My brother recently came to visit us in Ottawa and since he is also an avid craft beer lover, we had to bring him on a local brewery tour. A little background: in the past, I was not at all into beer. Then I met Aaron and now I enjoy the strongest, hoppiest New England IPAs (NEIPA) out there, so that is where my beer choices are biased towards. With that in mind, let’s begin our tour!
Tooth and Nail Brewing Company
We started in Hintonburg, hipster brewery central. We just finished an Escape Game and to celebrate our near-victory/as consolation for our failure, we headed over to Tooth and Nail. The vibe here was very chill. There was plenty of seating and lots of boardgames to keep us entertained while we drank a few pints. We each chose a few tasters with various styles. I stayed true to my favourite style (NEIPA) and tried Rabble-Rouser and Red Letter Day, which were both great! An unexpected find was their Breezehill Rosé which was beautiful coloured and tasted very refined for a beer. It was more like rosé wine as the name suggested. The service was excellent! We stayed there for awhile with our drinks, shared some chips and dips and played an amusing game of Cards Against Humanities.
3 Irving Ave
Ottawa, ON
(613) 695 – 4677
info@toothandnailbeer.com
https://toothandnailbeer.com/
Flora Hall Brewing
If we had more time, we would’ve also headed to Beyond and Pale at City Centre but we didn’t, so off to Flora Hall we went. But first, we were distracted by MooShu Ice Cream across the street and had to get some delicious ice cream bars before we headed over.
The vibe of Flora Hall is very different compared to Tooth and Nail. It’s a lot larger with 2 floors and seemed more like a pub than a brewery. The service here was not as personal and we were also given a warning about bringing in outside food (as we were finishing our ice cream). So FYI for your visit: don’t pass on the MooShu ice cream. Just finish it first.
Here we tried a few of their food items as well as their beers. Their food was unremarkable. Probably one step up from regular pub food. For beer, I tried their North East IPA which was quite good. I also tried a few sips of their Mango Lassi IPA which was quite unique. Overall I wasn’t feeling the vibe as much as Tooth and Nail. The service just did not seem as friendly.
37 Flora Street
Ottawa, Ontario
613-695-2339
http://florahallbrewing.ca/
Dominion City Brewing Co.
The last stop of our brewery tour is of course, our favourite, Dominion City Brewing Co. Their specialty is definitely the juicy, hazy New England IPAs, which I love so much. You can’t get them anywhere else. (Not even when we went to New England!) Their tap room is not very large but when they have collaborations with local eateries and they open up their whole brewery so you can just hang out by their kegs of beer. This was the first time we came here when there wasn’t a special event going on and I quite enjoyed the quiet vibe. We got flights of beer including some new beers on tap at that time: Voice of the People IPA and Monster Mash. I love their fun and time-appropriate names for their beers. (It was right before our elections date and Halloween at the time of our visit). We advised that my brother try their staple, most beloved, often sold out Sunsplit IPA, which he quite enjoyed, but not as much as their All Colour Imperial Stout. Their snacks are also very delicious. We have had their chips and dip in the past and it was amazing but today we tried their charcuterie board this time. What a fun board of various local goodies. On the way out, we picked up some Monster Mash to go. If you didn’t get enough at the tap room, don’t worry! You can also order their beer online!
15-5510 Canotek Rd
Ottawa, ON
613-688-6207
info@dominioncity.ca
https://www.dominioncity.ca/
And that’s it for our self-led Ottawa brewery tour! Let me know what you think! Also, add me on UnTapped (@Bowsing Nom Noms) to follow me on my beer adventures!
Remember to drink responsibly. We got around using Lyft during our tour. Click here for $50 off your first rides!
Bowsing Nom Noms | Ottawa-Based Food and Travel Blog 