's Flying Monkeys, but she was a wonderful proponent of all the things this St. Thomas brewery was doing and made sure I got a pint of Dead Elephant before we left.

Sonya was a great host! Good luck at Flying Monkeys!

It is always fun to hang out and just people watch as they try new beers and experience what we were getting almost every time we stopped and spent time at a taproom. Joy, excitement and laughter filled the air and it behooves you to add this excellent space to your next south western road trip.

Arty flights by Polk.

  Chasing the final 4 breweries meant a stop in only one city and that makes this Hamilton native jealous of all my friends in London. Home to that number of Ontario Craft brewers and some pretty nice pubs that carry great beer, we had decided on staying here and enjoying the final night of Polkapolooza, which I always call the Polkapocalypse. It is meant to commemorate the end of my macro pounding days and my turning to the good side of beer. We headed first for Forked River Brewing as they were closing sson and I didn't want to miss a chance for some of their unique barrel aged beers.

Forked River, stop #5.

London Brewing Co-op was stop #6!

  Our next stop was going to be a similar run and gun but we ran into a pleasant surprise when we walked in the door and one of our beer writing friends from Brewvy was found working at the London Brewing Co-Op.

Beer Friends back together!

Happily getting reacquainted with Tim as he walked us around the brewery, he told us of their commitment to using as local of ingredients as they could get and showed us the map on the wall that showed where everything they used in the beer came from.

Want to know where the beer comes from? They tell the tale with this map. Awesome!

Truly drinking local is always good and this Co-op brewer was buzzing on an early Saturday evening. Grabbing a pint, Kat and I settled down for a moments rest and started to really feel the finish line approaching.

Pints and good times.

Another place to add to your list of road trips, I could have spent all night talking beer and enjoying the atmosphere, but the Polkapocalypse was waiting and we left with some beer saint gifts to try at home.

Toboggan Brewing for the 7th stop of the day.

  We had planned on staying at the penultimate stop on the last day of Polkapolooza for some food and beer, but as we discovered early on, those plans usually get thrown out the window. We ended up spending so much time hanging out with friends at earlier stops that we were desperate for time and only had a quick grab and go at this very popular brewpub near the downtown core. I wanted one of the Toboggan Brewing flights shaped like their name so badly, but we had some good folks waiting for us and still had to drop our stuff off at our hotel before the final stop of the tour. I will be back this way sometime soon and I will get that flight!

The 8th stop and 50th brewery visited for
Polkapolooza, Anderson Craft Ales!

  When choosing the final destination for the tour and the Polkapocalypse, I wanted a place filled with not only great beer, but people I know loved it as much as we do. The team at Anderson Craft Ales have been huge supporters of mine since we first met last year. We have since run into them a few times at various festivals and their enthusiasm for all things crafty is infectious and
made them a logical choice for the place to end this wonderful week of beer. When we showed up, it was a happening place and we happily took a tour of the brewery with Jim, who had just celebrated his birthday that week and is the father to brewmaster Gavin. Proudly showing us the hard work they had put into building this family run business, we headed back to the taproom for a few pints and the first of the surprises that took this stop into the stratosphere. Working hard behind the taps was my good friend Pat, who I met before he joined the team at Anderson and someday hope to collaborate on some home brews with. He snagged us a few pints before we headed up to the loft style beer gardens and as I turned around, I was greeted by fellow beer reviewer Parker Edwards (his Instagram here). A happy, bearded fellow, Parker and I had planned on sharing a pint and then some beer saint gifts before the end of the night, but little did we know what awaited us upstairs.

Such delicious Beer!

  Unbeknownst to me, the two head brewers, Christina and Chris, from Toronto's Folly Brewpub were also in town and they were sitting at a table with Curtis from VQH Farms, a local farm that supplies hops to many Ontario craft brewers. I do tend to go a little fan boy when I get to meet the people who create the beer I love to drink and this was no exception. I was so happy that this was to be the end of the tour and that I was able to spend it with all these people who were involved in the industry I love so much. Jim ordered us a couple of pizzas as our trip left us little time to eat and being so caught up in talking beer we kind of forgot how hungry we were. This was the type of hospitality I found with the whole team at Anderson and we ate, drank great beer and talked until it was time for the brewery to close its doors. We were prepared for that to be the end of the night, but life is always opening doors and I am only too happy to walk through them.

