Belly up to craft-beer festival
If you love beer and enjoy drinking with a crowd of people happily doing the same, you’re going to love the Great Canadian Beer Festival, Friday and Saturday. Taste different styles of beer from 64 micro-breweries — from wheat to sours, fruit beer, kolschs, ales and 40 variations on the ever-popular India pale ale. There is also one cidery at the event.
While the majority of the suds flow from breweries from across B.C., the festival now welcomes brewers from across Canada for the first time since it began in 1993.
“Our mandate is to promote the fantastic craft beers Canada has to offer — and there are more great Canadian breweries to feature this year than ever before,” said Gerry Hieter, festival chairman. “We are excited to bring some very new breweries to the craft beer consumer.”
This year’s event features 12 newcomers, including Bad Tattoo Brewing, Bridge Brewing Company, Category 12, Cumberland Brewing Co., Doan’s Craft Brewing, Gladstone Brewing, Loghouse Brewpub, Moody Ales, Red Arrow Brewing Co., Sherwood Mountain Brewhouse, Strange Fellows Brewing Company and Dieu Du Ciel.
Only eight or nine out-ofprovince brewers, from as far away as Quebec and Whitehorse, are represented. Hieter says that at some point, the festival may only feature B.C. companies.
The micro-brewery industry is robust in B.C., with close to 100 companies. That’s a far cry from when the first festival was held 23 years ago, when there were only 12 to 15 companies in the whole province.
Back then, the festival had to fill in the gaps with U.S. products. Now, there are no U.S. companies and there is a waiting list of new B.C. brewers who would like to participate.
Hieter attributes the festival’s success to the fact that there is something for everyone.
“From the connoisseur making tasting notes to the music fans and the friends seeing old friends, people are here for more than just the beer.” There will also be six food vendors on site.
Profits from the event will go toward CFAX Santas Anonymous. The festival donates between $10,000 to $20,000 every year.
Only 8,500 tickets will be sold in total. Saturday is sold out, but a limited number of tickets is still available for Friday.
Tickets are $40 per day, with beer tokens $1.50 each. The event runs from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Royal Athletic Park, 1014 Caledonia Ave. For more information or tickets, go to gcbf.com.