Vancouver truly has it all: from stunning natural landscapes to a vibrant urban culture, it boasts a unique blend of outdoor adventure and city sophistication. Yeast Van’s tongue-in-cheek nickname reflects East Vancouver’s rich brewing culture. The breweries clustered along Clark Drive, Powell Street and Venables attract legions of beer lovers and foodies to their welcoming tasting rooms.
The brewery scene here is not only diverse but also highly accessible. Walk or cycle between breweries to immerse yourself in the local culture and discover hidden gems at a leisurely pace. Each neighbourhood in Yeast Van offers its own unique flavour and atmosphere, making every visit a new adventure.
New Brighton Park in Vancouver
East Vancouver, BC
New Brighton Park in Vancouver
Parallel 49 Brewing in Vancouver
Bomber Brewing in Vancouver
Slow Hand Beer Co. in Vancouver (photo: Slow Hand Beer Co)
Strange Fellows Brewing in Vancouver, BC
Superflux Beer Co. in Vancouver
East Vancouver Brewing Co. in Vancouver
Container Brewing in Vancouver
Strathcona Beer Company in Vancouver
Bomber Brewing in Vancouver
Venables Street near Commercial Drive in Vancouver
New Brighton Park in Vancouver
Powell Brewery in Vancouver, BC
Luppolo Brewing Company in Vancouver (photo: Luppolo Brewing Company)
Parallel 49 Brewing in Vancouver
Slow Hand Beer Co. in Vancouver (photo: Slow Hand Beer Co)
Superflux Beer Co. in Vancouver, BC
Strange Fellows Brewing in Vancouver
Strathcona Beer Co. in Vancouver, BC (photo provided)
Adanac Bike Corridor in Vancouver
Luppolo Brewing Company in Vancouver
East Vancouver Brewing Co. in Vancouver
Off the Rail Brewing Co. in Vancouver
East Vancouver
Off The Rail Brewing Co in Vancouver
Bomber Brewing in Vancouver
Il Giardino Italian Gardens in Hastings Park at the PNE in Vancouver
East Vancouver Brewing Company in Vancouver
Powell Brewery in Vancouver
Superflux Beer Co in Vancouver
Luppolo Brewing Company in Vancouver (photo: Luppolo Brewing Company)
Slow Hand Beer Co. in Vancouver (photo: Slow Hand Beer Co.)
Container Brewing in Vancouver
Off The Rail Brewing Co in Vancouver
Parallel 49 Brewing in Vancouver
Powell Brewery in Vancouver, BC (photo: Powell Brewery)
Storm Brewing in Vancouver, BC
Strange Fellows Brewing in Vancouver, BC (photo: Strange Fellows Brewing)
Strathcona Beer Co. in Vancouver, BC (photo: Strathcona Beer Co)
Superflux Beer Co. in Vancouver, BC
Your first stop on the trail is in Strathcona, a 20 minute walk or an even quicker bus ride from both Waterfront (Canada Line) or Stadium-Chinatown (Expo Line) stops.
A world-class brewery and pizza kitchen in the heart of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood. With a focus on sours, fruit-forward beers, and IPAs, along with its Czech-style Pilsner. Today, it is best known for its Beach series of fruity radlers as well as its Love Buzz series of fruity Berliner Weiss-style sours.
Strathcona Beer Co. in Vancouver, BC
This waterfront park offers a heated outdoor pool in summer, dock access, picnicing areas, a dog off-leash area, and playgrounds alongside mountain and beach views. From May to September visit the New Brighton concession stand for their popular fish and chips.
The two-level lounge and tasting room with large windows face the North Shore mountains; opening up on the hot summer days, this lounge and new outdoor patio is the place to be year-round. Bringing classic craft beer styles to the forefront, with modern twists when needed. Their partnership with resident food truck Burdy (Wednesdays – Saturdays) and Pretty Good Sandos (Sundays – Tuesdays) means the perfect food pairing is waiting.
