Craft brew pubs you'll love in Calgary
Calgary has developed a serious thirst for craft beer. These brew pubs satisfy with a huge array of suds created by microbreweries from Alberta to Belgium. Typical of these better beer spots, the suds-friendly food is a tasty notch above the pub-fare norm. [Craft beer at National on 17th. Photo © Yellow Pages / Pages Jaunes]
Bottlescrew Bill's Pub
140 10 Ave SW, Calgary AB T2R 0A3The granddaddy of Calgary brew pubs, Bottlescrew Bill’s is legendary for its Around the World in 80 Beers passport. Not to mention its bottled beer menu, which features more than 300 international labels. You don’t have to be a beer aficionado to drink here, but you may well become one if you do.
National on 17th
101-550 17 Ave Sw, Calgary AB T2S 0B1Central to this quick-growing local bar and restaurant chain’s mystique is its selection of cool craft beers. Pair your lager, ale, weizen or stout with shareable selections from its contemporary pub menu. When visiting National 10th, also pair with bowling in the establishment’s basement lanes.
Craft Beer Market
345 10 Ave SW, Calgary AB T2R 0A5Judging by the forest of tap-handles decorating this downtown brew pub’s central bar, its boast of serving the country’s largest draft beer selection looks about right. The place even features a craft beer club. On their way to sampling Craft’s 100 drafts, members enjoy plenty of beer-based privileges such as drink discounts and access to custom-brewed local beers.
Beer Revolution
1080 8 St SW, Calgary AB T2R 1K2The 24-tap beer lineup changes on a regular basis. Follow (and sample) along with this craft beer parade on Beer Revolution’s electronic display boards. Beer explorers take note: a single new and unique custom-made cask is cracked Fridays at 5 pm, at which time it’s enthusiastically appreciated until it’s gone.
1600 World Bier Haus Restaurant & Lounge
1600 90 Avenue Southwest, Calgary AB T2V 5A8This bright and buzzy restaurant and lounge serves a seriously tasty selection of European beers with its inventive and shareable pub-style food that includes pizzas, paninis and plenty of snackables. A solid list of German and Belgian beers are served as well as top Alberta craft brew labels.
Wild Rose Brewery Taproom
4580 Quesnay Wood Dr SW, Calgary AB T3E 7J3Housed in a distinctive Quonset hut on the Currie Barracks, this is a brewing facility and pub as well as a farm-fresh eatery serving dishes such as flatbreads, soups and sandwiches. Sample the brewer’s regular label lineup, which includes Wraspberry Ale and Velvet Fog, as well as exclusive one-off seasonal brews. Take to the patio when the taproom’s overhead door swings open on sunny, summer days.
Hop In Brew Pub
213 12 Ave SW, Calgary AB T2R 0G9The homiest pub in Beltline, this converted house on 12th Avenue Southwest is even fronted by a white picket fence. Find a room that suits–from main floor living room to upstairs games room–and pair an order of pizza (mushroom and pepperoni is a bestseller) with local and international craft beer selections on tap or by the bottle or can.
Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant
834 11 Ave SW, Calgary AB T2R 0E5The 11th Avenue Southwest Brewsters location is a favourite lunchtime and post-work retreat for Beltline office workers, featuring windows that open wide on warm days. Serving burgers, sandwiches and pizza, its house brews are the accompaniment of choice, from Oilberta Stout and Wid West Wheat Ale to Czech Pilsner. Additionally, the pub’s “rotating tap” features exclusive, experimental small-batch brews.
Last Best Brewing & Distilling Brewpub Inc
607 11th Avenue SW, Calgary AB T2R 0E1Behind its conspicuous yellow door, this beauty of a Beltline drinks-and-dining establishment serves gourmet comfort foods in sharable and entree sizes. Edibles include elk-and-pork meatballs, beer-braised clams, tourtiere and bison gruyere patty melt. House-brewed pints include mainstays such as Dirty Bird Black Lager, Last Best IPA and Olsch Kolsch B’Golsch, and a continually refreshed roll of small-batch brews.
Vagabond
1129 Olympic Way SE, Calgary AB T2G 0L4An industrial-inspired cantina in Victoria Park, Vagabond serves a Canadian craft-brew selection that leans to the West. Represented breweries include Calgary’s Tool Shed, Big Rock and Wild Rose breweries as well as Canmore’s Grizzly Paw Brewing Company. Food includes burgers, sandwiches, pizza and more.
