Hey Folks! I'm from Alberta and spend a lot of time on Vancouver Island, but I haven't driven between them in many years (until now!). I'll be driving up to Alberta from California in a just under 2 weeks. After Edmonton and Calgary, we will be staying Revelstoke on our way to the Island, but we are flexible along the way. I'd love suggestions for bottle shops and/or breweries to visit anywhere along the way. I'm mainly a fan of German styles, Belgian styles, stouts, and barleywines. I can't wait to visit Cabin Brewing when I'm in Calgary and Sherbrooke Liquor in Edmonton. Also, any new releases that I should try to track down from breweries in Vancouver or on the island (I'll be going between Victoria and Port Alberni)? I might have a few extra stouts and barleywines from California that I could potentially trade as well. Cheers!
@Beersnake1 is a great BA and an excellent and generous trader. On my trip to Calgary, I really enjoyed the beers from Establishment. Cabin was great too. In the past, I’ve really enjoyed the BA stouts from Blindman. If you haven’t had it before, try to get an Alley Kat Olde Deuteronomy Barleywine in Alberta. It’s a Canadian classic. Have a great trip.
Omen brewing in Edmonton might have some styles you like- they have a very nice milk stout and often way more beer on tap than you can find on their website. If you are looking to hit more than one brewery in Edmonton, there are quite a few winging walking(ish) distance of Omen- Sea Change, Alley Kat, Ale Architect (my fave), Bent Stick and the Monolith. The Monolith is part of Blind Enthusiasm but is solely brewing barrel fermented beers- pretty great stuff if you are into that sort of thing. Sherbrooke is great, Keg and Cork is another good shop that might have some more barrel aged goodies. I agree with @Coronaeus about the Establishment in Calgary- they are one of the better breweries in Alberta. Dageraad brewing in Burnaby is a must stop if you like Belgians. Hope you have a great trip!
I second that Dageraad recommendation for Belgian styles. Really good from what I have had. There is a BA from Alberta who was active in CANBIF. If I can remember his name, I’ll link him. I think he worked at Sherbrooke. Might be a good guy to reach out to. Cheers.
Of course it depends what route you take. The best stores in the BC interior are Stag's Head in Kamloops and Cask & Barrel in West Kelowna. Breweries I'd recommend - I assume you'll hit Rumpus in Revelstoke, but then there's Bright Eye & Iron Road (Kamloops), Wild Ambition, Jackknife and Red Bird (Kelowna), one of the Field House locations in the Fraser Valley. If you're on Highway 3 I'd say Rossland, Wild North (Creston), and take your pick after that. Vancouver - The Gull as the store, breweries yeah Dageraad, Four Winds, and take your pick in the city, honestly. On the island between Alberni & Victoria, worth a stop I would say Fern & Cedar (Qualicum), Bayview (Ladysmith), maybe White Sails (Nanaimo). I don't know much about Victoria these days.
