This month Canada’s oldest beer festival recently celebrated its 30th anniversary on September 6th and 7th in a new home at Topaz Park in Victoria. The festival might have moved from the Royal Athletic Park where the festival had been held for the past two decades. However, the Victoria Beer Society organizers of the Great Canadian Beer Festival (or GCBF), did not miss a beat.
The GCBF was Canada’s first-ever craft beer festival It started back in 1993 in Victoria, BC at the Conference Centre and has grown into a legendary beer festival that not only showcases the incredible roster of craft breweries in British Columbia, but breweries and beers from across Canada that you can’t try anywhere else, but the GCBF.
This year’s GCBF had a diverse lineup for festivalgoers to choose from, showcasing over 250 beers, ciders, mead, gluten-free beers, and non-alcoholic beers from over 60 Canadian breweries across Canada, including dozens of amazing British Columbia breweries and 11 fantastic out-of-province breweries from Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, the Yukon, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Nova Scotia and their beers that can’t be found anywhere else in British Columbia. Plus, the BC Ale Trail was also in attendance at this year’s GCBF.
This event also allowed festivalgoers and beer enthusiasts the unique opportunity to have a conversation with the brewers themselves, as many of the brewers were on in attendance over the two days of this amazing event.
This year’s GCBF tested the waters with three different ticket options: Entry Only – $25.00, General Admission (Token Inclusive) – $45.00, and Premium Admission (Token Inclusive) – $80.00.
Festivalgoers with Entry Only Tickets received to the GCBF on either Friday or Saturday’s tasting session. They also received a beer program and a VBS x Vessel branded tasting cup and could purchase drink tokens once inside the festival. This is always a great option for any beer festival so designated drivers can take in the action or maybe festivalgoers who are new to the craft beer scene and wanted to start slow with a few tokens and test the waters.
Festivalgoers with General Admission Tickets got entrance to the festival on either Friday or Saturday plus ten drink tokens at the door to get them started along with their GCBF beer program and VBS x Vessel branded tasting cup. This ticket option allowed festivalgoers to skip the token line and dive right into the beer! General Admission Tickets holders also had the opportunity to purchase more tokens on-site to keep the craft beer tasting going.
For the first time, a Premium Ticket option existed to offer additional perks to festivalgoers who wanted the full festival experience. Premium Ticket holders got entrance to the festival on either Friday or Saturday through a separate gate plus sixteen drink tokens at the gate allowing them to skip the token line and dive right into the beer along with their GCBF beer program and VBS x Vessel branded tasting cup. Premium Ticket holders also got access to the Premium Lounge Tent with special food & beer pairing from the Courtney Room. Premium Ticket holders also had the opportunity to purchase more tokens on-site if needed to keep the craft beer party going.
One token was redeemable for one 4oz sample of delicious craft beer. Tokens could be purchased on-site for $2 each including tax. Red tokens from the previous year’s events or other VBS events were also redeemable at this event.
All ticket offerings included access to the live music, games, and activities plus a bus ticket home, provided by BC Transit so you can make it home safely.
Once festivalgoers were inside the gate, they had the opportunity to sample over 250 beers, ciders, mead, gluten-free beers, and non-alcoholic beers and chat with brewers like Gladstone Brewing Company from Courtenay, BC that started in a garage on Gladstone Avenue in Victoria, British Columbia, at the time it was more-or-less a few university buddies brewing beverages for their own consumption and saving a few bucks on their student booze budget. With the university well in the rear-view mirror for the owners, they opened the doors in 2014 and have now been brewing amazing beers for a decade.
Another of the many brewers was Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company a family-run brewery out of Parksville, BC that opened its doors in April 2017, and by September of the same year, they were awarded gold and silver medals for two of its beers along with being named Brewery of the Year by the British Columbia Beer Awards turning the Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company into a hub of activity in the Parksville-Qualicum Beach district of beautiful Vancouver Island.
Cannery Brewing of Penticton, BC whose owners started home brewing as a hobby to provide a pleasant distraction from the food services industry with their malty experiments quickly became popular amongst friends and family. Already operating a successful restaurant business, it wasn’t much of a stretch to extend operations to include a craft brewery. They are always happy to share a beer and chat about their beginnings, their beer, and the community they serve in British Columbia.
The Victoria Beer Society started as a collaborative vision shared between bar managers, beer reps, brewers, local stakeholders, and chefs, all coming together with the intent to celebrate what makes our city’s craft beer scene vibrant. Victoria Beer Week launched in 2014 as an annual craft beer festival showcasing craft beer in a variety of unique venues around Greater Victoria.
In 2018, the Victoria Beer Society regrouped to reflect on their achievements and assess what’s next. As a result of this process, they decided to rebrand as the Victoria Beer Society with an expanded calendar of events and a new membership program developed for Victoria’s craft beer consumers.
In 2019, they had the honour of producing Canada’s oldest beer festival, Great Canadian Beer Festival, which has grown into a legendary beer festival.
Altogether, our reader’s feedback has been extremely positive as many were very impressed with the selection of Canadian craft beer offered at the Great Canadian Beer Festival to celebrate three decades of bringing together the best craft beer in Canada while representing the industry from coast to coast. The 30th anniversary of GCBF was every bit the success that Victoria Beer Society worked hard for it to be, and we eagerly anticipate next year as the future looks bright for the festival and the industry.
by Ryan Myson