While in Victoria, BC during a port stop on a cruise we went on an Ale Trail excursion and the…read morefirst of three stops was Whistle Buoy. Talk about hitting out of the park with the first stop! Whistle Buoy is located in a Market Square that's a beautiful open air area surrounded by shops, boutiques, restaurants, assorted businesses, and vast tracts of land with chairs and tables. Since it's surrounded by buildings on all four sides the wind would be challenged to ruffle your hair once inside. For this stop of the Ale Trail excursion we were each allowed one glass (not a taster...a full 12oz glass) of one brew. They have roughly a dozen taps that run the typical gamut of beer styles. I immediately gravitated toward the Shaft Coffee Stout. Not my usual go-to, (I'm usually more of an IPA / Pale Ale kinda guy) but something about "Dark. Coffee. Chocolate" grabbed my attention (Here's the part where Jim has an advantage. Jim's wife doesn't drink beer, so Jim gets her selection, too, so she (ok, I) chose the Froth Hazy Pale for hers (ok, for me).) I didn't expect the highlight of the excursion to be the very first beer I had, but the Shaft Coffee Stout was quite possibly the best beer I've ever had. It was smooth and rich and had such an amazing flavor. Honestly, it was more like dessert. I'm not saying my wife's beer (ok, my 2nd) wasn't awesome, it's just that the Shaft set the bar REALLY high. ( I'm just talkin' 'bout Shaft! ) Our group sat in the outdoor, covered beer garden, the weather was slightly overcast, and we were surrounded by like-minded beer lovers (except my wife, who donates to my cause.) As we sat the Market Square was busy with life as people walked their dogs, visited businesses, and a group of elementary school kids was escorted through the square. Sometimes it's nice to sit back and watch the world go by. The restrooms (gender neutral, thank you) are small...ok, tiny. There's barely enough room to change your mind. I do have to call attention to two things, though. First, it has the tiniest sink I've ever seen. Surely this thing had to be custom made. Second, they have a Code of Conduct posted on the wall, which I genuinely appreciated. Nothing outrageous, just a focus on respect and common decency. If I were able to get Shaft Coffee Stout at home I'd never leave home (actually I would just to get more Shaft Coffee Stout). It was only a brief visit to Whistle Buoy Brewing, but if I ever found myself living in Victoria, BC, there is no doubt this is where I'd hang out.

Located in Market Square, there seems to be outdoor patio, but we came on a rainy day so we sat…read moreinside. The brewery is very casual for hang out, and offers some board games. For our flight, we chose Marketplatz German Pils, fuzzy peach sour, lemon lime fizz and the Shaft coffee stout. My favorite two were the Pils and peach sour, the stout was also solid, not a fan of the lemon lime fizz tho.

This place is a rare Gem!!! Amazing food, phenomenal…read morebeverages and outrageously awesome staff! Griffin spent time recommending food, drinks and local "must dos".

I'll start off with the positive... good beer! Had the flight and enjoyed them all. The person I…read morewas with had one of their slushy drinks from the machine and it was undrinkable. Tasted like they forgot to add any flavoring or something... just off. The posted hours on their website didn't match their actual hours, according to the server, so we had to rush out just after we were served. Not a place I'd return to.

I think I have to bump up the stars since my last beer experience here…read more On our latest trip to our northern neighbor we had another beer from Driftwood that we immensely enjoyed. That beer was the Spiff Corn Lager. It was such a refreshing beverage to have as we were ready to get out of the hot mugginess of summer. Flavor features with this delightful beer are a natural sweetness along with crispness and a clean finish. The beer is very light bodied and extremely persuasive in having you get another one.

We researched before traveling and knew we needed to stop by for a Fat Tug IPA for my partner. We…read morehad a round then a group of people who had already drank away enough of their inhibitions for the day sat down next to us: we opted to leave. As I paid the tab they were asked to leave. We opened a second tab and were so glad we did. We truly had a lovely time. The staff were thoughtful and offered great and friendly service. By dealing with an uncomfortable situation they made us feel comfortable staying for a second round. If we lived here, we'd be back! I loved the raspberry sour! So light and refreshing!

Excellent beers - especially for folks who might not love the traditional beer experience. Unique…read moresours, fun stouts, and interesting flavors make this a must-visit for beer folks in area. The have what appears to be a captured food truck, if you're look for a bite to eat. We sat at the bar and enjoyed the Ecailleur Gose (Oyster shells, citrus, chilies), Depense Saison (spent grape saison), and Jamaique Gose (hibiscus & cinnamon), and all three were delicious. My only regret is coming here after a big meal and not having enough stomach capicity to try more things. The location is in interesting neighborhood - if coming after dark, I might be a little cautious about walking around this part of town alone. Ile Sauvage is a magical little gem in an unsuspecting place, and their beer is some of the best.

My favorite brewery in all of BC! I happened on it and was amazed by the quality of sours and…read morestouts! The more usual hoppy beer is good too, but the FC + Stout was probably the best stout I'd ever had. Wonderful location and ambiance, and you can even order pizza that is supplied by the next door Pizzeria Prima Strada!

