Niagara Brewing Co.

4915-A Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3N5
905.374.4444
website

The Ontario side of Niagara Falls is absolutely packed with tourist-trap kind of destinations. This is a family friendly vacation area, and so you’re likely to find lots of kid focused sports bars, arcades, and worst of all, scores of chain restaurants with colorful storefronts and awful menus. Niagara brewing Co. offers to be a respite from that, locally brewed beer and a brewhouse that feels a little bit more grass roots then the chains. So that’s nice, but as breweries go, it can be a little bit forgettable.

The brewery keeps a pretty steady menu of about a dozen of its own beers on tap, with a classic four and a set of others during seasonal times to enjoy. Among the highlights:

Honeymoon Peach Radler: Easily the best thing on the menu, an easy drink of a wheat beer that features a little sweet finish for good measure.
Niagara Premium Lager: A medium-bodied brew with an easy sip and a very slight sweet malty character to it. Almost too light. It comes off kind of plain and keep in mind you’re paying a premium for it.
Amber Eh! Ale: The perennial darker beer on the menu with a Significantly maltier character, this one suffers the same issue with a muted overall taste that misses something that the amber ale should have.
Beerdevil IPA: Probably the strongest in terms of flavor, this brew has a high hop character and it hits you on the nose and carries through. Good as a sample of the style without overwhelming as other takes do.

Prices are high. A pint and a flight will set you back $25. I suppose that is a normal price compared to the Margaritaville next door, but this bar (allegedly) competes in a much higher-tier market of craft breweries, where prices do tend to rise but so does quality. And in that sense it’s missing out a bit.

Another note on the place, if you are unfamiliar with the name, it’s entirely possible that you came here because there was a flyer for a free tasting beer circulating around the tourist destinations of Niagara Falls. Here’s the thing though. We’re talking about a thimble full of beer, maybe about a mouthful or so. Just about any brewery would give that to you before you order and without even advertising it.

This block is full of pricey stuff and generally quality that doesn’t live up to it. In that context, Niagara Brewing Co. avoids some of the nonsense. But it does exist in a place adjacent; big flashy taproom meant to bring you in and promising local beer that doesn’t really push any barriers. All told, I’m not convinced.

Recommendations

The flight is a good chance to get a sample of everything on tap here.
Like the beer? They offer it in cans and growler form as well.
Don’t forget they serve food here as well and it has a nice big patio, but that’s best in the warm months.