The Distillery Public House

If you’re looking for a place to see a good concert, go here. This is not a location where you will find Nickelback playing any time soon and I’m very OK with that. Hard rock and punk make up a lot of the shows here, but there is a definite mix of other genres that make this place unique.
It’s not huge, but it can fit a good amount of people for its size. The area in front of the stage seems like it was designed for a mosh pit, but I assume it makes an excellent dance floor also.
This place knows its clientèle– hence the $ 4 Luck Lagers on certain nights. I admit to having my fair share and enjoyed every one of them (OK, maybe not the first couple as much as the last 10).
For those who frequent Earls more than anything, you will likely be taken aback by the atmosphere and the staff– don’t be. From what I’ve seen the people working there are great individuals and the atmosphere isn’t fake/​contrived. This is a punk/​metal bar primarily and they don’t pretend to be something they are not.
Good times are had at The Distillery!

Been to the distillery several times to see bands play. The sound system and sound guy here are great. Cans of lucky are always reasonably priced. The negativses about the distillery would be the lack of consistency and the cooler than cool types who go there. Careful saturday could be heavy metal bands and the next night is dub step garbage. So, inconsistent «theme» to the place. But whatever band youre there to see will be loud and good so purely from a music standpoint distillery is good. Prob should make the note it can take forever to get a beer when crowded.
A positive is that its ON a train station, so get hammered and leave the car at home.

This is the old address listed, but it has now moved to the 6^th Street West train station platform along 7^th Ave downtown.
Anyhoo, since February last year, I used to dance as a burlesque performer at this pub, and it’s really awesome. Even though the staff all have tough images, with tattoos and piercings, they are really awesome people to know with warm hearts & a great sense of humor.
The style is «deliberately run down» because it’s a rocker’s/headbanger’s place to relax afterwork. I have heard they serve food though I’ve yet to see evidence of someone eating lol. However, they do have great drink prices as I can get a can of Lucky’s beer for $ 3 or a bottle for $ 4. In Calgary, it’s increasingly difficult to find beer at a reasonable price.
I also had the honor attending the 2010 Calgary Burlesque Festival here and the evening was stunning. It was very crowded, but it was glamorous like a 1940s prom. All the women were dressed to the nines and the only men present were the ones working the show, band members, etc.
I think it was sweet that this event was held in honor & support of the late Marsha Ellen Meidows, who was an empowering lady :)
If I had just one complaint about this venue, it would be the volume level of the music, since to have a conversation we have to lean forward and shout into each other’s ear hehe.

According to the other reviews on this place, I must really be out-​of-​the-​loop since I had a BLAST at The Distillery. It was an all-​around extraordinary night!
Maybe it’s because I’m a huge fan of live shows, or because I’m a metal-​head at heart, but I believe this could be one of my new favourite bars in town.
I found the crowd to be lively and entertaining while watching some good ol’ rock gigs. No one seemed to be too eager to judge me and my friends or ready to start a rumble. Everyone was there for the same reason: to listen to some live heavy rock and have a good time!
There is, however, a usual charge of $ 10 cover to see the bands, which doesn’t very much around the city. That’s about the same price you’d be paying at Broken City or the Drum & Monkey for some shows. I don’t mind paying the cover charge at all since they have wicked drink specials like $ 4 bottle of Lucky’s. Okay, I realize not many people like Lucky, but when it comes that cheap, who cares?!
I absolutely love the general atmosphere and design of this place. The dance floor (or mosh pit) is located under a huge dome, as if it’s enclosing and segregating the dancers from the rest of the place! It’s so cool to be on this huge floor when a band is rocking out on the stage a few feet above you! The bands we see really rock the stage and know how to get a crowd moving! At least, they rocked out for me!
It’s strange because the new LRT design on 6^th kind of put a damper on The Distillery’s front entrance. The bar actually had to raise their front entrance up a couple of feet to be flush with LRT platform. It’s weird and means that there are a few steps into this place, but it also separates it from the outside world, which I find cool!
I’ll settle for being the black sheep in this case since I love The Distillery. I think it’s a wicked time and anyone who appreciates hard music, cheap booze and good people will agree! I guess I’m still a grunge kid at heart!

So, once upon a time I fancied myself a rocker. I had the requisite black hair in jr high school, the ripped t-​shirts, etc. I outgrew the phase like most people do, grew out my hair, started easing up on the teen angst. But deep inside I believed that I could still hold my own, so that if I walked into a punk show I could still rock out with the best of them. Thanks to the Distillery, I now know that is a lie. I am not even close to hardcore, and I never ever was. I’m at peace with this.
We were heading somewhere completely different but walked by when someone suggested we go in. For some reason I did, and due to a mis-​communication half of us had paid to get in while half refused to go in and left. Those that wouldn’t actually ARE more hard core, and that speaks to how the rest of the night went. The people were fairly rude, jostling everybody and giving the outsiders dirty looks. Definitely a hard crowd. Everyone looked like they’d stepped off the cover of a Rancid album. Lots of scowls. They had a tiny circle pit, as everyone was too busy affecting coolness to join in. The band was awful and the cover overpriced considering. We finished our beers and left to rejoin with the smarter group.
Yep, not hardcore at all! Phew, close call!