Beer Revolution

Tried beer revolution for the first time last night, I was impressed with the nachos they were very good ! We had a junior boy pizza which my first thought was it was a little greasy but their was syrup on it. I would defiantly recommend it.

The best place in Calgary to find a diverse tap list of original craft beers. Yes, they have fewer taps than some of the numerous beer bars locally, but they will always have things you have not tried and actually want to try. Other than the 2 Brewsters beers that are always available, each keg is the only one of that beer they have in stock, so visiting twice in 2 weeks will often give you an entirely new list of brews to taste. I had my first Mikkeller here; I never see them on tap anywhere else in town. Even when I am familiar with the featured breweries, the choices will often be brand new or limited edition beers I haven’t yet tried.
Short menu of pretty good food; pizza can be made gluten free and they are usually willing to remove a topping or two if you have special preferences (for example, vegetarian). They’ve made me a pizza with two different halves more than once. Also, surprisingly good cheese board for a beer bar! The green pepper Madagascar is worth trying at least once.
Accessible if you enter through Brewsters on 11^th Ave. Enough low tables mixed in with the high ones so that people in wheelchairs should be able to find a place to sit with others. I haven’t tried the accessible washroom, but the door looks heavy.

Good option for late night eats in this part of Calgary. Staff wasn’t as informed about the beer selection as I’d expect at this kind of place but the flatbread-​style pizza was very good and the beer plentiful and fresh.

I’ve been to this place twice now and I must say, it is one of my favourite craft beer places in the city. I like how the restaurant isn’t so big that it’s hard to find your friends when you’re meeting there. But it doesn’t feel too small at the same time. The beer list is displayed on screens all around the bar, making it easy to select your next drink.
I had their Blazing Saddle Wrap and it really hit the spot! It’s nice to have something a little different than a burger or even a standard steak sandwich every once in a while.
I will definitely be back, there’s still so many more beer to try!

Always changing the beer menu to new beer. It’s a great way to bring people back who LOVE beer! Also, the pizzas are amazing!!! A little expensive for the food but it’s good

Love this place. Love how unpretentious it is. We always sit at the bar, the bartenders are all great. Awesome changing selection of beers, and a really good menu considering it’s a pub.(even the pizza!)

Great pizza. Fresh flavors. The tap selection is awesome if you want to sample the best Canada has to offer in one place. Come here. It was refreshing to have a fine selection of western craft breweries.
We were very well taken care of drinking 8oz pours of 8 – 10 beers. It was a good lunch. I suggest visiting if you need a break from MEC. Cheers.

Sat at the bar before 4:00 and the bartender was awesome
Answered all of my questions, gave the wifi password, sold me on some tasty beer!
Also the staff seemed to really get along with each other which is nice to see. Makes for a great environment to sit and watch some CFL action on
Also, the gluten free pizza crust is very good!

