Page 52 - Beverage Master February March 2020
P. 52
International News
breweries is sure to get folks chirping. respondents tend to be craft beer enthusi-asts:
almost two-thirds of respondents said they had vis-
Just as the name implies, the Stout aux Grillons, ited 10 or more breweries within the past year, and
a collaboration between La Baleine Endiablée and 70% said they intended to travel more than 100km
the Lion Bleu, gets its thick mouthfeel and foamy to visit a brewery in the next year.
texture from the addition of thousands of roasted
… crickets … The majority of those surveyed said they drank
beer three or more days per week, with 41% imbib-
Crickets and mealworms, which are more environ- ing three to five days per week, and 18% drinking
mentally sustainable to farm than meat and very almost every day. Only 2% said they drank less beer
nutritious, are beginning to appear in insect protein after the legalization of cannabis, and 1% said legal
products on supermarket shelves, everything from weed has led them to drink more.
pasta to dog biscuits. Loblaws, one of Canada’s
largest grocery chains, even began selling its own For these craft beer superfans, the top factors in
line of cricket powder in 2018. Yet, for many peo- deciding what beer to purchase were flavor, beer
ple, the thought of eat-ing the stuff triggers an style, brewery brand and reputation. Price and
instinctive shiver of revulsion. packaging were ranked as significantly less-import-
ant factors.
According to CBC News, Baleine Endiablée
co-founder, Jérémie Tremblay, got the idea to brew According to the survey, the top 10 British
the buggy beer after being challenged by his friend Columbia craft beer events are:
Maxime Dionne, a local cricket farmer, to create a
taboo-busting beverage that would tempt people 1. Vancouver Craft Beer Week (May 29 - June 7,
to give insect protein a try. 2020): https://vancouvercraftbeerweek.com/
2. Great Canadian Beer Festival (2020 date TBA):
Tremblay’s first attempts at incorporating crickets https://victoriabeersociety.com/great-canadi-
were a bust. Cricket flour made the beer too gooey, an-beer-fest/
while whole crickets gave it a funny taste. The trick, 3. Farmhouse Fest (2020 date TBA): http://farm-
he found, was to roast the arthro-pods, which pro- housefest.com/
duced a malty flavor. The unusual additive is used 4. Okanagan Fest of Ale (April 17 & 18, 2020):
in the same way as grain. https://festofale.ca/
5. Fort Langley Beer & Food Festival (May 16,
The cricket stout is available at La Baleine 2020): https://www.fortlangley.beer/
Endiablée, located about an hour and a half north- 6. BC Beer Awards (2020 date TBA): https://www.
east of Quebec City in Rivière-Ouelle, at the Lion bcbeerawards.com/
Bleu, in the Saguenay region (two and a half hours 7. Great Okanagan Beer Festival (May 6-10, 2020):
due north of Quebec City), as well as through the https://gibbonswhistler.com/festivals-events/
Lion Bleu’s distribution points throughout the prov- great-okanagan-beer-festival/
ince. 8. Whistler Village Beer Festival (Sept. 14-20,
2020): https://gibbonswhistler.com/festi-
Survey Offers Insights vals-events/whistler-village-beer-festival/
about Craft Beer Superfans 9. Clover Valley Beer Festival (Aug. 8, 2020):
https://gibbonswhistler.com/festivals-events/
A recent survey of craft beer fans in British clover-valley-beer-festival/
Columbia offers a number of insights into the 10. Coquitlam Beer Festival (March 7, 2020):
be-havior and preferences of highly engaged beer https://coquitlambeerfestival.com/
drinkers, from packaging preferences and brewery
tourism habits to the impact of cannabis legaliza- Over the seven years since the survey was first
tion on beer consumption. conducted, results have tracked several nota-ble
shifts in British Columbia craft beer consumer
The annual online survey of craft beer drinkers trends, including maturing demographics and a
is conducted by Beer Me BC (beermebc.com), a swing in preference away from purchasing beer in
popular Canadian craft beer blog. Not surprisingly, glass containers.
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