Craft beer festival pouring hundreds of brews this weekend
Posted June 2, 2017 8:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Craft beer lovers will be gathering by the thousands in East Vancouver this weekend for the Vancouver Craft Beer Week Festival.
The two-day event wraps up 10 days of events across Metro Vancouver featuring 300 of the region’s finest beers and ciders. “When we started out eight years ago, we had about 100 people at Heritage Hall for our big festival. This year the festival itself should land 12,000 or 14,000 people and probably around 16,000 for the entire week,” says Leah Heneghan, VCBW events director.
She adds Craft Beer Week now includes daily events across the region, growing to become the largest craft beer only celebration in Canada. “That includes a fruit beer fest, a Belgian showcase that features probably the greatest selection outside of Belgium itself and even feats of strength. That’s a bunch of people who work in the beer industry doing crazy human tricks for the entertainment of the crowd.”
The growth of Vancouver Beer Week reflects the growth of the craft beer industry in Vancouver, which has exploded in recent years and Heneghan believes that won’t change anytime soon. “It’s a question we are asked a fair bit and my frequent answer is that as long as there’s someone holding a macrobrew lager in their hand, there is room for more breweries in this town,” she chuckles.
With fruit beers and sour beers still trending, this year’s VCBW collaboration brew will likely please a lot of palates. “It was done on Brewer’s Row in Port Moody. It’s a hazy pale ale which has passion fruit and guava in it. It’s delicious, fruity and hoppy,” Heneghan tells NEWS 1130.
Collaboration is nothing new in the local craft beer community. “Brewers often borrow hops from each other, or yeast or malts or work together to produce a collaborative beer. We’ve been doing it since we started VCBW. It’s something that’s always been really important to us — bringing together the community.”
Tickets to the VCBW festival at the PNE fairgrounds this weekend are still available, allowing access to hundreds of beers and more than few ciders. “Pretty much anyone can find something they will enjoy. We even have some beer cocktails being poured in the Publican’s Quarter,” says Heneghan.
“They’re doing a popup barber shop, there’s Pinball Alley with a bunch of games. We have some live, interactive mural painting, a bunch of stages, bands, musicians and DJs. It’s always a great place for people who haven’t experienced the word of beer festivals before.”
Tickets are $39.99 and include 2 drink tokens (more can be purchased for $1.50 each) and a 4oz souvenir taster mug.
