Drinking Beer Around the World – The Canadian Edition
What kind of beer drinking, hockey loving, poutine eating Canadians would we be if we didn’t dedicate at least one of our Beer Around the World posts to the motherland? As such, this next installment in our series showcases beer from our travels through Canada.
Being lovers of beer and travel, we try our best to capture a photo of the beer we sample while on the road, making for an awesome photo collection with over 500 different types and brands of beer.
Because tastes and preferences are so subjective, our goal for this series is not to find the “best beer in the world”, but rather to reflect on memorable moments from our travels. Keep in mind, we don’t consider ourselves professional beer connoisseurs and our beer reviews can easily be influenced by how many were consumed that day.
The beer-tastic series continues with its 16th edition, serving up 10 more tasty brews.
Cheers!
Pumpkin Ale by Granville Island Brewery – Whistler, BC
This seasonal ale was enjoyed by the warm fire in our favourite Canadian destination – Whistler. We don’t often visit Whistler in the fall because there’s not much happening as the mountain village prepares for the ski season, but we decided to have a weekend escape before Nicole returned to work after her maternity leave. Lucky for us, we were treated to a wonderful display of autumn colour. Check out the photos from that trip here.
The beer verdict – Medium body, subtle spices and pumpkin flavours. Think pumpkin pie meets amber ale. I will definitely purchase again next autumn. We give it 7.5 out of 10
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Sea Dog Amber Ale by Vancouver Island Brewery – Parksville, BC
A fitting selection for our trip to Parksville, this tasty amber was enjoyed on the private balcony of our oceanfront room at the Tigh Na Mara Seaside Resort. Vancouver Island continues to call us back with its misty temperate rainforests, fresh water lakes and endless stretches off unspoiled beaches. It’s easy to lose hours gazing at the horizon, watching the sun set as bald eagles and sea lions search for an evening meal. It’s one of the many reasons we love living in British Columbia.
The beer verdict – Medium-light body, toasty, malty with bittersweet finish. Not as flavourful as most amber ales but solid beer. We give it 7 out of 10
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Moosehead Lager – Toronto, Ontario
As the above photo illustrates, this Canadian classic was enjoyed on Toronto’s Centre Island while soaking up the incredible evening views of the city skyline. It’s amazing how much the Toronto skyline has changed over the past 10 years! This particular bottle was consumed at a social event we attended while at TBEX 2013, the largest annual gathering of travel bloggers. It was fun sharing a few beers and connecting with our digital friends in the real world.
The beer verdict – Skunky aroma, malty and grainy, light with smooth finish. Nothing special, but refreshing on a humid summer evening. We give it 6.5 out of 10
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The Griz Pale Ale by Fernie Brewing – Panorama, BC
Several beers were sampled on our road trip through the Canadian Rockies, but this moment stands out because a curious deer approached us while taking this photo. We tried to capture the deer and beer in the same photo but were unsuccessful – how fun would that have been?! This was our first visit to Panorama Mountain Village, a ski and golf resort in the Purcell Mountains of southeastern British Columbia, near Kootenay National Park and the Alberta border.
The beer verdict – Golden amber body, malty sweetness, hints of citrus with decent hoppy bitterness. Not bad, but I probably would not purchase again. We give it 5.5 out of 10
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Stock Ale by Mill Street Brewery – Gravenhurst, Ontario
Nothing says summer in Ontario like a cold beer on the lake! A couple months ago, we joined our good friends at their family cottage in Gravenhurst, Ontario. This photo was taken from their private dock. Although we love living on the West Coast, it’s hard to beat campfires and BBQ’s on the lakes of Ontario’s cottage country. And if that wasn’t enough, my best friend fell in the lake after having a few too many – classic!
The beer verdict – Light body, solid carbonation with clean, smooth finish. It’s one of the better Toronto beers. We’ve already purchased again. We give it 7.5 out of 10
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Okanagan Springs Hefeweizen – Sun Peaks, BC
This beer drinking moment comes from the hills of Sun Peaks Resort in central British Columbia, just north of Kamloops. Surprisingly, we have yet to visit Sun Peaks Resort during the winter, but we did manage to spend some time there during the summer. It’s quiet, peaceful and relaxing.
