Beer festivals

April 2020 Capitol Hill Brewfest Capitol Hill Community Centre, Calgary capitolhillcommunity.ca April 17–18, 2020 Okanagan Fest-of-Ale Penticton, B.C. festofale.ca April and October/ November 2020 South Yeast Brewfest Acadia Recreation Complex Calgary acadiaca.com/brewfest April and October 2020 NorthYeast BrewFest Crossroads Community Association, Calgary crossroadsyyc.com/event/ northyeastbrewfest May 1–2, 2020 Calgary International Beerfest BMO Centre, Stampede Park albertabeerfestivals.com/ festivals May 29–30, 2020 Edmonton Craft Beer Festival The Edmonton Expo Centre albertabeerfestivals.com/ festivals June 1–7, 2020 YYC Beer Week, Calgary yycbeerweek.com June 2020 Olds Craft Beer Festival Olds Cow Palace oldsbeerfest.com Beer festivals BY DAVID NUTTALL July 2–12, 2020 Calgary Stampede Stampede Park calgarystampede.com July and September 2020 Big Rock Barn Burner Big Rock Brewery, Calgary bigrockbeer.com July 16–26, 2020 Taste of Edmonton Churchill Square tasteofedm.ca July 17–26, 2020 K-Days 2020 Edmonton EXPO Centre & Exhibition Grounds k-days.com July 2020 Sun n’ Cerveza Kensington, Calgary kensingtonyyc.com August 6–9, 2020 Taste of Calgary Eau Claire Market Plaza tasteofcalgary.com August 2020 (pending) Barley Belt Tap Tour Barley Belt, Calgary barleybeltyyc.com August 21, 2020 Barley & Smoke ENMAX Park, Calgary barleysmoke.ca August 23, 2020 Phillip’s Brewing Brewery & The Beast—Festival of Meat Fort Calgary breweryandthebeast.com/ calgary t may come as surprise to many, but apart from what was initially a royal wedding celebration in Bavaria in 1810 (Oktoberfest), and a couple of other events worldwide, beer festivals as we know them today really began in the latter part of the 20th century.

In Alberta, they only arrived this century, yet even though we may have come late to the game, we are starting to make up for it in numbers. Thanks to the rapidly growing number of breweries in the province, every month of the year now has some celebration going on with beer involved.

These festivals come in all shapes and sizes. The big ones are the best known; running for multiple days and attracting tens of thousands of people enjoying several hundred beers. There are also large festivals that include wine and

spirits as well. Even the biggest fairs, The Calgary Stampede and Edmonton’s K-Days, now have craft beer on their grounds.

You’ll also find numerous neighbourhood and small-town

events, usually one day affairs, along with those hosted by beer-focused

restaurants and pubs, liquor stores, or sponsored by larger breweries. Beer Weeks have recently become popular as a way for a region to hold multiple events during their duration. Plus, thanks to Alberta’s large population with German heritage, you’ll find all sorts of Oktoberfests taking place in September through October. Of course, local breweries will hold their own events, many having a charitable aspect. Likewise, look for beer runs, tap takeovers, and other events as beer tourism itself has become a growing industry. A year’s selection of Alberta’s festivals (plus two in B.C.) which feature beer are listed below. Some exact dates have not been set at time of writing; in that case the month they last appeared is cited.

If you enjoy beer, make sure you attend as many as you can! As always, check out websites and social media for more information. David has worked in liquor since the late 1980s. He is a freelance writer, beer judge, speaker, and since 2014, has run Brew Ed monthly beer education classes in Calgary. Follow @abfbrewed. ALBERTA AND AREA i

August 2020 Caskapalooza Craft Beer Markets in Edmonton and Calgary craftbeermarket.ca

September 11–12, 2020 Great Canadian Beer Festival Victoria, B.C. victoriabeersociety.com/ great-canadian-beer-fest

September 18–19, 2020 The MASHING—Calgary Stampede Grandstand albertabeerfestivals.com/ festivals

September 2020 Penhold Craft Beer, Wine & Spirits Festival Penhold Regional Multiplex townofpenhold.ca/p/ upcoming-events

September 15–21, 2020 Canmore Uncorked Drinks Festival Downtown Canmore canmoreuncorked.com

September 2020 Village Brewing Circle Carnival, Calgary circlecarnival.com

September 25–26, 2020 The MASHING—Edmonton RE/MAX Field albertabeerfestivals.com/ festivals

September 2020 Edmonton Beer Geeks Anonymous Real Ale Festival Ritchie Community League Hall, Edmonton edmontonbeergeeksanonymous.ca

September-October 2020 Multiple Events German Canadian Cultural Association (Edmonton) gcca.ca September 2020 Oktoberfest 2020— Rotary Club of St. Albert Red Willow Place, St. Albert stalbertrotaryclub.com

September 2020 Lethbridge Oktoberfest Exhibition Park oktoberfestyql.com

September 2020 Oktoberfest Calgary Polo Club Ranch House & Tents oktoberfestcalgary.com

September 2020 Red Deer Oktoberfest Westerner Park rdoktoberfest.ca

September 2020 Medicine Hat Beer Fest Medicine Hat Lodge mhbeerfest.ca

October 2020 Scarecrow Fest-Of-Ale Revolution Place Grande Prairie facebook.com/ scarecrowfestivalgp

October 16–17, 2020 Calgary Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival Stampede Park BMO Centre rockymountainwine.com/ event/calgary

October 2020 Lethbridge Craft Beer Festival Southern Alberta Art Gallery saag.ca

October 2020 Alberta Beer Week All over Alberta alberta.beer/stories/ alberta-beer-week November 6–7, 2020 Edmonton Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival Edmonton Convention Centre rockymountainwine.com/ event/Edmonton

November 11–15, 2020 Farmfair International Northlands Edmonton EXPO Centre farmfairinternational.com

November 2020 RenBREW Fest Renfrew Community Association, Calgary renfrewyyc.ca

November 2020 Grape Escape Fall 2020 BMO Centre Halls D & E Stampede Park coopwinespiritsbeer.com

November 2020 Banff Craft Beer Festival Cave and Basin albertabeerfestivals.com/ festivals

January 2021 Alberta Food and Beverage Expo Lethbridge Exhibition Park Lethbridge eatdrinkalberta.com/events/ lethbridge

February 2021 The Jasper Beer & Spirits Festival Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge albertabeerfestivals.com/ festivals

February 2021 Alberta Food & Beverage Expo—Medicine Hat Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede Park eatdrinkalberta.com/ events/medicine-hat March 2021 Bottlescrew Bill’s 27th Annual Beerfest Bottlescrew Bill’s, Calgary bottlescrewbill.com

March 2021 Grape Escape Spring 2021 BMO Centre Halls D & E Stampede Park coopwinespiritsbeer.com/ events

March 2021 Alberta Food & Beverage Expo—Grande Prairie Evergreen Park eatdrinkalberta.com/events/ grande-prairie

March 2021 Edmonton’s International Beerfest The Edmonton Convention Centre internationalbeerfest.com

March 2021 Brewski Festival Lake Louise skilouise.com

April 2021 Alberta Food & Beverage Expo—Red Deer Westerner Park Exhibition Hall eatdrinkalberta.com/events/ red-deer