Kelowna is known for stunning wineries, constant sunshine and delicious apple cider. In recent years, the Kelowna brewery scene has boomed making it a huge beer town. Bouncing between the different Kelowna brew pubs makes for one of the best ways to spend a day in the Okanagan. The Kelowna brewery district has many different options of micro breweries to choose from. Brewery restaurants offer delicious food combined perfectly with small-batched beer. In our opinion, Kelowna beer is some of the best beer in Canada.
Keeping with that Okanagan lifestyle of beer and wine, what better way to spend a summer day than on a Kelowna brewery tour? We’ve made a list of all the best downtown Kelowna breweries you have to visit. Not only that, we’ve carefully considered the order of breweries to make it so you spend less time commuting and more time sipping some ice cold Kelowna craft beer.
Should I book a brewery tour?
Yes! When you’re out drinking beer, the last thing you want to do is concern yourself with a designated driver. If learning all about the craft beer making process and having someone doing the designated driving sounds good to you, booking a brewery tour is a great option! Here are some of our favourite tours.
Yes! When you’re out drinking beer, the last thing you want to do is concern yourself with a designated driver. If learning all about the craft beer making process and having someone doing the designated driving sounds good to you, booking a brewery tour is a great option! Here are some of our favourite tours.
Kelowna Brewery Tour: This 3 hour brewery tour will have you visiting 3 of the best breweries in Kelowna: BNA Brewing, Tree Brewing, and Kettle River Brewing. The tour includes a flight of beer at each brewery and transportation between the three for $110 CAD ($82.04 USD).
Kelowna food and Beer Tour: If you’re anything like us, you love food just as much as you love beer! This walking brewery tour starts you off snacking at a few local cheese and bread shops before taking you to Kettle Valley Brewing for a delicious lunch and beer combo. You will then head to Rustic Reel Brewing and BNA Brewing for more beer and more snacks! This tour includes all your food and drinks for $145 CAD ($108.14 USD).
How do you get around to different breweries in Kelowna?
We created this Kelowna brewery tour in a specifically designed order to maximize drinking time and minimize your commute. Between breweries, you will be walking as close as in the same parking lot and as long as a few blocks. This is a great way to see the different areas in Kelowna.
The breweries are all located in high-traffic areas meaning there will be electric scooters and electric bikes on the streets in a ride-share program you can use to hop between breweries. We love turning this into a Kelowna brewery bike tour.
Check out our complete guide to getting around Kelowna like a local.
What are the best Kelowna breweries if I don’t have time to visit them all?
If you don’t have time to visit all of the downtown breweries on our list, we do have a few favourites that are a must-visit. Red Bird Brewery has one of the best patios on the list with a great, social atmosphere. Bad Tattoo Brewery has some great vibes and their food is delicious. BNA Brewery is a whole scene, especially if you visit their restaurant as well. Jackknife Brewery perfectly combines delicious food and great beer!
Are there any Kelowna dog friendly breweries?
Kelowna is a dog friendly city and most of the breweries in town happily welcome your furry friend to join on their patio. While the city doesn’t allow animals inside establishments that serve food (or beer), your pups won’t be allowed to enter any of the breweries but most are happy to provide water, and shade and some even have comfy beds for your dog to cozy up on.
The only brewery on our list that doesn’t allow dogs is Vice & Virtue as they do not have an outdoor patio to host your pup. Bad Tattoo and The Office do not allow dogs on their patio but they do allow dogs to be tied up to the outside of the fence right beside your table.
Kelowna Brewery Tour Map
Kelowna Brewery Tour Itinerary
1. Kelowna Beer Institute (KBI)
Address: 1346 Water St.
Hours: 11:30 am – 10 pm Monday – Thursday, 11 am – 11pm Friday & Saturday, 11 am – 9 pm Sunday
Located right downtown this Kelowna brewery has a large patio next to the Kelowna Yacht Club. Kelowna Beer Institute recently rebranded from its former name Tree Brewing. If you’re hungry, be sure to try their delicious pizza! They even have vegan cheese for those with dietary restrictions.
The central location and fun board games make this one of the best Kelowna brewery – you’ll likely want to stay here for a while. Playing a game of cribbage on a hot summer day while drinking beer… does life get better?
2. BNA Brewing Co.
Address: 1250 Ellis St, Kelowna
Hours: 11 am – 12 am daily
BNA is split into two areas, the tasting room and the eatery. The tasting room opens at 11 am while the eatery opens at 5 pm. The tasting room features a large indoor area and a great patio with large fire rings for you to enjoy your cold beer and wine. They have a food truck-inspired rotating food menu so you can try a new dish and craft beer with every visit.
More interested in sipping some delicious Kelowna wine? Check out our self-guided Kelowna wine tour.
If you’re heading to the restaurant, you will be pleasantly surprised by how much there is to do. Walk in to find a huge open area with a second floor that’s built with fun in mind. The bar is served out of an old Airstream trailer and there are couches to sit everywhere. There’s even a bowling alley and skeeball upstairs making this one of the most fun Kelowna brewery on our list.
