Mark your calendars for your next afternoon pub crawl!
Traveling around the province for beer can be really difficult. For one thing, you’ve got to get to the brewery and home again in a socially responsible manner. That can prove limiting unless you’re in a group large enough to have a designated driver who’s patient enough to ferry you around.
If you’re in Guelph and looking to solve this problem, we’ve got great news for you. The Guelph Beer Bus has made its triumphant return for 2023 and is continuing to run for the rest of the year.
Once a month between now and the end of the year, The Guelph Beer Bus is available to experienced tipplers and the beer curious as a mode of transportation between Guelph’s wide array of breweries. Running September 16, October 14, November 18, and December 16, the beer bus is a great solution to the logistical problems behind your next afternoon pub crawl.
According to Wellington’s own Brad McInerney, this is a complex undertaking that actually involves several different vehicles transferring passengers between Royal City, Sleeman, Brothers, Wellington, and Fixed Gear. “It’s a great opportunity for people to see breweries operating at different sizes within the community. Sleeman and Wellington are out by the highway, and that can make it difficult to visit them.”
Take Sleeman, for instance. The current incarnation is owned by Sapporo and is the third largest brewer in Canada, making such specialties as the genre defining Sleeman Cream Ale. It’s so important to the style, it’s one of the beers they use to define it. In the 1980’s they brought PBR to Canada, so you know they’re technically on point. The brewery’s legacy stretches back to 1834, and it’s part of the industry’s history.
If you like your breweries a little smaller and somewhat newer, we’ve got Royal City with their Exhibition Session IPA (a personal favourite of yours truly) which pairs great with their brisket tacos.
You don’t have to get on your bike to get to Fixed Gear who offer a plethora of selection ranging from a light lager to a foeder aged Belgian Saison. Their canteen features wood oven pizza and I’d go with the Card In The Spokes, an upscale Hawaiian with drizzled spicy honey. Pair it with their Fixie Citra IPA!
All the way downtown, you’ve got Brothers Brewing whose specialty series of tart, refreshing Berliner Weisses have been a highlight over the last couple years of their brewing careers. Why not try The Exhibitionist—their Cucumber Guava Baby Pale Ale? For something less voyeuristic, maybe just the Ginger Mule Seltzer.
Wellington has so much different beer that I can’t even enumerate all of them for you! Whether you want a classic English Pale Ale like their SPA or a seasonally appropriate Oktoberfest beer like their Midnight in Munich, there’s something for everyone! Try their cutting edge Hazy IPA!
Five breweries, more than five dozen beers on tap, two full food menus to choose from, buses running once an hour, and the best part is that it’s free! Donations are accepted on the bus and proceeds go to a scholarship fund at the Niagara College Brewing program. If you can think of something better to do with your Saturday afternoon than go to Guelph, I’d like to hear about it.
