No longer a destination just for wine enthusiasts, Penticton is also a haven for beer lovers. With a population of around 40k residents and eight breweries, the city actually ranks among the top cities in Canada for breweries per capita!
Each brewery offers a different ambience, style and focus, contributing its own unique flavour to Penticton’s dynamic craft beer scene.
This post shares an overview of craft breweries in Penticton, showcasing the varied taprooms and menus of all eight breweries.
As locals who like beer, we have personally visited every brewery multiple times. See if you can guess our favourites!
No matter if you’re a beer connoisseur or someone just looking for a post-hike beer, this brewery guide will help you plan a hop-filled adventure in Penticton. Fun fact – five of the breweries are located within easy walking distance. Cheers to that!
Last updated February 2024. For the most up-to-date information, contact individual businesses before visiting. There may be affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase, we may receive a small percentage of the sale.
Tin Whistle Brewing
Tin Whistle is Penticton’s oldest craft brewery but it is certainly not stuck in the past. Recently purchased by an innovative husband-wife duo, Tin Whistle produces an eclectic range of creative beers.
Long-time favourites, like the Peach Cream Ale (my favourite Penticton beer!), sit alongside more unusual varieties such as the Earl Gray Pale Ale and Queen of Tart Pricky Pear Sour. Experimental beers are released every Friday. Tin Whistle is certified carbon neutral, one of only a few such breweries in BC.
The brewery’s tasting room is located in Penticton’s old cannery building. The industrial space is surprisingly bright and airy. It even has access to a small patio, open during the warmer months. There is no food served here, but you are welcome to order takeout and enjoy it with a beer or two.
Location: 112-1475 Fairview Rd (in the Cannery Trade Centre), Penticton, V2A 7W5
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Barley Mill Brew Pub
Situated on the southern side of Penticton, the Barley Mill Brew Pub is an event and live music destination. The impressive Tudor-style building situated on Skaha Lake Road encompasses a British-themed pub, a liquor store and a family-friendly bistro. There is a large sunny patio out the front as well.
The team at the Barley Mill make handcrafted ales and lagers at the small on-site brewery. In addition to providing lighter beers (such as the Cerveza), the Barley Mill also crafts an English Brown Ale, IPA, and Stout. Their beer selection includes seasonal variations, and they occasionally feature guest taps from nearby breweries.
The Barley Mill is a busy place, with regular karaoke, trivia and live music events each week. There are special features and discounts almost every day as well. A full menu is served, with the generous portions of pub food offering good value for money.
Location: 2460 Skaha Lake Rd, Penticton, V2A 6E8
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Abandoned Rail Brewing Co.
Abandoned Rail Brewing is located on the Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail on the Naramata Bench and hosts the most beautiful setting of all the Penticton breweries.
This makes it not just a convenient stop when exploring the Bench area, but also a day trip destination in its own right. Cycle or walk the 9km return distance from downtown and enjoy the gorgeous lake and vineyard views.
Upon arrival at the brewery, relax in the garden next to the fruit trees and play lawn games. Abandoned Rail is very family-friendly, with the apple slushie being popular with kids. The food menu includes pizza as well as charcuterie boards, sandwiches, several side dishes and snacks (pickles, pretzels).
Abandoned Rail’s brews are European-inspired, with the Märzen being a local (and awarded) favourite. The brewery grows and harvests its own barley, with most other ingredients used in the resulting beer also sourced from BC.
Cannery Brewing
The most relaxed place to go for a casual pint or two in Penticton? Cannery Brewing. The industrial-style taproom offers bar service, so you can simply pick up drinks, order food, sit and chill.
As one of the oldest breweries in Penticton, Cannery Brewing has an extensive menu of tried-and-tested beers. There are great options for both light and dark beer lovers, with the Naramata Nutbrown and Kindling Stout being local favourites. I really like the Apricot Wheat Ale and Sunblink Berry Sour (both summer seasonals).
Cannery Brewing has not one, but two different patios. The first is a small, south-facing patio with entry from the main tasting room. The full food and drinks menu is available here. If in doubt, choose the Sante Fe vege nachos (the best in town).
