My tour of Beau's Brewery

Right: Chef Bruce Wood standing beside his exquisite bread; Center: our tour guide, Matt Rozon, explaining the brewing process; Right: Jennifer Beauchesne, Top Secret Project Manager for Beau's.

As part of the Mondial de la Bière, I went on a short journey to visit Beau's Brewery in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, last Friday. Beau's is a family founded baby brewery approaching its tenth year in operation. Father and son, Steve & Tim Beauchesne, as well as other close relatives, handle all the the operations of this 100% organic enterprise. HOW MUCH FUN WAS THIS????!!!! HEY OH! Lots! We met the tour guides at Viger Hall in the Palais des Congrès. There for the first time I tasted their LUG-TREAD lagger beer. I have worked many years for the Molson Coors Brewery so I know beer, but I have never tasted a beer as sumptuous as this one. It has absolutely NO aftertaste! None! Which is what you want from a good lagger. In Montreal you can enjoy a Lug-Tread pint at Ye Old Orchard Pub & Grill and at the totally vegan food chain restaurants La Panthère Verte.

After this delicious brew we got on the bus to hit the road. What a luscious countryside to travel get to our destination. En route we were offered croissants with more Lug-Tread beer. I took a chocolate one and it accompanied my beer perfectly. This beer is so smooth it can easily replace champagne cocktails for special brunches with friends. Here is one recipe I like: 1 part Ginger Ale, 1 part Orange juice, 2 parts Lug-Tread Beer. Yummy! Of course you can adjust the formula to fit your taste. 

When we got to the brewery everything was ready for us. Chef Bruce Wood had prepared the perfect summer lunch box for us and he had prepared the most delicious bread we ever tasted, crispy on the outside and lusciously smooth inside with a burst of flavor that made us ahhhhhhh. The main dish is called Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, that the chef prepared with organically fed pork. This was served with a variety of vegetables marinated with the most subtle spices. Then for desert we had Ginger Molasses Cookies. They were chewy and delectable. I had two. 

By the way you can also visit the brewery. It is open seven days a week. You will be given a tour if you like and samples. There are picnic tables on the newly furbished terrace and the country is just lovely and green. You don't have to reserve but it can help if you do if you want to be a larger group of visitors. If you want to enjoy the chef's great food, he is cooking on the week-ends only.

I was not done experiencing flavor. I sampled the BEAVER RIVER India Pale Ale that is a seasonal beer. I was stunned by a crisp grapefruit flavor that lingered in my mouth a few seconds. Again I experienced the unique quality of Beau's Beer that I could best describe with the word fresh. My mouth felt refreshed but lightly. There is no heaviness to this beer that nonetheless contains 5.6% alcohol. Then I tried THE BOTTLE IMP Russian Imperial Coffee Stout. The first sip is thick and bitter and then magically evaporates into pleasure on the palate. I tried a sample of one of their oak barrel fermented beers that was also a gustative miracle! I could taste the fruitiness and the oak with that elusive quality that everyone told me came from the source water they use to make the beer.

A highly recommended summer visit!

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-LENA GHIO