Cheers, Santé!
There is a saying that ‘it takes a lot of great beer to make fine wine.’
It’s therefore only natural, being in the middle of wine country, Penticton also has a dynamic craft beer scene with eight breweries, known as the Penticton Beer Blocks, offering some unique local libations along the Penticton Ale Trail.
Penticton Ale Trail Breweries
- Abandoned Rail Brewing
- Barley Mill Brew Pub & Sports Bar
- Cannery Brewing
- Highway 97 Brewing
- Neighbourhood Brewing
- Slackwater Brewing
- Tin Whistle Brewing
- Yellow Dog Brewing (Coming Soon – Previously Bad Tattoo Brewing)
Craft Beer Festivals
Every year locals and visitors come together in Penticton to celebrate everything beer during fun-filled festivals and events. Amazing craft brews are accompanied by great food, live music and fun activities. Many locals accommodators will offer special package deals so you can spend a day or two enjoying the festivities.
- Okanagan Fest of Ale – May
- Penticton Beer Week – October
- Penticton Beer Run – October
Local’s Craft Beer Tips
Be on the lookout for limited, seasonal releases like peach ales or cherry sours.
Have a bite to eat. Not only will this help to soak up the alcohol, but our craft breweries offer some delicious food, often paired with a select beer.
If you’re unsure of which beer you’d like or just want to try a few, opt for a flight, which will typically include 3 or 4 small servings (4-7oz).
Join a local Growler Club to receive access to limited release beers and more.
Visitors at select Penticton parks and beaches can consume alcoholic beverages outdoors in designation locations along the Okanagan and Skaha lakefronts from 12pm to 9pm year-round. Please remember to drink responsibly and ensure no litter is left behind.
Know Your Craft Beer
While there are many beer styles, watch for a couple of these as you hop (pun intended), from brewery to brewery in Penticton:
Lager: Conditioned at low temperatures lagers can be pale, amber, or dark, but are usual clear rather than cloudy. Lagers are typically clean and crisp tasting and easy drinking on those hot Summer days.
Ale: Brewed using a warm fermentation method ales offer a much greater variety of flavour profiles. They tend to be fruitier with a deeper, richer taste.
IPA: India Pale Ale is a hoppy beer style within the broader category of pale ale. IPAs come in a range of styles, and aren’t necessarily bitter, as some assume, fruity flavors can also come from the hops.
Stout: A dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry, oatmeal, milk and imperial. Stouts primarily use unmalted roasted barley which gives them their signature coffee-like flavor.
Porter: Porter is the great-grandpa of today’s stout. Made with dark malted barley, a good amount of hops, and top-fermenting ale yeasts, it’s usually a dark medium-bodied beer with a nice balance of malty sweetness and bitter hoppiness.
Wheat Beer: Usually top-fermented, and brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are Weißbier, based on the German tradition, and Witbier, based on the Belgian tradition.
Hefeweizen: A type of Weißbier “white beer.” Hefeweizen itself translates to “yeast wheat” in German. Made up of >50% wheat, Weißbier is characterized by a strong presence of banana and clove, even vanilla or bubblegum, in the aroma and flavor.
Saison: French for “season,” this is a pale ale that is highly carbonated, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned.
Find a list of craft breweries, as well as cideries and distilleries here.
