Searched and found a thread from about a year ago about bottle shops, but nothing about Calgary beer stuff in general. Seeing as how scenes change pretty quickly anyway, I thought a new thread would be ok.
Going to be there in a few weeks. Any updates from folks for both bottle and eating/drinking? Going to be downtown, but I'll have a car so I'll be pretty mobile.
Thanks!
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Calgary?
Kensington Wine Market has a good selection of craft beer.
http://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/
Two years ago on my vacation I had a great chat with the owner about Belgian beers. He had just returned and was getting ready to go beer shopping in Paris.
The Wild Rose Brewery is a must. I love the Alberta Crude stout.
http://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/
Two years ago on my vacation I had a great chat with the owner about Belgian beers. He had just returned and was getting ready to go beer shopping in Paris.
The Wild Rose Brewery is a must. I love the Alberta Crude stout.
Here's the rundown my friend......
As mentioned, Willow Park (ask for Dave the beer guy) and Kensington Wine Market (ask for Mike the beer guy) are nice bottle shops. There are 3 Willow Park shops....but only bother with the original one in Willow Park Village on MacLeod Trail.
CO-OP's are hit and miss, but Dalhousie is the best of that chain. Also consider Crowfoot Liquor if you are up in that end of town http://www.crowfootliquor.com/
By far the best bottle shop in town is Zyn in Inglewood. Massive selection. They have everything in singles too, which is handy if you want to try a bunch from local Pararie 6-packs. http://www.zyn.ca/
Since you are in downtown, you are within walking distance of every beer bar you need to hit. Here are a few highlights.....
Calgary Craft Beer Market. 100+ taps. Cask on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the servers don't know squat about the beer they have. Decent food. http://www.craftbeermarket.ca/
Bottlescree Bills. Rough around the edges but good tap and bottle selection. http://www.bottlescrewbill.com/index.html
Kawa Espresso Bar. Don't le the cafe aspect fool you, it's the best bottle list in town. Ask for Alex the beer guy. Great place to grab one at the end of the evening. http://kawacalgary.ca/
Hop in Brew Pub. Best vibe in town. Great place to spend a night with friends. Usually some interesting things on tap. House brew by Alley Kat. http://hopinbrew.com/
Libertine Public House. New, great central location. Great food. Decent draught list. http://www.thelibertine.ca/
Una Pizza. Nice place to grab a slice. Small but respectible beer list. You can't argue with La Chouffe on tap. http://www.unapizzeria.com/
Charcut Roast House. Fine dining. Spectacular food. Very nice bottle list. One of the chef's, Connie, finished 3rd in Top Chef Canada. A must visit. http://www.charcut.com/
Wurst. German food and beer. Faux German Beer Hall, but good selection of German beer on tap, if somewhat pricey. http://www.wurst.ca/
Ship and Anchor on 17th. Some seasonals on tap. Best patio in the city. Best place to people watch and/or meet a nice cross section of hip (occasionally hipster) people.
Avoid-1410 or 1600 World Bier Haus. 70 taps of crap macro, served too cold, in poorly maintained taps by people who don't care about beer, surrounded by people who don't care about beer.
FYI, also avoid Half Pint's beers in general right now. They have an infection issue.
Hope that helps. Enjoy your trip!
As mentioned, Willow Park (ask for Dave the beer guy) and Kensington Wine Market (ask for Mike the beer guy) are nice bottle shops. There are 3 Willow Park shops....but only bother with the original one in Willow Park Village on MacLeod Trail.
CO-OP's are hit and miss, but Dalhousie is the best of that chain. Also consider Crowfoot Liquor if you are up in that end of town http://www.crowfootliquor.com/
By far the best bottle shop in town is Zyn in Inglewood. Massive selection. They have everything in singles too, which is handy if you want to try a bunch from local Pararie 6-packs. http://www.zyn.ca/
Since you are in downtown, you are within walking distance of every beer bar you need to hit. Here are a few highlights.....
