Our final stop was
Wellington County Brewery (950 Woodlawn Road, Guelph; 519-837-2337). Inside the Iron Duke House, military music played in the background while the Ale Trail's savvy staff poured samples of beer served the way you'd find it in a British pub. Two of Wellington Brewing's beers have been among my favorites for years. Arkell Best Bitter more resembles a mild ale, a style not often found in North America. It's brewed in the best traditions of a "session ale," the kind customers sip all evening in English country pubs. Great in bottles, it's even better drawn straight out of the brewery's casks. Wellington County Ale, stronger and more full-bodied, is another beer worth asking for the next time you're in an establishment offering "real ale."
The Ale Trail's breweries open their doors to visitors during the warmer months, a time of year that doesn't always do justice to their fine darker beers. Nevertheless, Iron Duke Porter made quite an impression with us. Guests sampling it were offered small pieces of chocolate, which brought out the flavor of the chocolate malt used to brew it. Wellington County Brewery also produces Iron Duke Strong Ale and Iron Duke Imperial Stout, the latter weighing in at 8% alcohol by volume.
Wellington County Brewery's top attraction is founder Phil Gosling: beer geek, historian, and raconteur. Sure enough, we spotted him holding court with the Ale Trail regulars. Gosling also owns the Trail's best sense of humor. Stunned by negative reaction to his campaign to modernize Arkell Best Bitter's image, he distributed handbills apologizing to customers, claiming he'd spent the last six months in the witness protection program hiding from them.
The weekend's sampling gave us an idea. Why not bring home a trunkful of Ale Trail products and hold a leisurely, summer-long sampling in our backyard? Then we remembered U.S. Customs. A returning resident can bring back, duty free, only one liter of alcohol--that's a little more than three bottles of beer. So instead of ales and lagers, we put our sampling plans on ice. But we did manage to bring home our tasting notes, and pleasant Ale Trail memories.
Ale Trail organizers had hoped to add seven new breweries this year, but things didn't fall in place. However, I was told that the Trail definitely will be back for the 2002 season.
