Canadian teen returns to her birthplace — an English pub — to have her first pint

For many teenagers, having a pint of beer is an exciting initiation to adulthood when they reach the legal age. For Isobel Casey, it was more of a full circle moment.

That's because the North Vancouver teenager was born in a British pub.

Casey's mom was having a cup of coffee with a few friends at the Hartford Mill pub in Cambridge, England, on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2002. She felt a contraction and raced out to her car to get to a hospital.

"And next thing you know, I was already half out in the parking lot and they brought her back in," her now 18-year-old daughter told host Gloria Macarenko on CBC's On The Coast. 

Casey was born — near the toddler ball pit — at the pub. 

English pub culture is different from Canada's, Casey said. For instance, a 1995 rule allowed children under 14 into English pubs, if accompanied by an adult. 

"In England, it is so much more relaxed," said Casey, whose family moved to B.C. when she was a toddler. "It's almost like the pub over there is what we would say is a coffeehouse ... It's not just for people to go and get drunk."

Last week, the Grade 12 student travelled with her father back to the U.K. to check out some universities as she's looking to go to school in England. 

The duo, along with some family and friends, also paid a visit to her birthplace.

"It [was] quite an experience," Casey said. "[The pub] burned down actually about five years ago, so they've rebuilt it exactly the way it was before ... I've seen the pictures growing up, but I've actually never been back since I was, like, three."

And being the legal drinking age in England, Casey also got to enjoy a pint of Green King IPA.  

"The owner let me behind the bar and taught me how to pour a pint. That was my first one," she said.

The verdict?

"It was drinkable."

Listen to the interview with Isobel Casey here: