This is a great way to try ALL the new breweries in Alberta. Samples of beer range from $2-3 dollars. Tickets to get in are $20. I won my tickets via Yelp. My husband bought $30 worth of tokens and we sampled enough to make me tipsy. If I had to pay for my entry tickets, the night would have cost us $70. Not bad if you really like beer and you want to see what's new. The experience was cool. There were at least two large rooms of breweries and restaurants and it was crowded. Most notable of the food options include Cluck and Cleaver, Spolumbos, and Raw Bar. There were plenty of places to stand or sit and sip your beer and nibble on your food. My pick of breweries: Freehold Brewing Co, Caravel, Ol Beautiful, and Six Corners. We were quite impressed with Ol' Beautiful's Okami-Kasu beer. We'll have to make a point to stop by their brewery in Inglewood. read more

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What a great event. I was amazed at how many Alberta based craft breweries I had not hear of that were there. Albeit this was an international beer festival there were plenty of local eateries and brewers on site. I had never been to one before, and was able to attend thanks to Yelp! There were some pretty cool tent/stations set up. The prices were a bit on the high side, considering it costs about $2-$4 bucks for a mouthful of beer (maybe I have a big mouth). The atmosphere was fun and it was packed. It's great that you can experience and indulge in so many options in one room. We had a blast! read more

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So many beers. So little time. This was my first time at Beerfest in many years and it was excellent. My first experience was back when there were only a handful of brewers and the sample tickets seemed quite expensive. This seems to have changed. First off, the most important thing you need to know is to buy the VIP tickets and get there early. When I arrived on the Saturday at about 12:15 there was already a line of people waiting to get it. At 12:30, they opened the doors and got people in quite quickly to the corralling area where you could pick up your pre-ordered sample tokens and t-shirts. Just before 1:00 they let people into the halls to begin their sampling. The first hour was VIP's only and it was totally worth the extra few bucks. There were no lines at any of the brewers which gave you the chance to talk with them and actually learn about the products instead of fighting through crowds of people just to get a taste. Also, some of the companies were giving our free or half price samples because it was their first sample of the day or because the product was a little on the warm side because it hadn't been on ice long enough yet. The down side of this first hour though was that some places weren't open. It seemed there was some confusion as to what time the exhibitors were supposed to be there so a number of them weren't ready to go until the general public was allowed into the event. While things got busier later in the day and there were some lines to get through, everything stayed civilized. It was interesting to people watch throughout the event. There was a range of people and it seemed to be a younger crowd. Not many people over 40 represented. Earlier in the day there were people like me that were looking for new brews to try, learn about different breweries, and take in the general experience. Late in the day you could see lots of people there just to see how many beers they could try and were pounding back their 4oz glasses like they were doing shots at the club. At $2 a sample (some upwards of $4) this is more expensive than buying a beer at a liquor store so I don't understand why people would want to come here just to get wasted. The best part of the day for me was finding out that some of my favourite west coast American brews were now available in Calgary. The second part of that was finding out that liquor stores like CO-OP are carrying them, so I don't have to make the trek across the city to Oak & Vine to get them. I do have a couple of minor complaints: 1. While the VIP sampling glasses were nice in that they were glass and not plastic, the mug style cups they gave to non VIP's were much more handy. Especially when you're trying to balance holding a sample, checking-in on Untapped, and carrying whatever else you've picked up from the booths. 2. Hall C was blisteringly hot. Halls D& E were great, nice and cool. 3. There needs to be more incentives for VIP's at each booth. Like maybe VIP's don't wait in line or something. Other than an extra hour before everyone else and a different t-shirt to buy, there isn't anything special about getting a VIP ticket once the show is well under way. Lastly, to leave things on a positive note, there was a lot of great food to try also. Fiasco Gelato was there, All Beef Catering, many restaurants, and a couple of others thrown in the mix. You won't go hungry while making the rounds sampling your newly discovered brews. read more

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First time at the Calgary beerfest and special thanks to Yelp for the two tickets. I had a enjoyable time with my friends. Wow this place was huge with a wide variety of vendors; well over 100. There's something for everyone even if your not a big beer geek.... there's a good selection of ciders, coolers and wines. There's also option to purchase and take home. Price wise it's not the best place if you just want to get hammered. It's a bit expensive to sample about 4 oz of each drink and the atmosphere not really chill for enjoying a drink or two. This event is more like a trade show where you can learn about local breweries and how beer made. Overall it was a great event! read more

Calgary International Beerfest - Drink cup - Festivals Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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There are two kind of people that go to the Calgary International BeerFest. Those who honestly want to learn about the beer and those who go to get hammered off it. Both are lovely and you certainly won't get any judgement from me. But if you're in the first category, you're going to get a lot more bang for your buck at BeerFest. Here's why: Get the Beer Geek VIP! BeerFest is a trade show for beer. There are over 700 kinds of brew on site and you've got the chance to meet the brewers, learn about their latest wares and drink them. If this is what you want to do, it is WELL worth it to pay the extra bit for the VIP and get in there before the hordes do. Since it's by no means an inexpensive way to drink, the extra bit you pay for the VIP will let you get the full value from BeerFest and you'll get to take in all the awesome experiences that make BeerFest fun! Meet the brewmasters and go to their seminars! Once it's packed, everyone will be too busy getting their samples out to the lineups for you to even find out what you're drinking. ...Still fun though. I'm all for going out with buddies and having 1, or 7 too many, but BeerFest isn't where I would choose to do it. It's just not worth it for that kind of drinking. It's a trade show space with trade show lighting; not exactly the most atmospheric place to hang out and get your drink on. After paying for a ticket to get in and buying your beer tickets, you're probably going to spend more than you would at any brew pub. It's just not a smart way to get wasted. BeerFest does a great job at setting it up like this. I feel like most people "get it" and are there with an honest intent to learn about and have a passion for beer. Sure, you're bound to get you buzz on, but that's just a wonderful side effect of your beer education. Ok, I guess there's a 3rd category who like all of the above. If that is you, you'll get the Beer Geek VIP, find your favourites and get loopy on them while having the best time at the Calgary International BeerFest. read more

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Went to the Beerfest with a friend I have not seen for many years and had a great time. We sipped on outstanding and unique beers from all over North America. We enjoyed different types but I really liked and took away two special ones. An IPA from Red Deer and another from Vancouver. If you like IPA's you must buy Red Trucks Northwest or Something Brewing from Red Deer called Hot Bomb IPA. The night was spent tasting beers and having​ some great food and there were​ lots to choose from. Recommend getting a VIP pass next year and also taking in the seminars (Cooking with Beer was the best) for a fun and educational evening. read more

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I've been to Beerfest a few times over the years and always enjoyed the experience, it's great to see it growing each year. Calgary has a great beer scene and the changing AGLC laws have given more and more brewers the ability to start their own breweries which I think is great. The event can get a bit pricey because you buy and admission ticket and then also tasting tickets but it's a great way to try all types of beer from around the world and learn anything and everything you could possibly want to learn about beer. There is also food stations and booth available so be sure to rotate between the great beer and tasty food. This year I was lucky enough to get to take part in judging for the people's choice beer awards and it was a great time. Everyone at the table was super friendly and welcoming and we were matched up with the super knowledgeable and fun Tiffany who taught us all about the beer and made sure we were making informed judgments about the beer. I learned so much and had a great time, I'll definitely be back again next year! read more

I first checked out Calgary Beerfest in 2008, when it wasn't really worth attending. Not a lot of good breweries, almost no food, poor layout, few places to sit. So I didn't go back. Until this year, that is, after hearing many good things about the current version of the event. & I am very glad I went! It's huge now, with around 100 breweries involved, & even included some wine, cider & coolers. If you really want to try as many as possible, you may need to go both days. But if you do some research ahead of time, you can hit the interesting ones in one day without having to try too many duds. Was delighted to taste Maui Brewing's new seasonal double IPA with blood orange - delicious! Sobeys/Safeway had a liquor store set up with many of the featured breweries available to take home as well. Numerous local restaurants offered various types of food: as another Yelper mentioned, there is a ton of "meat on a bun", but diverse types, at least. I was fairly disappointed to find little for vegetarians, so a huge shout out to Fiore Cantina: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/fiore-cantina-italiana-calgary for having 2 different things I could eat. Plus they did have meatballs as well (NOT on a bun, for some carnivorous variety). There were even a few desserts. I did not purchase VIP tickets as I wasn't interested in any of the seminars; I found that arriving at the beginning of regular admission was good timing, so you could actually talk to the brewery reps & not wait in too many lines. By the time I left, however, it was considerably more difficult to find a place to sit, & most every tasting station had a line. The longest lines were for the men's washrooms, however - that is a bit of a deficiency for this venue (BMO Centre) read more

