Phillips Brewing Company

You can’t buy a pint or a sample here. You can sample on a cash donation basis, or buy growler fills or bottles to go.
I wish I had known that before making my guy walk over a mile here to get a local brew. It was a tad embarrassing to say we didn’t have any cash for the donation box to enjoy samples! (We arrived on a cruise ship… Didn’t get local currency for a few hour visit, planned to use credit card). They were super friendly and gave him a small sample anyway, which he more than paid for by buying one of their branded T shirts.
If we lived here, I’m sure he’d visit for growler fills! But don’t come here thinking you can buy a drink to consume on site.

Really enjoyed this place. The tour is entertaining and informative. They use as much local ingredients as possible and truly are passionate about their products. A variety of awesome craft beers. They are also making their own spirits now as well stump gin and whiskey eventually. Great tasting beer, and will surely search it out here in Ontario. ALl are good however favorites would have to be Blue Buck, and chocolate porter.

Stopped by Philips during a mini craft brewery tour in Victoria. Convenient location on Government Street with a small parking lot and plenty of street parking nearby. Great knowledgeable staff and a very impressive retail outlet (beers, tonics and gin… yes they make their own gin) with a growler fill area. Very happy that they have a tasting room and that they also do tours. The tour was great and it included generous (4 oz) samples of all the beers they had on tap (which was 8 the day we went). Philips is the largest of the craft breweries we visited during our mini brewery tour in Victoria. They make some great beers with core and rotating/​seasonal beers… and they do not compromise on quality. Blue Buck (nice bit of history lesson on the naming of this beer) is probably their most popular and I noticed it available in Liquor Stores in Ontario this past summer… again very impressive. And we did see the original Blue Truck in the back parking lot… again part of the history.
Being an IPA guy, I love their Amnesiac… its a double IPA (8.5% and 90 IBU or pretty close). Not for everyone as it is very hoppy but I do love this beer.
This is a great brewery making some great beers. It was a very positive experience and happy to recommend Philips Brewing Company and their beers. And of course the tour… great value and nice to learn about the brewery and the beers.

Wow this place is busy! We came here just before Christmas to do some sampling. The fridges were nearly empty and the place full of people sampling and buying. We’ve had most of the phillips brews before as you can easily find them in alberta. I wish there were chairs to sit on. The place was so busy that we didn’t get to chat much with the guys about the beer. Their new raspberry beer was delicious and on his advice I tried it half and half with their chocolate stout. I’m not a fan of stouts but mixed together left me speechless! It was amazing! We were also pleasantly surprised to find they have a distillery operation as well! If you’re a beer fan this is a must stop for you.

All I can say is you just have to love their beer, I am addicted to their Amnesiac double IPA. And the crew they have working for them have some of the best customer service skills I have ever come across. I am talking Dan in the Victoria office and Alistair doing deliveries here on the island. They left me satisfied and valued as a customer after a small hiccup I experienced. Kudos to the two of them and here is to a wonderful Holiday season for the Phillips crew. Amazing brew!

I was super impressed by these guys. I go to a ton of breweries and it seems like these guys have it figure out.
They have a variety of staple beers as well as a variety or rotators and they’re all tasty while all serving a different purpose. I looked in the back and was blown away by how large their production facility was.
As far as the tap room goes, it’s simple and to the point. They are relatively well priced and tastings come at the cost of a donation to charity.
Keep it up!

Thanks for the hospitality while we were visiting on 6-​4-​2015. My girl friend, colleague, and I were on a tour of the breweries in the area today and Victoria has some splendid breweries, that is for sure. When we arrived here it was with only a couple of minutes before they were going to close and so I thought we weren’t going to really be able to sample the beers. After a short conversation, we were informed that there would be an art show that night with free beer and local art for sale. They were also having a fund raiser for cystic fibrosis that one could donate or not for the beer that was consumed. Very noble and wonderful cause. In any case, the person behind the bar was extremely helpful, had a kick butt beard, and answered all of my questions (regardless of how out of left field they were). In any case I really enjoyed the Blue Buck, the 78 Kolsch, and the Wheatking, but my favorite was the Longboat chocolate porter. I wish we had more time in town, but we really enjoyed the art show and the beer tasting and this should be on the list of anyone visiting in the area, especially if there is an art show happening that night.

