The beer up here – Powell River Craft Beer Fest coming soon
With the turning of the leaves and the drop of temperatures, it can only mean one thing for Powell River craft beer lovers: fall has arrived and the Powell River Craft Beer Festival is close at hand.
Powell River Living magazine is sponsoring the third annual fest, which is happening November 12 at the ARC (More info here).
Powell River is uniquely situated in the middle of “The Sunshine Coast Ale Trail,” a route connected by craft breweries.
These are Persephone (Gibsons), Cumberland (Cumberland), Forbidden (Courtenay), Gladstone (Courtenay) and more, through Nanaimo .
This year’s festival features 13 breweries, seven of which are located on the BC Ale Trail – offering a rare chance to travel the Ale Trail without having to leave Powell River.
Beer tourism is a relatively new phenomenon here in British Columbia but has thrived in places like Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington for years due to the fact that many, if not most breweries in those regions have on-site tasting lounges.
Townsite Brewery is no exception. Having been granted its lounge license endorsement this past summer, it now has a fully functioning tasting lounge where you can go enjoy a few beers, and food from local vendors, while chatting to other like-minded craft beer lovers.
Although the brewery was popular before the tasting lounge endorsement was granted, the lounge has added a way for Townsite fans to connect directly with the brewery and those who work there and has been wildly successful.
The tasting lounge has quickly become a gathering spot for locals who enjoy craft beer and over the summer attracted an array of beer tourists from Portland, Alaska, California, Belgium, Holland, England, Scotland, Australia and elsewhere.
By Paddy Treavor
Powell River Living Magazine
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