This May, Victoria Beer Society will host the ninth annual Victoria Beer Week, which features seven events, including two that are outer-space-themed and one that’s a disco party.
Victoria Beer Society event producer Rebecca Craig says that this is a great way to enjoy some fresh craft brews and some of the more creative design decisions that are absent from larger beer festivals.
“You’ll notice this year the lineup of events are quite themed—each event either has a fun costume dress-up theme, or a beer-style theme,” she says. “I think that’s really fun, because you get a chance to explore a whole new area of niche craft beer, while also enjoying a bit of a fun costume party or food theme or something like that, and it makes the events a little bit more unique, unlike a craft beer festival, which is great and you have a ton of variety, but it’s a little more generic in that sense.”
This year’s Beer Week features 35 breweries from around BC, with over a dozen unreleased beers launching at the first event, Lift Off! Craig says that Beer Week is a good initiation for craft beer first-timers, because it brings lots of different types and flavours of beer together in a “down easy” environment.
“Victoria has a huge craft beer scene and it can almost be a little overwhelming to get into; we’ve got some really great breweries, and there’s lots of beer events going on, but to really dig into the craft beer culture in Victoria, Beer Week’s a lot of fun, because you get to try a lot of different beers from different breweries, and you can figure out what you like,” she says. “Another big plus is you get to try a bunch of different beers, and learn about craft beer from the breweries themselves. All the breweries, for the most part, they’re the ones pouring their beer, so you can talk directly to them about their product.”
Beer Week has offerings for everyone, says Craig, and even those who aren’t big beer drinkers can still enjoy some time with friends, have a bite to eat, and participate in some light entertainment.
“Almost all of our events are pretty well-rounded in the sense that there’s lots to do and have fun with your friends,” says Craig. “There’s often live music, there’s really good food vendors, there’s activities to do, so even if you’re the designated driver of the group, or maybe you’re not a big craft beer person, you’ll still have fun with your friends, be able to try a couple of drinks, but also just enjoy a fun event with your friends, have some good food, play some games.”
For those who are newly stricken with disco fever, or have perhaps never fully recovered from their fateful encounter with the late ’70s, this year’s event features Sour Power, which, for the first time in the festival’s history, combines live music and a disco dance floor with a handful of sour beers.
“Sour Power is a new event. We’ve had sour-focused events before, but this one is a little bit more of a dance party, I would say,” says Craig. “It’s a ’70s themed sour beer disco party, so we have Tight Hair performing, which is such a great local disco band.”
Craig says that despite nearly a decade passing since the first Beer Week, its organizers work hard to make each year memorable with new events, beers, and activities, to appeal to almost anyone.
“We’re trying to make sure that these festivals are still appealing to the craft beer scene and fulfilling the excellent lineup of craft beer, but also providing other things to do with your friends, and be a well-rounded, fun event experience,” she says.
Victoria Beer Week
Friday, May 5 to Saturday, May 13
Various prices and venues
victoriabeersociety.com/victoriabeerweek