Wild Ambition Brewing

Barrel-aged sours and funky wild flavours abound at this Okanagan beer nerd mecca.

For Wild Ambition co-owners Theresa Cashen and Mitchell Kehoe, the Okanagan Valley was the perfect place to set up shop. In the heart of wine country, this ambitious brewery focuses on barrel-aged, small-batch beers often inspired by the methods and ingredients of its winemaking neighbours. Wild Ambition uses winery-style fermentation tanks, ages its beer in B.C. wine barrels, and carbonates them naturally, not unlike the méthode traditionnelle used in champagne.

Local fruits and ingredients also factor heavily in Wild Ambition’s beers—few breweries in the province place such an importance in terroir.

While the brewery and tasting room itself are located in a nondescript, industrial subdivision in North Kelowna, the flavours Wild Ambition produces are rich and rustic with an earthy farmhouse funk. Many of their beers are suitable to be cellared, allowing them to develop even more complexity over time. It’s little wonder that Wild Ambition’s mercurial beers are increasingly developing a following across the province.