7 Jun

Lots of Meat and Lots of Beer: Brewery and the Beast Festival Returns to Vancouver

Photo sourced from Brewery and the Beast

Calling all carnivores: Vancouver’s festival of meat is back.

Brewery and the Beast returns to False Creek, July 27. The outdoor beef-and-beer themed festival is the mother of all summer barbecues. Chefs from 35 restaurants from throughout the Lower Mainland will be grilling, roasting, basting and baking for hundreds of hungry carnivores. Meanwhile, local beer, wine and even cider will be available to wash it all down.

At $89, the event is a serious splurge for meat lovers. Then again, it’s no ordinary barbecue. Some real titans of the region’s restaurant scene – perennial award-winners that pack their tables night after night – will be represented, including Araxi (of Hell’s Kitchen fame), Michelin-starred French powerhouse Market, upscale Thai stalwart Maenam, rustic Italian charcuterie experts Campagnolo, Pidgin (one of enRoute’s 10 best new restaurants in Canada), fine-dining icon Hawksworth and more.

Photo sourced from Brewery and the Beast

Not to mention, the menu goes way beyond burgers and dogs. According to event organizers, offerings will include “whole pig and lamb roasts, charcuterie, smoked meats, ethnic-inspired dishes, classic BBQ, and other full-flavored exotic foods .” Meats are locally sourced from the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and Northern Alberta.

For libations, Phillips Brewing Company is rolling out its unique Gypsy wagon – a kind of brew-pub on wheels outfitted with 32 different taps. In additional, Mission Hill is serving its award-winning Okanagan wines, while B.C.’s own Left Field Cider provides the cider.

Photo sourced from Brewery and the Beast

The setting for all this carnivorous carnage is Concord Pacific Place, the parking lot area on False Creek, adjacent Rogers Arena. While wandering from food tent to food tent on their meat pilgrimage, guests can soak up views of the waterfront. And, as no summer barbecue would be complete without some tunes, Victoria soul-grass rockers Electric Timber Company will be performing live.