Recently my sister and I took a drive to Blyth, Ontario to check out the Cowbell Brewing Company brewery and “restaurant”:http://www.cowbellbrewing.com. The large barn is difficult to miss on the south end of town right on Highway #4. We not only had a delicious lunch, we also took a self-guided tour around the building which was built with many environmental and conservation principles in mind. There is even a green roof over the patio.
The barn is full of wood (not a nail used in construction), stone and light and the restaurant has a 45 foot ceiling with a walkway providing great views during the tour. For those who need it, there is an elevator to take you up to the catwalk and the second floor of the restaurant. There is a wood-fired oven open to the dining room for pizzas and a lovely large stone fireplace. It happened to snow the day we went so it was very atmospheric to look out the widows flanking the fireplace and watch the snow fall.
My sister sampled a flight of 4 beers (4 oz each) but I stuck to coffee and water as I was driving. They weren’t able to give me a decaf latte but they did make me a milky coffee with decaf. It wasn’t as good as a latte but they were more accommodating than anywhere else that don’t have decaf lattes. On a warmer day I would try out one of the mocktails. My sister enjoyed the beers she selected to try and I must say they smelled pretty good. The stout reminded me a bit of Dandelion and Burdock and the others had a definite citrus aroma.
It was a busy lunch time and we watched a lot of very good food being delivered to other tables and weren’t disappointed with ours either. My sister opted for the poutine (French Fries, cheese curds and gravy – it’s a Canadian thing) with pulled pork and I had the soup of the day which was cauliflower and squash in a chicken broth. For dessert my sister tried the beer pie (dark chocolate and Lorna Bray Fly Girl Nitro Oatmeal Stout custard with roasted marshmallow meringue on a pretzel graham crust) and I had the daily special which was a chocolate and cherry parfait. Neither was too sweet. Our server thoughtfully brought two utensils with each dessert so we could taste each other’s. We’ll definitely be back to try out some other items on the menu. All the staff members were very friendly and helpful and available to answer questions anyone touring around might have about the building and the brewing process.
If you don’t have time for a meal you can still have a look around and stop in the gift shop for beer and related items including beer infused cheese made locally.
