Huron County Beverage Tour

Huron County has become known for its beer, wine and cider movement and has become a mandatory stop for Ontario culinary enthusiasts, but 15 years ago that wasn’t the case.

It all started with a study on viticulture in Huron County in 2011, authored by Richard Fitoussi, a consultant from the Niagara region. Fitoussi had found the potential for vine growth in a specific corridor of Huron County, called the Huron Ridge, just eight to 10 kilometres inland from Lake Huron, stretching from Port Albert in the north to Grand Bend in the south. However, in the years since the report was produced, beer, wine and cider producers have popped up throughout Huron County, placing the community at the forefront of Ontario’s food and drink revolution.

BEER

The first Huron County brewery with a physical location to welcome patrons through its doors was Stone House Brewing Company in Varna. The company’s first offering was a Czech Pilsner, followed soon by a German dark lager and now a light cream lager, all under the watchful eye of owner Mike Corrie, who has been in the beer industry for nearly 30 years.

Stone House beer can be purchased at the brewery or at over a dozen restaurants and bars throughout Huron County. The brewery features a covered outdoor patio with colourful patio furniture and an additional 40 x 30 covered tent with patio furniture, and has become synonymous with summer entertainment, featuring live music on weekends from May to September. For event updates, visit its website at stonehousebrewing.ca. 76050 Parr Line, Varna

A conversation about the Huron County beer scene can’t take place without discussing Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company. While the company may not have been the first with its stakes in the ground, it has certainly emerged as the local brewery with the most expansive reach. The beer is available in LCBO stores and the Cowbell team has developed a destination experience in Blyth that has brought hundreds of thousands to the village since it opened in 2017. 

While the destination brewery opened in the summer of 2017, Cowbell beer was in the hands of consumers months earlier, beginning with its flagship beer, Absent Landlord, the first of six beers in the Founders’ Series. The company would go on to add an expansive list of beverages including spirits, hard ciders, seltzer and a non-alcoholic lager, all of which are available at the brewery or through Cowbell’s online shop. The location features a large restaurant, a lively bar and numerous enclaves, including Mil’s Verandah and the Thresher’s Hall, which has become a popular spot for events. It also offers guided tours featuring one of Cowbell’s storytellers and a shop fully stocked with beer, clothing and merchandise. For more information, visit its website at www.cowbellbrewing.com 40035 Blyth Road, Blyth

One of Huron County’s more popular craft breweries has proven to be Square Brew in Goderich, which offers refreshing and experimental beers to the masses in Huron County’s biggest town. 

Square Brew offers three full-time beers, a classic German Pilsner, a dark Vienna-style lager and a hoppy lager, as well as a rotating seasonal offering of a handful of beers.

The Parsons Court location, which is not near Goderich’s famed Square, despite the brewery’s name, has been a beacon for those seeking a good time in Goderich, especially for its numerous events, such as the popular trivia nights.

For more information, visit www.squarebrewco.com

What could be more enticing than a cool beverage while listening to some local tunes with pink and white apple blossom petals wafting by on a gentle lake breeze? Bad Apple Brewing is the place to be on a late spring Saturday afternoon. 

Jason and Sarah Ingram, owners of Bad Apple Brewing Company, have an idyllic setting in a great highway location north of Grand Bend. The orchard, nestled in the shadow of a renovated, century barn, has become a hot venue for local musicians. Live music is featured on Saturdays (and the occasional Friday or Sunday) year round, moving into the taproom for the colder weather, but as soon as it’s warm enough, it moves back outdoors under the pavilion. 

In addition to Bad Apple’s beer, the Ingrams have added some refreshing hard seltzers to their offering and, finally, cider. To check out the full online store and the ever-evolving lineup of music and events, go to www.badapplebrewingco.com or follow the company on Facebook and Instagram.

Torched Brewing Company of Grand Bend (formerly known as Brewster’s Mill) has retained all of the history that connects it to the community, which is one of the province’s most visited tourist destinations. 

Jason and Michelle, joined by couples and friends Mark and Laura and Nick and Kaitlyn, bought the building in March of 2020, just before the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have since done plenty of work on the old building and opened their doors to the world in July of 2021. Their taproom location has two foors, as well as patio spaces out front and in the back of the building. They have three mainstay beers: Sand In My Thong Honey Blonde Ale; Crooked Waters Cream Ale, and River Pigs IPA.

