Ambers Brewing Company

The tour is amazingly entertaining. After entering the dingy corridor, the tour is set in an open concept of long tables, furniture made of old casks (we later discovered three generations owned and reused those casks), a display area of beer, and big tanks of beer.
You taste grains that remind you of Wheat Crunch (some will remind you of chocolate/​coffee, others will unfortunately remind you of concentrated dog pee), you wander between tanks tasting straight from them (with the yeast still in it!), and leave with a 6 pack. You learn a lot about the industry from why beer was first made, to laws preventing local breweries in Alberta to sell their beer in Ontario. You feed off the owner’s passion in the taste testing, fully understanding and appreciating beer for what it is.
Amber’s Brewing is moving and I am very tempted to visit the new location to experience the tour again (if it returns) for its laughs, beer avec yeast, and the subtle education received.

I’ve been on a few brewery tours on my travels, yet one of the best ones so far has been right here at home in Edmonton.
There are three breweries in Edmonton as far as I know (Ambers, Alley Kat and Yellowhead), yet it wasn’t until a coupon came through my email that we decided to go on a brewery tour.
Jim, the owner, was our tour guide for the afternoon. I can’t explain a person like Jim! Hilarious, a great storyteller, and very obviously passionate about what he does. The tour was about an hour long, and while it was very informative, it wasn’t stuffy and boring. It was casual, people were laughing, and there were many generous beer samples for all.
We went on the tour a few months ago so I admit I don’t recall every moment of it, but Jim definitely shed some light on some of the bigger breweries out there and why you should support local breweries or even just genuine microbreweries, period.
I think a brewery tour is a great idea for a fun afternoon. And of course you can buy Ambers swag and beer on your way out!

I went to Amber’s for a professional association meeting that included a beer tasting tour.
The Jim-​isms were plentiful («Beer is the foundation of humanity») and the beer straight out of the vats was something I’d never tried before. I even liked some of the beer better than when I’d tried it from the liquor store.
Someone-else’s review from another tour (
) is pretty comparable to my experience.
This brewery is locally owned and operated by quite a character. Take a tour, try the beer & you will be entertained!