I love trying new beers. It’s especially exciting when it’s also a new release from a brewery. I read in a newsletter from Broue Ha Ha, a great spot for craft beers in Gatineau, QC, that Boreale Brewing (Brasseurs du Nord) was releasing a New England-style IPA called, fittingly, IPA du Nord-Est. Broue Ha Ha was one of only 14 places in Quebec that would be getting the beer. The relative rarity and the glowing praise in the newsletter was enough to convince me I had to make it there for release day. I had to change a few appointments but I made it there shortly after opening and picked up a couple of cans.

The appointment I had to change was in Almonte, ON, a small-town west of Ottawa. I love the falls on the Mississippi River that runs through the centre of town. I took the beers with me for some photos. I love photographing craft beers almost as much as I like drinking them and this spot seemed perfect for the beer.

The beer itself is delicious. It’s one of the better examples of a NE-style IPA that I’ve tried. There was a mouth-watering dankness on the nose. The beer drank silky smooth. It had amazing tropical fruit flavours and that juicy quality that makes NE-style IPA’s so delicious. This new beer is definitely worth picking up and I’m glad I bought more than one can.

I have only lived in Ottawa for about 6 months and have really been enjoying trying lots of amazing local craft beers. I have visited a few breweries since I’ve been here. While researching local breweries online, Waller St. Brewing in downtown Ottawa sounded like a cool spot. I finally got the chance to visit today.

Waller St. Brewing is located, not unsurprisingly, on Waller St. near the Byward Market. It’s funny, I’ve driven by this brewery many times and didn’t notice it. I guess sometimes you only see things when you’re looking. And, looking for it today, I saw their hanging sign from a block-and-a-half away.

There are lots of beautiful old buildings in downtown Ottawa. The building the brewery is in is no exception. It’s in the basement of a heritage building that was built in 1868. In order to get to the entrance, you enter a small courtyard to the north of the building. The brewery is located at the bottom of old, narrow stairwell. The brewery calls itself “Ottawa’s tiny Little Prohibition Craft Brewery” and that makes perfect sense as you descend from the noisy city street back in time to this amazing little bar and brewery. There’s stained glass above the bar and the person pouring the beer is in period appropriate dress – a nice touch.

The guys at the brewery are so friendly and helpful. They seemed almost as excited as I was for me to try their beers, while I talked to the sales guy and the head brewer. I learned a lot about the brewery and their beer making process. I sampled some very delicious beers they currently have for sale. I was also lucky enough to get to try some of their upcoming beers that haven’t finished the fermentation process. I will definitely be back when they’re ready to go.

I ended up taking home three of their current seasonal beers: Juicy Joint Sour, a dry-hopped saison; Black IIPA; and Tiger Milk, a while stout brewed with coconut and cacao. The Juicy Joint Sour is juicy and tart and recalls sunshine and the outdoors as you drink it. They say it’s like a mimosa and would make a great brunch beer; I agree. The Black IIPA is nice big malty monster of a beer. The Tiger Milk is very interesting; it’s creamy and smooth and the coconut flavours start to develop more and more as you drink it. I look forward to sitting down with each this weekend to get to know them a bit better.

The trip to Michigan to finally get to Founder’s Brewing for KBS Week was a spur of the moment decision. While checking out my Instagram feed, I happened to see that tickets for KBS Week went on sale in 30 minutes. My wife was out so I weighed the decision carefully: if I buy a ticket will I be able to convince my wife to go…hmmm…her brother lives in Michigan…I can spin that…let’s do it…

I bought a ticket for Sunday March 12, the last day of KBS Week, that allowed me to pick up two 4-packs and two 750ml bottles of KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout). Now it was only a few weeks of waiting and I’d be there. We would be staying in Bloomfield Hills, MI, two hours away from Grand Rapids, where the brewery is located. I wrote my Michigan beer friend, Kyle, and now I had someone to spend the day drinking beer in Grand Rapids with me.

We left early Friday morning for the 8 hour drive to Michigan. It was as uneventful as a drive with 2 small kids can be. After the drive, I spent an excruciatingly beer-less Friday night but it was eased by my excitement about Sunday. My first beer stop of the weekend was Saturday at Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria & Brewery in midtown Detroit. Jolly Pumpkin makes some wonderful sour ales and their pizza is delicious so I was excited to get back there for lunch. My wife had a stout (her favourite style) and I had a blackberry and lime sour ale, Apocolocynposis, and their Fire and Smoke pizza.

Sunday. My KBS day. Finally! Kyle and I hit the road for Grand Rapids at 10:30am. There is not too much to see on the I96. It’s a lot of farmland and open fields. I imagine it’s pretty in the summer. The drive skirts the capital, Lansing, where a lot of the people I know in Michigan went to university. It’s almost exactly 2 hours from West Bloomfield to Grand Rapids. I mentioned to Kyle on the drive that I wanted to start this blog and he spent a lot of the drive and a good portion of the day trying to inspire me.

