Lake of
the Woods Brewing Company
350
Second Street South
Kenora,
ON
P9N 1G5
807-468-BEER
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lowbrewco
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/lowbrewco
July,
2013
I love
touring Kenora. In the past, the highlights of our visits included hikes
through the picturesque Canadian Shield landscape, and floating on the pristine
waters of the Lake of the Woods. The food always tasted good—how can you
go wrong with freshly landed pickerel (walleye if you’re not a Toban)? As
of late, I sense a renaissance in the area, regaining some of its spirit that
was lost with the milling industry. The prized harbour front has a
sparkling new convention area and a shiny restraining fence replaces the
rotting wood barrier. Now I wish they would get rid of that ugly parking
lot that dominates prime waterside space.
Along
with the welcome improvements comes an injection of new restaurants and places
to lounge. Our standby Hops is gone but there’s a spate of newcomers
ready to take its place. Recently opened, the Lake of the Woods Brewing
Company (LoW) brings brew-pubbing to the area. Sitting a couple of
streets away from the harbour, you do not get a view of the water but their
well-situated patio offers a front row seat to the bustling downtown.
Converted from an old fire hall, the former fire engine garage doors make great
portals to the outside air. Inside, the dining has the typical smells of
malt, barley and hops (which I love). If that’s not your thing, I can’t
think of a better way to spend the afternoon than to sit under an umbrella of
the nice patio, sipping beer.
LoW
features three flagship beers, Sultana Gold, Papermaker and Firehouse Amber
Ale. They advertise the Sultana as an easy drinking, introductory beer
for craft novices. For you mass-production enthusiasts, this is a good
place to start. The Papermaker is a lager that offers more gusto than
most lagers. The IBU rating of 40 gives it a bitterness in the range of
most ales, yet maintaining the smoothness of the lager. By contrast, the
Firehouse Amber Ale has a smoother body and sweeter taste. This fruity
beer has hints of nuts and a tinge of pumpkin. If you don’t like beer—why
are you here? Oh, there’s the food aspect as well.
The menu
features a wide spectrum of possibilities, ranging from Thai and Curry to
classic pub grub. The shoestring fries come well cooked, crispy and not
greasy. To go with the fries, they offer a house blend or seasoning, or
lemon chilli or garlic cheese.
If you
wish, you can upgrade to any of their poutines. The pork shoulder poutine
features roasted pulled pork that has nice flavours and melt-in-your-mouth
tenderness. You don’t get a lot with the poutine so next time, a Cubano
sandwich is in order.
The
Smoked Brisket Beef Dip sandwich comes in a tiny hot dog bun, which gives me
the first impression that this will never satisfy me for lunch. The
generous stuffing of beef brisket takes over and ensures that you end up with a
hearty meal. The beef has a nice smoke ring and delicious flavour, but
it’s a tad dry. Generous use of the dipping bowl should take care of
that. The Swiss cheese adds depth and a slight zing to the taste, and the
pickle gives a great crunch to the texture.
No visit
to Kenora is complete without some pickerel and LoW offers it in the appetiser
section, breaded and fried. I’m a little sceptical about the kimchee
sauce; I’ve never met a kimchee that didn’t overpower the meal like Godzilla
stomping on Bambi. They pull it off as I barely taste the fermenting of
the vegetables (fermenting is best left in the beer). The morsels of
pickerel taste light and crispy, with good moisture remaining in the meat.
The keen
service ensures that our glasses are never empty and that our empty plates are
gone pronto. Spot-on service, great food, reasonable prices, and tasty
beer—what more can you ask? I guess I can ask for a growler and/or swag
from their souvenir shop on the way out. This is a welcome addition to
the Kenora scene, and judging by the number of people filtering in and out, I
think they know it.
****½ /5
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