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I'm on my way to Charlottetown for a few days for work and wondering if there are any must try brew spots in the area? Anyone have any suggestions?

Gahan House on Sydney St is pretty much it. PEIBeerGuy and I have also been to the Pilot House, but neither of their beers are great (or dark, which I know you like). Kind of a wasteland, buddy! How long are you stuck there?

chalmers wrote:Gahan House on Sydney St is pretty much it. PEIBeerGuy and I have also been to the Pilot House, but neither of their beers are great (or dark, which I know you like). Kind of a wasteland, buddy! How long are you stuck there?

Just here for a couple days. There is actually a keg of the Gahan house beer at the hotel im staying at, plus it's free!

Free...can't beat the price if the beer is OK.

I live here, and I can confirm 100% that it is indeed a wasteland. Gahan - ironhorse is not bad for a brown, IPA is good when it is on, and the lager (creatively called Gahan Lager). Forget about hitting the LC.

Although, I have to say I don't know where my taste reference points are as I haven't left the Island in three months so I have been making due with what is here. This will change as my brew gear and grains arrived out of storage on the weekend; I fired up a sweet brew on Sunday.

PM me and I will pop out and join you for a pint once the little one is in bed.

I'm originally from the Island and can sympathize with the poor beer selection. As everyone's mentioned Gahan is pretty much the only show in town. I enjoy their Sydney Street Stout and the others wortly mentioned above but a lot of their beers are really lacking in the flavour department. It's too bad too because they have a really great opportunity in front of them to be known as "the best beer on the Island" but seem content to just coast along.

You're better off looking for good food (no shortage there, and there's a "Dine Around PEI" thing on right now, too, which is a great deal).
Churchill is a nice Brit pub on Queen street - great curries.
Everyone else is right about Gahan / Pilot / etc. Gahan's alright, but it won't wow you with their beer. If you make it to my house, I can crack open the cellar and have something nifty like the Belgian IPA I just got from BC.

Thanks for the info guys. My trip got cut short and I was back home this afternoon so I didn't get a chance to check much out. I might be back next week, if so, ill make sure I check out some of the food spots!

PEIBeerGuy wrote:Churchill is a nice Brit pub on Queen street - great curries.

I've been a bit wary of Churchill Arms since they got shut down for a while last summer because of salmonella issues.

But yes, their curries are very good. Used to be one of my favourite spots to eat along with Royal Tandoor when it was open.

I head there fairly often for work, and besides Gahan, I think I've only ever eaten at Cedars (Lebanese) or Leo's Thai food. Where else should I be heading? I love a great curry and chips, so I might have to try the Churchill Arms, and just drink water.

- Sirenella is a good Italian spot, right across water street from the Delta.
- Rum Runner's (also on Water St.) used to be good, but I haven't eaten in a year or two.
- The Merchantman Pub (Queen St., also near Delta) is also not a bad spot for standard pub fare.
- The Old Triangle is on University Ave. Pretty much standard Triangle menu—same as Moncton and Halifax.
- Hunter's Ale House is a decent spot for surf and turf—pretty good steaks and ribs.
- There's also a smattering of decent places to eat along Victoria row.

We ate at the Merchantman last week and I had the East West Burger (voted the co-winner of best burger on PEI). It was coated in a teriyaki sauce and toppings included pickled ginger and cilantro. It was so big I had to eat it with a knife and fork.

Anyway, to my pleasant surprise, they were serving a Sam Adams Amber Ale, which was quite nice!

hogie wrote:Anyway, to my pleasant surprise, they were serving a Sam Adams Amber Ale, which was quite nice!

Wow, that's pretty out of character for an Island restaurant. Normally you've just got your usual Labatt, Molson, and Moosehead suspects.

Merchantman's had Sam Adams for a while now. I don't recall if they have anything else interesting on tap. There are a few spots in town with things out of the "Island norm". Pilot House has Gahan's Tall Ship Amber, Churchill used to have Bass, and still have a few other UK brews on tap, like the Old Trriangle does (nothing too exciting).

I'm heading to Charlottetown this weekend for a conference. Where is the beer scene at these days? Have been to the Gahan House a few times years ago and will probably visit again. Is there anywhere else with a good selection of taps (ideally PEI and NB micros)? I'm hoping to find some Barnone for sure.

Brewdozer wrote:I'm heading to Charlottetown this weekend for a conference. Where is the beer scene at these days? Have been to the Gahan House a few times years ago and will probably visit again. Is there anywhere else with a good selection of taps (ideally PEI and NB micros)? I'm hoping to find some Barnone for sure.

Cedar's Eatery apparently is the only spot in town with BarNone's IPA on tap: https://twitter.com/BARNONEBEER/status/ ... 5124377600" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Baba's Lounge/Cedar's and Pilot House are the must-hits, if you are Gahan'ed out (though they've got a couple of seasonals on that are worth a try). The PEI Brewing Company location itself serves food, and 6-10 of their beer, 1-2 of which will be different than Gahan's offerings.

Baba's Lounge is upstairs from Cedar's, and has 3-4 Barnones.
Pilot House also has 2-4 Barnones (some overlap, but usually a couple of different ones).

You're a month early to get any Upstreet, unfortunately!

Thanks guys. Went to The Pilot House and sat on the patio yesterday afternoon. Appartently Baba's is under renovation and it doesn't open again until Monday, but I might walk by this evening to see if Cedar's is still open.

They're expanding the taps at Baba's, so not sure on the draft beer availability. Cedar's food is decent, so not a total loss. There'll be a few new beers on at Gahan worth sampling. I'd pay you back for a growler of the Milk Stout, which should be on. Especially if you're back in time to share it at the meeting Tuesday!

Went to Cedar's last night and enjoyed the Barnone IPA. It took about 15 minutes to come to the table because of the taps expansion, but it was worth it. The server said that they are expanding to 10 taps and that many of them will be Barnone!

I was thinking Gahan tonight. If that happens I can grab a growler of the milk stout and bring it to the meeting.

I did not end up going to Gahan last night - I got an invite to a friend's house for a home-cooked meal that I couldn't refuse. Sorry about that Chris! I enjoyed the Barnone, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

No worries, glad it was a good beer- and food-filled trip!