The Kingston Brewing Company

The Kingston Brewing CompanyThe Kingston Brewing Company
The Kingston Brewing CompanyThe Kingston Brewing Company
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

34 Clarence St
Kingston, Ontario, K7L 1W9
Canada

(613) 542-4978 | map
kingstonbrewing.ca
BEER STATS
Average:
3.55
Beers:
16
Ratings:
80
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.9
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
27
pDev:
14.36%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by MasterOfArgos39:
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Reviewed by MasterOfArgos39 from Canada (ON)

4.85/5  rDev +24.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
I've been going here since I was a toddler (drinking only milk at the bar, my folks were responsible!) and have always loved the "Brew Pu b". KBC is like going home; food has gotten better, atmosphere is great, and the beers are excellent!
Jul 03, 2014
More User Ratings:
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Reviewed by Insomniac from Canada (ON)

3.91/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
They brew their own and have a very good guest tap list, which IMO is the best in the city. The patio is the place to be during the good weather and the food is quite good. A must visit for any beer lover who is in the city.
Jul 22, 2020
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Rated by AlexKingston

4.73/5  rDev +21.3%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
One of my favorite places in Kingston. A beer first place that was here first.
May 14, 2020
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Reviewed by kelvarnsen from Canada (ON)

4.08/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Visited this brew pub a few years ago as part of a work trip to Kingston. I remember it being an interesting place that had obviously been there for awhile. A little small but close to the waterfront which would probably be nice during the summer.

Tried a couple of different beers, the only memorable one was the Dragon's Breath cask ale they had which I found was really enjoyable. I don't remember much else about the food other than it was pretty good for work trip pub food.
Aug 12, 2019
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Reviewed by TerryW from Canada (ON)

3.99/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.5
Patio time on a weekday afternoon. Steady, but not uncomfortably busy. Two different patios to be had, one on the street front, the other in an interior courtyard. Big beer selection of in-house stuff alongside a big bunch of other Ontario breweries. Fascinatingly kitschy interior decked out in an insane array of brewery memorabilia with the odd bit of pop culture tossed in. Properly attended to by staff. Worth a visit.
Jun 28, 2019
 
Rated: 3.7 by Jangle_bojangle from Canada (ON)

Jan 30, 2018
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Reviewed by eberesford from Canada (ON)

4.13/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25
A perfect lunch stop between Toronto and Montreal. Always get the Dragon's Breath cask ale although now they have a good range of Ontario craft ale. The wings are justly famous.
Aug 12, 2017
 
Rated: 3.85 by bumchilly25 from Canada (BC)

Aug 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.46 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

Jul 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.25 by hexacron from Canada (ON)

Oct 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.73 by Danielr26 from Michigan

Jul 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by Gotti311 from Wisconsin

Jun 26, 2014
 
Rated: 3.65 by Brody1714 from Canada (ON)

Apr 15, 2014
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Reviewed by boszormeny from Canada (ON)

3.75/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4
This brewery is located in historic downtown Kingston. Their outdoor patio is an awesome spot to relax and try enjoy some pints in the summer. Their selection is excellent and atmosphere is great. Their bar area is great, with more space upstairs. The atmosphere is much better in the bar area or patio than upstairs, but it can get busy during the school year with many students on a Friday or Saturday night
Dec 04, 2013
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Reviewed by soju6 from Missouri

4.13/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Great brew pub. The staff and patrons are very friendly. The food is great with a large menu to work from. Service is usually excellent with a nominal glitch especially when they are busy.

My favorite brew is the Dragon's Breath Real Ale. I also enjoy the Whitetail Cream Ale a nice refreshing change. They make brews for special events or for seasonal enjoyment. They have about 17 other beers/ales on tap, all are regional craft beers with the exception of Guinness. There is also a large selection of single malts.

My main stop whenever I am in Kingston.
Aug 20, 2010
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Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.01/5  rDev -22.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 4
Visited the KBC yesterday during a family fishing trip that landed me roughly 30 miles away. The atmosphere of the place is interesting. Out front along the curb sat a classic orange truck displaying the Kingston dragon logo painted on the side. Beside it there was a deck that allows for table seating literally right on the side walk under a canopy. Inside the building, it is a strange arrangement of small corridors and cubby holes for seating. When we entered the building, a sign instructed us to seat ourselves. We meandered our way around the tunnel paths, steps and landings to find a table in a corner. Lighting was dim and this place was absolutely covered from inch to inch in beer paraphernalia. I took a walk around to get a feel for the place. The rest rooms were down a flight of steps, through a camera monitored hallway and into a cramped 2 person sized room. The bar seating area appeared to have room for about 4 people and was in a slight "L" shape that displayed 5 taps and 2 casks. Really not much room at all.

