This is your guide to finding the best craft beer in Prince Edward County.
With an abundance of craft breweries, Prince Edward County is the perfect destination for those looking to relax in a friendly atmosphere and enjoy great brews.
Best Breweries in Prince Edward County
These are the Best Breweries to visit in Prince Edward County.
- Gillingham Brewing Company
- Midtown Brewing Company
- Parsons Brewing Company
- Prince Eddy’s Brewing Company
- 555 Brewing Company
- Lake on the Mountain Brewing Company
- Slake Brewing
- Barley Days Brewery
- Matron Fine Beer
Prince Edward County Craft Beer
The county has a long history with barley and beer. In the late 19th century, local farmers grew and shipped a lot of barley across Lake Ontario to New York State. They profited from the growing American thirst for beer. This economic boom, often called “Barley Days”, sadly ended in 1890 when the US government imposed a high tariff on Canadian barley.
In 2007, a craft brewer set up his tanks and called himself Barley Days Brewery. This started the County’s Craft Beer industry. In the last decade Barley Days has been joined by a number of new brewers brewing amazing beer.
The County’s 9 fine brewers are all casual with no reservations needed. Let’s see what they have to offer.
Prince Edward County Brewery Map
Gillingham Brewing Company
Gillingham is our favourite brewery in Price Edward County.
They are located just off a secondary road, north of Wellington, surrounded by green fields. Sit on the beautiful patio overlooking a neighbouring vineyard. There are large fire pits to sit around on cooler days. What a great atmosphere!
Order some food from the menu or simply enjoy a snack with a beer.
Inside, behind the bar, there is an amazing collection of vinyl records which they spin for your listening pleasure. We enjoyed our flight of 5 beers while listening to both sides of Van Halen’s classic album 5150.
After finishing our beers, we purchased a couple of lagers, in Gillingham’s unique, brown bottles to enjoy at home.
For hours and info, visit the Gillingham Brewing Company website.
Midtown Brewing Company
This popular brewery is in downtown Wellington. Even though it was busy, we didn’t have to wait long to be seated in their large outdoor patio. Happily, our table was a “high table” constructed of a beautifully finished split log on top of wooden barrels. Very cool!
The menu offers pub-style food with a wide selection of unique burgers and pizza. I ordered the pizza topped with marinated, diced potatoes. It was so loaded I needed a fork and knife to tackle this excellent tasting pizza. It was perfect paired with their stout. What a great stop for food and drink!
For hours and info, visit the Midtown Brewing Company website.
Parsons Brewing Company
Parsons, just northeast of Picton, has a large outdoor grassed area you can wander with your beer and relax. Enjoy the sun at a number of tables and at the chairs around the fire pits. There’s a great unstructured playground for the kids. There’s even a hockey rink and table tennis.
Parsons’ tap room and bottle shop are former lumber industry buildings, moved to this property and re-purposed for their brewery.
Located right at the end of the Millennium Trail, this is the perfect end-of-day stop after a long day of cycling.
Their food menu highlights Latin American flavours , especially their specialty, the butter chicken Empanadas. Just want a snack and a beer? Enjoy their chips and guacamole.
We really enjoyed Parsons’ Crushable Pilsner and Westy Pale Ale.
For hours and info, visit the Parsons Brewing Company website.
Prince Eddy’s Brewing Company
The first thing you see at Prince Eddy’s, located in Picton’s industrial park, is the beautiful patio and beach volleyball court. Their 2-storey tasting room gives everyone lots of room to spread out. There’s even foosball and ping pong. A food truck, in the summer, serves up great food. At Prince Eddy’s, with live music often on tap as well, come for the beer and stay for the fun.
On the day we visited, the sunny patio was a great place to relax and enjoy a Prince Eddy C.R.E.A.M. Ale.
For hours and info, visit Prince Eddy’s Brewing Company website.
555 Brewing Company
After a walk through downtown Picton, we wandered over to 555 Brewing at the corner of Picton Main Street and Chapel Street for dinner. The downtown location makes it a bit busy but the efficient friendly staff had us seated on their intimate patio in no time.
