Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.
We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Off to Vancouver
Off to Vancouver
I'm off to Vancouver for a couple of days on Sunday. Anything worth checking out...besides the usual Steamworks, Dix, Yaletown?
-
Jon Walker
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1899
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: Wherever you go there you are
I'd say drop by Storm Brewing which is one of the better micro's made right in Vancouver (let them know before you come by. 604-255-9119). Two of their beers, the IPA and the Scotch Ale, are available on tap at a restaurant on Alma (west side) called Baru Latino (2535 Alma St - 604-222-9171)
The Raven is a great place if you make it up to Deep Cove (40 minute drive from downtown 604.929.3834). Their tap list can be found here though I don't know how recent it is http://www.pubpages.com/rav598576985660 ... _menu.html
On the Eastern end of Granville Island is the Dockside Restaurant and Brewery. Formerly known as the Creek it is part of the Granville Island Hotel...not sure of the tap list but usually 4 or 5 of their own beers on tap.
Last but certainly not least I'd INSIST you go to Sailor Hagars in North Van. Easy to get to on public transit...you can take the seabus over from downtown and walk up the hill five minutes from the terminal and you're there. (86 Semisch St., North Vancouver, British Columbia Tel: (604)
984-7669)
There's also a place in North Van called Taylors Crossing Restaurant and Brewpub (1035 Marine Drive). Owned by the same group running Dix and Yaletown (Mark James Group) but apparently making their own beers.
Happy hunting!
JW
The Raven is a great place if you make it up to Deep Cove (40 minute drive from downtown 604.929.3834). Their tap list can be found here though I don't know how recent it is http://www.pubpages.com/rav598576985660 ... _menu.html
On the Eastern end of Granville Island is the Dockside Restaurant and Brewery. Formerly known as the Creek it is part of the Granville Island Hotel...not sure of the tap list but usually 4 or 5 of their own beers on tap.
Last but certainly not least I'd INSIST you go to Sailor Hagars in North Van. Easy to get to on public transit...you can take the seabus over from downtown and walk up the hill five minutes from the terminal and you're there. (86 Semisch St., North Vancouver, British Columbia Tel: (604)
984-7669)
There's also a place in North Van called Taylors Crossing Restaurant and Brewpub (1035 Marine Drive). Owned by the same group running Dix and Yaletown (Mark James Group) but apparently making their own beers.
Happy hunting!
JW
-
midlife crisis
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2009
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
- Location: Toronto
-
Jon Walker
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1899
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: Wherever you go there you are
They make consistently good and varied beers...usually 5 to 7 of their own on tap plus seasonals. Their IPA alone has three or four different variations from year to year depending on the mood of the brewer...most are excellent. The food is standard pub grub but good. Regardless, I make a point of going there every time I'm back in Van. They also sell their beers by the bottle in the off license by the front door.midlife crisis wrote:Jon:
I'll be out in Vancouver next month. I've been to Yaletown, etc., but please expand on what makes Sailor Hagar's so good. Never been to North Van.....
I was under the impression that Sailor Hagar was no longer brewing. I did a quick google, but very little is dated. Their own website -- http://www.bestbeerbc.com/ -- seems very out of date. One is advised to watch for their golf tournament coming up in 2003, for example. I went there in 2001 and liked it very much. The bar, not the golf tournament.
Nick
Nick
-
Jon Walker
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1899
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: Wherever you go there you are
I was there in December at which time they were open. Unless something catastrophic has occured since then I'm assuming they are still in operation. As for the brewing, they switched to having Howe Sound Brewery in Squamish brew their beer for them back in 2003 as the cost effectiveness of brewing on premise became too restrictive. But even I admit that I might be WRONG so if in doubt Cass call them before heading over there.
As to the dated info on their website, websites are often afterthoughts for bars, restaurants and brewpubs. They all believe they need one but often don't want to pay a company to keep it up. The task often falls to a "tech savy" employee who is doing it for free or little pay...hence the fact they don't get updated regularly. As local examples check out Perry's site for Scotch Irish or many others for local pubs that appear to not get the regular updates one might hope for. But in my opinion I'd rather a guy like Perry focus on making and distributing his beers rather than updating his website.
As to the dated info on their website, websites are often afterthoughts for bars, restaurants and brewpubs. They all believe they need one but often don't want to pay a company to keep it up. The task often falls to a "tech savy" employee who is doing it for free or little pay...hence the fact they don't get updated regularly. As local examples check out Perry's site for Scotch Irish or many others for local pubs that appear to not get the regular updates one might hope for. But in my opinion I'd rather a guy like Perry focus on making and distributing his beers rather than updating his website.
-
Josh Oakes
- Posts: 480
- Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 8:00 pm
- Contact:
Oh boy. Where to start.
