I want to stay local for the final beer column of 2025!

Although I live in Kelowna, a city with a thriving craft beer scene, it’s relatively rare that I feature Central Okanagan breweries and beers in this column.

The simple reason for that is we have readers all over the province and I try to pick beers that are widely available in liquor stores around British Columbia.

While there are a lot of great breweries around town, I’ve found that most Kelowna breweries don’t typically produce their beers for sale outside of the Okanagan, at least not on a large scale.

I do think that's slowly changing, and I hope that some of the beers I love from my city start to become more widely available as we get into 2026 and beyond.

Having said all that, my final column of the beer will feature a pair of hazy pale ales from local breweries that I picked up from liquor stores recently.

These are both beers I’ve enjoyed pints of at these respective breweries – one on each side of the Bennett Bridge – and it’s nice to see them available in private liquor stores.

You’ll certainly be able to find them in Kelowna and I hope readers in Penticton, Kamloops and beyond will be able to track them down as well!

Photo Credit: NowMediaI had to keep it local for the final beer column of 2025!

Kettle River Brewing – Nuclear Splash Tropical Hazy Pale Ale

I’d wager a guess that this is one of the more well-known craft beers produced in Kelowna.

Kettle River’s Nuclear Splash delivers a nice tropical fruit aroma and the juicy taste backs that up.

It’s rich and flavourful with a mild bitterness as it hits your lips, with the brewery promising that the “hazy shade of fruit-juicy delight will blow your taste buds away.”

Nuclear Splash comes in at 5% ABV (alcohol by volume) and 35 IBU (international bitterness units).

Lakesider Brewing – Lazy Paddle Hazy Pale Ale

Over to West Kelowna we go, where Lakesider’s Lazy Paddle Hazy Pale Ale is a fan favourite much like Nuclear Splash is across the bridge.

It may be another easy-drinking beer, but its lighter body is juicy and packed with flavour, delivering a smooth and less-bitter finish.

The team at Lakesider says it’s brewed in their own Okanagan style, with big citrus and pineapple notes thanks to “generous dry hopping.”

Compared to Nuclear Splash, Lazy Paddle has a slightly higher ABV at 5.5% but a lower IBU at only 18.

Josh Duncan is the NowMedia news director and a craft beer lover. Reach him at josh@nowmediagroup.ca. His beer column appears every Saturday afternoon in this space.