There was plenty of chalk boards displaying their beer along with guest beers provided by the brewing companies they outsource to: McAuslan Brewing Company and Brick Brewing Company. Beers on tap for the night included: First Capital Ale (seasonal), Framboise Royale, Dunkelnacht, Regal Lager, Dragons Breath Pale, Dragons Breath Real Ale, Whitetail Cream Ale. Other guest beers included an IPA, Hefeweizen, Oatmeal Stout, Apricot Wheat, Steamwhistle and a few others I can't recall because I wanted to inquire about them but never had the opportunity to since our waitor pretty much abandoned us for more than half an hour to an hour at a time. They do not offer samplers of their beer for purchase, however you can ask for a taste of something and they will provide it free of charge. During my visit I had a pint of First Capital Ale (which the server said was their best offering, I was not impressed) other members of my party opted for the guest tap of Oatmeal stout, Dragon's Breath Real Ale and Framboise Royale (a catastrophy which ended up being returned.)

During our stay, we did not have anything to eat but I continually looked over the menu and it consisted of quite a vast selection of pub food. From pizzas and soups to wings and more detailed special entrees, there was plenty to pick from if you were in the mood to eat. Everything seemed quite reasonable except the nachos caught my eye as being quite expensive. I don't know what kind of nachos they server in Canada but $16 for chicken on top of nachos seems like quite a bit.

As far as service goes, the waitstaff was friendly and prompt at first despite having to search for us since we sat ourselves and they had no means of knowing we came in without doing a random interval browse of the seating areas. Our waitor was polite and willing to explain the beer situation to us. I inquired as to the possibility of having a sampler of their beer... no such luck. So I ordered a pint as did the rest of the party and when none of us enjoyed the selections we made he quickly brought out glasses of the different beers for us to try before ordering more pints. As the night went on, it got progressively more busy (as expected on a saturday night) and I could see the priority of our table drastically dwindle. One member of our party who was no longer interested in having beer ordered a soda (that was brewed on premise) and it took more than half an hour to arrive. When it did arrive it was about as enjoyable as our beer experience: nearly flavorless and seemingly stale.

I cant say that overall our experience was all that good. The atmosphere was interesting, the service was good at first then got bad. The beverages (while a good selection was available) were all below average as far as my party was concerned. The place was getting busy, I dont know if it is a lack of other choices that keeps people going back there or maybe their food makes up for their quality of beverages? I would give this place a shot again in the future but I would be quite hesitant on expecting anything above average from their beer.
Jul 05, 2010
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Reviewed by JohnnyBarman from Canada (ON)

3.93/5  rDev +0.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Haven't been to the joint in ages; I used to haunt it quite frequently in my early undergrad days, but I found drinking on campus easier and more convenient. A rare trip back to Kingston necessitated a stop in at the old KBC.

First of all, you really can't beat the atmosphere in here. About 9 on a Friday, and understanably it was packed, but the crowd was neither obnoxious nor snooty - a good mix of student and local patrons. Wonderful collections of beer memorabilia on the walls - every inch of the place is covered in old taps, steins, beer and whiskey signs, as well as a giant polar bear and mountie nutcracker. For a beer buff, it was hard focusing on the conversation because of all the distractions. Photographs of past events adorn the stairs down the basement - I might be in one or two.

Fantastic location - two blocks from City Hall and the harborfront, with a patio in the back.

A pretty decent selection of microbrews on tap - considering the dearth of such pubs in Kingston, the KBP offered a much needed respite from the all-too-common InBew-Diageo slate. For the evening, I had Whitetail Cream Ale (meh), Dragon's Tail Real Ale (good) and Beau's Lugtread Koelsch (big winner). McAuslan provides some of the home brews, Dragon's Tail Pale in particular. Wellington, Creemore, Scots-Irish to name a few of the other brews on tap.

Waiter/waitress were fairly on the ball, although the bartender was a bit curt when I asked him about the beer. I was definitely itching for a conversation on a busy night, so that might have explained it. Appreciated the waiters tucking in their ties like German Koebes, though.

