What are the best Hamilton Breweries? Well, if you’re like us and love your craft beer, Hamilton Breweries will not disappoint! We’ve sampled their brews, visited their taprooms and read all the online reviews to give you our take on the best Edmonton Craft Breweries to visit!
Hamilton Breweries
Beers lovers of the GTA – rejoice! This artful and youthful city offers excellent craft brews for locals and travellers looking for a quality craft pint. We’ve picked out the top 6 “can’t miss” craft breweries if you’re visiting Hamilton, Ontario.
What are the top breweries in Hamilton?
Ontario is a monster when it comes to craft beers, but that’s not just because of the craft brew powerhouse of Toronto. Many of the cities within the GTA are also gems for local craft beer production. Located about 45 minutes outside of Toronto, you’ll find the port city of Hamilton where you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find a community that loves craft beer. With breweries in one-of-a-kind venues (a converted curling rink, anyone?) and unique flavours of craft beer (a boysenberry sour for instance), it’s definitely worth the travel to visit the craft breweries in Hamilton.
How do we pick the best Hamilton Breweries?
With every ‘Best Breweries’ post that we write, we make sure to do diligent online research to determine who makes it on our list. From reading online reviews and reviewing beer selections, to checking other authority websites and of course, sampling their beers. We do our best to take all the information we collect and give you our opinion of the top breweries in Hamilton.
However, we know we aren’t perfect and if we’ve missed a Hamilton brewery that you think should be on this list, contact us and let us know who the brewery is and we’ll do our best to include them!
Did we miss something?
If you think a brewery deserves a spot on our list, Vote for them! If you’re a brewery looking to update your information or get in touch, contact us!
The Best Hamilton Breweries
Convinced to take a visit out to Hamilton yet? Check out these breweries and we know you will be!
Collective Arts Brewing
Collective Arts Brewery pays homage to the artist roots of Hamilton. Fusing together craft brewing and the talent of emerging artists, you get the best of both worlds. Founded on the belief that “creativity fuels creativity”, in every beer released from Collective Arts you’ll experience the creative flavour of the craft beer and the creative design of the cans and bottles.
Collective Arts Brewing seems to have mastered the art of making great beer so they’ve expanded their horizons and now make everything from cider, sparkling hard teas, bitters and even some delicious spirits like their Maple Syrup Barrel Aged Rum!
Customer Review: Have been enjoying Collective Arts beer for years now. While they do an excellent job of brewing standard styles of beer, what makes them outstanding to me is the creativity behind many of their brews. Many of the beers they release are made with interesting ingredients you don’t see too often in other beers, which makes them unique. Even though not everything they have released is for me, I don’t think they have ever released anything that wasn’t top quality. They definitely have something for everyone here.
- Phone: (289) 426-2374
- Address: 207 Burlington St E, Hamilton, ON L8L 4H2
- Best Beers: Guava Gose and Ransack the Universe IPA
- Website: collectiveartsbrewing.com
Grain & Grit Beer Co.
Located in west Hamilton, this aesthetically pleasing brewery is focused on brewing unique small-batch beers. Head brewer, Alex Sporn brings a European finesse to his masterpieces, having grown up in Germany! The small, but mighty, team that makes up Grain & Grit are passionate about quality craft beer and we’re sure any beer lovers who visit them will be able to taste this passion in every glass. Although they don’t have their own kitchen onsite, they do host local food vendors that are definitely worth checking out!
Bring your friends and have a couple cold ones on their dog friendly patio. Or, if you prefer to shop online, you can order their beautifully designed cans for curbside pick up or delivery within Ontario!
Customer Review: Love Grain & Grit! It’s a great place to hang out with friends, grab a quick beer! The space is super inviting and enjoyable. And of course, the beer is fantastic!
- Phone: (905) 769-1320
- Address: 11 Ewen Rd, Hamilton, ON L8S 3C3
- Best Beer: Invisible Friend American Pale Ale
- Website: www.grainandgritbeer.com
Merit Brewing Co.
Looking for a great combination of sausage and beer? Look no further and Merit Brewing Company. Located in downtown Hamilton on James Street North, Merit Brewing is a brewery, kitchen, and bottle shop that strives to represent the heart, art, and soul of the city. Their globally inspired, homemade sausages pairs well with every beer on tap and their double fried fries have the whole town talking. So be sure to come hungry and prepare to leave satisfied when you visit Merit Brewing.
Customer Review: This is a great spot to just spend time with friends and order a flight. The sausages and pickles are great for pallet cleansing between rounds. This is one of my favourite breweries in the city and I often go back. PS. when they get the Tequila barrel beer back on tap give it a try.