I haven't gone to beer fest in years because I never thought it was worthwhile. It was costly and not many things to look at or explore. But this year I decided to give it another chance. Everything has changed completely lots more beer options to try and no more 5$ for a sip of beer! My 20$ of tickets ended up lasting the entire evening. They had seminars and cooking shows not to mention lots more food options and more activities. All in all a much better value this year. * the VIP worth it not waiting in line to pee read more

Hubby had a birthday on this exact Beerfest Day. He LOVES beer and I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend that likes us enough that she gave us free tickets to the event. We went on the Sat just before we had dinner resos downtown. I had not been to a Beerfest in Calgary so we not sure what to expect. No line to get in (yay!) as we went early in the day around 4pm. THIS is the way to do it as when we left at 545pm, the massive line snaked down the BMO corridor for what seemed like miles. Once inside we were told, when you are in, you stay in, you come out, you are out! OK! Got it! Swarms of people, tons of booths, so many they start to meld together as one after awhile. There was a stench of vomit in one area that we did not look too hard to find... we also found money and beer tickets on the floor that people had dropped - soooo, thank you! I actually did try a few fruity beer samples that I did enjoy. What I loved more was a lot of the food - so much so that I almost ruined my appetite for dinner! MMM, deep fried pickles from Hudsons, poutine from the Poutinerie, Homemade Chips from... Lower deck? Tacos from Midtown plus a $10 gift cert. to go and see them in Kensington! We found Empanadas too! Yep, the food was my fave. I think I tried almost everything! Oop, except the giant pretzel from Craft - the line to try those suckers was INSANE! We explored the 2 Halls worth of beer and food and honestly, 90 min was enough for us. You really felt like you were in a crowded, cement floored, unceremonious space but it certainly was interesting and would not turn down free tickets, ever, to go back again another year! Kudos to the organizers re spacing as there really were so many vendors/local businesses there to have set up! Most of the vendors were friendly and happy to fill up our sample cups. Buying the beer tickets was easy and convenient. $1 each and most beer samples were just 2 tickets. read more

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this year with my husband, and we both had a great time. I was impressed with how many breweries were represented at this event, so there are plenty of places to discover and to fall in love with. There are also lots of local food vendors, which is great when you need to space out your tastings. The only drawback to this event is that you do need to be prepared to spend quite a bit of money. It starts with the admission to the event, and then you do have to pay for tasting tickets. Also, some of the more expensive breweries were very stingy with their pours (pouring less than half of the tasting glass). I wish there was some way to moderate that especially since we have to pay per pour. It's still a fun time, and next time, I would like to go with a group of friends. read more

I did my first beerfest 5+ years ago when it was a pretty pathetic showing but boy or boy has it ever changed. Now it's MASSIVE taking up the entire space of the roundup center and western oasis at the stampede. That's a lot of beer and food. It reminds me of industry tastings back in the day when I was in the industry... and it's ALMOST like it's geared for that except it's just too expensive for an industry event (unless they give industry folks tickets or special cards? or let them in on an industry only day on Thursday?). For the general public it's a strange situation because it's a very expensive way to sample beer or food from any of the vendors. Things even felt more expensive than other events like Taste of Calgary and there you don't pay to get in. A 4oz sample of beer should rarely ever cost more than $2 but there were $4 samples everywhere. I could get a bottle of most of those beers in a store for $4 or less so I have trouble with admission to a marketing event to be over changed for samples. $40 in tickets a person was about what we were spending in my group and that was enough to equate to a full appetizer and maybe 1.5 pints of beer per person if you added all the sampling together. None of us were tipsy or stuffed but we might have been much closer if we were in a pub for that price. We might have kept going but the crowds were starting to wear on us and we decided to call it a day. Yes, the novelty is worth something and there were some beers there I've never seen which has it's value. There are plenty of ways to learn which has value (particularly if you are into the seminars ect) so maybe the cost of admission and 35% surcharge makes up that difference for you. It's obvious to me the cost doesn't detract from the crowds so it works for many but I'm not a 100% sold of this being one of the most value added events of it's type. read more

This was my first time at the Calgary beer fest. If was like a Plenty Of Fish sausage fest. Keep in mind that women like to go to this event and we like more than beef sliders and bratwurst, broaden your menu and have other beverage options. read more