WHAT IS A BREWERY TOUR?
After 4 long years on the Fragrant Harbour, it was time for this Vancourite to head back home for a couple of weeks to reset and to see how much Vancouver has changed. Vancouver will always be the same to me (home sweet home), but yet, a bit different and this time, I decided to participate in some more “touristy” activities. Now, just to toot my own horn, if you’re wondering what I do in Hong Kong, I give foodie tours and a Free Central Walk in Hong Kong, so make sure to check Humid with a Chance of Fishballs Tours out.
I decided to go on a craft beer brewery tour because craft beer has exploded onto the Hong Kong scene the past 18 months and I wanted to explore local craft beer from other parts of the world and what better place to start than my hometown? Using good ol’ Google as my research tool, I booked a brewery tour with Vancouver Brewery Tours Inc. and they were absolutely amazing. What’s a brewery tour? Think of it like a brewery hop whereby, you’ll visiting more than 1 brewery during the tour. Why not just go to 1 brewery? That’s because you get to try more types of beer and you get to different breweries. It was such a neat experience that I decided to write a review for them for those interested or wondering what a brewery tour entails. This is a great activity for not only those that are visiting Vancouver, but also locals residents as well. So much good brew, & not enough capacity for this cheap drunk Asian!
WHO ARE VANCOUVER BREWERY TOURS?
The mission at Vancouver Brewery Tours is simple and that’s to encourage people to drink locally and support your local breweries. The company was founded in June 2013 by craft beer enthusiast Ryan Mackey, who enjoys sharing his passion for locally made craft beer and connecting people with the vibrant craft beer community in Vancouver. They do have a tour that involves food, but at the end of the day, it really is a company that’s solely focused on local craft beer in Vancouver. Beertiful!
WHAT IS A BREWERY TOUR?
In terms of their public group tour offerings, they have 3 main type of tours: Their classic Vancouver brewery tour; Walking Brewery Tours; and a Beer and Food Brewery tour. I went on their classic Vancouver Brewery Tour and it was around 3 hours going to 3 different breweries sampling 4 different beers at each brewery. You’re driven around and picked up & dropped off at the Skytrain station so the DD (designated driver) is the tour guide. I was glad that I joined a the brewery tour versus going by my lonesome because there was so much more context and background that the guide (thanks Rachel!) provided to each of the breweries we visited, from the head brewer’s background, to the equipment that each brewery used, to letting us go directly into the back of the breweries to learn more about the brewing process. I have a much bigger respect and appreciation for craft beer because of the knowledge that the guide imparted onto us. And it’s apparent that they’re also very passionate beer drinkers as well.
Of course, let’s not forget the drinking part as well. The flight/paddles that were selected for us were well balanced from light to dark and even included sours, which I’ve never even heard of. All in all, a super fun and educational brewery tour.
MY FAV BREWERY OUT OF THE 3 WE VISITED. THE MOST ECCENTRIC ONE AS WELL.
STORM BREW USES UNCONVENTIONAL EQUIPMENT. THE POT ON THE RIGHT USED TO BE A SOUP MAKER IN ITS PREVIOUS LIFE.
@STORM BREW, THERE ARE RODENTS EVERYWHERE… I WON’T SPOIL THE STORY AS TO WHY, BUT MAKE SURE TO ASK YOUR GUIDE IF YOU’RE INTERESTED.
It was definitely a great afternoon spent; so much so in fact, that Vancouver Brewery Tours are the ones that inspired me to start my own brewery tours in Hong Kong & Ryan, the owner of Vancouver Brewery Tours, even went out of his way to give me some tips of the trade to help me start my own Local Craft Beer Brewery tour in Hong Kong! Now, how’s that for Canadian hospitality? I would say that the Vancouver brewery scene is a lot more mature than compared to that of Hong Kong, so it’s literally the best time now to go on a brewery tour in Hong Kong because there have been sooooo many local craft breweries exploding onto the Hong Kong scene in the past 18 months.
It’s run by Humid with a Chance of Fishballs and the brewery tour will go to 3 local craft beer breweries (Black Kite, Young Master Ales & Little Creatures) in Hong Kong – 2 microbreweries and 1 brewpub to be exact.
The absolute coolest thing about local craft beer is they’re tailored specifically to that area – for example, Young Master Ales in Hong Kong has a popular beer inspired by the beloved Cha Chaan Teng 茶餐廳 (Chinese British diner) thirst-quencher, Salted Lime Soda 鹹檸七, which will be one of the beers we will be sampling on our Local Craft Beer Brewery Tour. If you’re interested in trying some of the BEST local craft beers in Hong Kong, learning about the brewing process and gaining VIP access into Hong Kong’s top local breweries, you can check us out here. Yes, that was a shameless plug. Now go drink some beer!
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