- Phone: (905) 393-1024
- Address: 107 James St. N, Hamilton, ON L8R 2K6
- Best Beers: Real Real American Sour Saison and On My Way Hazy IPA
- Website: www.meritbrewing.ca
Fairweather Brewing Co.
Just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Grain & Grit, you’ll find Fairweather Brewing. Since 2017, this warehouse brewery has been helping people enjoy craft beer in their 10,000 square foot space. According to Fairweather, their brews should be “swirled, wafted, clanged together, sipped, shared, gazed at, spoken loudly over, savoured, spilled, and taken everywhere”. We particularly love their lemonade inspired sour beers, called Beki, especially on a hot summer day.
They’ve got seating options inside in their cute new tap room, and a dog friendly patio if you want to bring your well behaved pup along for the tasting experiences. Although they don’t have a food menu, feel free to order from any tasty local restaurants nearby and have it delivered to your seat in the tap room.
Customer Review: Was fortunate enough to get a table with a view! We loved sitting amongst the brewing tanks and the beautiful dangling lights. Great beers of course! One of our Hamilton favs!
- Phone: (905) 570-0606
- Address: 5 Ofield Rd Unit #1, Hamilton, ON L8S 2M4
- Best Beers: Witte Belgian Witbier and High Grade American IPA
- Website: fairweatherbrewing.com
Clifford Brewing Co.
This award-winning, and fairly new brewery is definitely a Hamilton favourite. Named a 2019 Canadian brewery of the year, you won’t want to miss out on trying the brews at Clifford Brewing.
Located the Nashdale neighbourhood and close to Confederation Park, this local brewery makes a great starting point for your Hamilton brewery tours. If you happen to visit during brewing hours, you’ll also be able to watch the magic happen as the brew crew makes the beers right in front of your eyes!
Customer Review: Great beer selection (Been a fan for a while but first time visiting) with a nice atmosphere including an old pinball machine.
- Phone: (905) 560-5444
- Address: 398 Nash Rd N #1, Hamilton, ON L8H 7P5
- Best Beers: Clifford Porter and Pinball Wizard APA
- Website: cliffordbrewing.com
Shawn & Ed Brewing Co.
Shawn & Ed Brewing Co. is located a little further from the other breweries of Hamilton, but definitely worth the day trip out to this lovely valley town. Shawn & Ed Brewing Co. actually started thanks to a great kickstarter campaign and a little help from their friends. This craft brewery emphasizes the importance of friendship and make beers that everyone can enjoy.
Their barrel aging process makes a delicious Amber Ale and every month they experiment with new recipes with their Anvil Small Batch Series. Each brew only available for a limited time so visit often!
Customer Review: Such a great experience! Mark is a fun and personable tour guide who made the history of the place really interesting. It was great to learn how they make their beer as well. The selection of beers is really nice, and the deep dish pizza is to die for.
- Phone: (905) 648-8863
- Address: 375 Wilson St E, Hamilton, Ontario, L9G 2C1, Canada
- Best Beer: Lagershed Original Pilsner and Barrel Shed Amber Ale
- Website: lagershed.com
Steel Town Cider
Ever thought of switching things up from local brews and instead trying a few interesting dry rustic ciders? In Hamilton, Steel Town Cider has burst onto the scene with intriguing dry rustic ciders that rival the city’s top breweries and natural wines. Crafted in small batches using local Hamilton apples, this cider house serves an authentic taste of Ontario. Dive into a unique pint experience and find out why Hamilton’s cider wave is making such a splash!
Customer Review: Great service and great brews. They serve some great ciders and beers. Its such a chill place and great for a pop in. Lost at Sea is a favorite of our group. Open jam night is great and they have lots of fun things happening.
- Phone: N/A
- Address: 150 Chatham Street, Unit 14 Fronts, Frid St, Hamilton, ON L8P 2B6
- Best Cider: Daga Carmesi Cherry Cider
- Website: steeltowncider.com/
Enjoy the best craft beer in Hamilton!
There you have it, if you were looking for a sign to visit Hamilton, here are 6!
Make sure to go and check out Hamilton’s best craft breweries, grab a locally brewed pint (or 2) and support your local brewers!
If we’ve missed a brewery on our list that you think should be added, contact us and let us know who the brewery is and why you think it should be added to our list of the best Hamilton Breweries!
More Ontario Breweries to Explore!
But wait! There are more great breweries to discover in Ontario, Canada! If you happen to find yourself on a road trip around Ontario, make sure to check out some of the following cities for great local craft beer!
