A Beer Tour of Orléans
At the time of writing, travel from Downtown Ottawa to Orléans means cars. My understanding is that the O train expansion is progressing nicely, and so that will change in the future. As of now, one relies on driving or being driven, either by car or bus, which for our purposes tends to be safer and smarter. It’s really not that far though, and unlike Toronto, there are highways in the Ottawa area that go places. The majority of the breweries out here are situated in commercial or industrial areas, which means a decent amount of parking is available, but usually means driving from one to another. You could walk, but it is a bit of a commitment, in all but one instance.
Broadhead Brewery
1680 Vimont Ct, Unit 106, Orléans, Ontario
Situated in an industrial park of course, there is ample space here for entertaining oneself, or perhaps others, should the mood strike you. Tables and chairs abound, and the wrap-around bar has adequate seating, should that mood also strike you, as it often does me.
The beers here are steady, and the standards are, well, standard. An amber, a pilsner, a stout, some IPAs, you get the picture. This is not a detractor. In some instances predictability is paramount. Around twice a month, the 174 Taproom Series, which is more of their experimental, or small batch beers, are released. Upcoming are a West Coast Pilsner and a Honey Brown Ale, and currently on deck is a Cucumber Gose. The space is open and bright, with the brewery operations on full display behind a wall of glass.
They host live music and other such events, as most tend to do these days, and the menu is quite BBQ focused. This of course means meat, and lots of it. There is mention on the menu that vegetarian options are available without a modicum of elaboration, which is encouraging yet mysterious. I can say that the pulled jackfruit sandwich is quite tasty, and accessible to vegetarians and carnivores alike. At the back corner of the bar sits a little board indicating a little, not so secret, secret menu where they blend various beers for a new flavour experience. Worth trying.
Stray Dog Brewing Company
501 Lacolle Way, Unit 4, Orléans, Ontario
Located a whopping 400 metres away, Straydog has some pretty good beers too and a menu that also seems relatively static. They are huge on the dog theme, as was evident by the hair on the chair beside me. Perhaps even the one on which I was sitting, although I neither checked nor cared. If you choose to order a flight, or flight sizes, which are shockingly inexpensive, they will bring you a group of tasting glasses, proper glasses I might add, in a muffin tin. They even take the time to suggest an order in which to sample, which can be very helpful if one is not familiar with the intensity of specific styles, or more importantly, these specific beers.
Stray Dog has some decent IPAs. They are fresh and tropical, and up to snuff. The lagers are clean, and the stout is roasty, but the California common is where they shine. A toasty amber brew with caramel notes, a touch of nuttiness and the old world rustic hop character that defined the style. Again the experience is consistent and repeatable, and again this can be a positive quality in a brewery. Not everyone wants surprises.
Both Broadhead and Straydog seem to be the places you go to drink the same beer you always drink. Consistent, fresh, familiar. They are the local, if you are a local. One for those who wish to bring their dog, one for those who wish some brisket.
Orléans Brewing Company
4380 Innes Rd. Ottawa, Ontario
From Stray Dog, or Broadhead for that matter, Orléans Brewing Company is a ten minute drive. It is around an hour walk, partially through a lovely wood, if you are so inclined, which I was. It’s a wild ride. The beer menu is extensive, the kitchen appears to consist of a convection oven and a home kitchen sized deep fryer, and there are no prices on any of the drinks. Flight sizes are available, again with no indication as to price. I’m sure I could have asked, but I didn’t. What’s the fun in that?
Despite the tone of my introduction, the beer here is stellar. The lagers and kölsch are clean and fresh, with a requisite faint aroma of struck match in the latter. The IPAs are bright and tropical with good firm bitterness where appropriate, and bright freshness, where appropriate. But the darks, oh the darks. The brown ale is lovely, balanced, and not heavy on anything while simultaneously being light on nothing. Somewhere between British and American, which in a different political climate we might call Canadian. We might again one day.
The stouts were otherworldly. Buffalo Soldier (they really milk the bison hard at this place) doesn’t have a massive nose, which may have been a function of temperature, temporary anoxia, or maybe just the beer. The flavour on the other hand is like a big chocolate cake that evolves into a more rounded malty flavour but then reverts back to chocolate cake and hangs on for dear life. This might be one of the longest finishes in a milk stout I have had in ages. It’s a great segue into the imperial stouts which can only be summarized as deep flavour bombs. I’ve been lucky enough to experience a lot of extremely good imperial stouts as of late and these ones found a spot on the top shelf.
Black Hop Down, clever, is big chocolate, roast and alcohol. There are some dark fruit and dried prune notes here as you get into it. By the way, a prune is a dried plum, so I have no idea why people use the term dried prune, myself included. The bitterness is bracing, fitting, and perfect, and the finish is long and complicated.
Whiskey Barrel Aged, a far less clever although rather descriptive name, only comes in a full pour. “What the hell” he said to himself as he settled in for a full pour of 9.5%. It seems pretty similar to the other one at first. Chocolate, overt alcohol, aggressive bitterness, prunes. Notice I said ‘prunes’. But then as it came to temperature the nuances began to emerge from the shadows, or the cracks in the barrel as it were. There is a light vinous quality here. There is some leather, and a hint of vanilla. If you try hard you can pull out some faint coconut, but there is no need to really try. There is plenty here to keep your palate occupied. A deftly executed juggling act of smoothness and aggressiveness.
It’s rare that a taproom has more than one fridge. If they have a beer engine, it’s a bit more likely, but assuming they do not, all stouts, especially imperial, will be poured too cold. Order them at the start and drink them at the finish. What beers, what a place.
Dominion City Brewing Co.
15-5510 Canotek Rd. Ottawa Ontario
Dominion City is not in Orléans, but it’s also not downtown Ottawa. It’s 10.8 KM, or a 2:31 walk from my hotel which is downtown or 9.6 km from Orléans Brewing. I realize this is silly logic, but there you have it.
I really like this place. I was tired and should have been heading to my hotel, but it’s a hard place not to visit, and sort of on the way back.
Not only do they have a nitro tap, and not only do they have a sidepour, but they have not one, but two, beer engines. A beer engine means cask, and cask means care. There is nothing quite like watching in torturous anticipation as the publican muscles the beer into the glass by way of mechanical draw. You don’t have to try the cask beers at such places, although you should, but it’s a pretty good indication that whatever you choose to try will have been treated very well. There is a decent amount of space at the bar, and a decent amount of space not at the bar.
Dominion city knows how to make beer. They know how to make clean lagers, crisp pilsners, IPAs that are fresh and bright, or dank and bitter. They know how to make stouts that are deep and rich and roasty. They know how to veer outside the lines, without losing the course. I recently cracked open a dark saison I procured from them some time ago. It was intricate yet approachable. They currently have, which means I currently have, a saison, barrel aged of course, with the addition of vidal juice. Creativity and complexity at its finest.
To state they have a good variety is unfairly underplaying it. Right now they have twenty offerings on tap. Twenty.
Exit the taproom and walk around the corner and you’ll find yourself in the retail shop. Bring a big bag, or a cart. Orléans or not, you don’t want to miss this one.