Sailor Hagar's - not brewing. They have a handful of beers made for them by Howe Sound, but no seasonals and not near the variety they used to have. The Wit is distinctly worse, but most of the other remaining brands are better and really taste like Howe Sound brews. Given the decline in Yaletown's IPA, brown ale and hefe lately I'd put Hagar's as still the best brewpub, even though it's not.
The old Hagar's brewer, Gary Lohin, is now at Central City in Surrey (Surrey Centre skytrain station) but he's not trying very hard. Boomer's Red is a pretty good beer, but this latest batch of IPA is really screwed up (or was on cask, it might be fine on keg) and the rest of them aren't worth it. This guy used to rock and now he makes a raspberry wheat for a summer seasonal. Shameful.
DON'T GO TO DOCKSIDE. Can I stress that more? Horrid, horrid beer. Mainly a yeast issue but it's been going on for years.
Do go to the Granville Island taproom, however. It's one of the better places to drink beer in town, but it's bloody expensive. The GI regular beers blow, as I'm sure Cass already knows, but the seasonals are pretty good. Too bad it's only the Pilsner now. The Hefe will be better there than anywhere else, mainly due to turnover.
Yaletown has a grand cruish beer called Power Leopard on right now. Dix does cask nights every Thursday, starting five o'clock. Steamworks has Ipanema White and Frambozen on as of a couple of weeks ago. I don't think much of their regular lineup, but their seasonals are consistently among the best beers in town. If you have a car, go to Big River. Their ales are much improved.
The Raven probably has the best selection of draught beer but the pub itself is a catastrophe. I abhor the place. Tacky suburban corporate pub with lots of TVs, neon, big brewery marketing paraphenalia, perky waitstaff...they'd have to put another six killer taps on to get me back up there.
The Railway Club is a much better place to drink beer, is a lot easier to get to (Dunsmuir & Seymour) and has a few good beers on tap. Not as many as in the colder months, but that's normal around here.
Taylor's Crossing has a surprisingly good blueberry ale on right now. Otherwise, their lager is their best.
I'm sure you're aware of Cambie & 39th. It looks like Mount Begbie has finally got their Hefeweizen into bottles. If it tastes like it did back in April when I sampled it, you'll want to get some.
A bit pricey, but Chambar has tasty food and Belgian ales.
Not a whole lot else going on around here right now.
Sailor Hagar's - not brewing. They have a handful of beers made for them by Howe Sound, but no seasonals and not near the variety they used to have. The Wit is distinctly worse, but most of the other remaining brands are better and really taste like Howe Sound brews. Given the decline in Yaletown's IPA, brown ale and hefe lately I'd put Hagar's as still the best brewpub, even though it's not.
The old Hagar's brewer, Gary Lohin, is now at Central City in Surrey (Surrey Centre skytrain station) but he's not trying very hard. Boomer's Red is a pretty good beer, but this latest batch of IPA is really screwed up (or was on cask, it might be fine on keg) and the rest of them aren't worth it. This guy used to rock and now he makes a raspberry wheat for a summer seasonal. Shameful.
DON'T GO TO DOCKSIDE. Can I stress that more? Horrid, horrid beer. Mainly a yeast issue but it's been going on for years.
Do go to the Granville Island taproom, however. It's one of the better places to drink beer in town, but it's bloody expensive. The GI regular beers blow, as I'm sure Cass already knows, but the seasonals are pretty good. Too bad it's only the Pilsner now. The Hefe will be better there than anywhere else, mainly due to turnover.
Yaletown has a grand cruish beer called Power Leopard on right now. Dix does cask nights every Thursday, starting five o'clock. Steamworks has Ipanema White and Frambozen on as of a couple of weeks ago. I don't think much of their regular lineup, but their seasonals are consistently among the best beers in town. If you have a car, go to Big River. Their ales are much improved.
The Raven probably has the best selection of draught beer but the pub itself is a catastrophe. I abhor the place. Tacky suburban corporate pub with lots of TVs, neon, big brewery marketing paraphenalia, perky waitstaff...they'd have to put another six killer taps on to get me back up there.
The Railway Club is a much better place to drink beer, is a lot easier to get to (Dunsmuir & Seymour) and has a few good beers on tap. Not as many as in the colder months, but that's normal around here.
Taylor's Crossing has a surprisingly good blueberry ale on right now. Otherwise, their lager is their best.
I'm sure you're aware of Cambie & 39th. It looks like Mount Begbie has finally got their Hefeweizen into bottles. If it tastes like it did back in April when I sampled it, you'll want to get some.
A bit pricey, but Chambar has tasty food and Belgian ales.
Not a whole lot else going on around here right now.