Sneak Peek Inside Strathcona’s New Superflux Beer Company (Launching This Weekend)

As noted in The Tip Out yesterday, Strathcona is on the very verge of welcoming the highly anticipated Superflux Beer Company to the neighbourhood…

Owners Adam Henderson and Matt Kohlen tell me the opening is going to happen in two stages. First, the retail component will launch this weekend on Saturday, August 15th (daily from 12pm to 8pm). Here at the point of sale, a tilt of the head will afford all the beer and merch-buying customers and lookie-lous a view of what’s coming next month: a very slick-looking tasting room that will launch before the end of September.

This has been a project that I’ve been really looking forward to since my first sips of their beer, which had been brewed nearby at Callister back in 2o15, which is to say years before they secured this address — 505 Clark Drive, one block south of East Hastings. (Like many, I’m also as big fan of their excellent branding, which was the focus of a short 2017 Scout feature written by Thalia Stopa). So ever since I learned (pre-Covid) that they were going to be landing within a stone’s throw of my house I’ve watched the space with an eagle eye (by rerouting my dog walks).

Adam Henderson and Matt Kohlen | Photo: Carlo Ricci

While slinking by with eyeballs set to pry yesterday lunchtime I was busted by one of the construction guys, who kindly invited me (and my dog) in for a quick tour. As you can see from the cell snaps above and below, it’s a pretty unique set up for a tasting room with its wavy banquette and curvaceous hightops opposite a long bar, all of it dwarfed by the brewing operation under warehouse-height ceilings.

Anticipation of good beer sipped in a swell-looking spot aside, I was excited to see Corduroy Pie Co. chef/owner Graham Marceau toiling away in the kitchen. He told me he’s been brought in to help develop the tasting room’s food menu, with the focus being a line-up of specialty hotdogs. He seemed pretty stoked about it, and now I am too. (If you want an advance taste, they’ll be selling ’em for takeout only starting this weekend.)

If you live in the area or are a fan of craft beer, do them a solid and help them get their lounge license by emailing the relevant government nabob in Victoria with some words of support. That’s the General Manager, c/o Senior Licensing Analyst, Liquor and Cannabis Registration Branch — [email protected].

Now take a sneak peek inside…

  • IMG_0138
  • IMG_1915
  • IMG_1917
  • IMG_3076
  • IMG_4556 2
  • IMG_6157
  • IMG_6167
  • IMG_6577
  • IMG_6884
  • IMG_7275

There are 0 comments

Picking Grapes with Ryan Mellor

One look at the extensive Gotham wine list - broken down by region, sub-region, appellation, varietal, rating and more - left us with no doubts that the restaurant's Wine Director was the perfect person to field our Picking Grapes questions...

Picking Grapes with Ashwan Luckheenarain

This time around we hear from the Restaurant Manager and Wine Buyer at Main Street's beloved Spanish tapas spot, ¿CóMO? Tapería...

Picking Grapes with Kurtis Kolt

Clearly, the love for local wine is strong with Vancouver-based wine consultant, writer and co-founder of Top Drop Vancouver and Pleasant Pairings.

Picking Grapes with Liam “Li” Johnstone

In this edition, we get the local wine lowdown from the artist, wine-lover, and Bar Programmer/Manager at New West's Moodswing Bar.