February is here, which means we just have a few more weeks left until the season transitions into spring. And from now until February 12, you can raise a toast to the final days of winter during WassALE in Langley.
WassALE is derived from the festive mid-winter tradition of Wassailing. In this ancient British custom, neighbours and friends gather together to celebrate the passing of the long winter and the promise of the coming spring by feasting, drinking, singing, and being merry in each other’s company.
Langley’s collective of craft breweries, cideries, and distilleries are re-imagining the tradition of Wassailing by inviting the public to gather with their friends and partake in WassALE. With participating establishments such as Five Roads Brewing, Smugglers Trail, and Trading Post, this limited-time festival features the best of the craft beer culture in the Fraser Valley.
People can tour the participating breweries’, cidery and distillery tasting rooms and sample winter warming drinks and tasty treats. Each location will serve a drink and snack pairing made exclusively available during WassALE.
For added fun and games, WassALE’s Treasure Hunt will incentivize participants to explore every participating brewery for a chance to win some amazing prizes, including:
- An overnight hotel stay in Langley at the accommodation provider of the winner’s choice from this list, with $200 in gift cards to spend at select WassALE businesses (courtesy of Tourism Langley)
- A complimentary brewery bike tour for two (courtesy of Canadian Craft Tours)
For the treasure hunt map and full contest information, head over to tourism-langley.ca/wassale. Everyone who completes the treasure hunt by February 12 at midnight will be entered into the grand prize draw.
Here are some of the unique food and beverage offerings to look forward to sampling at the participating locations during this year’s WassALE festival:
- Fraser Valley Cider
Hot Buttered Pommeau paired with a buckwheat and apple brandy crepe
- Dead Frog Brewery
Cran-Orange Cinnamon Whisky Sour paired with a jumbo cinnamon sugar beer pretzel
- The Barley Merchant
BC-52 Coffee (with Smoking Gun Fireside French roast coffee, Legend’s Distilling Blasted Brew coffee liqueur, Bruinswood Spirited Horchata, Sons of Vancouver Quadruple Sec Orange liqueur topped with cinnamon infused whipped cream) paired with a tiramisu cheesecake.
- Brookswood Brewing
Caramel Cream Ale paired with a chocolate brownie topped with caramel drizzle and sea salt
- Camp Beer Co.
Pear Saison Cocktail (or a Hot Scotchy during the final weekend) paired with an apple pie cookie
- Roots & Wings
Midnight on the Lake Cocktail (made with hot chocolate and Absinthe) paired with blue cheese and fig grilled cheese
- Locality Brewing
Mulled beer paired with a fire basket that includes sausages from Oyama Meats, cheese from Golden Ears Cheeses, mustard from The Taste of the Okanagan, and baguettes from Lees Market.
Visit tourism-langley.ca/wassale for more information on WassALE.
