Beers to Drink Instead of Going to Europe

Okay, so your big travel plans got cancelled. There’s still plenty of local pours to (somewhat) satisfy that wanderlust.

We were supposed to be in: Antwerp
Drink instead: Dageraad Burnabarian

We’d be compromised if we recommended an Antwerp-inspired beer from anywhere other than Dageraad, the Burnaby producer of quality Belgian beers. You can’t really go wrong with Dageraad’s catalogue (Jumo and Rainshine are excellent patio choices, for example), but the Burnabarian—a classic Belgian-style table beer—is the obvious call.
dageraadbrewing.com

We were supposed to be in: Munich
Drink instead: Sundown Minimal Effort Hefeweizen

We couldn’t not pick a hefeweizen for Germany, and this one—from relative newbie Sundown (which brews out of East Van’s Container Brewing)—more than deserves the recommendation. The extremely juicy and still pretty clean hef claimed Gold in the Wheat Beer (German Style) category at last year’s Canadian Brewing Awards. Crack one open on the patio or in the park and you’ll clearly see why it won.
sundown.beer

We were supposed to be in: The Cotswolds
Drink instead: East Van Brewing Humble Hive English Brown Ale

A collaboration with local honeybee company East Van Bees, this beer has the characteristics of a classic English brown ale—malty, toasted nut—but finishes with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hint of honey. Oh, beehive.
eastvanbrewing.com