The ‘Backyard’ patio is on the other side of the building and features an even more chilled vibe, with astroturf, picnic tables and rotating food trucks. Dogs are welcome. There is a dedicated bar with a slushie machine. A smaller food menu is available.
Location: 198 Ellis St, Penticton, V2A 4L5
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Highway 97 Brewing Co.
Beer-loving dog owners should make a beeline for Highway 97 Brewing. Leashed dogs are not just welcome at this close-to-downtown brewery but also celebrated. Just check out the wall of dog photos in the taproom! There is a small shady patio outside as well.
Beer production at Highway 97 is focused on small batches made with local ingredients and high-quality hops. The beer offerings therefore change quite often, providing an interesting mix of seasonal flavours.
Decorated with a road trip theme, the modern bright interior of Highway 97’s taproom is pretty casual. The events calendar is usually pretty full, with comedy and open mic nights scheduled often.
For food, Highway 97 specialises in wings, burgers, flatbreads and potato skins. Be sure to check the weekly specials! The Monday to Friday happy hour (2 to 5pm) offers a great deal on sleeves of beer.
Location: 200 Ellis St, Penticton, V2A 4L6
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Slackwater Brewing
Perched on the corner of Westminster and Main, Slackwater Brewing is a modern and inviting building. The interior is welcoming too, with an airy, casual yet smart atmosphere and bright finish (and a ‘Groot’ tree). Two patios, one upstairs, offer a chance to soak in some sunshine.
The bar is tucked to the side of the main taproom, with the main space dedicated to seating and events. Trivia is a weekly feature and the main reason why my friends and I often visit. There is a pub menu served, though we do find that the choice changes fairly often. The Angry Chicken Sando is a mainstay, however.
Typically, there are a minimum of twelve beers on tap at any given time, along with a couple of guest taps. The diverse selection ensures there’s usually something for everyone. The What the Fog New England IPA is one of the most popular options. My favourite is the award-winning Nautical Nonsense Pineapple Sour (seasonal).
Location: 218 Martin St, Penticton, V2A 5K3
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Neighbourhood Brewing
Neighbourhood Brewing’s distinctive brick building on the corner of Westminster and Winnipeg is hard to miss when driving into downtown Penticton. While Neighbourhood is one of the most recent additions to Penticton’s brewery scene, it is also one of the most popular.
The large west-facing wraparound patio is undoubtedly one contributor to this brewery’s unwavering popularity; it’s a great place to while away an hour or two with a beer in the sunshine. The patio is dog friendly as well, with misters to cool down the summer heat.
Neighbourhood offers four core beers alongside an extensive range of experimental limited edition and seasonal brews. As a result, they often boast the largest variety of beers for tasting in Penticton, sometimes offering as many as 17 different brews.
The food menu has a Mexican-inspired focus with some dishes offering a Canadian twist, while others retain authentic flavours.
Location: 187 Westminster Ave W, Penticton, V2A 1J7
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Yellowdog Brewing
Port Moody-based Yellowdog Brewing purchased the Bad Tattoo Brewery in 2023. The team also runs Neighbourhood Brewing, which will be a very close neighbour of the new Yellowdog building.
Watch this space for more details regarding the opening of Yellowdog Brewing. The patio space next to the brewery, ‘the Dog Park,’ was open from Thursday to Sunday last summer (2023).
Location: 169 Estabrook Ave, Penticton, V2A 1G2
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Penticton brewery map
Use this map to locate the above breweries and plan your own self-guided Penticton brewery tour!
Other local breweries
If you just can’t get enough of craft beer, consider checking out these other local breweries:
- Giant’s Head Brewing, Summerland – excellent daily happy hour, 3 to 5pm
- Detonate Brewing, Summerland – live music events, happy hour 2-5pm
- Neighbourhood Brewing, District Wine Village, Oliver – second location
- Firehall Brewing, Oliver – downstairs in the old fire hall, busy events calendar
- Backroads Brewing, Osoyoos – just steps from the lake, second location of brewery from Nelson
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