Dockside Brewing Co. (1253 Johnston Street, 604-685-7070) is located within the Granville Island Hotel — itself something of an overlooked location at the eastern end of Granville Island. House-brewed pilsners, lagers, and ales are served in a comfy wood-paneled lounge with bar and patio.
At 1441 Cartwright Street stands the original site ofa pioneering and perennially popular BC craft brewery, Granville Island Brewing (604-687-2739), with tours, tasting room, and retail shop. Its long-neck bottle label became so familiar that the brewery outgrew the constraints of its landmark site at the entrance to Granville Island and now makes most of its beer in Kelowna, BC. The brewery is known for its lagers and ales, all named for nearby locations — such as Gastown Amber Ale, Brockton Black Lager, and Cypress Honey Lager.
Yaletown Brewing Co. (1111 Mainland Street; brew house, 604-688-0064; restaurant, 604-681-2739), sited in a former warehouse in once-industrial Yaletown, makes its brews on the premises. It then transfers them to the bar taps using an English “beer engine” and series of hand pumps. Brew house designer Frank Appleton, from the north of England, likes the emphasis on malt in Frank’s Nut Brown Ale; Yaletown also makes Double Dome Stout, Harbour Light Lager, Red Brick Bitter, and Indian Arm Pale Ale.
“Beer hounds” frequently show up at Storm Brewing Ltd. for their “unfiltered ales” (310 Commercial Drive, East Vancouver, 604-255-9119). This is a small brewery that turns out a fine five-year-old barrel¬aged cherry lambic. It also makes an Indian pale ale (Hurricane IPA), Black Plague Stout (love it), Highland Scottish Ale, and a traditional German-style Pilsner called, inexplicably, Precipitation Pilsner. Don’t just turn up. This is a cottage industry with limited staff. But if you’re looking for brewing equipment or a pre-arranged tour, contact Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies (same address, 604-251-3411, www.beermaking.ca).
|