Container Brewing in Vancouver, BC
Slow Hand is a lager-focused brewery sharing a tasting room with two other breweries at Threefold.
Slow Hand Beer Co. in Vancouver (photo: Slow Hand Beer Co.)
Superflux’s bold beer lineup, which is made up of nearly 100% IPAs, is all about experimentation and innovation. You can be sure you’ll find something delicious on tap, and probably something unexpected. The kitchen features deluxe hot dogs and hyper-seasonal salads.
Superflux Beer Co. in Vancouver, BC (photo: Superflux Beer Co)
The Vancouver region has more than 25,000 guest rooms, with about 13,000 alone downtown, so from economical to boutique, Vancouver accommodations are sure to suit any traveller’s budget and tastes.
Be sure to stop in at the Vancouver Visitor Information Centre for a full list of activities and attractions to explore
Explore Strathcona, one of Vancouver’s earliest neighbourhoods. The community has a unique charm with a diverse mix of people, history and architecture — plus now features murals as part of the Vancouver Mural Festival. The Strathcona neighbourhood is filled with the city’s second-highest concentration of murals!
Vancouver has long enjoyed tremendous acclaim for its culinary scene and the MICHELIN Guide Vancouver further elevates the city’s reputation as a global dining destination. As of 2023, Vancouver is home to nine Michelin One Star restaurants, plus 17 ‘Bib Gourmand’ restaurants, and a further list of over Michelin Recommended eateries.
More to explore in the same neighbourhood, moving east towards Hastings-Sunrise.
Located in Hastings Park near the PNE since 1889. Take in live thoroughbred racing and simulcast racing with spectacular mountain and waterfront views. Every weekend from April to end of October, Friday nights from June to September and year-round for simulcast racing. Casino and restaurants also on site.
Powell Brewery focuses on classic styles and more experimental creations featuring new hop varietals and souring. They create high quality, full-flavoured handcrafted beers using all natural and preferably local ingredients. Keep an eye out for BBQ pop ups: Aftermath Barbecue, a Texas-influenced BBQ pop-up company holds regular cooks in the Powell Brewery parking lot, where you will also find a large patio space to augment the indoor tasting room.
Powell Brewery in Vancouver, BC (photo: Powell Brewery)
Step into Howe Sound’s East Van Taphouse & Kitchen, where their familiar classic brewpub menu awaits, from pizzas and burgers to shareables and salads. Whether you’re a beer connoisseur seeking the freshest brew or a food enthusiast indulging in culinary delights, Howe Sound Taphouse & Kitchen is a haven for those who appreciate craft beer and the joy of shared moments.
Explore the shops and restaurants in Hastings Sunrise along Hastings Street for more tasty bites and local shopping opportunities.
Looking for a great spot for a night cap? Odd Society Spirits and Resurrection Spirits are local distilleries worth checking out. Resurrection Spirits offers seasonal cocktails in their tasting lounge. They use locally sourced ingredients for their spirits, and 100% BC Rye Grain to handcraft Rye Whisky, Gin, and Vodka. Odd Society is dedicated to combining Old World distilling traditions with New World ingredients and ingenuity to create a family of spirits including whiskey, vodka and gin. Stop by the Lounge for a curated cocktail or have a flight of Odd Society’s family of spirits.
The Commercial Drive area is locally known as “The Drive.” A street packed with restaurants, cafes, pubs, and shops, infused with a multicultural influence that reflects the history of the immigrants who built the area. It’s why it’s also the best neighbourhood in town to catch the World Cup! The closest train stop is Commercial-Broadway station on The Expo and Millennium Lines.
Luppolo’s approach to brewing embraces a mix of old world and contemporary craft styles, often with a bit of an Italian twist. New in-house food partner Local Pizzaiolo provides delicious Italian pizza and snacks. The folks at Luppolo chose an Italian name as a nod to the Italian heritage of two of their founders and to the cultural values associated with Italian culture – quality, craftsmanship, community and family – which are central to their vision.
