As I write this, it's already been over thirteen days since I touched down in Vancouver and got to experience Vancouver breweries for the first time in person. Honestly, I thought these blog entries were going to be easier to write up and edit than they were, I spent more time per blog entry than I did at most of the breweries combined! That being said, I'm absolutely enjoying this as much as I hope you are enjoying the virtual visit!
In today's look at my visit to Vancouver's breweries, we're taking a look at
Another Beer Company (ABC),
Steel & Oak, and
Central City Brewers + Distillers (known for their super famous Red Racer brand).
Another Beer Company (ABC) - New Westminster, BC
I can honestly say I've never heard of
Another Beer Company until this very day, so when we were going into the back of a warehouse, I really wasn't knowing what to expect and honestly I didn't expect there to be a taproom at this place. I've been to a few breweries (such as
Little Brown Jug) that have their brewing facility in the same room as their taproom but never in a space that was a compact as ABC, that may have been the smallest brewing space I've seen yet but seriously props to ABC to being able to have room to have both a taproom and a full brewery operation within feet of each other. What Chris tells me is that the brewery is in full operation until usually 3PM each day, so during that time the brewery's taproom is closed to public, so that makes a lot of sense. I really liked how cozy the brewery was.
Usually brewing equipment is behind glass at most breweries but here, it's behind a rope so you actually can see all the equipment they use to brew their beer
Great view from the loft upstairs!
I ordered a Milkshake IPA - it was creamy, sweet, and had notes of bubble gum. They actually sell craft made sodas as well - I think it was a cream soda and I'm not a fan of cream soda but it was great.. and in stubby form!
This cat on the big screen!
Another beer? Yes please!
Never fight a man with a perm, Kyle
https://anotherbeerco.com/
Steel & Oak Brewing - New Westminster, BC
From the first part of this series and all up to now, all the breweries I visited were all visited on this day, so my jet lag really caught up to me here so we didn't spend much time over at Steel & Oak. The taproom had a bit of a familiar vibe to me, it reminded me a mixture of some of my favourite Winnipeg taprooms - a mixture of Torque, Barn Hammer and Brazen Hall so I know I'll be coming back one day to spend a longer amount of time sampling their beers.
I asked for a
small pour of their Barley Wine and that's definitely at least a 10oz. At 9.5% ABV, it creeps up on you quickly.. especially if you haven't eaten yet.
Selfie with Chris
Even though I only spent a few minutes at Steel & Oak, I was able to try a few more of their beers at
Weathered Beer Celebration the next day, really enjoyed their Blush rosé Saison.
https://steelandoak.ca/
Central City Brewers + Distillers (Red Racer) - Surrey, BC
Those who know me, know that
Unibroue is the most influential brewery in my life. That being said, when it comes to opening up to IPAs and hoppy beers, influenced me to fall in love with hops more than any other brewery in the world. Back in 2010
Central City brought their India Pale Ale (
review here) to Manitoba for the first time and while I felt it was pricey at $2.56 per 355mL can (ha!), it became a staple in my fridge. Every time a fresh batch of Red Racer IPA or ESB made it to Manitoba, I'd buy it up because I absolutely loved the notes of grapefruit, pine and citrus. Red Racer was no longer available in Manitoba for a brief period of time back when they were building this brewery so I had to make do with other beers, but once Red Racer returned, I'd buy six 473mL cans at a time. I can't believe how much this one brewery influenced my beer habits for many years! It's great to finally get to visit the brewery and honestly, they have one of the largest taprooms (with a separate tasting room for their spirits) I've seen out of just about any brewery I've ever been to.
Okay.. this is pretty damn cool
Pretty much straight out of my nightmares but the awards on this statue give it a nice touch
Didn't have time to visit their distillery tasting room but it looked pretty nice
View of the distillery/brewery equipment from a massive window in the taproom
You'll see a lot of blurry, grainy photos like this, my 24mm lens likes to overexpose and be blurry while my trusty (yet somewhat broken) 50mm lens is too close for any decent shots
Hazy Dreamer Pale Ale - pretty clear for a hazy beer
Snowblind Whisky Sidecar Ale - had this in their
meh advent calendar near two months ago, decent on tap but was really meh in the advent calendar
Of course the only thing I bought from their bottle shop was their Street Legal non-alcoholic IPA, review to come in coming days/months/years/whenever I get around to reviewing it
Seriously never expected to come here for some reason
I stated earlier that I've been a fan of Central City for a very long time - it turns out that I've sampled (and checked in) to more beers from Central City/Red Racer than any other brewery. I've sampled 77 different beers in 9 years by Central City with the #2 brewery being Winnipeg's Half Pints at only 74, that's just crazy!
https://centralcitybrewing.com/
Check out my other Vancouver brewery visits:
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