Cheers to the coast showcases Sarnia-area craft beverage makers

The growth in the number of Sarnia-area wine, cider and craft beer makers was easy to see at Thedford’s Widder Station Saturday.

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The golf course and tap house hosted Tourism Sarnia-Lambton’s Cheers to the Coast, with booths from most of the area’s 15 craft beverage producers.

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“It’s crazy how fast it has grown in Lambton,” said Adam Veen, the agency’s marketing director.

A couple of decades ago, the lone producer was Alvjnston’s Munro Honey, which opened what’s billed as Ontario’s first meadery in 1999, producing the ancient honey-based alcoholic beverage.

Twin Pines Orchards in Thedford followed with its hard cider several years ago and Alton Farms Estate Winery near Aberarder began producing wine from its own grapes more than a decade ago. Craft beer makers and others followed as the sector grew across the country.

Tourism Sarnia-Lambton held a Festival of Cheers last year in Sarnia, highlighting local beverage makers, and decided to hold Saturday’s event, which included entertainment and a chance to sample beverages, outside the city at the Lambton Shores venue.

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“We’ve got 14 different vendors,” Veen said. “They showcase the wine, cider, mead and beer that we have in Sarnia-Lambton.”

While several craft brewers are in and around Sarnia, venues also can be found in other parts of the county, including the traditional fruit-growing areas of Lambton Shores and Plympton-Wyoming, and other rural areas.

“Everybody is just passionate about their craft and that’s what we want to showcase,” Veen said.

“They’re obviously a lot of opportunity for them to bring in people from outside the region and keep them entertained.”

Craft beverages make “a significant contribution” to Lambton’s tourism industry, Veen said.

“It’s something people are going to travel for, and each location brings their own spin on things,” he said.

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“It’s kind of nice because it gets people to come out to small local areas a little bit more,” said Jeff Munro, helping out at the Munro Meadery booth.

Munro said the family-run meadery, operating alongside a honey production site in Alvinston, has been expanding beyond traditional mead to make and sell other varieties.

Cheers to the Coast also included Point Brewing Co., one of Lambton’s newest craft brewers, which opened in August 2022 in Point Edward.

David Kruger, one of the three brothers-in-law who created Point Brewing, said they’d been home brewing for years before opening on Lite Street.

“Point Edward didn’t have anything yet and that’s the only place we wanted to be, because that’s home for us,” Kruger said.

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Since opening, the tap room has been embraced by patrons.

The business has 10 employees, and all three owners work day jobs along with long hours at the brewery, Kruger said. “It’s a labor of love.”

Craft beverage producers have the potential to make Lambton a destination for visitors “just like Niagara or Essex. . . except we’ve got better beaches,” he believes.

Local beverage makers collaborate, along with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton, on efforts “to get all of our names out there,” Kruger said. “We do a lot better together.”

Point Brewing sees local patrons and visitors from places like London and Michigan who say they’re stopping at several Lambton craft beverage makers on their trip.

“The beers coming out of the area are excellent,” he said.

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