Had a little time and needed a beer. Being a Monday, I arrived to find the place rather empty. But I looked around and noticed those who were seated seemed to be enjoying themselves and the bartender made immediate eye contact.
I saddled up to the bar and was greeted with a smile. My attention was directed to the digital menu boards scattered amongst the TVs. To my delight, the beer menu came with more details than I have ever seen. I wasn’t looking for details on the flavours I’ll find in the beer. Anyone could recite that. But what really came as a surprise was the date that each keg was tapped. Typically it’s been my experience that information like that is never divulged. Who wants to drink from an old keg? I’ll pass thanks.
This transparency sits very high on the list for me. I’ve been to plenty of beer centric joints where they tell you where the beer is from and publish the tasting notes from the brewery, but ask the server when the keg was tapped and you’ll get a look similar to that of asking a first date what their weight is…
The man behind the bar is competent in his duties. He’s also confident in them as well. I ask for suggestions, and he turned it back to me. He asked what I like and dislike, and then made recommendations based on that. He didn’t default to the go to beers, he made actual recommendations based on what I said. He told me what was on special, offered tasters and followed up to make sure I was happy.
I know many people will expect some of this as standard service, but one guy behind the bar, in a now filling space has a lot to do.
I knew that I needed something to go with my beer, and he was quick to offer a menu, which was small but still offered a good range of selection. Being as I didn’t have long and wasn’t all that hungry, I ordered the BBQ beer ribs. That was the right choice! A board loaded with sticky, hot, meaty ribs quickly materialized before me. Presentation as alright, nothing to rave about. But when I bit into that first rib, I was in heaven. While the beer was not specifically pronounced in the sauce, it was present and really provided an extra layer of flavour to what was still a pretty good sauce! I was also happy to find that there was more meat than bone. Something that I find is hard to find…
Overall:
Atmosphere– ⁴⁄₅ — little loud if you want to have a real conversation around a table but not out of control
Food offerings and quality ⁴⁄₅ — smaller menu, but a little something for most people
Beverage menu ⁵⁄₅ — this is solely based on the beer menu, but the place is called Beer Revolution, and they do offer a good selection from across the country and around the world. Just don’t go in for a Bud Light Lime, you may get asked to leave. They’ll offer a suggestion though!
Service ⁵⁄₅ — these guys know what they’re doing and do it well. They read their guests and adapt to meet their mood/​disposition
Go again? ⁵⁄₅ — I don’t live in Calgary, but I’ll be coming back next time I visit!

Fresh Beer Alert!!!
What’s on tap at Beer Revolution? Who knows! As much as I love Calgary’s local brewers, If I’ve got a chance to drink a beer I’ve never tried before, I will always choose it. Beer Revolution’s taps change so frequently, they need an airport style flight tracker to keep on top of the new arrivals. Seriously — they have one! TVs are posted around the establishment, but you won’t find the same sports on every single one of them, oh no — they’re a live tracker of what beer they’ve currently got on tap.
Staring from your table at a beer menu that is located just above another table’s heads is a great way to make friends or get into fights. Trying to find a new beer to try, I received a stern «Um, can I help you?!» from one guy who thought I was staring relentlessly at him for several minutes. His reaction was pretty fair, I make a pretty intense face when I’m making an intense decision about what beer to order next. I wish I could tell you that the situation escalated into a a full scale kung fu fight complete with ninjas coming out of nowhere and the chef emerging from the kitchen as a boss that I needed to pass to make it to the next level… But I just pointed to the beer menu above his head. We both laughed and he felt silly.
Beer Revolution is what you may call a Gastropub, since along with a crazy fresh and interesting beer selection, they’ve taken their own spin on pub classics to bring you a sohle new experience. At its core, it’s beer and pizza and it really doesn’t get any better than that.
I however, will not be calling this place a «gastropub.» Sure, it qualifies, but I just hate that name so much. Why would places with such tasty food have such a disgusting sounding restaurant designation. Do a quick search on Urban Dictionary for «Gastro» to see how the rest of the world views this. Do it after I tell you about the food though because I want you to have an appetite for this. (Note: It will not be SFW.)
Come here hungry, because their brick-​baked pizzas are innovative and varied enough to pair with any beer. I love the Wilbur because I love Charlottes Web and this pizza has tasty pork. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Wilbur in that book and to think that that poor creature who captivated the imagination of millions of children would have to die just so I could have this pizza is heartbreaking. But after trying this pizza… it’s a decision I’m willing to make.
Also — Pizza spring rolls. Enough said.

good place. Not a fancy bar but a casual place with good happy hour every day. Good beer selection. Try pretzels on Tuesday for $ 2