As usual, I got too wrapped up and excited to remember to take a picture.
Thanks to Curtis from VQH for getting the snap !
(Curtis, Chris, Christina, Kat, Polk and Parker)

  As we were taking our finals sips of  beer, our other good friend from the Anderson clan, Aynsley, arrived straight from her flight in from the States and that's when we decided to keep the party going by heading to the legendary local Craft Beer Emporium, Pub Milos.

A must stop in London and the capper to an incredible week!

  I had long heard of this purveyor of the malted barley through many of my beer friends and it was made even sweeter to get to enjoy some food and even more Ontario Craft beer with the group (minus Curtis, who had to drive home) from Anderson and Folly. It was a fun night in a very cool pub spent talking about beer, life and anything else that came up with some really down to earth, honest folks. The trip we took was coming to and end and we felt a mixture of sadness, relief and joy that we had accomplished our goals. Well after midnight, which is pretty late for us, we said our farewells to the gang and headed back to the hotel to catch a few hours of shut eye before the drive home Sunday Morning. The fact that I remembered every stop, conversation and person from the trip make me happy because just a few short years ago I would have been too drunk to remember any of it. I often say Craft Beer saved my life and that's why I do what I do...It's the absolute truth.


Epilogue
  It's been a little under a month since we finished the Polkapolooza tour of 50 Ontario Craft Breweries and to be honest, it's taken that long for me to wrap my head around what it meant to me. Much more than the numbers (50 breweries, 27 cities, 2700+ kilometers), it has become an integral part of the story I am trying to tell about craft beer, here, there or wherever you are. It is about getting out on the road and exploring all there is to see. Going to your favourite breweries, local restaurants and pubs is a great way to support your community and I have been to a few of my own since we got back. But more than that, I wanted to showcase what you can experience by stepping outside your normal routine and taking a day or even a weekend trip away. There are so many amazing beers and even better people just waiting to be discovered. Be open to new flavours, styles and places and the world will give you all that and more. The friends I have made inspire me to want to do it again and more often. The people who make up this community are the real treasure waiting to be discovered and that is why I truly encourage you to get out there and visit as many places as you can. You don't have to go as big and wide as we did, but make it a point to try and go somewhere new soon,
  A final thank you to my partner in all things, Kathryn. It's a sometimes bumpy ride being my better half and I couldn't imagine this trip without you by my side. You inspire me with your kindness and open acceptance of adventures in beer. We have both grown and found our footing in a life spent meeting people, sharing beer and exploring the world. I'd like to think this part of our life is just starting and with you by my side, there is nothing we can't do. Thank you my love, for just being you.
  Wrapped up and put into the memory banks, the 2017 Polkapolooza tour was a whole lotta fun and I look forward to exploring Craft beer even more as the year goes on. 2018 will be hard pressed to top this one, but I'm willing to give it a shot!




 

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

 

Polkapolooza Craft Beer Tour 2017 Review - Day 3 Heading North with Friends

   

On the road again with the Polkaroo`s!

When I planned the first Polkapolooza last year, I was really just starting to explore Ontario Craft beer and had no idea what I was doing. Our trip north was, however, quite memorable and I wanted to do it again this year, only a little bigger and with some of our friends who live in up the 400. (Side note : The 400 series highways, for our international friends, are the main roadways connecting the Province of Ontario. The 400 is the main route north to Barrie and beyond.) Our day started with a stop at Timmies and a little consult of the OBN map before we roared off into the early morning with a song in our hearts and craft beer in our sights.
 First up was a great launching point just around the corner from Canada's Wonderland, the largest theme park north of the 49th.

Windows for days

Lake Wilcox Brewing opened up last year and is housed in a huge facility with loads of room to grow. Meeting us as we entered was one of the owners, Ray and he was only too happy to share their story, give us a tour and of course, sample some of their beer. An absolute gem of a brewhouse and taproom, it is perfectly located minutes from the highway for cottage goers and a nice place for mom or dad to hang out while the kids are at play.

Lots of room to expand!

