This years Oktoberfest kicked off the first cask opening of Alberta Beer Week. The festival had over 500 local and international craft beers for attendees to sample.
Mark Kondrat, a managing partner of Alberta Beer Festivals said that Alberta Beer is becoming more popular.
“We’re experiencing the fastest ever growth in the Alberta Craft Beer scene,” says Kondrat.
Kent Paterson, Banff Ave Brewery’s head brewer, is trying to open people’s minds when it comes to darker beers. His favourite is the Lower Banquet Black Pilsner, a German short styled beer.
“I call it the gateway beer to the dark side,” says Paterson. This was his fourth year at Oktoberfest and says it’s a great place to expose people to local craft beer.
Craft beer uses four main ingredients; water, malt, hops and yeast. It gives the beer crisper cleaner taste, and according to Paterson, it’s the best.
“It’s actually Banff’s favourite beer, the locals go nuts for it.”
The editor responsible for this article is Katherine Huitema, khuitema@cjournal.ca