Beer Rev is basically the commercialized version of a lovely but very pretentious bar i love in Toronto called the Only (which I may also have reviewed). They have rotating taps after every keg, meaning if they tap xyz winter ale and it’s finished, the next at bat will not be the same keg and i love that. They display their plethora of brews (both on tap and bottled) on screens throughout the pub which are updated right as taps empty and clearly state prices for pint, ½ pint, ABV, brewing location, the works. It’s just awesome.
We had grand service (sometimes tough as women in sports bars, which this had turned into for the night for the Flames game) and really enjoyed taking advantage of the happy hour specials (3 – 6 pm, 4 brews and a handful of delicious finger foods for $ 5). I love that the happy hour specials are clearly priced and explained, with the happy hour beers highlighted on the screens in green. I know that sounds like a silly thing to be stoked about, but it really is not all that common and I do really appreciate that.
Actually let me take a break from this vague old review and tell you what we got: Father John’s Winter Ale (happy hour special, yummy) and Evil Twin’s Yang Daiji DIPA (not a special but we had to try it, a 10% double IPA, extremely floral and hoppy but not douchey, if you know what I mean).
For food we got 3 happy hour specials —
the ribs (yum, apple and beer flavored),
pizza special (two slices of thin crust with italian sausage, fennel, spinache, and something delicious which was probably crack)
truffle fries (!!!)
okay kids. I know it’s just chips. I know. but let me tell you why these fries are great. I’m not one to go mad for anything with the world ‘truffle’ in it, but these are FRESH fries, seasoned with rock salt (mmm), and get this… it’s sweet potato AND regular fries. mixed.
«Oh Ayla that’s great but whats the big deal you can just buy both kinds and mix them»
GREAT POINT, INTERNET STRANGER. the real pull here, is they, by the grace of god, did NOT SERVE THEIR SWEET POTATO FRIES WITH DING DANG CHIPOTLE MAYO
Now let me clarify — I love chipotle mayo, its delightful stuff. but I have been waiting patiently for 6 years since the C-​mayo has become the popular kid, I have been waiting for a place to show me ANOTHER condiment to eat yam chips with. And Beer Rev did it. garlicky, sweet, truffly aioli. Holy (or should i say, Haioooli) COW. yummy. just great.
Anyway TL;DR: great beer, clear prices, yummy food, sweet staff, easy location. why aren’t you there now? Why am I not there now? we both should be.

Really good beer, but a surprisingly bad hamburger. I did not realize that it would arrive like a charcoal briquette in a bun. I am not used to that and it could have used a warning label.
The beer and the service were great. My only beef was with the beef.

The bartender (Charlie) is great and the food’s not bad either. Great place to wind down on a snowy day!

Love the pizza! Great selection of beer, awesome specials. Very loud and busy on Friday/​Saturday. Though I still love it!

Great beer variety, great service, and great location.
The beer menus is on the wall in the form of a arrival/​departure flight info board :)
Kind of cute!

My review is more from 3−6pm on a Saturday so I can’t really speak for the service when it’s busy.
The focus of this place is craft beer, pizza, and a handful of signature appetizers. Beer selection is good (of course) and features mostly temporary selections, with a few permanent house beers. A small selection of cocktails and wine are available for those who dislike beer. The sandwich selection is very small and there is only one burger. Salad selection is decent.
The snacks were all excellent. The fries were both sweet potato and regular, with amazing truffle aoli sauce. The pretzels were good as well, with some sort of sauce I don’t know the name of, but it was spicy with a definite onion taste. The ribs were good too, but you don’t get very much for the price.
For pizza we had the Thai (special) and the Blazing Saddle (I think that was the name). Both were excellent. The Thai tasted better than most Thai food I have had. The Blazing Saddle was complex and tasty.
Service was very good. The waitress was friendly and generally fast. Everything seemed clean. Noise level was loud considering the time and number of people. It is basically brick and concrete so there is no noise isolation and it is echoes a lot. Music was fairly loud as well. They are going for a more upbeat experience so I won’t hold it against them.
Probably the weakest aspect is the value for money. It isn’t really expensive when looking at prices, but the beer sizes are 25% smaller (16oz or 8oz instead of 20oz or 12oz) and the appetizers are fairly small for a bar.
I would recommend it for a small meal and some good beer with friends or coworkers. Spending the whole night here would break the bank for most.

