Yaletown Brewing Co.

Yaletown Brewing Co.Yaletown Brewing Co.
Yaletown Brewing Co.Yaletown Brewing Co.
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

1111 Mainland St
Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 5P2
Canada

(604) 681-2739 | map
markjamesgroup.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.55
Beers:
32
Ratings:
104
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.76
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
33
pDev:
10.11%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by imfinished:
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Rated by imfinished from Canada (BC)

4.01/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4

Mar 25, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.04 by readyforthenet from New York

Jul 18, 2020
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Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

3.81/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.25
Large bar with a reputation for fine beer and delicious food. It lives up to its reputation as far as we could see. All four beers I tried were exceptional. Unfortunately, there were only four I didn't try... I.e., only 8 beers on tap. But if everyone is a winner then that should be plenty.
May 31, 2019
 
Rated: 3.84 by TrojanRB from Texas

Sep 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.08 by Joeluu8 from Canada (BC)

Jan 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.57 by italianstallion from Wisconsin

Dec 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by SDRedDevil from California

Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.76 by fureousangel from California

Nov 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4.23 by ZachT from Canada (BC)

Oct 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by krome from Illinois

Aug 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by AdamNowek from Netherlands

Aug 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by edugasmtl from Canada (QC)

Jul 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by jrempel from Canada (BC)

Jul 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Tivlavrie from Canada (AB)

Jul 07, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by bumchilly25 from Canada (BC)

Jun 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by KStark from Canada (BC)

May 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by J-Swan from Canada (BC)

Feb 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Erik-P from Canada (BC)

Nov 21, 2013
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Reviewed by andy_c from Utah

4.14/5  rDev +10.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
This was the second brewery I went to in Vancouver after going to Steamworks the previous night.

Yaletown is a cool area, the red brick in the front of the establishment is cool touch. I'm sure the place is pretty old. There are tons of people inside and we do have to wait a few minutes for a table on a Thursday night. Seems like most of the people here are 30-40 years old, so the atmosphere is more geared towards wealthy adults. Definitely not a super cool atmosphere although the location seemed pretty cool.

Once we got a table the service was great. Tons of food to choose from. They had a cask Pale Ale open that night which I opted for. It was pretty good. There was a ton of food to choose fro, and although it was a bit expensive, it was all very good. I think I would prefer this to Steamworks.
Aug 20, 2013
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Reviewed by TreeTopFlyer from New Hampshire

4.4/5  rDev +17%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
After visiting Granville Island and Dockside, YBC was strongly recommended by a local bartender. We stopped in and finally found some nice, very flavorful beers. The Oud Bruin was the specialty and delicious. As a result we came back the next night and had dinner with a group of 7.

Dinner was very good, all the beers we tried were very well done and stood out from our previous two brewery visits.

The staff was very knowledgeable about the beers and the styles they were derived from.

YBC is a "must-visit" in Vancouver for high-quality beer, food and service.
Feb 09, 2011
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Reviewed by prosper from Canada (AB)

4.26/5  rDev +13.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
a very nice brewpub. Decor is pseudo-industrial - the light fixtures are beer kegs, and the actual brewery is visible through a glass wall at the end of the bar. It's exceptionally clean, and it's in a great neighbourhood.

There's a selection of 6 or 7 regular beers and one seasonal beer. Every thursday is 'cask night.'

Service is quick, though I didn't have any food.

The beers are definitely beer-geek material; no pandering there. The Cascadia dark that I had was a no-punches-pulled hop bomb. Clearly, the brewers are passionate about beer, and aren't going for the lowest common denominator.

It is, however, on the pricy side (As are most Yaletown establishments)
Oct 28, 2010
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Reviewed by morebeergood from Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
After getting off the water taxi from Granville Island, my wife and I walked around Yaletown for a while. We popped into YBC for a quick beer to rest our feet. Atmosphere was good. This is a huge place, with a large bar and dining area, plus two sides of outdoor seating overlooking the street, which is where we chose to sit. Ordered a round of beers from the bar, and even though there were three bartenders and just us, no one really jumped to help us. There were probably about 10 beers on tap and an IPA on cask. I got the Hills Special Wheat and my wife had the Raspberry Wheat, and both were quite nice. Prices for beers seemed on the high side. A session here could add up, so we had one and moved on. Side note: one of the TVs in the bar area was showing NESN and the live Red Sox game.
Jul 07, 2010
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Reviewed by DoubleJ from Wisconsin

3.68/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 4
The Yaletown neighborhood of Vancouver is hip and happening, and included is, well, Yaletown Brewing. I love the open air feeling you get when you're inside with those huge windows open. As you're sitting at the bar, you can get a close look at the cooks making whatver meals customers want. Nice touch.

