![]() Brant is predominantly a rural municipality that is bordered by Brantford, Ontario. Although this is a rural area, don’t be mistaken; at the address of 105 Powerline road in Brant there is a lot going on. Harold Kuret and Cindy Blair own this property and have been growing hops on this site since 2015. They also have plans to expand their nursery to grow fruits, grains and, berries. If that wasn’t enough, the couple collects and restores antique tractors and steam engines (hence the name of the brewery) and are involved in heritage associations. 2016 brought a hops harvest that gave them enough materials to home brew for the entire year so they continued to grow and the 2017 harvest produced several hundred pounds of hops. Potentially enough to sell the surplus. They are currently growing 7 varieties of hops; Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, Mount Hood, Nugget, Cashmere and, Ultra. In the meanwhile, if these 2 weren’t busy enough, the 1890s farmhouse that the brewery is housed in was completely renovated with an outside patio and a tasting area/bottle shop inside. Finally, we come to 2018. In June the brewery is opened to the public. For a couple of retired people, they are a very busy pair! Steel Wheel encourages its customers to bring their own food in and to take their time enjoying their beer. They also provide board games. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere with very friendly staff in a very picturesque building. When I visited the place was pretty full but there was no sense of chaos, the staff took their time to talk to everyone and, they even provided snacks free of charge for the guests, a nice touch that really stuck out to me. I tried 4 beers during my visit and all were very good (you can see my untappd ratings below) but my pick for Steel Wheel is; New England IPA: For me IPA are a favorite, no doubt. That said, there are a ton out there and some just “do enough” to be an IPA. This is not one of those. Steel Wheel uses El Dorado and Anarillo hops, it has that hop forward taste that is smooth, citrusy and, hazy. It was served nice and cold too. I took a sip and audibly said “wow, that’s good”. This beer alone will have me going back and I highly recommend it.
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