Merchant Ale House, The

98 St.Paul Street, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada
905-984-4060
Latitude: 43.14768, Longitude: -79.25260

website

Wifi Available
Cask Beer
Indoor Smoking
Available Parking
Beer Pricing: $$
Public Transit
Proper Glassware
Outdoor Seating
Family Friendly
Selection: 4.75 | Atmosphere: 4.75 | Service: 4.88
95.8
out of 100
Overall Beer Mapping Score
Based on 2 reviews.
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trburger (19)
Friday 25th of June 2010 01:08:41 PM
link
My first bar in Canada! And I wasn't dissapointed, what a great little pub! This place would be my regular hangout if I was a local, that's for sure. The beer selection, the atmosphere and the people were all great.

I had an oatmeal stout to start out with. It seemed a little thin, but was still packed with flavor (lots of good burnt malt). I think it was carrying about 5% abv, so it could almost be a session beer (not a long session though!)

And they did have a session beer on cask...I had a sample of it, they called it the Session Mild. It was a little too mild, not much flavor, but a great idea to keep people in the pub drinking all day, without having to worry about getting anihilated!

Next I tried the ESB, might be the most authentic bitter I've had this side of the pond. It looked like a pint of muddy water (so unfiltered!) and was packed with all kinds of flavor. One word to describe this: balance. Malt complimented the hops, complimented my taste buds!

Also had a dark wheat, again unfiltered and great, medium body you'd expect from a wheat beer.

The pub itself is located on the main drag of downtown St. Catherines, and has a dark yet inviting interior. Lots of knick-knacks all over the place, looks like people enjoy being there.

The bartenders and folks at the bar were all very warm and knowledgable about their beers, and just seemed like all around good people.

If your in this part of Ontario, you have to stop in and have a pint, I'm already trying to figure out when I can go back again.
Selection: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Service: 4.75 | Food: N/A
91.7
Overall

sr96ai (3)
Tuesday 15th of July 2008 12:03:26 PM
link
This is our regular brewpub. Beer is awesome - if you like oatmeal stout then the DRUNKEN MONKEY OATMEAL STOUT is the one for you. Other beers we have enjoyed are:

ESB - English Bitter

Blonde Bombshell - Blonde

Old Time Hockey Ale - Ale

Strawberry Blonde - Fruit Ale

Headless Horseman Pumpkin Ale - Seasonal Specialty Beer ... this is really yummy and I don't even like pumpkin all that well.

IPA - India Pale Ale (West Coast)

Now, not all beers are always on tap - so you may want to call ahead (especially in the case of the Drunken Monkey.

Food is very good - I recommend the Fish & Chips for a Friday night dinner. Also try the Batter-Fried Pickles for an appetizer.

Atmosphere is casual pub - the mash-tun and brew-tun are located within the pub. Often there are live bands performing - if that's not your thing then just be sure to go for an earlier dinner since they usually don't start until later.

For an earlier dinner (pre-entertainment)- pub is quite family friendly. We have taken our son there since he was about 18 months. At three years old now he quite enjoys a plate of fries with some batter-fried pickles and shares off of our plates (the portions are large).

The only downside is that they do not have their own parking lot - but this is normal in downtown St. Catharines. There is metered parking on both sides of most downtown streets which are free in the evenings as well as on the weekends. There is also a city-owned parking building located a few blocks away on Ontario Street with a second entrance off of William.
Selection: 5 | Atmosphere: 5 | Service: 5 | Food: N/A
100.0
Overall

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