Dear Vancouverites I am in Vancouver for work for a little while (maybe another week). I have hit up a few spots (Alibi Room, St Augustine's, Brassneck) but would love to hear of any great places that I should check out while I am here. Is there anywhere around town that I will be able to find the Persephone DIPA? Have not come across that yet. I also assume that the Lighthouse Belgian Black is long gone - I wouldn't find it on the bottle list of any bar, would I? Any suggestions appreciated - I have been very impressed with the bottle selections in stores already! And life with Fat Tug on tap all over the place is pretty great. Ren
Also, if there are any beers (local or otherwise) available right now that are particularly exciting, I would appreciate a heads up!
Persephone IIPA is still for sale in the steamworks bottle shop as of yesterday. Belgian black is not around I'm afraid- hasn't been for around a year I think. Locally, four wind's juxtapose and driftwood's belle royale both came out with fresh batches this week. Would recommend grabbing both!
Driftwood's Twenty Pounder is out (a DIPA) that you might enjoy plus we also get a lot of QC beers (like TDD) that you are likely not able to get in ON or apparently in QC either of late.
Very helpful - thanks for all the suggestions! Have picked up the Twenty Pounder and Belle Royale, and was lucky enough to stumble upon a Bird of Prey, which I didn't expect to find. Is the Juxtapose in bottles? I was in a bar a couple of nights ago that had just run out - but it sounds terrific. I was a bit disappointed in Brassneck's beers, though the bar and vibe were great. I have picked up a couple of TDD beers as well. I always find it odd to have to travel to BC to buy Quebec beers, but I suppose that is life under the LCBO... Ren
Yes juxtapose is now in bottles, will be able to find in those shops I posted in the link. In terms of distribution we are quite lucky here and it is only getting better each month. Don't see much in the way of ON beers though. Hope you enjoy your stay.
Not a BC beer, but right now I'm really enamoured with Deschutes' Fresh Squeezed as well. Otherwise, I agree with the rest of the posters - Twenty Pounder, Juxtapose, Belle Royale, etc. Going down to Parallel 49's tasting room is always a good idea. And Main St Brewing opened just yesterday. I stopped in and it was a good time.
If you venture out to Central City (brewery or brewpub) they have an awesome liquor store at the brewpub which is close to the skytrain. The staff are pretty clueless, but the prices are insane. Juxtapose was about 15% cheaper there than downtown. And they have Logsdon beers at ridiculous prices. Deschutes Mirror Mirror etc still there. Vancouver is a weird place, 2 or 3 shops sell out in an instant, and a big handful keep stock on hard to find beers for quite some time.
Howe Sound King Heffy has just come out. BCL stores don't seem to have it in yet, but I've seen it in Viti (Downtown). Don't miss it if you won't be back for a while. That being said it only comes in 1L bottles. Honestly, we had more interesting beers out a few months ago. It doesn't seem that great right now. If you're near Downtown, pop into Brewery Creek beer store on Main Street around 15th. Probably the best variety in town.
Completely OT, but I was at Alibi a couple weeks ago. Had a few pints and then asked the waiter to just pick something for me. He came back with a "rare" half of Peche Mortel. His heart was in the right spot, and he had no idea where I was from, but it was pretty much the only beer out of a couple dozen on the menu that I have regular access to.
West Coast Liquor in Kerrisdale is pretty good. Was in there the other night getting Peche n Brett and they still have stock on a lot of good stuff including the Persephone IIPA. Pricing is on the cheaper side as well.
You should definitely drink/buy as much Driftwood and Four Winds as you can while you're here. They're the only two BC breweries that consistently meet (and regularly exceed) my expectations.
Yeah the Persephone DIPA is hit and miss, you just need to be in the right place at the right time but that being said, it's around as much as it isn't. Four Winds Juxtapose is a good purchase IMO and still on select shelves. The just-released Dageraad Amber is worth picking up. There isn't much for great beer bars past Alibi and St Augustines, TBH. That's starting to change, I think.
I'd generally agree with that, but there are lots of great bars (cocktail focused) that have a few decent beers on, and occasionally something you won't get at Alibi even Darby's seems to be releasing an impressive range of kegs lately even.
Stateside on Commercial (former Avanti's location) is open now and has a huge taplist. Westcoast American beer, 45 taps. Stopped in for a Palate Wrecker on Friday night. Same ownership as Portland Craft.
Any suggestions on a family friendly pub/restaurant with a good beer selection to go to before a Whitecaps game?
