When thinking of St. Jacobs most of our minds would be directed straight to the farmers market and the menonite population; although the huge collection of mug club members goes to show that St. Jacobs is very much a beer town.
At the forefront of the Ontario craft beer industry trends is Block 3 and they're brewing some incredible barrel aged farmhouse ales and kettle sours. Opening in 2013, prior to the boom in Ontario Craft Beer, Block 3 does it all, and most importantly, does it well.
We tried everything that you can see on their tap wall and each was better than the next. The highlights were the Exile (a barrel aged farmhouse on Pinot noir grape skins) and their latest iteration of Fickle Mistress, a raspberry ginger kettle sour. The sweetness of the raspberries helps balance out the tartness imbued through fermentation. Tying it all together is a peppery finish brought on by the inclusion of ginger. Sad to see this one sold out so quick but a new iteration is on its way!
A shot of some of the many barrels that can be found at Block 3.
An extra exciting beer we saw aging away in it's never before used foeder is an international collab, with each participating brewer putting their own twist on it (something we definitely look forward to).
CHEERS!
Advent boxes are back for 2023!