Vancouver Magazine, January/February 2020

FUNK SOUL BROTHERS (l to r) Sean Kellock, Casey Foster and Darren Hollett made a big splash with House of Funk earlier this year.

BREWERY OF THE YEAR

We polled the city’s top beer minds, dug deep into the research (tough job, yeah yeah) and, drumroll... our list of the top breweries in Metro Vancouver features only one from Vancouver proper. by

Nathan Caddell

There are surely a number of factors for that—space, affordability and municipalities eager to attract younger residents chief among them. And there are, of course, dozens of reputable breweries from the city and elsewhere that just missed the cut. But it’s all gravy-infused goodness for Metro Vancouverites as one of the country’s finest craft beer industries continues to develop a competitive landscape that also manages to be friendly and supportive (see page 44 for some industry experts picking their favourites from other breweries). That’s worth raising a glass to. And so are our Breweries of the Year.

1 GOLD HOUSE OF FUNK BREWING CO. 350 ESPLANADE E, NORTH VANCOUVER

The biggest line (and it wasn’t close) at last June’s Craft Beer Festival at the PNE belonged to a brewery that had opened less

than a month prior.

“That was awesome,” recalls House of Funk cofounder Darren Hollett with a chuckle. “We brought a smoothie machine—that might have had something to do with it.”

Using their popular Funk Juice (a fruited sour beer) to create a smoothie sour certainly didn’t hurt.

Regulars have also been crowding the brewery’s North Van tasting room, which looks out over the Burrard Inlet.

Though the watering hole has had a few dif-

HOUSE OF FUNK: TANYA GOEHRING

Play That Funky Music

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