Awarding the best brew of Canada
Roll out the red carpets, shine the trophies and dawn your best for this beer bash. Coming to the west coast for the first time ever is the 11th annual Canadian Brewing Awards.
From May 9-11, beer lovers throughout Canada will unite in Victoria, BC for the country’s largest and most premier national beer competition. But awards are not all this weekend has in store. From pub crawls to seminars and good food, Victoria is the place to be for beer.
One of the main attractions opening its doors this weekend is the renowned Vancouver Island Brewery. On Thursday, May 9, the brewery will host some island hospitality to the out of town brewers. On Saturday, the public gets their chance to admire the city’s brewery from 1-4 p.m. Once inside, taste their Flying Tanker White IPA, Beachcomber Summer Ale and the Festival Ale while enjoying a tour of the island’s original craft brewery.
To kill time between Thursday and Saturday, check out some of the seminars being offered. From discussion about barrel aging to the history of craft beers, enthusiasts are sure to come away with a heightened knowledge of all things brewed.
Other things to check out will be the collaborative Brewers BBQ on May 10, where attending breweries have worked with Victoria’s Phillips Beer to craft unique beers. After, what better way to discover the brewed culture of Victoria than with a pub crawl to some of the city’s best locales.
Among other breweries traveling to this very special weekend will be British Columbia’s own Okanogan Spring Brewery, Ontario’s Black Oak Brewing Company, coming down from the north is the Yukon Brewing Company and more than 100 others from all over Canada. Concluding the weekend is the Canadian Brewing Awards Gala, where winners will be named.
Who will win this year’s coveted beer of the year award? You’ll just have to wait and see. Check out the full lineup of participating breweries here.
