This Sunday, February 11th, The Strathcona Hotel once again plays host to Craft Beer Lovers as the 9th Annual Island Beer & Spirit Festival once again descends upon Distrikt Nightclub.
This event is a great way to forget about the resolutions you gave up on in January and relax as Beer Festival season begins its continuous climb to summer.
The big change this year is that it is no longer a beer centric event. Distilleries from all over the Vancouver Island will be on hand to show a little more proof (yes, I went there) that this event is not to be missed. In addition, while this was originally an Island-focussed event, there had been a shift to include more mainland based breweries in recent years, but that has come full circle, with every vendor being at least a ferry ride away from the mainland.
Last year’s event also had a nice selection of food, and this year appears no different, with some of the options including schnitzel on a bun, corn dogs, poutine, and chicken tacos.
Tickets are $20, include two beverage tasters, one food ticket, and are available at the Strathcona Hotel and TicketFly.
Breweries
- Townsite Brewing – Powell River
- Twin City Brewing – Port Alberni
- Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company – Parksville
- White Sails Brewing – Nanaimo
- Riot Brewing Co. – Chemainus
- Salt Spring Island Ales – Salt Spring Island
- Bad Dog Brewing Company – Sooke
- Sooke Oceanside Brewery – Sooke
- Twa Dogs Brewery – Saanich
- Lighthouse Brewing Company – Esquimalt
- The Moon Under Water Brewery – Victoria
- Driftwood Brewery – Victoria
- Hoyne Brewing Company – Victoria
- Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. – Victoria
Distilleries
- Shelter Point Distillery – Campbell River
- Wayward Distillation House – Courtenay
- Sheringham Distillery – Shirley (Sooke)
- Stillhead Distillery – Duncan
- Merridale Distillery – Cobble Hill
- Victoria Distillers – Sidney
- de Vine Vineyards – Saanichton
- Victoria Caledonian Distillery – Saanich
- Moon Under Water Distillery – Victoria
Cideries
- Merridale Cidery – Cobble Hill
- Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse – Saanichton
- Tod Creek Craft Cider – Saanich
Matter of Beer 