Discover local craft beers with Brew Donkey

It seems as though every other week, a new craft brewery springs up in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario or the Outaouais. As a result, you’re no longer stuck with boring old mass-market pilsner to wash down your barbecued burgers. You could try a vanilla stout from Ashton Brewing Company, Sweet Georgia brown ale from Covered Bridge Brewing or a slew of others.

The trick is: where do you find them, taste them and buy them?

Brad Campeau has the buying part covered. Last year, he started Brew Donkey, which delivers local craft beers to Ottawa-area homes. It saves customers the hassle of driving out to the individual breweries, but there is one hitch: naturally, people don’t want to buy something they haven’t tasted before, and most of these beers are hard to find at the Beer Store and are only served at certain bars.

Campeau’s solution? Start offering weekend tasting tours of local craft breweries and brew pubs.

The idea took off like a rocket, to the point that he is offering tours just about every Saturday and may expand further. Depending on the route, you may find yourself sampling brews in downtown Ottawa, a country pub, a Gatineau bistro or points beyond.

Each stop on the tour includes a chance to sample the brews. Photo copyright Laura Byrne Paquet.

Campeau ferries his increasingly cheerful customers around the region by school bus (there are usually two pick-up points in Ottawa) and each tour includes multiple stops to sample as many beers as you like. “People are excited for either extreme flavour combinations or diverse flavour profiles,” says Campeau—unusual brews like chocolate porter or cilantro-spiced white beer are usually hits with his crowd.

I took a tour of the Outaouais that included stops at Les Brasseurs du Temps and the Gainsbourg Bistro-Brasserie, among other places. (I can highly recommend l’Allumante, a nutty, slightly sweet beer from Les Brasseurs du Temps.) My friend Laurence and her friend Martin had joined me for the fun, and we had a blast, but you could easily take this trip solo, too: beer lovers are friendly people, and by the end of the day, we were a chatty, convivial group of 20 or so men and women, ranging in age from 30-somethings to retirees.

Depending on the tour and the places you stop, you might take a brewery tour, sample a tray of up to a dozen different brews (that’s when travelling with companions comes in handy) or enjoy a few snacks. You’ll probably meet the brewmaster, too. Participants “want to shake hands with the man who made their beer,” Campeau notes.

Brad Campeau (wearing tie) chats with beer fans during a tour of the Gainsbourg brewery in the Hull sector of Gatineau. Photo copyright Laura Byrne Paquet.

A Brew Donkey tour is a really fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Just make sure you arrange for someone to pick you up at the drop-off point, or take transit home. No matter how much you tell yourself that you’ll be restrained in your tastings, the temptations are just too great.

If you go

Distance from Ottawa: Varies

Trip length: Five to seven hours

Price per person: Usually between $45 and $70, depending on the tour

Restrictions: Participants must be at least 19 years old

More information: Brew Donkey