Eight house beers were available during my visit, which included one seasonal. The like the fact these Vancouver brewpubs offer more than a few of thier own beers, so cheers to that. But there's less joy in Yaletown's beers though. I got tastes of four different beers; seasonal witbier (weak), brown ale (muted), IPA (decent), and black & tan (decent). The bartender was friendly, and was the one responsible pushing me to get a taste of those beers. Most beer were $6.75-7.25, but you get imperial pints, and the tax is already included.

The ingredients of vibe, service, and beer selection are there. Now we just need the beer to be a little more flavorful, and you got yourself a good brewpub.
Jun 07, 2010
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Reviewed by atigerlife from Hawaii

3/5  rDev -20.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3
A pretty basic place, but quite large. It was very loud on the night I was there [TV, not the people] which made it very hard to even talk to people near you. Comfortable.

8 beers on tap when I was there. They all seemed decent enough, though nothing was outstanding.

TV's all around.

Decore is quite nice. Casual but done quite nicely. I would have rated the atmosphere higher except for the very loud TV next to us. Somewhat obnoxious...especially since I was with a group of about 20 people.

Food is your basics: pizza, salads, burgers, steak. Decent enough. I had the fish and chips. It was good.

Worth a visit, but nothing to get too excited about. I have been there before and would go again if I was in town for a while.
Mar 27, 2010
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Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +13%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Damn! I had a couple of notebooks stolen, along with a laptop and my original, detailed review was in one of them. Here is a re-visit, albeit abbreviated.

Holy Déjà vu all over again, Batman! I am almost certain that I was here before. It was on a corner, up a short flight of steps with a panoramic view of the street from the large, rectangular bar. Talk about a friendly staff - Monica, the manager and Lloyd, the bartender both personally re-introduced themselves.

Lunch was mac'n'cheese with a salad.

Beers: Red Truck Ale; Yippee IPA; Downtown Brown; Yaletown Lager; Hill's Special Wheat (Hefeweizen).

Seasonals: Raspberry Wheat; Cassiopeia Wit.

2 handpumps. I had cask IPA.
Dec 25, 2009
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3
Another brewpub owned by a corporation (same as DIX), a bit more upscale, with trained staff. Above average high ABV beers, a good touristy downtown location. The IPA on cask and the Belgian on ta were welcome and decent. Good sized bar and fairly busy for a Monday night. Above average service, lots of wood decor. A number of sports TVs on, but maybe that's not such a bad thing here as you aren't going to be partying with the locals or tourists. A few bottles about, but not a showoff of BC micros as per a few other places. Worth a go.
Feb 21, 2008
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Reviewed by CanuckRover from Canada (ON)

2.83/5  rDev -24.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3
Yaletown is for people who like the idea of drinking good beer more than actually drinking good beer. This is a fuax-brewpub, about providing a trendy night spot rather than good beer.

Busy on a Friday night (of course) mid-thirties crowd with a sprinkling of sugar daddies and cougars. Very loud, very crowded (not alot of elbow room) but fun enough.

Beer is incredibly unremarkable. Most are thin and fairly tasteless... oh, and crazy expensive! I spent an absurd amount on macroish beer at this place.

Shout your orders at bartenders who sling as many rum and cokes as they do ales. Wouldn't go again.
Jan 06, 2008
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Reviewed by vanrassel from Canada (AB)

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
In my travels I've come to realize there are brewpubs that aren't really about the beer — Yaletown is one of them, and that's OK.

The best times I've had at Yaletown have been during the summer, when I've been able to sit on the patio and watch the people go by. Vancouver is a beautiful city and the pub's location in a trendy warehouse district makes the surroundings part of the attraction.

