Calabogie Brewing Co.
12612 Lanark Rd, Calabogie, ON
(613) 752-2739
As we crossed over trestle bridges and passed by dams we found ourselves in the historic town of Calabogie outside the Calabogie Brewing Co. Int the past the building has been a fire hall, bake shop and helicopter repair shop and is now home to this 10 barrel brew house founded by Mike Wagner in 2015. The scenery of the flowing Madawaska River from the patio is just as beautiful as the decor inside, sitting at the bar in the midst of the brewery is amazing, but the beer is truly the highlight.
I was a newbie to both the brewery and the beer, but I was about to become an instant fan. You see, Mike’s knowledge and long love affair with Craft Beer isn’t the only reason for their success, their brewmaster Jamie Maxwell has an impressive resume as well. Jaime was working in Vermont as a brewer and when his mother got wind of a brewery opening in Calabogie she called Mike and asked if he would be looking for a brewer. Mike met Jamie at the Prohibition Pig, a well known pub in Waterbury Vermont, and they have been “Brewing Great Company” ever since.
They share a similar outlook when it comes to both brewing beer and the industry itself, so it was a natural fit. As well as his Vermont influenced brews with some tasty hop flavours, Jaime has also started barrel aging and created a sour program. I even spotted a cool ship sitting outside the brewery that I was keen to bring up in conversation! Cool ships are more common in the US at the moment and I believe this may be one of the only ones in Canada. It is a type of fermentation vessel and is a broad, open-top, flat vessel resembling a giant brownie pan in which wort cools. Wort is the liquid extracted from the mashing process that contains the sugars that will be fermented by the yeast to produce alcohol. The large, exposed surface area of the vessel cools the wort (relatively) quickly, they are experimenting with “lambic style”, so they will leave out the tray to collect the wild yeast and microflora wafting through the air. Once the tray is full of this wild, invisible stuff, you store the beer in barrels for an extended stay. This method of fermentation, called “spontaneous fermentation,” produces a beer of layered taste: tart, funky, and unmistakably complex.
I hope you’re now as obsessed with cool ships as I am! I’m continually amazed by the science behind brewing, once you see all the work that goes into every pint you find a whole new appreciation for the art of craft brewing.
Calabogie brew what’s on trend, what they like, and what people will enjoy, so there is always a variety for everyone to explore including eight year round beers, eight seasonals, and a handful of the twelve specialty beers they have brewed so far. The White Room, a Creamy White IPA, has tropical flavours of fresh fruit, banana, and clove from the Belgian wit yeast that balances out the bitterness from the hops; it’s very sessionable at 5.1% and 35 IBU. The Summer Solstice poured a beautiful orange yellow like a sunset and, with a lasting head, it was a nice combination of tropical fruit and pine aroma. It has a full mouthfeel and the flavour matched what I smelled to a T.
I loved what I had discovered at Calabogie that day, sitting next to a group of locals, and with some awesome conversation from Jaime, I was excited to return. They brew 3-4 times a week on their system and fill growlers on site as well as sell cans and specialty 750ml beers in bottles.
I really knew nothing about this town before that day but left learning it was full of adventure from hiking, motorsports, ontario’s highest vertical drop on their ski hills, and the tight-knit local community. Then, on top of all that, it is home to a fantastic little brewery, pushing new boundaries like so many that have gone before them. So be sure to strike up conversation as you pull up a stool and learn a little more about this often-overlooked little gem of a town.
Website: http://calabogiebrewingco.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calabogiebrewingco/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calabogiebrewingco/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalabogieBrewCo
Hours:
Monday
1–5PM
Tuesday
1–5PM
Wednesday
1–5PM
Thursday
1–5PM
Friday
11AM–6PM
Saturday
11AM–5PM
Sunday
11AM–5PM