Matt and Paul had a scheduled visit on the first real cold day of Winter at the Royal Docks Brewing Company in the Nobles Pond area of Canton, OH. The weather outside was frigid, but inside we received a warm greeting from brewmaster, David Sutula and owner, John Bikis. The brew pub itself conveys a very industrial British feel.
They have an ambitious dozen Royal Docks beers on tap along with several casks. An eclectic menu is served with an ‘across the pond’ feel. The flatbreads looked very enjoyable but the lox, fish & chips, and potato dishes got my interest. Plan on getting an interesting bite of food when you stop by. However, the most important menu is the tap list.
Brewmaster Sutula definitely has his work cut out for himself on keeping the brewery stocked and supplying beer to some outside accounts. His double batching on a 3.5 bbl system means long 13 hour arduous brew days. He has resorted to inoculating wooden kegs with yeast and fermenting beer inside of them at ambient temperatures in order to keep up, and the results are very satisfying.
The beers are noticeably approachable, clean and proper to styles. Paul was hoping to sample some Real Ales, but the hand pumps were dry on our visit. If you hear the coffee porter is going on cask, that would be a good day to plan your visit as it’s their quickest seller.
Royal Docks is still in it’s infancy stage with only being open 4 months so far. Sutula’s love for English Ales is noticeable and here’s hoping that he can grab some suitable english pale malt and produce an English Dark Mild Ale inspired from his beloved and now defunct Highgate Brewery. Cheers to everyone at Royal Docks!