Go on a Tasting Tour this Spring with the Vancouver Tasting Passport

Vancouver’s dynamic and diverse craft beer scene has something for everyone.

From the early brewing history at the foundation of the Brewery Creek Ale Trail to the modern entrepreneurial spirit of the Yeast Van Ale Trail, you can be sure you’ll find the perfect vibe — and your next favourite beer!

From March 28 – April 30, 2024, visit any of the participating businesses listed below and ask for a stamp with purchase. Once you have collected six unique stamps – three from each ale trail – hand in the passport at any participating location to be entered in the draw for a chance to win the Grand Prize Giveaway. BONUS — it overlaps with the annual Vancouver Brewers Fest running April 19-28th!

the tasting room with a wall full of branded growlers at Brassneck Brewery in Vancouver — Brassneck Brewery in Vancouver

a flight of beer in branded glasses at Red Truck Beer Company in Vancouver — Red Truck Beer Company in Vancouver

the colourful exterior of Electric Bicycle Brewing in Vancouver — Electric Bicycle Brewing in Vancouver

the beer to go fridge and front bar at Brewing August in Vancouver — Brewing August in Vancouver (photo: Brewing August)

the large beer menu and taps at Parallel 49 Brewing in Vancouver — Parallel 49 Brewing in Vancouver, BC

Fill Your Passport to Win!

How do you participate?

Visit any of the participating businesses listed below from March 28 – April 30, 2024 and ask for a stamp with purchase.
After collecting three unique stamps from each of the two ale trail groups hand in the completed passport to be entered to win the Grand Prize Giveaway (details below).

The random prize draw will take place following the contest period once all of the completed passports have been collected.

Vancouver - False Creek — A view of False Creek in Vancouver, BC (photo: BC Ale Trail)

The Grand Prize Giveaway includes:

a one-night stay for two people at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, including breakfast for two at Mosaic Grille
VIP Tasting with Brewmaster Iain Hill at Strange Fellows Brewing
$100 gift card to Tap & Barrel
$75 gift card to The Cascade Room
$75 gift card to a brewery on the Yeast Van Ale Trail
$75 gift card to a brewery on the Brewery Creek Ale Trail
2 x Day Passes on the Aquabus False Creek Ferry
BC Ale Trail Swag pack

Congratulations to the winner of the Grand Prize: M. Harris of Vancouver!

Iain Hill in the barrel room at Strange Fellows, photo credit Olga Zwart — Strange Fellows Brewing in Vancouver, BC (photo: Olga Zwart)

Vancouver Brewers Fest

April 19-28, 2024

The Vancouver Brewers Fest is a 10-day celebration of the breweries, the people and the communities that have developed hand in hand. Different events will be held at many of the local breweries.

Attending events during the festival is a fun and easy way to collect stamps on your passport!

Check vancouverbrewersfest.com for all the info.

The Vancouver Brewery Creek Ale Trail

Vancouver’s earliest breweries set up along a creek that paralleled present-day Main Street from Tea Swamp (roughly Ontario Street and 15th Ave) all the way down to False Creek, which then extended east to where Clark Drive is now. The City Brewery and Mainland Brewery (both built in 1887) and the Columbia Brewery (1888) were the first to use the stream to power their machinery and provide water for their recipes. Population growth in the 1890s was rapid, and the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood soon became Vancouver’s first suburb beyond the downtown peninsula. The creek itself was covered up by streets and sidewalks, and although that early brewing industry was short-lived, you can find it echoed in a progressive and exciting brewery scene there today.

Today, the eclectic Mount Pleasant neighbourhood is home to an exciting assortment of contemporary craft breweries and tap houses, as well as one of the city’s best beer-focused liquor stores. Welcome to Brewery Creek!

Steamworks Mount Pleasant Kitchen & Taphouse in Vancouver

33 Acres Brewing Company in Vancouver, BC

Main Street Brewing - Vancouver — Main Street Brewing in Vancouver, BC

A line up of pints of craft beer at Yaletown Brewing in Vancouver — Yaletown Brewing in Vancouver

The Yeast Vancouver Ale Trail

An innovative craft beer community, true to its industrial roots, “Yeast Van” is the tongue-in-cheek nickname for East Vancouver’s thriving craft beer scene. Because of its industrial history and connection to Canada’s busiest port, East Van has long been seen as a “rough-around-the-edges” part of the city, not necessarily the place you’d choose for a fancy boutique, perhaps, but perfect for a gritty microbrewery. Indeed, that’s what attracted Storm Brewing, East Van’s original craft brewery, to set up there back in the 1990s — and since then more than a dozen other breweries have followed suit.

This is definitely a multicultural area — Commercial Drive’s Italian roots are reflected at Luppolo Brewing. East Van’s industrial foundations are showcased front and centre at Container Brewing and East Van Brewing, while it’s all about style and contemporary design at Superflux, Strange Fellows, and Strathcona Brewing.

Yeast Van is also home to two creative small-batch distilleries and a meadery — so no matter where your tastes lie, you will be able to find something tasty and interesting here.