The Banff Craft Beer Festival returned to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site in 2024. As the only craft beer festival featuring exclusively Alberta craft brewers, your taste buds had the opportunity to sample delicious food and drink from over 50 vendors from across the province, share stories with local brewmasters, and enjoy live entertainment, plus experience mountain adventure at its best!
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The Banff Craft Beer Festival is widely considered the World’s Most Beautiful Beer Festival and is an annual event held at the Birthplace of Canada’s National Parks, the Cave & Basin. The Cave and Basin have been a special place for Indigenous Peoples for over ten thousand years as human habitation in this area can be traced back to 10,700 years BC with the retreat of the last great glaciation. In 1883, three railway workers, Frank McCabe and brothers Tom and William McCardell, happened upon the thermal springs, sparking a series of events that led to the creation of the first national park in Canada. Today, the site is a gathering place for sharing stories about conservation and the connection between people and the land.
Banff, Alberta is known for its pristine wilderness, glacier-fresh waters, and as one of the most beautiful towns in the world. This festival is more than just great spirits, food, and beer, it’s a chance to dive into the past while tasting what is happening now in Alberta’s craft brewing and distilling industries. Most importantly, it allows craft beer and spirit enthusiasts to experience a mountain adventure at its best!
This year’s event was broken up into 4 distinct areas of this historic landmark allowing festivalgoers the opportunity to sample amazing craft beers and spirits from 50 vendors from across Alberta while they share stories and talk shops with local brewmasters, distillers, and cideries like the Fox Hills Cidery from the heart of Strathcona County, Alberta. This quaint, family-owned and operated cidery prides itself on producing craft, non-carbonated small batch hard apple ciders using only the finest top-end ingredients. Each batch is carefully handcrafted, ensuring a premium and authentic taste. By meticulously selecting top-quality fruits and following traditional production methods, what is left is a deliciously light and crisp craft cider that was a crowd-pleaser at this year’s event.
Others crowed please from this year’s event were Banded Peak Brewing and their ever-expanding collection of beers that challenge the traditional styles brewed in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains. Their Core, multiple seasonal beers, and dozens of one-off beers are crafted for adventure and adventurous people who embrace all that life throws at you.
Central Alberta, in Canada’s west, is known for agriculture and oil. But more and more, it’s becoming known for its amazing craft beer. Leading the charge is Blindman Brewing, a craft brewery located in Lacombe, just a hop-and-a-skip north of Red Deer. This locally minded, community-focused craft brewery is dedicated to bringing you the best craft beers possible and anyone who attended this year’s Banff Craft Beer Festival would agree.
Canmore Brewing Company will be attending the Banff Craft Beer Festival. Like many other craft breweries, it began in a garage and has grown into an award-winning craft brewery that brings their love for the mountains into almost every aspect of the brewery and the beers they create for passionate craft beer aficionados and outdoor enthusiasts that made their way to this year’s Banff Craft Beer Festival.
Cold Garden Beverage Company, out of Calgary, Alberta started as university friends now brewery partners started doing the old brew-your-own beer as a “function of drinking cheaper, as students will do.” One day, while sitting at the back of a lecture theatre in one of the many entrepreneur classes they shared, the friends joked that they should start a brewery of their own, and the rest as they say. ‘Is history.’ Their passions is driven by honesty and truthfulness to themselves and their customers and you taste that in their award-winning beers and ciders.
From Slave Lake, AB is Dog Island Brewing a successful brewery built on a simple mindset, “the easiest thing to do to succeed is to make good beer. If you just make good beer, all your ducks will fall in a row for you.” And according to many at the Banff Craft Beer Festival, their ducks are in a row.
This year’s sampling sessions were:
- Thursday, November 21st: 5:00pm – 10:00pm MT
- Friday, November 22nd: 5:00pm – 10:00pm MT
- Saturday, November 23rd Afternoon Session: 12:00pm – 4:00pm MT
- Saturday, November 23rd Evening Session: 5:00pm – 9:00pm MT
Ticket Packages Included:
- Admission to the event and $40 Worth of Food & Beer Vouchers
- Commemorative Sample Mug
This year’s event offered Hotel & Ticket Packages which includes:
- 1 night’s accommodation
- Admission to the event and $40 Worth of Food & Beer Vouchers
- Commemorative Sample Mug
Beyond the Beverages, festivalgoers can enjoy DJs, live music, delicious samples from some of Banff’s best eateries and restaurants plus so much more – there is no shortage of things to do at the festival.
Things to remember if you are planning on attending next year’s Banff Craft Beer Festival for the first time:
- This Is a Partial Outdoor Event, So Dress Warm!
- No Minors – This is an 18+ event, so be sure to bring a government-issued ID for entrance to the event.
- No Outside Food or Beverages
- Tickets Are Transferrable
- No Re-Entry
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Can you buy additional Sample Vouchers?
A: Additional Sample Vouchers are available for $1 each and they are sold in blocks of 10
Q: Is parking available at the event?
A: No parking was allowed for personal vehicles at the Cave & Basin for this year’s event. The only way, other than taxi, walking, biking, or being dropped off, was by event shuttles that frequently left from/to downtown Banff and the Cave & Basin.
Q: When does the sampling end for each session?
A: The last Pour is 15 minutes before the end of the sampling session.
Alberta Beer Festivals (ABF) strive to educate everyone on all things craft beverage-related in Alberta and beyond! Part of what they do is promote craft beer & spirits created in their own backyard of Alberta, in addition to creating a brew culture with positive experiences for everyone, with events like the Banff Craft Beer Festival and their other signature events
Keep up to date with everything happening in the Alberta beer community by following Alberta Beer Festivals on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at @ABBeerfestivals.
We look forward to seeing you at next year’s Banff Craft Beer Festival and be sure to check all of ABF’s upcoming events.
Please Remember to Drink Responsibly and Do Not Drink & Drive!
by Ryan Myson