What are some of the truly great hidden gems in the city? Everyone knows big rig and Beau's, what local breweries have the best drink?
Myself I have to go with Cassel brewery red, and covered bridge dirty blonde.
Posted Sep 24, 2016, 10:56 PM UTC
There's Tooth & Nail Brewery in Hintonburg and Broadhead
Dominion City - for almost everything they make!
This is my go to brewery as well. I also end up at Broken Stick a lot these days too as they are right next to each other.
Bicycle Craft Brewery on Industrial.. truly epic beers
All these recommendations should note the style.
Bicycle and Beyond the Pale are both awesome for fans of intense ales (whether IPAs or stouts).
Many beer drinkers will find this way outside their comfort zone. For someone who prefers conventional lagers but wants a "craft" option, Big Rig and Kichesippi may well be the best option.
For myself I keep going back to Broadhead and Kichesippi if i want something local. Tooth & Nail has a good selection too.
I second Broadhead.
Stalwart in Carleton Place is damn good.
Haven't tried any of their other beers, but Dr. feelgood was the best locally brewed IPA I've ever had.
Whiprsnapr-Ok Lah for a light refreshing brew. http://whiprsnaprbrewingco.com/whiprsnapr-beer.html
I toured their brewery 2 weeks ago, really neat
See my comment here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/53thdt/craft_beer/d7w2k9y
As for the breweries, my favourites are Tooth and Nail, Stalwart and Calabogie. The last two are not technically Ottawa but 30 minutes and 1 hour drive, respectively, is worth it. Beyond the Pale, Dominion City and Covered Bridge are the other 3 that I frequently visit. Big Rig Kanata's location (where the brew) has nice experimental beers from time to time. If you're heading that way, stop at Cheshire Cat. They serve beers from small breweries based outside of Ottawa. Yesterday they had True North of 7 helles from 4 Degree Brewing (Smith Falls).
I've been hooked on beyond the pales pale ale since it came into our local grocery store. I haven't been to the Cheshire cat yet since I moved here. Another west end favorite of mine has been ABC
Everything ABC makes is available at Quinn's and Patty's in the old Ottawa South. I am not a big fan though; their use of ringworm ale yeast is off-putting in my opinion. They do have a nice release once in a while and I always enjoy a pint of their Vanilla Stout.
*ringwood
Thanks. iPhone autocorrected that one :)
For a really small craft brew experience check out Waller St. Brewing company. Great beer, great atmosphere.
I really like Nita brewery (on Colonnade), they have a bunch of their beers in cans which is a bonus if you want to stock up your fridge for a little while. I also like Beyond the Pale, Dominion City, and Cassel.
Nita just showed up at my local beer store, idk what it's called but the one in the dark blue can was awesome!
Best in town. Nita Beer on colannade Rd. They do some amazing stuff. My favourites are the 5 fingers brown ale and the perfectum stout. If you go to Arrow and loon on Bank or the Cheshire Cat they usually have unique cask ales on tap.
Others: broadhead, Ashton brewing company
Side spot North of 7 ottawa's only distillery try their GIn!
This is my general ranking of what's available in and around Ottawa. Not to say I don't like the ones near the bottom, but the top choices have impressed me much more. I also definitely missed a few but tried to be as exhaustive as possible.
1 Calabogie 2 Tooth & Nail 3 Dominion City 4 Brasseur du Temps 5 Beau's 6 Broadhead 7 Beyond the Pale 8 Lowertown 9 Bicycle Craft 10 Kichesippi 11 Whitewater 12 Big Rig 13 Gainsbourg 14 Waller St. 15 Clocktower 16 Ashton Brewing Co 17 Whiprsnapr 18 Broken Stick 19 Nita 20 Perth
I can't really rank Covered Bridge, Stalwart or Casselman bc I haven't gotten to try enough of their stuff, but I've liked what I have tried.
Evergreen Craft Ales. For sure the smallest brewery in Ottawa, and possibly in Canada. Been by there once before, and they had some great stuff. I think you have to purchase online and pick up, though.
I am underwhelmed by both Big Rig and Beau's.
Personally, I prefer Clocktower and Kichesipi.
Ok, Kiche I can see, it's a matter of taste. And Big Rig/Beau's aren't all that outstanding. But fucking clocktower? They are garbage.
Have you been recently? I also thought that Clocktower was garbage (it was when I last went there) but I've heard that it's much improved from the old days and have been meaning to go back even though I still have a bad image of them from past years.
They are hardly garbage. And are the granddaddy of craft beer in Ottawa, and deserve respect for that.
You're the first beer lover I've ever heard praise Clocktower. I respect your opinion, but I reallllly disagree.
Here's the thing. Everyone has their own tastes. Find a beer you don't like? Fine. That doesn't mean the producer is "garbage". And if I'm the first you've heard to praise Clocktower, you aren't much of a beer lover, or you don't hang out with them. They have won many awards, are a great company, with great people, who have helped many of the other local craft breweries get off he ground.
Big rig I found was set on being mainstream from the get-go and their beers were hardly adventurous. The last few new ones though have been pretty good, especially the IPA.
Kichesipi is quite good.
Being a sports bar I find that Big Rig has a lot of beers for the Bud and Molson crowd...the usual colour beers (Red Ale, Brown Ale etc.). Their brewmaster is quite solid however and when unleashed can produce some really good beers. I especially like their Imperial IPA (Disturber) although it's not often available.
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It's worth it! I've been meaning to go by there and see if they have any cans available in their store.
i'm a huge lowertown fan myself. the lager is my favorite, but their seasonals are usually really good as well :)
Fyi- lowertown and Clocktower, same owner. I've seen daily specials inserts in the menu at lowertown with a lowertown sticker over the Clocktower logo.
Clocktower does have a share in Lowertown, and helped them get their brewing up and going, but Lowertown is majority owned by York St. Entertainment.
Not exactly local, but if you go into Quebec there's a nice little store called Brouhaha that carries a bunch of Dieu du Ciel, and they've got some excellent beers. My favourite beer is Peche Mortel, an excellent espresso stout.
EDIT: Guys, by 'in quebec' I mean Gatineau. It's a twenty minute drive.
I have really been enjoying Beyond the Pale. Joyride and The Darkness are my favs by them.
Not a hidden gem, but a fan none the less.