I sadly predict they will see a brief spike in interest upon opening and then slowly waste away under the pressure of the colossal rents the city is no doubt charging them. Unless, of course, they can make it a true beer geek destination. I mean, who would willingly stand outside at Main/Alexander at night if The Alibi wasn’t there?

This place isn’t catering to beer nerds, it’s leveraging the market. Frankly, if this is the package necessary to introduce more people to good beer, so be it. To a beer nerd, is it a disappointing waste of capital, opportunity, and a beautiful building? Obviously. I’ll appreciate that this place will be able to bring in some excellent, far-off beers on tap–even if it’s just by chance. I do hope they do them justice with the lines and kegs.

And I’m sure it’ll have plenty of knowledgeable staff–there are plenty of un(der)employed young beer nerds in Vancouver (who will hate themselves every night until they quit).