On Saturday (April 5), Tim Kramer is going to feel like a kid in a candy store.
Twenty B.C. craft breweries, one day and a whole lot of fun: that’s the Howe Sound Brewing Co.’s second annual Tap Takeover.
“We have a few newcomers, people who opened last year,” the company’s brewmaster said.
In 2013, the event saw 17 local breweries take over taps in the pub. This year that number has been bumped up by three new additions, as the province’s craft brewing industry continues to grow, Kramer said.
“We could easily have done another 10 breweries,” he said.
Twelve new breweries, most of which are in the Lower Mainland, have sprouted up in B.C. so far this year, Kramer noted. In recent years, the province’s craft breweries doubled their sales, from $57 million in 2007 to $111.5 million in 2011, B.C. Business stated in a 2011 report.
“This is a very community-oriented industry,” Kramer said, adding that within the craft brewing scene, there’s not a lot of heated competition.
That’s because craft beer drinkers tend to explore a variety of brands, he said, noting most craft breweries view the mega-breweries as their competition.
“There is not a lot of secret stuff,” he joked, adding the visiting breweries will be toured through Howe Sound’s facilities.
The beer starts flowing at 11 a.m. Tickets are $30 which include a Howe Sound Mason Jar and eight beer tokens. One token is good for one, six-ounce pour, the brew pub’s assistant general manager Lavera Rempel said. Local musician Michael Kilby will take to the stage, followed by The Whiskey Dicks. The pub will have a limited menu, she noted.
“It is kind of like cocktail party meets beer festival,” Rempel said.
For more information visit www.howesound.com.
