Quidi Vidi Brewing

by Emily Urquhart
(Beer Delegate, NL, Canada)

Quidi Vidi Brewing: what a location!

Quidi Vidi Brewing
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

I love museums, art galleries and historical sites, but I do not love guided tours. The enforced mass learning turns me into an impatient toddler with the attention span of a gnat. I'm usually distracted and bored and it makes me want to find the nearest watering hole and cozy up to the bar with some local brew.

Despite my feelings of ennui when it comes to guided tours, I recently accompanied visiting friends on a tour of Newfoundland's best-known microbrewery, The Quidi Vidi Brewing Company.

The brewery is situated in a small fishing village within the city of St. John's at the mouth of a tiny harbour and the foot of mossy granite cliffs. When we began the tour at the company's private bar, tasting all six of their award-winning brews and enjoying oceanside views from the second-floor windows, I knew this was one tour where I'd remain focused.

Although our guide delivers the same speech dozens of times per day, she managed to engage us with a fresh and funny routine that had us hugging her good-bye as we wrapped up near the bottle cleaning machine and box assembly area. (All boxes are assembled by hand! All labour is local! Support this company!)

The warm and fuzzy feeling was partly from downing six mini-samples and of course the roadie of your choice to accompany you on the tour. I chose 1892, a full-bodied amber-coloured ale that is both smooth and refreshing.

It's named for the 'Great Fire' of 1892 that wiped out half of St. John's, leaving 1,500 buildings destroyed and 12,000 people homeless. See, I even retained some of the historical facts!

Take your own online tour at the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company website.

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Quidi Vidi Brewing

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Sep 13, 2010
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Best micro brewery
by: Brad

My wife and I were visiting from Ontario and we stopped at a little pub in Norris Point NL. We had a pint of 1892 and also Eric's Red. We were amazed at how clean and tasteful these beers were. When we arrived in St. Johns we called Quidi Vidi brewery and arranged a tour. They had 7 different brews and we could not believe it, there wasn't a bad or even a so-so beer there. The location was beautiful and the brewery was clean. This brweery has inspired me to start brewing my own beer. After a quality micro-brew like Quidi Vidi, it is hard to drink anything else like Canadian or Labatts again.This micro-brewery is well worth supporting. My only complaint is that it is not sold in Ontario.

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