Canada

Beer writer and critic Stephen Beaumont, co-author of the World Atlas of Beer and a Toronto native, names five Canadian breweries that beer lovers everywhere ought to know, now.

From our Love Handles files on beer bars we love: In Halifax, Nova Scotia, Stillwell is a pioneering bluenose beer bar with cask, craft, and unusual grub.

From our Love Handles files on beer bars we love: This long-running nerve center of British Columbian craft remains a house of hospitality dedicated to lesser-known breweries.

From our Love Handles files on beer bars we love: In the capital of Alberta, a broad and rotating selection of local and North American craft beers are just the thing to go with square-shaped, thin-crust, hot-chicken pizzas.

From our Love Handles files on beer bars we love: At Bar Hop, find one of Ontario’s top beer selections in an inviting atmosphere.

Three years after opening in Calgary, The Establishment has ridden its mixed-culture creations to the height of respect in Canada’s beer scene—winning medals, winning fans, and running out of room.

Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery is a reflection of founder-brewer Luc Lafontaine’s life and obsessions, from reverently brewed traditional lagers to IPAs and goses that showcase unusual Japanese ingredients.

Alberta, Canada, is an undersung hotbed of independent brewing. One of the best places to taste what the province has to offer has locations in Lacombe and Red Deer—a homey restaurant that takes locally grown beer as seriously as locally grown ingredients.

We all know how profoundly the types of malt we use can change what we brew. Less obvious is how independent brewing is changing how barley itself is being grown—leading, eventually, to exciting new options for brewers.