The death of Greg Evans at age 67 in December 2018 affected many people in Victoria’s craft beer community, as well as many others who knew Greg from his profession as a historian. Born in Nanaimo in 1951, Greg moved to Victoria at a young age and eventually received his master’s degree in history at the University of Victoria, completing his thesis, entitled, The Vancouver Island Brewing Industry, 1858–1917.

Following a stint in the mid-1980s as executive director of the Vancouver Museum over on the mainland, Greg returned to Victoria to become the executive director of the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. Later, he worked as an archivist at the Township of Esquimalt. At the time of his death, Greg was working on a series of books on B.C.’s brewing history for the Royal B.C. Museum. Sadly, that project was never completed.

Greg co-founded B.C.’s original branch of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) in Richmond and then became involved with the Victoria branch when he lived there. He was well known for his entertaining, engaging presentations of various aspects of beer history, including several Beer School classes he led at Victoria Beer Week on topics such as B.C.’s prohibition and Victoria’s early brewers.

He was also a consultant for start-up breweries. One of his favourite gigs was the Craft Beer & Culinary Cruise he hosted annually for Maple Leaf Adventures. He always put a lot of thought into the food-and-beer pairing, and the participants definitely appreciated his entertaining stories.

To celebrate the legacy of Greg Evans, Victoria Beer Week has asked Chris Adams of Discover the Past (Ghostly Walks) Tours, to design and host a special downtown walking tour as part of its VBW Beer School program. Scheduled for Saturday, March 7, the Greg Evans Memorial Beer Walk will visit various downtown historic locations where Chris will share beer-soaked stories from Victoria’s early days. This entertaining and engaging tour will finish at Swans for a pint of beer (included in the ticket) and a chance to check out an exhibit showcasing some of Greg’s collection of beer-related artifacts and photos (provided by CAMRA).

Victoria Beer Week presents the Greg Evans Memorial Beer Walk

Saturday, March 7, 2020, 11am or 2pm

Price: $25 / $20 for CAMRA/VBS Members

Tickets: dash.ticketrocket.co/tour/85