Steam Whistle Brewery
Touring headsets so the tour guide doesn't have to scream over a crowd = Awesome. Free beer during the tour = Unexpectedly more awesome. Free samples before the tour = epicly awesome. We went on a crowded, cold holiday (11/11) ((also my husbands birthday)), so there were more people than expected because the states usually don't get that holiday off work. I was not expecting them to be busy during the day even if it was on a Friday. We easily bought a tour once we arrived and was assigned to a tour 30 minutes delayed, which gave us just enough time to sample a free shot of beer from the bar and look around. I'm not sure if the majority of people inside were locals or tourists, but it seemed there were quite a few whispers as to what the upper deck was and if people could go up there since it seemed like possibly more seating. We never worked up the nerve to actually ask a bartender, but during the tour found out (being upstairs is the first place you go) that the upstairs is for the tour tasting where you get your free beer. So, I'm glad we didn't try to go up there at first because we would have just been shooed right back down. Anyways, back to the tour. The beer was mediocre. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was not bad. It was a simple light table beer that was easy to drink with a tiny hint of hops. The environment and friendly attitude of the tour guide and staff made it taste just that much better that made you want to stay after the tour and have another glass. They are experts at souvenirs. I love their coloring, it's so different and bright from a lot of breweries and the story of their location is fun to explain that it's literally in an old train depot was pretty fun. I say they are experts at souvenirs because we collect glassware from all the breweries we visit and we couldn't pick just one from them because they had such unique shapes and choices that we came home with multiple. (see pictures) We have a pint glass, shot glass, and milk carton glass from them.