Breweries, Breweries, Everywhere (in BC)
There are a lot of breweries in BC, from tiny Brewpubs up to giant Macro Producers That Stink Up The Corner Of Burrard And Cornwall (yes, that’s a real category of brewery).
At last count, there were 72 companies in BC valiantly engaged in the production of Our Favourite Beverage, so I thought I’d list them out here and give you a bit of intel on each one. I have avoided listing known shadow brands (eg Bowen Island, Caribou etc) although Whistler makes a showing because they are Northam’s most prominent brand, and they have an actual dedicated brewery. I’ve even included details on some newer breweries that haven’t had their first production run yet (Deep Cove, Doan’s, Dogwood, 33 Acres, Four Winds, Wheelhouse). If that seems like a lot, note that Oregon has about 200.
If I’ve omitted something, or you feel I pegged the wrong Best Beer from your favourite brewery, please let me know.
For each one I’ve also provided some info on general brewery quality and availability. Note that no rating means I haven’t tried them yet. Before the hate mail comes a-pouring in keep in mind that these are my opinions only, and I am a massive beer snob. It’s all about context, people. Here’s a legend:
| Value | Availability | Brewery Quality |
|---|---|---|
| A | Widely Available in BCLDB | Outstanding |
| B | Available in BCLDB | Very Good |
| C | Widely Available in CBW | Decent |
| D | Select CBW, or distributed on tap | Mediocre |
| F | Only on-site | Just… dire |
View BC Breweries in a larger map
| Brewery | City | Type | Availability | Rating | Best Beer Name | Best Beer Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barley Mill | Penticton | Brewpub | F | |||
| Barley Station | Salmon Arm | Brewpub | F | |||
| Beachcomber | Gibsons | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Big Ridge | Surrey | Brewpub | F | C | Old Sullivan | Porter |
| Big River | Richmond | Brewpub | F | C | Extra Special Bitter | ESB |
| Black Dog | Cranbrook | Brewpub | Opens 2013 | |||
| Brassneck | Vancouver | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Bridge | North Vancouver | Micro | D | |||
| Cannery | Penticton | Micro | B | C | Maple Stout | Stout |
| Canoe | Victoria | Brewpub | F | D | ||
| Central City | Surrey | Brewpub Producer | B | A | Red Racer | IPA |
| Coal Harbour | Vancouver | Micro | B | D | Powell Street | English IPAi |
| Columbia | Creston | Macro | A | F | Heh. Funny. | |
| Craig Street | Duncan | Brewpub | F | B | Mr. Prevost | Porter |
| Crannog | Sorrento | Micro | D | A | Back Hand of God | Stout |
| Dead Frog | Langley | Mini | B | C | Fearless | IPA |
| Deep Cove | North Vancouver | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Doan’s | Vancouver | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Dogwood | Vancouver | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Driftwood | Victoria | Micro | A | A | Singularity | Imperial Stout |
| Firehall | Oliver | Brewpub | F | |||
| Fernie | Fernie | Micro | C | C | Lone Wolf | IPA |
| Four Mile | Victoria | Brewpub | Opens 2013 | |||
| Freddy’s | Kelowna | Brewpub | F | |||
| Four Winds | Delta | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Granville Island | Kelowna | Regional | A | D | Island | Pale Lager |
| Granville Island Tap House | Vancouver | Mini | A | B | Imperial | Imperial IPA |
| Gulf Islands | Saltspring Island | Micro | B | C | Fireside | Winter Ale |
| Howe Sound | Squamish | Brewpub Producer | A | B | Pumkineater | Imperial Pumpkin Ale |
| Hoyne | Victoria | Micro | D | C | Wolf Vine | Pale Ale |
| Lighthouse | Victoria | Mini | A | B | Belgian Black | Belgian |
| Longwood | Nanaimo | Brewpub | F | B | Extra Special Bitter | ESB |
| Marine | Burnaby | Brewpub | F | |||
| Mission Springs | Mission | Brewpub Producer | C | C | Bombshell | Blonde |
| Molson | Vancouver | Macro | A | F | Not a bloody thing | |
| Mozarts | Kimberley | Brewpub | Opens 2013 | |||
| Moon Under Water | Victoria | Brewpub | D | B | Blue Moon | Bitter |
| Mt. Begbie | Revelstoke | Micro | B | C | Nasty Habit | IPA |
| Nelson | Nelson | Mini | A | C | Faceplant | Winter |
| Noble Pig | Kamloops | Brewpub | F | |||
| Okanagan Springs | Vernon | Regional | A | D | Summer Weizen | Fruit Ale |
| Old Yale | Chilliwack | Micro | B | C | Sergeants | IPA |
| Pacific Western | Prince George | Macro | A | F | Not a bloody thing | |
| Parallel 49 | Vancouver | Micro | B | B | Hoparazzi | IPL |
| Pat’s Pub | Vancouver | Brewpub | F | D | ||
| Phillips | Victoria | Regional | A | C | Surly Blonde | Belgian |
| Powell Street | Vancouver | Micro | D | C | Jalopy | Pale Ale |
| R&B | Vancouver | Micro | B | C | East Side | Bitter |
| Red Truck | North Vancouver | Micro | F | C | Red Truck | Lager |
| Ridge | Osoyoos | Brewpub | F | |||
| Russell | Surrey | Regional | A | C | Wee Angry | Scotch Ale |
| Sapperton | New Westminster | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Spinnaker’s | Victoria | Brewpub Producer | C | B | Nut Brown | Nut Brown |
| Steamworks | Vancouver | Brewpub Producer | B | B | Great Pumpkin | Pumpkin Ale |
| Steel Toad | Vancouver | Brewpub | Opens 2013 | |||
| Storm | Vancouver | Micro | D | B | Flanders Red | Sour |
| Swan’s | Victoria | Brewpub Producer | C | B | Extra Special Bitter | ESB |
| 33 Acres | Vancouver | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Tin Whistle | Penticton | Micro | B | C | Peaches and Cream | Fruit Cream |
| Tofino | Tofino | Micro | D | A | Dawn Patrol | Coffee Porter |
| Townsite | Powell River | Micro | D | C | Shiny Penny | Belgian IPA |
| Tree | Kelowna | Regional | A | C | Captivator | Doppelbock |
| Turning Point | Delta | Mini | A | D | Stanley Park | Amber |
| Vancouver Island | Victoria | Regional | A | D | Hermanator | Ice Bock |
| Wheelhouse | Prince Rupert | Micro | Opens 2013 | |||
| Whistler | Whistler/Kelowna | Regional | C | D | ||
| Whistler Taphouse | Whistler | Brewpub | F | B | 5 Rings | IPA |
| Wolf | Nanaimo | Micro | B | C | Fat Head | IPA |
| Yaletown | Vancouver | Brewpub | F | C | Oud Bruin | Sour Brown |
[...] note a new link on the right there, and that’s my comprehensive list of breweries/brewpubs in BC. Or, at [...]
And now a list of breweries at Barley Mowat
12 Jan 11 at 10:33
[...] have a list of BC breweries on this site. And implicit in that is a ranking (you can sort by any column, [...]
Top Ten Lists at Barley Mowat
10 Mar 11 at 12:56
Is your date stamp messed up? I’m surprised to see Four Winds and Dogwood on a post from 2 years ago
Mike
9 Jan 13 at 12:43
@Mike – That’s the datestamp this page was first posted. The table is pulled from a database on the server-side via a script I wrote, and the map is dynamically served off of Google.
I used to have a list of recent changes from the db, but this update was so large I removed it.
chuck
9 Jan 13 at 13:01