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Quidi Vidi Brewery Saturday

29/7/2015

17 Comments

 
This Saturday we headed to the nearby Quidi Vidi Brewery for a tour and some beer tasting.
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We had been hoping to do the tour for a while, but for one reason or another we never managed it. Being such fans of their beer, we were pretty happy to finally make it down to the brewery. While wandering around Quidi Vidi Village before the tour, it was nice to see so many people out and about enjoying themselves, despite a distinct lack of Summer.

The tour itself consisted of a beer tasting session, with a little bit of history, followed by walk around the brewery to learn a bit more about the brewing process. Quidi Vidi Brewery was officially founded by two friends from Carbonear back in 1996. After a failed attempt to brew beer on the Memorial University campus, which ended in the two being kicked out of residence, they finally set up shop in an old fish processing plant in Quidi Vidi. They've been brewing tasty beer down there ever since.
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The brewery in Quidi Vidi village.
Along with our history lesson, we got a chance to try out a selection of Quidi Vidi beers. Of course, we are already very familiar with them all, but it was interesting to learn a bit about how each is made and the stories behind their names. We also enjoyed tasting the beers in quick succession, making the differences between them much clearer.
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Our designated driver having a sip.
After our tasting it was time for a quick walk around the brewery where we saw the huge vats that hold the beer, and the bottling machinery. We also saw the containers full of melted iceberg - the extra pure water used to brew their famous Iceberg lager. Apparently there's an 'iceberg hunter' in Bonavista who's in charge of acquiring this precious resource.
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Touring the facilities.
The tour was excellent (although that may just be the copious amounts of free beer talking). We'd definitely recommend this tour to anyone, and not just visitors to the city!

Then on Sunday, we made it out to watch the Tely 10, a 10 mile road race, as Elizabeth's cousin Steven and her aunts Joey and Jean were both running. Congratulations to all, especially Steven who came 3rd in the under 19 category. In total, there were over 4000 runners this year!

Here are some more pictures from our weekend.
Curious about what we were doing this time last year? Well we had just come back from our trip to Saint Pierre et Miquelon (unique French islands off the coast of Newfoundland), and we made lanterns for the annual Victoria Park Lantern Festival!

And two years ago? Well we had a fairly random Saturday in St. John's that we entitled Shakespearean Taiwanese Golf Saturday.
17 Comments
Katie
29/7/2015 10:57:56 am

Sounds like a fun SS! And cool story about the history behind the brewers.

Also nice touch adding the throw backs to this time last year & 2013. Time's a flyin'!!

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Elizabeth link
30/7/2015 06:03:21 am

I know, they told so many great stories as we were sampling the beers; it was one of the best parts of the tour!

Thanks! We decided to try it out this week because we were thinking about our ever-expanding collection of past Something Saturdays that we sometimes forget about! It's a cool way to look back on what we've been doing in the past couple of years.

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Isabel link
29/7/2015 08:40:27 pm

Brewing their own beer before it was cool :) I can't wait to go beer tasting someday!

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Elizabeth link
30/7/2015 06:04:49 am

Haha. Total hipsters!

And this is the second brewery tour I've been on, and both have been a lot of fun! I would definitely recommend it.

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Micah link
29/7/2015 08:59:21 pm

Jelous!

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Bailie @ The Hemborg Wife link
30/7/2015 12:40:40 am

What a beautiful location, I have never heard of this brewery before but will be on the look out for it!

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Elizabeth link
30/7/2015 06:08:51 am

The location is amazing - right on the water in a little fishing harbour.

While we were on the tour we found out that their beer is currently only sold in Newfoundland which was pretty surprising to us because it is SO popular here. Guess you'll have to come to Newfoundland to check it out! ;)

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Elizabeth link
31/7/2015 05:13:41 am

I love beer tastings and brewery tours. This sounds like so much fun!

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Elizabeth link
3/8/2015 02:31:19 am

It was! I've been on a couple of brewery tours and have really enjoyed both so far. It's cool to see behind the scenes and hear the interesting stories that the breweries undoubtedly have!

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Van link
4/8/2015 02:17:24 am

I would love to try that iceberg water and beer! We have glacier water in Norway and it definitely tastes fresh :D

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Elizabeth link
4/8/2015 07:20:56 am

It was only during the tour that I realized that they use 100% iceberg water for their Iceberg beer, I had previously assumed that it wasn't entirely made of iceberg water! But it is definitely a super light and refreshing beer.

Mmmm I bet glacier water is great as well; both must be so pure compared to normal water!

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Ashley @ Wandering Weekenders link
4/8/2015 05:42:48 am

I love visiting breweries because the tours are interesting and you get to drink beer! It sounds like Quidi Vidi would be a fun one to visit because of it's rich history.

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Elizabeth link
4/8/2015 07:59:02 am

Absolutely! The tour was fascinating and the brewery is in such an interesting setting. Plus, the free beer didn't hurt!

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Christine | A Keane Sense of Adventure link
6/8/2015 02:38:12 am

I love visiting breweries and learning how beer is made and their individual process (and of course free beer :P) Love the surrounding area of that brewery!

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Elizabeth link
10/8/2015 12:48:25 pm

The brewery is in such an amazing location; it's right on the water!

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Jordan link
25/8/2015 09:04:40 am

Ahhhh I love Quidi Vidi beer and am so upset I can't buy it anywhere in the USA. It was my favorite when I visited Newfoundland. Think you could send some over to me?! haha

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Elizabeth link
27/8/2015 12:54:35 pm

Haha. I should start a Quidi Vidi exporting business because apparently they don't ship it off the island at all! It seems like a missed opportunity but I assume the business is doing so well here that they don't have to expand!

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