I gotta say, the Barley Mill Brew Pub in Penticton isn’t the sort of brewpub I usually visit. If I were a hardcore UFC fan or if I enjoyed less-than-interesting lagers and ales, then I would want to hang out at the Barley Mill all the time, swilling their brews with my eyes glued to the fights playing on their tv’s. But I’m not either of those, so if circumstances beyond my control dictate my return, I’d go with the guest taps and try and find a relatively quiet corner.

Sampler flight at the Barley Mill Brew Pub — Penticton, BC

Rob’s Picks
• Caballero Cerveza Mexican Lager – Light and well carbonated. Not so bready, more dry. Very drinkable.
• Nite Mare Brown Ale – Sweet caramel maltiness. Least light of the six – has a bit of a body, which is nice.

The Rest
• Classic Draft Lager – Lots of carbonation. Bready, light, crisp, a touch watery. Lingering breadiness.
• Cayuse Wheat Ale – Very light. Not very bready, with a touch of sweetness. Filtered. Guess I was expecting more of a hefeweizen.
• Mustang Pale Ale – Somewhat malty, somewhat floral, kinda blah.
• Red Clover and Honey – Light, kinda malty, with a touch of floral. Bit o’ honey on the finish.

So yeah, I was a bit let down that the Barley Mill wasn’t my thing, but I have since learned that a new Penticton brewpub (Bad Tattoo Brewing) will be opening in May 2014, just in time for climbing season. That’s as good a reason as any to head back, as far as I’m concerned.

The second brewery that my friend and I visited in Penticton, BC, instead of heading straight to the Skaha crags and climbing was Cannery Brewing, where we did the sampling thing and then bought more camp site and/or souvenir beer. I should be used to it by now, but it still surprises me, going from Washington to British Columbia, that production breweries north of the border can’t sell sampler flights or pints – they can fill growlers, sell bottles/cans to go, and give out free samples (about an ounce each), but that’s it. That’s why all my BC production brewery pictures are of their tap handles rather than some artfully posed (more or less) beer glass/taster tray. One thing I learned at Cannery is that it’s good to do the free samples with friends who have very specific tastes – most of the samples won’t be to their liking, and they can then surreptitiously pour the rest of their samples into yours. Just make sure one of those friends is the designated driver. Recently, I heard from some Canadians I met in a bar that breweries can apply for a lounge license or some such, and they can then sell pints and taster flights. So far, though, I have yet to visit a production brewery in BC that has done that.

Tasting room taps at Cannery Brewing — Penticton, BC

Rob’s Picks
• Pink Mountainhops Maibock – 6.5% – One of four Canadian breweries, in collaboration with the CBC, to create a beer inspired by a Canadian band, in this case the Pink Mountaintops. Piney, citrus aroma. Crisp, light, slightly creamy. Light citrus and piney hop flavors, light maltiness, to a nice lingering finish.
• Anarchist Amber – 5.5% – Named after nearby Anarchist Mountain near the Canada-U.S. border that was popular with bootleggers back in the day. Light and bubbly. Bit of biscuit and caramel maltiness and some spicy hop flavor.
• Squire Scotch Ale – 6% – Smoky aroma with a bit of banana/clove. Smoky caramel flavor mix, with a touch of banana/clove, and somewhat dry. Pretty interesting.
• Naramata Nut Brown – 5.5% – A light, subtle brown. Some caramel, some malty sweetness, somewhat dry, and fairly bubbly. Quite drinkable.
• Maple Stout – 5.5% – Little bit of maple aroma. Fairly thick on the tongue, with strong maple flavor that goes well with the stout.
• Cannery IPA – 6% – Citrus, floral aroma and flavors. Good underlying biscuit and caramel malt character, as well as decent bitterness.
• Wildfire IPA  – 6% – Limited release to benefit local firefighters. Not sure why they call it an IPA because it’s really a CDA. Anyway, sharp citrus/grapefruit aroma and flavors. Nice dark toastiness, with some caramel, too.

The Rest
• Lakeboat Lager – 5% – Named after the SS Sicamous stern wheeler beached on the south shore of Lake Okanagan. Strong banana/clove aroma. Crisp, light, and bitter, with a bit of banana/clove flavor on the finish.
• Apricot Wheat – Light banana/clove aroma. Light banana/clove flavor to apricot finish, with decent breadiness. Slight egginess.
• Paddles Up Pale – 5% – Light and bready with a touch of caramel on the finish.
• Blackberry Porter – Blackberry aroma. Pretty strong blackberry flavor, with subtle coffee notes that build up.

After the two brewery visits and setting up camp, we finally checked out the crags (first time at Skaha for both of us), and it looked awesome. Ran into some climbing friends from Seattle, as well. I’m not sure which is smaller, the climbing community or the beer geek community, but I’m glad I can bridge the two (although not at the same time…).

During a three-day climbing trip to Skaha, near Penticton, BC, my climbing friend and I visited a few local breweries to complement the outdoorsy stuff. The closest brewery to the local climbing shop, our first stop in town where we picked up the brand new edition of the Skaha guidebook, was The Tin Whistle Brewing Company (I’m linking to their Facebook page, but if you prefer Twitter, they are @TinWhistleBrew — they’re not website-enabled, for some reason). Probably should’ve hit the crags instead, but we were thirsty after the six hour drive from Seattle. Plus, we needed to pick up a few bottles for the campsite. Priorities!

Tasting station at The Tin Whistle Brewing Company — Penticton, BC

Rob’s Picks
• Peach Cream Ale – 5% – Light and crisp, with a touch of peach flavor to a bready finish. Very refreshing.
• Coyote Blonde – 5% – Slight banana/clove aroma. Light on the tongue, with plenty of carbonation. Some breadiness, with a bit of banana/clove on the finish. Not the most flavorful but pretty drinkable.
• Stag – 8% – Apple Scotch Ale. Apple, caramel aroma. Apple and caramel flavors blend nicely, with an interesting finish – sharp with a touch of a bitter twist. Least carbonated of the bunch, appropriately enough.
• Killer Bee – 6% – Dark honey ale. Coffee aroma. Light on the tongue, with a sweet honey edge to the coffee and dark chocolate flavors that play out nicely in the lingering finish.
• Chocolate Cherry Porter – Winter seasonal, with Washington cherries. Cherry flavor first, but not too strong, to a lingering dark bitter chocolate finish. Underlying dryness.
• Black Widow Mild – 5% – Light, fairly crisp with somewhat sweet coffee and dark chocolate flavors. Little bit of spiciness on the tongue, too.
• Scorpion DIPA – 8% – Floral, citrus aroma and flavors. Good malty undertones to sharp sting of a finish.

The Rest
• Kettle Valley Amber – 5% – Some biscuity maltiness with a bitter finish.

Of the four BC breweries we visited, I think Tin Whistle was my favorite. They’re still a relatively small operation but making great stuff. They do a lot of fruit beers, which I don’t usually like, but I enjoyed all of theirs, which says a lot. Gotta say, I can’t wait to return to Penticton, do some more climbing (Skaha is pretty awesome), and drink some more Tin Whistle beer.