Top 10 New (to me) Breweries Visited in 2025

I’m a failure!

Last year I visited 59 new (to me) breweries…..59!!! I did travel a bit more last year but 59 still seems like an outrageous number.

Well, this year, to no surprise, I failed to keep up. I was only able to visit 27 new breweries.

It’s hard to visit new spots when I’ve been travelling to the same areas for work the last few years. I’m also not too concerned about building that number up and visiting sub-par spots. Quality over quantity, right?

With that in mind, here is the list , in chronological order, of the top 10 new (to me) breweries I visited in 2025.

Ricochet Brewing – Salmon Arm, BC, Canada

While visiting Salmon Arm on assignment with the BC Ale Trail I was fortunate to get the opportunity to visit Ricochet Brewing, right in the heart of town. Ricochet boasts 36 taps, which feature 10 of their own, making them more than just a brewery, they’re also a great craft beer destination to sample different drinks from across BC. Aside from the beautiful tasting room, great beer menu and delicious food options what really put Ricochet on my list where the owners, Marc and Meaghan. Amazingly friendly people but also massive proponents of giving back to the community.

Crannog Ales – Sorrento, BC, Canada

Another brewery I was able to visit on my BC Ale Trail trip to Salmon Arm, Crannog Ales was a bucket list spot for me. Crannog is (was) not an easy brewery to visit though. You can’t just show up any day of the week and drink a pint at your leisure. The only way to enjoy a beer on premises is (was) by booking a tour, which typically run (ran) on Fridays and Saturdays by appointment. While this may sound like quite the effort just to get a fresh glass of Backhand of God stout, all I can say is that is was worth it. Getting a tour of the farm from Brian and Rebecca and talking about the Vancouver punk rock scene in their tiny bar was an experience I won’t forget.

You’ll notice I have a lot of past tense wording in that description. Unfortunately for us, but fortunate for them, Rebecca and Brian decided to retire in August of 2025. The intimate tours of the Crannog are no longer operating but lucky for us BNA Brewing out of Kelowna has bought Crannog Ales and will be continuing to brew their beer with ingredients from Brian and Rebecca’s organic farm.

Threefold – Vancouver, BC, Canada

While not really “new” from a beer or brewery standpoint, Threefold was the talk of the town when they opened in 2025. A powerhouse collaborative tasting room, Threefold features the joint forces of Slow Hand, Boombox and Temporal. Arguably some of the best lager, IPA and barrel aged beer producers in British Columbia. Outside of the fantastic beer, Threefold is also a beautiful tasting room with a great pizza menu. It’s my number one recommendation for beer lovers visiting Vancouver for the first time.

Home of Carslberg – Copenhagen, Denmark

I know, it’s not a craft brewery. Don’t @ me! But I had to add this to the list as it was a really cool experience and this list isn’t all about the beer. It’s about the experience as well. I recommend this to anybody visiting Copenhagen, beer lover or not, as it gives a great history lesson on the city of Copenhagen through interactive elements and historical artifacts. Some of those historical artifacts include a beer bottle library featuring thousands of different beer from around the world. I definitely needed out on the Canadian beer section. As a bonus, for any Liverpool FC fans (like myself) they have a section dedicated to their sponsorship of the team over the years.

La Casa (Astilleros) – Vancouver, BC, Canada

I’d visited the original Le Cerveceria Astilleros in North Vancouver a few times in the past but 2025 was my first visit to their newer, more food-forward location in the Chinatown area of Vancouver. All I can say is “wow”! The food was delicious and their beer is always great. I honestly think Le Cerveceria Astilleros doesn’t get enough recognition for their beer. They brew adventurous styles and that doesn’t always show up well on beer ranking systems but I appreciate what they’re doing and the fact they’re always trying something new. The also make a killer spicy margarita!

Tofino Brewing – Tofino, BC, Canada

While this wasn’t technically my first visit to Tofino Brewing, it was the first time I actually had the chance to enjoy the tasting room. The one time I visited prior to this year was just to grab a case of beer to go to the beach. So that doesn’t count, right? Their tasting room is a beautiful open space with natural light and plant life throughout. The also have seating outside in the front and back of the brewery.

Cerebral Brewing (West Highlands) – Denver, CO, USA

Honestly, I think every time Cerebral opens a new location it ends up on this annual list of mine. Their new West Highlands location was no exception. Same delicious beer but this new spot located in an old church has stepped up their tasting room game. Add to that the fact they’ve partnered with Outside Pizza to have a full food menu and woodfired pizza, it makes it hard to choose which Cerebral location is my fav.

New Image Brewing (Wheat Ridge) – Denver, CO, USA

I didn’t really know what to expect when visiting New Image’s Whet Ridge location. If I’m being honest, I just visited for the Lyric Brewing releases. I wasn’t planning on staying long. Just to grab a quick pint of Lyric and then a couple 4 packs and get back in an Uber. That all changed after I sat down though. The staff was super welcoming and gave me some great recommendations from New Image’s beer menu, which is full of amazing barrel aged options. I even left with a couple barrel aged stouts bottles to accompany my Lyric releases. I’ll be back to New Image for sure!

Brasserie Dunham – Dunham, Quebec, Canada

If you want old world charm then Brasserie Dunham is your spot. Located in the small farming and wine community of Dunham, Quebec the brewery is housed in a 160 year old building that was originally built as a post office and hotel. The courtyard and outer facade speak to the historic story of the town and the building while the interior gives charming old school pub vibes. The food features farm-to-table and locally sourced option and the extensive beer menu offer’s Dunham’s award-winning European inspired concoctions. They also have guest houses so you can stay and test the full beer menu!

Brasserie Bad Bones – Dunham, QC, Canada

One of the last new-to-me breweries I visited this year was one that’s been on my beer-ket (beer bucket) list for quite a while. Bad Bones is rated Canada’s number 2 top brewery on Untappd and is arguably one of the best hazy IPA producers in the world. So now you know why it was on my beer-ket list. Located in the middle of farm land, you could literally blink and drive right past without knowing it’s there. Luckily I use Google Maps. The only disappointing factor of my visit was that I couldn’t stay for more beer as I had to drive 90 minutes back to Montreal. I guess it just means I’ll have to go back!

And there it is, my top 10 new (to me) breweries of 2025.

Now to plan some visits for 2026. I’ll give you a hint, when of then starts with “Tok” and ends with “yo”.

In case you’re interested, here’s the full list of all 27 new (to me) breweries I visited in 2025, in chronological order.