I'd give them 5 stars if they got rid of those super uncomfortable metal chairs that every brewery…read moreseems to have now. Come on, we want to hang out and drink beer, spend a bit of money on good seating. This was my first time at this brewery and as a self professed beer snob, it was great. The beertender was super friendly, they have nice charcuterie snacks, and their beer is solid. I fully enjoyed the Hail Santa - spruce tip red rye ale, the Quiet Man Stroopwafel Herfsbock, and the Tropicano sour. A great vibe and good beer, would definitely go back.

Love the vibe at Herald Street. We have really enjoyed Monday open mike night - as much as the…read morebeer. All the beers we have tried have been great. Service is always quick - even on crowded nights. I wish I could remember the name of the dark, slightly sweet beer I like here, it was a porter or a stout, and it was great - I probably drank a little more than I usually do because it was so good.

Love brew pub! They sponsor my friend's cricket team, so he likes to shop here when he can…read more We stopped by to pick up a bottle of whiskey they brew. The place wasn't too busy and the bartender poured us a sample of four different whiskeys. The #11 was my fave. A nice rye. Not too spicy. I also purchased a bottle of dark cherry infused whiskey and a 4 pack of Irish Red Ale, which was nice. They had a DJ with trivia on a Thursday night.

Moon Under Water was a brewery we got to try on a recent trip to Victoria, British Columbia…read more(Canada) and we liked their beer quite a bit! We only got one beer and it was a beer type we don't often get, a Dunkel style beer with a funny name called Creepy Uncle. The logo is fun on the bottle and it will be a name for a beer I won't soon forget. With the beer in the flavor profile you can expect to find maltiness witha hint of vanilla and nuttiness with an appropriate amount of sweetness. The beer is smooth and light bodied. It's a good one to sit down to and relax when you have that desire to unwind.

Hoyne Brewing was a brewery where I wanted to try their beer quite badly. I read good things about…read moreit and it's overall Yelp average is a good score so this was a brewery that was high on my priority list to try out on our trip to Victoria. The beer that I got didn't disappoint in the slightest. I had the Hoyne Pilsner which was so good! Very refreshing for the muggy summer day we were experiencing. Characteristics in this flavor profile are hoppy with some sweetness and a clean finish. The beer is smooth and also very light bodied which makes this a perfect summer beer to enjoy and if you can have more than one of.

I first tasted some of Hoyne Brewing's finely-crafted beers during a family stay in Victoria a few…read moreyears ago. After reading about their products before the trip, daughter and I were anxious to try them. And though we never got to the actual brewery location, we had no problem finding their brews for sale in liquor stores, and to enjoy in pubs throughout the city. Our very first tastes were via pub 'flights' of draught products, and they sure scored high on our taste tests. 'Dark Matter', a wonderfully, dark and delicious ale, became one of our trip favourite brews. I found out recently that the government liquor stores here (Vancouver & vicinity) were carrying some of their products. So when out to catch some Christmas cheer, daughter and I looked for it, and were very happy to find, and be able to catch six-packs of both 'Dark Matter', and 'Shine On' (an India Pale Ale). I was fortunate, and able to purchase the last on the shelves -- and when home, split them, so we could have tastes of each for Christmas. Dark Matter sure lived up to our memories, and Shine On was such a delightful, new taste treat. So glad these wonderful brews can now be found here -- it will definitely ensure not having such long times between tastes of Hoyne's brews from now on!!

Came here on a trip to Victoria. Tried the fish dip. It was good. Mildly smokey but light and…read moredelicious. Washed it down with a glass of beer and back on our exploration. Our service was quick and courteous with a casual ambiance. We loved the architecture of the building and the decor of various bikes.

This is a truly adorable place. We stopped in after wandering around, grabbed a drink, and we were…read moreable to hang out and chat as long as we needed. The bartender was unintrusive, but also very knowledgeable and had great recommendations. It was happy hour, so hello discount. I don't remember quite what it was, but happy hours always make me, well, happy. It was maybe a few dollars off the price (pro tip, tip your servers on the full amount!). I've seen other people say you might need reservations but we walked right in and sat at the bar, and it was actually not very populated at all. We didn't have food, but the menu looked good. Some people love Scotch Eggs (I am not one of them) and it's rare to see it on the menu. We meant to go back another day to get one, but ran out of time. If I make it back to Victoria any time soon, I'd love to have a real meal here.

I love this classic joint! It's much more than a pub, it has really delicious food and brew, great…read morestaff, and an awesome view! They also have their own little chocolate shop too. We went here on Canada Day for dinner and everything we had was so damn good. We got the chowder and the Mac n cheese and shares both. So much flavour in the chowder and tons of fish and clams. Beautifully seasoned! The Mac and cheese was superior to most resto Mac's. It had a really yummy applewood cheddar flavour. Great seasoning as well on this one. And so dang creamy! Highly highly reco. Portion size are also excellent! We also got the brownie to share and omg what a decadent homemade style brownie, had all the right flavours and with the homemade ice cream ontop, even better. What I love here is you know you're going to have a great time! I'm so happy it's still as good as it was even after so many years. I used to come here during college so it still stacks up.

This was our first stop in Victoria. Our taxi driver actually recommended this place to us. We got…read moreseated and our view was amazing. Looking out over the water. Our server came and was very friendly. Asked us if we had any questions. It was such a chill atmosphere in there people were just hanging out eating and drinking. I had a chicken burger and crispy fries. It was so juicy and flavorful. We got beer cheese as an appetizer and it was very cheesy and had great flavor!