Bruce Peninsula must see/visit Breweries

Avoid all these except maybe Northwinds.
Why go when all their stuff is in the LCBO? And nothing noteworthy to begin with.
Outlaw isn't (?) at the LCBO but the beer is not worth the effort.

Tobermory brewing is a nice spot but basic beers.

I've camped in Tobermory for the last few years. I bring my own.

 

Hey Marc,
Depending on how you are going to travel to and from the Toronto area here are some more options.
If you go up Hwy 6 you could stop by in the Guelph area and meander up to the Bruce....
Breweries enroute include:
Royal City Brewing
Wellington - most of their beer is available at the LCBO
Stone Hammer
Elora Brewing (with restaurant)
Barncat Artisan Ales (limited hours)
Innocente
Block 3
And if you feel Half Hours on Earth (only open on Saturadays BTW, also preorder on a Friday am to avoid disappointment) is not out of the way, Black Swan Brewing in Stratford is a good stop.
Some of these places have offerings at the LCBO but also have brewery only releases.

If you get hungry enroute a stop in Guelph at the Baker Street Staion for good food and a great selection of craft beers on tap and a small bottle collection. If you get hungry in Stratford the Mercer Hall is a popular spot with over 100 bottles in their bottle collection, craft taps include a Quebec tap and a cask tap. Decent food too.

Enjoy your trip.

 

Are you looking to get good beers or see a fancy operation?

 

I have heard good things about both Half Hours and Elora, but unfortunately have never been to either of them. Half Hours and their sours really interest me but as has been mentioned you'll need to order what you want ahead of time to ensure that you can pick up the bottles when you arrive in Seaforth.

The Bruce-Grey area is not exactly loaded with amazing options, but if you're willing to consider Seaforth then Block 3 in St. Jacobs should also be on your itinerary. Breweries aside, Elora and St. Jacobs are lovely places to visit in the summer. Black Swan in Stratford might also be up your alley, but that's getting pretty far out of the way. Innocente in Waterloo is about a 15 minute drive south from Block Three, and is worth the detour if you have time to kill. All of these breweries (in addition to the Guelph ones that dabeerbuddha mentioned) are probably better than the majority of what you'll find in the Bruce.

As for breweries actually located up there, Flying Monkeys usually has a few oddities at their brewery that you can't find at the LCBO. If you're looking for "the best beer possible", they are probably the closest thing to that (although to be fair I have not yet had anything from Redline or Barnstormer).

You will definitely be able to find a few beers from Side Launch, Collingwood, MacLeans, Neustadt, Thornbury and Kilannan at a few LCBOs and possibly Beer Stores in the Bruce-Grey and Barrie regions. They make passable stuff to try while you're camping up there or whatever, but none of it is likely to knock your socks off. Side Launch's wheat is fine, and Thornbury makes decent lagers for the for most part.

Stocking up in Barrie or elsewhere beforehand is really the safest option if you don't want to risk drinking what you can find at the LCBO/TBS in Wiarton.

 

Half hours is not much to look at. Beers are good though. If you get to talk to Kyle he is great. If you call ahead he will set up a pick up if he's around.
Elora is a beautiful building. Good beers and nice people. I live in Guelph and do a route that involves Innocente and Block 3. Across to Black Swan and straight to Half Hours on Earth. That trip is worthy but you won't find big shows. All but Half Hours have pretty views of their fermenters et al. I would suggest going in one way (via Guelph and St Jacobs) for the beer collection and stopping at Flying Monkeys for the show.
Thehyperduck is onto things for sure.
Most striking brewery is probably Elora for its historical value and preservation efforts and Neustadt for the underground caves, although I'm not a fan boy of their beer.
Just my 2 cents.

 

Isn't Side Launch the Canadian Brewery of the Year?!?

 

Still not as bad as last year's OBAs, where Trafalgar was declared the newcomer of the year.

 

Who won this year? Mill Street?

 

They won that award because, of the Canadian breweries which paid money to enter the competition and have their beer judged, Side Launch wound up with the most gold medals (3).
- Their wheat won gold in the "Wheat Beer - German-style Weisse" category.
- Their Germanic bock won gold in the "Bock - Traditional German Style" category.
- Their Huronic Tripel won gold in the "Belgian-Style Tripel" category.

 

Side Launch Wheat is still one of the top hefeweizens in the country. Dark Lager is excellent as well. Not worth a brewery trip, but certainly some of the best examples of the respective styles in the country, without a doubt.

 

Side Launch is available in most LCBOs. Selection will vary, but the Mountain Lager, Wheat, Dark Ale and Pale Ale are the distributed ones I believe.

 

I agree that Side Launch Wheat is an amazing example of the style. I buy it a few times a year. Would buy it more if the German hefe's weren't so cheap and available.