When I hear “Okanagan”, the first thing that comes to mind is wine. On my trip there in August, I visited a lot of wineries and sampled liberally. But I also found ample time to pop into some craft breweries and bars in and around Kelowna for a taste of the Okanagan’s rapidly growing beer culture.

While making Kelowna my base for this trip, it allowed me to visit a number of breweries all within the city limits. Tree Brewing, right in downtown, is the largest craft brewer in the city with a wide distribution network. I was even able to get some of their beers when I lived in Nova Scotia. Their brewery’s taproom is a great space with multiple levels, different seating arrangements and a stack of board games. My wife and I pulled Yahtzee off of a shelf and she proceeded to take the title of Kelowna champion while I sampled a few delicious brews.

Just north of Kelowna is a tiny and relatively new operation, Boundary Brewing. Popping in here late one afternoon, there was a small crowd enjoying pints in a rustic, industrial space located in a business park. Their alt beer (#3 below) and hefeweizen (#6) were the best of this flight. In a nice Okanagan twist, they add fresh cherry juice to their sour (#7) which made for a lovely refreshing drink on a smoking hot day.

Back in downtown Kelowna, BNA Brewing has an amazing higher end restaurant/bar space. After a couple of hot days, they were sold out of some of their beers, but  that was ok by me because I got to sample their “Blood Sugar Hops Magik” ISA (leftmost glass below). This was one of the best beers of the trip.

My last brewery stop was the Kettle River Brewing taproom in an industrial area just north of downtown Kelowna. The beers were outstanding, including a milk stout and a New England white IPA (I’m not sure that’s an official style, but it’s what was on the menu and what it tasted like). Making the visit even better was a food truck parked outside offering up Korean tacos.

Not bad for a few days in the interior of British Columbia. I would have tried even more, but I had to leave some time and some of my palate for the wine after all.