Luppolo Brewing Company in Vancouver (photo: Luppolo Brewing Company)
The brewery is situated on the popular Union-Adanac bikeway, meaning its tasting room is a popular spot for cyclists. The bike racks outside are often full and many cyclists make use of the free beer air pump before stepping inside for a glass or a growler fill. The Bomberito Taqueria food truck is parked outside and open daily from 12pm to 9pm.
Bomber Brewing in Vancouver
Explore British and West Coast style beers at this multi-award-winning brewery on one of Vancouver’s busiest bike routes. Off the Rail is an unassuming brewery happily following its own track in the city’s busy scene. The compact second-storey tasting room offers a great vantage point to watch cyclists zip past on the busy Adanac cycle route. While they don’t have a kitchen, you can snack on locally made Jamaican patties, samosas, chicken wings and chips.
The Drive – home to Vancouver’s own Little Italy – offers 22 full blocks to explore with over 300 distinct merchants, including quaint boutiques, multicultural restaurants, a vibrant live music and bar scene, dinner and dancing, theatres, coffee houses and specialty food stores including bakeries, fresh pasta, cheese emporiums, and delicatessens hung with house-smoked sausages.
From inception, Strange Fellows has been about a blending of ideas and histories with a common vision: that two strangers can have a beer together, look each other in the eye and toast each other’s good health. Co-founded by veteran Vancouver brewer Iain Hill, Strange Fellows is inspired by both old world tradition and west coast creativity, and is known for sour and barrel-aged beers, as well as a rotating broad range of styles and their Vintage Bottle List.
Strange Fellows Brewing in Vancouver, BC (photo: Olga Zwart)
The Vancouver region has more than 25,000 guest rooms, with about 13,000 alone downtown, so from economical to boutique, Vancouver accommodations are sure to suit any traveller’s budget and tastes.
At the south end of Commercial Drive is John Hendry Park, which features Trout Lake Beach. Saturdays from May through to October, check out the Trout Lake Farmers Market.
Other food options: Maybe Nashville spiced fried chicken is more your thing? Be sure to hit up Downlow Chicken Shack for some of the best eats in Vancouver.
Back to The Drive, and now exploring further east, but Commercial-Broadway is still your closest train stop.
East Van Brewing Co. has 12 taps featuring a solid core line-up along with rotating seasonals so you know you will always find something fresh and interesting. Its taproom kitchen features paninis, calzones and other snacks from Bianca Maria, a local Italian delicatessen that has been operating for 60 years. It doesn’t get any more East Van than that!
East Vancouver Brewing Co. in Vancouver
The brewery’s cartoony beer labels reflect its personality with their characteristic blend of creativity, passion, and irreverence. The brewery is known for its wide range of beer styles, often experimenting with hybrid styles before anyone else dares. This iconic East Van brewery also has a food truck-style kitchen located inside its tasting room.
Parallel 49 Brewing in Vancouver, BC (photo: Parallel 49 Brewing)
The Pacific National Exhibition has many venues that present concerts and festivals throughout the year. It is also the home of Playland, Canada’s oldest amusement park! With rides, midway games, and plenty of food and beverage options, it has everything you need for fun. Open May to September with special events for Halloween, Christmas and many other holidays.
Visit the Mad Scientist at work at Storm Brewing, the city’s longest-running and one of its most unusual breweries. They don’t package a lot of their beers so tasting it at the source is your best option!
Storm Brewing
The Vancouver region has more than 25,000 guest rooms, with about 13,000 alone downtown, so from economical to boutique, Vancouver accommodations are sure to suit any traveller’s budget and tastes.
The Steamworks William Street Brewery & Taphouse is just over the boundary of East Vancouver in Burnaby and worth the visit!
Hastings Park Winter Farmers Market (at the PNE) runs on Sundays from November 1 to April 25.
Alternatively, the beautiful green space at Hastings Park offers:
