Alberta/ British Columbia Recommendations...

There are two pretty good bottle shops in Lethbridge; The Wine Cavern and Andrew Hilton Wines. Big selection at the Wine Cavern but not a huge turnover, be weary of IPAs, you can sometimes find gems there that are long gone elsewhere in the province. Pro tip for Andrew Hilton, they have a tucked away fridge full of lambics if you turn left instead of right when you get into the store.

In Calgary, the best beer store is Oak & Vine, two locations, one on 16th Ave, one in Inglewood. The 16th Ave store will probably be more convenient but the Inglewood location has a nice growler bar. If you're only able to stop at one bottle shop on your whole trip, make it one of these. If you have an extra 20 minutes when you're coming through Calgary and it's a Thurs, Fri, Sat, or Sun, stop in at Dandy Brewing just off of Deerfoot Trail (Highway 2). If you find yourself in the city centre for some reason and need lunch/beer, either Last Best Brewing or Trolley 5 Brewing would make for a good stop.

In Canmore, my favourite bottle shop is the Cellar Door, small but very well curated selection. Right next door is a good pub/restaurant, The Iron Goat, solid beer, one of the best patios you'll find, and a great view. Townhouse Liquor is the best bottle shop in Banff if you want to stop there.

Not much really in Medicine Hat or Moose Jaw... If you're already stopping for gas or something in Medicine Hat, Trackside Liquor would be the only spot worth a stop.

Enjoy the trip!

 

If you're going through Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw I would assume you're driving the Trans Canada (Hwy 1). If you are going that route, stop by Black Bridge in Swift Current (it's on the Highway) and try a few things. They should have they regular canned offerings and some bottle of their saison and imperial stout, plus their non-packaged offerings for tastings/growlers.

 

I've never been to the brewery - but Black Bridge is very solid.

 

If you're near Invermere, BC I really enjoyed discovering their local brewery Arrowhead Brewing Company. Cool little brewery with a little tasting room with cool decor. All the beers were solid - and I was particularly fond of Doc Tegart's ESB.

 

Big fan of Wild Rose in Calgary, super cool tap house.

 

Hell's Basement Brewery in The Hat is worth a stop to get some crowler/growler fills of their beers. Plus, Medicine Hat Brewing is also now open.

 

Thanks, I stopped here on the way through, and it was great! I only bought a couple of cans because I didn't want to leave stuff in a hot car, but I probably should have stocked up.

Drumheller seems to be a craft beer wasteland... and I'm headed to Brooks tomorrow. Any recommendations?

 

I managed to find a 3 pack of 13/14/15 Unibroue Grand Reserve in Drumheller, but otherwise rural Alberta seemed to be a wasteland. It was like being in the 90's, when it was fairly common to see Richards Red and you were lucky to find some Big Rock. It's like the last two decades of the craft beer revolution never happened?

Oak & Vine in Calgary was an oasis in the desert!

 

No surprise about rural Alberta! I think Medicine Hat is probably the only place outside Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and the touristy places that would have semi decent beer.

 

Lacombe has three cool spots.

Ponaka has a brewpub that just opened that I had two clean beers from.

 

Fort Mac has a brewpub and a cool beer spot to.

 

whoah cool! thanks for the tips!