The Brewery Market in Hintonburg Park - July 5th (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

The Brewery Market in Hintonburg Park - July 5th (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

Don't let the line discourage you.

Last Saturday, July 5th, in the glorious sunshine I had the chance to attend the Brewery Market in Hintonburg Park here in Ottawa. The perfect weather and popularity of the event meant that I had to wait in line for about 35 minutes to get into the park but once inside the park was hardly crowded (though it was at its official capacity and hence the lineup and wait to get in) and beer lines moved swiftly. Unlike a typical Beer Festival, the Brewery Market is modelled after traditional, family-friendly beer gardens so full pints are sold (at $6 a piece) rather than sample sized glasses and there is no charge to get in. Breweries on hand included Beau's, Beyond the Pale and Covered Bridge Brewing as well as a few others.
 

On a day this nice you can see why people would want to enjoy craft beer in a park!

For the me, a cask version of Covered Bridge Brewing's Double-Double, a sweet chocolate stout, was the finest beer I had that afternoon but honourable mention goes to their Eternally Hoptimistic. Double-Double sweet had a herbal, yeasty cask touch with lots of chocolate, a bit of an earthy maple touch and subtle wood tones. It carries its alcohol quite well but you can still tell that it is strong, 7.4%. In addition to dozens of different craft beers on top, there were also plenty of yummy eats on the menu.

Mmm... Lentil burger.

The next Brewery Market will be held on Quebec side of the Ottawa River on July 24th. Another Brewery Market in Ottawa will happen in September, please check out their website for further details. I had a wonderful time and certainly plan on attending again. If you are in the area I suggest you head on out for the next which will be held rain or shine.