5 new breweries you need to try at Vancouver Craft Beer Week

The ever-growing event returns in late May with new attractions, including the debut of our own craft beer awards

They haven’t even published the list yet, but we managed to get our filthy hands on it. This year’s Vancouver Craft Beer Week lineup is littered with additions to the scene. Here, five recommendations from the newbies:

Strange Fellows Brewing

1345 Clark Dr.Opened: December 2014Rumour has it that these guys are brewing four different casks and a couple of sour beers especially for Vancouver Craft Beer Week. Don’t hold back; you will never, ever get to try them again after the week wraps.

Doan’s Craft Brewing Company

1830 Powell St.Opening: First week of May (hopefully)Bringing three year-round beers to the table: a rye IPA, a kölsch, and a Northern German-style altbier.

Category 12 Brewing

2200 Keating Cross Rd. (Victoria)Opened: December 2014These guys sold out of all their beer in their opening week and had to re-open January 16th. They are expecting to bring their brand new (released last Friday) Insubordinate IPA.

Hearthstone Brewery

1015 Marine Drive, North VancouverOpened: December 2014With a brewer from one of Scotland’s first microbreweries (Brewdog) and a prime North Van location, what’s not to like?

Red Collar Brewing Co.

355 Lansdowne St., KamloopsOpened: October 2014A small brewery in the heart of Kamloops is coming to the big city, bringing its European-influenced beer along. This year also heralds the debut of Vancouver magazine’s own Vancouver International Craft Beer Awards, presented at a special gala on May 29 at Roundhouse Community Centre. (Our call for entries brought in more than 200 labels from around the world, so expect to discover plenty of new favourites from the list of 43 winners.) Find out more about Vancouver Craft Beer Week here, and check Vanmag.com regularly to for the latest news.