East Vancouver Brewery Taps - part 3 (Strathcona Beer Co)

After visiting Storm Brewing Ltd (blog part 1) and Callister Brewing Co (blog part 2), the third East Vancouver brewery tap visited on Saturday 1 October, 2016 was Strathcona Beer Co, at 895 East Hastings Street, about half a mile west of Callister.

On leaving Callister Brewing Co, the view west along Franklin Street towards downtown Vancouver includes examples of iron gating and there are colourful East Village flags hanging from lampposts.

Just before eaching the junction where Strathcona Beer Co is located, a mural can be seen on Campbell Avenue, on the other side of East Hastings Street.

Opposite the side of Strathcona Beer Co, also on Campbell Avenue, a large colourful planter and a new bench with an integral planter have been installed to add further colour.

The Strathcona Beer Co building stands out in white with red neon signage and is easy to spot from a distance! The front low part of the building is the lounge / tap room while the higher back part of the building houses the brewery equipment.

The daylight was fading and inside the lounge / tap room was only dimly lit. Surfaces are hard with a polished concrete floor, low internal walls and table supports also formed from concrete. 

The neon theme continues inside. The brewery is situated about half a mile north of Strathcona Park and Strathcona is recognised as British Columbia's oldest residential neighbourhood, dating back to the arrival of the transcontinental railway.

Vertical neon / flourescent lights front the concrete uprights, bridged by tall windows, that separate the back of the bar from the brewery behind. When the lights are on in the brewery, the tall stainless steel brewing vessels can be seen.

Beer menus are placed on all the tables. On my visit, a lounge licence had not yet been granted and with a tasting licence pints were not available making the alternative of a beer flight the obvious choice. For Can$8.93 my choice of four glasses was Saison (5.8% ABV, 29 IBU), India Session Ale (4%, 60), North West Pale Ale (5.1%, 55) using New World hops including Phoenix, Cascade and New Zealand Wakatu and Strathcona British IPA (6%, 60) 'inspired by British Old World ales and Brewmaster traditions'.

These were presented by Jadynn on a stylish wooden paddle inspired by 1970s skateboard decks.

Jadynn kindly posed for a photo with the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine Ullage. I had brought a few copies along on my trip to give away to anyone interested in beer and brewing. Perhaps this copy might even reach Michael 'Fezz' Nazarec, Brewmaster and co-founder of Strathcona Beer Co..

The brewery opened in July 2015. On Twitter, a tweet from @stratchconabeer on 18 November, 2016, mentions 'Lounge License Done' with the A-board outside now chalked to read 'Proudly pouring pints since Nov 17 !!!!'. It seems licensing laws in British Columbia can take a while to sort out.
Pizzas are served here but it was late afternoon and I was not yet tempted to eat. A good selection of music was playing at a good volume and tracks included Jonathan Richman's 'Roadrunner' and David Bowie's 'Heroes'.
After drinking my four beers, of which North West Pale Ale was my favourite, it was time to leave. Conveniently, there is a bus stop and shelter just outside and from here I caught the 16 bus as far as downtown Vancouver.

Strathcona Beer Co
895 East Hastings Street,
Vancouver,
B.C., Canada


www.strathconabeer.com

'We value social development, individual creativity and encourage positive and meaningful contributions to our community.'