I had a pint of lager at the brewpub that is Pat’s Pub this weekend.
I know what you’re thinking: Pat’s Pub is a dive bar on East Hastings, not a brewpub.
Well, I’ve got some news for you: Pat’s Pub really isn’t that much of a dive anymore. It’s making a hipster-aided transition into respectability; it’s no longer on the same level as Funky Winkerbean’s. Last weekend they had an awesome jazz trio and the crowd was entirely respectable, except for the one guy we saw who was so drunk he didn’t even know there was a band. They also have a reasonable tap selection with an oddly Okanagan-heavy lineup of beers from Cannery and Tree. Nothing you’re going to get there is going to knock your socks off, but you can find a reasonably palatable beer to drink there, which is more than you can say about a lot of bars in this town with better reputations than Pat’s Pub.
And here’s the other news: Pat’s Pub does indeed have a little brewing system. It’s been there for years in fact. This is no mere technicality: Pat’s Pub is a brewpub, whether we like it or not. They’ve been brewing their lager for several years, but I never plucked up the courage to taste it until last night.
The beer is pale and clear. It looks like a lager. When the glass gets close to your face, though, you’d swear you were hoisting a pint of rotten eggs. The sulphurous foulness of the aroma is amazing; it’s as though the brewer took a handful from that big yellow pile on the waterfront in North Van (or for those of you from the tri-cities, that big yellow pile on the waterfront in Port Moody) and dumped it into your glass.
