The World’s Most Beautiful Beer Festival

Craft beer has never been more popular so an entire festival dedicated to the cause seems more than appropriate for suds-loving Albertans. It was my first time visiting the Banff Craft Beer Festival and what a treat! It’s a good excuse to get out of the city and visit Banff, my home away from home. Hosted at the historic Cave and Basin, it was a great way to sample brews from over 40 Alberta breweries. I find it amazing that Alberta’s craft beer scene has grown in such leaps and bounds with so many local beers to choose from.

The Cave and Basin is the home of Canada’s first national park. It was also my first time visiting this beautiful site so I thank the Banff Craft Beer Festival for introducing me to this heritage site (it’s one of the sites you can visit for free with your Parks Canada pass this year!) It’s recognized as the birthplace of Canada’s national parks system when railway workers discovered the natural hot springs running through the area.

With so many new Alberta breweries, it was nice to find them all in one place at the beer fest. Some new faves I discovered included the Common Crown Brewing Company  from Calgary, Something Brewing from Red Deer, and my most favourite beer label moniker, Fat Unicorn Brewery (the rhino logo is priceless).

It was a busy Saturday afternoon session that I took part in but it seemed like everyone was having fun. With both indoor and outdoor space to wander around, the festival also features food samples from popular Banff restaurants and live entertainment. With a limited number of sample tickets, I wasn’t able to try all the beers I wanted too. Can’t wait to come back to Banff Craft Beer Festival in 2017!