For Barrie breweries, you can drive yourselves if one person stays dry, or hire a chauffeur by the hour so nobody has to. Taprooms sit across town, in Alliston and at Coldwater, so a car that waits beats three taxi calls. A business sedan is $135–160 per hour with a three-hour minimum, all-in plus HST. See our Barrie brewery tour by chauffeur page.
Which Barrie breweries are worth a stop on a chauffeured route?
Tourism Barrie's brewery and winery page lists the places most visitors know: Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery and Tap Room at 107 Dunlop Street East, Brūd Bar + Bottle Shop at 19 Clapperton Street, Heritage Estate Winery at 421 Penetanguishene Road and Quayle's Brewery at Coldwater. Barnstormer Brewing & Distilling Co. runs a brewpub at 384 Yonge Street in Barrie, with a second taproom at 265 King Street North in Alliston.
We are not affiliated with any of them and we sell no tastings. We drive you to the door, wait and take you home. Our parent page on the tasting-day service explains the service; this guide is about building a route that works, and about the practical details that decide whether the afternoon runs smoothly.
When are the taprooms open, and does that shape the route?
Hours are the quiet constraint on any route, so check them before you pick a day. On 2 October 2026 the Flying Monkeys taproom page listed Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Barnstormer's website listed its Barrie brewpub Monday to Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m., and its Alliston taproom Wednesday to Saturday from noon to 9 p.m., closed Sunday to Tuesday.
Quayle's posted winter hours of Thursday to Saturday noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday. The lesson is simple: a Saturday opens every door, a Tuesday closes several, and a Sunday afternoon needs an early start for the Alliston stop. Hours change by season, so confirm before you book the car.
How does a first-come taproom change how you plan?
The Flying Monkeys taproom says plainly that it is first come, first served, with no reservations, and that private parties go to its Attic Lounge by arrangement. That matters for a group. A table for three on a quiet Tuesday is easy; eight people turning up together on a summer Saturday may wait.
Two fixes help. Arrive early in the afternoon, before the after-work crowd, and keep the group small enough to share one or two tables. Or contact the venue first about a private room if you are ten or more. Your chauffeur can drop the group at the door, circle or park nearby and pick you up when you text, so a short wait for a table is not a problem for the car.
What does a Barrie breweries route cost?
Hourly booking is the lead product here. The business sedan is $135–160 per hour all-in plus HST with a three-hour minimum, and a four-hour sedan booking is about $540–640. The table compares four routes; none needs a fixed itinerary, because you can drop a stop or swap one on the day.
| Route | Typical stops | Sensible length | How to book | Planning figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The downtown pair | Brūd and Flying Monkeys, with lunch between | 3–4 hours | hourly, sedan | $135–160 per hour (3 h minimum) |
| Barrie across town | Flying Monkeys on Dunlop East and Barnstormer on Yonge | 4 hours | hourly, business SUV for five | $175–205 per hour (3 h minimum) |
| The Alliston run | Barnstormer Alliston and a Highway 89 lunch (45 km from Barrie, 40–50 min) | 5–6 hours | hourly, sedan or SUV | $135–160 per hour for a sedan |
| The Coldwater day | Quayle's plus a second stop on the way | 6 hours | hourly, executive SUV for six | $225–265 per hour (3 h minimum) |
One way between two stops inside Barrie is $110–125 in a sedan (up to 10 km, 5–20 minutes), so a two-venue afternoon is also possible as separate trips; hourly is simpler once you pass two stops. Every class is on the rates page.
Why not just have a designated driver?
A designated driver gives up a whole afternoon and watches everyone else taste. The usual alternatives are worse: taxis from each venue, a wait for a pickup in a part of town with few cars, or the quiet temptation to have just one and drive anyway. Ontario takes this seriously: the province's impaired driving page says that even the warn range, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 to 0.079, brings a seven-day licence suspension and a $250 penalty for a first offence, and that drivers 21 and under, and novice licence holders, must have no alcohol in their system at all.
A chauffeur turns that into a transport problem you solve once. Everyone tastes, everyone ends the day with their licence, and nobody waits in a car park. If you have a non-drinker in the group, the venues sell other drinks and food too; the Flying Monkeys taproom page, for one, lists non-alcoholic options.
What is a good Saturday route inside Barrie?
Start with lunch. A taproom flight on an empty stomach is the classic mistake. Pick up at 12:30, have lunch at a downtown restaurant, then walk or ride to Clapperton Street for a bottle shop and a first pour at Brūd. At about 2:30 hop to Dunlop Street East for a flight at Flying Monkeys, whose own page offers a build-your-own flight of four five-ounce pours.
By five you can add dinner at a third venue or end at home. A four-hour sedan or SUV booking covers the whole shape with a little slack, and extra time runs in 30-minute blocks if the second stop is too good to leave. Barrie's downtown is compact, so most hops take five to fifteen minutes.