If it's cold and you're inside, the atmosphere is decent enough. I've never been in the restaurant but the bar side manages to cater to the jock crowd — TVs, pool tables, etc. — without being too obnoxious or loud to alienate those who'd rather sit and talk without resorting to shouting.

My food experience has been limited to their pub fare, which is servicable. I'll put in a plug for the pizzas, which I thought were well-prepared thin crust pies. The service is prompt and pleasant, including one night I recall when the place was packed with football fans headed to a Lions game.

Oh — the beer? Meh. The IPA is OK (too malty for my liking, just as someone else said); Red Truck Lager is servicable; their hefe is probably the offering I've liked best.
Jan 04, 2007
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Reviewed by CBA from British Indian Ocean Territory

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3
Situated in the heart of Yale Town - this is definitely on the higher end as far as Brew Pubs go. Very large space broken into 2 sections, the Pub/Bar side and the restaurant side. Decent size patio over looking the narrow side street. Service was the highlight, as I found the beer to be medicore at best. Nothing really adventurous, or ground breaking. A bar for the masses. The food was average, with the menu trying to hard to push all the right buttons - West Coast Fusion/Home Cooking/Pub Food/Pizza - they don't really get any of it right.

Particularly disappointing is the website for the Mark James Group. (www.drinkfreshbeer.com) No info about their selections etc, other than a little blurb on how beer is brewed. Close to shameful for a brewpub. The focus is on the food and his clothing store..WTF. Where's the fresh beer?
Oct 14, 2006
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Reviewed by Herrless from Illinois

3.45/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
I stopped by one evening for a late dinner and to sample some of their beers. We had thier BBQ chicken pizza which was pretty good.

The atmophere was like an upscale college bar. Lots of young faces drinking. Seemed to be more of a place to go and get drunk than to sit an enjoy a beer. They only have 5 or 6 beers and from what I can tell do not change.

I had 2 of their beers, both of which were good but not great. Other than being fresh they didn't have alot going for them. The IPA was the maltiest IPA I have ever had, but had a very nice creamy mouth feel.

Overall, if you in the area it would be a good place to try. Otherwise, head over to the Chambar for better beer.
Jul 29, 2006
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Reviewed by BDTyre from Canada (BC)

3.78/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Went with an old friend early on a Sunday afternoon, when beer is half price.

There is no particular theme it seems, but the old building and the interior create a decent feeling. The layout was good, and it wasn't too busy for lunch. The servers were friendly, engaging and prompt. I didn't feel ignored or over serviced.

Food selection is decent but not too far out of standard pub fare: burgers, salads, soups, etc. Beer selection is okay. Major styles are represented, but they don't have the range of Steamworks or Spinnakers. I was sad there was no stout, but was pleased to find out their christmas seasonal was available.

Pricing was reasonable, but again, the half price beer helped.
Dec 05, 2005
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Reviewed by GClarkage from California

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Downtown brewpub in the Yaletown district of Vancouver, BC. Nice old style brick building. Very large brewpub. Parking was hard to come by as well. We found a spot in front, but, apparently it was a commercial parking spot (numarked as so) and came back from dinner only to find my truck gone! Fighting this one with the Canada courts now. Anyway, the food was very good and reasonable priced and the beer was very good as well. They only had about 6 beers on tap at the time though. Overall a very nice place to come for a dinner/beer. Just make sure you park in a proper spot!
Sep 30, 2005
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Reviewed by beertaster13 from Washington

3.45/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Took maltos review and went up to Yaletown about 3 months ago. Vancouver only about 2 hours away from Seattle, Just a I-5 trip north. Yaletown Brewing Co is a pretty big place that is tucked away in sort of the industrial part of Vancouver. The atmoshpere is great here on the weekends and very low key on weekdays, the piano player was a nice touch. The bar and restaurant are two floors, the bar has the usual pub fares, pool, darts etc.. The restaurant looked nice even though I did not sit in it. I ordered the pizza since the other BA said it was great. It was so so. Not superb but good for a bar appetizer. The beer was just average, nothing special. They had a good Pale Ale on tap that is what I stuck with, My wife had there stout and she said it was okay. Average place to visit when here.
Feb 26, 2004
Yaletown Brewing Co. in Vancouver, BC, Canada
Brewery rating: 3.55 out of 5 with 104 ratings