What venues do you visit? Can I pick my own Breweries?
We like to keep things current and exciting, so we use a rotation of partners. We do our best to make sure that you are taken to the award winners and the freshest beer and most creative cocktails in town, however, there may be times when we are not able to visit a preferred partner. Some businesses are busier than others at peak days/hours and may not be able to take our reservation on a Friday or Saturday. As such, we will select other locations to ensure that we can get your group a table and that you are delivered the service you deserve.
If that happens, no need to worry, there are dozens of really great craft producers that we work with to ensure your experience is educational, fun and delicious.
If you have a suggestion on one of the spots you might like to visit, please let us know at the time of booking and we will try our best to accommodate.
Can I buy additional drinks on the tour?
Yes you can. A flight at each brewery/cocktail at Distillery is included in your tour package, however, producers often have a large selection of products you might like to try, so feel free to test them out. If you really like a particular one, grab a six pack or bottle and we will throw it in the trunk to save for when we drop you off.
How does the Tour work?
If you have a Private Tour, you let us know where you would like to be picked up and dropped off within a 10 km radius of Downtown Calgary (for pick ups outside the radius, additional fees may be applied).
If you are on a public tour, we pick you up at The Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott
From there, we drive you around town to some great locations where you will get a behind the scenes tour and tasting/judging tutorial at one of our partners, and then stops at two more awesome establishments.
Sample Private 3 Brewery Tour Schedule (3p.m. start)
2:45pm: Transportation arrives. Meet the Driver/Beer Geek, Present signed waivers, orientation on what to expect. If someone in the group has not arrived please call them and let them know we leave at 3pm sharp for our first Calgary brewery.
3:00 – 3:15 pm: Transportation to Brewery #1 with an introduction to Calgary Craft Breweries and education on brewing processes (ingredients and styles etc..)
3:15 – 4:00 pm: Behind the scenes tour of first local brewery, tasting flight and beer synopsis.
4:00 – 415 pm: Drive to 2nd Brewery and review of first brewery and knowledge gained.
4:15- 5:00 Tasting at 2nd brewery.
5:00- 5:15 Drive to 3rd Brewery and review of 2nd brewery and knowledge gained.
5:15 – 6:00 3rd Tasting at 3rd brewery. At this point, everyone is best friends!
6:00 - 6:15pm: Drop off at your predetermined location
Should I tip my Driver/ Guide
Your driver provides a service (Driving, Entertaining, Educating and sometimes serving) as such, a 18% auto gratuity is an industry standard. If the service is beyond what you expect, feel free to tip further afterwards. We can assure you our local guide is knowledgeable, polite and there to make sure you have a great time.* we are not responsible for any Dad jokes the driver might tell.
Can we drink on the shuttle / bus?
No, unfortunately you can not. We try our best to make this an educational experience and we like to have fun too, but this isn’t a party bus. However, we do encourage that you purchase merchandise and off-sales for later if you find a brewery or beer that you like on the tour, and we can throw it in the back of the bus and make sure you get it when we drop you off.
We also ask that you do not show up to the shuttle already inebriated and reserve the right to cancel the tour if you do.
Can we do a private sit-down lunch?
Yes, for private groups. Ask at the time of booking, and if we can fit it in our schedule, we can work with our partners to see what is available. Cost of the meal is at your own additional expense, and it adds about 20-30 minutes to the tour.
How does the deposit work?
We suggest that you book for how many you know are confirmed, not how many you hope are coming. You can always add more later if we have room.
Once you are ready to book we require a 25% non-refundable deposit and the remaining amount is automatically taken out 10 days prior to the tour. This secures your booking.
Initial deposits of 25% to book a Private Tour are non refundable, with the remainder auto-charged to the credit card provided before your tour. We do not offer refunds for no-shows. We suggest that good practice is to have the group pay the organizer before the time of the deposit (That way if they drop out, the organizer is not out of pocket).
How do we make this extra special?
We are always open to helping your group have a great event, let us know what you were thinking and we will see what we can do.
Is this a good event for Bachelor and Bachelorette parties?
Yes, we book lots of parties of all types. We only ask that everyone is sober upon pick up and that good behaviour is exhibited at our partners breweries. *we have the right to end tours should these terms not be met.
What if we have less than 8 people, can we still be private?
We are happy to discuss private tours for other numbers through the week and on Sundays pending on availability. Otherwise, we host small groups as a part of our public tours when available.