We arrived at Founder’s during the lunch hour and ran into the only issue of the day, parking. We circled the brewery watching people carrying boxes of their KBS bottles to their cars hoping to snag a spot. We eventually found one close to the brewery and on the same side as the KBS bottle pick-up. I grabbed my ticket and walked towards the brewery. We decided to wait for the bottle pick up until after a trip to the taproom for the first beer of the day.

When I first started really getting into craft beer, reading, researching, trying as many styles as I could, KBS quickly rose to the top of the list as one I would love to try. The relative scarcity of the brew only made me want it more. I also knew this one was somewhat within the realm of possibility since we had family in Michigan and visited often. On those trips, I had tried quite a few Founders beers and always hoped to see some KBS for sale, forgotten on the shelf of a local store. Living in Calgary at the time made it harder since our visits were usually in the summer and not during KBS week in March. But, moving to Ottawa a few months ago put it within reach…

So, as you can imagine, I was excited to finally be there, steps from the tap room and my first taste of KBS. The taproom was busy. It was not a warm day in Grand Rapids but the patio was also packed. Luckily, the line-ups for beer were not overly long and moving quickly. I triple-checked to make sure KBS was available on tap – not that it would have been hard to find another amazing beer to try. There were people everywhere drinking what I presumed was KBS. And, it was on the list and available in 8oz pours. It was at this point that my over-thinking kicked in: do they really have it?; what if it runs out while we’re in line?; should I ask if they have any or confidently order it and presume they do? We got to the front of the line and the friendly staff were happy to pour me a KBS and my friend a tap exclusive Lemon Drop IPA.

KBS did not disappoint. Years of waiting for what was mashed, boiled, fermented and aged in the glass I was holding. For those who don’t know, KBS is an imperial stout brewed with chocolate and coffee and aged in oak bourbon barrels in caves below Grand Rapids. I was about to take my first sip when someone asked if I wanted them to take my picture while I was trying it for the first time. I got my picture taken and we decided to find a place to stand and enjoy our beers. I leaned against the stage at the end of the brewery and took it all in: each swirl, each smell, each taste, the people, the noise, the excitement of it all. The beer is so well balanced and the oak and bourbon flavours serve to enhance all of the chocolate and coffee flavours. This year’s version is 11.8% ABV but it’s well hidden except for the warm feeling on the end of each sip. I shared some with Kyle as I tried his Lemon Drop IPA – also remarkable.

We figured a beer at the taproom and then head outside to pick up my KBS and head to another brewery where we could get a seat for more beers and lunch. I couldn’t leave without a KBS glass to add to my collection so we hit up the company store and bought some glasses. This year’s glass is gorgeous, as you can see in the picture below. We were soon outside again and on our way to the KBS pickup tent on the side of the brewery. There was no line so my focus was on the transaction and the beer instead of what was happening around me. In an attempt to help me find inspiration after I had beer in hand, Kyle asked what song was playing inside the tent. I had no idea. It turns out it was the Hendrix version of All Along the Watchtower. How did I miss that! It would have been nice to reflect on that at the time and enjoy the moment. At least I now have a lot of KBS in the basement for drinking and sharing with friends.

The next stop was Brewery Vivant, a quick trip up the street. I have tried one of their beers before on Kyle’s advice and when he recommended this as a stop I didn’t hesitate. Plus, the brewery is located in a refurbished funeral home. I grew up close to the funeral home business in Nova Scotia. It was my father’s business and I worked there for a time as well – maybe that was a portent of the great beer and food to come.

Brewery Vivant is an amazing space. Stained glass windows frame the back of the bar. Exposed beams criss-cross the ceiling. There are large tables in the middle of the room with smaller tables interspersed among nooks and crannies along the sides. It made you wonder what the different parts of the room were used for when it was a working funeral home. Most of the beers here are Belgian and French inspired, which works for me. We both decided on a flight and let the waitress recommend some beers. I ended up with a stout, two sour ales and a Belgian-style dubbel called Fat Paczki. It’s brewed with powered sugar and prunes and is named after a polish-style donut famous in Michigan. I had never heard of them before nor can I pronounce the name now after many tries at the brewery.

Again, the staff here was amazingly friendly and even took some attempts at helping me think of a name for this blog. All of the food on the menu sounded delicious but I needed a burger to go with the beers. The burger was a blend of beef and bacon, topped with gruyere and pecan-smoked bacon, and cooked a nice bloody medium rare. There was a bacon-onion marmalade on the side which, combined with the truffle fries, put lunch over the top! I could have stayed longer but we decided to try and find one more brewery before heading back.

We looked for a brewery neither of us had tried and that looked like they had some fun beers on tap. We settled on Harmony Brewing Company. It was on the same street and, according to GPS, a 7-minute walk. In the cold it felt more like 15 minutes which might have influenced my choice of beer, Los Conejos, a Mexican hot chocolate nitro stout. It’s brewed with marshmallows, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla beans and cayenne pepper. I’ve had spicy beer in the past but the heat on this one blew them away. Each sip was velvety smooth with lots of heat.

It was time to head home. Our mini-brewery tour of Grand Rapids was quick but filled with amazing beers and food. The drive back was spent thinking about other breweries to try on our next trip. There are so many great beers and breweries in Michigan I’m sure the only problem will be choosing where to try next.