We were greeted by Cowbell staff with a beautiful gift, two branded pint glasses and beer koozies along with two of my favourite beers, the Zesty Lemon Sour Ale and Bobcat Red Ale. Photo by Galen Simmons
By Galen Simmons
When I reviewed a pre-show dinner the last time Julia and I ate at Cowbell Brewing in Blyth, we didn’t tell anyone we were coming or that I would be reviewing my experience.
Nevertheless, Cowbell’s team of professional and friendly staff excelled at delivering a truly tasty meal, a flight of delicious seasonal beers and service that met and even exceeded Julia and my expectations. So, when we saw Cowbell had liked our posts on Instagram from that visit, we figured it might be a good opportunity to build a relationship with one of the biggest tourism draws for Blyth, besides the theatre.
Cowbell responded by inviting us back for dinner before we saw Off-Island Odyssey at the Blyth Festival recently. Beyond a comped meal, which we both very much appreciated, I wasn’t expecting much more than our previous experience.
I’m happy to say I was wrong.
From the moment we walked in the door, marketing manager Hannah Aerts and her team treated us to an experience we won’t soon forget. They presented us with a gift – a pair of branded pint glasses and beer koozies, as well as the two beers I had said were my favourites the last time we visited – the Zesty Lemon Sour Ale and the Bobcat Red Ale. Clearly, they did their homework.
Hannah then led us on a tour of the brewery, highlighting its impressive architecture – built in the style of German bank barn – as well as Cowbell’s commitment to both environmental sustainability with its green roof and internal water treatment system – allowing Cowbell to treat and reuse the water for its beer – and accessibility as one of the first breweries in Canada to be Rick Hansen certified.
Hannah also highlighted Cowbell’s dedication to community.
“We are a big supporter of the Blyth Festival Theatre. We are their drink sponsor, so we donate over $10,000 in product every year,” she said, adding that Cowbell’s beer-can art also features images from the history of Blyth.
It was all very impressive, and by the time we were done, I was ready for dinner.
To my absolute surprise, our waiter, Jenna, told us the beer I had been hoping to try the last time I visited – a Raspberry Chocolate Pudding Stout – was actually available in-house. Jenna told us while that beer was a winter seasonal beer and had been thought to be sold out, the brewery had found three extra kegs stashed way just in time for our visit.
So instead of getting another flight of beers to try, I ordered a pint of the stout and drank every last drop. It was incredibly delicious, easy to drink and not too heavy with a forward note of raspberry and a finish of smooth, dark chocolate. The slight bitterness of the chocolate was the perfect balance for the sweetness of the raspberry, and it was truly the highlight of my Cowbell experience. I’ll certainly be looking for that one again when it’s back in season.
Julia, meanwhile, had the peach cider, which she described as crisp and cold with a light peachy taste and a mellow cider kick.
For dinner, we ordered the chicken Caesar pizza and the Shindig pork chop, both recommended by Jenna.
The pizza was perfect. Seated near the kitchen, we got to watch as the chefs pulled it out the wood-fire oven and deliver it straight to our table. With a creamy Caesar base, grilled chicken, parmesan and fresh romaine lettuce, it was truly everything I could hope for and it went down way too easy.
The pork chop, on the other hand, was a wonderful, protein-forward counterpoint to the pizza. Glazed in in a mild yet sweet barbecue sauce, it was cooked to a perfect medium and served with delicious baked potatoes and a seasonal veggie mix that was both buttery and cooked tender crisp, which is how I like it.
Needless to say, we left without any leftovers – only full bellies and fond memories.
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