Craft brewery tourism is no longer a side activity tacked onto a Canadian road trip; for a growing number of travelers, it’s the whole itinerary. A recent economic impact study highlighted by the Canadian Craft Brewers Association found that beer tourism now generates roughly $1.475 billion in total economic output and supports as many as 8,800 jobs across the country each year. From taproom-hopping through Toronto’s east end to hop-farm tours in the Okanagan Valley, more visitors are building entire trips around the country’s independent breweries rather than squeezing one in between other stops. That growth is changing how these trips get planned.

Not long ago, a brewery weekend was normally merely an afternoon hike on the trails with some natural mixers and samples to drink, but nowadays, there are plenty of travelers who hook up an after-hike with an evening of scattering as well. And for many, that now consists of visiting a winery, Canada’s Top Rated Casinos, when the taproom crawling is done for the day. Less than a list of favourite IPAs is needed to turn some trips to the British Isles, particularly the Kyle Crag mountainside, into a well-planned trip across Canada with the Bl descenso style millstone in hand. What makes a great beer journey has often more to do with choosing a great beer with each stop, a region, local food, and a great experience than it does with the beer per se. Before you pack the horses and horseshoes, here are five things to muddle over.

1. Time Your Trip Around Release Calendars and Festivals

Canadian craft breweries don’t release their best beers year-round on a predictable schedule, and neither do the festivals built around them. Now, festivals such as Quebec’s Mondial de la Bière and the Great Canadian Beer Festival create huge turnouts and regularly sell out tasting rooms weeks in advance. 

Smaller taprooms, on the other hand, are more likely to hold their special releases to the end of the week or to celebrate their brewery anniversaries. When booking dates, also verify dates through individual brewery social media platforms or on newsletters by region. Planning a trip around one festival weekend – or one or two anniversary releases- is going to produce a much better lineup than if it’s been planned around convenience.

2. Choosing a Craft Brewery Tourism Route: Ontario, Quebec, or a Coastal Ale Trail

Canada’s craft brewery tourism scene isn’t concentrated in one region, and the three biggest hubs each offer a different kind of trip. Ontario’s beer trail favors a car-based loop through Toronto, Guelph, and Prince Edward County. Walking is the main characteristic of Quebec’s microbrasserie scene; both Montreal’s Mile End district and the historic, active city of Quebec can be explored on foot. 

The Ale Trail tours the Okanagan Valley all the way to Vancouver through British Columbia, and it acts as a reward for those willing to drive kilometres in a day while enjoying stops at pubs for drinks to be savoured. Focusing on one region instead of all three is also a smart approach to tourism in Canada, as it reduces travel time, gives you more time to enjoy the taproom experience, and keeps you closer to your accommodation before setting out on the next day’s journey.

3. Understand Provincial Alcohol Rules Before You Cross Borders

In Canada, the sale of alcohol is controlled at the provincial level and not on a national level, which makes many of Canada’s first-time beer tourists come to the party totally unprepared. Sales in Ontario are predominantly through the LCBO and licensed retailers; sales in Quebec go through the SAQ, as well as grocery stores and convenience stores, and direct-to-consumer shipping differs from province to province for breweries. 

It’s a similar structure to the one that shapes Canada’s online casino industry, where licensing and rules also shift depending on which province you’re in. Legal drinking age isn’t uniform either; it’s 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec, and 19 everywhere else. If your route crosses a provincial line, it’s worth checking both the shipping rules and the age requirement before you plan a brewery stop that assumes the rules from your last province still apply.

4. Plan Transportation and Lodging Around the Brewery District

In most of Canada, a downtown core can be regarded as the last point of reliable late-night travel service, by car, bus, or train, and you can’t always count on having one after crossing one. It cuts down on stress on the day, and knowing the taproom doesn’t have ride share coverage or that it’s just a walk to a cluster of taprooms makes beer tourism and brewing experiences easier to plan while saving you the hassle of booking a hotel room.

Holding a designated driver is the easiest option for a multi-stop day, but it also makes sense to make rest stops a part of the day plan. Not trying to catch six breweries in a day creates a staggered afternoon, and officers don’t get the weekend day jet lag. Three or four breweries at intervals in the afternoon avoids the day-jet-lag, officers.

5. Build In Downtime and Local Entertainment

A brewery day doesn’t have to end at the last taproom, and it shouldn’t be the only thing on the schedule. Some travelers wind down with live music or a late dinner, others browse a farmers’ market before the first brewery even opens, and a fair number treat the evening as a separate activity entirely, often exactly the kind of casino night mentioned earlier. Whatever it is, many of the same principles that make responsible gambling worth taking seriously apply just as well to a full day of tastings: set a limit before you start, and treat the evening as entertainment rather than an extension of the day’s itinerary. 

For more ideas on rounding out a Canadian beer trip beyond the breweries themselves, American Craft Beer’s destination guides are a solid next stop. Being well-prepared before heading out can be a better idea to enjoy and have a rewarding visit to craft brewery tourism in Canada. Various exceptional seasonal events at the brewery, provincial laws and regulations, and distances between destinations may factor into your smooth sailing itinerary. By prepping out these 5 details, you’ll save some time and time working on logistics, and enjoy some of the breweries, neighborhoods, and beer culture in the region.