Beer lovers and Ontario craft brewers are likely crossing paths at the Wheeled Brew Bottle Shop in downtown Barrie. This is a place devoted to offering a selection of the best local beer from across the province.
“We have done our best to create the most inclusive environment, wherein you can come by with an open mind and have an experience you’ve never had before,” owner Evan MacDonald tells BarrieToday.
MacDonald describes the experience of shopping at the Wheeled Brew Bottle Shop as browsing with the help of a personal shopper for alcohol.
“Whether you are into craft beer or not, experienced or first time, you can come here and our team will walk you through selections, preferences, pick options for you," he says.
The Wheeled Brew Bottle Shop is located at 19 Clapperton St.
The shop and its on-site taproom are 100 per cent focused on providing an all-Ontario craft beverage experience, MacDonald adds. This also include non-alcoholic beers, wines, sodas, and gluten-free options such as ciders.
“New products come in weekly as a large part of what we do is capturing that unique experience of getting a new release before anyone else," he says.
As a lover of craft beer himself, MacDonald says looking for new beer styles and flavours in Ontario is an ever-growing experience.
“With over 400-plus breweries across the province, it makes the curation of an epic and unique locally sourced beer list a reality," he says.
According to MacDonald, the entire beer experience, from top to bottom, is what makes a good, quality craft beer. He points to several contributing factors that lead to successful creations.
“This involves using a wide variety of hops, brewing processes, flavour profiles, adjuncts, such as supplements like fruit that can alter flavours, and finally the branding, the visual experience, which tie it all together,” he says.
MacDonald notes that there are some amazing breweries in Ontario that do all of these very well, and they are all on the shelves of the shop.
The Wheeled Brew Bottle Shop features a selection of eight to 10 beers on tap that are constantly rotating.
“Selfishly, you’ll see a fair few IPAs and pilsners on tap as they tend to be my favourite,” MacDonald says.
Along with basic in-store snacks to enjoy with drinks, customers can order full-fledged meals from the local community while using the taproom.
“This is a unique prospect that allows us to harness the talent and food styles from many of our awesome Barrie restaurants, and all at the same time pair them with beer," he says.
The Wheeled Brew prides itself on creating beer experiences that bring strangers, friends and family together for amazing times.
“We all used to be really good at getting together and chatting, laughing, and sharing in an experience," MacDonald says.
The shop has some fun events planned for October, which includes live music with Kevin Foster on Oct. 21, and trivia night on Oct. 26.
