It was during a random discussion in 2011 that Lundy Dale then-president of Campaign for Real Ale BC (CAMRA) and CAMRA Vancouver president Martin Williams decided to put a greater focus on craft beer.
With the abundance of great beers available in this province, from the rest of Canada and the US, we felt it was important to promote and support our own, she says.
Spurred by the discussion, Dale got in touch with her contact at CAMRA Victoria who reached out to the government. The result? The BC Minister of Agriculture proclaimed October as BC Craft Beer Month.
Now in its third year, microbrewers are gearing up for a variety of events around the province to celebrate their wares, and BC beer drinkers couldnt be happier.
The whole point behind BC Craft Beer month was about awareness, support and promotion of our great beers and the people behind them, says Dale.
Year one took off in Victoria and Vancouver with cask programs, dinners, beer launches and overall larger awareness of the BC industry and how much variety and passion we have.
A lover of local craft beer since 1999, Dale has witnessed firsthand the explosion of the microbrew industry. Interest in those early days was low, and growth was slow, but since then, theres been a sizable and steady increase.
In the last five to six years and with more beers available, the interest to try more has happened.
Given the growth of private liquor stores, people were wanting to learn more about beer, try and explore more as more single beers became available for purchase.
And this makes sense to Dale, because few beverages are as versatile as beer. When it comes to house parties and food pairings, beer is more economical than wine since you can buy three or four smallsingle beers for the same price as a bottle of wine.
Given the rising popularity of craft beer, its not surprising that everyone seemingly wants a piece of the action.
It was inevitable that when the big brewers saw the popularity of the cottage beer industry among consumers, they too would want to protect their piece of the market, she adds.
The fact that Molsons bought Granville Island and Creemore Springs, Labatts; Alexander Keith (a single hop series) and all the mainstream breweries are either trying to buy out microbreweries, making faux craft beer or coming out with craft lines is an indication that craft beer is exactly what people want.
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During October, craft beer lovers will have 31 days of special events, new releases, tastings, pairings and tappings more than 500 events in total. Highlights:
BC Beer Awards
In a month full of beer-centric programming, the signature event is the 4th Annual British Columbia Beer Awards on Saturday, October 19 at the Croatian Cultural Centre. One of the most focused beer events in Western Canada, the awards showcase and celebrate the very best of locally made product. Tickets are $35; CraftBeerMonth.ca.
Steveston Beer Festival
New this year is the Steveston Beer Festival (on October 5 at the historic Gulf of Georgia Cannery) and it sold out in a flash. Hosting approximately 40 booths and showcasing craft beer from BC and beyond, the line-up includes casks, draught beer and bottles as well as a pumpkin beer competition.
Beer Battle Royale III
On October 3, four local breweries will battle it out in the Doolins ring for total beer glory. Whoever sells out their keg first will reign as a featured tap at the downtown Irish pub for the month of November, with associated bragging rights. The event kicks off at 6:30pm; tickets ($25) include four pints.
Pink Pints at Darbys
And to illustrate that beer is no longer a male dominated domain, theres Pink Pints. The womens beer group run by Lundy Dale will be co-hosting an event at Darbys on October 21. Its a BC beer dinner for the ladies and with breweries that have strong female roles within.
A full calendar of events can be found at CraftBeerMonth.ca/October-2013.
