Festival of Beer Episode IV: May the froth be with you

On April 24 and 25 at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, the annual Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer returns with more participating breweries offering a greater variety suds to local enthusiasts.

The fourth instalment of the popular two-day celebration of beer will see an increase in participating micro breweries from 18 in 2014 to 24 this year.

That means festival participants will have almost 90 different varieties of beer to choose from.

“I think the growth in popularity of the festival stems from our city becoming more aware of Canadian beer culture and what’s going on in Sault Ste. Marie. Also the rise of more microbreweries,” event co-founder Elise Nelson told SooToday.

“Many people want to spend locally and participate in local events. This is another way of doing that.”

“It’s quality and it’s community. And if that’s going to be trendy then I’m pretty okay with that,” said co-founder Steve Alexander. “I hope that becomes than just a fad and becomes the norm, where people are aware of what’s going on in their own province and their own communities.”

Of the participating 24 breweries, a number are based in Northern Ontario, including Stack Brewing (Sudbury), Highlander Brew Co. (South River), Lake Of Bays Brewing Company (Baysville), Sleeping Giant Brewing Company (Thunder Bay), Lake of the Woods Brewing Company (Kenora), and Sault Ste. Marie’s own OutSpoken Brewing.

“That’s one of the things that makes our festival special. You won’t see that collection of breweries in any other festival,” said Alexander.

Joining some of the more popular micro breweries such as Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery, Collective Arts, Trafalgar Ales and Meads, and Mill Street Brewery are festival newcomers Kichesippi Beer Co., Sawdust City Brewing Co., Beyond the Pale Brewery, and Liberty Village Brewing Company.

Tickets for the 2015 Festival of Beer are $35 each and may be purchased at Case’s Music, Dish Espresso Bar, or online at festivalofbeer.ca

Each ticket includes a Festival of Beer glass, five beer sample tokens and entry into the event.