Craving some tasty Hamilton brews? Get them before winter hits
The craft beer industry in Ontario is slowly awakening from a deep five-month slumber that saw it stripped to its core.
More than 60 per cent of the sector's labour force was laid off and about $20 million was lost to spoiled inventory during the early onslaught of COVID-19, according to Scott Simmons, president of Ontario Craft Brewers.
It's a far cry from a report published by the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing in June, which pegged the niche market as the largest engine of job growth in Ontario.
Since 2010, the number of people employed at craft breweries increased sixfold and the number of brewers themselves ballooned from less than 40 to 320, the report found.
And look no further than Hamilton, which, in the span of a few summers, has morphed into a provincial hot spot for locally sourced, hoppy suds.
It's been a fragile time the past five months, no doubt," said Simmons. But brewers have made changes - online stores, delivery, takeout, curbside pickup, patios - that gave us momentum."
Indeed, plenty of brewers in the city and surrounding areas have ramped up production. In-house service is booming - as much as it can be, per health restrictions - and so too is delivery and takeout.
Here's a few spots you might want to check out before winter hits, or if your cabin fever is acting up.
Fairweather Brewing Company
Be it hoppy IPAs, rich stouts and porters, classic continental lagers, or fruited and oak-aged beers, this west Hamilton brewer offers enough variety to satisfy any suds-lover's cravings.
Along with taproom, bottle shop and 10,000-square-foot production warehouse, Fairweather's 60-seat patio - newly built in 2019 - has served a packed house nearly every night since Ontario moved into Stage 2, said co-owner Brent Milcz.
Open Monday to Sunday, from noon to 9 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 12 a.m. on weekends, Fairweather is located in the Ainslie Wood neighbourhood at 5 Ofield Rd.
While there's no food offered, Fairweather serves an array of beers and wine that can also be purchased to-go.
Steel Wheel Brewery
Hailed as Brant County's first craft brewery, Steel Wheel opened its doors in June 2018 and sits on an existing hop farm owned by a pair of longtime residents.
Its farm-to-glass experience offers a wide selection of brew, specializing in small batches and local ingredients.
The tap menu changes frequently, but at the moment you can find Norwegian oat pale ales, wild blueberry beers that dance with sour flavours, as well as a host of IPAs that carry cascade hops or tropical mango flavours.
Steel Wheel is open Friday to Sunday and located at 105 Powerline Rd. in Brantford. Its patio is by reservation only and limited to two-hour time slots.
Grain and Grit
A west Hamilton staple, Grain and Grit's beers run the gamut from German wheat ales and seltzers, to tangerine and guava IPAs and black stouts.
Its beer garden - open Wednesday to Sunday and located at 11 Ewen Rd., just across from Fairweather Brewing - serves up snacks like cheese curds, spud chips, and even dog treats. It also offers free juice boxes for kids.
Grain and Grit's retail bottle shop and curbside pickup runs from Thursday to Saturday between 12 p.m. and 9 p.m., and Sunday between 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
5 West Brew Pub and Kitchen
5 West is located in Burlington and offers a range of craft beers coupled with a pub-style menu.
On tap at the tin-ceilinged alehouse are northern lights lagers, Venus blonde ales, a few IPAs, along with a black hole stout and wheat beers. On the food menu are classic bar eats such as deli burgers, fish and chips, nachos and poutine.
5 West is open seven days of the week at 3600 Dundas St. W.
Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com