Victoria you guys have no idea how lucky you are to have this brewery in your community! Came here with my cousin who is a local. The beer selection was amazing! No too much to get lost and just enough to keep me in my toes during the tastings. As tourist we snagged up all the merchandise we could to take back home to friends. Everything was moderately priced. The growler backpack was 30.00 and the hops liqueur was 4.00 for a small. What really took the cake was the growler vending machine ! I’ve never seen anything like it !!!
The staff was kind and willing to answer all of our questions about the brewery. Sad we didn’t get to see any shows during our stay but it’s a high light we look forwards to when we come back to visit Victoria again !!

Fun place! Growler refills. Sample beers! Wish they had a pub! Very friendly people!!!

I walked into the brewery and said «I’m from San Diego… so try to impress me.» And that’s just what they did. Every beer was great; but the hospitality of Bill behind the bar was even better. We spent two days in Victoria seeing the sights, and have to say our tasting at Phillips was a definite highlight.

This is a great brewery! Their ginger beer is the best beer I have ever had. (Disclaimer: I am a huge fan of ginger.) It was so good it made me create a Unilocal account just so I can let you all know how good it is. You should definitely visit this brewery if you’re in Victoria.

Great brewery, I’m a big fan of a lot they produce. I think it’s so great that they do tasters by charity donation :) The staff were all laid back friendly and helpful. I do wish there were some more perches for us while we taste away. I like all the local art, and great product (growler backpack anyone?!!) Last two times I came to the Island they were closed and off location at an event, I couldn’t be more thrilled to have made it this time! Busy and fun atmosphere on a Saturday night, and boy am I jealous locals can buy those growler fill coins!

This is one of my favorite breweries I have ever been to. If you’re visiting Victoria and want to try some local beer, this is THE place to go. It’s an easy walk here from downtown.
Now, what makes it one of my favorites? Two things: 1) good beer 2) free tastings. That’s right. free. While the beer here is good, I wouldn’t classify it as extremely good. But, when you couple quite good beer with free tastings… game over. The only thing they ask is that you drop some money in a donation bucket for charity they have sitting on the counter if you taste their beer, which is pretty cool if you ask me.

Do you like beer? Do you like to try different beers? Then stop in the next time you are visiting Victoria!
I went to the counter and asked about tastings. They said no charge but if we wanted to make a donation to charity, that was great. Wow! Refreshing!
There were SO many beers on tap that I can’t really tell you everything I tried but I certainly covered the gamut. The staff were so friendly and talked me through every beer as I tried it. I actually am not sure how they kept track of everything but they always knew exactly which beer was next. Apparently I walked away from the counter to check out beers to take home and when I went to pay, my last taste was waiting for me! Seriously great part of the trip.

When you’re passionate for beer, you’re always looking for a place that has that passion. Phillips Brewing Company brings it. A great selection of super flavourful beers you just want to keep trying. Over and over. Sit at the counter, have a few tasters and the crowd is a constant stream of people refilling growlers. And once you try, you’ll see why its hard to leave without your own growler.
Tasters are complimentary, but they encourage a donation to local charity. Okay. Altruistic AND good brewers? Like a moth to a flame I’m there. The seasonal fare is probably the best of the lot. And the session IPA is a strong second.
If you’re on Vancouver Island, this is the place to visit.

My gf and I have been fans of Phillips beer since we went to a tasting in Vancouver at the New Oxford.
On our most recent trip to Victoria when booked the tour of the brewery. It was a cold wet day so we were the only people on the tour. Lots of samples of their beer, all of which were great (even the chocolate beer). Our guide was very friendly (but he talked really, really fast, hard to get a word in). Overall it was a fun experience and were will search out some of the hard to find in Vancouver varieties that we tasted.

my husband is all into cheesy 80’s movies so we had to try the Elsinore (Strange Brew) the beer was okay, but OMG the ginger beer was ta die fore eh.

Some very good beers are brewed here! The staff is friendly and generous in their tasting pours. The souvenirs are not only cool but useful, too, (growlers and locally crafted growler carrying bags!) Beer prices are reasonable, and you’ll learn a lot on the tour if you happen to go on a Wednesday or Thursday.

Good selection of beers to try with helpful staff and a cool feeling. Great tees and posters for sale, all done by the same local artist. My boyfriend says the Blue Buck is one of his favorite beers he’s ever tasted — and we live in micro-​brew central here in Colorado!

The beer was delicious, we got to try 4 or 5 in the tasting room, the guy was super friendly, knowledgeable, and chatty, and it was exactly what we were looking for in a visit to a brewery.