Summer is the best season. There are a lot of concerts, you can get outside more often, and there are an abundance of beer festivals to enjoy! So you can imagine when the Durham Craft Beer Festival was announced, we were ready to go!

The event started back in 2013 and organizers say it’s grown every year since. This year, around 1,000 people came out to enjoy more than a dozen breweries from right across Ontario. Cities, towns and regions from all over the province were represented, including Ottawa, Collingwood, Bracebridge, Toronto and of course Durham. “I think the growth of the craft beer scene has been good,” says Beth Koster, who has been running the festival since the beginning alongside her husband Darryl. “I think the first year we ran it there was a lot of curiosity, but now people are coming here for the beer.”

It’s also an event that brewers take notice of and has even become a staple of the summer festival circuit for some, including Kent Williamson from Falcon Brewing Company in Ajax. “This might be my favourite festival of beer that I’ve ever been to. It’s nice, it’s a bit more compact, there’s not too many beers here. It’s just a good time,” Williamson says.

Stephen Barato, co-owner of Rouge River Brewing Company in Markham, shares those feeling saying “It’s a great spot. They bring in great local beers and from abroad. It’s a great scene, a lot of people here are really into it.”

The festival was also a chance to catch up with some local breweries. Back in March, we introduced you to Whitby’s Little Beasts Brewing Co. It was the their first time at the Durham Craft Beer Festival and a chance to get some serious exposure. “We’re getting a lot of great reception, a lot of great feedback from all our beers,” co-owner John Henley said. Clearly Little Beasts made quite an impression on festival goers, as the brewery picked up the “People’s Choice” bronze award. They were among good company, as Port Perry’s Old Flame Brewery Co. nabbed silver, and Cowbell Brewing, out of Blyth, took home the gold.

While enjoying some of the best beer the province has to offer, we ran into John Henry, mayor of Oshawa. He told us he came to support the Durham beer industry and says this event is important for local businesses. “It has a double edge to it. It’s a good story, it’s about a great event, but it also gets a message out that people in Ontario can compete with the big guys.”

For me, I love beer festivals because it gives me a chance to try something I may not have been brave enough to pick up at the Beer Store. For example, last year I tried a sour beer. I’d never had anything like that before. Now, I’m hooked! So if there’s once piece of advice I can give you, if you see a beer festival close to you, go! You never know what you may discover.

Cheers!

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