Harvest Haus cancelled for 2018
B.C.’s biggest Oktoberfest celebration won’t be returning for 2018, but organizers are hopeful it could return next year, bigger and better than ever. The Social Concierge announced this week via email that it would not be holding Harvest Haus, but said the event will return in 2019.
“We have been scouring the city for a new and expanded ‘Zuhause’ (our Harvest home) to welcome further guests into our Halle,” organizers said in a press release this week. “GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! We have found one, but it will take us some time still to ready for an even more immersive and exuberant festival full of surprises and familiarities. As you can imagine, we are already hard at work filling our 99 Luftballons, so keep your steins and appetites at the ready for Harvest Haus 2019 and mark your calendars a return next Oktober on a grander scale!”
Harvest Haus began in 2014 at the Queen Elizabeth Plaza and in 2017, moved to a bigger venue next to the Plaza of Nations, with a capacity of more than 1,500.
Cantillon Zwanze Day at The Drake
Legendary Belgian brewer Cantillon will be celebrating the release of its coveted Zwanze 2018 Lambic beer on Sept. 29 at 72 different locations around the world, including the Drake Eatery in Victoria. The Drake is the only venue in Western Canada selected to release the beer as part of Cantillon’s Zwanze Day, and one of only three in Canada. This year’s edition of Zwanze is a blend of Lambics aged for the past two years in Italian Amarone, Chianti and Sangiovese wine barrels. The beer promises to be, “fruity with notes of mango and citrus and a fine, lingering mouthfeel. The wine-like character is not only evident, but accentuated by a slight woodiness.”
Tickets for Zwanze Day 2018 are $50 and include four four-ounce tasters of specially selected barrel-aged beers, including Cantillon’s Zwanze 2018, as well as lunch and a souvenir Belgian beer glass.
Get fresh hopped at Fresh to Death
It’s fresh hop beer season and that means B.C. brewers are taking advantage of the hop harvest and putting those fragrant little morsels right in the brew kettle to create some stellar seasonal beers. You can try some of the best at this year’s Fresh To Death event in Victoria, Oct. 6 (2-6pm, with VIP entry at 1pm) at the historic Roundhouse at Bayview Place. More than 25 local breweries will be sharing their fresh hop creations at the event, organized by the good folks at Victoria Beer Week. There’s also an onsite liquor store provided by Spinnakers Spirit Merchants so you can take bottles and cans of your favourites home with you. Tickets start at $30 and include four drink tokens and a complimentary tasting glass.
