Canada’s oldest beer festival celebrates its 30th year— First time at Topaz Park in Victoria, BC.

THE SHOW

The Great Canadian Beer Festival was launched in 1993 and was the first big beer festival in Canada. The Fest has been held annually since then, except for 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Besides BC brewers also travelling to the West Coast were brewers from Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and The Yukon.

Craig Nichols Rusted Rake Brewery- Nanoose Bay

GCBF gives festival-goers the opportunity to taste beers they can’t find anywhere else in British Columbia.

The event features more than 180 different beverages (beers, ciders and non-alcoholic beers) from more than 60 breweries and cideries from coast to coast. It was a opportunity to talk to these brewers about what makes their beer special and to try some new and classic brews.

As always in the time you have to work the site, there are only so many interviews you can do.

With the support and craft smarts of the Beer Director Joe Wiebe and guidance of Associate Producer Corey Wood we set off to discover a handful of breweries and one great chef.

We start with Joe Wiebe because he knows the history of the event and fills us in on the success of craft brewing in Canada and especially BC.

With the help of Joe Wiebe we were able to locate and engage the following craft brewers…