 A new pint glass found its way into my hands along with 6 or 7 beers and we bade farewell with plans to stop in again on our way up north this summer.

Morning flights...doing it right!

Thanks for the new glass and the tour Ray!

Barrie was in our sights and we made our way to our friend's Verena (Sunshinetravelcat on Instagram) and Richard's (fish_trails on IG) house to meet up and combine forces for the rest of our day. These two Beer Saints have become good friends as we got to know each other online and once when we visited north in the fall and we were very happy to accept their invitation to stay the night at their house so we could enjoy all their town had to offer. Thankfully for a tired Polkaroo, Verena drove to our 2nd stop on Day 3, off the beaten path at Muskoka Brewery. Plus, she had packed sandwiches, which were a blessing after a few days of fast food stops.

The return of the Polkaroo!

A favourite of mine for their Winter Survival pack (Polkie Award winner 2016) and of course Twice As Mad Tom Imperial IPA, we made our way here to meet up with our other Barrie pal, Brett (ifindbeerenjoyable on IG). We sampled a few of the latest Kettle releases before Jack came over and offered to give us a tour of the brewery, which we found out was in full production mode.

Huge Production facility running full tilt

   A stop in the enormous fridge yielded a dream of delicious Ontario Craft beer just waiting to head out on the road and I will be honest and say I could have sat in there all day hanging out with the skids of Mad Tom!

Checking out the fridge...so much Muskoka beer!

Excited barely covers it as we made our way to the enormous Muskoka production floor and marvelled at the speed and efficiency of the team hard at work getting your beer to you from up here. Jack proceeded over to the canning line and pulled some of the freshly packaged Legendary Oddity for us to try once we got back to the taproom and we all were transfixed watching the bottling line crank out a metric tonne of Detour, their session IPA that fuels many a party down around my house.

Detour for day.

Past some barrels and a perfect Muskoka photo op, we had to say good bye before we decided to set up camp for the night as the kindness they offered was making it hard to leave. Some gratis beer and swag was a parting gift and we bought a few more beers to say thank you for everything.

Sit a spell and have a beer.

  Just a ways down the road comes the home of one of Ontario's best named beers (Long Dark Voyage to Uranus stout) and a contender for beer of the year on many lists (Twin Pines Double IPA).

Hello old friend.

Gravenhurst's own Sawdust City are hailed by many as one of the best this province has to offer and I would be among those touting them. Putting out great beer seems to be in their DNA and we arrived for a pint and some beer chat in their very cool taproom. My glass was soon graced with that aforementioned amazing double IPA, Twin Pines and Kat's was filled with that ridiculously thick and tasty stout. 

Just so damn good!

Our friends had flights and pints and we talked about some of our adventure so far as well as planning for the night ahead. Grabbing some more beer for "research", we once again hit the road back to Barrie and what turned out to be a wonderful evening.

Get into this fridge and stock up.

  We were getting hungry and thirsty, so it seemed logical to head to one of the best for both when in Barrie, Barnstormer Brewing and Distilling.

Some of the best beer and food on the tour.

Recently announced expansion plans to Midland means this brewery will continue to grow and crank out amazing beers at a prodigious rate. Met by the gregarious Brad, he hung out and talked craft beer and made sure our glasses were never empty for long. The food was unreal and it was paired with equally good beer. A new nitro line had been recently installed and I am a sucker for anything on nitro, especially a stout or porter.

Nitro rocking a stout baby!

A few IIPAs and stouts later and we were taken in the back for a tour before we left. The tanks are all named after famous female aviators and I must admit that while I am not a hard liquor kind of drunk, I fell in love with the cool saxophone looking distiller.

Saxophone distiller?

When we received our dinner bills, the beer had been removed and we were left speechless at such generosity. It made everyone feel like a million bucks and we again raided the bottle shop for some beers to purchase as a sign of our gratitude. A definite must stop if you are in town, Brad is a beer saint par excellence.

Brad is simply the best! Cheers my friend!

