It started off a bit gloomy with clouds, but the sun came out to whet beer-drinkers’ appetites at the 21st Great Canadian Beer Festival on September 6–7. Though the soggy turf at the festival site of Royal Athletic Park didn’t dry out, it was a small price to pay for the pleasure of drinking beer outside for two days.
This was my first beer fest and I was surprised by the crowds, which were lined up around the block for an hour before the gates opened. Not just the number of people, but the sheer variety of attendees: young, old, males, females… there was a pretty wide mix (and let’s not forget the accordion-playing mermaid).
According to John Rowling, one of the festival’s founders, the demographics have changed substantially since the festival started. The kinds of people attending represent the changing market for craft beers, a market that’s becoming larger and more diverse.
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Being a west coast festival, the beer selection was weighted heavily towards hoppy IPAs: we just can’t get enough Cascade hops! So, a nice surprise was the Canadian Brewing Awards Beer of the Year winner out of Vancouver: Old Jalopy Pale Ale from Powell Street Craft Brewery. It goes for balance and good flavour, not just sheer bitterness, avoiding the in-your-face-hops attitude. The beer is, unfortunately, not available in Victoria yet, as the brewery is still very small, but they plan to scale up production in the future.
I hadn’t tried cask-conditioned ale before, so it was a treat that so many breweries had brought along casks. The cask beers tended to be richer in flavour, and thicker on the tongue than the draft beers, although often higher in alcohol.
This works perfectly for the stronger stuff, like Moon Under Water’s Anniversary Ale (actually a wheat wine), which had a malty, sweet caramel body with licorice and herbal flavours. It’s not to be guzzled, and probably not a good choice to start with (pacing is key when there are so many beers to try); I totally started with it anyway. Cask beers tend to run out first!
After about six samples, my taste buds started getting hop burnout. I thought I’d try a lighter beer and was suckered in by the name of Russell’s pilsner: Eastern Promises. Not sure what was promised, but it wasn’t delivered.
A summery hefeweizen from the Noble Pig Brewery was next up, which was spicy and fruity (citrus, banana), not particularly complex, but still refreshing.
The best part about a festival like this is how passionate and excited the brewers are about what they do. Many craft brewers start by home-brewing, so it’s a culture that’s not dominated by profit and endless expansion (talking about you, InBev), but is really just about sharing tasty, tasty beer with everybody.