Alberta’s craft beer and distillery scene booms with new micro-breweries and distilleries opening on a regular basis. Sipping trails are found in rural and urban areas with maps and tours offered throughout the province.

Events and openings worth toasting:

• In sixyears, the number Alberta’s craft breweries and small brewpubs (defined as brewers producing less than 5,000 hecto litres per year or 500,000 litres) has grown exponentially, from 14 to 135. This number continues to rise and is expected to double by 2021. The province’s liquor runs plentiful in 2019 in the form of artisan vodka, gin, whisky and rye. With 32 craft distilleries and counting, Alberta is raising the bar (literally).

• Themed breweries are popping up, including the newest on the block, Eighty-Eight Brewing Co., themed after the ‘88 Winter Olympics; Revival Brewcade, Canada’s first craft brewery arcade and the eclectic; Cabin Brewing Co. billed as a getaway within the city, and kid/dog-friendly Cold Garden, all located in Calgary. Edmonton's Sea Change Brewery celebrates the local music and culture scene, even salvaging planks for a beloved foot bridge into it's tap rooms tables. 

• Eau Claire Distillery is located in Turner Valley Alberta’s first craft distillery, which released the first Single Malt Whisky in Alberta’s craft distillery history, last fall. Stop by their tap room for a In Banff National Park, Park Distillery is the first craft distillery restaurant in Canada, and the first distillery in a national park.

• With such widespread growth and popularity, there is a rise in female brewers and distillers. With women making up 30 percent of spirit and beer drinkers, it makes sense that women have a seat at the table when it comes to crafting fine spirits in Alberta.