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Maybe it’s all those Frosh Week students, or a last-ditch effort to keep the summer party going. Whatever it is, up! presents 10 Canadian brew pubs as big with locals as they are with visiting beer connoisseurs. So hit their patios if the weather cooperates or saddle up to the warm bar if it doesn’t (it is fall in Canada, after all) and sample some authentic local flavour, whether fruity, smoky or downright quaffable
SPINNAKERS BREW PUB AND GUESTHOUSES
Victoria, British Columbia
Canadian brew pubs don’t come much more iconic than Spinnakers. The first of the modern age with an in-house brewery—now-antiquated B.C. law forced Canada’s original pair of brew pubs, now both defunct, to house their breweries in separate buildings—Spinnakers has notched first after first after first, from fermenting with hops that once visited outer space to recreating the beer of the Pharaohs and getting the first brew pub beers into B.C. Liquor Stores.
But owner Paul Hadfield’s pioneering spirit is just a small part of the reason that locals flock to this idyllic locale on the Pacific. They’re pulled, too, by the wide array of well-crafted, predominantly British-style ales, from the flagship Mitchell’s ESB to the Nut Brown Ale, the sophisticated “gastropub” cuisine and a genial, country pub-like ambiance that welcomes you the moment you enter.
WHAT’LL IT BE? The rotating cask-conditioned ale, poured from the bar top every Friday beginning at 4 p.m. until the cask is drained (
308 Catherine St.; 250-386-2739; spinnakers.com ).
HOWE SOUND INN & BREWING COMPANY
Squamish, British Columbia
Halfway between Vancouver and Whistler lies the district of Squamish, self-proclaimed Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada. There, one may hike, climb, kayak, mountain bike, windsurf or simply sit and enjoy a pint or two in the Howe Sound pub.
Housed in a cozy, 20-room inn, the brew pub boasts some of the most picturesque views of any mainland brewery in Canada, and big, bright windows through which to enjoy them. But the view alone is not why locals and visiting outdoor adventurers keep coming back; the food and beer is. In particular, the Hang Dog Hefeweizen goes down a treat in summer, while the Devil’s Elbow India Pale Ale (IPA) serves well when the weather is less cooperative, accompanied by such upscale pub fare as thin crust pizzas and crispy fish and chips.
WHAT’LL IT BE? The coffee-ish Diamond Head Stout, when in season
(37801 Cleveland Ave.; 604-892-2603; howesound.com).
BREWSTER'S
Calgary, Edmonton and Regina
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