Suds flow as beer festival takes over Royal Athletic Park
New and old fans of beer and ale will find a West Coast flavour to excite their interests and palates at this year’s Great Canadian Beer Festival, Friday and Saturday in Victoria.
“Ontario has probably the biggest numbers when it comes to breweries, but it doesn’t have the diversity you find in B.C.,” says Gerry Hieter, chairman of the Great Canadian Beer Festival, now marking its 26th year.
“In terms of quality and diversity of beers, B.C. is now the best, with proportionally more national awards than any other province.”
The Great Canadian Beer Festival is the longest-running event of its kind in the country. With 75 breweries and two cider makers, mostly from B.C., represented at Royal Athletic Park, swillers will have more than 250 flavours and varieties to sample.
“People are very knowledgeable and sophisticated about craft beer these days,” Hieter says. “But if you don’t know anything about beer, the festival is a prime opportunity to learn.”
Craft beer is brewed in a traditional manner without the use of industrial machinery. Brewing usually takes place in a small operation, often attached to a pub.
This year’s Great Canadian Beer Festival will give those brewers a chance to showcase individual varieties, many of which are in the “wild” or “sour” category.
These types of beer are made sour by the addition, at various stages of the brewing process, of yeast types beyond the traditional brewer’s yeast.
Hieter explained the term “wild” comes from the fact that many of these yeasts are found in the natural surrounding environment. Some brewers regard these wild yeast varieties as contaminants. But they can also add a new flavour, typically one that’s tart or sour.
“So there is a whole range of beers that are meant to be sour in taste,” he says. “They have a totally unique flavour and there is a large demand for it.”
Hieter says Belgians have a long tradition of brewing sour beers. Belgian brewers have also long added fruit to beer, a pairing that works especially well with a beer that is tart.
This year’s beer festival will feature a number of Canadian craft brewers presenting their own sour and fruit brews.
Hieter says the U.S. is now leading the world in craft beer. Its 6,000-odd brewers are working hard to innovate with new yeast varieties and brewing techniques to create new, interesting flavours.
But he says Canadian brewers, while smaller in number, can still compete with the Americans in quality and distinctive flavours. This year’s festival will host brewers from across Canada and up to the Yukon.
The festival has established an international reputation, with tickets sold to beer lovers in England, Germany, Holland, France, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.
The Great Canadian Beer Festival takes place Friday, Sept. 7, from 4-9 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 8, from noon to 5 p.m. at Royal Athletic Park. For more information, go to gcbf.com.