Where to go for a beer in Vancouver 

Doesn’t matter if you just came into this city of mountains and ocean as tourists or if you lived here for a longer time, these tips for breweries and pubs can come as handy. 

Note that after just 2 years of living here, I had a chance to visit only a few places from all the options. Nevertheless, I hope you might find this summary useful. Also, this list and ratings are subjective and I only chose a few favorites mostly from areas of Kitsilano and Downtown.

Are you going to find a good beer in here?

Not that my beer knowledge is huge, but trust me when I say I’ve tried a lot of beers and I’m not meaning those light “beers”. After spending the first few weeks in Vancouver my favorite beer brand was Granville Island Brewery. Even though I still like them, my knowledge of the extensive network of Vancouver breweries got better and my ratings had changed. 

When it comes to other more mainstream local brands you will definitely find your way to Stanley Park Brewing and Steamworks Brewing. They both have good beers, especially if you want to sip on a nice lager. But when it comes to less known and probably more flavorful beers, note these breweries: Yellow Dog, 33 Acres, Parallel 49, Strange Fellows, or Container Brewing. Most of these are still pretty well known but not as much as Steamworks for example.

List of places worth a visit

Vancouver is a good place for hipsters who appreciate local beers since breweries grow faster here than skyscrapers in NY (I guess :). My list of some favorites would be as followed: 

1. Stanley Park Brewing

Pleasant brewery with a nice woodsy design right in the Stanley Park. It’s a great stop after a long walk through this huge park. If you are planning to enjoy those beers with a bigger party it’s safer to make a reservation ahead. 

2. Granville Island Brewing

Consider that this brewery is smaller and it’s located in a very popular spot, which means you may need to wait in a line sometimes. Though, I think it’s worth waiting to try their seasonal beers which are usually good if the flavour combinations aren’t too wild. Some of their staples like Pale Ales are also great. 

3. The Beaver Taphouse

This choice can seem very random and surprising since it’s just a shabby hostel pub. For me, it carries sentimental value as the first spot where I enjoyed a good selection of various local brands during my first months in Vancouver. And let’s be honest, where else can you get good beers for $4 on Happy Hour?  

4. Craft

A vast place with a big selection of beers and drinks, including traditional Czech Pilsner. Those criteria make it a good spot for bigger groups but the beer is a bit expensive and the selection is I would say more about quantity than quality. 

4. Powell St. & East Hastings

As you see, these are streets, not pubs because it would take some time to name all those various breweries that you can visit there. If you dedicate some time to do a beer crawl through these, make sure to visit for example Powell Brewery, Superflux, Parallel 49, and many others.

5. Port Moody

Even though this is a city itself, you can still get there by Skytrain in about an hour. Again, it’s a place where you can spend the whole day just tasting beers. Specifically, there is one street with at least 5 breweries like Yellow Dog or Bakery. If you get hungry there is a bunch of food on wheels from burgers to burritos. That’s why it’s the best beer spot on the warm summer evening. 

Hopefully, this short list gives you some inspiration on where to enjoy local beers next or where to take friends and family visiting from out of the city. This list may get some updates later considering that I could forget about some spots, but also because of leaving out parts of Vancouver like Burnaby or North Van, where you can surely find brewery gems too.