Steveston Beer Fest 2015

Saturday August 29, 2015 we attended the 3rd annual Steveston Beer Fest presented by O’Hare’s Gastropub and Liquor store. It was our first time attending this event, which was held at the historic Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Richmond, B.C. from 7pm-9:30pm. Tickets were $49 and included all you can drink and eat access to 40 craft beer and cider vendors, including free food samples from 10 local Steveston restaurants.

Steveston Beer Fest 2015

We decided to go on the heels of attending the Grapes, Hops & Bites Festival this past May which was put on by the Steveston Rotary Club. We are by no means beer connoisseurs both Adrian and I prefer light smooth beers with fruity hits, and very little hoppiness. Some favorites from the evening (in alphabetical order) included:Fernie Brewing CO.Ol’ Willy Wit – Belgian White AlePleasant orange flavorFuggles & WarlockThe Last Strawberry Witbier        Great strawberry flavorHowe Sound BrewingPumpkinEaterSmooth combination of fall flavorsMill Street BreweryVanilla PorterVery tastyParallel 49 BrewingTricycle Grapefruit RadlerRefreshing hits of grapefruitPostmark BrewingRaspberry Lemon Zest Heferefreshing fruit flavorRekorderlig CiderRekorderlig Elderflower                Ginger apple flavor highly carbonatedSierra NevadaHop Hunter® IPASurprisingly smooth considering hop oilSierra NevadaNooner- PilsnerEasy to drink

The event itself started at 7pm, O’Hare’s Pub sent out an email days before the event informing attendees they could pick up their wrist bands at the pub several hours before to avoid long lines. We took advantage of this so when we arrived at 7pm we were able to walk right in.

DJ Chris Goodspin

Once inside we were provided with a small glass, program, pencil, and a poker chip. The poker chip was to vote for our favorite beer of the night. (How fun! 🙂 ) They had a coat check for a small donation, which was terrific considering so many of us were packing rain coats and umbrellas. I am assuming that DJ Chris Goodspin was in charge of the music for the evening since he was hosting the after party at O’Hare’s later on that evening. Mr. GoodSpin gets an A+ for music, a perfect blend of new and old music suited to the event, at 9:40 we were walking out the doors to “Wasn’t that a Party”, by the Irish Rovers.

The event itself was well organized with lots of volunteers. Beer, cider, and food vendors were spread-out throughout the cannery. The event was sold out so it was crowded however that helped make a potentially chilly venue feel comfortable. I felt for the amount we paid for our tickets the number and quality of beer vendors was good.

D’ Original Sausage Haus

Some of the local food vendors present included:

1. D’ Original Sausage Haus             cooked sausages and peperoni

2. Little Mexico Cantina                      Pork Tacos

3. O’Hare’s Gastropub                        Mini Beef dips

4. Outpost Mini Donuts                      Donut holes

5. Pajo’s Fish & Chips                          Seafood chowder

6. Sinfully the Best                               Chocolates

7. Village Books and Coffee             Coffee and pastries
   

Outpost Mini Donuts

I would have like to see a few more food vendors, there were only a handful for the number of people present, and many of them ran out of food before the night was finished. However, with that being said the ones present provided delicious food, that both of us enjoyed.

We stayed until 9:30pm,  sadly we didn’t win the 50/50 draw which was around $1700, if I remember correctly 😉 . The brewery with the most poker chips of the evening was, Fuggles & Warlock–The Last Strawberry Witbier.  They received both of our chips and considering we aren’t beer connoisseurs I was surprised that we voted the “popular” vote.

The demographic and energy of the room was dramatically different than the Grapes, Hops & Bites Festival, obviously this had everything to do with the fact that the event focused around beer. Rather than the seemingly even distribution of men and women with a date type atmosphere  of the Grapes, Hops & Bites Festival, the Steveston Beer Fest was primarily attended by men and many of them appeared to be out for a “guy’s night” bringing an entirely different energy to the event. Overall this was a well-organized event providing good value for your money.  If you haven’t check it out and enjoy the occasional ice cold beer,  I would recommend doing so.

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