The NWT Brewing Company's Woodyard brew pub has been named one of Canada's 50 best bars.
It earned the honour from Canada's 100 Best Restaurants magazine, which included the nation's top 50 bars to its annual ranking of eateries, and the Yellowknife watering hole was named the forty ninth best bar in the country.
It was one of two bars in the territories to make the list as The Woodcutter's Blanket in Whitehorse, Yukon, cracked the Top 10.
Michael Hugall/NNSL photo
Woodyard co-owner and former brew master Fletcher Stevens said he is very happy to receive the honour.
“I couldn't believe it,” said Stevens. “Someone stopped my brother-in-law at a store and showed him the article and that's when we found out.”
Stevens said he'd heard of Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list but never imagined his establishment would be included in the ranking.
“Yellowknife sees so many tourists and critics who write posts on the restaurants and never tell us what they are doing,” quipped Stevens. “If the person had told us who they were we could have given them a tour of the building.”
The NWT Brewing Company offers a rotating list of many beers including the Ragged Pine pale Ale, Honey Bucket nut brown and the Bug Repellent IPA.
The brew pub's menu includes 20 items ranging from a portobello mushroom burger to local fish and a daily soup special.
Canada's 50 Best Bars recommends the Kicksled cream ale, which earned bronze at the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2016.
“Our minds are blown!” said the brewery on their Facebook page. “What an honour to be listed beside these spectacular businesses.”
Stevens and his wife Miranda opened the brewery in 2015.
He said his wife deserves most of the credit for their success.
“I'm just the glorified maintenance man,” he said.