The beer verdict – Medium body, sweet, banana and citrus flavours, tasty finish. Much better than I had originally expected. We give it 8 out of 10
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Ginja Ninja Seasonal by Granville Island Brewery – Victoria, BC
With such a vibrant craft beer scene in Victoria, it might surprise some of you that I selected the Granville Island Brewing seasonal beer during our most recent visit to British Columbia’s capital. But, with a name like “Ginja Ninja” how could I refuse?
The beer verdict – Not bad, but a little too strong on the ginger flavour for my liking. I doubt I will purchase again. We give it 5.5 out of 10
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Cameron’s Cream Ale – Keswick, Ontario
While in Ontario earlier this summer, we visited with family in a town called Keswick, located about an hour north of Toronto, on Cook’s Bay. Cameron’s dad brought this 6-pack of craft beer to the family BBQ, appropriately named if I do say! You’d think I would have heard about a beer that shares my name, but this was my first time sampling a Cameron’s Cream Ale.
The beer verdict – Medium body, balanced flavour, hints of vanilla, sweet and malty. Nice beer, I’d likely order again. We give it 7 out of 10
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Red Racer White Ale – Banff, Alberta
We picked up a Red Racer sampler pack while getting supplies for our camping trip in Banff National Park. We scored a fantastic campground, surrounded by tall trees and a small river. If you look closely, you can kinda see the campground in the reflection of the shiny pot that’s sitting on the propane grill. Nothing says “beer o’clock” like camping in Canada’s great outdoors!
The beer verdict – I quite enjoyed this beer, it’s like summer in a can. Big and flavourful, lots of citrus and spice. We give it 8.5 out of 10
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Steam Whistle Pilsner – Toronto, Ontario
The Steam Whistle Brewery is located directly across the street from the convention centre that hosted TBEX13. After 3 days of networking, learning and socializing, we decided to break free and check out the brewery. And, of course, sample its flagship pilsner. Unfortunately we visited right around Baby B’s nap time, so he got pretty cranky before we could take the brewery tour. Nevertheless, we were able to sneak in an afternoon pint, officially completing our TBEX experience.
The beer verdict – Light and refreshing, mild hops, crisp finish. I’m not a big fan of Canadian pilsners but I enjoyed this one. We give it 7.5 out of 10
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Do you have a memorable beer moment that you’d like to share?
Share your experience in the comments section below!
Read more posts from the series – Memorable Moments Drinking Beer around the World
Awesome post! As we are also fans of travel & beer- we truly need to go to Canada to try these out! 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Emma
Thanks for stopping by Emma – we’re glad you like the post!
Big fan or Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto. I’m not recalling the name of the particular beer now. And since I’m collecting my own data as I type this, I’m not able to look it up. But go hoppy and you won’t be unhappy.
There are so many great craft breweries popping up in Canada, it’s hard to keep up!
“go hoppy and you won’t be unhappy” – love it!
Gotta get my hands on that Pumpkin Ale from Granville!!
It’s a good one – better than most pumpkin ales I’ve tried. The pumpkin is subtle, so it’s not like drinking a dessert.
Where’s Lucky Lager? 😉
Lol… I left that one in university, along with Kokanee and Keiths!
Nice and a bit jealous. Germany has good beer, but it is so regulated that the “interesting” craft style beers just don’t come up here very often. Had an IPA from Munich the other day, but that is about it lately.
Nice series as always.
Interesting – I was not aware that there was such tight regulations in Germany. I do enjoy German beer!
Man this is my kind of post. I was thinking of doing that for the US, but with all the billions of micro brews, of tiny villages, it would be one very long post 🙂
Yummy!
You could make it a series! 🙂
Aw I love this post! Nothing more patriotic to Canadians than beer 🙂 I love Granville Island Brewery’s raspberry ale – we can only get it this time of year. It’s delicious! I never knew how much I’d miss the beer in Canada until I moved somewhere with absolutely terrible beer haha.
Where are you living now? I do like the Granville Island seasonal beers!
Nice. My first real experience with Canadian beer was at TBEX. I’m a big IPA fan and I was surprised at my struggles to order IPAs in many of the Toronto bars. It seems like the hoppier beers are on the West Coast i guess.
This is true, the nice hoppy IPA’s are typically found on the West Coast – at least in my experience. East coast are more into the lagers and pilsners.
Have you ever tried Fort Garry beers from Winnipeg?
I had great beer all through Russia, Siberia and Mongolia this summer. It’s always good when the beer doesn’t disappoint!
No, I have not tried Fort Garry beer. In fact, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve tried beer from Manitoba? I’ll have to do something about that!