555 Brewing prides itself on brewing the best beer in small batches. They’ll proudly fill any growler from any brewery.
Enjoy their excellent wood-fired pizza. We each ordered a personal pizza with a pint and relaxed, completely enjoying our patio time. If you’re short on time, order your pizza for take out.
For hours and info, visit the 555 Brewing Company website.
Lake on the Mountain Brewing Company
This brewery, on Highway 33/Loyalist Parkway, is a nice stop between the Glenora ferry dock and Picton.
Enjoy a beverage indoors or out, maybe by the cozy fireplace. The popcorn is always free. Grab a table and challenge your friends to a board game. The property’s large lawn has picnic tables and a fire pit beside a pond.
Lake on the Mountain’s original, and still loved, beers are their ‘Country Brown’ and ‘Cream Ale’. Today their tap list has many more equally tasty craft beers.
Enjoy a delicious lunch or dinner at one of their two restaurants just “up the mountain road”. Both The Inn and The Miller House are beside beautiful Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.
For hours and info, visit Lake on the Mountain Brewing Company website.
Slake Brewing
While Slake seems to be in the middle of nowhere, it’s only 5 minutes south of Picton. The view from the hilltop brewery alone is worth the drive. The excellent beer is a bonus!
A long, winding driveway climbs to the modern building at the top of the hill. Enjoy a beautiful view of the County below from the taproom’s large windows. The outdoor patio is another great place to enjoy your beer and this incredible view. There are lots of picnic tables and fire pits. If possible, try to visit this location around sunset. The area will glow in the golden-hour light.
Slake prides itself on brewing with 100% Ontario malt. Their brews are lighter, easy drinking lagers and ales. We picked up some beer to go. Their beer cans have unique pastel-coloured labels.
For hours and info, visit the Slake Brewing website.
Barley Days Brewery
Barley Days is Prince Edward County’s oldest craft brewery, founded in 2007. Enjoy a beer in their taproom or at a picnic table outside.
The Chip Truck, located beside the picnic tables in the summer, is a great place to grab a quick meal.
Watch for the large, yellow mural on the bright red barn, located on Highway 33 between Bloomfield and Picton. We picked up several cans of Lager and Dark Ale from the bottle shop to enjoy at home.
For hours and info, visit the Barley Days Brewery website.
Matron Fine Beer
This brewery, focusing on delicious lower-alcohol beers, is in Bloomfield. They have repurposed an old farm building into a nice little brewery.
Cycling the Millennium Trail? Matron is on Barker Lane only about 100 metres south of the trail. Make a detour, park the bikes and enjoy a beer at a picnic table on Matron’s patio.
We purchased a couple of Muff Darkbiers. Very tasty!
For hours and info, visit the Matron Fine Beer website.
Prince Edward County Brewers
This is a quick list of the county brewers and the town they are in or closest to. For current tap lists, click the links to check out their individual websites.
| Brewery | Location |
| 555 Brewing Company | Picton |
| Parsons Brewing Company | Picton |
| Prince Eddy’s Brewing Company | Picton |
| Barley Days Brewery | Picton |
| Slake Brewing | Picton |
| Lake on the Mountain Brewing Company | Prince Edward |
| Midtown Brewing Company | Wellington |
| Gillingham Brewing Company | Hillier |
| Matron Fine Beer | Bloomfield |
Are Prince Edward County Breweries Open in the Winter?
Yes. Many of the Prince Edward County breweries remain open during the winter months, though often with reduced hours.
For example, Gillingham Brewing has their ‘Winter Beer Garden’ under covered and heated pergolas. Midtown Brewing welcomes customers for lunch and dinner year-round. Parsons Brewing even has an outdoor Skating Rink in the winter!
Yes, the breweries are open, but double check their websites above for specific operating hours.
Prince Edward County Wineries
For the wine lovers in your group, there are more than 30 wineries in the area. We’ve got you covered there too!
Check our article, Best Wineries in Prince Edward County, for a full list of all of the wineries in the region, plus select the best ones. Enjoy your winery tour!
Prince Edward County – Best Things to Do
Looking to spend some time in Prince Edward County and wondering what else there is to do?
Our article, Best Things To Do in Prince Edward County gives lots of options as well as places to stay in the County. We hope you enjoy every aspect of your visit to the County.
Interested in more Itineraries? Sign up here.
