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When you turn the corner in Vancouver, anywhere in Vancouver, you are bound to stumble across a brewery that has opened in the past few years. While this is a reality in many areas there are also regions that you will not likely stumble across unless you are on the search for a specific craft brewery. The Big Rock Urban Brewery is just such a location.

The Big Rock Beer namesake may have a thick connotation with the home of the Calgary Flames but there is a Canuck Supporting, Kale Eating, Vancouver offshoot that you should be planning to visit. The Big Rock Urban Brewery opened in Vancouver in April of 2015, just a few blocks from Olympic Village. Located at (suitingly) Alberta St. and West 4th, the brewery is extremely accessible yet tucked away slightly out of sight.

When you step into the Big Rock Urban brewery you have two options. If you take the door to your right you will enter the tasting room and growler filling area. A combination of taps, a small seating area and fridges filled with packaged product is awaiting your arrival. The door to the left leads to the restaurant space. The Big Rock Urban Brewery has space for nearly 200 people and a menu that combines beer pairings, local ingredients and a diverse range of local and internationally inspired flavours.

At the back of the restaurant is the lounge area where floor to ceiling windows give a glimpse into the heart of the machine. The shiny and new Newlands brewhouse is clearly visible from the lounge where, if you are lucky, you can see brewmaster Jody Hammell brewing up his next concoction, or view the journey the beer takes from the tanks into bottles and kegs.

The brewery restaurant opened with the full line of Alberta brewed beers available for purchase and consumption. Shortly thereafter the Hollow Tree, a Red Ale was released and followed by the Citradellic Single Hopped IPA. The BC brewed beers are now rolling out and offer a unique and bigger flavour profile than the brewery’s brother to the East in Calgary typically delivers. BC beer drinkers tend to love big flavours and unique twists on classic brews and Jody is here to deliver.

The Big Rock Urban Brewery is easier to access than you may think and the beers are turning a new leaf for a classic Canadian brand. Tradition goes a long way but here a fresh, BC twist on the Big Rock name is tuning more to the waves of BC’s craft beer connoisseurs. Fresh beer along with the large restaurant and inspired menu make the slightly hidden location a diamond in the rough. There may not be a line at the door when you arrive but when you tell your friends and they tell their friends the room is likely to be filling up soon.

Check out the brewery for yourself. Bring a growler and your appetite then enjoy the beautiful view of a shiny new BC craft brewery! In the meantime see what is new at bigrockurban.com