My daughter is living in Belleville now so I will be traveling there quite a bit. Which LCBO should I check out? Which breweries local or non are any good? Also looking for possible IP trade partners. Thanks!
What is your travel route (e.g. flying right there, driving up, flying into Toronto and then driving etc.).
Your closest good brewery would be Stone City in Kingston. If you're landing in Toronto and driving, Bellwoods is worth a stop if you had limited time. This map gets updated with all the new breweries. http://www.momandhops.ca/brewery-listing/#Breweries
I agree with bdmarco, I almost moved to Belleville 3 years ago lol.Stone city is a half our drive from belleville give or take and Ganonoque brewing is 50 mins, They usually have some ok beers in house. When you find a day or 2 to spend in Toronto, Bellwoods is awesome, Amsterdam brewing is also a nice stop. LCBO's really vary in product, It depends what the beer guy at the store orders, The one in Hawkesbury (where my parents live is pretty bad) 40 mins away in Orleans ( a suburb of ottawa is one of the best in eastern Ontario.) it really does depend. Beers to look for in the LCBO's would be Collective Arts Brewing Co. Ransack the universe Hemisphere IPA, or anything from them for that matter, Amsterdam boneshaker (make sure its fresh) Beers from Sawdust city as well, and fat tug if it's in stock. Central city's red racer ipa is also very good as well as most beers from Great lakes brewing! Enjoy your visits!
I should also mention they usually have some Unibroue products, I know they are available in the states as well under the Unibrow name, They are all really good, most are Belgian style beers! If you see La Fin Du Monde, try it. It is one of the top 5 tripels in the world.
Belleville is a bit of a wasteland for craft beer, though there are some options if you;re willing to drive a bit extra. Church Key (ugh) is about 25 minutes away. Stone City is probably your best bet.
Thanks for the info folks I'll try to check out stone city as my daughters uncle lives in Kingston. Doubt I'll have time to run around much in Toronto this trip. I might have one night there before night flight back home.
Bellwoods just opened up a second location that should be very convenient for you to stop by. If you are flying in to Toronto and driving, you'll be driving along the 401 to Bellville. The new Bellwoods location is less than 5 minutes off of the 401 at the Keele Street exit. Lots of bottles for sale there plus 4 beers available for tasting. Really cool spot too. In my opinion, Bellwoods is Canada's best brewery, so make sure you check them out.
Unfortunately I get in fairly late Friday and when I drive back it will be around 3 or 4 Am. So I may have to put bellwoods on the list for next time. Unless I stay in Toronto the night before my flight or something.
I visit Belleville all the time and there are some local Craft Breweries popping up. Wildcard brewery in Trenton McKinnon brothers in Bath Parsons brewery and Barley Days in Picton and someone already mentioned Napannee brewing company. I've sampled and bought from them all and have nothing but good things to day about them all.
You should also look into flying/staying in Montreal. It's only 1.5 hours further than Toronto in the opposite direction. Close to Vermont so you could do Hill Farmstead, Alchemist, and such.
Yeah Vermont will be visited often. I'm back home now. I went through nickelbrooks lineup. Thought Kentucky bastard was great. Headstock was a solid IPA. I visited stone city in Kingston. Uncharted was the best IPA I had this trip. I also had their barrel aged stout but I forget its name. Though Kentucky bastard was better but it was still well done. I tried a handful of collective arts stuff as well. Anyways all in all I was impressed with the beer scene in Ontario and look forward to visiting a lot more breweries this summer.
Uncharted is solid. Recently had that myself. Nickel Brook Cafe del Bastardo (Kentucky Bastard with Coffee Beans) should be released in February.
Yeah I'm looking forward to the coffee version. I'm going to have someone pick me up a few because I won't be back until the summer.
