Great Canadian Beer Festival 1997: Less is More
Attendance, quality both hit new highs
April, 1998Less, as in a glass of barley wine, can actually be more - more favor, more complexity, and more potency than the average pint of ale. The 1997 Great Canadian Beer Festival, held November 8 and 9 in Victoria, B.C., Canada, was much the same. There were fewer breweries on hand than last year (35 compared to 40) pouring fewer different beers (80 compared to 100), but for overall beer quality and attendance of devotees, the 1997 GCBF was definitely the "most" ever.
Right from the getgo on Friday afternoon, the B.C. Convention Centre floor seemed packed with craft beer enthusiasts. According to the organizers, attendance was over 6,000 for the two days of the festival, up about 10% from last year. More beer was drunk, more cask beers were served, and more brewers sold out this time as well, so the best brews were at something of a premium during the event, especially on Saturday.
And there were many notable beers at the 1997 GCBF. There were fewer wheat beers than the previous year, and many more strong ales and barley wines. Among the best were Tall Ship Ale Co.'s No.1 Barley Wine Ale, a whopping 10% alcohol by volume, aged for over a year with fireweed honey as an adjunct and dry hopped with East Kent Goldings. Sailor Hagar's of North Vancouver poured their Thor's Hammer Barley Wine (11.5% a.b.v.) , a brew both well made and well named, considering its potency. Sailor Hagar's also had an excellent "Monster IPA" served from the cask that was uncharacteristically hoppy for a B.C. beer (85 IBUs). Other notable strong brews were Shaftebury's Wet Coast winter ale, Spinnaker's smooth and rich cask Tsarist Imperial Stout, and Unibroue's tripel style La Fin Du Monde. Not available at the festival itself, but only a short shuttle bus ride away, was the Herminator of Vancouver Island Brewing, a malty and very potent Eisbock well worth the side trip. Fish Brewing of Olympia, WA rose to the international challenge with a cask of its Chinook-hopped Winterfish strong ale. Several memorable Scotch ales were poured, including Riley's Scotch Ale from Swan's Brew Pub/Buckerfields Brewery of Victoria (who also had an excellent Oatmeal Stout), that of Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham, WA, and the Scottish Ale of the Anacortes (WA) Brewhouse.
The festival was swarming this year with beers made with honey, none more prominent than Killer Bee Honey Ale from the Tin Whistle Brewing Co,. of Penticton, B.C.. This brew was fruity with good honey flavors, but also hops in the finish. Tin Whistle's colorful display also won the best booth award. Other "honey beers" included Shaftebury Honey Pale Ale, Okanagan Springs Honey Blonde Ale, and Granville Island's Honey Lager. Fruit beers were also in abundance, such as Bear Brewing's Black Bear Ale, flavored with "blackberries" and currants, Bowen Island's cherry-enhanced Winter Ale, and several good framboise beers for Spinnaker's (the driest and most Belgian in style) , Steamworks, and Triple Frambozen of Horseshoe Bay Brewing Co.
Other participating breweries were Big Rock, High Mountain Howe Sound, Merridale Cider Works, Mt. Begbie Brewing, Nelson Brewing, Pike brewing, R & B Brewing, Russell Brewing Co., Storm Brewing, Tree Brewing, Upper Canada Brewing, Whistler Brewing, and Yaletown Brewing.
An interesting "aside" to this year's festival was the two-day cask brewing course of workshops and lectures conducted by the International Brewers Guild from the U.K. and held concurrent with the festival in another part of the convention center. Over 30 brewers attended the course, with speakers flown in from Great Britain.
One of the biggest problems with the GCBF this year, however, seemed to be the "no smoking' rule inside the convention center. While this created a better atmosphere at the festival, those attendees leaving the hall for a smoke break had to rejoin the long lines in get back in. Festival staff eased this a bit by opening up the balcony on both Friday and Saturday nights to accommodate smokers. The Cuban cigar session was also moved this year from the posh Bengal Room of the adjoining Empress Hotel to the cozy Strathcona Hotel, two blocks away.
While the GCBF was more crowed and noisier this year, the quality of the live entertainment was good (when it could be heard above the din). Once again, the show-stopper was the lively rhythm and blues of Gary Nelson and the Harpoons, who played for the event's finale on Saturday.
Because of the growing popularity of the event, next year's GCBF may have advanced ticket sales only, according to the organizers. Ticket prices are also expected to go up to meet rising costs to around $10 per day. Nevertheless, all Northwest craft beer lovers should plan to attend what has become one of the best beer festivals in the region, if not in North America. For more information about the 1998 GCBF, visit their website at www.pacificcoast.net/~patkinson/GCBF.htm.
