Stone City Ales

This place is nicely located on Princess Street, which is basically the main drag in Kingston. During the spring, summer and fall months, it’s a great place to enjoy a few while people watching in a very vibrant area of the city. The beers are of high quality and the servers know their stuff. Recommended.

 

A nice little place in beautiful Kingston. The space is tight, but you get a nice communal vibe there. A good selection of beers, about 5 or 6 'regulars' and then another half dozen 'specials'. They also have a good bottle list with some nice Ontario brews on it. Food is a little scant, and service could be a bit more prompt. Beer to go was first simple and prompt service there. I will revisit the place happily next time I am in Kingston.

 

The main place to stop if in Kingston, and many beer geeks brave the 20 minutes each way detour off the Trans-canada 401 highway. Small but mighty, with a solid main lineup and worth trying one-offs. Good value, my friends iiked the fresh and new age food. In the downtown so good coffee places, etc. nearby. One of the best places for beer outside Toronto, and would be in solid top 10 spots if in Toronto.

Great little spot, stumbled upon picking our daughter up from University. Good buzz in the place, beer was very good. Would have liked the servers to spend some time explaining the beers when you buy a flight, especially when you are not a local.

 

What a great spot! Probably the first and last time I'll be in Kingston, but I couldn't think of a better way to spend a great evening! Awesome food, great service, and high quality beer. Wow!

 

 

 

A cool vibe with local artwork in a great downtown location. With the recent addition of the patio is has become my go to for after work pints in the summer. The menu is simple but delicious and the new head chef is killing it - you've got to love taco Tuesdays. I usually hit them on Fridays for the latest releases - haven't dissapointed yet.

This is a cool little brewpub in downtown Kingston and is worth a visit if you are in town. The vibe is really cool and location is excellent. The beer selection was good; I recall there being about 6 or 7 offerings. The beer all ranged from average to above average. Nothing jumped out as being world class, but these guys are still young and I am sure they will continue to improve.

 

 

Lots of selection and they seem to always have something new every time I go in. Several flag ship beers, then two or three seasonal brews and even two guest taps. Staff have a good knowledge of their beers and can recommend something if you are unsure. Flights are available and there are enough beers to get two to try all their offerings. Beer styles and flavors are done well. Growler fills available. I recommend the Uncharted IPA.

I have found my local beer heaven. My home town of Kingston, Ontario, has just been blessed with the opening of a new craft brewery: Stone City Ales. And it's doing everything the right way. They have opened right in the centre of town, not too far from the university, but far enough that it won't be overwhelmed with the frat boy types looking for cheap Molson's. They brew on the premises (you can see it all happening), and they have both a bar - definitely not a pub, a bar, with brick walls, clean wood and steel counters - and a take-out counter for off-sales. Now, the latter might not sound revolutionary, but given that almost all alcohol sales in Ontario are controlled by the Provincial Government, it's almost revolutionary for a microbrewery to be doing this. What's more the beer comes in really cool, returnable, brown glass jugs that look like old-fashioned gin bottles. And the sales look to be going very well.

This would all be very well and good if the beer was not up to par. But, it's much, much better than that. The head brewer was previously at Nickel Brook, probably the most interesting Ontario microbrewery, which is a very good sign. They brew in small batches, some of which will be almost permanently available, some will be occasionals and seasonals, and some one-offs and collaborations. They've spent a long time prior to opening playing with recipes and test brewing and it shows. Most new microbreweries make some mistakes. Some of their beers are disappointing, or even bad. I tried all of the five taps they had and they were uniformally superb. For individual brews, see my reviews of each. But if Stone City Ales keep this up, I will be a very happy man.