Vancouver Beer Destinations

[smuler]

Greetings everyone..

In preparation for my upcoming trip, I have been doing a bit of beer homework, and would like to ask all the members for some help with my search..

I will start out with 2 places, and would like to have members views on them..

I would certainly pick a vibrant, alfresco venue , compared to a old stuffy bar...

I remember on my last trip in 2005, I found a nice little place ( If I can remember correctly on Main St ), that served a decent microbrew selection and featured a local band called the " Golden Wedding Band "

What a surprise that night- great beer , great band ..

So I will ask anyone for their feelings on the following 2 places :


Alibi Room :

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17068

http://www.alibi.ca/




Charlatan :

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/the-charlatan-vancouver


Your help would be much appreciated


Best Regards


Smuler

 

[Very Veronica]

I second Alibi Room. Owner Nigel (& attentive bartender every time i've been there) calls himself a beer snob but you'll not meet a more genial host..or staff. Selection is broad, unique and often exclusive. I go for the beer 'flights' (assorted beer shots)..food is simple..a modern yet warm pub not to be missed!

For a fresh twist on Belgium try Chambar. Impressive selection of Belgian beer, great food (and yummy cocktails for the ladies )..luxe bistro with a very social bar. http://www.chambar.com/

I've not been to Charlatan.

Cheers!

 

[smuler]

Hi Veronica

Thanks for replying

So, I will put Alibi on the list. I remember that they are more open for dinner, so I'll have to stop by for a small bite...



Thanks for mentioning Chambar...I was going to ask about it later, but since you brought it up...

I don't really like Belgian Ales, but I notice that they have some IPA's ( one by Storm Brewing ), so that will go on the list also

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11363


I will post a couple more later

Thanks for the help


Best Regards

Smuler

 

[smuler]

Thanks ladies for the replies...

The tip on Stella's gave me 3 good reviews

One was in the Lonely Planet Guide

The other was on Beer Advocate :

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14298

They serve Gulden Draak- 10.5 %..I'll have to give it a spin:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48/155

They now have 2 locations:

http://stellasbeer.com/

Click on the locations,,it will open up into both locations..

They have a " Fresh Sheet " tab, and also a Taps tab

Interesting that the 2 locations serve different Brewskies....

Yelp liked it too :

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/stellas-tap-and-tapas-bar-vancouver


Thanks

Best Regards


Smuler

 

[fatone]

charlatan is alright (10-12 generic taps i believe), kinda the hipster/yuppie commercial drive, big rock traditional ale is my fav and they carry it...they have a sister pub "the 5 point" on main...stella's is slightly yuppier, great (belgian-centric) selection...on the drive i drink @ fets' (trad again) or avanti, both more downscale...neither have live music...find too many west coast micros (er, beers that is) too hoppy, imho (certainly didn't want to call them yeasty)...cheers, enjoy your visit

 

[fatone]

fets' has the best patio streetside btw

 

[smuler]

Hey Fatone


Thanks for the tips on these 2 bars

The West Coast hoppy thing is just what I was looking for


Best regards


Smuler

 

[Very Veronica]

One more recommendation, Irish Heather in Gastown..awsum pub.

http://www.irishheather.com/

 

[Fillup]

Not really for the hardcore Dogfish Head 90 minute drinking beer fan but the Mark James places all brew an assortment of microbrews.

Personally I love the food at Stellas. Others have been less impressed. Beer is something I drink rarely preferring wine.

 

[smuler]

Hey Veronica...that Irish heather place has quite the alcohol list..

Some good local brews, and even though I usually don't drink Liquor, that's quite an impressive list of whiskies/bourbons....


Fillup...

You hit the nail on the head, as I certainly think that Dogfish 90 is Quality American DIPA...

Thanks for the mention of the Mark James properties..

I was going to go to that subject next..

The last 2 times I was in Vancouver (2004 and 2005 ), I stopped by Storm Brewing to deliver some East Coast beer presents, and to talk to them about the local scene

They always gave me a list which indicated where their brews were being served

Last time I went to Dix and Yaletown :

http://www.markjamesgroup.com/dix.html

The beer was Ok, and I certainly enjoyed Yaletown at night

They also sent me to Wazubee's:

http://www.waazubee.com/pdfs/beverages.pdf

I liked it..

I didn't have time to go to Subeez :

http://www.subeez.com/Menus/BeerMenu/tabid/5434/Default.aspx


Any opinions on these places ?


Thanks to all, for the help


Best Regards

Smuler

 

[dagashi]

I'd definitely recommend Alibi Room as the number one option in town. I believe there's 19 taps, mostly locally BC brewed stuff, and one or two of the taps feature brews from farther away, usually Portland. And, there's a number of bottled brews as well. The beer menu has stars beside the hoppy ones, and since it sounds like you're into IPA's, you'd appreciate that.

And, don't worry about it being a dinner place. You don't need to eat there. Nigel doesn't get a whole lot of über beer fans in the place – he gets more people into food and cocktails – so he'd be appreciative that another fan is coming in to experience the place. However, the food is quite tasty. And, VV is right – you'll not find a nicer owner than Nigel. Above all, he wants your experience to be awesome.

Stella's is also good for the selection, however, it's pretty much all Belgian-style, which as you mentioned, you're not into.

Dix is one of the places in town that has Cask Nights – if I remember correctly, it's on Thursdays...

Six Acres in Gastown also has quite a selection of bottled beer of many styles. Whenever I'm there it takes me about 10 minutes to pick a beer.

Subeez & Wazubeez both have nice atmospheres and good food, but they aren't places that I think of right away when I want to try out some good beers. They're selection isn't bad, I guess it just pales in comparison to a place like the Alibi.

 

[festealth]

What is the Alibi Room like, in terms of patrons, atmosphere, and so on?
From using googlemaps, its location seems to be situated in the more..... unfavourable part of town....

 

[smuler]

Hi Dagashi

Thanks for the info

I will probably take one for the team, and go to Stella's to check out the food.... And I'll have one goblet of Belgian i suppose

Six acres appeared in another website, so I'll add it to the list.


Doing some more homework..
i saw this name, and recognized it as the place I couldn't remember the name of that I went to last time I was here in 05- Whip :

http://www.thewhiprestaurant.com/drinks.php#draught

And if I dug deep enough, look at the little gem I found on their bottle list :

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2675/21164

This Victoria based brew is just up my alley... DIPA/ 8.5 %

Plus they also have some Storm brewery offerings, just like last time


Anyone been to the Whip ?


Thanks


Best Regards


Smuler