Sip and Savour at YGK Craft Beer Fest

What started as a gloomy day in Kingston turned into a gorgeous afternoon affair atop Fort Henry hill this past weekend for the annual YGK Craft Beer Fest. Mother nature sure held up and surprised the crowds with blue skies and soaring temperatures made for thirsty weather. Not surprisingly, thousands of people made their way to the festival to quench their thirst, savour in local eats and listen to live music with family and friends. It was a day filled with vibrant laughter, chilling on the hill and spreading good vibes all around.

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend and having been to similar festivals in the past few years, I can say with confidence that lovers of ales, lagers and IPA's sure raised their glasses in delight. This year's ever-growing festival saw several breweries such as local favourite Mackinnon Brothers Brewery, newly added to the scene this year Skeleton Park Brewery and Gananoque Brewing Company.

From a dozen of craft brewers, with many more ales and lagers - there were also some cider to try out too as well as gourmet eats such as pulled pork carnitas tacos from Dianne's Fishbar, short rib poutine from The Grizzly Grill, lamb curry from Glocca Morra Grill and plenty more to satisfy those beer filled tummies.

With beer tokens in hand, I made my way through the crowds and sampled quite the variety of brews over the span of a few hours, well actually till the very end. I grooved to the tunes with my shades on and handy dandy camera in hand snapping a fun filled atmosphere.

My top picks from Beer Fest were 401 Cider Brewery's Black Currant Cider, Ottawa's Kichesippi Beer's Grapefuit flavoured Radler and Whiprsnapr Brewing's Sweet Rhubarb of Mine brew. As a woman who occasionally enjoys a good pint when out and about in downtown Kingston, I very much appreciate and have an appeal for both local and lighter brews.

Speaking of local, the success of YGK Craft Beer Fest can be attributed to Kingston being just that - a very local focused city. A new lifestyle to many, people tend to pay more attention to local breweries than the bigger names. The support has been overwhelming and to give props to those in our own neighbourhood or the next city over is always a thrill, especially in a huge market.

While the main spotlight of the event was the beer, I found great pleasure in meeting new folks and familiar faces at the festival. I also relished in the fact that I discovered new bands such as bluegrass folk band The Dead South whose unique attire caught my eye from start to finish.

The scent of savoury deliciousness was in the air and eyes wide open as I walked by The Grizzly Grill's booth. Serving up a local twist of short rib poutine with roasted garlic double smoked bacon demi-glaze topped with Wilton Cheese curds and scallions. My foodie senses led me to this gal's hometown favourite.





Thank you Fort Henry for spreading good vibes and inviting me to an awesome event!

See you next year!