Suds were flowing at Brewzapalooza

February 1, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart
Take some barley, hops, a few other ingredients, and mix it all together under the skillful supervision of a brewmaster and you’ve got beer.
Add a few hundred revellers and several craft breweries and you’ve got Brewzapalooza.
The second annual event got under way on Mill Street in Orangeville Jan. 14, with more than 500 beer enthusiasts turning out at the sold-out event to sample the flavours of craft brewers from around the province.
Participants included the Hockley Valley Brewing company, Elora Brewing, Beaus, Muskoka Brewery, Side Launch, Cowbell and the Caledon Hills Brewing Co.
This year’s line-up also added Pommies Cidery from Caledon and Murphy’s Law Distillery from Elmira.
Murphy’s Law specializes in Moonshine-style beverages produced from local ingredients.
The event was organized by Brews and Entertainment. Organizers Julie Thurgood, Ryan Latorre and Mike Beattie said the winter timing for the event has proved to be very popular.
Tickets were sold out several days in advance.
“We have 12 breweries and distilleries in total,” Latorre explained. “We also have the Lions Club helping out with food. It’s a craft beer festival. There’s a ton of beer festivals in the summer so we wanted to do a winter one. Last year we were able to have a lot of walk-in traffic. This year we sold three times the amount of tickets we sold last year — in advance. People were into it last year and they kept asking when the next one was. Tickets are $1.25 each. You get a mug. One ticket will get you a sample, you get a full beer for $3.75.”
The event got under way at noon and ran until 11 p.m., with most of the patrons arriving later in the day.
A band played in the parking lot of Soulyve Caribbean Kitchen and Soulyve featured an ice bar that was carved from blocks of ice.
It may have been a typical frigid January day, but considering the enthusiasm from visitors to the event, it’s never too cold to enjoy a cold one.