Merit Brewing Company

2 Reviews on “Merit Brewing Company”

• Tomato Fettuccini

  For my first visit to Merit, I was amazed and pleased that civility had finally arrived in Hamilton; brew pubs are old hat unless you’re very Hamilton and then it’s amazing and awesome! Actually, brew pubs ARE JUST AWESOME, plain and simple.The Good:Hamilton’s first brew pub is a modern, Canadian take on the German brewhauses; it’s open, and airy, with communal tables and a menu consisting almost entirely of sausage, which is not a bad thing.The decor is straight brew pub: exposed beams and trusses in the ceiling, raw cinder block wall, readily visible brewery. It’s a combination of retro-chic and modern minimalism, with lots of concrete, wood and metal, and old-timey large-filament incandescent bulbs for ambience.There’s a great selection of beer available, all on-tap, and the bottle shop offers everything the brewery makes.I tried two different beers during my visit: Unrivaled, and Young Rival, both IPAs. Both very good.The Bad:At $7.90 per beer, regardless of size, whether you buy an 8oz Unrivaled or a 16oz Young Rival, be prepared for a shock: Toronto price points in Hamilton. No matter how you slice it, $9 for a beer (tax and tip in) is very dear, especially when you can go to the LCBO and get many beers as good or better than what’s on offer from Merit, for literally a fraction of the price (Boneshaker is as good as their IPAs, as is Shock Top, or Flying Monkeys’ Hoptical Illusion). Especially-especially when it’s brewed in-house. $9 for a glass of beer, not a 12-14oz sleeve, not a 16-20oz pint: an 8oz GLASS of beer, is ridiculously expensive.The sausages: at $9 per, before tax and tip, they had better be the best damn sausages in existence. Pork is significantly cheaper than either chicken or beef, yet the links here carry a premium price tag, the only reason I can think of for such is that the meat they source is from antibiotic-free, gain-fed, free-range animals. If that’s the case, then that’s a selling point they should be trumpeting. If they’re just getting it from GFS/Neptune or Sysco, then it’s over-priced. Next visit, but I’m a tough room so I had better be impressed.Summary:Overall I’m pleased that Hamilton has finally entered the 17th century, but the price/portion ratio seems a bit off to me, even given how good the product is. It definitely warrants a second visit, but it also won’t be a regular haunt of mine. If they lowered their prices by 15-20% they would garner regular business from me, and likely more. As is, as priced, I won’t be back often; don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but not THAT good. As is, it’s strictly for the well-heeled, tourists, and the occasional visit from locals. As the only brew pub in Hamilton at the moment, they can charge whatever they want. Granted, I don’t know their operating costs, but they are definitely in the premium range.Definitely worth a visit, but I won’t be here often, mainly because I like a lot of value for my money. Merit is worth a monthly visit, and that’s about it. Because $30 for a small glass of beer and a sausage with fries is an awful lot.Unless you live solely on beer and sausages. Then it’s totally worth it.Product: 4.5/5Value: 2.5/5This is a minor gripe, but they do the Cogeco Wifi thing for guests. It’s bullshit, and I wish more hospitaliers sucked it up and just got the unlimited internet package: Cogeco offers a lower rate for such packages because they can rape your surfing habits for information, which allows Merit to pay less for their internet. Suck it up, Merit. It’s not like anyone is going to be using BitTorrent during their visit. Splurge on unlimited internet and learn to configure your router so that people can’t download Game of Thrones.Also, the listed price point is way off: $5 apply + $7 beer + $9 sausage = $21. That’s around $30 per person, and $60 for two. The price point they have listed is if you have one beer each and no food. Seems a bit misleading to me.

  October 26, 2017, 4:54 am

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• NorthernWolf

  Enjoyed a whole evening here during the Tool concert last month as well as lunch one day and really enjoyed myself.Atmosphere – straight up brewery, with exposed equipment in view but clean and modern, high ceilings make it airy. And fun! Come in, find a seat at the communal tables, make a friend! Not for private conversations….Service – just counter service similar to WVRST in Toronto. That being said counter help is excellent and friendly. Food service took a while in the evening but it was packed. Lunch was quick. Beer – it is a brewery so I should probably talk about the beer. Over the course of several visits I tried most of the menu. Most are typical brewery overhopped mud piles, but several stood out. One, called Tomorrow, was amazing. Full of flavour, infused with earl grey tea, it was an explosion of flavour.Food – just sausage! Which is fine if they are good, and man are they! Chorizo, cheddar smokey, wow the list goes on. All amazing and filling even though they are small. Fries are decent, seasonal pickles give a pass. All in all, I will be back without a doubt. Love this place.

  September 17, 2017, 4:11 am

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