  It was time for pit stop back at the home of our friends and then a quick jaunt over to the downtown location of the Flying Monkey's Craft Brewery. Walking into the colourful bar room, we were met by the final member (we thought) of our Barrie crew, the amazing Danielle (fionaface on IG). The talk turned to beer and travel as our friends Brett and Danielle were soon to leave on a much needed trip to the islands and we all reminisced about trips south when the snow is flying here in Canada. My pint was an easy choice but a little hard to order. Juicy Ass IPA was delicious and I hope the bartender knew I respected him as a person first.



A beauty IPA from FM!

 Before we knew it, the clock was approaching 10 p.m and I realised we could not make it across town in time to meet up with another internet friend waiting for us at the third Barrie brewery, Redline Brewhouse (we would go there in the morning.
I messaged Hago (Great White Garage on YouTube) and told him we would have to meet up another time before a thought struck me. I asked Verena and Rich if they minded some company when we got back to their place and they were happy to accommodate my somewhat strange request. I asked Hago if he'd like to join us for a little beer and chat and to his credit, he was right on with that. We arrived back at the house and minutes later so did our surprise guest, armed with beauty beer from Redline. 

The one and only Hago!

I had brought my bottle of Samuel Adams Utopia for everyone to try and we sipped and savoured that big boozy treat before I cracked open three great IPA's from Ontario and one from Quebec for all to share and talk about.

A fun treat made to share with friends.

We laughed and shared stories long into the night and when it was finally time to say goodbye, I knew that not only had I made a new friend, but that Verena, Rich and Hago had started one of their own. It was pretty amazing to share beer all day with people and finish it with a new friend who was the perfect way to cap an outstanding day. I went to bed with a smile and a chuckle when I thought of how dark my life used to be. I didn't want to meet people or go anywhere and now I was driving all over the province, making new friends and cementing plans for future adventures that I know will be even better because of the good people I have come to know.

  Day 4 was looming with another ambitious route that would take us home the long way and into a night of art and beer...but that is a tale for yet 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

 

Polkapolooza Craft Beer Tour 2017 Review - Day 2 Running down the 401

  Waking up in our hotel in Ottawa after an amazing first day for the 2017 Polkapolooza tour, I felt like I was still dreaming. While we had a long drive ahead of us, the feeling of how much the Ontario Craft Beer community means to me was very real and very touching. As with all our stops, we enjoyed the breakfast and perused the Ontario Bev Net map to plan our day. Many local breweries do not open Monday, but our first stop is open 7 days a week and come summer, brewing great craft beer 24/7. 

Stop in at Beau's is a must

I have long been a huge fan of Beau's All Natural Brewing in beautiful Vankleek, Ontario for their innovative and aggressive pursuit of so many different styles. Back when I started my journey and we didn't have the proliferation of craft beer at the Liquor or Beer stores, I could count on Beau's to show up every couple of weeks with something new. Their 10th anniversary last year was full of great things and if you follow me on social media, you know I am a full on Beau's fan boy. So it was a no brainer to make the 45 minute drive east of Ottawa to pay homage to this giant of Canadian Craft Brewing.

New glasses and 355ml. Lug Tread

Meeting us there was our pal from Montreal who had made a few of the stops the day before, Mike. Walking in, we were greeted warmly and given a 4 pack of pint glasses as a present from the enthusiastic Beau's staff. We talked a bit about our tour and my personal journey in craft beer before the tastings started and the smiles grew large.

Meeting your heroes is always a good thing.

A chance to wander in a guided tour is always available if you stop at the brewery and we took full advantage, even getting the chance to say thanks to one of the good people responsible for creating the beer I love so much. We had to part ways far too soon and as we retraced our steps, we headed to a tiny town with a great little brewery contained within.

Caught Mrs. Polk looking!

Nicolas from Tuque de Broue had been in touch with me in the weeks before Polkapolooza took shape to let me know that while they were usually closed Mondays, he would gladly meet up with us so we could check out what he, his family and team had built in Embrun over the last few years. Always accepting of any invite to visit, we arrived with high hopes and open minds and were immediately greeted with his smile and energy.

Nicolas, what a guy!

Talking about the trials and tribulations of building and growing a brewery, making beer and being part of the community were covered as we sampled and marvelled at the delicious beer coming out of this small eastern Ontario town. We spent over an hour just sharing stories and it is easy to see why Tuque has become such a hit with the local community. Nicolas has invested not just his money, but his passion and love for this town into his work and it shows. We left with some beer to try at our leisure and promises to return again later this year. Not enough thank you's in the world for this stop on the tour. Make it a priority to visit Embrun, it will leave you feeling inspired and happy you did.

