The craft beer scene in Vancouver over the last year has been an exciting ride, with more and more breweries opening up or planning to open soon. It’s like the first part of a rollercoaster ride, where it’s all ascension and you don’t know when you’ll hit the peak.

I hate to say this, but I’m sorta taking a pass on this year’s Vancouver Craft Beer Week because there’s so much to do already! How things have changed over the last couple years!

Main Street Brewing Company just opened on May 29, so I went to check out their first weekend of operation. Some kinks to be expected but I see big things from these guys.

Main Street Brewing are on 7th Ave, just east of Main St. — just look for the big yellowish building. It’s only a couple blocks away from Brassneck! A beer crawl with 33 Acres, Brassneck and MSB makes for a fun boozy afternoon.

Dog waiting patiently while owners getting day-drunk.

Yup.

Today’s beers, available for growler fills. Main Street Pilsner has been around for a while, always available at Portland Craft.

FOUR casks! I expect some interesting experiments in the future.

Meat snack heaven.

Chips too.

Nice menu of more substanial food. I already ate waffles at 33 Acres beforehand, so I’ll have to come back to try the chili bowl…and sausage roll…and giant hotdog. How giant? I wanna know…not length, but girth.

They sold out of Potato & Corn Stew while we were there.

I love a good dill.

Sessional IPA. Great hop aroma. Carbonation spot-on. I got a growler of this for closer study at home 😉 At 4.8%, it’s less than most craft pale ales.

Pilsner. It’s the prototypical clear easy drinkin’ pilsner. My top BC pilsner is still Moon Under Water’s Potts Pils though, but this one’s brewed to be an easy crowd pleaser…a gateway craft beer, if you will…

Ancho Chili Peanuts – $4. Just spicy enough to make you drink more.

Arctic Meats Beef Jerky – $7. Really tasty, good balance of beefy flavour and just enough seasoning. It’s a good chew.

Cask #3 – Kellerbier. Staff said it was their pilsner that was dry-hopped… ???

Unsafe snacking.

Two Rivers Spicy Pepperoni Stick – $3, poached in Sessional IPA. Fruity, spicy, oily.

But seriously, the spicy pepperoni was impressively spicy and not too salty. I could wolf down many of those.

Cameron. You might’ve seen him at his other business, Portland Craft. Today he was busy clearing tables, chatting with familiar faces, and cleaning up spilled beer and broken glass. Sometimes you gotta be hands-on.

One more round: Cask #1 (Brown Ale dry-hopped with Cascade), Cask #2 (Aussie Bitter with Topaz), Cask #4 (Belgian Tripel).

I quite liked the Brown Ale. It’s an underappreciated style that actually works with lots of different food. Would be great with that chili or stew. It was maybe a bit too sunny that day to drink a brown ale, but screw it!

The Aussie Bitter is my idea of an aussie take on a British session cask ale. Easy to slam back but with enough flavour to keep things interesting. Laidback kinda beer.

The Belgian Tripel tasted great on the initial sip but finishes kinda weak and watery. I can’t believe it’s an 8.5% beer. The alcohol is well hidden. It’s almost like a sessionable tripel! Failed as a true Belgian tripel, but interesting in it’s own way. It’s got the Begian yeastiness and sweetness, so it’s worth a try, if only to see a snapshot of the birth of a new brewery destined for great things.

The most up-close and personal brewery and tasting room setup in the city.

I absolutely love the bright, airy space. And they’ve also thought out the washroom situation too 😛

Love it love it love it.

None of us could figure out what these holes in the table were for. Do YOU know?

Growler fills are actually in a space NEXT DOOR to the tasting room.

You can also get meat snacks to go.

Their growlers. Cute/naughty leather leashes for your growler too.

Swag.

Repurposed malt bags.

Glasses.

Oh yeah, some of their beers have Aussie hop varieties not seen so much around here before.

More swag.

Chris Bjerrisgaard is right. The craft beer scene here feels like the Wild, Wild West…it’s all so new and exciting, and we’re all forging ahead in spite of our tired, outdated legislation. I’m so happy to see Main Street Brewing finally opening its doors.