After wandering around the streets of Saint John for a bit and feeling a little peckish, I was in pursuit of some local beer. Now I know Moosehead Brewery’s headquarters are located here, but as a macro brewer, it’s easy to find across Canada. I wanted something different – unique. Something that really felt like a small craft brewery that only locals would know about it. Enter Bigtide Brewing Company!
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| Bigtide Brewing Company - Saint John's Only Brewpub & Restaurant |
Founded in 2009 by
Wendy Papadopoulos and Becky Frauley, Bigtide Brewing still remains Saint John’s
only brew pub and restaurant. Located at
47 Princess Street, Bigtide Brewing is fairly easy to find as its about two
blocks east of Pugsley Wharf near the downtown area.
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| Bigtide Brewing Company - Saint John's Only Brewpub & Restaurant |
Upon entering the pub, I noticed it was relatively small and dimly lit with one main floor. It reminded me of those mountain resort lodges for some strange reason. It had a small L-shaped bar that could seat up to 8 people and several tables for dining with a small kitchen on sight. Three huge flags stuck out in the back – a Canadian, an American, and a Bigtide Brewery flag – all which were of standard size.
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| Bigtide Brewing Company - Saint John's Only Brewpub & Restaurant |
I chose to sit at a table instead of the bar so I could enjoy more of the ambiance of the pub. The menu options presented were intriguing – everything from a New York Striploin steak to Butter Chicken; from a Yorkshire Pudding/Shepherd’s Pie combination to an Atlantic Salmon dinner. As a seafood lover, I opted for the Atlantic Salmon dinner, which included a vegetable medley and my choice of side – a garden salad with the house dressing. The food was very decent, so I will give it that. As for the beer, it was time to find out!
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| Bigtide Brewing Company - Saint John's Only Brewpub & Restaurant |
Given that it was late October, I went for their seasonal of the day – Indian Beach Pumpkin Ale. A popular style in the United States dating back late 18th Century and commercialized in the early 1980s, Pumpkin Ales typically include a combination of pumpkin mash or artificial flavours, a Malt bill, and cinnamon. Sometimes the cinnamon is mixed in with the ale, but occasionally bartenders will rim your glass with cinnamon instead if you’re having it in draft form, as was the case here at Bigtide. The body is often somewhere between light-to-medium, and its finish is moderately bitter. Unfortunately, Indian Beach was very watery with muted flavour. I wasn’t a big a fan of this and found it to be very underwhelming from other Pumpkin Ales I have had in the past, especially those brewed in the United States.
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| Bigtide Brewing Company - Saint John's Only Brewpub & Restaurant |
Next, I went with the Boiling Point Honey Ginger Ale. It had a Honey sweetness that mellowed out the Ginger spiciness. Not bad for a slight variant of the Golden Ale style. This was then followed up by the Raspberry Berliner Weisse. The bartender warned me that this was “super tart,” which it was, but it had a great Raspberry flavour to it. Naturally I had to mix it up with the beer styles once again and went with their FogBound Hemp Pale Ale. And yes, you certainly can get the strong aromas and tastes of the Hemp in this one! With some mid-afternoon jet lag setting in and finding myself starting to get a little tipsy at this point, I finished off my visit at Bigtide by having their Seaworthy IPA. It was hoppy with a strong Malty flavour and bitter finish, but a very beautifully crafted beer, nonetheless.
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| Bigtide Brewing Company - Saint John's Only Brewpub & Restaurant |
Overall, this brewpub
was the nice little hidden gem I was looking for on this trip! While I found the beer to be a little hit or
miss, the food itself more than overcompensated for that. It was also great to find a brewpub that tries
to experiment with different styles of craft beer rather than stick with two or
three standard styles. The location is
extremely convenient for tourists as its within walking distance of both the downtown
area and the wharfs. Saint John receives
a lot of tourists from April through October, especially those on Eastern USA/Atlantic
Canada cruises. I was here just days
after the cruising season ended, but I can only imagine how busy this brewpub
can be in the heart of Summer.
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| Bigtide Brewing Company - Saint John's Only Brewpub & Restaurant |
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