Those who follow my blog, all 8 of your, know I am a beer ticker. This stems from a love of trying new beers; it is also influenced by increasing my score on Untappd. What will I be drinking at the Great Canadian Beer Fest this year? It can't be one of each, that would be dangerous. This is going to be a great year for beer fest; mostly due to the heavy representation by Canadian craft brewers. The brewers list is a who's who of Canadian craft beer.

Here are my top picks for this year:

1. Lighthouse Sazerac Saison. I'm assuming this oak cask is on loan from Clive's Lounge. Clive's like to barrel age cocktails. A strong saison aged in a rye whiskey cocktail oak barrel; I will be first in line for this one. The blackberry black saison cask sounds good too.

2. Noble Pig, yes all of those. Their Belgian pepper saison uses a Trappist yeast. Also a cask ESB.


3. Swan's Oaked Legacy, Hello! I was lamenting to Andrew about missing the taste of the Legacy ale. Now it is in back and oaked and in a cask!

4. Salt Spring gruit ale. I almost passed this one by. A gruit is an ancient style of ale bittered with local herbs and not hops. If it works, it will be something very interesting to try.

5. Beau's is bringing a blend of four Ontario beers that has been aged in bourbon barrels.

6. Coal Harbour is bringing one of everything, including their rauchbier (Smoke and Mirrors) in cask. There is also a rye ale.

7. Parallel 49 will be bringing an imperial stout in cask. This same beer will be released later after it spends some time in whiskey barrels.

8. Crannog. Enough said

9. Cannery has two casks. A "Drei" hopped IPA and a Jack Daniels splashed amber ale. Worth a dry.

10.  Moon Under Water has a hop harvest ale. Might be fresh hopped, will have to ask.

11. Vancouver Island Brewery will have two casks. Their Marzen (to be released in bottles Friday morning) and a blueberry wheat.

12. Banff/Jasper Brewing has a cask of nitrogen infused Reverend Rundle Stout. All their beers are new to BC.

13. Driftwood has a cask of Old Cellar Dweller 2011.

14. Central City has a Kolsch made with real Kolsch yeast, I love a good Kolsch.


15. Half Pints is bringing Humulous Ludicrous DIPA: one of the hoppiest things I have ever tasted.

16. Wellington Brewery imperial stout. Perhaps the best thing to ever come out of Guelph.

17. Trou du Diable is bringing a cask conditioned IPA. This will be a very well traveled cask.

18. R&B is bringing a cucumber mint IPA. Ooookaaayyy, worth a taste

See you all there. I will be wearing my fancy blue Hawaiian shirt.