While in Vancouver, hubs and I made our way to Granville Island. We heard it was a great spot not only for tourists, but many locals made their way to the public market and concert venues. Hubs and I had two reasons for our visit - the public market and Granville Island Brewery. We decided to peruse a few shops, have some beer and then make our way to the market. We arrived just a tad bit too late to take a tour, and the following one was sold out. So, we settled in at a table and got ready to try some local Canadian brews.
I was immediately ready to order either a sampler or their pumpkin ale. Despite having pumpkins everywhere, I learned quickly from our server that they didn't have any available (this is the first of two times it will happen to me on this vacation,) so I ordered myself a sampler. It included the Cypress Honey Lager, Robson Street Hefeweizen and the Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale.
Here is a basic breakdown:
- Honey Lager - subtle in sweet honey flavor, it was mild in taste (pictured above, beer on right side.) It was a standard lager, and I would order a Leinie's HoneyWeis.
- Hefeweizen - the unfiltered wheat ale was mild in clove thus not as flavorful as I would have enjoyed. But a good basic hefeweizen that is for sure. No orange slice, which is good, but nothing compared to my Sun King love - the Big H (pictured to right.)
- Cream Ale - this was my favorite that I tried. Smooth and subtly sweet, it was my first maple cream and I thoroughly enjoyed it on the brisk day (pictured above, beer on left.) I was ready to order another glass when...
We were told we reached our limit. Boo.
Unfortunately, this was only a tasting room where guests can be served up to approximately 12.5 ounces. Hubs had ordered a glass of the Maple Cream Ale and was disappointed he could only try one brew, as I was disappointed to only get one tasting sampler.
Upside - the tasting room was a great venue, industrial in style and function. Wall to wall glass ceilings allowed you to see all of the equipment. The brewer who we saw seemed quite passionate about his product during the tours. Bartender wasn't quite friendly, and our server warmed up a bit (or maybe that was only cause he felt bad that we wanted more beer...) throughout our time. They had some simple bar food options to snack on, but it wasn't an establishment where you could stay for a few hours.
I did end up having more of the Hefeweizen when we went out later that night for football too, so it was something I returned to when given the option. It seemed to be a popular local brew from the bartenders and restaurants we frequented, and we were happy to have been able to visit and sip some local brews.
When you travel, do you get out and see the local breweries in the area? Have you been to a tasting room where you were limited on your intake?
Labels:
Beer,
Brewery,
Granville Island,
Hefeweizen,
Leinenkugels,
Sun King Brewing,
Tasting Room,
Vancouver
