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We were once again graciously invited to experience Vancouver’s premier craft beer festival a few weeks back and we liked it so much, we wanted to share a little bit about what made it so awesome.
Aside from the location’s close proximity to abundant parking, downtown Vancouver and the cool breezes coming off the Columbia River, here are 5 more reasons not to miss their next event.
Plenty of Space
The problem most festivals have, especially the largest ones, is a lack of space and the resulting congestion. In Esther Short Park’s pastoral setting, amid redwood and pine trees, there is an abundance of grassy space, standing tables, shade and reasonable lines.
Over the course of the weekend, the festival hosted 5,000 guests, so for us at least, there were no long waits and plenty of shade on a hot summer weekend. It’s an ideal location to share good beer with a big group of friends, without dust clouds nor fear of getting lost in the mix.
Variety
Most beer festivals are focused on featuring the biggest brewers and specifically on beer options only. Not only did this brewfest feature smaller brewers from the SW Washington region, they also included small brewers throughout the NW, coming all the way in from Bend, Astoria, Corvallis, Salem and even Klamath Falls.
But the most exciting thing for us was the prominence they gave the exploding cider and mead scenes, for on that sultry weekend, those completely hit the spot. 8 cideries and a meadery were on hand, enough to devote an entire section of pouring stations. Even more impressive was their inclusion of Naked Winery’s wine tasting, giving options for all and new avenues for the beer crowd.
Entertainment
When spending a good chunk of time at a festival, it’s nice to break up the drinking spree with a little leisurely gaming and entertainment. Offering giant jenga blocks, corn hole bag tossing, and the official game of the festival, Bear Pong.
It was also great being able to have a seat in the shady
central glade with our drinks and enjoy some local music being played by one of 7 acts that appeared Friday through Sunday. We never ran out of things to do whilst imbibing to our heart’s content.
Food and Vendors
Each token provided a value of $1.50, to be used for tasting pours, full-glass pours or at one of 7 food vendors on site. We were blown away by the variety of food offered, with Mexican food, BBQ, pizza, burgers and German sausages all providing fresh, local quality.
For those more invested in the craft culture, working in the industry or just wanting to do a little shopping, there were fifteen vendors who sponsored the event, offering special discounts, local artisan creations and cool souvenirs.
Vibe
Lastly, we were stoked to witness a break from the normal routine generally found at Portland’s festivals – we weren’t overwhelmed by an abundance of pretentious drinkers, hipsters or drunken idiots.
When we usually attend these types of festivals, we already have a pre-conceived notion of what to expect from those in attendance – occasional disorderly conduct, a lot of often unruly young drinkers and the cool-crowd. There were people of all ages and backgrounds in attendance, making it feel more chill and welcoming than most any event we’ve attended.
While the Summer edition of the Vancouver Brewfest is now in the books, we’re already excited for the next edition, coming up very soon – the first Fresh Hop edition of the Festival, Septmeber 30th and October 1st. We look forward to seeing you there!
