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Our Story

We've been here since '86.

Mainland BC's first brewpub. Forty years on the harbour, and we're not going anywhere.

Where it started.

Allan and Brian Riedlinger opened Sailor Hagar's in 1986 on the North Vancouver waterfront. Back then, you couldn't find a locally-brewed pint on the mainland. They changed that.

The pub sat steps from the SeaBus terminal. Close enough that commuters could smell the hops. The regulars showed up the first week and never left.

The brewery.

In 1994, they built a brewery. A proper one. A 10-hectolitre Specific Mechanical system in its own building, connected to the pub by underground draft lines. Five nitrogenated ale engines. Gary Lohin was the head brewer.

Gary brewed here for nine years. He pioneered Belgian Witbier in the Vancouver market. Customers kept sending it back because they thought the cloudiness meant it was off. He went on to co-found Central City Brewers and win Brewery of the Year. Twice. But he started here.

The brewery building closed in 2002 when the province changed the licensing rules. The recipes survived. Six of them are still brewed today at Howe Sound Brewing, and they're still on our taps.

Six original recipes, still pouring
40
Years
18
Taps
6
Original Recipes
937
Google Reviews

Still the same place.

Pool tables, dart boards, the game on every screen. Karaoke on Wednesdays. Industry night Fridays. DJs on Saturdays. Open 'til 2am. The last light on the waterfront.

The deck still has the best harbour view in Lower Lonsdale. The SeaBus still runs. The regulars still have their spots.

In the press.

What people have written about this place over the years.

What's Brewing Magazine · June 2020 The Class of '94: Sailor Hagar's Heyday Gary Lohin chronicles opening Metro Vancouver's first brewpub in 1994 with experimental brewing techniques, including the Witbier nobody understood, before founding Central City Brewers. North Shore News Sailor Hagar's Strikes a Rare Balance Between the Progressive and the Traditional North Shore News profiles the pub that manages to be both a neighbourhood institution and a venue that keeps evolving. Lonsdale Ave Everyone Has a Sailor Hagar's Story A portrait of the gritty, unpredictable venue in Lower Lonsdale's Shipyards District that attracts a diverse crowd and carries the area's shipbuilding heritage.

Come by.

86 Semisch Avenue
North Vancouver, BC V7L 4B3
Steps from Lonsdale Quay & the SeaBus

Hours
Mon–Wed: 11:30am – 11pm
Thu: 11:30am – 12am
Fri: 11:30am – 2am
Sat: 11am – 2am
Sun: 11am – 11pm

Reservations
Call (604) 984-3087
or book online