PAGE 6 - STOPS ALONG THE WAY, FALL/WINTER 2019/2020
Food and drink
Hundreds of thousands
H
Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company
served
Blyth, Ontario
uron County is now home to a burgeoning beer, wine and cider movement and has become a mandatory stop for Ontario culinary enthusiasts, but just five years ago that wasn’t the case. It all started with a study on viticulture in Huron County in 2011, authored by Richard Fitoussi, a consultant from the Niagara region. Fitoussi had found the potential for vine growth in a specific corridor of Huron County, called the Huron Ridge, just eight to 10 kilometres inland from Lake Huron, stretching from Port Albert in the north to Grand Bend in the south. However, in the years since the report was produced, beer, wine and cider producers have popped up throughout Huron County, placing the community at the forefront of Ontario’s food and drink revolution. BEER A conversation about the Huron County beer scene can’t take place without first discussing Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company. While the company may not have been the first with its stakes in the ground, it has certainly emerged as the local brewery with the most expansive reach. The beer is now available in LCBO stores and the Cowbell team has developed a destination experience in Blyth that has brought hundreds of thousands to the village
since it opened in 2017. While the destination brewery opened in the summer of 2017, Cowbell beer was in the hands of consumers months earlier, beginning with its flagship beer, Absent Landlord, the first of six beers in the Founders’ Series. The company would go on to add another two mainstay beers independent of the Founders’ Series, the popular Shindig and the new Gravel Run, as well as a monthly cycle of experimental beers in its Renegade Series, some of which are available on tap or in growlers and cans at the brewery or through Cowbell’s online shop. The location features a large restaurant, a lively bar and numerous enclaves, including Mil’s Verandah and the Thresher’s Hall, which has been home to numerous weddings over the last two years. It also offers guided tours featuring one of Cowbell’s storytellers and a shop fully stocked with beer, clothing and merchandise. For more information, visit its website at cowbellbrewing.com. The first Huron County brewery with a physical location to welcome patrons through its doors was Stone House Brewing Company in Varna. The company’s first offering was a Czech Pilsner, followed soon by a German dark lager and now a light cream lager, all under the watchful
eye of owner Mike Corrie, who has been in the beer industry for 25 years. Stone House beer can be purchased at the brewery or at over a dozen restaurants and bars throughout Huron County. The company also offers a robust collection of souvenirs and the brewery is bachelor and bachelorette party-friendly, offering private and group tours and a licensed patio. For more information, visit its website at stonehousebrewing.ca. One of Huron County’s more popular craft breweries has proven to be Square Brew in Goderich, which offers refreshing and experimental beers to the masses in Huron County’s biggest town. Square Brew offers three full-time beers, a classic German Pilsner, a dark Vienna-style lager and a hoppy lager, as well as a rotating seasonal offering of a handful of beers. The Parsons Court location, which is not near Goderich’s famed Square, despite the brewery’s name, has been a beacon for those seeking a good time in Goderich. The brewery doesn’t serve food, but welcomes those looking for a beer to bring their own food, whether it be on lunch from work or during any one of its numerous event nights, such as trivia. For more information, visit Continued on page 7
