This past weekend I had a chance to escape the city and head out to the countryside!

No trip to the countryside would be complete without a stop at one of my favourite breweries MacKinnon Brothers Brewing

This #beersaturday beer adventure starts Saturday morning with my beautiful girlfriend and I cooking a hardy breakfast before we hit the road. We had stayed at her place in the beaches and marked the MacKinnon Brothers Brewery as our first stop as we make our way to the farm for the weekend.

MacKinnon Brothers is located in Bath, Ontario about a two and a half hour drive East from Toronto [234 km]. Road Trip!

MacKinnon Brothers Brewery

The brewery is pretty unique in that it's located on a farm out in the countryside! But if you think about it, what a great spot for a brewery because you can grow your own ingredients. MacKinnon brothers does just that, you can see the hops growing out in the field. Pretty hard to miss once you know what hops looks like, as the way it grows is unmistakable. Other essential ingredients are grown right on the farm and they are super proud of that!

Here's what the farm and brewery looks like as you roll up so you get a sense of where I'm at;

If you're a beer nerd and are interested in how these guys operate and a little bit about their relatively short history as beer makers, they've produced a great little video about their journey, have a look:

My girlfriend and I sat in the tasting room trying all their brews. We've had most of them before many times but its always nice to have a few sips fresh from the brewery and a quick chat with the staff and other folks who've also made their way down to this quiet part of the countryside in search of tasty brews.

Now that I had stocked up on my favorite MacKinnon brothers brew, their Red Fox Ale, we were all set to hit the road and head to the farm for some good old fresh country air, scenic views and good old R&R. But of course this wouldn't be much of an adventure if we just sat on our butts all weekend...

We arrived at the farm which means time for some tasty brew, so we cracked open the growler of Red Fox and poured some pints.

An easy drinking ale with a distinct colour and flavour from the addition of beets. Citra hops deliver a foxy, citrus bitterness. Due to popular demand, the Red Fox is now available year round.

Mmm my favourite, Citra hops, and available year round but a light easy drinking ale like this is especially good in the summer!

We poured ourselves some pints and took a walk through the fields to take in the sights and sounds, and really just get grounded. We live such fast paced lives in the city that it really takes a few breaths to calm down and feel that country vibe. Soak it in!!


Soon enough we were offered a carriage ride by my mother who was eager to take us out by horse and carriage for a drive around the farm. With beer in hand we helped groom the horse and tidy up the carriage.

Thanks for the carriage drive Phoenix!

Here's our horse Phoenix looking ready to go with the carriage all hooked up and my mother there putting on the final bits of kit.

After our carriage drive, cooling the horse off, removing the gear and putting her away in the stable we wanted to go for a hike! The weather was perfect and there's a spot only about 10 minutes away with one of the most spectacular vistas I have ever seen.

Rock Dunder

After filing up our glasses and going for a quick dip in the lake we made our way down to one of my favourite hiking spots, Rock Dunder. Pretty lucky that I grew up only a few kiloliters from a pretty special spot like this.

The hike to the summit is listed at a relatively short 3.9 km's and is considered intermediate to difficult due to the climb and uneven rocky footing found along the trail. Obviously mostly up hill as you climb in elevation towards the summit. We hiked the trail pretty quick and worked up a nice sweat as we made our way through the woods, around a pond, and up the rocks towards the top.

Born in fire over a billion years ago deep in the roots of an ancient mountain range, Rock Dunder is part of a large igneous feature termed the Lyndhurst granite. Wind, water, and the ice of retreating glacial ice sheets sculpted this hard pink granite into its present shape.

The Summit Loop: 3.9km, runs alongside Dean's Island through a variety of forest, sneak peaks over rocky cliffs, panoramic view of the Rideau Waterway at summit. Hiking boots recommended.

We made it to the top, and here's our proof of hike:

All in all it was a great weekend full of farms, country side views, carriage drives, swimming, hiking, and sipping on some of my favourite ale!

One final picture to share before I go. Something new that I'm going to work on this summer, building my collection of brewery glassware. I want to build a collection, souvenirs of good times and good beers, something to remember the different breweries that I visit and appreciate. Time to add 2 new glasses to the collection!

Hope you enjoyed this #beeradventure, happy to share it with everyone!

This is my first submission to the #beersaturday contest, an initiative by @detlev and friends to support content creation in one of my favourite categories,..beer! Thanks for a great contest, and looking forward to contributing more in the future and reading about everyones #beersaturday journeys.

Untapped

Feel free to connect with me on Untapped, I started my account about 4 months ago and have rated and logged 50 unique craft beers so far, with many many more to come!

Ciao for now, and happy sipping!