Best Craft Beer in Ontario
By Mike Friskney
While the pandemic has made it difficult to experience and explore the province, there’s still one way to get a taste of local flavour—by sampling a few of the craft beers being brewed across Ontario.
To help you plan your ‘journey’ we’ve scoured the province and put together a flight of six brews that will whet your whistle and satisfy your thirst for a little adventure.
1. BARRIE, ONTARIO
The Chocolate Manifesto Triple Chocolate Milk Stout
Brewed by: Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Available at: LCBO
Established in 2004, Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery is located in downtown Barrie, Ontario, just a rock skip away from beautiful Kempenfelt Bay. Here they proudly brew radical beers like The Chocolate Manifesto Triple Chocolate Milk Stout, their “definitive, indulgent statement on beer and chocolate.” Unfermentable milk sugars, or Lactose, gives this classic milk stout voluptuous body and velvety mouthfeel. Then, three strata of raw cacao nibs, cacao powder and chocolate malt layer a triple doozie of chocolate.
2. COLLINGWOOD, ONTARIO
Downhill Pale Ale
Brewed by: The Collingwood Brewery
Available at: LCBO
In the wintertime, Collingwood, Ontario is bursting with skiers gracefully descending the slopes of its many ski hills. Equally elegant is Downhill Pale Ale, crafted with just four ingredients by The Collingwood Brewery. The beer’s generous amount of American and European hops perfectly balance its robust malt character, yielding a full-flavoured ale with distinct citrus notes.
3. GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO
Lone Pine IPA Ale
Brewed by: Sawdust City Brewing Company
Available at: LCBO
Back in the day, mills and lumberyards lined the shore of Lake Muskoka in Gravenhurst so much so that the town was nicknamed Sawdust City. Years later, Sawdust City Brewing Co. adopted the name as a tribute to the history of the area but they didn’t stop there. Their Lone Pine IPA Ale is bursting with flavours and aromas of pine and citrus, capturing the essence of the stoic pines that mark the vistas of Muskoka and the orange sky at dusk.
4. KENORA, ONTARIO
Forgotten Blueberry Ale
Brewed by: Lake of the Woods Brewing Company
Available at: The Beer Store
Why should the bears of Kenora, Ontario get to enjoy all the best blueberries? They don’t, thanks to the Lake of the Woods Brewing Company. Every year, a few locals forage back into the bush to a remote lake where berries, once exclusively savoured by feasting black bears, are plucked and brought back to the brewery. These become the foundation for the next batch of Forgotten Lake Blueberry Ale, a subtle brew with a clear fruity nose— juicy but muted blueberry—with a low bitterness and medium body.
5. VANLEEK HILL (HOUR EAST OF OTTAWA)
Beau’s Tom Green Beer
Brewed by: Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co.
Available at: The Beer Store
Back in the 90s, comedian, and Ottawa native, Tom Green had a cable comedy show that included many an antic involving cows and/or milk. Inspired by this theme, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. collaborated with Mr. Green to create The Tom Green Beer. This is a milk stout beer that features flavours of chocolate and coffee, while delivering a creamy, velvety texture, and a mild sweet finish.
6. ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO
Dead Elephant Ale
Brewed by: Railway City Brewing Co.
Available at: LCBO
The railway has been a part of St. Thomas, Ontario since 1856. At one time, more than 26 railways passed through the city, but what St. Thomas is most famous for is a railroad accident in which Jumbo the Elephant of the P.T. Barnum Circus was tragically killed. Dead Elephant Ale is the Railway City Brewing Co.’s tribute to Jumbo. Naturally, this golden pale ale is full-bodied and pours with a linen-white medium density head, leaving spider web lace on the glass. On the palate, the flavour is sweet and fruity up front (apricot, mango) with a bit of candy, with slight grassy notes that fall away to reveal a hint of biscuit and rather pleasant grapefruit and perfume undertones.
