In the summer, our choice of drink gets a little more adventurous (translation: we won’t turn down a blue cocktail so quickly).

So when we heard the buzz on Vancouver’s Parallel 49 Brewing Co., we decided to put our amateur cicerone skills to the test. (And the buzz in our office was quite loud, as one of the Parallel 49 owners is married to a VitaminDaily.com staffer.)

Its new East Van storefront has 1.89 litre growler bottles (incredibly popular on the Portland craft beer scene, but hard to find in Vancouver). At just $5 a jug/$10 a fill, it’s a cheap and eco-friendly way to stock up on beer for parties. The storefront also has samples straight from the tap, and a flat-screen TV with a live feed of the brewery on the other side of the wall. Look for three core brews (Hoparazzi IPL, Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale, and Old Boy classic ale) as well as a seasonal offering like summer Watermelon Wit.

And with your refillable growler, no more 99 bottles of beer on the wall (or in the recycling bin).

Parallel 49 at BC Liquor Stores, www.bcliquorstores.com and 1950 Triumph St., Vancouver, http://parallel49brewing.com

Back in the day, drinking beer involved frat houses, funnels and ping pong tables.

Not any more. Bitter Tasting Room is the beer-lover’s answer to a wine bar, from the same people who brought us Salt and the Irish Heather. The room is modern, the list of ales and lagers is as big as a phone book and if you ask nicely, the bartender will even whip you up a beer cocktail, which, for the record, does not involve dropping a shot of Jagermeister into your pint glass.

Take that, Alpha Beta Gamma Delta. —Kelsey Dundon

Bitter Tasting Room, 16 W. Hastings St., Vancouver,  604-558-4658, www.bittertastingroom.com

Both you and your mate are having a mad day, so sneak out of the office early and rendezvous at Ferguson Point. Not to make out, but to chow down.

Take a Strait-view patio seat at The Teahouse and treat each other to Pizza in the Park, where ten dollars gets you a generous personal-sized pizza and a cold pint of Stanley Park 1897 Amber. Choose from Smoked Salmon Flatbread topped with crème fraîche, capers and fresh arugula (our fave), Peperonata with spicy Italian sausage and olives, or Margherita made with basil from the resto’s own herb patch.

In between chugs and chews, you can also sneak in a smooch or two.

Available weekdays 3 p.m.-5 p.m. until late September at The Teahouse, Ferguson Point, Stanley Park Dr., Vancouver, 604-669-3281, www.vancouverdine.com