Beer Excursions: The Irish Heather, The Alibi Room

I have two more pubs to write about. Both have been written as among the best in the city. And both are in deep Gastown, unfortunately mere blocks from the nastiest part of East Hastings.

The Irish Heather was recently redesigned; its wood flooring is made from old Guinness barrels. It has some UK taps, including that brown stuff from Dublin, Kilkenny, and Strongbow cider, plus Carlsberg lager. In bottles, beers from some of my favourite Northwest breweries like Rogue and Fish sit next to UK brews like Newcastle Brown. It also features dozens of whiskeys from Scotland, Ireland and Wales, plus Canada and the US. And - the biggest attraction for me - it has the city's only cask pump. Some pubs feature a regular cask night, but this is the only permanent one - perhaps the only one in BC, or even Canada. It currently serves a tasty BC ale. I've been wanting to take a picture.

The Alibi Room has an even greater selection of beers. Taps pour BC ales but also a few Oregonians, often from Rogue. And in bottles are some fabulous choices from Belgium, the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, and of course the Northewst, and include a great Scotch ale I look forward to trying, plus the Paulaner Salvator I was unable to find in Munich.