Brew Pubs in Downtown Victoria, BC
Real Ale Pubs within easy reach of Central Victoria, BC
For a relatively small city, Victoria is well served with brew-pubs, all of which serve a selection of food. The real ale drinker doesn’t have to venture far from the waterfront to be able to enjoy of good selection of beers and local cuisine.
Swan’s
Swan's brewpub (250 361 3310) is an award winning brewery with a large brewpub as well as a restaurant and hotel. Swan’s is situated at 506 Pandora Street, close to the Johnson Street Bridge.
A sample beer “flight” is available and the brew pub beer selection is varied and tasty. Also tasty is the food selection, including a selection of salads and the usual array of burgers, sandwiches and traditional “pub fayre” mains. On the other side of the main entrance is the Bistro, which serves more restaurant-style food.
Recommended beer: ESB
Canoe
Less than five minutes away from Swan’s, at 450 Swift Street, is the Canoe Brewpub, Marina, Restaurant (tel: 250 361 1940). This waterfront bar is in a large heritage building. It would be easy for an establishment of this size to feel cold and soul-less, but the owners of Canoe manage to maintain a “feel good” ambience in the pub. Again, a flight of beers is available to allow the drinker to sample all that the Canoe’s brewers have on offer.
The Canoe seems to appeal to a younger clientele than Victoria’s other brew pubs, but is in no way unwelcoming to older customers.
The food menu contains a broad selection of traditional dishes; the portions are a good size, and the produce is local, where possible.
Spinnakers
Across the Johnston Street bridge, after a pleasant walk along the waterfront of Victoria’s Inner Harbour, is Spinnaker’s Brewpub at 308 Catherine Street (Tel: 604 384 6613). This establishment also has guest accommodation; each of the rooms (and the locations of the rooms, as some are a short way up the street) is different, and guests are awoken with a basket of freshly baked goods and juice for breakfast.
The brewpub also features a two-floor restaurant (although the menu is the same on both floors), an upstairs patio area and a provisions shop, selling local cheeses, pastries and chocolates.
The food menu concentrates on local, artisan produce. The pub even brews its own malt vinegar. The meals produced are more like a "gastro pub" than the other Victoria locations, which will suit some customers better than others. Beer and cheese or beer and chocolate platters are available for those wishing to try complementary flavours.
Recommended beer: IPA
It can therefore be seen that real ale fans can spend a happy day or two in Victoria.If you’re travelling to a new city and are in search of good beer, then the pubcrawler site is a useful guide.