Almost makes me want to move to Embrun

 

Finding a brewery that you didn't know existed...beauty

  The next stop was one of the most surprising and pleasant of the entire week. Located in Cornwall, Rurban Brewing is an island of good beer in an area that used to require a road trip to get something not macro. Nothing close by and one I found when I consulted my OBN map, I knew we had to see what the first brewery in this city in almost 100 years was all about.

Lots of options at Rurban

  An impressive amount of beer available, we were met with open arms and a tour of their facility by owners Andy and Karen. Former teachers, they moved back to their hometown and have filled a much needed niche in this small town. More and more I began to feel like I could live in these places we were visiting and it was in part due to the good beer, but mostly due to the people who were making it. These two stops illustrated what we were hoping to accomplish with this week, getting people outside their usual routine beer runs and exploring all that Ontario had to offer. I loaded up a six pack and we reluctantly made our way back out to the highway for another hour or so.  

Thanks Andy and Karen.



Love the building

  Our next two stops were quick run in and grab the beer due to a pressing need to head home as the last major winter storm was burying the Hammer under a metric tonne of snow. (or so we were led to believe, it really wasn't that bad)

  A picturesque stop among the Gateway to the Thousand Islands, Ganaonoque Brewing was just about to close when we popped in.

   I grabbed one of everything in the fridge and snapped a few pictures before we headed on down the 401 to the home of The Hip and Mr. Donald S. Cherry. Kingston houses a stop we had made during our trip to Tabernac last summer and I had to make peace with only being able to stop in for a few take home beers at Stone City Ales.

I wanted to stay for a pint so bad...

Beautiful and humming with activity on a Monday Afternoon, I was hesitant to leave without having a pint, but the ominous warnings of what turned out to be a non existent snowmageddon had us worried about making it home on time.
  As we grabbed a quick dinner in the drive-thru, I realised we would not be able to make it to one of my most desired stops on Day 2, Bowmanville's Manantler Brewing.

Manantler is the bomb!

While I had come to terms with having to trim my overly ambitious trip due to time constraints, I was really upset that we wouldn't be able to stop in and visit this particular spot because of how much fun these guys were on our Durham tour with the Beer Saints. I reluctantly asked Kat to let them know we would have to miss them and resigned myself to heading home, antler-less. Within minutes my gloom turned to happiness as Matt from Manantler sent us a message saying to let him know when we were close and he would meet us at the brewery even though they were closed. 

Huge thank you to Matt for meeting us after hours!

Elation and exuberance fuelled the next hour on the road and I was feeling like a million bucks as we pulled in and met Matt out front of the brewery. Handshakes turned to hugs and we toured around the  brewpub with a joy that only great Ontario Craft beer can bring.

Maybe we could live in Bowmanville. I'd be at the bar daily.

  Matt gave us a few samples and we happily bought some bottles to take home for more "research". I can't stress enough how much I want thank Matt for giving up some of his own time on a Monday night so we could visit and cross them off our list. This may have been our last stop on day two, but it really tied together a day spent meeting new people and trying to get a sense of what Craft beer can mean in a small town with little contact to the bigger population centres. I left the day before with high hopes and found them met and then exceeded at almost every stop.
  The day was coming to a close and after 13 hours and almost 900 kilometres in search of craft beer, we rolled into the "snow storm of the century"...which turned out to be about as much trouble as a heavy rain in June. Traffic slowed to 70 km/hr. but didn't stop. We laughed at the dire warnings from our over protective families and enjoyed the leisurely pace as we crossed the bridge and the familiar sights signalling home came into view. Pulling into the Manor and unloading the spoils of our trip led to a sample or two and a few precious moments hanging out with the somewhat perturbed Jinx.   There was little time to do much but clean up, put away the beer and try and catch a little sleep. Day 3 loomed large and it was another ambitious drive that was staring us down in our quest to explore Ontario, this time up the 400 North, where friends, new and old awaited.
But that is the tale for our next chapter...

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