I'm going to be in Kelowna BC the second week of August, 8/11-8/14. Looking for recommendations on breweries, bottle shops or good beer stores. If anyone is in the area, wouldn't mind meeting up for a drink or I'd be happy to bring a bottle or two from my cellar to share. Cheers Joe
Unfortunately I think your best bet is going to be meeting up with someone for a beer from their cellar. Last time I rolled through there the beer pickings were pretty slim, although you'll likely find a few seasonal beers from Vancouver. The local breweries there are......ya..... I would also imagine there's some decent west coast imports you wouldn't see in NJ, although the freshness could be an issue. I will never forgive Tree for that barrel aged thirsty beaver they disguised as a $20+ somethingerother.
Unfortunately I'll be out of town, but I can make some recommendations... Metro Liquor is THE bottle shop. You might be taken aback by the pricing, but they have the best selection in town (by far!). If you get up to Vernon, the Village Green private store is also very good. The government's signature BC Liquor stores are fairly good, with decent pricing (across from Orchard Park Mall, with the other one in the Mission Plaza). Tree Brewing's production brewery is good, but not too adventurous. Their new Beer Institute (separate location) is quite good. They have a cask every Thursday. Food choice is minimal, but the pizza is very good. I Haven't been to the new BNA brewpub yet, but hear it's good. Smack Dab at the Manteo Hotel has some good brews, and one of the best patios in town. The Mission Tap House has the best selection, but it pale in comparison to most cities, and it's like a sports bar. If money is no obstacle, the Curious Cafe gets some great stuff. What brings you to town? Will you be going anywhere else nearby?
Penticton has a a few breweries: Cannary, Tin Whistle and Bad Tattoo. There's a south okanagan CAMRA club, weekly cask events and the annual fest of ale. There's a brewpub as well, but hardly worth a mention... But that reminds me, if you like bowling we've got the Freddy's brewpub in Kelowna, which isn't bad. It's still very much a wine region, but the beer scene is improving. Our homebrew club has started regular meets at Bad Tattoo... Eventually one of us will brew on their commercial system! Summers are very hot and dry, winters are relatively mild, but we get some decent snow in the hills. Spring and fall are generally really nice (extends the patio season).
@Derek bummer you're going to be out of town! Thanks for all the huge recommendations though! I'm in town for work, at a sales conference for a few days. Staying at the Delta Grand. Looks pretty damn nice and will be in the area from Tuesday through Friday. Definitely going to hit up Metro Liquor and maybe I'll take a quick visit to Curious Café as well... I should be getting into town fairly early on Tuesday so maybe that's when I'll get to Tree Brewing. Looking forward to the trip.
The Institute is right next to the Delta: http://www.treebeer.com/http/wwwtreebrewingbeerinstitutecom/ And Metro is a short walk. I should also mention that Micro Bar has happy hour from 3-5, with $2 off pints. And if you like BBQ, Memphis Blues has Okanagan Springs Black Lager on-tap (and a couple other of their mediocre brews). Okanagan springs is a regional brewery that serves the general public, but the Schwartzbier is really nice... more so with BBQ!
Thanks for the advice Derek! I'll definitely look to join CAMRA too (i'm from the UK so familiar with it!).
Derek, looks like may be moving to Kelowna after all! Going to be visiting in a few weeks, is Kelowna fairly walkable/public transport friendly or is a car rental necessary?
If you're right downtown, it's very walkable (small town). Public transit does go most places, but sometimes it's only once an hour... Depends when and where. There are quite a few bike lanes and paths, which are great on the flats, but there are some serious hills as you go out of town.
