The Great Canadian Beer Festival has announced its 2019 brewery lineup and the venerable Victoria craft beer-a-thon is shaping up to be the biggest yet. In all, more than 90 breweries from eight provinces and territories are taking part, the most ever for GCBF. Organizers expect that number to climb to more than 100 by the time the festival rolls around in early September.
The Great Canadian Beer Festival returns to Victoria’s Royal Athletic Park, Sept. 6 and 7, 2019. Photo courtesy Great Canadian Beer Festival
“We’re thrilled to host breweries from all across the country this September, positioning the Great Canadian Beer Festival as Canada’s truly national craft beer festival,” says organizer Joe Wiebe, spokesperson for the Victoria Beer Society. “Canada is emerging as a world-class craft beer destination.”
B.C.’s craft breweries will be well represented with more than 60 local breweries taking part. That includes Spinnakers Brewpub and Vancouver Island Brewing, which helped kick off the craft beer movement back in 1984, as well as some brand new operations, such as Victoria’s Whistle Buoy Brewing, Courtenay’s Ace Brewing Co.
Up to 4,500 people are expected to attend this celebration of Canadian craft beer each day. In addition to the wide array of craft breweries, attendees can expect local cideries, food trucks, and the B.C. Ale Trail-er – an on-site tap truck serving a selection of beers from breweries across the province that otherwise would not be able to participate.
This is the first year Great Canadian Beer Festival will be produced by the Victoria Beer Society (producers of Victoria Beer Week each March and the Pop-Up Beer Gardens at Centennial Square on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout this summer) following the retirement of GCBF’s founders last year.
Canada’s longest running craft beer festival will take place September 6 and 7 at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria. Tickets for GCBF are on sale now through Ticket Rocket. Single day tickets cost $40; weekend passes sell for $70 (not including GST & fees). Victoria Beer Society members can purchase single-day tickets at 25 per cent off.
Here’s the full list of participating breweries and cideries:
British Columbia
- 33 Brewing Experiment
- 4 Mile Brewing
- Ace Brewing
- Andina Brewing
- Axe & Barrel Brewing
- Bad Dog Brewing
- Barnside Brewing
- Bomber Brewing
- Bridge Brewing
- Britannia Brewing
- Cannery Brewing
- Canoe Brewpub
- Category 12 Brewing
- Coal Harbour Brewing
- Container Brewing
- Crannog Ales
- CrossRoads Brewing
- Dageraad Brewing
- Dead Frog Brewery
- Dogwood Brewing
- Driftwood Brewery
- East Vancouver Brewing
- Faculty Brewing
- Fernie Brewing
- Field House Brewing
- Foamers’ Folly Brewing
- Four Winds Brewing
- Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks
- Gladstone Brewing
- Howl Brewing
- Hoyne Brewing
- Île Sauvage Brewing
- KPU Brew Lab
- Lighthouse Brewing
- Longwood Brewery
- Luppolo Brewing
- Monkey 9 Brewing
- Moody Ales
- Moon Under Water
- Mount Arrowsmith Brewing
- Off the Rail Brewing
- Old Abbey Ales
- Parallel 49 Brewing
- Parkside Brewery
- Phillips Brewing & Malting
- Ravens Brewing
- Red Racer Beer
- Russell Brewing
- Rustic Reel Brewing
- Small Block Brewing
- Smithers Brewing
- Sooke Brewing
- Sooke Oceanside Brewery
- Spinnakers Brewpub
- Steamworks Brewing
- Steel & Oak Brewing
- Strange Fellows Brewing
- Strathcona Beer
- Swans Brewery
- Torchlight Brewing
- Townsite Brewing
- Trading Post Brewing
- Twa Dogs Brewery
- Twin City Brewing
- Vancouver Island Brewing
- Wheelhouse Brewing
- Whistle Buoy Brewing
- Whistler Brewing
- White Sails Brewing
- Wildeye Brewing
- Wolf Brewing
- Yellow Dog Brewing
Yukon
Alberta
- Analog Brewing
- Annex Ales
- Blindman Brewing
- The Dandy Brewing Co.
- Dog Island Brewing
- The Establishment Brewing Co.
- Last Best Brewing
- Town Square Brewing
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Québec
Nova Scotia
Cider (B.C.)
