Six people on a brewery crawl on Boxing Day and you just know it was a fun day!
This was not sponsored. Just six friends having a great time. We stumbled upon the Shipyards Brewery District Boxing Day Crawl event and we were intrigued. The concept is simple: the ticket was $3 each, and you received $3 off your first drink (or first beer flight) at each of the 9 participating establishments. So, a $3 investment for a potential $27 saving? Why not?! And it’s the perfect day to go out for some holiday cheers, avoiding the crowds at shopping malls and all.
The event ran from 12pm-7pm, and we only made it to 7 locations. But a few of those were new to usāit’s amazing to see how much the area has expanded because I still remember when it used to be just North Point, House of Funk, and Beere in that stretch of the industrial district. Now there are nine!
And the day pretty much reminded me and Mr. of our time brewery-hopping along the Bermondsey Beer Mile in London. As always, we were able to find something we liked at each location, and right now, I’m still gravitated towards mostly sours and stouts. Here is the list of what I liked from what we tried:
- Beere Brewing: Pinky Tuscadero
- Braggot Brewing: Amber Stone, Sunset Orange
- Copperpenny Distillery: Copperlady Sour, We Are Not That Oldā¦Fashioned
- House of Funk Brewing: Crispy Cuke Gose, Ryeson
- La Cerveceria Astilleros: Salted Lime Lager, Strawberry Kiwi Sour
- Shaketown Brewing: Plum Dubbel, Spruce Tip IPA
- Streetcar Brewing: Guava Gose
Brewery Crawl Tips
There will be a Shipyards Brewery District Family Day Crawl 2025 and the event is running longer from 12pm to 9pm. Here are a few tips for you if you are thinking about going:
- How many tickets do you need? The six of us bought six tickets to the Boxing Day event, but each couple shared a flight of beer at each brewery (with the exception of Copperpenny where we each ordered a cocktail) so really, we only needed three tickets. $9 is not a lot of money, but that also makes room for three more people who can buy a ticket and enjoy the savings.
- How do you get there? If you plan on hitting up all nine spots, or close to all of them, it’s a lot to drink in several hours. Don’t drink and drive. We took the SkyTrain then Seabus over to the North Shore, and it’s a short 15-minute walk from The Quay to the further stop on the crawl (from that direction), which was Braggot Brewing. Then we worked our way back towards The Quay, and took the Seabus back after the crawl. So easy!
- Where are you eating? Yes, this is an important question. At least to me haha! We actually got to North Vancouver earlier than the start time of the event, and grabbed brunch at Tap and Barrel first. Their brunch menu was affordable and of good portion size. Each establishment would have snack and food on offer as well, so make sure to always keep some food in your system. And you should definitely plan a food stop at Cream Pony (or simply order from Streetcar while getting your beer) for their fried chicken and donuts.
- When are they open? While the official event ran 12pm-7pm for us, not every establishment was open at 12pm (even Braggot, which was supposed to open at 12pm, was late to open their doors). So make sure to check the hours and plan your route accordingly, and be flexible if they’re running late or if the space was too crowded.
And just HAVE FUN! It’s a great way to explore that area and discover new breweries/cidery/distillery and their products. A brewery dedicated to using the braggot method by fermenting honey and grains? A distillery with killer interior that won awards with a gin infused with actual oyster shells? A brewery that brews beer AND coffee? And establishments that just have good vibes and good drinks? If you are checking out the Family Day Crawl, let me know how it goes!
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