Special Guest Blog by Local Wanderer
We recently visited the Port Moody Ale Trail, and we had the BEST weekend sitting on patios, sipping craft beer, and indulging in yummy tacos. The BC Ale Trail has come a long way since our original road trip along Vancouver Island’s “beer belt,” and you can find a ton of craft beer road trips or day trips on their website! Last spring we checked out the Fraser Valley Ale Trail too, so obviously it was time for us to explore another one this spring!
And trust us…the Port Moody Ale Trail is a hidden gem if you live in Vancouver.
PORT MOODY ALE TRAIL
This was our first visit to Port Moody ever, despite growing up in the Lower Mainland. Port Moody is a small, oceanfront town about 35 minutes east of Vancouver, and honestly we were shocked at how much we enjoyed our weekend there! One of the best things about the Port Moody Ale Trail is that all of the breweries have PATIOS. There is nothing better than enjoying a flight of local craft beer outside on a warm sunny day, but unfortunately that is a rare luxury when you live in the city. If you want to do a brewery crawl in Vancouver with your friends on a weekend, it’s basically impossible because it’s so busy and the breweries are so small.
But in Port Moody, all of the breweries are quite large, with a ton of space both inside and outside, and did we mention they all sit along the waterfront too? 😍
It’s also super easy to get to on public transit, which is important if you’re going to be day drinking all day! All we had to do was just jump on the Skytrain and take the brand new Evergreen line right to Port Moody, and all of the breweries and restaurants are right there in walking distance.
There are 4 breweries in just 3 blocks, so next time you and your friends want something fun to do, head to the Port Moody Ale Trail! It’s honestly the perfect day trip that requires minimal effort and planning.
WHERE TO WANDER IN PORT MOODY
A great place to start your day in Port Moody is at the adorable cafe Gabi & Jules. They have the cutest pink espresso machine, and a ton of baked goods, coffee, and tea for you to start your day with! It’s about a 10 minute walk west of the Skytrain, and you pass a ton of cute local shops along the way too.
In addition to the spots we’re sharing, there’s also a few other spots in the Port Moody Ale Trail that you can check out too! You could also start your day with a breakfast panini or wrap from Caffe Divano and take it to go to enjoy along the water. Burrard Public House, St. James Well, Gallery Bistro, and Brew Street Craft & Kitchen are all other local watering holes where you can enjoy beer and fill up on some yummy food!
PARKSIDE BREWERY ON THE PORT MOODY ALE TRAIL
Alright, now it’s time to get to the BEER! We absolutely LOVED Parkside Brewery, we’ve been drinking their beers for a while but have never visited the actual brewery before! There was a taco truck placed out front, astro turf on the patio, and a ton of cool people and their even cooler dogs lounging around in the sun.
Parkside Brewery was definitely our favourite as far as atmosphere goes, and it was bumping in the late afternoon! The tacos from Taqueria del Pueblo were soooooo delicious and the perfect snack to our flights of beer. Parkside even has their own popsicles too for a summer treat!
GROWLER ROOM AT ROMER’S
After all that eating and drinking (and we’re just getting started) we needed to go on a little walk! We walked east through the trails along the waterfront until we came to Romer’s Burger Bar for some craft beer and seriously good burgers. They have a “growler room” upstairs which is home to beers from all of the Port Moody breweries, so you can try out a bunch all at once!
YELLOW DOG BREWING ON THE PORT MOODY ALE TRAIL
Yellow Dog Brewing was the original brewery in Port Moody, opening in 2014. Last year they opened a big, modern tasting room, and when you walk in you’re greeted by a giant neon yellow dog on the wall, so you’ll know you made it to the right place. We also loved the spacious picnic area in the backyard, and the beers were sooo good too. We drink Yellow Dog at home a lot so it was fun to actually get to visit the brewery!
TWIN SAILS BREWING ON THE PORT MOODY ALE TRAIL
Next door to Yellow Dog is Twin Sails Brewing and these two breweries are top contenders for the best breweries in all of BC! If ranking beer is your thing, check out this detailed blog post that our beer obsessed friends made, who declared that Twin Sails has “the most amazing and diverse collection of IPAs from any brewery in B.C.”
You’ll notice most of the beers are the same colour, and that’s because Twin Sails originally set itself apart by focusing on German beers like lagers, pilsners, and hefeweizens, but now they’re all about the more unique beers (beer brewed with real crab, anyone?). We loved their oh so trendy Hazy IPAs!
TACO TIME AT TAPS AND TACOS
If you’re looking for lunch closer to all the breweries, just make your way up the road to Taps & Tacos! They have cool vegan options like the jackfruit taco, which looks exactly like a pulled pork taco. But what really blew us away was the Korean Pork taco, it hit just the spot after a day full of beer and we will definitely be stopping here every time we’re in Port Moody.
Whether you’re wandering through the trails or walking down the oceanfront pier, there’s a lot to see and do in Port Moody within walking distance of the breweries and Skytrain station. You can even hop into a historic train car outside the Port Moody Station Museum, or find your next read at the bookstore inside a train car!
MOODY ALES ON THE PORT MOODY ALE TRAIL
All of the breweries along the Port Moody Ale Trail are distinct from each other, which means you won’t get the same beer (or vibes) twice. Moody Ales focuses on ales, and you’ll find a lot of unique flavours here ranging from a lemon matcha saison to a nitro vanilla porter. We should also mention that every brewery on the Port Moody Ale Trail has cider too, and most had wine options as well. So you can bring along all of your friends for a fun day trip, even if they don’t like (or can’t drink) beer!
Honestly, as two “city girls” we were a little hesitant to take public transit out to the suburbs on the weekend but we’re SO happy that we did! Even though we live down the street from all the breweries in Vancouver’s Mt. Pleasant, it was nice to get out and enjoy some good beer outside by the water.
You can find more info (and a handy map) about the Port Moody Ale Trail here, or check out BC Ale Trail’s website for other fun, beer oriented summer trips!
Thank you Taylor and Elaine aka Local Wanderer!
