Kootenay Tasting Tour

Quench your thirst all over the kootenays

So Much Tastiness!

A wide array of world-class breweries and wineries are waiting to be discovered amid British Columbia’s spectacular wilderness and scenery. Arrive thirsty, leave inspired.

The Producers

Backroads Brewing

Occupying a prime, central location on Baker Street, Backroads has fit in seamlessly beside the many cafes, restaurants and crystal-selling stores of downtown Nelson, the counter-culture capital of BC’s Interior. Without its name emblazoned on the tall windows, you’d have no idea there was a brewery tucked into the back of this century-old building. It’s here that Mike Kelly, formerly the long-serving brewmaster at Nelson Brewing Company up the hill, is pushing forward the Kootenay beer scene

Nelson Brewing Company

Visit the in-brewery tasting room! NBC opened in 1991 in a historic building that housed the original Nelson Brewing and Ice Company back in 1897. The modern-day operation was a pioneer microbrewery in the Kootenays, BC’s first craft operation east of the Okanagan, and played a big role in introducing craft beer to the region. In 2006, the brewery blazed another trail by going all organic, a move that reflected the healthy lifestyle choices pursued by many

Torchlight Brewing

Nelson was a one-brewery town for more than 20 years before Torchlight Brewing opened in 2014. It started as an idea that two friends, Josh and Craig, had while enjoying some craft beer on a patio in Halifax. Inspired to open their own brewery back in their home town of Nelson, the friends set out on a path that changed their lives. First, they opened a nano-brewery in June of 2014, but found demand for their beer was

Rossland Beer Company

An award-winning nano-brewery tucked away in the Southwest kootenays. While Ryan Arnaud and Petri Raito ran a local U-Brew company called Trail Brewing they realized there was great demand for craft beer in their area. So the two best friends purchased a small nanobrewery system from a brewery in North Vancouver that was expanding and opened Rossland Beer Company. Since then they were able to expand to a bigger system built for them by Specific Mechanical. It’s

Angry Hen Brewing

In the heart of Historic Kaslo, the angry Hen offers tasty beers with a spectacular view of Kootenays lake. Kaslo’s “Angry Hen” ferments her years of brewing experience with passion and outrage to bring you the finest of beers. Tradition mixed with innovation creates unique beers renowned for their solid good taste, seasonal inspirations, and queer sensibilities. Co-owner and brewer Shirley Warne has been part of British Columbia’s craft beer scene for a long time. After starting

Over Time Beer Works

Over Time was founded by Kenny Dodd, an entrepreneur who grew up in the area, moved away and then returned to Kimberley in his 30s because he felt that “No self-respecting mountain town should be without a brewery.” The brewery is based in downtown Kimberley, a mountain town themed after a Bavarian village. No visit is complete without putting a coin in the world’s largest cuckoo clock and then witnessing the emergence of Happy Hans, a yodelling,

Fisher Peak Brewing

The Heid Out serves its own craft beers produced by Fisher Peak Brewing on-site. Heidi’s Restaurant was already a popular Cranbrook establishment for years and then the Romichs chose to renovate and update the restaurant, adding a brewery to the facility in 2013. The result is a welcoming and comfortable restaurant that has a kitchen focused on seasonally produced local ingredients and serves delicious, fresh and award-winning craft beer. Fisher Peak’s Scottish Ale won Gold at the

Lions Head Pub

Not to be missed! A mandatory stop if you’re anywhere near Robson… The historical Lion’s Head focuses on quality food and beer. All the food is fresh and from scratch! The taps are reserved for BC Craft Beers. All of that in a warm and friendly traditional Tudor style pub. Situated right on the Columbia river; we have 2 outdoor patios for your enjoyment. THE BBQ SMOKER Our meats are specially prepared in our huge smoker. They

Wild North Brewing

A Bit About Them Our mission is to bring an authentic craft beer culture to our hometown of Creston, BC in a way that honors local tastes while offering a platform into a new, adventurous world of craft beer. We’re a high-spirited group of friends who love our community, friends, and family, but we still and always will enjoy the ‘Wild’ life. Wild North Brewing Co is located in beautiful Creston, BC in the heart of the

Erie Creek Brewing

Kootenay crafted been in a small town Brewery. An old adage says that every town should have its own brewery, and that was certainly one of the incentives behind opening Erie Creek Brewing. When Colin and Lynn Hango moved their family from Nelson to an acreage in Salmo, they saw the need for a community hangout, a place for people to get together and enjoy a craft beer. Colin had been home brewing for several years, so

Tailout Brewing

Founded by friends with a shared love of outdoor activities, especially fly-fishing, Tailout Brewing has a comfortable tasting room that features its stylish fish logo prominently. Indeed, the name “Tailout” refers to a shallow part of a river where fish tend to gather — in other words, a great place to cast a fly. The idea for the brewery came to some Alberta friends while they were sitting in a Banff brewery four years ago. They decided

Fernie Brewing Co.

When Fernie Brewing opened in 2003 it was based in a barn on the Pask family farm. At first, thanks to all the ski hills around Fernie, it was busier in the winter than it was in the summer, which is usually a brewery’s busiest season. Before long it was popular enough to be busy year-round, and in 2007 the brewery moved into its own purpose-built facility on the highway just outside the town centre. Since then,

Trail Beer Refinery

With a name that reflects Trail’s historic connection to mining, refining, and smelting, this brewery has a strong community focus. For the 13 local business partners who joined together to open Trail’s first craft brewery, it was an obvious choice to link its name to the city’s main industry. Trail is home to one of the world’s largest lead-zinc smelting and refining complexes, which has been a major employer in the region for more than 100 years.

Kootenay Cider Works

Farm-crafted cider the traditional way. A small, mountainside cidery located in Nelson BC. It’s a boutique cider house, if you will, making cider crafted from apples grown in the Nelson area, as well as from a small orchard in Kelowna. The founder and cidermaker, Chris Schmidt, started Tod Creek Craft Cider in Victoria, then handed those reins over in 2020 to be able to focus on starting Kootenay Cider Works. The facility is almost done… construction has been fun

Tonik Distillery

A Bit About Them… Our mission at Tonik is to create beverages that remedy life’s most common ailments. These “Miracle Cures” were passed down from our forefathers many moons ago. Following their timeless recipes, we craft drinks that taste so great they might just be delivered straight from the heavens! Click here to visit Tonik learn more And Pizza! There’s alot more on site than just Vodka. Some of the best pizza around is available to fill

Accomodations (23)
- Campground (5)
- Hotels (9)
- Motorcycle Campground (8)
- Rec Site (8)
BC Ale Trail – East Kootenays (3)
BC Ale Trail – West Kootenays (12)
Businesses (24)
- Castlegar Businesses (1)
- Cranbrook Businesses (1)
- Creston Businesses (3)
- Fernie Businesses (1)
- Invermere Businesses (1)
- Kaslo Businesses (4)
- Nakusp Businesses (2)
- Nelson Businesses (10)
- Rossland Businesses (1)
- Trail Businesses (1)
Communities (22)
Destinations (40)
Jacksons (9)
Kootenay Lake Tourism (10)
Naturehike (9)
Retail (6)
- Motorcycle shop (5)
Ride Report (5)
Routes (49)
- Gravel Routes (41)
- Paved Routes (28)
- Singletrack (1)
The Best Bits (14)
Things We've Done (95)
- Gear Reviews (17)
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- We Learnt This (3)
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Uncategorized (4)