Vancouver and the Lower Mainland have gone from zero to hero in the craft brewing realm on the super duper quick. The variety and quality that’s out there is pretty astounding when you consider where the local beer scene was at just five years ago. With so many options to choose from nowadays, competition is getting fierce (if good natured) and brewery crawls make for a solid night out. We especially like the ones that make you feel at home and provide nibbles of some sort. Here are our favourite five for your ranking consideration…

It’s a bit of tight fit at just under 500 sqft, but they pack a lot of charm in there with good cheer and some of local artist Ola Volo’s best mural work to date. The eclectic beers aren’t too shabby either, though we wish they made more of them! We especially dig their Kolsch. Pretzels and beer nuts suffice with 20oz imperial pints for the win!

This place is so clean, simple, stylish, and beautiful that you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for just about anything but a brewery. Great curation of snacks and a revolving fleet of food trucks out front provide lots of chowing options. Brunch here is especially worthwhile. Oh, and they do good beer, too. Love that hazy blonde Sunshine!

We love the woody, cozy interior of this neighbourhood anchor. It has a clubby, treehouse feel to it and genuinely friendly people working the taps. Beer selection is dizzying in its diversity, but we like their no nonsense Pale Ale and Killjoy stout (a flight of four is $8). Food is mostly a food truck affair, though killer snacks are available (eg. Oyama pepperoni sticks).

Dark, comfortable, and social, Strange Fellows has plenty of communal seating, an always convivial atmosphere, and really good beer (their Talisman WCPA is an office fave). Not many breweries come complete with their own art gallery, but that’s just how these guys roll. It’s pretty much the perfect place to sip and hang. Bonus: cheese bread.

Postmark is umbilically connected to Belgard Kitchen under the same roof, so the food and drink combo is tricky to beat, as is the interior, which is all kinds of good looking (it’s inside a 7,700 sqft heritage industrial building). Pair their classic Pilsner with the kitchen’s rock shrimp licked with lime and serrano.

Did we miss your favourite tasting room? Let us know via @scoutmagazine

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