Saturdays at the brewery there is always live music and, during the summer months, there is live music there as many as three nights a week. www.torchedbrewing.com 36 Ontario St N, Grand Bend

Imposter Brewing is the latest brewery to open in Huron County, but traces its roots all the way back to 2016, when owners Chris and Vicki were living abroad, and fell in love with local craft beers that were better than anything else around. The pursuit of good beer followed them around the world, back to Toronto and eventually they turned their hobby into a business and opened in Exeter in 2025.

With an ambitious menu of seven craft beers on tap, they are creating a destination for enthusiasts. In addition to great tasting beers, they are also offering live entertainment, events such as trivia nights, and billiards and pinball for your amusement. www.imposterbrewing.com 190 Thames Rd E Unit 102,Exeter

WINES

The first family to jump on Huron’s wine potential was the Landsboroughs with Maelstrom Winery. The location is in Huron East, which is outside of Fitoussi’s original proposed ridge, but that hasn’t stopped them from producing intriguing wine that has taken the county by storm.

Maelstrom has grown its offerings since its first in 2015, and now have a range of varietals in production. 

The winery is family-owned and operated and offers tours to those who come by for a visit and a wine club for those enthusiastic about the winery’s products.

The winery is also home to a large event venue and a licensed patio for musical performances.

For more information on Huron County’s first winery, visit its website at maelstromwinery.ca.

Bayfield Berry Farm is proud to be the first distillery, fruit winery and fruit cidery in Huron County.  From 2017 to 2019, it built a new processing facility to expand its product selection to include additional preserves, bag-in-box ciders, as well as a range of alcoholic beverages, which hit the market in 2019 and they’ve been adding items to our alcoholic product line every year since. Bayfield Berry Farm’s retail market offers baked goods, jams, preserves, fruit juices, fresh and frozen berries, pick your own berries, hard cider, fruit wine, fruit liqueurs and fruit spirits, referred to as Schnapp, which is made the old-fashioned European way by fermenting and distilling the true fruit. The tasting room offers table service with a bistro menu, desserts, ice cream / frozen treats and alcoholic beverages. www.bayfieldberryfarm.on.ca  77697 Orchard Line, Bayfield

One of the newer kids on the block is the Durand family and its Cornerfield Wine Company, which planted its first vines in 2015 and opened to the public in 2019.

Set up on the home farm of Carrie and Adam Durand just south of Bayfield, Cornerfield offers several varieties of wine and canned wine spritzers. 

The Durands took note of Fitoussi’s report all those years ago and decided to get involved with the wine business, hiring Niagara-based winemaker Steve Byfield ahead of its first bottling this spring.

Cornerfield also offers tours at the winery during the busy summer season, and are easy to find thanks to their Hwy. 21 location. Enjoy their wines all year round with a membership to their

For more information, visit its website at cornerfieldwineco.com. 74444 Bluewater Hwy. Bayfield

Another newcomer to Huron’s wine scene is Schatz Winery, which is connected to a county institution that isn’t new at all: Hessenland Inn, which dates back to the 1980s.

The popular restaurant and wedding venue is one of the latest to dive into the local viticulture with a number of promising wines that are sure to impress the discerning wine lover.

The five-acre estate winery surrounds the original Hessenland venue, featuring a beautifully renovated former horse barn as the centrepiece for the Schatz brand. For more information, visit its website at hessenland.com. 72981 Bluewater Highway, Zurich

The final winery that has thrown its hat into the Huron County ring is 2nd Streetlight Estate Winery, which is located on Hwy. 8 between Clinton and Seaforth and takes its name from the fact that it is at the second streetlight from town in both directions!

The company currently has nine wines in its collection. The property is ideal as a destination winery. It is set back on a 500-metre driveway that sets the tone as it winds its way to the winery through the vineyards. The expansive building has stunning views of the Maitland River valley and the Kilgour Tract, a property managed by the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority.

The building’s interior features pieces by local artists  that are also for sale. The space is ideal for events. For more information, visit its website at 2ndstreetlightwines.ca. 36594 Huron Road, Clinton

CIDER

Huron County has one dedicated cidery: East Street Cider Company in Goderich, situated, appropriately, on East Street.

The cider has quickly become a favourite of local cider enthusiasts and drinkers in search of a crisp, refreshing option on a hot day by Lake Huron. East Street Cider offers its flagship cider, called the Landmark Dry, at numerous restaurants throughout Goderich and greater Huron County. Exclusive to the taproom, East Street Cider is also able to serve up new flavours in super small batches, so drop by often to see what’s new and exciting. The taproom is open Thursday - Saturday from 2 pm to 9 pm and Sundays from 1 pm to 6 pm. Follow its social media pages for upcoming events and for extended summer hours. www.eaststreetcider.com 130 East St. Goderich