After savouring signature Victoria sights like the Butchart Gardens and Empress Hotel,visitors to the British Columbia capital can please their palates with great microbrewed beer. And the greenery-laden Vancouver Island city’s emphasis on local, organic cuisine means brewpub dining here is fine dining. Three award-winning brewpubs near downtown do Victoria proud.
At Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub, founded in 1984 as Canada’s oldest brewpub, the beer-food pairings are as delightful as the view overlooking the Inner Harbour’s ferries and sailboats. Try a sweet, banana-and-coconut-tinged Hefeweizen with an organic greens salad, or a Raspberry Ale with duck breast and beet risotto.
Spinnakers’ kitchen gives fine dining an ultra-local flair: your pork tenderloin might be sourced from nearby Port Alberni, and the accompanying hazelnuts from Metchosin. Herbs emerge from the on-premise gardens. Even the lightly carbonated house mineral water bubbles up from an aquifer 200 feet below Spinnakers’ brewhouse.
Before leaving, visit the bakery for signature chocolate truffles, sticky cinnamon buns, or bottles of malt vinegar brewed in-house – the latter is unique to Spinnakers among North American pubs.
The beer-making approach at Swans Brewpub is as cheerful and artistic as the rest of “Victoria’s Art Hotel,” near the blue Johnston Street Bridge. The on-site Buckerfields Brewery has earned more than 20 awards at the Canadian Brewing Awards since brewmaster Andrew Tessier took over in 2003. Surrounded by brick walls graced by West Coast artwork, quaff the rich Swans Oatmeal Stout, featuring a palate-pleasing blend of seven types of malt and oats. Or cool off with Tessier’s signature, easy-drinking Arctic Ale.
At this genuine Victoria institution, diners feast on Market Mixed Greens (cucumber, shredded carrots, and chickpeas with a pimento vinaigrette) or the Wharf Street Catch (sautéed halibut, salmon, mussels and prawns in a creamy sauce with fettuccini) while enjoying their suds.
A short stroll away, CANOE Brewpub occupies a renovated 1894 heritage building on a waterfront side street. Beneath the fir-beamed, skylit ceiling and crystal chandeliers, patrons savour crisp, unfiltered creations like the chocolate-tinged Beaver Brown Ale.
CANOE’s food is laden with local flavours. Tuck into wild BC halibut tacos with lime and cilantro, or a lamb pot pie with pearl onions, sweet peas, and organic greens. It’s no wonder that local paper the Victoria Times-Colonist awarded CANOE “Best Pub Grub” honours.
Beer lovers concur: raising your glass and fork in the Garden City is a genuine pleasure.
Quote: “Before leaving, visit the bakery for signature chocolate truffles, sticky cinnamon buns, or bottles of malt vinegar brewed in-house – the latter is unique to Spinnakers among North American pubs.”