No food tonight.

Two full pints and one half pint ran me about 17 bucks, which isn't bad.

Definitely a worth-while spot to check out if you're in the Kingston downtown. Decent selection of microbrews, exciting atmosphere, and, to quote Moe Syzlak: "a bunch of crazy crap on the walls."
Apr 26, 2010
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Reviewed by bobsy from Canada (ON)

2.7/5  rDev -30.8%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 1
How the heck did I forget to review the Kingston Brewpub? Here's how - stop into Kingston on the way back from a weekend in Montreal, madly finish up a pile of work and leave for 3 weeks in Japan a couple days later.

Anyway, the pub. I have fond memories of this place. My wife went to Queen's, and it was always a good spot for a pint and wings. Of course, that was over 6 years ago and I'm not a student any longer, so I have a different perspective now. Sunday night and the place is packed. Very student-orientated and clutter and bric-a-brac out the wazoo. Reasonable selection of taps for this part of the world, but sadly the beer is not in the greatest condition, and the cask ale is bordering on spoiled. The food is uniformly appalling. Four meals ranging from passable to depressing. Service was decent, but there's so many negatives that its easily overshadowed.

Sadly, Kingston is a bit of a desert when it comes to good beer bars, so this place is the only option. I'd give it a miss.
Feb 09, 2009
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Reviewed by Antilochus from Canada (ON)

3.64/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Went in a for a pint on a Monday night. Surprisingly busy at 8pm but got quiet quickly. Service was good, staff were friendly and were a little knowledgeable about the beer. Other than their selections, they had Ambroise Oatmeal Stout and Blanche de Chambly (may have had a few others...). After a dragons breath real ale I decided to take advantage of their huge single malt selection (100+), got a Bowmore 12 yr served neat in a decent single malt glass with water (it wasn't tap, but couldn't tell beyond that). Nice place overall.
Nov 21, 2007
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Reviewed by fireqc from Canada (QC)

2.8/5  rDev -28.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 2 | service: 4 | selection: 2 | food: 2
When I was go to this brewpub two years ago I liked it, but today, isshhh... The food, I take the chicken BBQ and was not enough cooked... The beer, baof... No sampler (I hate that!) and no special beer. Even the cask ale was no hoppy taste.. The desert we share (me and my girlfriend) was not like the waitress explain it (this is what happen when menu have no picture).
Sorry but for me, today, it was a pain this brewpub. The only one thing I can give is the decoration, this place is beautiful inside. For the rest, sorry I'll not going anymore (even if they'll add sampler)..

FIRE...
Aug 31, 2007
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Reviewed by MTNboy from Germany

4.5/5  rDev +15.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I want to start off by saying I love this place. I get excited just thinking about it. I wish I would have went there sooner. I am usually short on time when I go to Kingston and had talked about trying this place forever. Now, I make time to go there. After going there once. I took an out of the way trip to Kingston to take my parents there when they visited from North Carolina. My dad loved it and he is kind of picky when it comes to pubs. The atmosphere is very pub like but fun at the same time. There is plenty of stuff on the walls to keep you looking around. Not to be crask but a lot of the ladies in the place kept you looking as well. They have a great selection and I haven't tried anything that they make that wasn't at least good yet. I loved the cider and the larger. It is always packed but the servers are always friendly and are never too busy to check on you. I hate hate to admit it but I have not tried the food yet but it smells and looks great.
Dec 28, 2006
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Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

4.04/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
This place has been around for 20 plus years and benefits from an excellent location between Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Syracuse, and New York. It is right near the water in an ivy league college town and the people by nature are very friendly. The bar itself is small, however there is a very large deck and large tables and lots of regulars. This place is open to 2 a.m. daily regardless. You know you can come here and get a drink and its not dark and you can talk to someone. It is very relaxing. Average age is about 4, with a large percentage of mid-20s. Lots of staff, always busy but you never wait for a drink. Staff did not know much about the beers. The beer is fine for the lager/blondes the people want. Not a high ABV brewpub. People were here for hours. Beer is very reasonable, and there are 2 casks and 12 taps, most of them guest taps. Truly meritous of being one of the best places to drink beer in the country.
Jun 06, 2006
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Reviewed by ecoboy from Rhode Island

4.34/5  rDev +11.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4
BA Margaret and I had a blast here on a weekday night in summer.

