We returned to Canada a few days ago having really enjoyed our time in Maine and NE USA. Our first stop has been in Saint John, New Brunswick, famous for its Moosehead beer. We first sampled Moosehead when we visited Canada 13 years ago whilst on honeymoon and we had not forgotten it. You can buy the lager in the UK (online) but you can’t get their other beers so we were keen to get to the brewery…and we didn’t waste anytime because as soon as we’d parked up and unloaded the car we were there.

And to say our apartment was handily located would be an understatement as it was in literal stumbling distance to the front door – maybe 3 mins tops! We couldn’t believe our luck. I mean when we were selecting our accommodation we were searching for places nearby but we didn’t expect it to be quite this close. Result!

It was a really sunny afternoon when we arrived too so we got to see the brewery in all its glory. There is a really nice indoor taproom and then a nice seating area outside. We quickly ordered a beer flight and headed outside. The idea being to sample all their different beers during our stay in Saint John, very doable we thought as we were staying for 3 nights.

It was a great place with lovely staff and excellent beer. We got chatting to a friendly barman called Tyler who was very knowledgeable about the beers and was giving us advice about what to try, and in what order (which is apparently very important).

Not only is it the taproom but there is also the factory, so not only is it brewed there but it is also bottled up and packaged. It’s the only moosehead factory in the world and they ship internationally. It’s the last Canadian owned large brewery. It used to be called New Brunswick Brewing Co. but they rebranded it when they started to sell outside of the province. They chose Moosehead because it’s the ‘king’ of the Canadian animals with its ‘crown’ of antlers.

If it sounds like we went on a tour of the place, it’s because we did – the following day. Ha ha. For $20 you got a tour of the factory, starting in the executive offices, through the brewing rooms and then the production line, and finally packaging. You do get a lot of samples as you wander through which was nice and the tour ends back in the taproom where you can get more free samples. You also get to meet ‘Bruce’ who is the moose located in their reception area. Tyler was leading the tour too (who we’d met the previous day) so it was nice that it was someone we knew.

Also check this out…this is called the Presidential pack and contains 1461 bottles – 4 years worth of cans which is supposed to mark Trumps presidency and is counting down his time until they might get rid of him. It started as a marketing joke and they only made 10 cases but they actually have sold more than 300. The box is so huge you can see that both me and Si fit inside.

Fundy National Park

We decided against a 3rd trip to Moosehead on our last day in Saint John…although we were tempted. Instead we went and spent the day in Fundy National Park. It was about 1.5 hours away so we got up early so we could have a whole day there.

We did various hikes including Laverty Falls trail and moose horn trail which went through forests and along a waterfall and river with various pools that people were swimming in. It was a hot day and the water was so clear so we were rueing not bringing a towel.

In the afternoon we hiked to Matthew’s Head which is more of a coastal path with lovely coastal views.

Dickson falls was a shorter walk on a boardwalk that had been erected in the woods which took you past a small falls. This was in an enclosed valley which was really humid and wet and had its own microclimate owing to the conditions. It was very different to the other areas we’d walked. Finally we stopped at Caribou Plain which is described as small bog.

On the way home we stopped to get dinner at Area 506 container village, which is located in the docks area in the main uptown area of Saint John, about 10 mins from our apartment. It’s a large area with a lot of gift shops and food and drink places all in separate shipping containers. There was even a stage in the middle and they were setting up for some music gig that was taking place that evening.

Sorry if this post has been a bit beer heavy. Kev is a big Moosehead fan so most of the coverage is for his benefit.

We are travelling onto Halifax (in Nova Scotia) next so more from us soon.

Lucy