The Blue Elephant rose to fame when two members of Mumford and Sons tasted their home brewed pilsner and asked to make it the official beer of their ‘Gentleman of the Road‘ tour in 2013. Owner Heather Pond-Manorome agreed and quickly turned what started as a 20th anniversary present to herself into a full blown microbrewery. This expansion contributed massively to the area’s economic impact so Heather kept it going giving 10% of the ‘Gentleman’s Beer’ proceeds to charity.
The Blue Elephant is a staple restaurant in the Norfolk area, serving fresh and delectable dishes from salads to ‘Apple Pie in a Jar’ to their famous DIY grilled cheese. Since becoming Norfolk’s first and only microbrewery, The Blue Elephant continually produces unique and seasonal beers from Norfolk county grown hops infused with other local ingredients, many of which Heather grows in her own back yard. She wants her beers to help educate Norfolk residents and visitors on the amazing produce from South West Ontario.
We sampled a flight of Blue Elephant’s featured beers from a hoppy Red Devil to a wheat Whagen to Krypke lager, a white beer similar to Rickard’s White. Our favourite beer was the ‘Very Berry Strawberry Beer,’ a lager that admittedly, does sound a bit sweet and girly. It is, however, the perfect summer deck beer regardless of gender, light and refreshing with only a hint of strawberry- (strawberry obviously grown in Heather’s backyard). It was SO good that my drinking buddy purchased a a few litres (called growlers and howlers) in The Blue Elephant store and is stockpiling them for what I can only assume is will be an apocalyptic ‘beer-mergency.’
At this point, you can only buy these delicious beers at The Blue Elephant in Norfolk but I assure you that it is worth the drive. The Blue Elephant also hosts a Brew Camp where you can learn how to brew beer, brew beer, name your creation and take it home with you. This experience makes a great gift and/or a fantastic day out for you and your friends.
Check out my post A Visit to Norfolk: Ontario’s Garden for more information on this picturesque region of Ontario.