I’m not much of a beer drinker, but have recently found a few I like including a red beer from Santorini, Greece and a cherry beer made here in Italy.
Cherry beer? That sounds interesting. I don’t know that I’ve ever tried a cherry beer. Do you remember the name/brand?
Live this post!! In just under 4 weeks time I’m embarking on a 4 month long trip around Canada, and I’m starting to get incredibly overexcited about the whole thing. This post has been fantastic not only for getting me excited about trying beer from outside the UK and Europe, but helped me think about some other places I want to visit…I’m still planning the western half of my journey. Will have to write a list of these and keep an eye out 🙂
Exciting times ahead! Let us know if we can help your trip planning. Make sure you visit British Columbia – it’s the best part of Canada – but we are super biased!
Woah, so many that I haven’t tried (but I’m looking forward to). I’m with you on the Moosehead, not a favourite of mine either. There’s some great suggestions, I feel embarassed I live in Calgary and I haven’t tried that Banff one, Red Racer. I’m adding it to my list now1
The Red Racer is actually crafted in Surrey, BC. But we enjoyed it while in Banff. We did find it in one of the liquor stores in Banff, so I’m sure you can pick one up. It’s tasty.
I think Moosehead is the only one of those I’ve tried. I’m partial to Belgian brews.
I’m a big fan of Belgian brews as well.
The Moosehead was one of the beers I drank often during my college years, but I haven’t had it in about 10 years. There is worse beer out there, but I would not go out of my way to purchase a Moosehead (these were free – the best kind!)
Pumpkin beer? I’d give it a go!…alright I’d give them all a go 😉
The Pumpkin was once of the better ones from this list. I’m looking forward to grabbing one soon… tis the season!
There are definitely a few good CAD craft brews, and will have to try a few of these out when we’re eventually back. I’ve tried a few on the list and really like the Sea Dog Amber. Moosehead I just can’t stomach, like you say nothing special 🙂
I’m a huge fan of the Sea Dog. It’s become my summer go-to!
Having a Grasshopper (it’s one of the Big Rock Beers, based out of Calgary, AB) at the beer garden during Canada Day Festivities in the midst of the Rocky Mountains in Jasper, AB!
Oh, and stumbling across Moosehead in a self-serve beer bar in Seoul, South Korea … that was an OMG CANADIA BERR!! moment 😛
I do enjoy the Grasshopper! It actually made and appearance in an earlier edition in this series.
Hah! Moosehead in South Korea?! That’s pretty awesome.
it’s all about Mill Street Organic
That is a tasty one. I actually had a 6-pack of Mill Street Organic over the long weekend!
I like the Vancouver Island Brewery Sea Dog Amber Ale!
Some others to try are:
Russell’s Cream Ale made in Surrey, BC & also owns Fort Garry Brewery in Manitoba
Stanley Park Brewery 1897 Amber
Granville Island Brewery-Maple Cream Ale
Howe Sound Brewery-Pale Ale
All great BC brews. Haven’t tried the Fort Garry Brewery – can you purchase in BC? (I’m making an assumption you’re in BC given the beers listed)
Yes-Vancouver BC
Not sure if you can buy Fort Garry beer in BC but I know that Russells Brewery bought it a few years ago.
We’ll hopefully be in Canada by the end of the year, where I’ll be sure to try as many of Canada’s fine beers as possible!
I let my husband read your post and just by reading at this he already wanted to go Canada to try the beers. Haha! But I personally love the post because of the places in Canada you mentioned. Maybe we should visit Canada next year in summer. Thanks for the post!
Moosehead in South Korea?! That’s pretty awesome.
Very refreshing post with different types of Beers…… Came to know about some new beers. Thanks for sharing.
I love trying out a good local brew. Looks like some good ones here!
Hey guys, you’re awesome! Excellent description of all beer types. I would rather try on of these in my next trip.
Love this! We’re huge beer fans and have been missing it terribly while traveling in Asia. Since getting back down to China and SE Asia we’ve had better luck, but Central Asia? Shocker, but Tajikistan doesn’t have any good beer. We had to switch over to (scarily cheap) vodka for a while. I guess for our next trip we’ll know to go to Canada instead!
Great post – funny thing, I wasn’t such a huge fan of Ginger Ninja either, but because it didn’t taste ginger-y enough for me! Have you tried anything from Tofino Brewing Co?
I wonder what would be world without the amazing BEER 🙂 cheers to all.
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