After water-biking at Granville Island, J and I were thirsty and walked by the Granville Island Brewing Taproom. I’ve never been here, so we decided to grab an afternoon drink to quench our thirst.

The taproom was quite packed, but we luckily found a seat by the bar. You basically just walk in and find a seat wherever you like. Pretty much like any pub. In the back, you can see all the machines brewing the beer.

They have a tasting map with the 8 different beers they have. I’m not a huge fan of beer, so I honestly had no idea what I was ordering. I did however go to a beer tasting event before, so I learned a little, but still not enough to call myself an expert (not in close actually).

Hefeweizen, Raspberry Ale, Small Batch

They had a special going on where you could try 3 different kinds of beer on tap at around $9 I think? The glasses are around half the size of a normal pint, but it’s perfect if you want to try different types of beer. I chose to try the Hefeweizen, which was described as a unfiltered wheat ale, and is vaguely tart with light clove and banana flavours and aromas. It finishes crisp and dry. I definitely tasted the banana flavours to it, which was quite interesting, but I did find it to be a bit dry, like it said. Next I tried the Raspberry Ale. I keep seeing this advertised around Granville Island, and because of it’s pink colour, I always assumed it would be a girly beer. I believe it’s only available during the summer as it is a seasonal ale, and combines premium malt and hops with Fraser Valley raspberries. It is well-balanced with raspberry colour, aroma and finish. It tastes like fresh raspberries, without being too sweet, and is refreshingly tart with enough pale malt character, so it tastes like an ale, and not a wine cooler. This was definitely one of the sweeter and fruitier beers, and probably my favourite out of the three. Last but not least, J chose the Small Batch, which we were told was basically a dark ale. It was super bitter! Definitely not something I would drink normally, and it left a bitter aftertaste in your mouth.

If you want to try out different beers at a decent price, the taproom at the Granville Island Brewing is the perfect place to go. It gets quite busy during the summer afternoons, and I would assume it’s even busier during night time.