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It Takes a Village to Brew Epic Beer- The Village Brewery, Calgary

You are here: Home / Places / Canada / It Takes a Village to Brew Epic Beer- The Village Brewery, Calgary

January 30, 2016 //  by Tracey//  17 Comments

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Last updated on February 22nd, 2016 at 10:03 pm

One of the challenges, as we’ve traveled, has been finding full-bodied tasty beer. Rob always likes to sample local favorites the places we visit and most times the beer is good but not great. That being said most of the countries we’ve spent time in weren’t known for great ales. Most offered bland lagers at best.

When we arrived back in home in Calgary for the holidays, we approached the tourism board, Visit Calgary to look for activities to help us play tourists in our hometown. One of those recommended activities was a beer tour with the Village Brewery.

beer tour calgary

The Village Brewery began with aspirations to create community-based ales and lagers. The founders wanted to brew excellent beers and support Calgary artists and craftspeople in the process.

The Village consists of an eclectic mix of professional brewers and the creative influence of Calgary Artists. They all believe some of the best things happen over beers and they do their best to create brilliant beers for their deserving friends and neighbors. It takes a village to do anything worthwhile, right?

beer tours in calgary

We booked our tour on a chilly Saturday and have been delightfully enjoying their brews ever since. A truly authentic Calgary experience we wish we had taken a tour with them when we’d lived in the city!

Village Brewery is a recognizable Calgary brand, we had seen their beer trucks around town over the years when lived in the city. We’d even probably enjoyed a few of their tasty beers, but that was long ago.

Beer stores often look like this in Calgary-

beer tours in calgary
Photo by Paul Joseph via Flickr

Being confronted with such a large selection can make it hard to remember the ones you’ve tried that are really good. The tour was a great way to refresh our memories!

Outside the brewery, the air was still and chilly, the sky was gray, and the streets were darn near deserted. Once inside a friendly Village staffer, Kaila welcomed us. She gave a run-down of what to expect on the tour. Inside it was bright and the atmosphere was warm and lively.

There was a large group participating in the tour, a boisterous bunch for a birthday celebration, a quiet group of three, and Rob and I. You could tell right away that it was going to be a fun couple of hours!

beer tours in calgary

We were directed upstairs to the tasting room and introduced to our guides Jeremy and Sam, two very knowledgeable and personable guys. The tasting began immediately and the spirit of the more the merrier was alive and well throughout our tour. Everyone, even the quiet group of three laughed joked and participated, not as much as the rowdy birthday bunch, but everyone had a great time.

How could you not enjoy yourself, really? We got to taste so many delicious beers!

beer tours in calgary

The tour kicked off with a generous pint of our choosing. I had a Village Blonde Golden Ale and Rob had a Village Blacksmith.

beer tours in calgary

Then we dove into the tasting. We had the opportunity to sample six of the current brews, and we were treated to two more purchased by the birthday group!

We were introduced to all of the most important “Villagers”:

The Village Monk– A Chai winter porter borne of chocolate and caramel malts.

The Village Maiden– An India session ale with crisp citrus and fragrant hops.

The Village Wit– A white wheat ale unfiltered in the Belgian tradition.

The Village Blacksmith– An Alberta black ale with Alberta two-row barley roasted to a black malt and infused with bitter hops.

The Village Gardener– A community involved ale containing hops grown in local community gardens and 100% locally malted barley and wheat.

The Village Woodsman– A Northern red ale whose bounty includes a fresh pine fragrance and a warm nutty flavor.

The Village Blonde– A natural golden ale whose golden glow comes from fine Alberta two-row barley.

And the Holy Grale– A deliciously caramelly amber ale.

They were all so good!

After the tasting, we were escorted to the brewing and bottling area, the place where the magic happens.

beer tours in calgary

We had the opportunity to check out all aspects of the brewing process. Our witty, passionate tour guides explained the processes and answered any questions we had.

beer tours in CalgaryThe coolest things about the Village Brewery are their steadfast commitment to supporting the arts in Calgary and their focus on getting “better” not bigger. They source ingredients like malted barley, wheat, and  hops all locally. The brewing focus is on quality local ingredients and that really comes through when you taste their beers.

