THUNDER BAY --More than 4,000 people attended this year’s craft beer festival and organizers say there’s no doubt BrewHa! will be back for round three.
Northerner's love for beer filled the festival area of Prince Arthur’s Landing over the weekend with thousands of beer supporters as they indulged in more than 60 varieties of craft beer at the two-day BrewHa! Craft Beer Festival.
BrewHa! co-chair Jon Hendel said the popularity of craft beer has grown over the past few years and education is key.
“We are focusing a lot on education this year,” Hendel said. “We have people who really have an understanding of the history, the present and the future of the beer industry.”
For the first time the festival featured an educational stage, which included topics such as the history, craft beer characteristics and the brewing process.
Hendel said the festival’s purpose is to expand Thunder Bay’s understanding of beer.
He added that education is important because more people care about where their food and drinks come from, where the ingredients come from and why we should question are food.
“We are coming back to our grandparent’s generation where we understand that when we buy local the money stays in our community and our economy thrives.”
Organizers have also added an environmentally friendly element to this year’s festival.
There were recycling bins at every garbage container throughout the festival area that recycled all materials not just plastics.
Hendel said this year the festival put a ban on Styrofoam, so no vender could serve food on products that weren’t recyclable.
“We are the only (festival) who have done that in Thunder Bay,” Hendel said.
He added that BrewHa! also used biodegradable cups, electronic ticketing and each person was given a real glass that could be rinsed in the rinsing stations and brought home.
With the success of the festival last year organizers expanded this year’s capacity and brought in more brewers.
More than 4,000 people attended this year’s event compared to last year’s 2,500.
Hendel said festival-goers can expect another craft beer festival next year during the first week of August.
Toronto-based beer blogger Robin LeBlanc sampled some Northern beers for her book The Ontario Craft Beer Guide, which gives readers a guide to the beers of Ontario.
“Thunder Bay is fiercely loyal to its own community branding and the local name,” LeBlanc said.
“It’s fantastic to see how much better beer is embraced here, I’m not surprised in the slightest because it’s local.”
LeBlanc said Sleeping Giant Brewery has some incredible beers in the region and it’s definitely a beer that will appeal to those hardcore experts but also for people who are new to local beer.
She added that festival like BrewHa! gives people the opportunity to experiment and see what else is out there in terms of beer.
