Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. is officially open for business

Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. is the newest place to stop on your tour of Kelowna’s growing brewery district.

The brewery is located at 1033 Richter St., just steps from Kettle River Brewing Co. and Red Bird Brewing Inc., and it opened its doors to the public today.

The brewery let a few people in for a bit of a test run this past weekend and now the brewery tells KelownaNow that today's opening will be for good.

To start, Vice & Virtue will be open from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.

🌈 🍻⚡️ Stoked to be coming out of the gates with these tasty brews! L to R: The White Lie Pilsner The Love Potion Raspberry Berliner Vice 🤓 The Giver Pale Ale The Homewrecker NEIPA . #BCwine & #BCcider also on offer. ☺️ . . . #kelowna #viceandvirtuebeer #bcbeer #bcbreweries #northendbeer

A post shared by Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. (@viceandvirtuebeer) on Jul 7, 2018 at 7:21pm PDT

They’re kicking things off with four beers on tap, which are the White Lie Pilsner, Love Potion Raspberry Berliner Vice, Giver Pale Ale and Homewrecker NEIPA.

Those four creations come from the mind of Vice & Virtue’s brewer, James Windsor, who moved from Ontario earlier this year to be part of the new brewery.

Time to introduce the guy behind our brews! Our brewer James Windsor packed up life in Ont earlier this year and drove across the country to join us. When he arrived, the brewery site was well and truly *just* breaking ground. Lucky for us, James didn’t flinch at diving in and helping us get the brewery commissioned. We feel lucky he has been with us since the start, he knows the brew house inside and out and all those days spent under construction were also days spent dreaming up recipes and beer possibilities. Where are you from? I was born between Toronto & Hamilton, but my heart resides in Montreal. I am extremely happy to call BC my new home now. How did you land in Kelowna? In a 2005 rear-wheeled drive Dodge Ram sans snow tires, gifted to me from my generous step father, in the dead of winter. How did you get involved in the project? My partner Annika, who is from BC and I are starting a family, and being closer to her family was something important to us, so we started thinking about moving west. Serendipitously my brother Andrew, who’s been a winemaker in the valley for sometime now, told me he knew of some great guys opening up a brewery in Kelowna and that I should apply for the job. After talking to them all I was sold. Go to brew? Since I got to BC it’s been the Four Winds Velo, or the Yellow Dog High Five Hazy IPA. What do you think Vice & Virtue will add to the local brewery landscape? I’m hoping we will add something very different and very delicious. We are in good company with: Kettle River, BNA, Red Bird and Tree in the neighbourhood though. Having access to such great local fruit, wine barrels, and having Gambrinus malt not far away makes for a brewers paradise out here. Most importantly I’m looking to pairing beers with the delicious food our chef Nelson Daniels will be making. His charcuterie, fermented treats and smoked goods are so good! Working with someone of his caliber will constantly push me to improve the quality of my beers. Wee bit of background? Been brewing for 10+ years. Went to school at the Sibel Institute in Chicago, and Doemens Academy in Munich. Have worked at macros, micros and everything in between in Ont.

A post shared by Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. (@viceandvirtuebeer) on Jul 3, 2018 at 3:23pm PDT

He went to school at the Siebel Institute in Chicago and has been brewing beer for over a decade, so you know there will be some tasty creations to try every time you’re there.

If you’re not a huge beer lover, but still want to check out the new space, you can also get B.C. wine and B.C. cider.

And whatever you’re drinking, remember to tag KelownaNow in your social media posts when you’re out brewery hopping around our fine city!