It’s time to start planning your spring and early summer ale-ventures, and what better way to kick things off than with a beer festival?
Dozens of craft breweries (and maybe even a cidery and distillery or two) all coming together at one venue, with good food, music, and your fellow craft beer lovers — what could be better? Here are the craft beer festivals on the calendar for spring and early summer 2023. Stay tuned for summer and fall festival announcements coming soon.
Okanagan Fest of Ale • Penticton
April 14 & 15
Okanagan Fest of Ale is back at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. This year boasts a line-up of over 150 craft beers and ciders. Established in 1996, FOA is one of the largest and longest-running annual beer festivals in the Pacific Northwest. Check out the Sip & Stays on offer as well!
Brewhalla Beer & Music Festival • North Vancouver
April 14
The second annual festival returns to the Shipyards for another day full of sampling from over 25 craft beverage makers, live music, food and games. Check out the fantastic Sip & Stay offer with Seaside Hotel. You can preview some of the musical lineups with custom Spotify playlists from the Brewhalla website to get you and your crew ready for festival day.
Vancouver Brewers Fest • Vancouver
April 21 – 30
This inaugural event features events at various breweries around Vancouver. The events calendars is continuing to fill up with collaborations, games and tournaments, guided tastings and beer talks, food specials and exclusive menus, and more. It’s a chance to connect with your local brewery, meet others with a similar interest in craft beer, and discover one of the many unique breweries that call Vancouver home.
Sunshine Coast Ciders & Sours Festival • Sechelt
April 22
Presented by one of our Craft Community Partners, Brickers Cider, this Sunshine Coast festival features over 20 of BC’s cideries and craft breweries pouring (you guessed it) their best ciders and sour beers. The 3-hour festival is also a fundraiser for the Sunshine Coast Food Bank. You can do good for the community while you sip your way through the lineup, which is always a win!
Nanaimo Craft Beer Week • Nanaimo
April 30 – May 7
Hosted by the Nanaimo Craft beer Society, this weeklong festival will have multiple events and multiple locations around the city to celebrate local craft beer culture. With returning favourites and new events, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the full event list announcement coming soon.
Victoria Beer Week • Victoria
May 5 – 13
Taking place in May this year, this weeklong festival put on by the Victoria Beer Society will showcase over 50 craft breweries in unique settings around the Greater Victoria area. Festivities kick off on Friday, May 5 with an outdoor event in Market Square. The launch event features at least a dozen brand-new beer releases. Themed events, perfect food pairings, and an emphasis on education and diverse beer selections ensure there is something for everyone.
Langley Craft Beverage Festival • Langley
May 12 – 21
Another weeklong festival, this time celebrating Langley’s vibrant craft beverage scene, with twelve amazing events hosted by your favourite Langley breweries, cideries, and distilleries. During the festival, each location will also be pouring a newly release collab beer from all of the breweries in the Langley Loop. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Watersheds BC, a project hosted at MakeWay
Kelowna Beer Festival • Kelowna
May 13
Did you manage to grab tickets to this sold-out event? Brand new this year, Kelowna Beer Festival is kicking off the summer season with over 30 breweries, food trucks, games and DJs just steps away from the beach.
Brewhalla Beer & Music Festival • Fort Langley
May 20
This year marks the 6th anniversary of this popular annual event and welcomes over 30 local BC craft breweries, cideries, wineries, and distilleries, and includes two live music stages, food trucks, games, attractions, and more. Wanting to increase inclusivity, the craft beverage list will also include the addition of multiple non-alcoholic samp
Squamish Beer Festival • Squamish
June 24
With a new location at the Loggers Sports Ground, the Squamish festival marks its seventh year this year. Over 55 breweries and cideries come together with craft beer lovers to celebrate great beer and mountain culture with food, games, axe throwing, DJs, live music, and more.
Grab your tickets, your fellow craft beer lovers and start planning your festival outfits!
No matter where your ale-ventures take you this year, be sure to share your experiences by tagging @BCAleTrail or #BCAleTrail – and always enjoy responsibly.