Is Barnstormer worth the trip to Alliston?
Barnstormer's second taproom in Alliston is an easy excursion for a longer day, particularly on a weekend afternoon when the Barrie location is full. Alliston is $240–275 one way in a business sedan (45 km, 40–50 minutes), which is a good reason to book hourly instead: the clock covers the drive, the visit and the return in one booking.
A neat Saturday plan is a late-morning start from Barrie, an early lunch on the way, a flight in Alliston and a return by late afternoon to a second taproom in Barrie. Remember the Alliston hours posted above: it is closed Sunday to Tuesday.
How does the Coldwater day work with Quayle's?
Quayle's is at 4567 Line 12 North in Coldwater, about 8 km from Mount St. Louis Moonstone and 14 km from Orillia by Highway 11, according to its own site. The brewery describes itself as farm-fresh, serves food, hosts live music on weekends, runs brewery tours and offers cans to go.
Barrie to Orillia is $215–245 one way in a sedan (38 km, 30–35 minutes), and Coldwater lies beyond Orillia, so expect the figure for a one-way ride to be near our Orillia and Midland bands, with the engine quoting your exact stop. Because the day is long and the drive is the point, book hourly. In winter, combine it with a ski day at Mount St. Louis Moonstone and a taproom to finish.
What do you do about bottles and cans you buy?
Plenty of people leave with a case. Our rule is clear: alcohol is not allowed in our vehicles, which means nothing is opened or poured on board, from a sedan to a Sprinter. Sealed purchases are a different matter, but only if arranged with dispatch: tell us at booking that you expect to buy, so we send a car with the right cargo space.
A business SUV or executive SUV has a far more useful rear bay than a sedan. Put purchases in the cargo area and the chauffeur will help. Keep the rest of the group's belongings tidy, and do not expect the car to double as a rolling taproom. This is a tasting day with a driver, not a party bus with a keg.
Who suits a larger vehicle: birthdays, teams and stag days?
A team outing or milestone birthday of eight to fourteen is the natural Sprinter booking: $475–550 per hour with a three-hour minimum, all-in plus HST, one vehicle, one chauffeur, one pickup. The group stays together and the cost per person looks small. Larger groups can use a partner minicoach or party bus, priced in writing by a coordinator; party buses carry a four to five hour minimum.
For a bachelor or bachelorette day, the same arithmetic applies, with the same no-alcohol-on-board rule. A staff outing can be billed on one invoice through our corporate accounts desk. Our Sprinter and group transportation page covers seating and luggage in more detail.
What about food, so the afternoon lasts?
Barnstormer describes itself as a brewpub with pub fare, Quayle's serves food and last orders come before closing, and Flying Monkeys lists food service on its taproom page. A route needs one proper meal in the middle; skipping it is why the third stop feels like a mistake.
Tell dispatch when you will eat so the chauffeur can plan breaks and park comfortably. For a late dinner after the route, we can take you to a restaurant in town and home; our restaurant nights out guide describes how an hourly booking suits a long meal.
What are the rules on age and ID?
The legal drinking age in Ontario is 19, and taprooms ask for photo ID. Anyone younger in the group can come for the food and the ride but cannot taste. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario sets the rules for licensed premises, and the Ontario Craft Brewers site lists member breweries across the province if you want to plan beyond Simcoe County.
Large groups should warn each venue they are coming, since taprooms limit group sizes on busy days. If anyone uses a wheelchair or scooter, book a wheelchair-accessible vehicle in advance and tell us about the wheelchair or scooter. Pets need prior approval, with written confirmation; service animals are welcome.
Does the season change a taproom route?
Summer means patios, long light and heavy traffic; winter means shorter days and hours, and a good reason to hand over the keys. Highway 400 and Highway 11 can be slowed by lake-effect squalls from November to March, and our chauffeurs watch Ontario 511 before each trip, sometimes moving a pickup earlier.
In autumn the harvest brings crowds to farm-based venues, and a Friday or Saturday booking should be made a week ahead. A winter weekday afternoon can be delightfully quiet. Whichever month you choose, remember cottage traffic clogs northbound routes on Friday afternoons and southbound on Sundays from Victoria Day to Thanksgiving.
How do you book your taproom route direct?
Book on our reservation engine: choose the vehicle, enter your pickup address and the hours, and the fixed all-in fare appears before you confirm, with HST shown separately. Add child seats from $25 each if you need them (taprooms often welcome families for lunch), a note about the venues, and any luggage space you need.
Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 72 hours or less is 10 per cent, 48 hours or less 50 per cent, and 24 hours or less or a no-show 100 per cent. If you want to combine a tasting day with a longer trip, our travel desk can help, and our wineries near Barrie guide covers the grape side of the same idea.
