Love Good Beer

Lonely Planet Vancouver features Alibi Room

Sunday, November 8th, 2009 | Pubs | 2 Comments

Alibi Room owner Nigel Springthorpe

I enjoy traveling and am obsessed with the Lonely Planet series of guide books.  If you’ve never traveled with one or you have used lesser guide books, then you likely missed out on a few hidden gems.  I am particularly fond of the Lonely Planet Encounter series, which each profile a city sectioned into neighborhoods for easy reading.  I was at Chapters today and noticed that Lonely Planet very recently published a Vancouver Encounter, likely to cater to Olympic Visitors.  I was, of course, curious and flipped through it to see what travel experts recommend to see, eat, and do in Vancouver.  I wasn’t surprised at all to find the Alibi Room recommended, but I was surprised to see how much attention they paid to it.  Usually restaurants and bars get a two sentence blurb, but the Alibi Room garnered two pictures and an interview with owner Nigel Springthorpe!  This attention is warranted in my mind and is a testament to the hard work Nigel has done in building Vancouver’s best beer bar.  It pleases me that visitors to Vancouver, if they take the Lonely Planet’s excellent advice, will get to enjoy an establishment of such fine quality, likely giving them a positive impression of our fine city.  Although there is one negative, I imagine a seat at the Alibi Room will be an impossible commodity to come by during the Olympics.

The Alibi Room wasn’t the only beer destination recommended in the Vancouver Encounter.  Six Acres, The Irish Heather, Dix Brewery, Yaletown Brewing, and Steamworks were also listed.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: alibi room, DIX Brewery, lonely planet, lonely planet encounter, nigel springthorpe, olympics 2010, six acres, steamworks, the irish heather, vancouver, yaletown brewing

Frequenting the Alibi Room

Monday, April 13th, 2009 | Beer | 6 Comments

I’ve never really had a frequent haunt, the kind of place that I could walk to and visit frequently.  The closest thing to a local watering hole I have is Big Ridge in Surrey, which is a fifteen minute drive for me.  Granted, there is Dublin Crossing, a fun fake Irish pub within walking distance, but it isn’t a place I want to latch onto.

Lately, I’ve found myself going to the Alibi Room almost once a week.  I am lucky (or unlucky, depending on your impressions of the neighbourhood) to work only a block away, making it quite a convenient place for a pint after work.  Even if the Alibi Room wasn’t so conveniently located for me, I would still make an effort to get there once in a while.  They have the best beer selection in the lower mainland and are the only place you can get many of the local craft beers they serve.  They have 19 rotating taps as well as three beer machines pumping out cask conditioned ales, which also change on a weekly basis.  Notwithstanding, their food is very good and reasonably priced.

The great Alibi Room beer menu, updated weekly

The Alibi Room is really the one stop shop for beer in the entire Metro Vancouver area.  It saddens me that there are no similar places.  Why I wonder, do none exist when the Alibi Room’s success (it is always busy) clearly indicates an existing demand?  Maybe Erik and I should open up a place of our own?

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: alibi room, big ridge, Cask Ale, Craft Beer, dublin crossing, local, vancouver

Brewery Creek Liquor Store is heaven on earth

Sunday, December 21st, 2008 | Beer | 1 Comment

I currently reside in the Fraser Valley and used to make most of my beer purchases at the BC Signature Liquor Store in Langley.  But that was then and this is now; things have changed.  I recently learned of Brewery Creek Liquor Store, which is conveniently located near my place of employment.  Thank you CAMRA Vancouver newsletter for enlightening me.

Brewery Creek has the best beer selection I’ve seen in this province of ours.  It was overwhelming walking in there.  I wanted to buy one of everything, but managed to restrain myself.  There was a great selection of west coast and belgian beers, a lot of stuff that I’d heard of but never seen in a store before.  I ended up leaving with a Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve, a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, and a Phillips Burley Barley Wine.  Visiting Brewery Creek will surely become a weekly lunch hour activity for me.

It seems that others love Brewery Creek as much as I do.  It’s received glowing reviews on Beer Advocate.   It also has it’s own Facebook Group.  I have enjoyed the weekly Facebook message they send to tell members about new releases!  The bottom line is, if you live in or around Vancouver and you love beer, then you have to visit Brewery Creek; you won’t be sorry.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: Beer, brewery creek, burley barley wine, dogfish head, liquor store, palo santo marron, phillips, rogue, santa's private reserve, vancouver