Village sponsors local events and sells local art in its brewery store. They even give 10% of their bottom line back to the city to support the arts and community in Calgary. We had a great time on our tour- it’s impossible not to love this little brewery and their tasty beers, seriously!

The tour and tasting are a great deal at $15 CAD. It’s about an hour or two long and includes a full pint (you get to keep your custom Village Brewery pint glass) and healthy size samples of their current beers. An authentic Calgary experience, we definitely recommend stopping in for a tour or a tasting.

Related posts:

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Category: Canada, Reviews, TravelTag: Alberta, Calgary, Calgary brewers, The Village Brewery, Visit Calgary

About Tracey

Hello. I am glad you're here! I'm Tracey, a freelance writer who sold everything to travel the world with my Husband and our young Son. We live with less, believing travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. I love to write and share our experiences to inspire others to travel more and live the life they dream.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michael

    January 6, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    Hi Tracey!

    Wow! I enjoy reading your post. Its exciting, you can enjoy the tour and taste different kinds of beer. What I love about it is It also help the local people in the area. I will definitely visit Village Brewery! What is your favorite flavored beer in the tour?

    Reply
  2. Anna @ shenANNAgans

    February 7, 2016 at 8:56 pm

    The Village Monk sounds interesting! We did a big beer tour in my home town recently as research for a beer degustation dinner, kinda cool we got paid to drink beer. Lol! Love a good brew tour. Great post! 😀

    Reply
  3. Mags

    February 7, 2016 at 7:46 pm

    I love brewery tours! So much fun… and so many samples. I’ve never been to Calgary, but I may have to add Village Brewery to my list. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Karla (Karla Around The World)

    February 7, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    Wow, there’s so many beers to choose from. I would really be confused on which to buy among all those brands.

    Reply
  5. Natasha Amar

    February 7, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    I’ve only done a brewery tour once (in Barcelona) and I really enjoyed it. The Village Monk sounds right up my alley!

    Reply
    • Tracey

      February 7, 2016 at 3:31 pm

      I find food and drink tours to be such a great way to learn about the culture and the best things to see and do in a destination.

      Reply
  6. Kathrin

    February 7, 2016 at 4:23 am

    As a German, I have to say there is nothing better than a good beer on a nice sunny day. Would like to try the beers they have in Calgary. There are so many to choose from!

    Reply
    • Tracey

      February 7, 2016 at 11:18 am

      We plan to make it to Germany this year Kathrin. Beer tasting is on our list to do when we visit Berlin.

      Reply
  7. noel

    February 6, 2016 at 4:12 pm

    Looks like a really fun tour and affordable too! Wow, that selection of beer from a store is quite impressive, I’m ready to go visit now!

    Reply
  8. Hugo

    February 6, 2016 at 3:50 pm

    Omg so many! I really like beer and tasting different ones. Definitely on my list of things to do in Canada.

    Reply
    • Tracey

      February 6, 2016 at 5:33 pm

      Worth the trip Hugo!

      Reply
  9. Lotte

    February 6, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    Haha the moment I read the title of this post I already knew I was going to like it and now that I am at the end I can say I really did:-) I visited a tiny beer brewery in Wanaka, New Zealand and found the whole brewing process so interesting! And off course the tasting is pretty nice as well:-)

    Reply
    • Tracey

      February 6, 2016 at 5:34 pm

      What’s not to love about great beer Lotte, haha! Glad you liked the story:)

      Reply
  10. Christopher

    February 6, 2016 at 10:20 am

    Very cool post. Reminds me a little of my time in Amsterdam at the Heineken Experience. When I come out to Calgary I will definitely pass by here…
    http://www.thegoldencompass.ca/amsterdam/

    Reply
    • Tracey

      February 6, 2016 at 5:35 pm

      Amsterdam is on our list! Beer tasting there will be amazing too I’m sure.

      Reply
  11. sabrina

    February 6, 2016 at 1:34 am

    I must favourite this post!! I love beer and the village looks like the very perfect trip for me! As firts I would try the Village gardener… and all the others next! Thank you for sharing this!

    Reply
    • Tracey

      February 6, 2016 at 5:37 pm

      The Village Gardener was so good! Super refreshing, perfect for a hot summers day on a patio or anytime really, haha!!

      Reply

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