I wasn’t in the best of shape or mood. I’d crashed on my bike when a wheel caught on a wooden bridge on the Squamish Valley Road. I rode into Squamish a wreck and with a very sore rib. I couldn’t laugh and didn’t feel there was much to smile about either.

So thank you Backcountry Brewing for nudging me to buck up and enjoy life; the refreshing brews on tap helped as did the lively, inviting vibe. And then I discovered the food was better than I expected of a brew pub where you order at the counter.

It’s in a semi-industrial neighbourhood albeit one that’s getting pretty tasty. Tall Tree Bakery with artisanal offerings has opened next door to Backcountry and a couple more places to imbibe are new to the vicinity — North Yard Cider Co. and A-Frame Brewing.

Backcountry, which opened last year, is built to accommodate. It’s a huge space with high ceilings, communal tables, and others with backcountry maps embedded on table tops and a moose head. The theme is ski cabin and it’s specific — 1975 ski cabin. It’s filled with the young and the restless and the recreationally inclined. One of the guys across from us had a broken arm from a mountain biking accident; he’d been to a hospital in Vancouver but the wait was too long to get treated — looked like beer was the next best remedy.