Generally disappointing… And I have given them several chances.
I have tried several different menu items and all of them are meh. The pizzas are bland and I can honestly say that this is the only place that I have ever had to add salt and pepper to a pizza so that it tasted like something more than cardboard. The service is not usually very good for me but I notice that the waitresses are a lot more attentive to the groups of professional men that come in.
Due to the proximity to my office I know that I will return but that is the only thing that would bring me back.

I like beer, am all for a peasant revolt and you kinda had me at the fact you sold pizza.
Pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, PIZZA! I think I was a Ninja Turtle in another life.
I headed here on a Thursday night at 7 pm and it was still PACKED with the after work crowd. They have really killer happy hour specials here, where they have a menu of everything for $ 4 so it’s no surprise people were still around.
Their beer philosophy is very cool, they have constantly rotating taps, so each time you come back it will be a new menu. I tried a green apple pilsner, that tasted like a liquid version of those green apple caramel lollipops you get at Halloween. Then I went to less wacky beer selections and enjoyed them all.
We went kind of mad on the pizza ordering, getting 3 pizzas for 3 people. They do a thin crust flatbread style pizza here, cut into rectangle slices. We nommed down an Alice, Furious Pete and Newton pizza. We also ordered some truffle fries (they were alright). The shaker of crushed chilis they bring looks more like chili powder, but it still packs a punch, so don’t shake too heavily.
The service was only ok, we had to take an uncleared table to get a spot, after 5 minutes the server came by to clear it, and promised to wipe it down, which never happened, but I like dirty sleeves. I think the addition of the busy atmosphere made getting beers a slow process.
It’s quite expensive here too if you are not getting in for happy hour.
But overall, I enjoyed the selection and «philosophy» of beer revolution, but when this place is packed it is LOUD. Sit tight folks. I will be back for more pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza.

I really like the idea of going somewhere that has many beers on tap, so when I got the chance to go Beer Revolution I was excited! We got there around 7pm on a Saturday and I was happy that there were still many seats available.
Our waitress was knowledgeable and friendly which was a nice bonus, especially when you have questions about what to order. I was a bit disappointed however in the selection… I guess I just thought there would be MORE to choose from. We ordered an appy, the pizza spring rolls — which were very tasty but quite greasy and I felt very unhealthy eating them.
I hear pizza is the way to go here though so i’ll have to go back and try a couple slices!
UPDATE!
We came back here for some pizza and pints and let me tell you — the pizza was delicious! we ordered the newton and the cheese pizza, both were so fresh and tasty.
I liked how they were square and cut in strips. The pricing was great to, considering all pizza is $ 5 off on sundays. I will definatly come back!

REVELRY AND REVOLUTION!
I was taking a long exploratory walk through various parts of Calgary, when the Beer Revolution sign caught my attention. I immediately remembered my good times at Oakland’s Beer Revolution and decided to to seek my «40 Ounces of Freedom» here in Cow Town.
Actually, Calgary’s Beer Revolution is a little more scrubbed that the funkier Oakland version. My receipt at the end also mentioned the local Brewsters chain. Oh well, the Calgary Revolution has co-​opted by The Man. No «Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother…» here!
Nonetheless, this Beer Revolution is a really nice place. I especially enjoyed the dark woods, the neighbourhood bar feel, nicely spaced and comfortable tables and booths, very good service, and watching sports (mostly CFL, MLB, and Premier League) on the many large TV screens. I should have had the pizza, but instead enjoyed a very tasty order of Truffle Fries. The various draft and bottle beers were electronically displayed and my choice of the Hop Burn High Double IPA was spot on.
In Heaven There is No Beer, That’s Why I’ll Drink it Here (Again)…