Downpour Drinking

What better thing to do on a rainy Good Friday than drink beer? Of course, if you are at Deep Cove Brewery you could also drink vodka and gin spirits (which might be more warming). This brewery is not actually in Deep Cove; it is at #117 - 2270 Dollarton Highway.

They have a nice modern tasting room with fun high tables, live music on Friday and Saturday nights and good parking. They do sell ready-bottled beer and their growler refill price is $6. Their selection is pretty basic - we tried the Loudmouth Pale Ale, the Smooth Criminal Stout and the Freyja Brau Porter. We filled our growler with the latter which was licoricey and chocolatey and very yum on a cold day. Big gripe for this brewery is that they do not identify the beer in the flight so you are tasked with keeping track yourself.

Our son, Rob joined us for this trip.  We had a generational disconnect when his text message to see if arrangements to meet up were still in place went unanswered because our phones were off (of course). We are of the generation that follows through on the plans unless otherwise advised; this apparently is a cultural faux pas now. Sigh!

Bridge Brewery was our second destination. At 1448 Charlotte Road, it is close by. This place is not set up well for the tasting experience, although flights are available.  It is housed in a warehouse-type area and the view from the small tasting area is of the very small parking lot, the t.v. or the wall. They sell ready bottled beer. It is also very cold as the service counter is open to the elements, dealing with both drinkers and trucks dropping off or picking up. We tried Wee Tipsy Scotch ale, the Charity Floral and the Amber ale. We didn't fill our growler here.

We did chat with a fellow patron and discovered an free app that he was using to keep track of his tasting experiences and find out what others have thought. It is called Untapped.

Okay I`m just gonna say it - the whole growler thing is a little annoying. The screw cap technology does not keep the beer`s fizz well and the price for a fill does not reflect the poor shelf life of the product. - i.e. growlers should be cheaper than ready bottled beer.