Trading Post Brewing

The tasting room at Trading Post sits right beside the brewery that fills its taps, and the brewery’s own page invites you to watch the work while you drink. Behind the counter there’s a wall of chalkboards for beer and food, a growler-fill board, and a fridge of cans to take home.

What’s on

Four beers are always on the list, and the brewery publishes the numbers for each: a Helles Lager (5%, 21 IBU), an Amber Ale (5%, 27 IBU), the Best Coast IPA (6.5%, 55 IBU) and a Hazy IPA (6.1%, 21 IBU). They come in 473 ml cans. Seasonals rotate; when we looked the page listed a French blanche, a cranberry sour, a haskap sour and a Bavarian lager.

Not a beer drinker? The room also pours local cider, wine from Valley Commons Winery, kombucha, Boylan’s sodas and iced teas. The kitchen does 10-inch pizzas, pretzel bites, nachos and mole tacos, and there’s a happy hour with $6 pints of Trading Post beer (all day Monday, 2 to 5 Tuesday to Friday, and late on Wednesdays).

The people and the place

Lance Verhoeff founded Trading Post and opened the brewery in February 2016, with his family behind him. The Fort Langley eatery followed later that year and the Abbotsford one in 2018. Their website carries BC Beer Awards winner badges for 2022 and 2023, though it doesn’t say which beers won.

They also run a community fund: a dollar from selected menu items goes to a local non-profit. When we looked, it was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley.

Before you go

• To take home: cans from the fridge, growler fills, and branded glasses and clothing
• For a party: keg rentals (19.5 L at $120 or 50 L at $225, each with a $100 deposit, plus a $75 pump deposit), and group bookings through the website
• Events: trivia and music bingo nights are on their events page. Check which location is hosting, since there are three
• Phone: 604-343-2337, extension 1 for the tasting room

For more independent shops and food nearby, see Shop Local in Willoughby.