Calgary Craft Beer Market. 100+ taps. Cask on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the servers don't know squat about the beer they have. Decent food. http://www.craftbeermarket.ca/
Bottlescree Bills. Rough around the edges but good tap and bottle selection. http://www.bottlescrewbill.com/index.html
Kawa Espresso Bar. Don't le the cafe aspect fool you, it's the best bottle list in town. Ask for Alex the beer guy. Great place to grab one at the end of the evening. http://kawacalgary.ca/
Hop in Brew Pub. Best vibe in town. Great place to spend a night with friends. Usually some interesting things on tap. House brew by Alley Kat. http://hopinbrew.com/
Libertine Public House. New, great central location. Great food. Decent draught list. http://www.thelibertine.ca/
Una Pizza. Nice place to grab a slice. Small but respectible beer list. You can't argue with La Chouffe on tap. http://www.unapizzeria.com/
Charcut Roast House. Fine dining. Spectacular food. Very nice bottle list. One of the chef's, Connie, finished 3rd in Top Chef Canada. A must visit. http://www.charcut.com/
Wurst. German food and beer. Faux German Beer Hall, but good selection of German beer on tap, if somewhat pricey. http://www.wurst.ca/
Ship and Anchor on 17th. Some seasonals on tap. Best patio in the city. Best place to people watch and/or meet a nice cross section of hip (occasionally hipster) people.
Avoid-1410 or 1600 World Bier Haus. 70 taps of crap macro, served too cold, in poorly maintained taps by people who don't care about beer, surrounded by people who don't care about beer.
FYI, also avoid Half Pint's beers in general right now. They have an infection issue.
Hope that helps. Enjoy your trip!
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markaberrant
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1664
- Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:28 pm
- Location: Regina, SK
Boney covered it all nicely.
If you are only in the downtown area, Zyn and Kensington are fairly close by and should cover off just about everything in terms of bottle selection. But if you end up in the south end (ie; Ikea), Willow Park is fairly close, and the SpringBank Cheese store next door is also solid.
Zyn and Kensington both have online websites that maintain a fairly accurate inventory, so check them out ahead of time and do some research as to what you want to buy (also set a budget beforehand). Otherwise it can be a little overwhelming, especially when it comes to crazy beers from Italy, Denmark, Belgium or even the US that you have never heard of. Or maybe you just want to stock up on many excellent craft beers from Western Canada that they stock.
For downtown pubs, Hop In Brew kicks butt. There are many other options, some of which have decent/more offerings and have different settings/environments/vibes depending on your personal taste, but for serious beer geeks that want to drink good/interesting beer on tap in a comfortable, REAL environment, Hop in Brew does it best.
Wild Rose is not downtown, but is another must visit. Top notch all around, and again seems to cater to real beer fans. Cask on Fridays at 4pm, always an interesting seasonal or two, plus their regular lineup beers taste extra good on tap at the brewery - uber fresh and unfilitered (they lightly filter their bottled product).
If you are only in the downtown area, Zyn and Kensington are fairly close by and should cover off just about everything in terms of bottle selection. But if you end up in the south end (ie; Ikea), Willow Park is fairly close, and the SpringBank Cheese store next door is also solid.
Zyn and Kensington both have online websites that maintain a fairly accurate inventory, so check them out ahead of time and do some research as to what you want to buy (also set a budget beforehand). Otherwise it can be a little overwhelming, especially when it comes to crazy beers from Italy, Denmark, Belgium or even the US that you have never heard of. Or maybe you just want to stock up on many excellent craft beers from Western Canada that they stock.
For downtown pubs, Hop In Brew kicks butt. There are many other options, some of which have decent/more offerings and have different settings/environments/vibes depending on your personal taste, but for serious beer geeks that want to drink good/interesting beer on tap in a comfortable, REAL environment, Hop in Brew does it best.
Wild Rose is not downtown, but is another must visit. Top notch all around, and again seems to cater to real beer fans. Cask on Fridays at 4pm, always an interesting seasonal or two, plus their regular lineup beers taste extra good on tap at the brewery - uber fresh and unfilitered (they lightly filter their bottled product).
Awesome stuff folks!!!
I've got most of the day Sunday to move around, and I think I'm heading to my brother-in-law's place for BBQ on Sunday evening and he's in the South, I believe, so I'll head to the Willow Park there.
Much appreciated for the advice. Easy enough these days to use resources like ratebeer or BA, but to get people who see and experience the places even better!
I've got most of the day Sunday to move around, and I think I'm heading to my brother-in-law's place for BBQ on Sunday evening and he's in the South, I believe, so I'll head to the Willow Park there.
Much appreciated for the advice. Easy enough these days to use resources like ratebeer or BA, but to get people who see and experience the places even better!
-
markaberrant
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1664
- Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:28 pm
- Location: Regina, SK