Arrived to town very late, threw everything into our motel room and set off for the center of town where this little jewel resides. Truly a "pub" in an old building where it has slowly taken over the space and made it unimaginable that anything else could go in there. Past patio seating on the sidewalk, past restaurant-style seating to the back where the smallish bar resides. 'Course as soon as you're in the space, you are practically assaulted by the colorful beer collectables all over the walls. The most impressive of the lot is the scads of beer-sponsored ashtrays old and new.

Beer, cider and wine all from one place? Spot on and congratulations!

The server walked us through each brew's description with a healthy mix of objective and subjective. We were also treated to tales of the recording artists who had supped/played there (Sarah Maclachlan autographed photo where she appears to be about 18.) And then, there was Van. Van is a co-owner and a great mountain of a man with a twinkle in his eye and a long white beard. Well, we learned he also loves his place, loves his work and loves his brewer's beer. He put a couple of our beers on his tab and told us about what he loved about Maine.

and the beer? Well, it's nice to see a place try styles from all countries, when one might expect a purely British/Irish approach. I had two, one a cask british style ale that was unlike anything available to me back home: a very warm cellar temperature, very little carbonation, very oily hopfeel. Then came the cold IPA which was a delight.

Highly recommended to anyone who gets anywhere NEAR Kingston. You might not have the same exact experience we did, but I guarantee you'll have a great feeling about the place and the beer (provided you're not looking for some glass-and-steel enclosure for your drinking.) Ask for Helen Bach when you get there.
Sep 02, 2004
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Reviewed by KingSlender from California

4.18/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
We visited Kingston Brewing on our way to Toronto during a beer/baseball junket last summer. This place was great! It was the first brewery that we hit in Canada and it was very close to the best. The atmosphere was wonderfull with colorfull art on the walls, good local music playing, and very nice people. Our server knew a ton about all the beers and went above and beyond to answer all our questions. The Dragon's Breath IPA was outstanding. Very well balanced with a great hop bite. We also tried the Pale and a seasonal. Both were also very good. We did stop for lunch, but at this point I can't remember what we ate. I guess the good beer warped my mind. I hope to visit if I'm ever in the area again.
Feb 19, 2004
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Reviewed by ChappyCubsFan from California

4.75/5  rDev +21.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
What a great find this was. Located in the downtown area of Kingston just a stone's throw away from a beautiful park on lake Ontario. We were on our way to Toronto and knew Kingston had a brewpub, so we stopped in for a fish and chips lunch and a brew. Now I've never been to England (yet) but this place reminded me of a British pub. We were amazed when we read the beer menu and saw the dozens of beers they brew (many were seasonal, of course). But we did start out by ordering a pitcher of the Dragon's Breath IPA followed by the pale ale. The service was excellent, and the lady waiting on us was energetic and knowledgable about their beers. The Kingston Brewery in Kingston and the C'est What Brewery in Toronto were the two best brewpubs we visited in Ontario.
Jan 01, 2004
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Reviewed by ElGuapo from New Jersey

4.56/5  rDev +16.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4
A must see if anywhere near Kingston. I was told that this place gets very crowded at times, but when I went it was nice and quite. I toured the brewery (one tiny little room) and talked with several of the employees for quite some time (brewmaster, owner, bartenders...) Everyone was extremely nice and very excited about a couple from New Jersey stopping in.

The beer is excellent. They offer between 4 and 9 of their beers on draught and cask-conditioned, as well as a few other micros. The place has an Irish feel to it. Beer tins, tap handles and hundreds of labels line the wall. Some pretty cool breweriana. I will return to Kingston shortly, almost entirely because of how impressed I was with a few of the bars, this one of course being my favorite. I will definitely grab some food.
May 31, 2003
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Reviewed by Shiloh from Canada (ON)

4.43/5  rDev +13.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
I would definetly recomend this charming old style brew pub to anyone visiting the Kingston area..The motif is "BEER" of every genre...
It carries 6 of its own brews plus 2 others from different micros.
The staff is very knowledgeable about their product and industry.
The food we had was excellent..(try the wings)
The best way to describe this operation from me would be to say" I felt like I was at home"
Exellent!!!!!!!..wish I lived next door..
Feb 24, 2003
The Kingston Brewing Company in Kingston, ON, Canada
Brewery rating: 3.55 out of 5 with 80 ratings