Squamish’s breweries: what each pours and how to do them without driving

Squamish has more breweries than a town of its size strictly needs, and nobody here is complaining. Five of them pour beer brewed on site right now, from the 1996 original on Cleveland Avenue to a farm brewery in Brackendale with Highland cattle for neighbours. Here’s what each one is known for, going by what the breweries themselves publish, and how to string them together without anyone drawing the short straw and driving.

Howe Sound Brewing: the original

Howe Sound Brewing calls itself Squamish’s original craft brewery, and the dates back it up: it has been pouring on Cleveland Avenue since 1996. It’s a brewery, a brewpub and an inn under one roof, which makes it the easiest stop on this list if the plan involves staying over. The brewpub says it has room for families and kids, frames the Stawamus Chief in its windows, and lets dogs on the upper patio from spring through fall, weather permitting. Hours run from 11:30 a.m. daily, to 9 p.m. Sundays, 10 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and 11 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. The brewpub page has the menu and reservations.

House of Lager: one style, done properly

House of Lager brews lager and only lager, which in a craft scene built on IPAs is its own kind of opinion. Founders Darren Hollett and Stuart Ballard started it in 2020 as a side project of their House of Funk brewery before it became a destination in its own right. It sits on the downtown waterfront next to Sp’akw’us Feather Park, per Tourism Squamish, and it’s a full restaurant: an in-house smoker and wood-fired grill, ribs, seafood and sandwiches, and a kids’ section on the menu. It opens at noon daily and closes at 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It takes reservations online.

A-Frame Brewing: cabin energy in the business park

A-Frame opened in 2016 and leans hard into what it calls cabin vibes, which is a feat for a unit on Queens Way. It won gold for its Arctic Lake Dark Lager at the 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards. Seating is first come, first served. Kids and minors are welcome with a parent or guardian, well-behaved dogs are welcome on the patio, and outside food is fine, per its FAQ. The brewery says it aims to always have a food truck parked out front and names Flipside Burgers as its resident truck. Taproom hours aren’t posted on its site, so check its socials before making it the anchor of the day.

Backcountry Brewing: the pizza stop

A 10-minute walk up the road, Backcountry opened in 2017 and took Rookie of the Year at that year’s BC Beer Awards. The tasting room is done up as a 1970s cabin with a covered patio and 20 taps, and the kitchen turns out rotating pizzas on house-made dough using organic Canadian flour, plus salads and snacks. Its tasting room page lists noon to 10 p.m. every day. Beer names lean on pop culture, and the core lineup is Widowmaker IPA, Trailbreaker Pale Ale and Ridgerunner Pilsner. Its site doesn’t publish a kids or dog policy, so ask at the door.

Hop Creek Brewing: the farm one

North in Brackendale, Hop Creek brews on a working farm at 41060 Government Road, and that’s the whole pitch: mini woolly donkeys, goats, Highland cattle and pigs, a heated patio and fire pits. Beer comes from a bar trailer and food from a farm-to-table trailer with a kids’ menu. It’s the most openly family-friendly stop on the list, with kids’ meals and a farm scavenger hunt, and dogs are welcome on a leash. The bar and food trailers open Thursday to Monday from 11:30 a.m., with food served until 8 p.m., per its visit page.

Doing it without a driver

The downtown pair are close: House of Lager to Howe Sound Brewing is about 1.6 km on foot, roughly 20 minutes. From Howe Sound north to A-Frame is the long leg, about 2.9 km or 40 minutes on foot, and A-Frame to Backcountry is under 1 km, about 11 minutes. Hop Creek is the outlier at about 3.6 km (close to 50 minutes) on foot from Backcountry. Those figures come from OpenStreetMap walking routes between the breweries’ mapped locations, so treat them as estimates.

The bus is the other option. Squamish Transit runs five routes, including Route 1 to Brackendale. A single ride is $2.50 and a DayPASS is $5, and children 12 and under ride free, per BC Transit. Check the trip planner for evening service before counting on a ride home; the schedules are posted there, not here.

The short version

• Bringing kids: Hop Creek, then House of Lager or Howe Sound Brewing.
• Bringing the dog: Hop Creek (on leash), A-Frame’s patio, or Howe Sound’s upper patio in season.
• Want dinner with it: House of Lager’s grill or Backcountry’s pizza.
• Want a pint with a view of the Chief: Howe Sound Brewing.

Cider, gin and tap houses are another story. Cliffside Cider, Raincity Distillery and The Backyard tap house all sit on BC Ale Trail’s Sea to Sky route. Brewery hours change with the seasons, so a quick check before heading out saves a cold walk.

Sources (16)

1. Howe Sound Brewing: Howe Sound Brewing: since 1996, 'Squamish's original craft brewery', inn, Squamish hours
2. Howe Sound Brewing: Brewpub: room for families and kids, Chief views, dog-friendly upper patio spring to fall
3. House of Lager Brewing Company: House of Lager: lager-only, founded 2020 by Darren Hollett and Stuart Ballard from House of Funk, smoker and wood-fired grill, hours, reservations
4. House of Lager Brewing Company: House of Lager menu including kids' section
5. Tourism Squamish: House of Lager location next to Sp'akw'us Feather Park; Squamish Craft Tasting Trail list
6. A-FRAME Brewing Co.: A-Frame: founded 2016, 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards gold (Arctic Lake Dark Lager), address
7. A-FRAME Brewing Co.: A-Frame FAQ: first come first served, dogs on patio, kids with guardian, outside food welcome
8. A-FRAME Brewing Co.: A-Frame: food truck plan, Flipside Burgers named, family friendly
9. Backcountry Brewing: Backcountry: tasting room hours, 70s cabin room, 20 taps, pizza dough with organic Canadian flour
10. Backcountry Brewing: Backcountry: founded 2017, 2017 BC Beer Awards Rookie of the Year, core beers
11. Hop Creek Farms: Hop Creek: farm brewery, animals, kid and dog policies, bar and food trailers
12. Hop Creek Farms: Hop Creek: address, bar and food trailer hours
13. FOSSGIS routing.openstreetmap.de: Walking distances between brewery coordinates (OSRM foot profile on OpenStreetMap data)
14. BC Transit: Squamish Transit routes (1 Brackendale, 2 Highlands, 3 Valleycliffe, 4 Garibaldi, 9 University)
15. BC Transit: Fares: $2.50 single ride, $5 DayPASS, free for children 12 and under
16. BC Ale Trail: Sea to Sky Ale Trail list (Cliffside Cider, Raincity Distillery, The Backyard)

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