Back for the beer

By | Aug 17, 2010

The Halifax Seaport BeerFest returned to the waterfront this weekend. In its fourth year, the festival has expanded, offering three sessions with 175 beers and ciders from some 70 breweries. With that much on offer, there was a tremendous variety of beers to sample, many grouped by region, with pavillions from Maine, Ontario and Quebec. On the whole, the event ran smoothly (although I’m mystified about how they ran out of Red Stripe 90 minutes into the first session). While the crowd included a smattering of dedicated binge drinkers, the event hasn’t become a real booze-up. Aficionados were plentiful and organizers found much to satisfy them. Amongst serious beer devotees, the Quebec beers were particularly popular. La Corriveau, a flavourful Belgian-style ale from Microbrasserie Le Bilboquet was one of my favourites.

Joining me for the BeerFest was reader and beer enthusiast Dylan Gaudett. He shares his impressions: “Another Seaport Beerfest, more brain cells I’ll never get back. It all makes for a good time, I guess. This year’s event was spectacular, the most well organised of the three I’ve been to. The new pavilion idea really worked, with the Quebec pavilion taking the cake for the most impressive and tasty selections. I was also impressed with the food selection, as it was high quality and inexpensive. It was a great selection of food from the Taste of Nova Scotia members, especially the mini burgers from Fid Resto. Hard to say how they can improve, but I’ll be there next year to find out!” (By the way, Dylan isn’t kidding about those little burgers from Fid. I’m waking up at night thinking about them…)

Did you check out the BeerFest? Post a comment and share your reviews.

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