We only spent a night (and part of a morning) in Vancouver, B.C., not enough time to find out if and where any breweries existed there. At least, not until we ate at a restaurant and I found the Granville Island Brewery on the menu. (Incidentally, the restaurant was Joe Fortes and it was really good.)

I had two of Granville’s beers: the Maple Cream Ale and the Pale Ale. The Maple Cream Ale was really quite extraordinary, possibly the best cream ale I’ve had; not a trace of bitterness to it, hop or otherwise—even my wife liked it (and she absolutely hates beers… except for fruit lambics). The maple was understated but the beer overall was creamy and rich and smooth and just a pleasure to drink.

The Pale Ale, on the other hand, was unremarkable, "just another" pale ale. Not bad by any means, it was a good example of the style, but after the Maple Cream Ale it was just business as usual. It’s too bad we never got a chance to visit the brewery itself; I would have enjoyed tasting their various brews.

Maybe next time we’re in Vancouver…