3. The Office Brewery
Address: 890 Clement Ave #301, Kelowna
Hours: 12 pm – 9 pm Sunday & Monday, 12 pm – 10 pm Tuesday – Thursday, 12 pm – 11 pm Friday & Saturday
This place will make you love having mid-day meetings at the office. This Kelowna brewery features two stories that have a ton to offer beyond just their delicious beer. All their beer has funny office-themed names such as their “9-5”, “off the clock” and “liquid assets” beer.
One of our favourite things here is their cocktail flights. Choose any 4 of their cocktails worth a try. Where else can you get drunk at 2 pm and get off by saying you just spent a day at “the Office”?
Check out the 10 reasons you need to visit Kelowna now!
4. Unleashed Brewing
Address: 880 Clement Ave #207, Kelowna
Hours: 3 pm – 9 pm Monday – Thursday, 1 pm – 10 pm Friday & Saturday, 1 pm – 8 pm Sunday
If you love dogs, this is the place to be. The whole theme of this Kelowna brewery is dogs which instantly makes it one of our favourites in the area. Beer is the focus of this brewery with only a few pre-packaged food items available. There are often food trucks located outside for those looking for a bite to eat.
Unleashed is a new Kelowna brewery that is making great tasting craft beer.
Dogs aren’t just on their mind, they’re all over the brewery. Beer flights are served in dog bowls to add to the brewery’s charm. All beer names are K9 inspired, everything from the Berry Good Boy to their Fuggley Dog. The outdoor patio welcomes you and your dog and even provides cozy dog beds to keep your pup happy.
5. Rustic Reel Brewery
Address: 760 Vaughan Ave, Kelowna
Hours: 10 am – 7 pm Monday, 12 pm – 9 pm Tuesday – Thursday, 12 pm – 11 pm Friday, 11 am – 11 pm Saturday
This female owned Kelowna brewery embodies the Okanagan lifestyle with fishing, beer and chill vibes. You will feel like family at this laidback brewery with all the staff being incredibly friendly. It is not uncommon to see the owner Susi there making sure everyone feels happy and at home which gives a really special touch to this brewery.
At Rustic Reel, you will find a good selection of craft beer, wine, ciders, and cocktails. Their nachos are amazing and pair beautifully with their raspberry sour beer.
Their dog friendly patio is a great place to hang out. Large garage doors open giving the pub a smooth indoor/outdoor feel. If you love the beer and want to take some home, you can build your own 6 packs with different kinds of beer to try them all.
In the back of this Kelowna brewery you will find the delicious Tackle Box Coffee Bar open in the mornings. A cool store selling merch is also in the back of the store.
6. Jackknife Brewing
Address: 727 Baillie Ave, Kelowna
Hours: 12 pm – 10 pm Tuesday – Saturday, 12 pm – 9 pm Sunday, Closed Monday
This Kelowna brewery gives unique alternative style vibes we can’t get enough of. Their motto is “weird beer, classic pizza” and we have to say this fits perfectly. This is the best brewery with food on our list. Their pizza is a must try, arguably the best in the city! Vegan cheese and meat alternatives make this the best brewery for vegetarians/vegans to eat.
Don’t forget to check out the most romantic things to do in Kelowna!
Their rotating taps make it so you can order something new everytime you come in. Be sure to check out their dog friendly back patio for picnic table style lunch served with quirky and delicious beer. Jackknife Brewing frequently has live music happening.
7. Vice & Virtue
Address: 1033 Richter St, Kelowna
Hours: 4 pm – 10 pm Wednesday & Thursday, 2 pm – 10 pm Friday, 12 pm – 10 pm Saturday, 12 pm – 8 pm Sunday, Closed Monday & Tuesday
Starting as a group of guys in their garage, this cute little Kelowna brewery started where they all should: with a love of beer! A small menu of gourmet-style can be found here including their in-house smoked meats. The big draw is the beer and the family vibes. It is not uncommon to see kids in highchairs and families everywhere enjoying this brewery. Their Love Potion sour is enough to get you coming back for more.
8. Red Bird Brewing
Address: 1080 Richter St, Kelowna
Hours: 12 pm – 10 pm Monday – Wednesday, 12 pm – 12 am Thursday – Sunday
We’re not saying we left the best for last, but if you said Red Bird was the best brewery in Kelowna we wouldn’t disagree. This brewery has an area to order beer and food inside. You can choose to sit inside or outside.
Outside you will find a large patio area with fire tables, and turf grass that’s very inviting for kids and dogs. Somehow, this place has perfectly blended a very social upbeat and family-friendly environment. And, yes, this Kelowna brewery is dog friendly.
Recent renovations added a large patio area with an outdoor stage. This brewery often turns into a large outdoor club with live music and even multi-day music festivals. We suggest getting a beer tasting with beer flights so you can try their Radler beer, sour beer, and BC IPA beer.
What do you think about our Kelowna brewery tour itinerary? Let us know your favourite breweries in Kelowna BC in the comments below.
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3 Comments
Very informative and great read!
Oooh we did something similar in Naramata making up our own walking wine tour – it is fab to see you can do the same thing with beer! I love Kelowna, so this sounds like a fun non-wine-way to explore the city! I love that so many of these are doggo friendly too.
I love craft beer so this guide helps a lot, thanks for hsaring!