10 Vancouver Craft Breweries & Bars Every Beer Lover Should Try

33 Acres Brewing is known for its minimalist approach to its brewery, brunch, Instagram account, and beers. Their most loved beers are 33 Acres of Life, Ocean (West Coast Pale Ale), and Sunshine (French Blanchè). The 33 Acres moniker continues into the selection, with beers such as Echo, Darkness, Euphoria, and Nirvana. Their popular “B33r Waffles”—they love their signature number—are a must for weekend brunch.

Located in the historic Salt Building in Vancouver’s False Creek neighborhood, CRAFT Beer Market is popular because it has over 100 local and international beers on the menu. For indecisive beer drinkers, it will be hard to choose a favorite. Pair your beer with a fresh, local dish such as Dark Beer Braised Beef Brisket, Grilled West Coast Salmon, or Phillips Beer Can Chicken.

One of four breweries along Brewers Row in Port Moody, The Parkside Brewery is a local hot spot. With its open plan and large patio, it is always busy on the weekends in summer. Their year-round beer selection includes the Dawn Pilsner, Dusk Pale Ale, Dim Wit Wheat Beer, and Graffiti India Pale Ale. The Parkside Brewery partners with various local food trucks too so that you can enjoy their delicious offerings with a side of beer.

“The main thing is the beer” is Main Street Brewing’s perfect motto. The brewery sits in Vancouver’s Brewery Creek neighborhood in Mount Pleasant. Their year-round brews include a pilsner, IPA, pale ale, saison, and brown ale. Fortunately, they’ve partnered with a number of local liquor stores and restaurants so that you can sample their beers in many places. Main Street Brewing also has a small number of appetizers on the menu.

Located on Commercial Drive—one of Vancouver’s coolest neighborhoods—St. Augustine’s is a local favorite. The craft brew house and restaurant has a live beer menu and over 60 taps on constant rotation. Customers can view on screens the percentage of beer left in the keg. It’s ingenious and a good conversation starter. St. Augustine’s also has a menu filled with delicious pub grub options.

The Steamworks Brew Pub in Gastown is a one-of-a-kind steam-generated brewery—the only one in Canada. Their unique beers include an award-winning pumpkin ale, two different IPAs, plus a pilsner and lager. Located in a large historic building with varied seating across a few levels, Steamworks also has an impressive dining menu, featuring pub favorites, pasta, and pizza.

Owned by a husband-and-wife team, Powell Brewery’s award-winning beer is so popular with locals that they had to move to a bigger premises on Powell Street in 2014. They offer both seasonal and year-round beers, including the Cheeky Session, the Dive Bomb Dark Ale, the Lazy D’Haze IPA, and the Old Jalopy Pale Ale. The latter won Powell Brewery bronze for “Extra Special Bitter” at the World Beer Cup Awards in 2016.

Red Truck Beer is built on the “values of a simpler time,” which is why their beer production is simple too, with just four ingredients, and no preservatives or pasteurization. Red Truck Beer serves their beer at their Truck Stop, which is also a nod to a bygone era. Expect live music, communal tables, and classic dishes. Their three simple year-round pours are a lager, an ale, and an IPA, but they have an extended seasonal menu.

Big Rock started in Alberta, before expanding to both Vancouver and two locations in Ontario. Big Rock Urban Brewery & Eatery in Mount Pleasant has both a beer store with a growler fill bar, as well as a full-service restaurant and lounge that hosts live music weekly. Their food menu is very beer inspired, which is evident in dishes such as the Beer Bagel and Salmon Lox, and the stout BBQ-flavoured chicken wings and 16-hour dry ribs.

Brassneck Brewery’s small tasting room in Mount Pleasant—just around the corner from Main Street Brewing in fact—is always brimming with loyal fans, no matter the day or season. The brewery began because the owners are truly, madly, deeply in love with beer. Their beer names are a lot of fun too—Bivouac Bitter, Bjørn Again, Passive Aggressive, Klutz!, Ambiguation, and No Brainer are just some of the catchy brews you can enjoy at Brassneck Brewery.