Steamworks Brewing Company

Steamworks Brewing Company is a Canadian craft brewery headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia. The company was founded in 1995 and initially operated from the Steamworks brewpub in Vancouver's Gastown district. Its early identity was therefore closely tied to the brewpub model: beer was produced for service in an urban hospitality setting, while the Gastown location provided the brand with a visible connection to Vancouver's historic commercial neighbourhood. As demand and production requirements grew, Steamworks expanded beyond its original brewpub base. In 2013, it opened a brewery and taproom in neighbouring Burnaby, establishing the facility that serves as the company's principal brewing location. The Burnaby site gave Steamworks a dedicated production and customer-facing venue while retaining the brand's connection to the Vancouver metropolitan area. Steamworks produces a broad portfolio of beers rather than focusing on a single narrowly defined style. Its year-round range has included Flagship IPA, Pale Ale, Kölsch, Pilsner, India Pale Ale, Black Angel IPA, White Angel IPA, Heroica Red Ale, and Imperial Red Ale. The brewery has also developed seasonal and limited releases, including Blitzen, Oatmeal Stout, Winter White Stout, Pumpkin Ale, Killer Cucumber Ale, Farmhouse Wheat Ale, Frambozen, Hop Attack, and Saison. This combination of dependable core beers and rotating specialty releases allows the company to address both regular taproom demand and interest in experimental or seasonal offerings. The brewery's product development has also drawn on local history. For a centennial commemoration, Steamworks produced Copper Roof Ale, an extra special bitter inspired by the copper roof of the original Vancouver Sun building near Gastown. The beer linked a limited release to the architectural and cultural history of the neighbourhood where the company began. Steamworks occupies the craft-brewery segment of the Canadian beer market, with a business model combining brewing, taproom hospitality, and packaged or distributed beer offerings where available. Its recognition at the 2016 British Columbia Beer Awards, where it won the Best in Show category, reflects the standing it achieved within the province's craft-beer community. Publicly available reference material identifies the company as a British Columbia microbrewery and documents its principal locations and beer portfolio, but does not provide reliable information about its ownership structure, senior leadership, financial performance, or international scale.

Steamworks Brewing Company was founded in 1995 in British Columbia. Its original base was the Steamworks brewpub in Vancouver's Gastown district, a setting that shaped the company's early identity as an urban, hospitality-led craft brewery. The brewpub provided an integrated environment in which beer production and direct customer service were combined, giving the brand a prominent location in Vancouver's historic core. The company later expanded its physical brewing infrastructure. In 2013, Steamworks opened a brewery and taproom in Burnaby, a neighbouring city within the Vancouver metropolitan area. This facility became the company's current base and marked a transition from reliance on the original Gastown brewpub toward a more substantial brewery operation. The Burnaby site also preserved the consumer-facing taproom element of the business while supporting a broader brewing program. Steamworks developed a varied portfolio of year-round beers. The documented core range includes Flagship IPA, Pale Ale, Kölsch, Pilsner, India Pale Ale, Black Angel IPA, White Angel IPA, Heroica Red Ale, and Imperial Red Ale. Alongside these regular offerings, the brewery has produced seasonal and limited beers such as Blitzen, Oatmeal Stout, Winter White Stout, Pumpkin Ale, Killer Cucumber Ale, Farmhouse Wheat Ale, Frambozen, Hop Attack, and Saison. The range spans pale ales, India pale ales, lagers, wheat beers, stouts, red ales, and fruit- or ingredient-led specialty releases. The brewery has also used historical themes in product development. Copper Roof Ale was brewed for a centennial commemoration and presented as an extra special bitter associated with the copper roof of the original Vancouver Sun building near Gastown. The release connected Steamworks' beer-making activities with the history of the Vancouver neighbourhood in which the brand began. In 2016, Steamworks won the Best in Show category at the British Columbia Beer Awards. This recognition is evidence of the brewery's established position in British Columbia's craft-beer community. Available reference material describes Steamworks as a Canadian microbrewery based in Burnaby and documents its principal locations, beer lines, and award, but does not establish detailed information about its founders, ownership, executive team, financial results, distribution footprint, or current corporate structure.

1. 2016Best in Show at the British Columbia Beer Awards

   Steamworks receives the Best in Show award at the British Columbia Beer Awards.

   Source
2. 2013Burnaby brewery and taproom opens

   The company opens its current brewery and taproom in Burnaby, expanding its production base beyond the original Gastown brewpub.

   Source
3. 1995Steamworks is founded

   Steamworks Brewing Company begins operations in British Columbia, initially based at its Gastown brewpub in Vancouver.

   Source

A Vancouver-area craft brewery combining a Gastown brewpub heritage with a full brewery and taproom in Burnaby, offering an established core range alongside seasonal and experimental beers.

• Flagship IPAIndia pale ale

  A core Steamworks India pale ale and one of the brewery's principal year-round offerings. It represents the brand's emphasis on hop-forward craft beer within its regular portfolio.

• Pale AlePale ale

  A signature year-round pale ale in the Steamworks range, positioned as a more broadly approachable core beer alongside the brewery's India pale ales and lagers.

• KölschKölsch-style ale

  A year-round beer inspired by the Kölsch tradition. Its inclusion gives Steamworks a lighter, lager-like ale style within an otherwise varied core portfolio.

• PilsnerPilsner

  A regular Steamworks lager offering. The Pilsner broadens the brewery's core range beyond ales and provides a classic light lager style for taproom and beer-market customers.

• Black Angel IPAIndia pale ale

  A darker India pale ale in the documented year-round Steamworks portfolio, contributing a more substantial visual and flavor profile to the brewery's core IPA selection.

• White Angel IPAIndia pale ale

  A lighter-colored IPA in Steamworks' regular range. It forms part of the brewery's broader strategy of presenting multiple interpretations of hop-forward beer.

• Heroica Red AleRed ale

  A year-round red ale that adds a malt-led, reddish beer style to Steamworks' otherwise diverse core lineup.

• Imperial Red AleImperial red ale

  A stronger red ale included among Steamworks' regular beers, providing a fuller and more assertive counterpart to its standard red ale offering.

• Seasonal and limited releasesSeasonal and specialty beer

  Steamworks has produced rotating releases including Blitzen, Oatmeal Stout, Winter White Stout, Pumpkin Ale, Killer Cucumber Ale, Farmhouse Wheat Ale, Frambozen, Hop Attack, and Saison. These beers extend the portfolio into seasonal, experimental, farmhouse, stout, fruit, and highly hopped styles.

• Copper Roof AleExtra special bitter

  An extra special bitter brewed for a centennial commemoration and associated with the copper roof of the original Vancouver Sun building near Gastown. The beer served as a locally themed commemorative release.

• 2016Steamworks wins Best in Show at the British Columbia Beer Awards

  The brewery received the Best in Show award at the British Columbia Beer Awards, a significant recognition within the province's craft-beer sector.

  Other
  Source
• 2013Steamworks opens brewery and taproom in Burnaby

  Steamworks established its current brewery and taproom in Burnaby, expanding from its original Gastown brewpub base in Vancouver.

  Other
  Source

1. Steamworks Brewing Company