Hi All, I’ve moving to Langley in June. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of the Vancouver-area breweries and beer bars on my own terms, but wanted to get advice on bottleshops and other places with a good selection of off-premise options. As an American, I’m sure I’ve got all sorts of Canadian cultural stuff to learn too. Beer-related or not, please share your knowledge of Vancouver-area tips and tricks.
Welcome! It's nice up here Half the people in Vancouver aren't from Vancouver (self included) so you'll be fiiiiiine. We have so many various cultures to enjoy. Come to Farmhouse Fest. Shameless self plug, on sale in 2 hours actually what timing! It's not until August though. There's all kinds of fun beer stuff going on any given week. If you're into Cider, BC Cider Fest is June 3rd. Bottleshops are kind of all over the place, and the price can vary a LOT. Quality seems to ebb and flow. Breweries all have their own off sales and most have their own tap rooms too. I shop at Legacy mainly because I live so close. Jaks, Darby's, Brewery Creek, even some BCL all have great selections depending what you want. No clue really about Langley sorry haha. The Gull in North Van has the best prices around and all kinds of random stuff. At first you will be very happy with the exchange rate until you get used to it and then you will cry when going back to America to buy anything haha.
Thank you for the tips! I already tried to buy Farmhouse Fest tickets this morning, just waiting for noon to come around.
Welcome to the lower mainland! First thing is that generally, the mountains are north and they stretch out east from the ocean. However, the biggest mountain that remains snow covered is Mt. Baker which is over the line in the US. There are 3 Langley's City of Langley Township of Langley Ft. Langley City of Langley broke off from the Township because one of the parties didn't want to pay extra taxes to provide electric street lighting.. Ft Langley is a small village on the Fraser river which has a replica fur trading fort, and a lot of heritage houses. The current Mayor of the TOL, owns half the main street which he wants to tear down and modernize., it is a polarizing issue. IMHO, the Fort Pub has decent pub food and a selection of craft brews on tap. That said, any local breweries have a room for tasting and light snacks. Good link here on the craft scene: https://bcaletrail.ca/ale-trails/langley/ Other notes: The entire Fraser Valley has a lot of churches, and a lot of Hallmark movies are shot through the region. Lots of blueberry, raspberry, and chicken and pork producers. A lot of the corn in the area is cow corn, not for human consumption. Most expensive restaurant in town is at the the Cascades casino "The Atlas". Lot's of sushi, curry houses, and local chains like Brown's Earls, and Cactus Club. throughout. the area. Canadians will go to local restaurants rather than chains, which is a little different than the US. Langley is boomtown for young families, close to Vancouver, but with cheaper houses starting at 1.2 million. Lots of people working in construction. One thing I will mention,is do not drink and drive. I'm pretty conservative and will only drive if I have one beer, or drink. Being caught and convicted will bar you from entering Canada. It is not worth it. Police set up roadblocks for impaired driving especially around long weekends, holidays etc.Get your Uber account up to date, and pick up your car later. Even a $100 taxi charge will save you a world of grief. Canada has a different history than the US when it comes to booze. Hotel owners had the ear of politicians for decades, so the idea of a single person setting up a bar on their own without a hotel attached was strictly forbidden. Hard liquor is still mainly in hotels.Also, getting food and drink after 8:00 -9:00 pm can be limited, except for fast food. Nearly all booze has to go through the Government first, where their markup runs from 80 to 100 per cent. Then the independent liquor stores buy at the same price as you and then put their mark up on and sell it at a higher price. (They (Gov't) have a temporary wholesale price for retailers right now of 80% post Covid). Gov't runs their own liquour stores (BCLDB), and has minor sales: Best craft deal is currently Bowen Island Harbour pack: https://www.bcliquorstores.com/prod...beer&special=on sale&sort=name.raw:asc&page=1 Lots of locals cross over the border weekly, to buy cheaper gas/dairy/booze.
Thank you, that was some good lay of the land! We’ve been watching a lot of YouTube and other videos about the area, but none of them covered the beer/alcohol elements you did. We’re coming from Bend, Oregon where the preference for local over chains and limited food options after 9pm are similar. As someone who is on the fringe of the beer industry, the distribution and independent vs. provincial liquor store issues are of particular interest.
LOL I found that all a bit dramatic. It's not THAT bad. BCL (ie: government liquor stores) charge 'Retail Price' which is essentially 30% markup over wholesale. Your average private liquor store in Vancouver is 40%+ and it varies widely outside the main core. They all buy it at wholesale price, but private shops can charge whatever they want, BCL is a government fixed retail price. Some private shops charge 30% or lower even! Breweries charge whatever they want as well. Provincial Government tax markups on beer vs wine vs spirits are all completely different and it makes no difference what store you buy it at because the wholesale price that all resellers buy at is the same. TLDR: it pays to shop around
Anyone going to VCBW tomorrow? Sounds like they’re trying to win back breweries and attendees after some shortfalls last year; hopefully that makes for a great event this year. Related question: are there any other “beer week” events besides this one day fest? Only managed to hit two Langley breweries so far: 5 Roads (fine) and Dead Frog (ouch). Also visited Barley Merchant, and I attended Main Street’s 9 anniversary party. Quite pleased with Main Street’s beer, eeverything was good to great with highlights being the Brett Pale and Sparkling Ale (cask). Brought home one of almost everything from their cooler. Town Centre is the nearest liquor store, and they’ve got a nice walk-in to augment the cooler by the entrance. Visited Jericho today and pleased with their selection, just wish most of it wasn’t at room temp. I was stoked to see a cubby for Fremont beers, but lost interest in the Lush and Golden Pilsner when I saw they were next to last year’s Head Full of Fresh Hops, guessing they’ve all been languishing in that spot for 8+ months.
I would avoid VCBW at all costs but I'm a grumpy old man who dislikes crowds. Jonny's event(s) is/are as good as it gets around here these days nothing comes close. Not trying to sound too negative but to me it feels like the "scene" peaked several years ago and now its just a bunch of mediocrity overshadowing the good stuff. Too many Dead Frogs not enough Dageraads if ya feel me. Personally I love the valley, it's super beautiful out there and you got an olive garden!
I had something of a professional interest in checking it out, and the VIP hour had no lines. I asked a few Brewers about the event in the weeks leading up, and their responses seemed a little off at the time but make more sense now. It’s a beer fest for casual fans and not a beer geek event (and they shouldn’t call a single day event a “Beer Week”), and depending on what the organizers ask of breweries who want to participate it may not seem worth the effort to many. I accepted it for what it was, got in and out early, and had a good time with my son, but will probably skip it in the future. I’m glad they resolved what sounded like some critical issues from last year (water, staffing, and minimal shade during a brutal heat wave).
