Dominion City Brewing

Excellent beer, excellent service, excellent overall! I was completely floored by Dominion city. We tasted a number of their beers including a seasonal pumpkin spice where the pumpkin clearly does not dominate the beer allowing it to be a beer that could stand on it’s own. Very impressed! My favourite of all the beer we tasted here was the two flags ipa. It just seemed so balanced with the right amount of hoppy! The owner seemed like a cool guy. Sales staff seemed very professional. A huge fan! My first recommend if you are an outsider visiting Ottawa craft beer breweries. They don’t serve food here, but if it’s just beer you want to take back this is an excellent choice.

Always something good brewing @ Dominion City. I buy Growlers. They get empty. I take Growlers back. (Repeat) :-)
Waiting for the Devil’s Brigade Session ale to be ready!!!

I missed the Kickstarter buzz that brought Dominion City in to existence, but I began to see their maple leaf logo popping up on taps around town (Clover on Bank, the Wellington, among others).
Like many microbreweries, Dominion City Brewing is in a light-​industrial neighbourhood; there are still a number of ways to get out to the brewery. Once you arrive, you’ll find a modest tasting room with a long bar. Working the bar is Sam, a fantastic ambassador of hops who will enthusiastically talk you through the many offerings at the brewery. Dominion City is young and adventurous so there’s always a nice mix of old standards (a summery blonde, Town & Country stands out for me) and more quirky specials. You can taste everything – and you should! – and you can also bring home a full growler or a smaller grumbler (more like 2 glasses). Less well advertised, you can have a 12 ounce glass on site at the brewery. Ontario liquor laws prevent Dominion City from selling pints on site, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying a slightly smaller serving on site.
And of course, there’s lots of swag on site – shirts, hoodies, glassware. They’ve cultivated a very minimal chic brand with a light dose of Canadian kitsch and there’s plenty of fun branded stuff on offer at the brewery too, making the trip a must for fans and fans-​to-​be alike.

Ok, I am not a beer girl, but I actually liked 5 out of the 6 beers I tried. Even the dark ones and the ones with higher alcohol content. That is a first for me. Their european inspired blends is a nice touch and a breath of fresh air. I was getting tired of the overly hoppy flavoured local beers and was looking for something I can enjoy while supporting local. I loved their blond, IPA and even a dark one called «Le Hibou» that’s a small batch specialty beer. The staff was awesome, so friendly and patient. They love their job! The passion is palpable. They are happy to serve you a decent taste tester and go through the effort of explaining it all. We bought $ 75 worth of beer! Just so you know, it’s a $ 4 deposit on each growler bottle ($ 24 of our order was only deposits!). But you get that back, unless it’s gift, right? They will also accept all other growlers from other local breweries, so that’s pretty cool too ;)
The location is sort of buried in an industrial zone on the way to Orleans. A real gem I say!

I have now visited here three times. Once on their opening day, once for a brewery tour, and today for a couple of growlers. Every visit has been a great experience. The staff are friendly, and the beer is great.
The brewery itself is open concept, so you can see everything from the main entrance near the tasting counter. The bar and entrance décor was financed from funds raised from a Kickstarter project. The bar is made from reclaimed wood from the Ottawa River and it’s beautiful. The walls are covered with reclaimed boards from an old barn.
Right now they have three signature beers: Town & Country Blonde, Earl Grey Marmalade Saison, and Two Flags IPA. All great beers.
They’ve only been open for a few weeks and are having a little bit of trouble keeping beer in stock — they sell out fast! Check their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter to make sure they’re open and see what’s in stock.
Support local breweries!