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Penticton was the place to be for craft beer lovers this past weekend.
The 2024 edition of Okanagan Fest of Ale was held at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre (PTCC) on Saturday and Sunday.
There were 67 BC-based craft brewers on hand to showcase more than 200 beers and ciders to people from Penticton, around the Okanagan and even beyond.
Photo Credit: Okanagan Fest of Ale/Gord Goble
Michael Stocker, Okanagan Fest of Ale Society President, said organizers were “thrilled” with the success of this year’s event.
“We are very fortunate to attract some of the best brewers and cideries to the event as well as guests with a keen interest in craft beers and ciders,” Stocker said.
"Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves at the festival, and we heard really positive feedback from guests and breweries throughout the weekend.”
While Fest of Ale is largely about the guest experience, it’s also a place for the breweries and cideries in attendance to compete for some noteworthy honours.
“We were thrilled to once again have such an esteemed panel of judges here with us at the festival,” noted Warren Everton, Fest of Ale judging chair.
“They had a difficult job tasting and evaluating over 100 different beers and ciders to determine the best entries in 15 different categories and then to agree on the overall Best in Show award.”
The Best in Show award ended up going to a Kelowna brewery, as Wild Ambition Brewing earned the honour for their Extinction Reversal Gose.
Photo Credit: Okanagan Fest of Ale/Gord Goble
It was a local Penticton brewery that took home the people’s choice award for Best Beer, however, as Highway 97 Brewery got top marks from attendees for their Dreamweaver Strawberries and Cream Wheat Ale.
The other people’s choice awards went to Howling Moon Cidery for their Lavender Plum Craft Cider and H & L Dumplings as the best food choice.
The rest of the awards handed out were Best in Class winners, which were selected as follows:
- Okanagan Focused - Firehall Brewing (Caution: Sour Series - Bumbleberry Honey)
- No-to-low Alcohol - Tin Whistle Brewing (Peaches and Cream Non-Alcoholic)
- Light Lagers - Lakesider Brewing (Skinny Dip Crisp Lager)
- Hop Forward Lagers - Sidekick Brewing (Ink Slinger Suzuna)
- Malt Forward Lagers - Fernie Brewing (Tunnel Creek Kolsch)
- Hazy Pale Ales - Kettle River Brewing (Nuclear Splash Hazy Pale Ale)
- Dark Ales - Crannog Ales (Backhand of God Stout)
- Wheat - Lillooet Brewing (Mountain Bluebird Belgian Wit)
- Fruits - Strange Fellows Brewing (Penelope the Tart Grisette)
- Flavoured - R&B Brewing (Dill Pickle Gose)
- India Pale Ales - Fernie Brewing (Waymark West Coast IPA)
- Hazy or NE IPA - Trench Brewing (Fang NEIPA)
- Specialty/Experimental - Wild Ambition Brewing (Extinction Reversal Gose)
- Fruit Sours - Neighbourhood Brewing (Peach City Sour)
- Ciders - Howling Moon Cidery (Lavender Plum)
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